I've been possessed by a culinary genius, and I've turned Shaxian snacks into a rip-off!

Yu Shen really wanted to slap himself.

He shouldn't have been so cheeky as to provoke Li Heizi. He could have laughed at Li's gloomy face, but this old man just said he was in a bad mood and came up with a new reason not to make him the regular version of the food.

"Boss, that's a really lame excuse! You're in a bad mood and can't make the regular version? Well, I'm in a bad mood too, so can you give me a discount?"

Li Zhibai: "Are you really in a bad mood?"

Yu Shen nodded frantically: "Yes! I'm in a terrible mood right now, I've almost lost my appetite."

Li Zhibai: "Then I have a way to cure your illness and make you feel better."

Yu Shen: "What method?"

Li Zhibai: "It's very simple. Just order our 9888 Supreme Deluxe Set Meal. After you finish it, I guarantee you'll be cured and forget all your troubles."

Yu Shen: "......."

The password does indeed help him forget his troubles, because he's only concerned about the money.

Hearing their conversation, Pang Yi couldn't help but burst out laughing, his belly jiggling with laughter.

I told you not to talk to Li Heizi so casually, you deserve it!

Yu Shen turned around and glared at him fiercely. "You fatso, still laughing? You won't be able to escape either."

Sure enough, Li Zhibai turned to Pang Yi and said with a smile, "Brother, you look great today, all rosy-cheeked. How about we get the 9888 set meal?"

Pang Yi's smile vanished instantly in fright, and he quickly waved his hand, "No, no, I'll order myself, I can order by myself."

In the end, neither of them ordered the luxurious set meal worth tens of thousands of yuan. They only ordered noodles and soup, and they didn't order braised pork, probably because they almost threw up yesterday.

Although Li Zhibai regretted not being able to sell the set meal, he still put on an apron and started cooking for them.

Watching him busy in the kitchen, Yu Shen suddenly felt much better.

Although he was ripped off again today, seeing Li Heizi's somewhat dejected appearance made it all worthwhile.

So you've finally met your match!

You've been using double standards to rip us off every day, now you're getting your comeuppance.

Want your store to become popular? No way!

He then took out his phone and shared his day's results in the group chat.

A fish in the deep sea: [Brothers, I have two pieces of news today, one good and one bad.]

Don't pour the tea so full: [What news? Tell me quickly, I'm so bored on a business trip out of town.]

A fish in the deep sea: [The bad news is that Li Heizi ripped me off again today with a deluxe meal.]

Even mountains and seas can be flattened: [Can't you come up with something new? You'll get ripped off every day.]

Deep Sea Fish: [So the second one is good news. When Fatty and I came in today, we saw Li Heizi scrolling through that restaurant review blogger's videos on his phone. Turns out, that guy's videos got reported and taken down again. Li Heizi's face turned black with anger!]

A fish from the deep sea: [This is the first time I've ever seen this guy look so gloomy, like a wronged woman.]

Don't fill the teacup so full: [Hahahaha... I'm dying of laughter! Hearing you say that, I can practically picture his face.]

Even mountains and seas can be flattened: [Li Heizi wanted to use livestreamers to promote his Shaxian snacks so he could rip us off, but we've blocked that path. Our anti-black alliance has won for the second time.]

Even mountains and seas can be flattened: [Of course, don't get too excited yet. Li Heizi is the kind of person who's incredibly resilient. We've temporarily blocked his path as a food blogger, but he'll definitely find other ways. We still need to be vigilant.]

A fish in the deep sea: [Whatever, seeing him get his comeuppance today made me incredibly happy, and even my meal tasted better.]

I'm Not Fatty: [There's also bad news. We've had some unfamiliar faces in the store today. Not long after Lao Yu and I arrived, new customers came in, several of whom we'd never seen before. From their conversation, it seems they were recommended by colleagues in nearby office buildings.]

I'm Not Fat: [At this rate, even if we block the path for food review bloggers, Li Heizi's shop will eventually become popular through word of mouth alone.]

Don't fill the teacup so full: [Hearing you say that suddenly makes me a little panicked. What if the shop is suddenly packed when I get back from my business trip?]

Don't fill the teacup so full: [No way! I haven't even had it that many times! (⋋▂⋌)!]

[...]

