Chapter 9 of 10

Chapter 9

14 min read3,384 words

Qin Feng had only heard of people who had been reborn showing off, but never of them being outshone. Especially Xu Guoqing’s display of arrogance was so overwhelming, so smooth, and so reasonable, which left Qin Feng momentarily at a loss. However, Qin Feng had seen a bit of the world. He had occasionally accompanied his boss to dinners and met many billionaires, so after a brief moment of distraction, he quickly regained his composure.

He smiled slightly, as if nothing had happened, and turned to leave: "Bosses, take your time. I’ll go wash the dishes."

"Wait a moment!"

"Hold on!"

"Don’t go!"

"Stay!"

Four voices rang out. These four brothers, indeed, were from the same parents.

Qin Feng decisively stopped, turned around, and asked with a smile, "Bosses, is there anything else you need?"

"You haven’t even explained clearly. Why are you leaving?" Xu Guoqing slammed the table, his expression fierce.

Qin Feng looked innocent and said, "Boss, I’m just a waiter. What I told you earlier, I read it all online. I was just bullshitting with you."

"No, you did a good job of bullshitting. I haven’t heard any of what you said before!" The third brother flicked the ash from his cigarette and pointed to a chair. "Sit down and continue. I want to hear more. I’m too lazy to look it up online. Damn, I haven’t even learned how to type yet."

Qin Feng actually believed what the third brother said.

By the end of 2003, although the internet had become quite widespread, there was still a large group of people who were unwilling to actively engage with this new thing. The boss class in Dongou City, in particular, preferred to spend their time on eating, drinking, and entertainment. Online games were seen as low-end products, and playing them was considered a waste of time.

In this context, among the social elites like university professors, high-ranking officials, and wealthy bosses, there were many who couldn’t type or didn’t like going online.

Qin Feng regretted speaking up. He had thought it would just be a casual discussion with four drunkards, a way to vent some memories from his past life. But now, it felt like he was in a bit of a bind.

Under the gaze of the four bosses, Qin Feng reluctantly sat back down, sighed, and said slowly, "Bosses, have you heard of Ma Xiaoyun? He’s from our Qujiang Province, but he’s from Qiantang. Ma Xiaoyun was one of the earliest to start this industry. He has already completed at least two rounds of financing, raising over 25 million US dollars. He has already expanded his business and captured the main market. You’re starting now, it’s too late..."

"25 million US dollars..." Xu Guoqing frowned deeply and asked in a serious tone, "That’s a commercial secret, right? Where did you see this?"

"Online," Qin Feng replied, then quickly explained, "People like Ma Xiaoyun, who are in the internet industry, publish every step of their company’s development, especially good news like financing. They want the market to know, to increase brand awareness and provide market confidence."

"Haha, brand awareness, market confidence, the way you talk is just like those professors at Dongou University!" Xu Guoqing looked at Qin Feng, his smile seeming quite strange.

Qin Feng learned his lesson this time and humbly said, "Boss, what I read online was written by these experts and scholars. When I memorized it, it naturally sounded like what they said."

Xu Guoqing nodded and asked, "Is there anything online about what to do after the market has been squeezed by that cloud company?"

Qin Feng immediately pretended not to know: "Boss, how would I know? I’m just a waiter!"

The four men exchanged glances. Seeing Qin Feng act dumb, Xu Guoqing knew he wouldn’t get anything more out of him. He waved his hand irritably and said, "Forget it, go back to work."

Qin Feng responded and left immediately.

After Qin Feng left, Xu Guohe, whom Qin Feng had temporarily identified as the second brother and who indeed was the second brother, said to Xu Guoqing, "Brother, what that kid said was quite interesting."

"Yes, it was indeed interesting," Xu Guoqing stubbed out his cigarette and said seriously, "Those old professors at Dongou University talk about corporate management strategies all day, but they never mentioned e-commerce. A bunch of old fossils. That cloud company has already raised 25 million US dollars, and we haven’t even heard of it. How can they be called economics professors with such poor information? I’ll go ask them tomorrow and see if they can match what that kid said today."

The fourth brother, Xu Guoliang, laughed and said, "I think that kid is a little smart aleck. I don’t even know where he’s from."

Qin Feng had spoken in Mandarin throughout his conversation with the four men, not in the local Dongou dialect. His Mandarin was standard, with no trace of the Dongou accent. So when Xu Guoliang asked this, the reactions of his three older brothers were consistent.

"Probably from out of town."

"He’s probably not from here."

"If he were a local kid, would his family let him work here with such smarts?"

"You’re right," Xu Guoliang nodded and said to Xu Guoqing, "Brother, I think you should focus on cultivating this kid. Send him to school in the future. Even if he can’t be a manager, he can be a salesperson. His mouth and his face, it would be a waste if he didn’t become a salesperson."

"You’re right, I think so too," Xu Guoqing smiled, his fierce face showing a satisfied grin.

After leaving Xu Guoqing’s private room, Qin Feng was immediately summoned to the kitchen.

There were too many guests tonight, so he had to work overtime to wash all the dishes and utensils before he could go home.

Taking off his waiter’s vest and suit, and changing into a white kitchen uniform, Qin Feng followed a group of nominal "senior brothers" and washed dishes from 12:30 AM until 3:30 AM.

By the time the hotel closed, when Qin Feng walked home, there were already the figures of sanitation workers on the streets.

Walking on the empty and quiet road, Qin Feng’s thoughts drifted a bit.

Meeting the four Xu brothers today was a pleasant surprise.

When the third brother asked him what to do next, Qin Feng had wanted to answer. Given the current time and the substantial capital of Qingqing Building, they could have taken a bite out of Liu Dongqiang’s business. That way, he might have had a chance to interact with the milk tea girl.

Thinking about this, Qin Feng couldn’t help but let out a rather lecherous laugh, but he quickly quieted down.

"Boring..." He shook his head.

After being reborn for over half a month, Qin Feng had come to understand many things.

In life, the most important things are freedom and happiness. To live a free and happy life in China, the threshold is probably a net savings of 10 million RMB.

Qin Feng hoped to achieve this goal before the age of 35. Then he would marry a beautiful and obedient wife, have a daughter and a son, and keep a silly cat and a cheap dog. If possible, he would also help his father find a reliable partner.

A happy family, and a small shop or company to run, would be enough for a stable and peaceful life.

As for grand business strategies and national layouts, they had nothing to do with him. Even as a reborn person, he was just an ordinary person with a slightly more forward-looking perspective of 10 years.

Qin Feng had every reason to believe that at this very moment, there were already thousands of people across the country focusing on the future, 10 or even 20 years ahead. Compared to those extremely smart and resourceful people, he was truly nothing.

However, if the Xu brothers were willing to hire him for 1 million RMB, Qin Feng would be happy to compete with those giants in the business world. But realistically, with his current identity as a high school dropout, if a boss were to offer him a million RMB salary just because of his ramblings, that boss would either be crazy or a fool. Given Xu Guoqing’s shrewdness, he wouldn’t do such a foolish thing.

"So what I said tonight was actually useless..." Qin Feng muttered to himself, feeling that he had wasted a lot of saliva.

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