Chapter 19: Rapid Development

After "acquiring" eight internet cafes in the Lant District, "Chufeng Net City" became the only internet cafe in the area. With the addition of the computers from the merged cafes, the total number of computers increased to 165, and the profit doubled. This greatly alleviated the frustration of many students waiting for computers, but compared to the large number of students, it was still in short supply.

This "acquisition" action also stabilized the internet cafe prices. The indirect acquisition by "Chufeng Net City" significantly impacted other small business owners who wanted to open internet cafes. After investigating the prospects and market conditions, although there was still a market, it was difficult to compete with "Chufeng Net City." Moreover, there were no suitable storefronts available to open another large internet city in the vicinity. Therefore, in the short term, "Chufeng Net City" became the standout in the Lant District.

Lin Feng was naturally not satisfied with the current achievements. After being reborn, he would not be complacent with just a little success.

A month later, when June arrived, Lin Feng calculated the accounts. In May, due to the acquisition of other internet cafes, the profit soared from the original 105,840 yuan to 232,400 yuan. After deducting the salaries of three cashiers, cleaning staff, and network administrators, and various taxes and fees, there was still 226,500 yuan left.

The pure profit from the bar's snacks also increased to 1,500 yuan, and the biggest surprise was the automatic coffee machines. The two automatic coffee machines brought Lin Feng a total of 1,800 yuan in pure profit, with an average of 4 bags of 700 grams of Nestle coffee consumed daily. This was indeed an unexpected surprise.

Thus, "Chufeng Net City" had a final pure profit of 229,800 yuan in May.

Since the computers of the eight internet cafe owners were acquired after May 10th, Lin Feng paid each owner 480 yuan per computer. Excluding Liu Yishan's 8 computers, 72 computers in total cost 34,560 yuan, and Liu Yishan received 6,400 yuan.

After a series of calculations, Lin Feng's pure profit in May reached 188,840 yuan. Seeing this number, even Chu Zhixuan, who had been deeply engaged in the StarCraft world, was happy for several days. He even performed poorly in StarCraft, losing several matches, which damaged his reputation as the "StarCraft God."

However, Chu Zhixuan was not bothered; he was happy. Seeing this number, although he had been subsidizing for several months, the future looked bright. He could imagine that in the future, he would be counting money until his hands cramped.

Regarding Lin Feng's previous acquisition plan, Chu Zhixuan could only describe it with one word—strong! At such a young age, to have such courage, Chu Zhixuan was both amazed by the younger generation and proud of choosing the right partner.

According to the terms of the contract with Chu Zhixuan, Lin Feng used all the income to purchase more computers. He added 30 more computers, all with 17-inch monitors. With these 30 computers, "Chufeng Net City" now had a total of 195 computers. This could basically meet the needs of students in the morning, but during the afternoon and evening peak hours, it was still in short supply.

After equipping the computers, Lin Feng re-planned "Chufeng Net City." Since there was no broadband internet service in Chufeng City yet, he designated 10 computers as a dedicated "internet" area, and the remaining 185 computers were all used for gaming.

Although "Age of Empires" and "StarCraft" were the dominant games, Lin Feng also demonstrated the online multiplayer modes of "Delta Force" and "Legend of the Magician" to cater to different tastes, providing an additional choice for gamers. This served as a seasoning during the breaks between "Age of Empires" and "StarCraft."

At this time, Aunt Huang's internet cafe had 8 computers, which could support 4vs4 matches. Although the price was slightly lower, the profit remained stable due to the additional computers. This made Aunt Huang very happy, and she didn't forget to boast about Lin Feng's vision and ability to others.

However, Lin Feng was not as optimistic as Aunt Huang. Occasionally passing through the city, Lin Feng had already noticed several large internet cities under renovation. He estimated that each had over 200 computers. Although they were far from the Lant District and would not affect "Chufeng Net City's" business, they would be a disaster for the small internet cafes in the city.

Lin Feng again tried to persuade Aunt Huang to join "Chufeng Net City" as a shareholder, offering her the same treatment as Liu Yishan. However, Aunt Huang refused again, leaving Lin Feng feeling both helpless and somewhat annoyed. She refused to take the broad and bright path and insisted on walking the narrow and precarious bridge.

Aunt Huang had privately calculated that with her 8 computers, although the hourly rate was now only 2.5 yuan, her monthly gross income was 10,800 yuan. After deducting all expenses of 2,300 yuan, she still had 8,500 yuan in pure profit. Lin Feng only gave her 6,400 yuan per month, which was 2,100 yuan less. Although she could relax more and not have to guard the internet cafe all day, she could better take care of her astronomy business. If the small internet cafes were squeezed out by the large internet cities, she couldn't blame herself for not being warned. As for Huang Shuqi's university expenses, Lin Feng believed this would no longer be a problem, as his current wealth could easily cover her university education. As for Aunt Huang, he could find her a sustainable business in the future. Lin Feng believed that with his memory of the next nine years, this would be very simple.

