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

5:50 p.m.

When Li Zhibai got out of bed, he glanced at his phone and immediately felt a jolt of fear.

"Damn, it's almost six o'clock?"

He quickly got out of bed, slid downstairs in his slippers, washed his face, and then went to the door and opened the roller shutter.

He had only pulled the door halfway open when he saw several people standing at the doorway.

Yu Shen, Lu Qianshan, Pang Yi, Mu Cixuan, and Su Su stood at the door, looking longingly like the elderly people queuing up for eggs in the square.

"Why are you here so early?" Li Zhibai asked, bewildered.

"Is it still early?"

Yu Shen said irritably, "Boss, don't you even look at the time? It's almost six o'clock! What boss is as lazy as you!"

"Hurry up, I didn't even have lunch today, I'm just waiting for your meal."

Pang Yi, standing next to him, nodded repeatedly: "Me too. I only ate an apple for lunch, and now I'm starving."

Lu Qianshan and Mu Cixuan didn't say anything, but the longing in their eyes said it all.

Su Su waved to him with a grin, "Good afternoon, Master!"

"good afternoon!"

Li Zhibai felt incredibly relieved when he saw these five people appear.

have a look!have a look!

That's the loyalty of repeat customers!

If they can get this hungry after just two days without food, imagine if they used some kind of scarcity marketing tactic – they'd be lining up at the door every day!

"Alright, alright, come in."

Li Zhibai pushed the roller shutter door up, letting the five people into the shop.

Su Su walked into the kitchen with practiced ease, put on an apron, and began to help prepare the ingredients.

The girl who works at the store at her own expense is becoming more and more skilled. She doesn't need anyone to tell her what to do; she knows exactly what to do on her own.

After Yu Shen sat down, the first thing he did was look up at the menu on the wall.

The menu hasn't changed much; it still features dishes like mixed noodles, crystal dumplings, chicken leg rice, wontons, and stew.

The only change was a row of hooks on the wall, hanging there empty, as if reserving space for something.

"Boss, we're here so early today, surely you have the regular version by now?" Yu Shen asked deliberately.

When he said this, he had already thought about the words Li Zhibai would use next.

For example, messages like "[Regular version sold out]", "[No regular version ordered]", "[Regular version ingredients were eaten by the dog]", "[I'm not in a good mood to sell regular version today]", etc.

Anyway, Li Heizi has a mouth that can make up any kind of lie.

To his utter surprise, Li Zhibai nodded: "Yes, we have the regular version in stock today. What would you like to order?"

Everyone: "???"

Wow, the sun really did rise in the west!

Surprisingly, Li Heizi didn't make any excuses to prevent them from ordering the regular version today.

"Boss, did I just hear that right?" Yu Shen picked at his ear and asked again to confirm, "Are you sure we can order the regular version? You're not trying to set us up, are you?"

No wonder they reacted so strongly.

Their trust in Li Zhibai was so low, practically zero.

"Look at what you're saying. I, Li Zhibai, have always been honest and trustworthy in business. I always set clear prices and never cheat anyone, young or old. Don't make me sound like a heartless boss."

Everyone: "..."

Don't you feel awkward saying that to yourself?

However, since Li Heizi has changed his ways today, it's a good thing that they can order the regular version.

After all, there's a price difference between the standard and luxury versions, which can be several hundred yuan more per serving, saving you a lot of money over a meal.

Most importantly, they had never tried the regular version of Shaxian snacks.

"Then I have to click on all the regular versions today."

"One serving each of the following: mixed noodles, steamed dumplings, chicken leg rice, wontons, and soup!" Yu Shen ordered all the regular versions.

"I'm the same as Lao Yu," Lu Qianshan added.

Pang Yi, that fat guy, truly lived up to his size advantage, boldly declaring, "Multiply all of the above by 2!"

Li Zhibai was immediately shaken.

have a look!have a look!

This is how a major client should act—double the amount at the drop of a hat! So impressive!

I'll also give this guy a special, commemorative, but practically useless, diamond VIP card later.

"Um... I won't order these. I heard from Boss Su that you have new products, and I'd like to order the new ones," Mu Cixuan said softly.

Mu Cixuan's reminder made the others realize what was happening.

Yup!

I haven't ordered the new items yet.

They were so hungry that they were so focused on ordering food that they almost forgot about this.

You rushed over here today, wasn't it all for the new dishes?

"Boss, what about your new dish? Has it been served yet?"

"Yes, yes, it's a new dish. That's what we came here for today."

"Perfect for a change of pace."

"..."

Seeing their eagerness, Li Zhibai was secretly delighted; he had been waiting for them to ask this question.

"We do have new products, but they haven't been officially launched yet."

"Why isn't it on the shelves?" Yu Shen asked.

Li Zhibai pointed to the row of empty hooks on the wall: "See? The labels for the new dishes aren't ready yet. We can't sell them until the labels arrive."

"No, boss, the fact that the sign isn't done properly won't affect your cooking, will it?"

"You can cook it for us first, and then add the label later."

"Exactly, exactly! You can cook for us first, and then make up for it later."

"..."

The group chatted amongst themselves, each offering their own opinion.

Li Zhibai shook his head again: "No, no, doing business requires integrity. Selling food with clearly marked prices is the bottom line; otherwise, it's illegal."

"How could someone as upright and principled as me do something illegal and disorderly?"

Everyone: "..."

How can someone be so good at pretending?

If you had any principles, there would be no unscrupulous merchants in this world.

"Could you please tell us what the new dish is? At least let us know what it is," Lu Qianshan asked again.

"Well... I can tell you a little bit," Li Zhibai said mysteriously, "This dish looks white, but it's not noodles."

"White? Not noodles?"

"Anything else?"

"That's all."

"That's it?"

"Damn it! You're deliberately keeping us in suspense, aren't you?!" Yu Shen exclaimed, his eyes wide.

"If that's how you think, then it is true." Li Zhibai shamelessly admitted.

"Alright then, since you're regular customers, I'll describe the taste to you again."

"It has the fragrance of bamboo and the freshness of wild mountain delicacies... One bite, and it's as if you're tasting the mountains, the sea, the wind, and the sunshine..."

"In short, it's incredibly delicious!" Li Zhibai licked his lips with feigned enjoyment, looking as smug as could be.

As the four listened to the man's description, they all swallowed hard.

What's wrong with suddenly wanting to kill someone?

Yu Shen couldn't hold back any longer: "Stop talking nonsense and just tell me how to order. I can't wait."

Li Zhibai reluctantly agreed, "Alright, seeing how impatient you are, I'll make an exception this time."

"I worked on this dish for over ten hours straight last night, until noon today. It took me a lot of painstaking effort to make it."

"so what?"

"So it's a limited edition."

Upon hearing this, their hearts sank, and they had a bad feeling.

"What conditions are required to qualify?" Yu Shen asked again.

Li Zhibai held up two fingers.

"First, you need to order the luxury version of the dishes."

"Secondly, you need to get two friends to help you by betting against each other to order this new dish."

"Once you've completed these two steps, you can click on it."

Yu Shen: "..."

Lu Qianshan: "..."

Pang Yi: "..."

Mu Cixuan: "..."

Why does this routine seem so familiar? I feel like I've heard it somewhere before.

They finally understood why Li Heizi had told them to order any of the regular food.

Love is waiting here.

Whenever they want to eat one of those limited-edition new products, they have to change to the luxury version.

That's awesome!

This Li Heizi is truly born to be a shrewd businessman!

...........

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