I was forced to start the second round because I was raised in poverty

Chapter 281 The Power of Expectation

Su Cheng felt a sudden pressure.

His original budget was sufficient; even if Zhao Peng and Wang Zhiying did not invest any financial resources, Su Cheng could still establish a wholly-owned company.

But with the old man's actions, Su Cheng's finances became tight.

With 35 employees, the pressure was relatively low for the first six months, but later on, the combined costs of salaries, venue space, and other expenses approached one million a month.

Wang Zhiying still hoped that Su Cheng could find Long Ruoli, whether by persuading her or by pleading on her behalf, even if it was just 50%, as she could now accept that percentage more readily.

Su Cheng knew that helping Wang Zhiying was helping himself, but he had no other choice!

Mediation?

What a load of rubbish!

This order wasn't issued by Long Ruoli at all; it was the old man's idea.

Who would dare disobey?
Once the old man issues an order, it must be carried out.

Even Bai Zihua wouldn't dare, let alone Long Ruoli; she doesn't have that kind of influence yet.

Unless it's before an order is given, Su Cheng felt there was still room for negotiation.

Now that the order has been issued, Su Cheng is not going to provoke it.

Wang Zhiying was a little anxious; this was all money!

"What do we do then? Are we just going to accept this?"

"Uh, don't rush, let me figure things out over the next couple of days, okay?"

"Ok!"

After the three disbanded, Su Cheng unexpectedly received a message from Tong Xin on her way back to Shengyue.

Tong Xin said he had returned to Jingzhou and asked Su Cheng when she was free, suggesting they get together for a meal if it was convenient.

ha?
Why is Xiao Nan Niang back in Jingzhou again?
Su Cheng quickly pressed for details, and only then did he learn that Wei Qing had been promoted from K10 to K11, and that his work location had been changed from Shanghai to Jingzhou.

Tong Xin said that he benefited from being with Wei Qing and might be stationed in Jingzhou permanently in the future. Whenever he wasn't busy, he could go out and have fun with Su Cheng.

Su Cheng: ???
Why was Wei Qing transferred to Jingzhou for no reason?

His first reaction was: We're doomed!

The old man may have actually made contingency plans to prevent Wang Zhiying from running away.

Su Cheng agreed, saying he was quite busy lately, but he would visit Tong Xin when he had some free time.

With Wei Qing involved, it's best to prevent Wang Zhiying from even considering running away; let's just give up.

Su Cheng often uses his position to make some pocket money for himself, and the old man might turn a blind eye.

But if the old man knew he owned shares, that would mean a profit of at least tens of millions, and he wouldn't allow himself to have that much money.

As for whether the old man will have the Ministry of the Interior investigate him?

Based on Su Cheng's understanding of the old man, he was truly capable of doing such a thing.

If this matter isn't handled properly, he might be exiled to another city, and then he'll be completely finished.

Soon.

Wang Zhiying replied.

She sent Su Cheng a question mark, and then she also sent a screenshot.

Wang Zhiying: ?

Wang Zhiying: [Image]
She posted a screenshot of her booked tickets, and she had bought not just one, but two.

One is for a flight to Australia, and the other is for a flight to Europe.

Su Cheng also gave Wang Zhiying a question mark: ?
Wang Zhiying: [What do you mean?]
Su Cheng: [The Ministry of Internal Affairs has transferred me; you should cancel your ticket.]
Wang Zhiying: [The Internal Affairs Department? Is it that powerful?]
Su Cheng: [Yeah, that's impressive]
Wang Zhiying: [So, what about now?]
Su Cheng: [Don't worry, wait for my message.]
Wang Zhiying: [OK]
……

That afternoon.

Qin Fen said he heard from a colleague that there was a pretty good restaurant, and asked Zhang Yangwen and Su Cheng if they wanted to go with him.

Su Cheng was in a rather irritable mood today, so she agreed to go out to eat with Qin Fen.

He also wanted a change of scenery and a change of mood.

After getting off work that evening, the three of them took a taxi to the restaurant that Qin Fen had mentioned.

Su Cheng deliberately didn't drive, thinking he'd have a drink that night to relax.

A pretty hostess stood at the restaurant entrance.

Unlike other restaurants, the greeter at this restaurant is not a young, thin, and fair-skinned woman, but a charming woman in her thirties who is very good at handling people, judging from her every smile and gesture.

Good.

Su Cheng guessed that she was probably in a position similar to an assistant store manager, or at least a supervisor in the restaurant.

Actually, this kind of aunt is very suitable for being a greeter. The only drawback is that she is a bit old and not eye-catching enough.

