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

"This Shaxian County is so ordinary! How can a meal here cost over 10,000 yuan?"

"For videos, filters are definitely needed. You know how restaurant review bloggers operate these days, using level 10 beauty filters to the max, making even the smallest hole-in-the-wall look like a Michelin-starred restaurant."

"Since we're already here, let's go in and take a look."

A group of people who had seen Zhao Yunlong's video of visiting the store came to check it out.

As soon as they entered, they were stunned by the menu on the wall.

"Fragrant mixed noodles 588... stew pot 888... braised pork 99 a piece... and this Bodhi vegetarian dish, 1288?"

Everyone gasped when they saw the price.

A young woman immediately started calculating the bill: "If I order a bowl of noodles, a basket of steamed dumplings, a plate of fried rice, a few pieces of meat, and a bowl of soup, this meal will cost..."

"Sis, you'd better not calculate it. If you do, I'm afraid I'll be tempted to run away."

"Then let's just run now."

"Since we're already here..."

These four words again.

These four words are probably the biggest killer of Chinese people's wallets; many tragedies start with the phrase "Since we're already here."

Fortunately, everyone was prepared to be the scapegoats.

In his video, Brother Long said that although the food sold in Shaxian is expensive, it's so delicious that you'll cry, and you'll want to kowtow to the chef.

A restaurant that can make someone willingly work for half a month sorting packages just to have another meal must be real, right?

"Alright then, let's order and try it out first."

"Boss, I'd like to order!"

Su Su happened to walk over from the side and said apologetically to the newcomers, "I'm sorry, everyone, we're full for today."

"Full? What do you mean? We just came in." Everyone was stunned.

Su Su pointed to the small blackboard at the entrance: "Our store only serves 50 customers a day. All 50 slots for today have been used up. I'm really sorry. You can come earlier to queue up tomorrow."

As soon as she said that, some hot-tempered people immediately became unhappy.

"No way! What kind of ridiculous rules are these?! A restaurant that doesn't let customers eat? I think you're just using this 'hunting' tactic!"

"Exactly! We took a taxi all this way and spent over a hundred yuan on the fare alone, and now you won't even let us eat."

"You have to queue and grab a number for a Shaxian snack shop? Are you crazy?!"

"I think I've figured it out. It's all a routine. That 'Brother Long's restaurant visit' thing is probably all scripted and he's been paid to act it out."

"What a load of crap! You're wasting our time. We'll expose you when we get back!"

"Let's go, let's not eat!"

"..."

The group turned and left, grumbling and cursing.

Of course, there are also those who are easy to talk to. For example, a small-time streamer who wanted to record some material and ride the wave of trending topics with his phone, although he was a little disappointed that he couldn't get a meal, still said he would come back tomorrow.

Several more groups of people arrived afterward, all drawn by its reputation.

Jiangcheng is a megacity with a population of 20 to 30 million. Even if only a small portion of them see the video, that's still a huge number, and many of them can afford to eat at Shaxian snack shops.

However, because Li Zhibai was holding an event today, all fifty spots were booked by regular customers, so they all had to leave disappointed.

Judging from the situation, Su Su knew that today was probably not the peak day for foot traffic. After all, the video hadn't gone viral yet, and those who couldn't come now might be able to come in a few days, such as the weekend.

There will definitely be an explosive growth in the next few days.

It's just a pity that they're destined never to eat their master's cooking.

…………

While eating, Lu Qianshan kept his eyes on the waves of new customers who had found him through the video.

This seems like an opportunity.

Lu Qianshan put down his chopsticks and beckoned to Yu Shen and Pang Yi: "Old Yu, Fatty, you two come here, I have something to tell you."

Yu Shen and Pang Yi craned their necks out in confusion.

"Old Lu, what's wrong? Why are you being so mysterious?"

Lu Qianshan quietly told him what he had just observed and the plan he had in mind.

The three of them stood head to head, secretly plotting for quite some time.

A moment later, Yu Shen's eyes widened suddenly.

