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

"Sir, that's a classic case of misrepresentation!"

"Exactly, exactly. You're over seventy years old, and you're playing word games with a bunch of young people in their twenties. How can you be so shameless? With your status, your wealth, your experience, bullying us younger folks like this, is it good for your reputation if word gets out?"

"Sir, if you really don't want to invite us, just say so. At worst, the four of us will treat you, but you have to admit you lost in front of everyone," Cha Xiaocha said.

He originally thought that the old man, being his age and a wealthy man, wouldn't easily admit defeat, even if it was for the sake of his reputation.

To his surprise, Huo Wang didn't hesitate for a moment when he heard this, and said with a smile, "Alright, I admit defeat."

Cha Xiaocha: "........"

No, sir, why aren't you following the script? And why does that shamelessness of yours seem so familiar?

In the end, the four of them paid several thousand yuan more for the meal with tears in their eyes, and Yu Shen slapped Cha Xiaocha on the back of the head.

Serves you right for being so quick-tongued!

Don't you know that Grandpa and Li Heizi are from the same lineage? Neither of them are easy to deal with.

Forget it, it's too late to say anything more.

The four of them began to eat, turning their grief and anger into a desire to eat.

This vegetarian braised pork is really delicious, so delicious it makes you want to cry.

Pang Yi had already eaten more than a dozen pieces in this short time, and his fat was trembling with happiness.

Cha Xiaochai, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but pat his round belly: "Fatty, can you stop shaking? The table is vibrating."

"I can't resist!" Pang Yi exclaimed happily, "This vegetarian braised pork is so delicious! The best part is that it's not real meat, so I don't have to worry about gaining weight from eating too much. It's simply a blessing and a savior for us fat people!"

Lu Qianshan, who has always been committed to fitness, also strongly agrees.

"Indeed, with this dish, you don't need to deliberately control your diet during your fitness and weight loss period. Before, every time I came to Shaxian to eat, I would have to spend an extra half hour on the treadmill at the gym to burn off the extra calories. This dish is definitely a blessing for people who want to lose weight and fitness enthusiasts."

The main reason why many people want to get fit or lose weight but give up halfway is not because of exercise, but because of the unpleasant diet.

Who can stick to eating bland and tasteless food like boiled chicken breast and boiled broccoli every day for a long time?

Especially now that the temptation of delicious food is everywhere, even at home you can often see all kinds of food videos, and it is really hard for the average person to resist these temptations.

Even if someone manages to resist temptation with an iron will and successfully lose weight, you'll notice a phenomenon if you observe closely.

This person has clearly lost weight, but their mental state is far worse than when they were fat; they have a withered appearance.

To put it bluntly, you lose fat, but you also lose the joy of being human.

The emergence of this vegetarian braised pork dish perfectly addresses the biggest pain point for people who are into fitness and weight loss.

It uses winter melon to create a taste and texture that is almost indistinguishable from real braised pork, but without the worry of animal fat and cholesterol. It allows people to enjoy the pleasure of eating meat while losing weight, and no longer feel that healthy eating is a torment.

Once this dish becomes famous, people in Jiangcheng's weight loss, fitness, and health circles will probably line up to be ripped off.

The dish that Li Heizi painstakingly researched has attracted the most attention; he'll definitely be ordering it every time.

Grandpa Huo ate for a long time, mainly because the portion size was several times larger than usual, and secondly because it was the first time he had ever eaten meat so heartily without worrying about blood pressure or cholesterol; he could eat as much as he wanted.

After he finished eating, he called out to the kitchen, "Hey boss, come here for a second, I need to talk to you about something."

Hearing the old man's call, Li Zhibai walked over with a beaming smile: "Grandpa! Is it not enough to eat? If not, I'll get you two more bowls. There's plenty of vegetarian meat today, so please eat as much as you like!"

The old man used to be the most difficult one to sue among the rich. He was rich, but his age was a factor, so he could only restrain himself from wielding the knife.

Today I finally don't have to hold back anymore, so why be polite!

We have to fleece them mercilessly!

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Huo laughed and scolded, "Don't give me that crap, kid. I just want to ask you, are you going back to your hometown for the Mid-Autumn Festival?"

