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

In the shop.

Huo Junmin was like a war god, and with just a few words, he silenced Zhao Lei and the other two.

Seeing these guys who were just so arrogant now looking like they'd eaten shit, Li Zhibai felt incredibly satisfied.

Cool!

That was fucking awesome!

Zhao Lei, you've finally met your match!

Li Zhibai didn't stay in the shop to continue watching the show. Huo Junmin could handle the negotiations for him; professional matters should be left to professionals.

He walked outside the shop alone and looked up at the familiar signboard—[Shaxian Snacks].

The four red characters with yellow background, with slightly faded edges, used to make him think the signboard was a bit shabby and didn't match his high-end Shaxian brand positioning.

Now that it's really time to leave, I feel a little reluctant to part with it.

It was here that he became bound to that stingy yet cunning culinary god system.

It was here that he went from being a sucker who was swindled out of 600,000 yuan by his college roommate to becoming a Shaxian assassin with a daily turnover of tens of thousands of yuan.

It was here that he met Su Su, his cheap apprentice who paid to work for him, Yu Shen and his gang of suckers who cursed him every day but never stopped coming to give him money, and Old Master Huo, a cunning and shrewd hidden tycoon.

To be honest, he's already gotten used to living here.

I wake up naturally every morning, prepare ingredients at noon, open the door in the evening, and watch those familiar faces push the door open, order food while grumbling, and leave while still grumbling and leaning against the wall... It's really nice.

"What's wrong? You can't bear to part with it?"

Huo Junmin came out at some point and stood next to him.

"A little," Li Zhibai nodded, "After all, it was the first shop I opened. Although it's a bit run-down, I still have a sentimental attachment to it."

Huo Junmin glanced at him and said, "Now is not the time for sentimentality. We need to think about our backup plan. Of the two options I just proposed, they will most likely choose the second one, which is to settle the matter with compensation. But there will be a lot of wrangling afterward. Even if you get the compensation, you need to find a new place as soon as possible."

Li Zhibai nodded. Huo Junmin was right. Even if they received compensation, finding a new shop, renovating, moving... all of these things would take time.

He feels restless if he doesn't overcharge customers... no, if he doesn't open for business for a day.

But before that, we must let Zhao Lei and his gang know what it means to be slaughtered!

"The foundation of one's character!" Li Zhibai once again recalled the words that Grandpa Huo had said.

A man still needs his own territory.

He thought for a moment, took out his phone, found Grandpa Huo's WeChat, and made a voice call directly to him.

It rang a few times before being answered.

"Hey boss, what made you think of calling me? Have you been developing some new dish?"

"Grandpa, I'm in trouble." Li Zhibai didn't waste any words and briefly explained the situation.

"What did I tell you before? A rented shop belongs to someone else, and they can kick you out at any time. Do you believe me now?"

"I believe you, sir! Your insight is unparalleled, you shrewd old fox... no, I mean, you're incredibly shrewd and far-sighted. I admire you to the core." Li Zhibai flattered him, then changed the subject: "Um... sir, that shop you mentioned last time, could you give me a discount? Considering our friendship over the past few days, could you give me a friendly price?"

"We'll talk about discounts later. Here's what we'll do: I'll send you an address. Come find me directly at that address in a couple of days."

Before I could even ask why he wanted to see me, Grandpa Huo hung up the phone.

Li Zhibai stared blankly at his phone screen, and when the address sent by Grandpa Huo arrived, he was even more bewildered.

Why is this address in the next city? Although it wouldn't take long to get there by high-speed rail, why would the old man go there?

I don't understand, I don't understand at all.

…… ...

At this point, the negotiations between the two sides had entered a heated phase.

Huo Junmin sat in the chair, exuding an aura of dominance, easily suppressing the three people opposite him.

This is the power of a top-tier lawyer.

Wang Dafu gritted his teeth and held up one finger: "One hundred thousand! I can only pay one hundred thousand at most!"

Huo Junmin looked at him like he was an idiot, stood up and prepared to leave: "Since you're not sincere in talking, then let's see each other in court. I'm going to take measures to preserve assets now, and you can forget about touching this shop. See you in six months."

"No, no, no... let's talk this over." Wang Dafu quickly stopped her: "Two hundred thousand! Two hundred thousand should be enough, right!"

Huo Junmin remained unconvinced.

"Three hundred thousand! Three hundred thousand!"

"Five hundred thousand! That's the most I can offer!"

Finally, Huo Junmin stopped and turned around: "Don't keep adding little by little. Just give me 660,000. It's an auspicious number. I'm too lazy to haggle with you anymore."

