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

Bang bang bang!

There was a sudden knock on the door.

"Boss! Are you there?"

Upon hearing the sound, Li Zhibai instinctively looked up at the clock on the wall.

11: 47.

Who's knocking on the door in the middle of the day?

His shop's opening hours are clearly stated: 18:00 to 2:00.

That sign at the entrance has been up for several days now; anyone with eyesight can see it.

"Stop knocking, stop knocking, I'm coming, I'm coming."

Li Zhibai threw the flyer onto the cashier's counter and ran over to pull open the roller shutter with a whoosh.

A girl with a ponytail, wearing a white shirt and black trousers, and with large dark circles under her eyes appeared at the door.

It looks familiar.

"Boss, that's great! You didn't run away. I thought your shop had closed down." Wen Ran exclaimed happily the moment she saw him.

Li Zhibai: "..."

No, girl, do you even know how to speak?

Wen Ran realized she had misspoke and quickly explained, "No, no! I meant I thought you weren't doing business if you didn't open the door during the day, it scared me to death."

"I'm not open during the day," Li Zhibai said irritably.

But then he finally remembered who the girl was. Wasn't she the crying intern from last night?

What are you doing here in the middle of the day? Are you here for lunch?

He can cook if he wants to, and he can hand out flyers after he finishes cooking.

"Beautiful lady, would you like to order?" Li Zhibai asked.

"I'm not here to eat." Wen Ran shook her head, then explained her purpose: "Boss, I'm here to reserve the venue. Our company is having a dinner party tonight, and we've booked your restaurant."

What, a company dinner?

Upon hearing these four words, Li Zhibai immediately perked up.

He was worried about not being able to complete the task and was preparing to hand out flyers under the scorching sun when a big order suddenly came his way.

Could it be that my luck is really about to change?

Li Zhibai was overjoyed, but he still maintained a calm and composed demeanor on his face.

Stay calm! Don't get agitated!

As the only high-end Shaxian restaurant owner in Financial Street, even if a huge order comes in, he has to rip people off with dignity and not appear unsophisticated.

next second.

His expression instantly became incredibly enthusiastic, his mouth practically stretching to the back of his ears.

"Oh my, hahaha... beautiful lady, come in, come in, it's so sunny outside."

Wen Ran was stunned by his rapid change of expression.

The boss was acting indifferent just now, but now he's suddenly being so enthusiastic. It's kind of strange.

"Sit down, sit anywhere."

Li Zhibai pulled out a chair and took a bottle of mineral water from the freezer, handing it to her: "Here, have some water."

After handing him the water, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, beautiful lady, have you had lunch yet?"

Wen Ran shook her head: "Not yet, I'm planning to go to the convenience store later to buy some instant noodles."

She really can't afford Shaxian snacks right now; she has enough money to last until payday. Yesterday, she spent 150 yuan, which was already over budget.

Upon hearing her words, Li Zhibai immediately frowned.

"Hey, how can you eat such unhealthy food in the middle of the day?"

I just made fried rice with eggs, and I have one serving left. If you don't mind, you can make do with this.

After all, he's a big client. What's wrong with him sending a serving of fried rice?

The system stipulates that food items listed on the menu cannot be given away as gifts, and this fried rice is not listed on the menu.

Wen Ran was taken aback for a moment, then said somewhat embarrassedly, "But I haven't received my salary yet, and the food here is too expensive, boss. I can't afford it."

"It's free!" Li Zhibai said immediately.

Wen Ran: "Huh?"

"The fried rice I made was defective and was going to be thrown in the trash anyway. Your arrival is a good solution, so there's no waste." Li Zhibai was telling the truth. As long as it didn't reach god-level quality, it was defective to him.

Wen Ran: "..."

Defective products?

Are they using her as a dumping ground for their trash?

Boss, are you being polite?

But then she thought, since it's free, why not eat it and save some money?

There was no other way; we were poor!

"Then... thank you, boss."