The moment Su Cheng saw her, she instinctively started thinking about something: Hmm... she's definitely not the type of woman old men like.

The only advantage of young girls is that they are pleasing to the eye; in everything else, they can't compare to savvy older women.

Because young girls are simply not cut out for the job of greeting customers. They act all high and mighty just shaking a bubble tea in a beverage shop, so don't expect them to stand at the door for hours on end.

Especially in Jingzhou, all the capable young women are concentrated in finance, consulting, and internet giants. Who's going to be your greeter?

"Handsome, are there three of you?"

"Yes, the three of you."

"Okay, please come this way."

The aunt led the three to a private room, and while giving them the menu, she also took out a few small trinkets from her apron as gifts for them.

Three small bottles of alcohol spray and three disposable alcohol wipes.

Well, this gift is... quite unique.

This was the first time Qin Fen and Zhang Yangwen had ever seen a restaurant serving alcohol.

Su Cheng remained calm: "What's so strange about that? It's just a matter of treating people differently based on their status."

He asked the two to look at the guests at the other tables, and they turned to observe them carefully.

For guests with young children, each table has a balloon depicting Pleasant Goat/Big Big Wolf tied to it.

If the guests are female, they are given a green plant the size of an egg, mainly succulents and topiaries, on the table.

There were also customers wearing glasses, and Su Cheng noticed that the waiter gave them a glasses cleaning kit, which included a bottle of cleaning spray and a glasses cloth.

Qin Fen noticed something was off: "Hey...it really is!"

Zhang Yangwen: "Then why are we using alcohol spray?"

This restaurant is located in a CBD area, surrounded by commercial office areas, and the clientele is mainly white-collar workers.

Su Cheng explained, "You didn't bring any kids, and none of the three of us wear glasses, so it's impossible for us to put a plant on our workstations. That's why they gave us an alcohol spray bottle."

Qin Fen really likes this alcohol spray bottle: "It's actually quite practical. I tend to have sweaty hands, and my mouse and keyboard get soaked in no time. This is perfect for wiping the keyboard."

"See? Everyone knows that people who come here to eat are white-collar workers."

Today, Qin Fen was hosting, and he picked up the menu and started ordering their specialty dishes.

Driven by curiosity, Zhang Yangwen opened a review app and searched for the restaurant.

Qin Fen ordered a lot of dishes in one go, and then asked Su Cheng, "Hey, Cheng-ge, do you want to order some beef balls too?"

"There's so much food, can the three of us finish it all?"

"I think so, I didn't eat much for lunch today."

"Alright, then you keep an eye on it."

After Qin Fen called the waiter over, he handed him the menu with the checkmarks.

Su Cheng couldn't help but praise, "The owner of this shop is actually very shrewd in business. He's either done extensive research, or he has some expert guidance behind the scenes." "Hmm? How so?"

"Uh……"

Su Cheng paused.

If Ye Li were present, she would definitely know, because there have been related experiments in the database.

But Qin Fen and Zhang Yangwen clearly didn't know, and eagerly awaited Su Cheng's explanation.

"This boss is using the principle of mutual benefit between businesses and customers."

Simply put, guests who receive gifts are more likely to order 20% more dishes.

Qin Fen's order of an extra serving of beef balls is a good example.

Qin Fen quickly tried to recall how much the beef balls cost; it seemed to be 98 yuan.
Three bottles of alcohol spray, at most 5 yuan.

However, it boosted the restaurant's revenue by 20%, a clear example of leveraging a small investment for a large return.

"Huh? Does that mean I've been tricked?"

"Well, it's not exactly being fooled, but you could also say I was fooled."

"Oh my god!"

After Su Cheng exposed this operational method, Qin Fen's goodwill towards the aunt and the restaurant vanished instantly.

The principle of reciprocity is something that is recognized by all human society. Unless you are Mr. Tree or a villain, most people accept this principle.

I give you a gift, and you order more food, which indirectly manipulates the customer's ordering behavior.

This move is actually quite ruthless.

"I'm telling you two, don't be silly and help others at the company in the future."

"You can't sell favors like that."

"If you help someone, don't say 'it's nothing' or 'it's no big deal,' as this will weaken the relationship."

It's not that Su Cheng is petty or narrow-minded; he believes that both personal favors and small acts of kindness should be appropriately reserved. Otherwise, if the other party doesn't take it seriously, they will gradually come to regard his good intentions as something he is obligated to do.

This system is universally applicable across all human societies, but there are still a small number of fools and people who only accept favors from others.

