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

The next morning.

When Li Zhibai climbed out of the hard wooden bed, he felt like his back was about to break.

"Damn it, the first thing I'll do when I make money is buy a ten-meter-long bed, the kind that bounces you up when you lie down!"

Li Zhibai got dressed, slipped on his slippers and went downstairs. He then got some water from the kitchen and squatted down at the restaurant entrance to wash up briefly.

After washing up, he returned to the kitchen and began checking the leftover ingredients from yesterday.

This was the first time he had faced a problem that no restaurant owner could escape—how to deal with leftover food.

Some processed ingredients are fine and can be left overnight without much problem, but some processed ingredients may not be usable after being left overnight. For example, snow crab roe must be used up as soon as possible after opening the jar, otherwise the flavor will be compromised.

Li Zhibai stood in front of the freezer and began to inspect each item one by one.

"Hmm... there's still more than half a jar of crab roe left. It doesn't smell spoiled, but the flavor is noticeably weaker than yesterday."

"Sea cucumber powder is fine; dried goods keep well."

"This kneaded dough... it's no good, it's already starting to taste slightly sour."

"......."

His god-like culinary skills gave him not only technique, but also an almost superhuman ability to judge ingredients. He could easily distinguish even the slightest loss of flavor or the faintest hint of sourness.

Of course, even if you cook with these slightly off ingredients, the average person wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

But he couldn't get over it in his own mind.

"Let's deal with it."

Li Zhibai, suppressing his heartache, threw some of the substandard ingredients into the trash can.

He can be a ruthless boss, setting exorbitant prices to rip off wealthy people, but he can't cheat people on the quality of ingredients.

This is his bottom line, and also his dignity as a chef.

After discarding the substandard ingredients, he picked out the ingredients needed for today and placed them on the outermost shelf of the freezer for easy access today.

Then he did a quick calculation and found that the food losses from yesterday alone amounted to three or four hundred yuan, which really pained him.

"System, I have a question for you."

[Host, please speak.]

"Other people's food systems either give you millions in start-up capital or provide an unlimited supply of top-tier ingredients. Why is it that yours offers no benefits at all? Look at me, I'm already in such a miserable state, owing 600,000 in rent, sleeping on a hard wooden bed, and only have about 10,000 left in my pocket. And you still give me such a ridiculously difficult task. Don't you think you're going a bit too far?"

This system emphasizes realistic management and rejects mindless resourcefulness. This is to hone the host's willpower; as the saying goes, "No pain, no gain."

".........."

"Thank you for your cynical chicken soup!"

Li Zhibai rolled his eyes, truly speechless at the system's shamelessness.

These days, even the system has learned to make empty promises.

But despite the complaints, the work still had to be done.

After getting rid of yesterday's leftovers, Li Zhibai made himself a simple breakfast: a bowl of regular scallion oil noodles.

Then he sat at a small table at the shop entrance with his noodles, eating while looking at the street scene outside.

On the streets of Financial Street in the early morning, men and women dressed in suits and ties are everywhere. Many of them are holding sandwiches and coffee, and then they hurry into office buildings.

Li Zhibai's gaze swept around the street and finally landed on a coffee shop across the street with the words "Artisan Coffee" printed on it.

There was even a queue at this coffee shop in the morning, and the prices weren't cheap either. The sign at the entrance said that an Americano starts at 58 yuan and a hand-drip coffee starts at 98 yuan.

"Is a cup of coffee that good for 100 yuan really that good? And people are queuing up to buy it! With a little more money, you could come to my Shaxian restaurant and have a really good value bowl of noodles." Li Zhibai complained sourly.

After finishing his meal, he replaced the old menu with the new one that the delivery guy had brought him the day before. This time, both the names of the dishes and the prices were much more eye-catching, which should reduce some misunderstandings and arguments.

After finishing all that, Li Zhibai took out his phone and sat in the store, idly scrolling through short videos.

While scrolling through the page, a video from a restaurant review blogger popped up on the screen, titled "A hidden gem of a private kitchen costing 1800 RMB per person, with a three-month waiting list!"

In the video, the blogger picks up a piece of braised pork, stuffs it into his mouth, and then lets out a scream that could blow the ceiling off, with an expression that is as exaggerated as can be.