"Of course, there's another condition: a full refund of the 700,000 yuan rent and deposit already paid by my client. In addition, the 300,000 yuan that Zhao Lei owes my client will be directly deducted from this compensation, settling the score between both parties."

Wang Dafu quickly did the math in his head.

They will refund the 700,000 yuan rent deposit, plus 660,000 yuan in compensation, totaling 1.36 million yuan. After deducting the 300,000 yuan that Zhao Lei should have paid back, they will still need to pay 1.06 million yuan.

Nima!

This is equivalent to not doing anything at all, yet over a million yuan has already been deposited.

"Uncle, don't be sad. Think about the good life you'll have earning a million a month in the future." Zhao Lei whispered in his ear, "At this rate, we can break even in a month, and start making a profit in two months. By then, a million won't be a problem, and ten million won will be nothing. Look at Li Zhibai, he's earned over a million in such a short time. If we follow his example, how can we be worse off than him?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Dafu gritted his teeth and made up his mind: "Fine! Consider it an initial investment."

He cursed inwardly, "Damn it, this ROI better be real, or I'll break your legs!"

Huo Junmin didn't waste any time. He immediately took out his laptop and drafted a settlement agreement. The terms were clearly written, including the termination time, compensation amount, no further liability, and even the late payment penalty. It was watertight.

Then she went to the Michelin-starred restaurant across the street and borrowed a printer to print out three copies of the agreement.

Both parties signed and affixed their fingerprints, agreeing to pay the full amount within three days. Similarly, Li Zhibai would also leave within three days.

After signing the agreement, Zhao Lei and his uncle, perhaps eager to open the shop and make money as soon as possible, immediately started shaking their heads and blinking at their phones. Then they got their family members to shake their heads and blink as well, barely managing to make up the remaining shortfall. They then immediately transferred the remaining money to Li Zhibai.

After the successful transfer was displayed, Wang Dafu and Zhao Lei felt as if their hearts had shattered.

More than a million yuan, gone just like that!

"Okay, the money has been transferred to you."

Li Zhibai took out his phone, opened the bank app, and looked at the new number that popped up in his balance—1,353,789.42 yuan.

This is his current net worth, not counting the 300,000 yuan in cash that Zhao Lei brought; if you include it, it's 165 million yuan.

"No problem, the money has arrived."

In fact, being able to negotiate this figure was already the biggest concession Huo Junmin had managed to secure.

When we were outside, Attorney Huo made it very clear to him that the figure of two million was impossible to obtain. That was just a negotiation tactic. The price she could actually negotiate was probably around five hundred thousand, and that was the result of her personally handling the matter. If it were an ordinary lawyer, let alone five hundred thousand, they would have trouble even getting one hundred thousand.

She gave him a final piece of advice: know when to quit while you're ahead. If the other party really gets desperate and starts causing trouble every day or doing something underhanded, he won't be able to do business in peace. It's better to cut his losses quickly, take the compensation, and leave to start over somewhere else.

Li Zhibai also felt that what she said made a lot of sense, so he agreed to the plan.

Six hundred and sixty thousand is not a small amount, especially since it's pure profit.

After Zhao Lei and the others left, Li Zhibai's lips curled up uncontrollably, but he forced it down halfway and sighed with feigned sorrow: "Sigh, a perfectly good shop just vanished like that. Life is so unpredictable, it's heartbreaking."

Huo Jun chuckled: "Don't hold back your sadness. No one's going to steal your money if you laugh."

"Oh, by the way, pay the lawyer's fees. I'll give you a discount; 60,000 will do."

Li Zhibai: "..."

He couldn't laugh anymore.

Finally, with a heavy heart, he counted out 60,000 yuan from the bag of cash and handed it to Huo Junmin, thinking to himself, "You took so much money from me, I'll definitely rip off your dad to make it up to you later!"

"By the way, the agreement states that you have three days to move out," Huo Junmin said after receiving the money. "If you don't have time to find a new place, I can help you delay for a few more days. They're in the wrong, so they won't dare to say anything."

"It's alright, no rush." ​​Li Zhibai shook his head: "I'll take this opportunity to clear out my inventory these next couple of days and then hold a grand closing sale to thank our new and old customers."

Huo Junmin: "...Big sale? You're not trying to rip us off again in the last few days, are you?"

"Attorney Huo, what do you mean by 'ripping off'?"

Li Zhibai explained, "This is called giving back to both new and old customers, so that everyone can enjoy my cooking before they leave, and avoid missing out on it for a while."

Huo Junmin rolled her eyes, then gave a few more instructions before leaving with her bag.