Chapter 117: Congratulations, President Chen

“No, serve two portions of each of these dishes.”

Chen Mo answered without the slightest hesitation.

The hotel manager nearly dropped the menu in his hands when he heard that. These dishes were all signature items—none of them cheap!

Thinking of this,
he quickly grabbed a calculator and did some math. He was worried that this boss might not realize how much he was about to spend.

“President Chen, if you want two portions, that’s eleven tables of food, which comes out to over 260,000 yuan. But considering your large order, we can offer you a 5% discount. That brings the total down to around 240,000.”

Only 240,000?

Chen Mo frowned slightly. As for the so-called discount the hotel owner offered, he didn’t even care.

But he couldn’t very well say “No need for a discount” outright—that’d make him look foolish.

Better to have Li Shen and Wei Yan order the dishes next time. Yeah, that could work.

Chen Mo thought with amusement. Of course, the main reason he didn’t care about the discount was that the total spending was already high enough. Whether he got a discount or not didn’t make a critical difference.

The hotel manager saw President Chen frown and felt relieved—good thing he hadn’t notified the kitchen to start cooking yet.

Judging by the frown, the price clearly exceeded the budget.

“Can I see the menu again?”

“Of course!”

The hotel manager quickly handed the menu back, thinking, Is he going to reorder?

Sure enough, Chen Mo pointed at a few more items on the menu.

“Alright, add these dishes too.”

“Ah!”

The hotel manager was caught off guard.

“Uh… the dishes you ordered earlier—do you still want them?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I?”

Chen Mo gave the manager a strange look—If I don’t order them, how am I supposed to spend the money?

He had just calculated that with the new additions, the total would come to around 300,000.

Watching the hotel manager leave with delight written all over his face, Chen Mo felt thoroughly satisfied as he headed to a banquet hall on the sixth floor.

As time passed,
employees from both Cangxue Games and the clothing factory had mostly arrived.

Waiters began pushing in carts and serving dishes. Seeing the lavish food spread, the veteran employees weren’t too surprised—they’d already guessed as much beforehand.

Only the newer Cangxue Games employees, who hadn’t attended a company banquet before, wore expressions of utter shock.

Xu Yuan stared at the luxurious table full of gourmet delicacies, too stunned to speak. He’d never even dared to try dining at a five-star hotel before—too expensive.

And now, thanks to the company celebration, he not only got to eat at one, but the dishes were top-tier.

It felt like a dream.

Working at a company like this—what a blessing.

As more dishes arrived, the banquet hall gradually became lively.

Chen Mo didn’t sit with Li Shen and the other core members this time—those guys could drink like fish, and that just made him look bad.

But just as he had eaten a few bites, he spotted Fang Chang, Wei Yan, and Zhao Bowen heading his way.

Chen Mo immediately grew wary. Are these guys coming over to toast me?

They soon arrived and greeted him in unison.

“Congratulations, President Chen!”

Congratulations?

On what?

Chen Mo was completely confused. Something felt off.

“Manager Fang, why don’t you explain?”
Wei Yan gave Fang Chang a little push.

Fang Chang didn’t refuse. Clearing his throat, he began:

“President Chen, Tianlong Game has truly come back from the dead this time.”

“Didn’t it already come back before?”
Chen Mo asked, puzzled.

“Well, yes, but before, Tianlong had revived, but the income wasn’t stable. Yesterday, you asked us to remove those expensive VIP gear sets and replace them with a monthly pass system.”

“This change has been a massive success. From last night to this afternoon, we’ve already made over 300,000 yuan—and the number is still growing.”

“What’s more important is, this income is stable. Unlike before, we’re no longer relying on whales to recharge huge amounts.”

Fang Chang was visibly excited.

Chen Mo, however, was seeing black. All he could think about was that “300,000 yuan in revenue.”

He had clearly removed all the pay-to-win items—so where was all this income coming from?

What the hell was going on?

Could they have made a mistake?

He looked up at Fang Chang.

“What exactly is happening? Wasn’t the monthly card system the only thing left that required payment? How could revenue be this high?”

“President Chen, the income came from those three types of cards. It’s all thanks to your foresight. You knew relying on whales wasn’t sustainable, so you removed all the expensive gear and replaced them with affordable monthly, weekly, and daily cards. That made it affordable for average players too.”

“According to the Tianlong backend data today, over 20,000 people have bought all three cards.”

Fang Chang was practically glowing with excitement.

Hearing this explanation, the tiny shred of hope Chen Mo had vanished completely.

Tianlong really had earned another 300,000.

Watching the three men beam with joy in front of him, Chen Mo weakly waved his hand.

“Got it. You can go now.”

The three obediently turned and left.

On their way out, Fang Chang asked in confusion:

“President Chen didn’t seem all that happy…”

Wei Yan shook his head.

“You don’t get it. President Chen is just keeping his emotions in check. As a true boss, he wouldn’t let us see how he really feels.”

“He only looked unhappy so we wouldn’t get too complacent. Inside, he’s definitely thrilled.”

“Ohh, I see! You really understand President Chen!”
Fang Chang looked enlightened.

Once they left, Chen Mo sat silently in his chair.

He had just spent 300,000, and now he suddenly had another 300,000 in revenue.

Why was this money so hard to get rid of?

“President Chen, are you alright?”

Shen Rou noticed something off about his expression and asked with concern.

“I’m fine. Come with me to find the hotel manager.”

Chen Mo waved his hand and stood up to leave the banquet hall. Since he suddenly had an extra 300,000 in system funds, he needed to figure out how to spend it again.

“Okay!”

Shen Rou nodded and followed him out.

……

“President Chen, is there a problem?”

The hotel manager asked cautiously when Chen Mo returned. This was a major client—he had to be treated with the utmost care.

“No problem. Just give me the menu again—I’d like to take another look.”

“Of course. One moment, please.”

Very quickly,
the manager brought over the menu again.

Chen Mo took it and flipped through, looking for more places he could spend money.

Soon,
his gaze landed on the wine list.

A bottle of red wine costs 1,000 yuan? That’s way more ‘efficient’ than those 10-yuan beers.