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

Inside a Shaxian snack shop.

After seeing off the sub-landlord Liu Yang, Li Zhibai took out his phone and called Huo Junmin.

"Hello, Attorney Huo, is this a convenient time to talk?"

"It's convenient, you tell me."

"My old classmate Zhao Lei just came to the store to see me."

"Oh? He came to see you on his own initiative? I thought he would hide for a few more days after receiving the lawyer's letter. What did he say?"

"So what did you say to him?"

"I'll have him contact you. I've already entrusted everything to you."

"You did the right thing. The worst thing you can do in this kind of situation is to negotiate in private. If you say something wrong and the other party records it, it will only make things worse for you. Professional matters should be handled by professionals."

"Um, Attorney Huo, I'd like to discuss something with you."

"you say."

"Could we please not handle this case so harshly?"

"What do you mean?"

"Although Zhao Lei is indeed a scoundrel, he was still a college classmate of four years and even slept in the same bunk bed. There's no need to push him to the brink."

"To be honest, if he hadn't tricked me, I wouldn't have taken over this shop, wouldn't have met Uncle Huo, wouldn't have met you, and wouldn't have made any money. Every cloud has a silver lining. If we really look back, I should even thank him."

What Li Zhibai said was true. If this guy hadn't tricked him, he might not have been able to activate the system, and he might not have discovered that he had ripped off people... He actually has such a talent for business.

"So you're planning to let him go?"

"Letting him go is impossible. He must pay back every penny of the 300,000 yuan he owes; that's my bottom line. As for other things like breach of contract fees, compensation for emotional distress, and lost wages, I won't pursue them. Don't push him too far."

"I own a restaurant, after all, and the worst thing for a business is making enemies. I've seen plenty of news like this—people poisoning other people's restaurants... If I really push that guy to the brink, he might do something when I'm not looking, and that would be too risky. It's best to be forgiving."

"You're absolutely right. There can indeed be such risks in the restaurant business." As a lawyer, Huo Junmin had indeed handled many cases where people were forced into a corner and ended up choosing a lose-lose situation. Li Zhibai knew that it was good to know when to stop.

"Then I'll do as you say. My bottom line is to get that 30 back, and I won't pursue anything else. But I suggest you keep a statute of limitations in place, just in case he tries something else later, you'll still have leverage."

"Okay, you're the professional, I'll do it your way."

.........

With the rent issue resolved and Zhao Lei's matter almost settled, it's time to tackle another problem.

pay taxes.

As a ruthless business owner, one can legally overcharge customers, but one cannot evade taxes.

In the afternoon, Li Zhibai walked into the tax bureau with a stack of documents.

Take a number, queue up, and wait to be called.

It wasn't long before it was his turn.

"Hello, what service do you need?"

"Tax filing, Shaxian snacks, individual business owner." Li Zhibai handed over the prepared materials directly.

The staff member was a young woman wearing round-framed glasses. After taking the materials, she began to flip through them page by page.

I flipped through it again and again.

Then I flipped through it again.

Finally, somewhat uncertainly, he asked, "Um, Mr. Li, are you sure you didn't fill in this data incorrectly?"

"I didn't fill it in wrong, what's wrong?"

"Your daily turnover is close to 70,000?"

"yes!"

"Are you sure you're not running a Shaxian Grand Hotel?"

"Yes, it's definitely Shaxian snacks, the authentic kind."

The little girl's expression turned strange. She had worked at the window for several years and had seen all sorts of self-employed individuals file their taxes.

Some sell barbecue, some run small supermarkets, and some run milk tea shops, with turnover ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands.

This was the first time she had ever met someone who ran a Shaxian snack shop, and in less than a month, they had made over a million yuan in revenue.

That's a bit outrageous!

"Mr. Li, could you tell me the approximate average transaction value of your store?"

"That's not necessarily true. It depends on the person. Some people spend thousands of dollars on a meal, while others only spend a few hundred dollars."

The little girl: "..."

Spending thousands of yuan on Shaxian snacks? Is this really Shaxian? For a moment, she even suspected that the other party was laundering money.

After carefully verifying all the documents and confirming that the data was correct, the young woman said to him, "Mr. Li, you can go back now. Small-scale taxpayers are now required to file their returns quarterly. The deadline for this quarter's filing is October 15th. You can come back to process it then."

"So you'll resubmit in October?"

"Yes!"

"Mr. Li, if your monthly turnover remains at this level, I suggest you learn about the criteria for becoming a general taxpayer in advance. At this rate, you'll soon exceed the limit for small-scale taxpayers, and you may need to apply to become a general taxpayer."

