The Rise and Fall of the Last Imperial Cook

36. Being Shrewd in Business

Translator: Luo Yixin

Proofread by Peter Gong

Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin have never expected that their restaurant, which has just been in business for a few days, comes to the very edge of bankruptcy under the dual suppression of malicious rumors and low-cost marketing of Renhe Restaurant and Taihe Restaurant. It is difficult to gain but easy to lose. Now, it seems that there are only two ways before them, quick death or waiting for death. Xu Zhiwei, as the pillar of Shengxin Restaurant, has not made any response until now. It seems that the competition has completely damped his spirit and cast him into self-repentance and depression.

“No, it’s definitely not going to work like this!” Even Zhu Shengpeng, who has always been calm, could no longer wait for death passively. After calculating the income and expenditure of the day twice, he slams the abacus on the counter so fiercely that one beaded rod is shaken off and several abacus beads fall off, rolling all the way along the long counter.

It is a matter of life and death, and no one cares about those abacus beads. The beads can still be found wherever they go, but they can’t predict where they themselves should go if the current dilemma cannot be rid of. If that happens, they might come to a worse end than the beads.

“Bro, we should go all out to counterattack what they have been doing!” Cai Renxin says with his eyes bloodshot and hat on askew.

“How could you do that? You will only die even faster than now.”

“I’m not talking about bargaining prices. I mean setting a trap. If he doesn’t let us live, I will let him die first. I will set fire on their restaurants when the night comes.” Cai Renxin’s words are scaring. But actually, he has no guts to do such a thing even though he is a little aggressive. He just hates them to the extreme that he speaks out such tough words.

“Bro, stop thinking that way. If you really do this and get caught, not only will our restaurant fail to run, but also you will waste your life in jail. Even if you escape being caught, our restaurant will still be the major target of suspicion. Yamen will come over to investigate, and our business will be delayed for that. If that happens, there is no chance to turn around.” What Zhu Shengpeng said is reasonable because even if Cai Renxin risks being imprisoned and losing life to fight for their benefit, they would still end up in failure.

“I’m really unwilling! We have just run the business for a few days, and now we fall into the deep hell. It is all of a sudden! What’s the hell in the world? Who did we provoke and why he could not tolerate us!” Cai says in a broken voice.

“When your business is good, others’ will be relatively slack. How can they tolerate you? It is true that harmony makes money. But that’s for the strong ones who have reputation and strength. If you reach that level, harmony will surely bring you wealth and prosperity. Businessmen like us are trying to squeeze into the market with all the strength to grab food in others’ bowls, which turns the market into a battlefield. How could businessmen talk about harmony?” Zhu Shengpeng pounds the counter as he says, and suddenly he stops, confessing with regret: “It might be that we are too anxious to enter the battlefield before we learn how to fight, and we are caught unprepared by others. We lost this time, we were beat so miserably that we didn’t even have the ability to stay away or hide.”

At this moment, the door curtain is lifted and a beauty runs in, saying, “What are you two doing here? Go and have a look, Master Xu is pacing around by the well behind. He doesn’t think about suicide, does he?”

At her words, Cai and Zhu immediately jump up and run backwards. They have brought Xu Zhiwei in and Xu has devoted himself to this restaurant, so they would never get him into trouble because of the current situation. Besides, they pin all their hope on him, expecting that he can come up with some idea to reverse the adverse situation as he did to the steamed bun and noodles before.

Xu Zhiwei stands near the well with his hands behind and his head tilted, as if he is thinking about something, or he is preparing to jump into the well with determination.

“Master Xu!” “Uncle Xu!” Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin run over to hug Xu.

“Master Xu, we can start from the beginning even if the restaurant gets bankrupt, there is always a chance to turn over as long as we live in the world. You can’t think about death!” Zhu Shengpeng hugs one of Xu Zhiwei’s arms, keeping his body in front of Xu.

Cai Renxin, hugging Xu Zhiwei’s waist from behind, says, “Yes, now our restaurant hasn’t closed yet, and there is still a chance to get everything back to the normal track. Even if we can’t get it back, we still could set up a food stall at the roadside to sell noodles. We won’t die of starvation.”

“What are you doing? What are you two doing?” Xu Zhiwei struggles to get out of their tight hugging. But the more he struggles, the tighter the two hold him.