"This is so delicious! Nobody in the family can understand this! This braised pork melts in your mouth, it's fatty but not greasy at all, it's absolutely amazing!"

Li Zhibai stared at the video for a while, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

"That's right! How come I didn't think of that!"

"Which restaurant doesn't advertise online these days? Those trendy restaurants always use these exaggerated gimmicks to attract gullible customers, so can't they advertise like that too?"

"For example, you could shoot a video and title it 'Challenging the most expensive Shaxian snacks on the internet: Is a bowl of noodles worth 588 yuan?'"

"Who would dare sell a bowl of Shaxian noodles for 588 yuan? That's the kind of gimmick we need, isn't it?"

"Then we'll create a group-buying deal, like noodles that originally cost 588, but only cost 488 in the group-buying price..."

Li Zhibai was completely absorbed in studying these fancy marketing strategies, forgetting that his shop was fundamentally different from other trendy restaurants.

Other trendy restaurants focus on being high-end and creating hype, but this one is different; it's a Shaxian snack shop.

Shaxian snacks are known to people all over the country.

If he actually posts such a video, he'll get some attention, but he'll probably be bombarded with criticism from netizens.

The system seemed to have noticed his restlessness and suddenly made a sound.

【warn! 】

[The system has detected that the host is attempting to attract customers with low prices and engage in group buying through online platforms, which is a serious violation of the system's pricing principles and business philosophy!]

[Outcome: The host's online traffic generation privileges have been banned, and the daily effective customer traffic has been limited.]

Li Zhibai was startled by the system's warning, and his temper flared up immediately.

"No, why should I?"

"Look around, which restaurant doesn't offer group-buying deals these days? And those trendy restaurants on social media, aren't they all using group-buying packages to attract customers?"

[To unblock this privilege, the host needs to increase the number of Gourmet Hearts.]

[Given that the host currently has 0 Gourmet Hearts, the system limits the number of valid customers per day to no more than 50.]

"???"

"Seriously, what are you doing? Not only are you preventing me from attracting customers online, but you're also limiting the number of customers I can serve each day."

This is a protective mechanism for the host; a superficial mindset is detrimental to acquiring the Heart of Gourmet Food.

"Then tell me, what exactly is this 'Heart of Gourmet Food'? And how do I obtain it?"

[Please comprehend this on your own.]

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

"Fine! You win!"

Although the system does not allow him to do any online traffic generation, fortunately, the review information on third-party platforms such as review websites will not be interfered with.

Because those were customer-generated ratings and reviews, not his active promotion.

Li Zhibai casually opened a review website and searched for his own shop—Shaxian Snacks (No. 88 Jiangdong South Road).

He originally thought that since the store was newly opened, it would have zero ratings and zero reviews, but the moment the page was refreshed, it gave him a big surprise.

No, it's a terrible review!

Negative review posted at 9:47 AM.

Posted by: Qingyuan is not a kite.

Rating: One star.

The review is over 300 words long, with beautiful writing, sharp wording, and a masterful use of sarcasm.

Li Zhibai read it from beginning to end, and his blood pressure soared to the top of his head.

[Beware! The worst Shaxian snack shop in Financial Street!]

[I've never seen such a shameless restaurant. It advertises itself as a nationally affordable Shaxian snack shop, yet it overcharges exorbitantly. A simple bowl of stew dares to ask for a whopping 888 yuan... The owner's name is Li Heizi... I urge all passersby to keep their eyes open and avoid this place, lest they be ripped off by this unscrupulous owner.]

Li Zhibai: "......"

He finally understood why the system didn't care about these review websites; this wasn't advertising, it was public execution!

Without a doubt, this comment was written by that aloof female customer who called to report him yesterday.

"Alright, woman, you've successfully caught my attention."

Li Zhibai gritted his teeth, found a small notebook and a pen, opened the first page, and wrote down the person's ID.

Then, at the very top of the first page, three large characters were written: "Blacklist".

After writing it, he felt that it wasn't a good idea, so he crossed out "Blacklist" and changed it to "Slaughter List".

From now on, anyone on this list will be kicked out if they spend less than 2000 yuan in a single meal.

After doing all this, Li Zhibai slammed the notebook shut.

"Just you wait. Sooner or later, I'll make you beg me not to kill you."