hostility

"President Song!"

Zhou Mei walked over quickly.

"General Manager Yao, I'd like to ask your shop's staff for a favor."

Song Xia pulled out a chair next to her, signaled for Zhou Mei to sit, and explained General Manager Yao's plan.

Zhou Mei sat down, thought for a moment, and looked at General Manager Yao.

"General Manager Yao, I understand the esports tournament you're talking about, but given the scale you mentioned, this event is likely going to be huge. Our Maid Cafe has limited staff; even if everyone went, we wouldn't be able to meet the needs of the entire venue."

"However, I do have several circles of cosplay enthusiasts here. I can invite them, but we would need to pay them for their services."

Zhou Mei briefly explained the situation; she was in contact with several cosplay circles and had organized trips to comic conventions or other cosplay events before.

Ever since the Nanhe Coffee Maid Cafe was established, she had also formed a cosplay group and was its organizer. The people in it had basically all visited the Nanhe Coffee Maid Cafe and the Kyoto Nanhe Coffee Maid Cafe.

She had only one goal in forming this group: Nanhe Coffee was constantly expanding, and Nanhe Coffee branches in Kyoto were opening very rapidly.

It probably wouldn't be long before the Nanhe Coffee in Kyoto approached saturation, at which point they would definitely need to expand elsewhere. According to Nanhe Coffee's development policy, a new Maid Cafe could be added every time they entered a new city.

She established this cosplay circle to prepare for future Maid Cafe locations; the cosplay enthusiasts in her circle were potential future staff for the Maid Cafe.

She was certain of this because she personally vetted everyone who joined her circle and asked if they had any interest in becoming a Nanhe Coffee Shop employee.

Basically, anyone who could enter her circle had, at the very least, expressed an interest in joining the Maid Cafe.

So, as long as she posted the message in the circle, many people would basically come to the esports tournament venue to cosplay. But after all, this cosplay was to serve others. And since most of them came from all over, they would definitely need to be paid some compensation.

"Don't worry about the compensation; we won't shortchange anyone. I'm not very familiar with the rates for cosplay, so I'll have to trouble you, Ms. Zhou. Just give me a price list when the time comes, and I'll transfer the money then."

General Manager Yao nodded. As long as he could get those cosplayers to come, money was not an issue.

"If that's the case, then there's no problem at all. I should have the personnel organized by tomorrow or the day after."

Zhou Mei agreed.

"Then it's settled. I have other matters to attend to, so I won't overstay my welcome."

Seeing that the matter was concluded, General Manager Yao stood up and took his leave.

He had other things to handle; he still needed to go to the stadium today to check if the preparations were sufficient, just in case any accidents occurred when the tournament actually started.

"General Manager Yao, let me see you out!"

Song Xia stood up and walked General Manager Yao to the door.

Zhou Mei followed along.

The two watched General Manager Yao leave, then returned to their seats.

"How are things at the coffee shop lately?"

Song Xia picked up the coffee she hadn't finished and looked up at Zhou Mei.

Zhou Mei wore a worried expression upon hearing this.

"Hmm, has the coffee shop run into some difficulties?"

Seeing Zhou Mei's expression, Song Xia's gaze became serious.

"Yes, Sister Song Xia, our Maid Cafe has gained a competitor."

Zhou Mei looked distressed.

"Haven't our coffee shops always had plenty of competitors?"

Song Xia was somewhat dismissive. Ever since Nanhe Coffee reached saturation in Jiang City, many competitors had appeared, but those competitors had not affected Nanhe Coffee's status at all.

After all, those newly opened Nanhe Coffee Shops appeared to be taking a high-end route, but their taste was still far inferior to Nanhe Coffee.

Their only advantage was price, but with Starbucks right next door, they didn't have much competitiveness. Furthermore, Nanhe Coffee had already built a reputation in Jiang City, and with their collaboration with the clothing store, many people had already started to recognize Nanhe Coffee.

"It's different, Song Xia. This time, that coffee shop is completely benchmarking our coffee shop. The quality of the coffee, the service of the staff, the layout of the shop, and even the heart-shaped seats at the entrance are the same as ours. The only difference is that their coffee prices are a bit cheaper than ours."

Zhou Mei said quickly, her tone somewhat annoyed.

"Hmm!"

Song Xia let out a light sound of surprise. It seemed she had heard other shop managers mention this, but at the time, she just thought of them as ordinary competitors and didn't take it to heart.

But now it seemed this matter was a bit different.

Everything was benchmarked against their Nanhe Coffee, but the prices were much cheaper. This was clearly aimed at their Nanhe Coffee!

Thinking of this, she looked up at Zhou Mei.

"What is the name of that coffee shop? Have you tasted their coffee? How does it compare to our coffee's taste?"

"The name of the coffee shop is Nanrui Coffee. I've tasted their coffee; it's a bit worse than ours in taste, but better than Starbucks. And in terms of price, they are 5-10 yuan cheaper than us. We charge a minimum of 50 per cup, they charge 45; we charge 80 per cup, they only sell it for 70. However, their pastry sets are the same as ours."

"Also, we have a benefits partnership with Changfeng Clothing, and that Nanrui Coffee has a partnership with a large shopping mall in Jiang City."

Zhou Mei pouted angrily.

Song Xia frowned upon hearing this; she sensed that this competitor was coming in strong.

Nanhe Coffee was accepted and loved by the people of Jiang City because of the charity work they did.

And now, this Nanrui Coffee was doing the same charity activities as their Nanhe Coffee, so their Nanhe Coffee no longer had any competitive advantage.

Moreover, Nanrui Coffee's prices were still lower than their Nanhe Coffee.

Although their Nanhe Coffee tasted better, in the eyes of the average consumer, price was their first priority.

"Sister Song Xia, what should we do about this?"

Zhou Mei asked with some worry.

"Hmm, I know about this matter now. I will look into it. You just focus on preparing for the cosplay. As for the matter of Nanrui Coffee, I will handle it."

As Song Xia spoke, she stood up and walked outside.

She had to go back and properly look into this Nanrui Coffee.

She had a premonition that this Nanrui Coffee was definitely targeting Nanhe Coffee; this was no longer a matter of ordinary business competition.

This was likely the biggest crisis Nanhe Coffee had ever faced.