"Damn, Lao Lu, you're a real genius! You even came up with such a dirty trick."

Lu Qianshan: "Keep a low profile, keep a low profile."

He had been observing the new faces who had been drawn to Brother Long's video. Although some people were very unhappy that a Shaxian snack shop was putting on airs with purchase restrictions and said they would never come again, others were even more excited and said they would definitely come again.

Tomorrow, these new faces will definitely be disappointed again. There aren't even enough spots for the regular customers, let alone newcomers.

But if we come back the day after tomorrow, things will be different.

Li Heizi packed his bags and left, and a new boss took over the shop.

Could those two guys cook dishes at Li Heizi's level? Even a fool would know it's impossible.

When those people who watched Brother Long's video come here excitedly and order a table full of dishes, only to find that the taste is completely wrong and not at all like the one in the video, what will they think?

They'll definitely think that Brother Long is taking money to freeload, that he's a swindler, a shill, and an unscrupulous blogger who took dirty money.

Brother Long's reputation is likely to explode.

By the time Li Heizi's new store opens, the online buzz will have long since died down, and even if Brother Long were to film another new video exploring Shaxian cuisine, probably no one would believe him anymore.

At that time, there will definitely be no new customers who will be fooled into coming to eat, and a small number of old customers may also be lost because they cannot find the new store address.

Then it seems they can return to the comfortable days of the past, where they didn't have to fight or queue, and could come whenever they wanted and eat whatever they wanted.

"Old Lu, here's a problem. If Brother Long had come forward beforehand to clarify that the boss had changed, and then told them the new address, wouldn't it still have been pointless?"

"What you're describing is an ideal scenario. Unless Li Heizi personally appears on camera and clarifies things with him, he definitely won't be able to explain himself clearly."

"Of course, to be on the safe side, I thought of a better way: sign him."

"Sign him? Sign Brother Long?"

"Yes, let him become one of ours, that way he won't be able to help Li Heizi promote his work, and even if he wanted to, he'd have to get past us first."

"Holy crap! Lao Lu, you mean you're going to be his sugar daddy?"

Lu Qianshan smiled and nodded: "Didn't I invest in a media company? I really admire Brother Long. He has strong execution skills, can endure hardship, and also has excellent storytelling and editing abilities. I watched his viral video several times; the pacing, emotions, and plot twists were all done very well. With a little polishing, this kind of talent could definitely become a very valuable internet celebrity."

"Signing him is a sure-fire deal for both me and the media company. The only condition is that he has to follow the company's arrangements after signing the contract. Even if we want to film Shaxian in the future, he has to stand on the same side as us and not provide support to Li Heizi."

Yu Shen finally understood: "In other words, we've essentially recruited him directly, then turned our guns on Li Heizi. At the very least, we can't let him help with propaganda; we'll shut him up."

"That's roughly the idea." Lu Qianshan nodded.

"We're doing this for his own good. Filming the Shaxian series is too risky for him. It might backfire at any time. But if he stays with us, we can get him commercial deals and arrange safer, more sustainable content for him. He'll be much more comfortable than he is now."

"In short, signing him is killing three birds with one stone: he gets resources, we get manpower, and Li Heizi loses an ally."

After listening, the two gave Lu Qianshan a thumbs up.

"Negative!"

"That's too ominous!"

"Old Lu, the kind of person I admire most in my life is someone like you who appears polite and refined on the surface but is actually a cunning and treacherous beast in disguise."

"roll!!!"

..........

P.S.: Some readers asked if any of the dishes described by the author could be made in real life. I want to tell you that most of them cannot be made in real life; they are all made up by the author. However, some of them can be made in real life. For example, braised pork belly. Some readers have already added rose-flavored fermented bean curd to the recipe and said that they used to dislike braised pork belly but have eaten a lot of it. You can try it. Rose-flavored fermented bean curd is not expensive.

The author has also made plans to go to Weihai with family for a few days this weekend, and will try to maintain a stable update schedule.