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

After leaving Shaxian Snacks, Zhao Lei looked up at the unremarkable Shaxian Snacks sign and felt quite incredulous.

Seven hundred thousand.

Li Zhibai swiped 700,000 without even blinking.

Is this reasonable?

That's completely unreasonable!

But he had just witnessed Li Zhibai swiping his card, and considering his understanding of Li Zhibai's family situation, it was unlikely that the money came from home.

The only reasonable explanation is that Li Zhibai actually made money at this store.

Zhao Lei turned his head and glanced at the Michelin three-star restaurant across the street, and suddenly realized that he might have made a mistake.

His uncle always said that the shop had bad feng shui. Before he took over, the place had changed hands several times. There were noodle shops, fast food shops, and even his uncle's Shaxian snack shop, all of which went out of business after a short time.

Now, is it possible that his uncle simply doesn't know how to do business?

The more Zhao Lei thought about it, the more likely it seemed, so he immediately took out his phone and called his uncle.

Beep, beep, beep~~~, I called several times but no one answered.

He was a little annoyed. Back then, Uncle, you begged me to find a way to transfer the shop and cut your losses. Now that you know I'm being hunted down by lawyers, you want to play dead and distance yourself from me, right?

It took more than ten attempts to finally get through on the phone.

"Hey, Uncle!"

"Xiao Lei! Let me tell you, that shop has nothing to do with me anymore. He signed the contract himself..." As expected, the uncle on the other end of the line wanted to distance himself from the matter right away.

Although Zhao Lei was furious, he held back from exploding.

"Uncle, I didn't want to talk to you about that. I wanted to tell you some good news."

"What good news? Did you win the lottery?"

"It wasn't me who won the lottery, it was Li Zhibai, my college classmate, the one who took over your shop, he made a fortune!"

"What? You got rich? What are you talking about?"

"I saw him swipe his card today, 700,000! 700,000, Uncle! You've been working in Financial Street for half a year and lost a lot of money, but this guy took over and made 700,000 to pay rent in less than a month!"

"Don't be ridiculous, what are you talking about! You think you can make money in that place? Are you trying to trick me into giving you money? Let me tell you, I'm really short on cash right now, I don't have any..."

Zhao Lei was so angry he almost exploded. He wanted to yell into the microphone, "Uncle, if you keep doing this, I'm going to shave my head after the Lunar New Year!"

He then recounted everything he had seen in Shaxian County, especially the shockingly high prices.

"Uncle, the reason your shop isn't making money is probably because you don't know how to price your items."

"Do you know how much my classmate charges for a bowl of noodles?"

"How much? Fifteen? Twenty? That location can certainly fetch a higher price, but it probably won't even cover the rent."

"588!"

When that number was announced, there was a loud thud as something fell to the ground on the other end of the phone.

"No, say it again? How many times?"

"Regular noodles cost 128, expensive ones cost 588, and some even sell for 1288 per serving. Braised pork is even more outrageous; it's sold by the piece for 99 each."

"Is everything you're saying true?"

"I swear, may I be struck by lightning if I'm lying!"

"Uncle, think about it carefully. When you first opened, a bowl of noodles cost 8 yuan. Even if the price went up to 10 yuan later, you could only sell a few dozen bowls a day, which would only bring in a few hundred yuan at most. Add to that the other dishes that sell a few hundred servings a day, and you'd only make a few thousand yuan. After deducting rent, ingredients, and labor costs, it would be strange if you didn't lose money."

But my classmate sells a bowl of noodles for 588 yuan. At that price, he can easily sell dozens of bowls a day, making tens of thousands of yuan in revenue. How could he not make money?

"Uncle, your previous thinking was fundamentally wrong. You always wanted to take the low-price route when you opened Shaxian snack shop, selling to ordinary office workers. How can you make money that way?"

Don't you even consider where your shop is located? It's in Jiangcheng's Financial Street! That's the most expensive commercial area in Jiangcheng, lined with banks, securities companies, and multinational corporation headquarters. You could hit a bunch of rich people with a brick on the street. Would those rich people go to eat cheap Shaxian snacks? Definitely not.