"Are we, as general taxpayers, paying more taxes?"

"Normally, yes."

After listening, Li Zhibai felt more confident and left the tax bureau with the documents.

Although he doesn't have to pay taxes for the time being, the taxes will come sooner or later. His current turnover will definitely exceed the threshold for general taxpayers, and he will most likely have to apply for a change next quarter.

He did a quick calculation and found that if he switched to a general taxpayer, with his monthly turnover of over one million yuan, he would have to pay tens of thousands of yuan in value-added tax alone each month. Adding income tax and other taxes, he might have to pay two or three hundred thousand yuan in taxes each month.

It would be a lie to say I don't feel sorry for her.

"It's alright, it's alright. I'm just an ordinary taxpayer! Paying taxes is an honor. I'm taking money from a gullible person and using it for society. I'm just contributing to the development of Jiangcheng."

"Besides, only those who pay taxes legally have a strong backbone! From now on, if anyone calls me a shady business, I'll slap the tax bill in their face. Have you ever seen a shady business that pays hundreds of thousands in taxes a month?"

Thinking about it this way, he immediately felt much better.

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

Over the next few days, Li Zhibai's life returned to its normal rhythm.

I sleep until I naturally wake up every morning, get up at noon to prepare ingredients, open the door to welcome guests in the evening, and close up to sleep in the early morning.

My days are regular and fulfilling.

The store's business is also growing steadily, with the average daily customer flow stabilizing between 30 and 40 people, and occasionally reaching full capacity on weekends.

If this trend continues, it won't be long before his long-awaited lottery machine makes its grand debut.

Just imagining the scene is exciting: a group of incredibly lucky wealthy people queuing up at the entrance of Shaxian snack bar to draw lots for a luxury meal, with each draw resulting in a skyrocketing average order value.

"Hehehe..."

Li Zhibai couldn't help but laugh out loud while preparing the ingredients.

Su Su just pushed the door open and came in. Hearing his laughter, her heart tightened immediately.

Here we go again, Master, what kind of wicked idea are you plotting now?

Upon noticing Su Su enter, Li Zhibai immediately suppressed the ruthless businessman's smile on his face and pretended to be working diligently.

"Master, are you going home for the Mid-Autumn Festival next month?" Su Su placed the bags of ingredients she was carrying on the table and asked, "If you are going home, the shop may need to arrange its closing time in advance so that I can adjust the delivery dates with the suppliers."

Mid-Autumn Festival?

Li Zhibai paused for a moment, then took out his phone and glanced at the calendar.

Indeed, the Mid-Autumn Festival is in the 20s of next month.

He immediately became conflicted.

On one hand, he wanted to go home; he hadn't been home for more than half a year and was really missing it.

But if I really go home, it seems like I won't be able to earn any money!

Mid-Autumn Festival family banquets are one of the biggest money-making opportunities for the catering industry throughout the year.

Yu Shen and his gang will definitely bring their families for a meal, and Uncle Huo's group will most likely be coming too, not to mention all the new and old customers he's become addicted to ripping off...

If they were to openly exploit this market, a daily turnover of hundreds of thousands wouldn't be a dream.

With daily sales of hundreds of thousands right in front of him, asking him to go home? This is practically testing the professional ethics of a heartless boss!

Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, Su Su waved her hand in front of him: "Master? What's wrong?"

"I'm making a choice."

"Choose? What do you mean by 'choose'?"

"On one hand, there's family ties; on the other, there are the customers' earnest expectations. What should I choose?"

Su Su thought about it seriously: "I think I should choose family. Money can be earned anytime, but spending time with family is the most important thing. Many times, if you miss out, it may be for a lifetime."

"Yes, you're right!"

Li Zhibai nodded, then changed the subject: "But if I go home for the festival, Yu Shen and his group will have to go to another place for their Mid-Autumn Festival family dinner. If they go to another place, they will spend less money to eat worse food, which is essentially a downgrade of their Mid-Autumn Festival experience."

"But if I don't go home and stay here to cook them a top-notch Mid-Autumn Festival family feast, although I'll be sacrificing my own chance to reunite with my family, I can let more families enjoy delicious festive food. What do you call that?"

"What?"

"This is called sacrificing the small family for the greater good! This is called 'If I don't go to hell, who will?'"

Su Su: "......."

Master, you could have just said you wanted to kill people more, there was no need to make your reasons for not going home sound so tragic and touching.