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

"No, no, boss, you've misunderstood! I swear, I'm definitely not here to set you up."

"The situation is like this..."

Wen Ran briefly recounted the trivial matters that had happened at her company that day, and even presented WeChat group messages as evidence.

Basically, their company boss is a notorious miser, the kind who's extremely stingy. The supervisor, Liu Xin, is the boss's biggest sycophant. To curry favor with the boss and save him money, she even chose Shaxian Snacks for company dinners, claiming it was to promote a culture of thrift and frugality.

To put it bluntly, they're just stingy.

What's even more outrageous is that when their supervisor, Liu Xin, told them to eat at Shaxian Restaurant, he happily followed the boss to a fancy restaurant to eat alone.

After hearing Wen Ran's explanation, the wariness on Li Zhibai's face gradually disappeared.

My opinion of this girl has changed somewhat.

Good guy.

You really can't judge a book by its cover.

This seemingly gentle and honest intern in front of him turns out to be just like him, full of malice.

He preyed on wealthy diners, but this girl preyed on the boss and even took down the manager.

She wanted to eat first and pay later, and even wanted to hide the menu prices. Her goal was simple: to prevent any traitor among her colleagues from seeing the prices and tipping them off. By the time everyone finished eating and paid, it would be too late for that manager to regret it after seeing the deduction notification; he would just have to swallow his anger.

But then again, you really can't blame the girl for this.

Blame the boss for being too stingy, and blame the manager for his own foolishness.

If you're going to treat us, just treat us! Why do you have to hold a democratic vote and let the employees choose the restaurant themselves?

Why did you have to choose this Shaxian Snacks restaurant of all places?

As everyone knows, Li Zhibai is an upright, kind, law-abiding, and honest boss who never overcharges customers and never applies double standards!

"Oh, I see. Then I'm all set."

Once Li Zhibai understood the whole story, he was relieved and got straight to the point:

"By the way, what are you planning to eat tonight? Let me know in advance so I can prepare accordingly."

Wen Ran blinked, feigning hesitation, and said, "Boss, I don't know what's good to eat. How about you recommend something?"

This is exactly what Li Zhibai was waiting for.

Since you asked me to make a recommendation, then I'm going to sharpen my knives and prepare to pounce on the pigs and sheep... no, I mean, on your boss.

"Beautiful lady, you can tell at a glance that the environment of my shop is completely different from those ordinary Shaxian snacks. This is a high-end Shaxian snack, with retro decor... and we use only top-quality ingredients..."

"Take that deluxe chicken leg rice for example. It uses an authentic whole Qingyuan chicken leg, which is slow-cooked at a low temperature for a full two hours in a secret sauce. The sauce is made with top-quality ingredients and herbs, and the taste of the stewed chicken leg is just... wow, it's so fragrant..."

As Wen Ran listened to his eloquent boasting, her stomach began to rumble uncontrollably.

She ate little this morning, and even though she had just eaten a plate of fried rice, Li Zhibai's detailed and informative explanation made her hungry again.

I wish I could grab a chicken leg right now and devour it.

"I've briefly explained how the food is prepared and what ingredients are used. Now let's talk about ordering."

"I think that for a powerful Fortune 500 company like yours, your company's dinner should be top-notch. It's unacceptable for outsiders to think you can't even afford a Shaxian snack. So I suggest you go for the full deluxe version of the snacks!"

"As for why I recommend the luxury version, it's because the luxury version is extremely cost-effective. Even if you go through the whole thing, it only costs three or four thousand yuan per person, which is incredibly cheap. Especially for a large company like yours that is a future Fortune 500 company, it's just a drop in the ocean."

Wen Ran: "......."

What do you mean by "only three or four thousand per person, very cheap"?

And is this what you call top-notch value for money? This is clearly top-notch blood pressure!

If this bill comes out, Liu Xin's sycophantic manager will probably have a stroke on the spot.

"Um... Boss, isn't it a bit unfair to order only the deluxe version? How about we order a little bit of the regular version?" Wen Ran thought it was a bit too cruel, so she whispered.

"Snapped!"