"Oh, don't mention it!"

When Li Zhibai brought the fried rice out of the kitchen and placed it in front of Wen Ran, she was slightly surprised.

She originally thought that the defective products Li Zhibai mentioned were the kind that were burnt or had too much seasoning.

I didn't expect that what was served would be such a beautifully presented plate of fried rice. The rice grains were distinct, and the scrambled eggs were evenly coated on each grain. With the addition of chopped green onions, it looked very appetizing.

No, boss, you call this a defective product?

If this is defective, then what about the fried rice in restaurants? Pig swill?

She even wanted to say to Li Zhibai, "Boss, could you give me a call if you have any defective products in the future? I can be your dumping ground."

Li Zhibai sat down opposite her and said, "Eat, eat, let's chat while we eat."

Wen Ran picked up a spoon, scooped up a large spoonful of fried rice, and put it in her mouth, her eyes immediately squinting with happiness.

good to eat.

It's really delicious.

Although it wasn't quite as good as the bowl of wontons she had last night, it was still better than any fried rice she had ever eaten in her life.

"Smack smack..." Wen Ran took a few more bites.

She was a sensible girl; instead of just eating, she started talking about serious matters.

"Boss, it's like this, our company is having a dinner party tonight, and my supervisor asked me to book a restaurant, so I recommended your place."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhibai immediately gave her a thumbs up: "You have good taste!"

"I'm not bragging, but in the entire Financial Street, apart from that Michelin-starred restaurant across the street, my Shaxian snack shop is the best. And to be honest, that Michelin-starred restaurant is just so-so, all flash and no substance, and the food isn't as good as mine."

Wen Ran: "..."

Although it sounded like bragging, after eating that bowl of wontons yesterday, she actually thought the boss was telling the truth.

"Um... Boss, I'm here today to discuss a few things with you."

"you say."

"Our company has a lot of people, 26 people in total. You need to reserve all these seats in your store for us."

"No problem!" Li Zhibai agreed without hesitation: "My shop may not be big, but we can still squeeze in a few seats."

"However, let me make it clear beforehand that we require payment before dining."

Wen Ran said somewhat embarrassedly, "Boss, this is the second thing I wanted to discuss with you. Our company dinner is paid for with public funds. You know the financial procedures; we have to get the invoice after the meal before we can swipe our cards for reimbursement. If we pay in advance, the accounts won't match. Could you make an exception and let us swipe our cards after the meal?"

Li Zhibai frowned.

Eat first, pay later.

Doesn't that violate the rules he set when he opened the business?

But then I thought, this is a company dinner, a large meal for more than 20 people, and it's reimbursed with company funds, not paid out of personal pocket, so they probably won't renege on their debt.

"OK!"

"Since you're a repeat customer, we can have dinner first and pay later tonight. But let me make this clear: if you don't pay after you finish your meal, the consequences will be severe! The police here can arrive in a minute."

"No, no, I'll definitely pay," Wen Ran assured.

"Boss... um... there's one more small thing."

"What is it?" Li Zhibai asked.

After hesitating for a moment, Wen Ran pointed to the menu on the wall and said:

"Could you please cover up the prices on your menu?"

Li Zhibai: "Cover it up? What do you mean?"

Wen Ran: "Just cover up the prices on the menu so my colleagues can't see them. They can see the bill when we pay the bill after we finish eating."

Li Zhibai narrowed his eyes upon hearing this.

Cover the price and pay after you eat?

This operation feels so familiar.

Isn't this the same stunt he pulled on his first day of business?

He printed the prices on the menu in tiny print, which led to the aloof female executive reporting him and giving him a bad review.

This girl is actually asking him to do this now, what does she want to do?

Li Zhibai's expression gradually became wary:

"Hey beautiful, you're not trying to set me up, are you? You're going to eat without paying and then report me?"

"Let me tell you, you've got the wrong person. I'm the most ethical business owner on Financial Street. I never rip off customers or do anything illegal!"