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

September 28th is an auspicious day for opening a business, overcharging customers, and collecting money.

At 8 a.m., Li Zhibai appeared early at the entrance of the new store at No. 99 Jiangdong South Road.

Today, he not only changed into a specially made white chef's uniform, but also hung the gold medal he won in the chef invitational competition a couple of days ago around his neck.

"For a new store opening, both the presentation and professionalism must be top-notch."

"Hehehe..."

He chuckled twice, then quickly pressed his hand to his cheek.

No, no, I'm going to laugh all day, so I have to be careful with my laughter and not use up all my facial expressions right at the start.

Zhao Lei had also arrived early at the entrance of the old shop across the street and was squatting on the steps smoking.

Compared to when he was full of vigor and high spirits when the business first opened, he looks noticeably haggard.

The cousins ​​and relatives he hired to work as touts did bring in some suckers and temporarily boosted revenue, but it was only a temporary solution. Touts could attract new customers but not retain old ones. Once they were ripped off, they would never come back. In the long run, the business would still face difficulties.

So he is still very anxious and has even considered running away with the money.

Zhao Lei exhaled a puff of smoke, his eyes fixed on the new store that was about to open diagonally across the street.

The entrance to the new store was already adorned with numerous flower baskets and a red carpet, making quite a grand display. He now knew that the store was owned by Li Zhibai.

"Damn, this guy actually opened a shop right across from mine and rented such a big storefront. Isn't he afraid of being crushed by the rent?"

Zhao Lei felt that what Li Zhibai was doing was practically suicide. The rent for the room across the street was at least 20 yuan a month. He was really going all out to compete with him for business.

He wanted to see how the other party could make the new store a success.

.........

9 o'clock in the morning.

Su Su's car appeared in the parking space in front of the new Shaxian store. She was dressed much more formally than usual today, wearing a dark suit and a bun hairstyle, making her look much more mature.

The reason I'm dressed like this today is because it's the first day my master's shop is opening, and she's not only here to help, but she'll also be cutting the ribbon with him later.

"Master, I've arrived!"

Li Zhibai turned around and his eyes lit up immediately: "Sister Su Su, I rarely see you dressed like this, it's really a rare sight."

Su Su blushed slightly: "It's the opening day, so I thought I'd dress a bit more formally."

Li Zhibai nodded: "Being more formal is fine too, it makes you look dashing!"

Su Su: "Thank you for the compliment, Master."

"By the way, Master, Uncle Huo said he's bringing his family to support us today, Yu Shen and the others said they'll arrive early, and Master Fang also sent a flower basket over."

"Look how polite they are all," Li Zhibai said, smiling even more broadly when he heard that so many guests had come.

In this way, he can take the opportunity to announce the first major event to boost consumption after the opening of the new store.

Just as the master and apprentice were arranging the flower baskets sent by guests at the door, Xiao Zhang, the doorman at the Michelin three-star restaurant next door, also arrived early to start work.

This month he finally had a relatively normal work life.

Ever since the Shaxian snack bar across the street seemed to have changed owners, he felt that his job was finally no longer being neglected.

Those luxury car customers no longer treat their Michelin restaurant as a free parking lot, and he no longer has to watch them cross the street to eat at that run-down Shaxian restaurant.

Honestly, that period was the darkest moment of his career. Having worked as a doorman in the store for almost two years, he never imagined that one day a Shaxian snack shop would steal so many customers from him.

This is utterly upside down!

Fortunately, it's all over now.

The business at the Shaxian restaurant across the street has also become increasingly worse, and their Michelin customer base has returned to normal.

He also met Xiao Li, who worked in the renovation of the shop next door. Xiao Li was quite handsome and had interesting conversations. Every afternoon when he wasn't busy, he would come over and squat by the roadside with Xiao Li, eating sunflower seeds and chatting about the various fresh melons from Shaxian across the street.

The two became inseparable friends during this period, and Xiao Zhang even felt that this month was the happiest time he had been working at this Michelin-starred restaurant.

After tidying himself up, Xiao Zhang went to the door to prepare for his day's work.

He then noticed that the new store next door, which had been under renovation for almost half a month, was finally about to open.

The flower baskets were laid out, the red carpet was laid out, and that netizen, Xiao Li, dressed in a white chef's uniform, was arranging the flower baskets at the entrance with a beautiful woman...

Wait, something's not right!

Isn't this guy from the construction team? Why is he wearing a chef's uniform?

