When the meal was over, most of the underlings dispersed, but Chu Chen kept about a dozen core members behind.
"Let's go, time to sing!" Chu Chen gave a wave of his hand and led the way out of the private room.
The underlings let out a cheer and hurried to follow.
The group swaggered over to Cloud Palace, a notorious club in Yanjing that offered both traditional and wild entertainment.
The manager of Cloud Palace spotted Chu Chen the moment they arrived, nodding and bowing as he rushed over. "Brother Chen, you're here?"
Chu Chen gave a slight nod. "Is the 888 room open? Have all the drinks and snacks ready."
"It's reserved for you, Brother Chen! Right this way, please!" The manager eagerly ushered them inside, soon summoning the madam who was well-acquainted with Chu Chen.
As soon as Chu Chen sat down, the mature and alluring madam hurried over, wrapping her arm around Chu Chen's and pressing it against her chest as she spoke in a coy voice: "Brother Chen, it's been a while since you came by. We've got a lot of fresh girls lately, should I bring over a few for you to look at?"
Chu Chen patted her arm. "Let's talk about that later. My brothers and I have some business to discuss first."
The madam knew how to read the room. "Then I'll come and open the drinks for you."
She popped several bottles of alcohol, filled everyone's glasses, and went around to toast each of them before leaving the private room and thoughtfully closing the door behind her.
The underlings had thought they were just coming to relax, not expecting actual business, and instantly gathered around Chu Chen.
"Boss, what's this about? Just say the word!" Zhou Hongbiao patted his chest. "We're all listening!"
Chu Chen waved a hand and poured himself another glass of wine. "There's just something I want to discuss with you guys."
He picked up his glass and swirled it, watching the amber liquid form white foam in the transparent crystal: "I said today that I'm going to make you guys a lot of money, so first of all, I plan on having you all deliver food."
"Deliver food?" The underlings stared at him in blank amazement.
"Boss, you've got to be kidding," one of the underlings blurted out. "We're street guys. Delivering takeout, that's just..."
"Too humiliating, you mean?" Chu Chen finished his sentence.
The underling didn't dare answer, but the expression on his face said it all.
"Is collecting protection money not humiliating?" Chu Chen retorted. "What we're doing is making an honest living. What's humiliating about that?"
The underlings fell silent.
"We might have been thugs in the past, but things are different now. We're going to build a legitimate business!" Chu Chen swept his gaze around the room, his expression resolute. "What's wrong with delivering food? Delivering food is making an honest living with your own two hands—no stealing, no robbing. What's there to be ashamed of?"
"The boss is right!" Zhou Hongbiao was the first to react. "We just need to listen to the boss. Would the boss ever lead us astray?"
"That's right, Boss! Tell us what to do, and we'll do it!" The other underlings chimed in.
Chu Chen nodded in satisfaction. He knew these underlings were loyal; once he convinced them, they would follow him without looking back.
"Can you really make money delivering food?" one underling asked, still somewhat uneasy.
"Of course!" Chu Chen's tone was full of confidence. "With so many universities in University Town and all those people on campus, just how much demand is there every day? Think about it, with all these people ordering takeout, how much money can we make?"
The underlings felt their blood start to pump as Chu Chen laid it out.
"Boss, just tell us what we need to do," Zhou Hongbiao said.
"I've already thought it through," Chu Chen said. "Tomorrow, get all the available guys together and go talk to the restaurants and diners around University Town. Tell them we can handle their food deliveries."
"What about the fee structure?" an underling asked eagerly.
Chu Chen appreciated that he caught on so quickly. "I've already planned all of that out. I'll send the fee rates to everyone later, and you can use those when negotiating with the bosses."
"Got it!" the underlings chorused excitedly.
"Also, Biaozi, tally up the class schedules for all your guys, then figure out who has the most free time and assign shifts. Make sure we have at least ten guys on standby during off-peak hours, and at least a hundred during meal times." Chu Chen continued giving instructions.
"Don't worry, Boss, I'll get it done!" Zhou Hongbiao promised, slapping his chest.
Chu Chen nodded. He knew Zhou Hongbiao was his right-hand man, and he felt entirely comfortable leaving this task to him.
"Our goal isn't just as simple as delivering food!" Chu Chen picked up his glass, ambition flashing in his eyes.
"Boss, you mean..." Zhou Hongbiao vaguely sensed that Chu Chen's ambitions went far beyond this.
"Don't look down on food delivery. Right now we're doing the deliveries ourselves, but in the future, we'll have plenty of people working for us!" Chu Chen said firmly, as if he could already foresee their glorious future.
The underlings were infected by Chu Chen's grand ambition, their eyes bright.
"We're going to integrate all the delivery resources in University Town and build a massive delivery network covering the entire city!" A gleam flickered in Chu Chen's eyes as well, as if he could already see countless delivery couriers shuttling through the streets and alleys of the city.
"Boss, is... is that even possible?" an underling asked in disbelief.
"Where there's a will, there's a way! As long as we brothers stick together, nothing is impossible!" Chu Chen said with absolute certainty.
After all, these were things that had happened in his past life; he was merely retracing the path of a successful man.
"The boss is right! We can definitely do it!" Fired up by Chu Chen's passion, the underlings raised their glasses and shouted their agreement.
Chu Chen looked at his underlings with satisfaction. He knew that as long as they remained united, they would surely forge their own glory.
"Come on, brothers, cheers to our shared dream!" Chu Chen raised his glass high, speaking with bold heroic spirit.
"Cheers!" The underlings raised their glasses as well and drained them in one go.
Once everyone finished drinking, Chu Chen pulled up a spreadsheet on his phone and handed it to Zhou Hongbiao. "This is a preliminary plan I put together. Take it back and study it carefully."
Zhou Hongbiao took the phone and glanced at it, his face filled with shock. "Boss, this is way too professional!"
The spreadsheet was densely packed with various data and analyses, showing at a glance that it had been meticulously prepared.
"I just figured it all out over the past few days," Chu Chen said casually, as if it were merely a trivial matter.
"Boss, you're amazing!" The underlings cast looks of utter adoration his way.
Chu Chen waved a hand. "That's about it for the business talk. Biaozi, go tell the madam to send in the hostesses!"
A lewd grin spread across Zhou Hongbiao's face as he immediately hurried out to find the attendants.
Before long, the madam from earlier returned with over twenty young and pretty girls. "Move on in, everyone! Let the big bosses take a good pick!"
With that, she plopped right down next to Chu Chen. "Take your time choosing, Brother Chen. If you don't like any of them, I'll swap them out for another batch."
Chu Chen nodded and gestured to his underlings. "Pick whoever you want, my treat today!"
"Thank you, Big Brother!" The underlings instantly lit up, rubbing their hands together in eager anticipation.
Soon, led by Zhou Hongbiao's example, everyone had picked a girl who caught their eye.
Blondie winked suggestively at Chu Chen. "Big Brother, aren't you getting one? You can't just have the madam keep you company, can you?"
"What, you little brat itching for a beating?" Chu Chen feigned a punch at him.
"Hehe, I'm just looking out for you!" Blondie ducked away while grinning impudently.
"Get lost! I'm not interested in this stuff," Chu Chen scolded with a laugh.
Blondie's tone grew even more suggestive. "Big Brother, you wouldn't be trying to keep yourself pure for Bai Muyao, would you?"