Chapter 356
Chen Mo leaned back comfortably in the rear seat. As far as the movie was concerned, there was nothing to worry about.
Now it was just a matter of waiting for the film to hit theaters, flop at the box office, and end up being labeled a total failure.
But that was only the first step in losing money.
Once this movie wrapped, preparations for the second one would begin immediately.
The path to losing money must not be interrupted.
Watching the scenery blur past the car window, Chen Mo smiled faintly.
Now that the film crew inspection was complete, all that remained was to check on Nanhe Coffee in Beijing.
But he wasn’t particularly concerned about Nanhe Coffee.
After all, it had been running at a loss for so long. Even after getting a bit of online influencer promotion, it still hadn’t turned a profit.
The next day,
Chen Mo spoke with his assistant over the phone to go over the day’s schedule, then left the hotel.
Using his phone’s GPS, he located a nearby Nanhe Coffee.
About half an hour later,
a black G-Wagen slowly pulled up to the curb, and Chen Mo stepped out.
Soon,
he spotted the Nanhe Coffee storefront in the distance.
As he walked closer, Chen Mo’s brows began to furrow.
Something felt off.
He had already inspected the Nanhe Coffee in Jiangcheng. Even when there were customers inside, they were few and far between—one or two at most.
But the scene in front of him now was completely different.
In the short time it took him to walk from the car to the store, two customers had already exited, each carrying a clearly packaged coffee.
They were even taking selfies with their drinks.
At the same time, another customer walked into the store.
No, this definitely wasn’t what a struggling, money-losing store should look like.
Chen Mo quickened his pace. When he got close enough to clearly see inside the store, his frown deepened.
The place wasn’t sparsely populated at all.
The number of customers inside was already at a normal business level. While the store wasn’t packed, at least a third of the seats were occupied.
Why was this happening?
He had reviewed the data on Nanhe Coffee’s Beijing locations. Due to the higher local spending power, their foot traffic was indeed better than Jiangcheng’s.
But it had never reached this level.
Something must have changed—something he wasn’t aware of. But what kind of change could cause such a significant increase in customer flow?
A trace of doubt flashed through Chen Mo’s mind. But as he reached the entrance of the coffee shop,
he immediately understood the reason.
There, right at the entrance, stood a promotional sign.
The shop was advertising a new Pastry Combo.
【59.9 Combo】: One Americano worth 50 yuan, plus two pastries.
【79.9 Combo】: One Americano worth 50 yuan, plus a pastry platter.
Each combo was accompanied by a photo of the set.
Chen Mo stared at the sign in silence for a long time.
A thought crossed his mind.
Nanhe Coffee is done for.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.
Maybe it was just this one store doing it. Maybe it hadn’t been rolled out chain-wide yet.
If that were the case, he could still find a reason to shut the Pastry Combo down before it spread to the other locations.
He stepped into the store.
“Welcome!” the staff greeted him warmly.
Chen Mo gave a slight nod.
“Call your store manager,” he said, then found an empty seat and sat down.
Not long after,
a woman in formal attire walked over, wondering who had asked for her.
But the moment she saw his face, she froze in place.
Then, quickly and respectfully, she said, “Hello, President Chen!”
Chen Mo looked up at her and replied coolly, “You recognize me?”
“I’ve seen your photo before, President Chen.”
“Mm. Sit down. I have some questions.”
“Yes, of course. Please ask, President Chen.”
The manager sat respectfully across from him.
Chen Mo didn’t bother with small talk.
“The Pastry Combo outside—was that your idea?”
“No, it was a directive from headquarters,” she replied quickly.
Chen Mo’s heart sank. A bad feeling was growing stronger.
“So, the Pastry Combo has already been implemented in other stores too?”
“Yes, President Chen. Didn’t you know? It was rolled out before the Dragon Boat Festival holiday.”
She sounded confused, but quickly realized her mistake.
After all, President Chen was the head of the entire group. He must be incredibly busy. How could he possibly keep track of every minor change in a subsidiary?
Before the Dragon Boat Festival?
Now that he had a definite answer,
Chen Mo knew it was too late to reverse things. The Pastry Combo had already been launched across all stores.
And judging by the customer flow in this location,
the other stores were definitely seeing increased traffic as well.
This alone was enough to prove that the Pastry Combo reform was a positive move and beneficial for Coffee Shop.
So if he wanted to cancel the Pastry Combo, the system definitely wouldn’t allow it.
Taking a deep breath, he looked at the store manager with a sliver of hope.
“How’s the store doing financially? Is it turning a profit?”
“President Chen, the store hasn’t reached profitability yet, but over the past few days, we’ve basically maintained a break-even point. Occasionally there’s a small loss, but nothing major.”
“But don’t worry, President Chen. We’re doing our best to run the place well and make Coffee Shop profitable.”
The manager sat across from him, full of confidence.
Chen Mo looked at the manager’s confident expression and clenched his teeth silently.
Never mind whether it would turn a profit in the future—just breaking even right now already meant he was making money.
Was the business he had pinned his hopes on to lose money really about to fall apart like this?
Chen Mo couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on. If they were already breaking even, what would happen when they actually started making a profit?
He didn’t even want to think about it.
In this mood, he had no desire to continue chatting with the manager across from him.
He exchanged a few brief words, then left Nanhe Coffee.
Back in the car, he immediately instructed Yang Dahai to drive back to Jiangcheng.
Originally, he had planned to stay a few more days in Beijing, maybe visit some tourist spots and enjoy himself a little. After all, it wasn’t often he got the chance to travel.
But now, with the situation at Nanhe Coffee, he had completely lost the mood to have fun.
All he wanted was to return to Jiangcheng as soon as possible and see how things were going over there.
After all, the Pastry Combo had already been implemented in all Coffee Shop locations. But since Jiangcheng had a lower average spending level, maybe the situation there wasn’t as bad as he feared.
If that was the case, then there was still hope.
For example, the next Coffee Shop could be opened somewhere with a lower cost of living, instead of a high-consumption city like Beijing.