We agreed not to date, so why are you crying now that I've become the richest man?

After leaving the internet cafe, the three walked past two shops along the street and entered a local-style home-cooked restaurant.

Ye Chen requested a small private room on the second floor by the window, and ordered braised pork, soy sauce duck, braised bamboo shoots, and a dish of pickled bamboo shoots and pork soup, as well as a pitcher of barley tea.

The waiter closed the door, instantly cutting off most of the noise from the street outside.

Ma Xiaodong picked up the teapot, poured tea for Ye Chen and Zhao Peng, and then put down the teapot after filling his own cup halfway. He then took out a folded piece of draft paper from his pocket.

"Mr. Ye, the machines and equipment should all be installed and tested by 6 p.m. today. We can open on Sunday as scheduled. We should also start sending out promotional materials. I've asked around on several school forums and online communities, and people are asking about the Sky Internet Cafe reinstallation."

Ye Chen took a sip of the warm barley tea, but didn't reply, gesturing for him to continue.

The draft was spread out on the table, and Ma Xiaodong used a teacup to press down the curled corner of the paper.

"I've come up with two plans: top up 50 and get 30 free, top up 100 and get 80 free. If you become a member within the first three days, you'll also get a free bottle of iced tea or cola. This should attract a lot of regular customers from the surrounding shops."

On the draft, a horizontal line was drawn for each of the two gift amounts, and even the number of cases of beverages to be ordered was calculated next to it.

Ma Xiaodong had used this method before when organizing promotions at other internet cafes, and it had indeed been quite successful. He handed the paper to Ye Chen, waiting for the order to be placed.

Zhao Peng, biting his chopsticks, leaned closer.

"I think it's a good deal. Top up 100 and get 80 free! That's a great offer, I'd definitely top up 100 first!"

Ye Chen placed the teacup on the table, and the bottom of the porcelain cup made a dull thud against the turntable.

"We can do the top-up bonus, and the amount will be as you propose, but this is just a fallback measure."

Ma Xiaodong paused for a moment, holding the pen, and looked up at Ye Chen.

"What does Mr. Ye mean?"

"Relying solely on recharge discounts will mostly attract regular internet users who already use the internet, and won't attract new customers who have never been here before." Ye Chen tapped his fingertips lightly on the table twice. "On the opening day, Sunday, the recharge discounts will continue as usual, but with one more condition—any adult customer who brings their own ID card and meets the internet access requirements, whether new or old, will receive one and a half hours of free internet access upon entering."

Zhao Peng took the chopsticks away from his mouth, glanced at Ye Chen, and then looked at the purchase order.

"Free? Chenzi, we've already given out a lot of discounts on top-ups. These are 180 brand new machines, each costing several thousand yuan to buy. Electricity and bandwidth fees are already being paid off, and Sunday is when there are the most users... You're going to let people surf the internet for free on the first day?"

Ma Xiaodong also frowned.

"Mr. Ye, what Zhao Peng is worried about is also what I'm worried about. With the recharge event and the free trial, it can indeed boost the popularity instantly, but I'm afraid that some people will only sit for the free time and leave as soon as the time is up, leaving us to pay for water, electricity and labor for nothing."

Ye Chen didn't rush to touch the draft; he first glanced at the towel on Zhao Peng's shoulder.

"Take yourself as an example. The new machine is fully installed, and you're sitting on the sofa playing for an hour and a half. If a crucial game isn't finished, are you just going to pull out the card and leave?"

Just as Zhao Peng was about to reply, he put his chopsticks down on the table and remained silent.

"The surrounding shops are full of smoke, greasy keyboards, and card machines. Everyone is used to them. We have the air conditioning on and the new machines on display. Let them come in and sit comfortably for 90 minutes. At this time, there is a sign at the bar that says 'Recharge 100 and get 80 free.' Once they get used to it and want to continue playing, they will naturally pay to become members."

Ma Xiaodong looked down and sketched out a draft. He had originally calculated how much cash he could get back from simple top-ups, but now his pen tip landed on the column for the number of first-time customers.

An hour and a half is enough to play a few rounds, to figure out the differences between upstairs and downstairs, and to double the appeal of the recharge bonus.

"I'll accept a lower internet fee on the first day."

Ye Chen pushed the draft towards him.

"There are more than just this one school nearby. How long would it take us to hand out flyers? Getting people who have visited the store and tried it out to come back to their schools and chat with them is more effective than praising the decor and the freebies all night long. Freebies are the hook to attract customers, while recharge promotions are the chain to retain them. You have to use both together."

Zhao Peng scratched the back of his head, picked up the chopsticks, and twirled them halfway in his hand.

"That sounds like a well-coordinated strategy... first attract people in, then retain them with incentives."

Ye Chen picked up the teapot and refilled his cup.

"Don't just think about the flight time fee, Brother Ma, there are two more things to consider."

Ma Xiaodong quickly uncapped his pen and moved the draft paper in front of him.

"At the same time, the no-smoking policy should be written down. The same applies to the lobby downstairs and the five-seat private rooms upstairs. Smokers should be reminded once. If they continue to smoke, the machine should be shut down and they should be asked to leave. Any unused balances should be settled. Don't argue with the front desk."

Zhao Peng had just picked up his teacup when he heard that smoking was also prohibited in the private room, so he put it back down.

"Chenzi, most of those guys who play games all night smoke, and they don't even let them smoke in the private rooms... The regular customers are going to leave."

"You just paid for a new chair, and you're willing to let someone burn holes in it?"

Zhao Peng turned his head towards the internet cafe, but the words of rebuttal stopped on the tip of his tongue.

He had wiped the armrests of those racing seats one by one that morning.

"And have you thought about how banning smoking would also be a huge benefit for us?" Ye Chen's expression turned serious as he continued, "Smoking itself poses a significant safety hazard. Internet cafes are full of cables, computers, and distribution boxes, which already put a heavy load on them. Many people who play games all night get drowsy and forgetful, and if a cigarette butt is carelessly placed on the floor or falls to the ground, it could ignite the carpet or cable trays, leading to a catastrophic disaster. Firefighters check every day, and if a cigarette butt causes an emergency or we are ordered to rectify the situation, our entire business will be ruined. If we ban smoking altogether, we can sleep soundly at night."

Zhao Peng shrank back upon hearing this and subconsciously nodded: "That's true... I once stayed up all night at another internet cafe, and the guy diagonally across from me got sleepy and casually dropped his cigarette butt into the sofa cushions, which immediately produced black smoke and sparks. Everyone in the room was choked awake, and we were so scared that we didn't even bother to get our deposits back before rushing out the door. It was really terrifying back then."

"Besides, the bar takes up 60 square meters, and it's stocked with coffee, milk tea, and snacks. If the girls are choked to death by secondhand smoke as soon as they walk in, who's going to get those seats?" Ye Chen's gaze swept over the two of them. "There are plenty of girls in the university town who want to go online. They're looking up information, making courseware, or playing Audition Online, watching TV dramas, or watching Korean dramas. There are plenty of them. But those shady internet cafes outside are smoky and disgusting. How many girls can stand that smell? If we can keep the environment smoke-free and the air clean, we can definitely attract all these girls."

Ye Chen paused, then looked at Zhao Peng with a smile:

"Fatty, if it were you, and there were two internet cafes on the street, one full of rough guys puffing away on cigarettes, and the other clean and tidy with tons of girls, which one would you choose?"