"Brother Cheng, what should we say?"

"Just say, 'If it were you, you would have helped too.'"

The two were surprised.

That's incredibly detailed.

As the dishes were served one after another, the conversation among the three shifted back to the restaurant.

"Hey Qin, I just checked the review app, and this restaurant doesn't seem to have a very high rating."

"Hmm? Let me try it."

Qin Fen picked up a piece of hanging dragon meat, put it in his mouth, chewed and tasted it carefully, and then commented: "Hey, it's not bad."

"I think it's pretty delicious. How many portions would they give it?"

"3.2 points."

"Huh? It's this low?" Qin Fen asked curiously. "Brother Cheng, do you think it tastes good?"

Su Cheng gave his honest review: "It's delicious, and it suits my taste perfectly."

"Yeah, is it because you can't get used to the food, Xiao Zhang?"

"I also think it's delicious, and I think their service is very good."

The three of them raved about the food, saying it was perfect in every way, but they just couldn't understand why it received such a low score.

Converted to a percentage system, that's just barely passing.

Zhang Yangwen seemed to have realized something: "Hey, I know, is it the power of expectation?"

"We originally had high expectations for this restaurant, but because I just mentioned that it had a low score, we naturally lowered our expectations and standards, and now we think it's alright?"

Qin Fen shook his head; he didn't know either.

Both of them looked at Su Cheng, trying to get an answer from him.

Su Cheng smiled.

He felt that Zhang Yangwen was indeed making progress, and at a rate that wasn't as slow as he had imagined.

However, this time there was no internal logic; it was simply a review of the environment.

"Regarding this issue... I think it's related, but not very much."

According to Su Cheng's standards, 3.2 points is not a low score at all; on the contrary, it is a high score for a restaurant.

This goes against common sense.

"Who can get a 5-star restaurant? I would suspect that any restaurant with a score of 4 or higher is fake."

"Where can I find reviews on review apps these days? There are so many fake reviews and ratings, you know?"

The food and service were fine; it's highly likely that they didn't pay review apps to generate fake reviews, and a few sudden negative reviews naturally caused the rating to drop.

Su Cheng dares to say that restaurants with a rating of around 3.5 are unlikely to disappoint.

"I see. Then I'll give them a high score later."

"You didn't even buy it through a group-buying platform, so how can you give it a high score?"

"I'll buy a 10-yuan milk pudding now, redeem it, and then give them a five-star rating."

"Uh, that works too."

When the three of them finished their meal and paid the bill, the waiter even brought them some mints.

Overall, they were quite satisfied with the meal.

Especially Su Cheng.

My initially depressed mood improved considerably after having a nice meal outside.

As he had said, Qin Fen bought three milk pudding vouchers to redeem. He uploaded photos and reviews of the meal to the milk pudding group-buying order, giving it three five-star reviews to offset the negative ones.

The three of them, each holding a small cup of milk pudding, ate and chatted in the mall, looking a bit like close friends on the street.

"Sigh, Sister Chestnut won't be able to enjoy this today."

"It's okay, Cheng-ge. We'll bring Sister Li over to eat next time."

Su Cheng nodded and said, "Yes, let her treat us next time she comes over."

All three of them burst into laughter.

"What's going on with Sister Li? She hasn't said anything in the group chat for the past few days."

"I don't know either. I've sent her several messages but she hasn't replied. She's probably busy?" Su Cheng shook her head. "Hey Qin Fen, post that photo from tonight in the group chat and see if you can rouse her out."

"Okay, I'll send it now."

Two minutes after Qin Fen posted the photo in the group chat, Ye Li replied with a question mark.

Ye Li:?
Ye Li: [Image]
Ye Li: [Image]
Ye Li posted photos of her factory research at a fresh food supplier for RT-Mart.

She was wearing a white N95 mask and a hair tie cap.

"Look, Sister Li is speaking."

The three of them joked around in the group chat, each saying a sentence.

Qin Fen: [Sister Li, are you having fish for dinner?]
Zhang Yangwen: [This restaurant is actually quite good!]
Su Cheng: [Sister Chestnut, what are you doing at RT-Mart getting fish cleaned?]
Ye Li: [?]
Ye Li: [Get out of here!]
Ye Li: [I smell like fish right now, I'm going to suffocate you!]
Su Cheng: [Laughing so hard, Sister Chestnut, when are you coming back to treat us to this place again?]
The four of them chatted and laughed in the group for a while.

Su Cheng felt her mood had been greatly calmed down.

(End of this chapter)