“Uncle Xu, don’t do that. Facing the current situation, everyone is anxious and everyone is trying their best to save it. The main reason of our failure is that Taihe Restaurant cuts prices for customers. It has nothing to do with your competition. Don’t blame yourself. Don’t think too much. We never want to blame you.” Although Shuixian doesn’t come up to help hold Xu Zhiwei, she is persuading him by the side.

Xu Zhiwei stops struggling. He hears what Shuixian said — it turns out that the three young people are afraid that he would jump into the well. Although he has not worked with them for a long time, he could tell that they are honest and kind from their personality, attitude towards him, and the way they hold him tight now. However, he could also tell from Shuixian’s words that they still have a few complaints about his losing the competition. It is true that the negative effect won’t arrive so quickly if it were not for the lost competition. So long as the prosperity of Shengxin Restaurant continues for a few months which will lay a solid foundation for their future business, they can overcome any difficulty even if they face a greater price competition and market shock.

Xu Zhiwei is still very moved by the action of Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin who rushed out to prevent him from committing suicide. He was bullied in the palace and was deceived after being driven out of the palace. He was cuckolded by his wife and was forced to leave by Chef Clique. When in distress, Zhao Hudong kicked him out of Huiquan Hall Restaurant. Fan Ada cheated and threatened him. All these make Xu Zhiwei almost unable to feel the beauty of the world. It seems that only disguise and profit can befriend each other. However, the two young people whom he has never met before give him a different understanding of the world, allowing him to see that there are still sincerity, care and hope in the world. So he feels lucky that he has decided to stay here, and it is such a blessing to be in the same boat with these two young men. Even if he encounters violent winds and storms, he can weather them through with them together.

“Let me go, I don’t want to commit suicide. I am admiring the moon.” Xu Zhiwei says calmly. “Admiring the moon?” “Why are you looking at the moon?” Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin are puzzled. “Uncle Xu, who do you think of when looking at the moon? Your wife, lover? Or your parents and brothers?”

“A man will recall many people before death in the drama.” Shuixian chatters beside him. “Hey, I don’t think about death, nor do I recall anyone. I am just looking at the moon and thinking of a way to get our restaurant out of trouble. “Xu Zhiwei looks like he could neither laugh nor cry. When hearing this, Cai Renxin immediately turns his head to Shuixian and asks loudly, “Why are you talking about nonsense! How could you know that Uncle Xu is about to jump into the well?”

“What are you yelling at? Your voice could even attract the dogs in the streets to us! I am worried about Uncle Xu when seeing him stand beside the well! You are really mistaking my kindness for a bad will!” Shuixian scolds and leaves angrily.

“No, I mean…” Cai Renxin is dumbfounded, suddenly becoming a clumsy goose.

“It’s so weird. Shuixian has always been gentle and courteous with us. How does she speak such bad words when talking with Cai? She curses as if she is throwing a whip.” Xu Zhiwei has long been puzzled by her strange behavior.

“The closer you are, the more swearing will be heard. It is just like a wife scolding her own husband, and she will let it go immediately.” Zhu Shengpeng smiles beside. “Bro, don’t say such things. Shuixian is an unmarried girl, and such nonsense will ruin her reputation.” “Nonsense? You still protect her even if being scolded by her, is this my nonsense? Whom did the girl rush for on such a late night? It’s for you, right? Nonsense, hmm? She saw Master Xu and came to tell you with a good intention, but instead of thanking her, you blamed her. You are really a jerk!” Zhu Shengpeng analyzes with a smile on his face.

“This is not nonsense. Shuixian has a crush on you now that she has come to seek you so frequently!” Xu Zhiwei adds.

“It is a good thing! Bro, you can persuade Shuixian to deal with her father to postpone the day of collecting rent next month.” The idea occurs to Zhu Shengpeng out of a sudden.

“No way, no, how can I say this?” Cai Renxin shakes his head like a rattle. “You don’t know how clever Old Qian is? He could never accept the idea that we don’t give him the rent on time. At that time, he could directly shut down our restaurant without the threat of other restaurants. ”

“Yes, you can’t say that! It’s not like a true man, and it also disgraces Shengxin Restaurant. We will never rely on women and children for their pity, instead, we must get out of trouble by our own efforts.” Xu Zhiwei agrees with Cai this time.