Just as they were chatting, Su Su brought out their deluxe set meal.

Upon seeing the food on the table, Yu Shen and Pang Yi immediately put down their phones and began eating.

Although I got ripped off again, and although I kept cursing, I had to admit that Li Heizi's food was really delicious.

It's so delicious it makes you want to curse.

It's so delicious that people will complain about it while still paying for it.

This is probably what they mean by saying one thing but doing another!

After the two devoured the food in front of them, Pang Yi burped and then suddenly sighed.

"What's wrong, Fatty? Why are you sighing?"

"I'm thinking, what if Li Heizi really becomes famous one day, and there are long queues every day, and I can no longer eat his food? I'd lose dozens of pounds!"

"So we have to plan ahead and eat as much as we can while he's still not famous."

"That makes sense!"

"Boss! Add a bucket of free water!" Pang Yi shouted to the kitchen.

"Okay!"

Li Zhibai responded from the kitchen and picked up a bucket to fill it with water. Just as he was about to turn on the switch, he suddenly stopped.

Hey, wait a minute! No extra food, just a bucket of water?

Nima!

Tap water is free! Why drink it like this?!

.............

10 PM.

Su Su finished her work lunch at the store and then went home.

The store isn't busy at this time of day, so she chose to leave early again.

Li Zhibai sat behind the cashier, opened the order book, and began to calculate today's bill.

So far today, we have had 21 guests.

Fifteen of them came specifically for the regular edition; some were ordinary office workers from nearby office buildings, while others were new customers referred by sanitation workers.

When they first came, they were all shocked by the prices on the menu, but when they remembered that their friends who recommended the place had sworn that the food at Shaxian was so delicious they would cry, they gritted their teeth and ordered a regular version to reward themselves.

The remaining 6 people were mostly regular customers, and they all ordered the luxury version.

In total, today's sales amounted to 23762 yuan, a significant drop compared to the booming sales during the previous few days' promotion.

Having experienced the joy of earning tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan in a single day, Li Zhibai now feels quite uneasy about returning to only ten or twenty thousand.

"I really want to kill someone, what's wrong with me!"

The system then popped up.

[Host, have you ever considered that a Shaxian snack shop with a daily turnover of over 20,000 yuan is already at the top level nationwide? Sometimes, people should be content.]

"That's true, but people still need to have ambition! As the saying goes, a soldier who doesn't want to be a general isn't a good soldier, and a ruthless boss who doesn't want to make millions a day isn't a good boss!"

"My goal is to earn a million a day, leave Jiangcheng, and conquer the world! To become the emperor of Shaxian! The tsar of the world!"

【……】

"Hey system, I've noticed something's off with you today. You're actually telling me to be content? That's not like you. I always thought you were even darker than me, what's with this sudden change of heart?"

This system never expected you to surpass it!

Li Zhibai: "..."

Just as he was arguing with the system, two more ordinary workers arrived at the store.

When they entered, they were almost hesitant to go in because of the menu, just like the other first-time customers. But then they remembered how the woman from Northeast China had been bragging to them about how delicious the noodles were, so they each ordered a bowl of wontons.

And then I successfully fell into the trap.

When the two steaming bowls of wontons were served, the two of them took a bite and were instantly captivated by the aroma.

"Wow, these wontons are so delicious!"

"Damn, it tastes much better than my wife's. I have to make sure she learns it when we get back."

"If your wife can learn it, then you should learn it."

"It's worth it for over a hundred! It really is worth it!"

"......."

Hearing their conversation, Li Zhibai felt much better.

Although there was a minor mishap today—the food blogger was unhelpful and couldn't even post a video—the word-of-mouth is clearly spreading.

If we just persevere a little longer, it will eventually be packed.

Then all his plans—chef-recommended set meals, lottery machines, and the idea that lucky rich people are born to eat luxury set meals—can be arranged.

Li Zhibai became more and more hopeful as he thought about it. Would his daily income be able to consistently reach six figures by then?

Hehehe......

After seeing the two guests off, Li Zhibai took a cup to the shop entrance and idly looked at the bustling night view of the financial industry.

Then, I subconsciously glanced at the Michelin three-star restaurant across the street.

He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he felt that the Michelin-starred restaurant across the street seemed to be doing a little worse lately.