Because Li Zhibai appears at the store almost every day to supervise the renovation and even occasionally helps out, he gets covered in mud and dust, so Xiao Zhang always mistakenly thought he was a member of the renovation team. How did he become a chef?

Before officially starting work, Xiao Zhang curiously walked over and asked, "Hey bro, did your renovation team switch careers to become chefs?"

Li Zhibai turned around and saw it was the Michelin doorman. He explained, "I own this restaurant."

"You own this place? You're the boss!" Xiao Zhang exclaimed in surprise.

"What kind of shop do you run? It looks quite grand."

"It's just Shaxian snacks," Li Zhibai said casually.

Xiao Zhang was about to say a few words of congratulations, but the smile on his face froze when the words were on the tip of his tongue.

"Sha...Shaxian Snacks?"

"Yes!" Li Zhibai nodded.

Looking at the guy in the chef's uniform in front of him, Xiao Zhang had a terrible thought: Could this guy be the former owner of that Shaxian restaurant across the street?

Just as he was about to ask to confirm, several luxury cars suddenly appeared in front of the store and drove into the parking lot. He could only hurry back to his post to greet them.

Before he could even finish saying "Welcome," the people who got out of the car rushed off to the shop next door.

"Hurry! Li Heizi's new store is opening! If you're late, there won't be any seats left!"

"I heard there's a special event today, I'm a little curious about what it is."

"Who cares what it is, as long as I can eat today, it's fine. I haven't eaten at Shaxian in ages."

"Wow, I didn't expect this new store to open next to a Michelin-starred restaurant. I'm even thinking of going to the Michelin-starred restaurant to have a meal and compare it with Mr. Li's restaurant."

"Why go to a Michelin-starred restaurant? Michelin isn't as prestigious as Shaxian snacks!"

Xiao Zhang: "........."

This scene...this setting...the lines...the code...it all looks so familiar!

When he came to his senses, he saw that Xiao Li, the melon-eating friend, was warmly greeting the guests who were arriving one after another.

"Welcome, welcome! Please come in!"

"Grand opening special! The first 60 customers to make a purchase will receive a ¥5 discount coupon (minimum spend required), first come, first served, while supplies last!"

"Free water is also available, with unlimited refills!"

"In addition, our store has a major opening event..."

"........."

As more and more customers arrived, the limited parking spaces at the entrance of Shaxian Restaurant were quickly filled, including the parking spaces at the Michelin restaurant where Xiao Zhang was located.

Xiao Zhang quickly picked up the walkie-talkie and reported the situation.

"Manager! Calling the manager!"

"What's wrong?"

"Manager, this is terrible! A Shaxian snack shop opened next door!"

manager:"........"

"Xiao Zhang, why are you bringing up Shaxian again! You said before that Shaxian across the street was stealing our business, but that Shaxian didn't last long and went out of business. They changed owners and their business is getting worse and worse. How could a fast food restaurant like that threaten us?"

"And didn't I tell you before, our Michelin three-star restaurant and Shaxian snack bar are not in the same league at all? Our customer base is completely different. Do you think the customers who come to our restaurant would go to Shaxian snack bar? And do you think the customers who go to Shaxian snack bar can afford to come to our restaurant?"

"Stop spreading the 'Shaxian threat' theory."

"No, manager, this isn't your average Shaxian snack; it's called 'World Shaxian'!"

"Shaxian is Shaxian. Why not call it Shaxian of the world or Shaxian of the universe?" The manager still didn't take it seriously.

"But manager..."

"Alright, alright, no more 'buts'. Just do your post properly."

The walkie-talkie snapped shut.

Xiao Zhang: "........"

He put down the walkie-talkie, looked at the newly opened Shaxian restaurant next door, and a very absurd and frightening thought suddenly popped into his mind.

Will my own Michelin three-star restaurant be driven out of business by the neighboring Shaxian snack shop?

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

PS: I'll update one chapter tonight and make up the rest during the day. I'm a little stuck on the plot right now. I've been revising the draft over and over all night, but I'm still not completely satisfied. Maybe it's because my mind is a little blank.

Writing novels, especially comedies that can make everyone laugh out loud in every chapter, is indeed quite difficult. You have to constantly think of jokes in the plot. On the contrary, it's easy to write a diary-like narrative. Food stories are indeed easy to write in a diary-like style, but authors certainly won't write like that, nor do they want to write in a formulaic way. So it's easy to get stuck. Please understand.