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

Even before the system price was released, Li Zhibai already had a general idea in mind.

He estimated that the standard version would sell for a little over 200, while the luxury version would be at most between 800 and 900.

He originally thought his pricing was already outrageous, but the system gave him a lesson in return.

The standard version is priced at 288, and the luxury version is priced at 1288.

It broke 1,000 directly.

"When it comes to being ruthless, it has to be you, System."

Looking at the number 1288 on the menu, Li Zhibai couldn't help but imagine the scene.

A corporate slave, driven to the brink of collapse by overwork, walked into the store and accidentally ordered a deluxe version of fried rice. He was moved to tears while eating it, but became depressed when he paid the bill.

Who can afford this price?

However, to be fair, this fried rice is indeed expensive, but it's also incredibly delicious.

Anyway, the Financial Street is never short of rich fools.

While others' fried rice warms the heart, his fried rice is specifically designed to prey on the wealthy, advocating a Robin Hood-like approach to help the poor, and it's completely devoid of any merit!

Li Zhibai then checked the differences between the two versions.

Needless to say, the ingredients used in the luxury version are impressive; just the list of ingredients alone is enough to impress.

This fried rice is made with twenty-one kinds of ingredients, including wild-grown Yulis rice, free-range chicken yolks, Xuanwei ham aged around five years, and top-grade bamboo leaf green tea from Mount Emei.

The cost of ingredients is spread out, and a serving of egg fried rice costs about 500 yuan, with a gross profit margin of about 60% to 65%.

After figuring out the facts, Li Zhibai suddenly felt that he might have wronged the system.

It's worth noting that the gross profit margin for other luxury snacks is generally around 75% to 80%.

The regular version of fried rice has significantly fewer ingredients. The core steps are not cut: soaking the rice in bamboo leaf green tea, steaming multiple layers of ingredients, and using a secret base oil with ham and matsutake mushrooms. All three are retained, but the top-tier rare ingredients are removed.

But the flavor is still incredibly rich, and the taste is far superior to any other fried rice on the market.

He also calculated the cost, which was about 120-130 per serving, with a gross profit of about 50-55%.

All are within the normal range.

After figuring out the cost of the dishes, Li Zhibai took another look at the newly renovated kitchen.

Constant temperature steamer, precise temperature control stove, permanent freshness refrigerator, whole-house odor-removing water purification system... it's truly packed with cutting-edge technology.

But he always felt that something was missing.

"System, I strongly suspect you're smuggling in your own agenda."

"You've transformed my kitchen like this, at least give me a set of top-of-the-line, heirloom knives, right? I'm still using those cheap, cheap kitchen knives from the supermarket that cost a few dozen yuan each. Does that thing deserve my status as a culinary master?"

[The host can obtain random rewards by acquiring Gourmet Hearts; perhaps one of them will be the knife you desire.]

[New rule unlocked: For each Gourmet Heart obtained, the corresponding original dish must be sold a total of 100 times before the reward for the next Gourmet Heart is unlocked.]

Li Zhibai: "..."

He knew this damn system was up to no good; he should have known better than to ask.

Fortunately, the requirement is only 100 copies sold in total, with no time limit.

If it were really a time limit, with the current dismal customer traffic in the store, it would be impossible to complete the task.

Especially considering his restaurant's extremely high rating of 1.8, the online traffic it can generate is practically zero.

As for those regular customers, like Yu Shen, who is a second-generation demolition beneficiary, although they are rich, they can't come every day.

The average customer who is easily swayed by green hues is unlikely to choose the 288 egg fried rice.

Currently, the only way to complete this quickly seems to be through group buying.

For example, if another company comes along and throws a dinner party for him, he can finish a hundred servings in one night.

Thinking of this, Li Zhibai couldn't help but send Wen Ran a message: "Is your company having a dinner party again? I'm in luck this time..."

However, reason told him that the company's boss probably wanted to chop him up with a knife right now.

Forget it.

"No, we need to think of another way to take a shortcut."

Li Zhibai stroked his chin, pondering how to quickly sell these one hundred portions, so as to prepare in advance for acquiring the next Heart of Gourmet Food.

Just then, his phone suddenly vibrated; it was a WeChat message from his mother.

She woke up early in the morning and shared a link to a "cut a knife" service, asking him to help her cut the price of a rice cooker.

Li Zhibai originally intended to pretend he hadn't seen it, but then an idea suddenly struck him, and he had a flash of inspiration.

"Got it!"

