novelraw Chapter 83 : Two Matters
Chapter 83 : Two Matters
Chapter 83: Two Matters
"What business?"
Seeing everyone's eyes on him, Chen Fan was silent for two seconds before speaking slowly.
"Compared to everyone else, I am the most recent newcomer to this trade."
"Opening an internet cafe on this street, we can be considered colleagues in the same business."
"As the saying goes, 'Those in the same trade are enemies,' but I don't think this applies too much to us..."
Someone on the scene snorted derisively.
"Mr. Chen's words seem a bit too absolute."
The one laughing was the owner of another internet cafe.
"At least my internet cafe has lost a lot of customers since the Starry Sky internet cafe opened."
Others around also nodded in agreement.
Then the owner of Lanjisu, that middle-aged man, spoke up again.
"Old Sun, don't be so hasty. Let Mr. Chen finish his words."
He looked towards Chen Fan.
"Mr. Chen, please continue."
Chen Fan nodded to him, then continued speaking.
"Perhaps everyone feels that what I just said was nonsense, but actually I have a theoretical basis for saying this."
"Eighty percent of the customer base for the internet cafes on this street comes from Yunhai University."
"Even if only one-tenth of the students from Yunhai University go out to surf the internet every day, the few of us internet cafes cannot accommodate that many customers."
"My Starry Sky internet cafe has just opened, and business is good now. But fundamentally, my internet cafe only has less than a hundred seats."
"Even if it's full every day, that's only occupying a hundred customers, while the remaining majority of customers can be distributed to the other internet cafes."
"Everyone doesn't deny this point, right?"
The six owners present fell silent.
Obviously, what Chen Fan said made sense.
"I admit that part of the reason for everyone's customer loss is due to the impact of my Starry Sky internet cafe, but the bigger reason is actually due to aging equipment, computer problems, service problems at your internet cafes..."
At this point, someone could no longer hold back.
"Are you saying that the loss of customers is our own fault?"
Chen Fan said indifferently, "At least part of it is your own fault."
Hearing this, someone could no longer tolerate it and was about to retort.
Chen Fan didn't give the other party a chance to open their mouth, directly cutting in first.
"The cooperation I want with everyone is that I can help upgrade your internet cafe configurations for free."
"Additionally, I can also give you all a free gift."
As he spoke, Chen Fan reached into his pocket and took out a floppy disk, handing it to Luo Wenjie beside him.
Luo Wenjie stood up and walked to the side, inserting the floppy disk into a nearby computer.
Soon, an image appeared on the large screen in front of everyone.
Chen Fan introduced, "Some of you have visited my Starry Sky internet cafe for observation, while others haven't been there yet."
"Our internet cafe is currently using an intelligent management system."
"I believe this system is not unfamiliar to everyone, and some owners may even be using it in their own internet cafes."
"However, the intelligent system I'm introducing to you is superior to any system available on the market."
"Because this system was developed by me."
"Not only can it easily manage every computer in the internet cafe, but it can also perform various other functions."
"Such as member registration management, member top-up, equipment maintenance, computer usage billing statistics, queries, log-off billing, blacklist management, statistical reports, and so on..."
As Chen Fan introduced these features, he also demonstrated the operations on screen.
The group of owners, originally filled with hostility, were now all focused intently on watching the screen.
Someone even directly stood up, curiously moving closer to get a better look.
"Tsk tsk, I have to say, this system of yours is more convenient and efficient than the management system my internet cafe is currently using."
The owner of the Lanjisu internet cafe clicked his tongue in admiration.
Chen Fan took the opportunity to ask, "Then may I ask, how much did you pay for the system your internet cafe is currently using?"
This middle-aged owner hesitated, then said, "The internet cafe management and billing system I'm using now, I had to pull some strings to get, and even so, it still cost me a few thousand yuan, with annual fees on top of that."
Chen Fan looked towards the other few owners.
"I assume it's about the same for all of you, right?"
The few owners fell silent, clearly struck by Chen Fan's accurate guess.
At this point, the owner who spoke earlier could no longer hold back.
"Mr. Chen, what exactly do you mean?"
"Are you calling us here to promote this system of yours?"
Chen Fan smiled.
"Since I said it's a gift, it's naturally free for everyone. There won't be any fees."
Hearing this, all six owners were dumbfounded.
"Give it to us?"
"You really won't charge us a single cent?"
Chen Fan nodded.
"That's right. This is equivalent to a gift from me upon our first meeting."
The six people had varying expressions, some excited, some surprised.
At this point, the owner of the Lanjisu internet cafe couldn't help but stare at Chen Fan and ask.
"Mr. Chen, there must be other conditions, right?"
"You mentioned earlier about calling us here for two matters?"
"What's the second matter?"
Chen Fan smiled.
"The second matter, I think everyone will definitely be more interested in."
Chen Fan looked at everyone and said slowly.
"You should have noticed that there are a total of eight internet cafes on this street."
"Yet only seven owners are present today, with Zhang Xiaojun from Huiteng internet cafe being the one absent."
"From what I know, to open an internet cafe on this street, you need to pay protection fees to the owner Zhang Xiaojun. Am I correct?"
As these words came out, the expressions of the six owners present immediately became a bit awkward.
Chen Fan smiled.
"Everyone, don't be tense. I'm not mocking you."
"My internet cafe just opened, and I only learned about this matter recently too."
"Zhang Xiaojun previously contacted me as well, directly pointing out this issue."
"However, I'm someone who doesn't like being threatened."
"So I didn't agree to his demands."
Hearing this, the few people looked at Chen Fan with surprised expressions.
"You rejected his conditions?"
"Mr. Chen, did you have a falling out with Zhang Xiaojun?"
Chen Fan said indifferently, "I run my business properly, why should I pay him protection fees?"
"Not only will I not pay, but I also hope everyone can join me in resisting this injustice."
"The money we earn, why should we give it to him?"
The six owners present had flickering expressions, their gazes differing.
The owner of the Lanjisu internet cafe let out a wry laugh.
"Mr. Chen, I admire your courage."
"But you may not know, this Zhang Xiaojun is a hooligan."
"If you don't listen to him, he'll keep finding trouble for you later, and by then, you won't be able to do business anymore."
With one person bringing up this matter, others followed and began to complain.
"Sigh, when my internet cafe first opened, I was just like Mr. Chen, rejecting his demands."
"But then what happened? People came to cause trouble every day."
"The internet cafe couldn't operate normally."
"And Mr. Chen, you may not know, this Zhang Xiaojun has a brother-in-law working in the fire department."
"All it takes is a word from him, and they'll come to inspect the fire safety at your internet cafe every few days."
"Then they can simply say your internet cafe fails fire safety, and order it to close for renovations. Just one closure could last a month."
"A few of those, and your internet cafe will be ruined..."
"Moreover, Zhang Xiaojun is a hooligan, and he has too many despicable tricks."
"Who would say otherwise? My internet cafe almost got shut down by him back then..."
The few people opened the floodgates, one sentence after another, turning it into a complaints session.
In the end, they couldn't help but criticize Chen Fan for being too young and completely unaware of the ins and outs here.
Going head-to-head against such a person would only lead to no good outcome.
Chen Fan sat in his seat, waiting until everyone had said their piece.
Then he slowly spoke.
"I can also hear that everyone has a bellyful of grievances against this Zhang Xiaojun, but you all dare to be angry, not dare to speak out..."
"Today, I gathered everyone here to ask one question."
"Everyone, do you have the courage to unite with me against this injustice?"
With that one sentence, the scene fell silent.