That evening, Luo Ben and I arrived at the bar early, while CC was delayed because she needed to manage the “Kongcheng Li” restaurant and would come later.
The bar was still nearly empty, without even music playing. Luo Ben and I sat in a quiet corner, discussing the future operation of the bar.
We each lit a cigarette, and Luo Ben said to me, “Zhaoyang, do you think we should hire more external liaison staff and grant more people the authority to offer free drinks to boost business?”
After thinking for a moment, I replied, “Such measures won’t fundamentally solve the operational issues of the bar. Moreover, offering many free drinks will increase our costs. It’s too risky without a stable consumer base. Additionally, customers brought in by external liaisons often have low consumption loyalty. Without a clear business identity for the bar, it’s difficult to encourage repeat visits. Therefore, our top priority is to establish a clear business direction for the bar.”
Luo Ben nodded and said, “You understand this better than I do. I’ll follow your lead.”
“Mm,” I responded, then fell into thought.
At that moment, I had many ideas about operations, but they all required significant capital investment. Given our current limited funds, I dared not take the risk.
I felt a headache coming on, realizing how complicated this was. Even if I had sufficient funds to implement these ideas, I still wouldn’t be very confident, considering the poor external marketing environment!
Feeling at a loss, I looked at the bar’s current business situation helplessly. It was already 8 PM, yet there were barely ten customers in the large bar—it was truly disheartening. Luo Ben had already lost the desire to go on stage to sing and just sat across from me smoking.
Almost 9 o’clock, CC hurried to where Luo Ben and I were sitting, carrying her handbag. She glanced around the bar and immediately showed disappointment on her face.
“Zhaoyang, can this bar still be saved?… If things continue like this, we really can’t afford the losses anymore!” CC sighed sadly.
I lacked confidence but still comforted her, saying, “Don’t worry, we’ll find a way.”
“Then you’d better hurry up and figure something out. When Leyao comes back, we need to give her a surprise and an explanation.” CC said as she sat down beside Luo Ben.
I nodded and once again looked around the bar. Seeing its high-end decoration but only a few customers, I felt frustrated again.
An hour quickly passed. The number of customers in the bar decreased further. The bartender at the counter yawned repeatedly out of boredom, and CC had already fallen asleep on the table.
Helplessly, I lit a cigarette for myself but still couldn’t come up with any cost-effective business ideas.
Suddenly, there was a commotion at the entrance. More than 30 people entered the bar one after another. Leading the group was a well-dressed man in a suit who looked quite imposing—clearly a company executive. The people following him were also dressed formally, as if they had just finished working overtime.
The man resembling an executive spoke to the bartender, who seemed unable to handle the situation and called me over.
Approaching the man, I asked, “Hello, may I help you with anything?”
Looking disappointed, the man asked me, “Is the beautiful singer who sang here yesterday not coming today?”
I was momentarily taken aback, realizing he was referring to Mi Cai. I shook my head and said, “Sorry, she isn’t a regular singer here. She’s a friend of ours; she just came to sing for fun yesterday.”
The man’s disappointment deepened. After a pause, he said, “Sigh!… The bars in Suzhou lack distinctive features. Each one is louder and more chaotic than the last, and few have genuinely talented performers. For us social elites, after a long day of intense work, being able to quietly listen to her sing a song is a real pleasure—it helps relieve the tension of the day and even benefits our sleep… Sigh, what a pity…”
As soon as the man finished speaking, someone from behind him asked, “Boss Bai, you said today after overtime we’d come to the bar to relax and that there’d be a beautiful singer. We haven’t even seen a shadow of her—don’t tell us you’re just pulling our legs?”
Embarrassed by the others’ comments, the man quickly pulled me aside, took out a wad of money from his bag, and negotiated with me, “Brother, can you call your friend to come here and sing a few songs for us? Money isn’t an issue. If you help me out with this, all our company gatherings will be held here at your bar. How about that?”
I looked hesitant, so the man hurriedly pulled out about a thousand yuan and handed it to me, saying, “Brother, no matter what, I’ve already brought everyone here. Please let her come and sing a few songs. These are all our company executives. You really must help me save face in front of them.”
I was both amused and frustrated. I wondered whether he would still think this was a matter of money if I told him that Mi Cai, who had sung at the bar yesterday, was actually the general manager of Zhuo Mei Shopping Center.
CC had somehow appeared beside me and said, “Zhaoyang, why don’t you call Mi’er to come help us out? After all, it’s rare to have so many customers coming to the bar when we’re in such a difficult situation.”
“You know she went to Shanghai today. Whether she’s back in Suzhou or not is uncertain!”
“Just give her a call and ask…” CC said to me, then turned to the man and added, “Our friend went to Shanghai today. If she hasn’t returned, there’s really nothing we can do!”
The man, being a social elite, didn’t display the unreasonable temper of ordinary troublemakers. He nodded understandingly and said, “Then you can call to confirm. If she’s not back, we can’t force the issue… But we’ll still spend money here tonight—I guarantee that!”
CC smiled apologetically and said, “Thank you for your understanding. We’ll call her right away.”
…
CC pulled me aside and said, “Zhaoyang, you should call her.”
I shook my head and said, “No, you should call her instead. She might not even listen to me.”
“Why are you so lacking in confidence?” CC said, giving me a disapproving look.
Ignoring her look, I urged, “You calling is the same thing. There are so many people waiting here. You need to give them a prompt response whether she can come or not.”
CC glanced at the waiting crowd, finally gave in to my urging, took out her phone, and dialed Mi Cai’s number.
Then I heard her say, “Darling, are you back in Suzhou yet?”
“That’s great news! I need a favor from you. Are you available to come to Leyao’s bar right now? Here’s the situation…”
“Okay, okay, the customers are waiting. Please come as soon as possible… Drive safely on your way here!”
CC hung up the phone, visibly relieved, and smiled at me, saying, “Done! Mi’er is coming right away.”
I gave her a thumbs-up and said, “Impressive. I told you she’d listen to you… If I had asked her, I’d consider myself lucky if she didn’t scold me a few times!”
CC smiled but didn’t continue joking with me. She walked toward the group of customers, informed them of the situation, and everyone seemed delighted. They each found seats, ordered some drinks, and chatted while waiting for Mi Cai’s arrival.
Thanks to this group of people, I felt a bit more relaxed. I was even grateful to them because their arrival gave me the opportunity to hear Mi Cai sing again—just two days after I’d last heard her voice!
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