"When Su Su's wealthy friends come to eat, I'll not put the new dish on the menu yet, but keep it as a hidden item. Then I'll hint to them that this dish is very rare, available in limited quantities, and not just anyone can order it. They have to spend a certain amount or bring new customers to unlock the hidden menu."

"Those guys are all rich and foodies, they'll definitely take the bait."

"When the time comes, we'll have them bring a bunch of their friends over, and selling a hundred copies shouldn't be too difficult."

"Hehehe..."

[The host actually managed to come up with such a disgusting marketing tactic; the level of ruthlessness has reached a new level.]

"Don't talk nonsense. I didn't invent these tricks. They were invented by those great entrepreneurs. I just borrowed some of them."

【…】

After figuring out how to market his fried rice, Li Zhibai remembered his promise to Sister Zhao and sent her a message on his phone.

"Hey ma'am, I've made the fried rice. If it's convenient for you, you can bring your kids over to eat after 5 PM today. Just so you know, I don't offer takeout; you'll have to eat in."

Not long after the message was sent, Zhao Xiaomei replied.

Okay, okay! Thank you, Mr. Li! I just asked the doctor, and he said Siqi's condition is relatively stable, but she's a bit down. It'll be good for her to get some fresh air.

Okay, I'll wait for you.

Li Zhibai put down his phone and stretched.

He hadn't slept all night, and although he was a little sleepy, he couldn't sleep yet. He needed to prepare the ingredients he needed for the day in advance.

With the refrigerator in the system kitchen, ingredients can be prepared in advance and stored in the refrigerator, so there's no need to worry about them spoiling.

Following the recipes from Bodhi Jade Studio, Li Zhibai prepared the base ingredients needed for both the standard and deluxe versions.

Because this dish is so expensive, he didn't dare to prepare too much; otherwise, it would be a waste.

So he only prepared five portions of the deluxe version and five portions of the regular version for the time being. Including other dishes, he prepared less than thirty portions of ingredients in total for today.

"Let's leave it at that for now, and talk about it again after we sell out."

Li Zhibai sorted the prepared ingredients and put them into the refrigerator. He checked the equipment and seasonings again to make sure everything was in order before turning off the kitchen light and going to the outdoor dining area.

It was almost 10 a.m. at this point.

He took out his phone and sent a message to the print shop owner.

[Boss, are you there? I need you to do something again.]

Messages are replied to instantly.

Hey bro, are you making a menu again? Not going to lower the prices again, are you?

[Didn't I tell you to make it bigger last time? How could I possibly make it smaller again?]

[Haha, just kidding. So, what are you doing this time?]

[I'm not making a menu this time. Could you make a batch of those wall-mounted signs so I can easily write the dish names and prices on them? Later, when I have new dishes, I can just handwrite them and hang them up – that'll be much more convenient.]

Also, please order a batch of custom-made Diamond VIP cards for me. Nothing else matters, just that they have to look high-end and have the Shaxian Snacks logo printed on them.

The message was sent, and the other party replied a minute later.

[Not a brother, but Shaxian Snacks is making VIP cards?]

【right!】

Can I ask you a question? Is your shop a restaurant, or is it some kind of private club operating under the name of Shaxian snacks?

Hey bro, if you have any high-end connections, you know... we're men, you know what I mean, introduce me to them. Don't worry, I'm a tight-lipped guy, I definitely won't tell anyone.

Li Zhibai: "???"

This is a legitimate Shaxian snack shop!!!

The print shop owner didn't believe it at all.

"Brother, stop pretending. I've been in this business for years, I've seen all kinds of customers. We're practically acquaintances, so if I go there to make a purchase, could you give me a discount?"

Li Zhibai: "........"

What do you take this high-end Shaxian snack for?

Actually, you can't blame people for misinterpreting things.

The prices on his menu were already outrageous, and did indeed somewhat match the price range of certain special consumer venues.

On top of that, they're going to introduce some kind of diamond VIP card. What kind of Shaxian snack shop would offer something like that? Isn't this just blatant deception?

Li Zhibai was too lazy to explain.

Don't worry about it, just do as instructed.

Of course, you can come and spend money if you like; I guarantee you'll be completely satisfied!

The owner of the printing shop across the street was immediately excited when he saw the news.

[Brother, you're so generous! I'll personally deliver the stuff to you tomorrow, and I'll also show you just how high-end your Shaxian snacks really are, hehe...]

By the way, I won't charge you this time, it's free!

Li Zhibai: "..."

Why does it suddenly feel like I'm pimping?

Who cares? If this guy dares to come, I'll kill him!