Li Zhibai shook his head: "I'm not going home. The shop will remain open as usual."

"Alright," Grandpa Huo nodded and said, "I'd like to book a family banquet in advance for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Please make the arrangements for me."

Just as Li Zhibai was about to say no problem, Yu Shen heard their conversation, jumped up from his seat, and raised his hand.

"Boss! I want to make a reservation too! My family is having a get-together for Mid-Autumn Festival, fifteen people in total!"

Upon hearing this, everyone else immediately raised their hands.

There are ten of us here.

"There are twelve in my family."

"I have eight here."

"..."

Seeing them eagerly announcing the number of people, Li Zhibai was incredibly excited. If they all took the orders, the sales revenue for the entire Mid-Autumn Festival day could easily exceed 500,000.

However, when he thought of the system's ridiculous rule of limiting the number of people to fifty per day, he felt a pang of heartache.

The dog system is preventing me from improving!

"Everyone, bosses, calm down! Calm down!"

"As you all probably know, we only accept a maximum of fifty people per day. Also, we do not accept any form of advance reservation; it's first-come, first-served, and we'll close when we're full."

Everyone panicked when they heard this.

"No, boss, can't you make an exception just this once?"

"The Mid-Autumn Festival only comes once a year. Can't you make an exception for this traditional festival?"

"......."

Li Zhibai shook his head: "It's not that I don't want to be accommodating, but rules are rules, and there's nothing I can do about it."

"What should we do then? We can't really expect us to line up on the morning of Mid-Autumn Festival, can we?" Cha Xiaocha couldn't help but ask.

His words reminded Yu Shen and the others.

Yes! You can definitely come early to queue up on Mid-Autumn Festival!

Then a group of people immediately started thinking about how to grab a spot.

The most ruthless guy was already planning to hire a few scalpers to start queuing up from the early hours of that day.

After finishing their meal, everyone left, each with their own thoughts, clutching their aches and pains.

Grandpa Huo didn't leave immediately; there was something else he wanted to discuss with Li Zhibai alone.

"Boss, what's your thought about what I told you last time?"

Li Zhibai was clearing away the dishes when he heard this and was taken aback: "Sir, what are you talking about?"

Mr. Huo: "Didn't I tell you last time? I'm going to sell those two shops in Financial Street. If you want them, I can give you priority. You can pay in installments, interest-free. I've already arranged all my other assets, except for these two shops."

Li Zhibai remembered after being reminded of this; when Grandpa Huo wrote his will in his shop last time, he did mention this matter, saying that he wanted to sell the two shops at No. 99 and No. 131 Jiangdong South Road.

He remembers that he almost thought the old man was going to give him a set for free, and he was so excited that he almost called him "godfather" on the spot.

As a result, the old man also learned the essence of his business and only gave him a right of first refusal.

"Sir, how much are your two shops approximately?"

"The apartment at number 99 is close to 200 square meters, it's the one next to the Michelin restaurant across the street, and its market value is around 80 million. The apartment at number 131 is a bit smaller, about 80 square meters, and its market value is around 35 million."

"I suggest you choose number 99. It's a better location; it's on the street, has high traffic, and there's parking available."

Eighty million.

When Li Zhibai heard this number, he almost lost his composure.

His entire fortune now doesn't even amount to a fraction of 80 million.

Let alone 80 million, he can't even come up with 800,000. Their current net assets are probably only a little over 300,000.

Why would someone with a net worth of over 300,000 yuan consider buying a commercial property worth 80 million yuan?

This isn't just a toad trying to eat swan meat; it's a toad trying to eat an aircraft carrier!

"Sir, your shop is too expensive. I really can't afford it," Li Zhibai said with a wry smile.

Huo Wangming knew he couldn't afford it right now, but he still continued to persuade him: "I think you have to take it now, or you'll miss this opportunity."

Li Zhibai felt that there was something more to the old man's words. Based on his current understanding of the old man, he was definitely not the kind of person who would advise a penniless man to take on tens of millions of debts for no reason.

I always felt like it was hinting at something to him.

Could it be that the old man will give him a discounted price? Or some other benefit?

He couldn't figure it out, but his heart was definitely intrigued.