Zhu Shengpeng hears something from Xu’s words, his eyes flashing at Xu Zhiwei, and asking, “Master Xu, have you come up with any solution?”

Xu Zhiwei does not answer him right away, but he points to the moon in the sky, and then points down at the well, “Look at the moon too. The moon in the sky and in the well.”

Zhu Shengpeng slightly squints his eyes and looks up at the moon in the sky, waiting for Xu Zhiwei to explain.

Cai Renxin glances at the sky, then at the well, rubbing the tips of his hair, and shakes his head blankly.

“The moon in the sky is far away; the moon in the well, which seems to be reachable, is actually unreachable. The moon in the sky can be admired, and the moon in the well can also be admired with a different taste. Therefore, the moon in the well can be viewed as the moon out of the moon. The same is true of cooking skills. The freshness of ingredients and the methods of cooking are seeking the true flavor, but there is the flavor out of flavor, like the dish utensils, the serving order, and the layout of the dishes. I suffered from this kind of loss when I was the chef in the palace. Those palace maids and eunuchs who served the dishes had ingenious skills of their own, which might make an awesome dish or make a terrible dish. This skill is the flavor out of flavor, it is the expansion of the taste.”

“But what does this have to do with the business in our restaurant?” Cai Renxin doesn’t understand, so he asks in a daze.

“Business is also the flavor out of flavor. If the business is not done well, there will be no future for a restaurant no matter how delicious the dishes are. But doing business is not the same as cooking dishes, which only needs to concentrate on doing the best and cooking meticulously. Business is a double-edged sword. Truthfulness and sincerity are the principles of good business, but when necessary, treacherous, evil, and deceitful methods are needed.”

“Master Xu, do you mean that we can use some other methods to get out of the predicament?” Zhu Shengpong frowns slightly.

“Being honest with food and being shrewd with business. When dealing with treacherous things and seeking survival, it is hard to say whether it is a mischief or the right way.”

“Uncle Xu, do you mean that we buy cheap and inferior ingredients to cook dishes, and then treat customers at the same low prices as Taihe Restaurant? It… it is not good, we left Ningbo just because we were unwilling to do this kind of thing.” Cai Renxin looks hesitant, taking off his hat and scratching his head.

“Don’t say anything. Let’s listen to Master Xu until he finishes his words.” Zhu Shengpeng stops Cai Renxin.

“Being honest with food means that we should guarantee the quality and taste of the food, which is the foundation of the survival of our restaurant. It is like the true moon in the sky, and there must be no deviation. And being shrewd in business means that we can play some treacherous tricks. They are used to cope with our rivals. If you don’t bully others, you would be bullied. Only if you are shrewder than others can you find a way of survival.”

“Being honest with food and being shrewd in business…” Zhu Shengpeng is pondering about the sentence.

“Uncle Xu, just go straight to the point. What should we do?” Cai Renxin can’t wait to know Xu’s effective measure.

Xu Zhiwei coughs to clear his throat, “I think it needs to be done as follows: The first step is to suppress others on the popular dishes. But this is not to compete, nor to reduce prices, but to find the deficiency of others and inform it to the public, and then make up for the deficiency in our own dishes. The second step is to change the concept of normal operation. In an open market like Shanghai, it’s possible for Shengxin Restaurant to be overwhelmed by others in a short time even with the best dishes and service. Therefore, it is necessary to race against time and attract more customers, and quickly accumulate a relatively solid capital base. In this way, even if others offer customers their dishes for nothing, we can still make it to the end when others go bankrupt.”

“Uncle Xu, the problem is that we can’t get customers.” Cai Renxin couldn’t help but interrupt, but he is again stopped by Zhu Shengpeng.

“The third step is to find a more suitable taste standard and lower level of dishes, so as to make some home dishes that interest locals long, and therefore, we can form our own unique characteristics. And the local and outside diners can find surprise and enjoyment here from these dishes, which will eventually become their daily needs.”

Xu Zhiwei stops saying and looks at Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin. Neither of them speaks this time, but just nods at his words.

Then Xu Zhiwei continues, “We can’t hold on for much time, so these three steps must be coherently done. We cannot give others the slightest chance to breathe. Let’s do this tomorrow…”