Li Zhibai clapped his hands suddenly and said with shame, "Oh dear, it's not that I didn't want to serve the regular version, I just remembered that we didn't get the ingredients for the regular version today. Look at this... isn't this too unfortunate?"

Wen Ran: "..."

Boss, your acting is terrible.

However, she came here today specifically to mess with her supervisor, so since the boss was being so cooperative, she reluctantly accepted it.

"That's... such a shame. Let's make the deluxe version then."

"My colleagues and I don't have big appetites, so we probably can't eat much. We can order less."

"Look, look, this is what a good employee is!" Li Zhibai exclaimed.

"I have the utmost respect for your company for having such a considerate employee like you! Even your company dinners are so budget-conscious. Your boss must have saved the galaxy in his past life."

Wen Ran blushed from his praise.

"Then it's settled. What time will you be arriving? I'd like to make preparations in advance," Li Zhibai asked again.

"Around 7 pm, we'll come straight here after get off work."

"No problem, I guarantee you'll have a satisfying and enjoyable meal tonight!"

"Thank you, boss. I'll be going now."

Wen Ran stood up, preparing to go back to work. Before leaving, she reminded him again:

"Boss, don't forget about the menu prices."

"Don't worry, I'll do it right now."

Li Zhibai rummaged through the cashier's drawer and found tape, sticky notes, and a marker.

He first covered the prices of the dishes with sticky notes, and then rewrote the labels on the back of the dishes.

Luxurious and fragrant mixed noodles – [Signature recommendation! Must-order!]

Luxury Crystal Dumplings – [Signature Recommendation! Must-Order!]

Luxury Chicken Leg Rice – [Signature Recommendation! Must-Order!]

Luxury Stew Pot – [Nourishing Yin and beautifying the skin, a beauty salon for women, and a boost for men!]

After writing all that, he quickly wrote three large characters in the regular menu section with a marker: "[Sold Out!]".

After everything was done, Li Zhibai took two steps back, crossed his arms, and nodded in satisfaction.

"How's it going? Is it on point?"

Looking at the "Must-Order" and "Sold Out" signs on the wall, Wen Ran thought of the two terrible reviews on the review website.

She suddenly felt that people calling his shop a shady business wasn't entirely unfair.

This boss seems to be doing this kind of thing before; he's too skilled at it.

"Okay, then let's do it this way."

"Boss, I'm leaving now."

"Okay, take care." Li Zhibai waved.

Wen Ran had just reached the door when she suddenly turned back and said:

"Boss!"

"What's wrong? Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

"Boss, look how many customers I've brought you, is there any reward?"

Wen Ran didn't want a kickback; she wanted a discount coupon or something so she could come back more often after she got paid. Otherwise, with her meager income, she really couldn't bear to come so often.

Li Zhibai nodded: "Yes! I can give you a Diamond VIP membership card from our store."

Wen Ran's eyes lit up: "Can I get a discount on meals with the membership card?"

"cannot."

"What's the use of that?"

"You can show it off to others, after all, it's a Shaxian membership card, which is very rare."

"ha???"

Wen Ran's expectation instantly shattered. She muttered "So stingy" and left.

After Wen Ran left, Li Zhibai could no longer hide the expression on his face and chuckled.

"Hehehe..."

Company dinner, 26 people.

If he didn't rip off their boss by 100,000 or 200,000 yuan on this deal, he would be unworthy of his nickname, Li Heizi.

After laughing, a new idea suddenly flashed into his mind.

In the future, could we change our approach to distributing flyers and instead target company dinners specifically?

For example, the flyer content could be changed to slogans like "High-end Shaxian snacks! The top choice for company team building!" or "Eating Shaxian snacks is both prestigious and satisfying!"

If he were to encounter another big investor like Wen Ran's company, he would make a fortune.

After laughing for a while in the shop, Li Zhibai realized that the shop seemed to be running out of ingredients.

Yesterday he prepared a total of more than twenty deluxe portions of ingredients, and after selling some, he had at most a dozen portions left.

We're hosting a company dinner tonight, and our current stock definitely won't be enough.

He quickly took out his phone and dialed Su Su's number.

The phone rang twice before being answered, and Su Su's energetic voice came from the other end.

"Hey, Master! What's wrong?"

"Sister Su, I need your help urgently!"