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

"Then you've come to the right person. Our company may not have much else, but we have a lot of team building activities."

Wen Ran counted on her fingers, explaining to Li Zhibai one by one: "Like the ice-breaking dinner for new employees, the celebratory dinner for closing deals, the mobilization dinner for end-of-month performance targets, and even the dinner after the weekly summary meeting, the leaders always have to get everyone together."

"These are all things my senior colleagues told me when I joined the company."

"Also, our leader said that in the insurance industry, connections are money. Eat out more, socialize more, and you'll naturally get more deals."

Li Zhibai's ears perked up instantly, and his eyes lit up.

Team building! Group meals! Bulk customer acquisition!

Isn't this just a bunch of suckers being handed to us... no, a high-quality customer base?

The team-building contract that Wen Ran facilitated last time, priced at a staggering 170,000 yuan, propelled his revenue to new heights, earning him a substantial profit. If he could secure team-building clients from her insurance company, he could at least cover most of the 600,000 yuan rent he owed at the end of the month.

Thinking of this, Li Zhibai withdrew his shrewd businessman demeanor and put on the appearance of a sincere, kind, reliable, and honest boss, saying, "Wen Ran, we're old acquaintances, right? You saw the quality of my dishes at your company's last dinner party. They're high-end, exquisite, and taste amazing, especially the price-performance ratio, which is simply unbeatable."

"Could you recommend your company to me if you have any team-building activities in the future?"

Li Zhibai moved closer to her and whispered, "After it's done, I'll give you a cut..."

He originally intended to give her a 5% commission afterward, asking her to do everything she could to bring customers to his shop; their collaboration last time had gone quite well. Five percent was more than he could afford, and for Wen Ran, a poor office worker, it was a considerable income, not less than what she earned at her job, especially considering the reasonable average spending per person in his Shaxian restaurant.

In short, cooperation leads to a win-win situation!

But before he could even utter the words of advice he was about to give the other party, he received a warning from the system.

【warn! 】

[The system has detected that the host is attempting to engage in unfair marketing through commercial bribery methods such as rebates, commissions, and kickbacks. This behavior seriously violates the core business principle of fair customer exploitation in this system.]

[A serious verbal warning is issued to the host. If the host insists on using illegal methods, the host will be randomly punished, including but not limited to shortening a part of the host's body by 2 centimeters.]

Li Zhibai: "..."

Password.

If you don't want to give a rebate, then don't give a rebate. Can you please stop threatening people with that place all the time?

A grown man being manipulated by the system like this every day, what will become of his reputation if word gets out?

Seeing that he suddenly stopped mid-sentence, Wen Ran asked curiously, "Boss, what were you trying to say?"

"Ah...it's nothing," Li Zhibai quickly changed his tune, "I mean, if you recommend my colleagues and friends to eat here, I can...um, give you more portions in the future, how about that?"

After saying that, he secretly waited for two seconds, and when the system didn't respond, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Wen Ran's eyes lit up immediately: "Really?"

"Really," Li Zhibai patted his chest and said, "A gentleman's word is as good as his bond."

"Don't worry, boss. Even if you don't give me more, I'll still recommend you to my colleagues. Your cooking is truly the best I've ever had." Wen Ran then changed the subject: "But boss, there's something I need to clarify first."

"you say."

"I will recommend your store to my colleagues, but I won't do it like last time."

"About what happened last time, Liu Xin, that simp, really deserved it, and I felt quite satisfied with my revenge. But after thinking about it later, I realized that what I did was a bit immoral."

"So, I'll recommend your restaurant to them, but I'll also tell them beforehand that it's not cheap. If they can handle it, great; if not, we won't force them. People are paying for a meal, so you have to let them know what's going on, right?"

Li Zhibai glanced at her.

Unexpectedly, this girl had more principles than he had imagined. He had originally thought she was one of his kind.

But now it seems that's not the case; this girl is the kind of person who clearly distinguishes between love and hate.

This kind of personality is good; people with principles are more reassuring.

"Okay, we'll do it your way." Li Zhibai nodded. "My shop is a legitimate business with clearly marked prices. The prices are all posted on the wall, and anyone can see them. Besides, you were the one who asked me to cover them up last time, not me. I'm not taking the blame for that."

Wen Ran: "..."

She did bring it up last time.

But boss, the speed at which you cooperated, and that shrewish face of yours, you're clearly not a good person either. We're evenly matched.

The two chatted for a bit more. Wen Ran glanced at the time, said she had to go to the next office building to canvass clients, waved goodbye to Li Zhibai, and left with the canvas bag printed with Anping Insurance on her back.

Li Zhibai stood at the store entrance, watched her walk away, and then looked down at the business card in his hand.

— Anping Insurance · Wen Ran.

He flipped the business card over; the back was printed with the insurance company's slogan—Anping Insurance, ensuring your safety.

"Should we buy accident insurance? Running a restaurant seems quite high-risk and dangerous."

Li Zhibai muttered a few words, put the business card in his pocket, and casually picked up his phone to check the time. What he was most concerned about now was how many guests he would have tonight.

Those guys promised last night they'd bring some new friends to support us today. Judging by the number of people yesterday, if each of them brings two more, there should be at least twenty or thirty people coming to eat, right?

With 20 or 30 people, if you're a little ruthless, you can easily make 30,000 to 40,000 in revenue, and 50,000 to 60,000 is not impossible.

Delicious.

Shaxian Snacks opened promptly at 6:00 PM.

Li Zhibai moved a chair to the doorway, crossed his legs, and waited for guests while eating sunflower seeds.

At 6:15, no one was there.

6:30.

Still no one.

6:45.

The flow of people on Financial Street gradually increased.

Office workers in suits emerged from the office building in twos and threes, but they either headed towards the subway station or the upscale restaurants. Few people came to Shaxian snack bar, and the occasional new customer who did come in would turn around and leave as soon as they saw the prices.

I waited until almost 7:30, but those guys from yesterday still hadn't come.

Li Zhibai gradually felt that something was not right.

Didn't those guys say they were coming today? Why haven't we seen a single one yet?

What about that second-generation rich kid from Shenzhen? What about Wang Yun and that awful couple? Didn't they agree to bring their friends to slash their wallets?

What about people?

Where have they all gone?

Something's wrong, something's very wrong.

Just as he began to suspect that those guys were going to stand him up, several familiar figures finally appeared at the door.