The only thing that troubled Lin Feng was his feelings towards Huang Shuqi. After visiting "Huang Piaotian Astronomy City," he continuously praised Lin Feng for his vision and courage, calling him a role model for all the younger generation.

Regarding their praise, Lin Feng knew their underlying meaning—they hoped to become shareholders in his internet city to recover some of their losses in Yi'an Technology. Normally, this request would be reasonable, as "Chufeng Net City" was rapidly developing, and absorbing funds could accelerate its growth. However, their identity was the reason Lin Feng refused again.

Family businesses cannot be large or long-lasting. A company needs a single leader, and few family-owned businesses succeed. Lin Feng did not want his hard-earned foundation to be destroyed by internal conflicts.

Amid disappointed and resentful looks, Lin Feng sent off his relatives from both sides of his family. Lin Feng knew that for a long time, he would be the target of their criticism, but it didn't matter. If he could introduce them to a high-profit business next time, he would again be called a "role model" by them.

As "Chufeng Net City" rapidly developed, there were also some disharmonious voices.

"Damn, who did you just curse?" A sudden outburst broke the calm in the internet cafe.

"Shit, I cursed you, you idiot. What were you doing just now?" Another person stood up.

"Damn, if you have the guts, curse me again!" The first person rushed to the other, pointing at his nose and cursing.

No one would be a coward when being cursed in public, especially in front of classmates. Although the person being cursed was a bit thin, he couldn't back down or he would be laughed at. If this spread, he would lose face.

"Damn, I cursed you." The smaller one, having learned from "StarCraft" that the first to act has the advantage, punched the larger one in the face.

Naturally, a fight ensued. Fortunately, they were classmates, so it didn't escalate into a group fight, or "Chufeng Net City" would have suffered. Who would pay for the damaged items? These students? Do they have the money?

Soon, Lin Feng and Chu Zhixuan, with the help of other classmates, separated the two who were fighting.

"Alright, what are you doing? You're classmates, fighting over a game. Does that look good?" Chu Zhixuan, being older and a bit overweight, looked particularly imposing. As the famous "StarCraft God," his words carried weight.

Although the two were still glaring at each other, they finally stopped fighting.

"Alright, alright, it's fine. Everyone, continue playing!" Lin Feng quickly dispersed the crowd to prevent further trouble.

"Alright, shake hands, and let's call it a truce. You're classmates, no need to make a big deal out of it." Under the half-forced persuasion of Lin Feng and Chu Zhixuan, the two reluctantly shook hands.

"Come, I'll buy you both a can of cola. Let's cool down and consider this a new acquaintance." Lin Feng handed each of them a can of cola, putting the matter to rest.

However, this incident reminded Lin Feng that internet cafe violence was something to be wary of. Especially since the customers were mostly students, who were young and hot-tempered, and playing competitive games, it was easy for arguments to turn into fights. Today was relatively good, as it didn't escalate into a group fight, or Lin Feng would have been at a loss.

After careful consideration, Lin Feng decided to hire a few security guards. One, to prevent internet cafe violence; two, to prevent theft. Both of these issues were very troublesome and frustrating, and it was better to be prepared. Although it would be an additional expense, it would greatly benefit the future stable development.

As Lin Feng had anticipated, after hiring security guards, there were no more violent incidents in "Chufeng Net City." The presence of security guards also gave the students a sense of security, so they didn't have to worry about their phones being stolen.

Just as Lin Feng was relieved, trouble came again.

"Who is the owner here?" Several uniformed police officers walked in.

"Uh, I am. Is there something wrong?" Lin Feng frowned, unsure what had happened.

The leading police officer looked around, seemingly disbelieving that the owner of "Chufeng Net City" could be so young. Lin Feng could only smile helplessly; in China, the saying "a young mouth, a weak hand" still held true.

"I heard there was a fight here a few days ago!" The leading police officer looked around and said.

"Hehe, thank you for your concern. It was just a minor argument between two classmates, and it was quickly resolved." Lin Feng smiled, but he felt something was off.

"En, that's good. You have such a large internet cafe, you need to be careful about violent incidents." The leading police officer walked around and then said, "I also heard there was a theft incident?"

"Hehe, thank you for your concern. It did happen, but after we hired security guards, it hasn't happened again." Lin Feng felt there was something more to the leading police officer's words.

"Come, since you are the owner, this is easier to discuss. This is a notice from the Lant District police station." The leading police officer took out a piece of paper from his briefcase.

Lin Feng's face immediately turned green when he saw it.

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