"If you sell a bowl of noodles for 8 yuan, people definitely won't be interested. But if you sell it for 588 yuan a bowl, then people will definitely come and try it. After all, it's rare to find such an expensive Shaxian snack!"

Wang Dafu was stunned on the other end of the phone, and subconsciously retorted, "But that's Shaxian after all. Who's crazy enough to spend hundreds of yuan on Shaxian snacks?"

"Uncle, you don't understand. This is called making affordable luxury accessible to the masses, and bringing high-end products to the masses."

"Online, netizens have given people from Jiangcheng a nickname: 'Master Jiang,' you know? It's said that Master Jiang queues up to buy luxury goods, and he only eats expensive meals! He won't even look at anything less."

"For example, that milk tea costs over thirty yuan a cup, and you have to queue for two hours—buy it! Bread costs over a hundred yuan a piece, it's a limited edition—grab it! Even an ice cream has to be the Assassin's Edition, which costs over sixty yuan a stick—that's only befitting of Master Jiang's status!"

"In short, the more expensive and outrageous the price, the more classy people perceive it to be, and the more willing they are to pay. If you sell it cheaply, people will think you're low-class, that your ingredients are bad, and that you've disgraced Master Jiang!"

Zhao Lei got more and more excited as he spoke, spitting all over the phone screen.

"Uncle, you really set the price too low before! We really didn't understand the world of the rich before, but my classmate Li Zhibai accurately grasped Jiang Ye's psychology, so he made hundreds of thousands in less than a month."

Upon hearing his nephew's words, Wang Dafu, on the other end of the phone, fell into deep self-doubt.

He used to run a stall and other catering businesses, always believing in small profits and quick turnover. How come he did the opposite when he came to Financial Street?

Is it true that selling it at a high price makes it popular, while selling it at a low price makes it unpopular?

There are such strange things in this world!

He was still somewhat skeptical, mainly because this matter had such a huge impact on his mind, which had been built up over a lifetime of small businesses; it was too far-fetched and shattered his worldview.

"I still think it's unlikely. I've lived in Jiangcheng for many years, and I've never seen so many suckers."

"Uncle, don't you ever think about the circles you used to be in? Runners, vegetable vendors at the market, bricklayers on construction sites—it's impossible to find a sucker in those places."

"Ultimately, it's your vision that limits your development. We need to learn to think like the wealthy. In the Financial Street area, you have to take the high-end route and find ways to target your customer base to the wealthy. These people aren't afraid of you charging high prices; they're afraid of you not charging enough."

"..."

Wang Dafu had to admit that his nephew had indeed convinced him, but he still felt he needed to be cautious. After all, if he took back the burden he had finally managed to get rid of and lost money again, he would be completely ruined.

"I can't believe everything you say. What if that kid hired someone to put on an act? These days, all those online celebrity shops like to do this, getting a bunch of people to line up and creating the illusion of popularity."

"Uncle, what are you thinking? You think hiring shills can generate 700,000 in rent?"

"Besides, can a shill come every day? I know my classmate well; he used to be dirt poor. If he wasn't making money, would he have been able to come up with 700,000?"

"You're right. Okay, go and stake out the place for a few days, find out how many customers he gets a day, what kind of people they are, and how much money he makes a day. If it's really as outrageous as you say, then we'll figure out how to get the shop back."

"No problem, Uncle! I won't go anywhere else for a while, I'll just stay here and investigate thoroughly for you."

After hanging up the phone.

Zhao Lei almost shouted with excitement, as if he could already see himself turning the tables.

My uncle will be in charge of the kitchen, and I will be in charge of the front of house. We'll set the prices higher than Li Zhibai's: a bowl of noodles will start at 888, fried rice at 1888, and braised pork will be sold by the piece at 199 each!

They also want to implement a membership system, with black card members having priority in ordering food, and an annual fee of 100,000!

By then, not only will he be able to repay Li Zhibai's 300,000 yuan, but he can also buy a house in Jiangcheng outright, buy a sports car, and eat at the most expensive restaurant in Financial Street every day, making those who used to look down on him kneel down and call him "Dad."

Zhao Lei's mind was filled with anticipation, and he wished he could just throw money at the shop and buy it back right now.