Chapter 104

Chapter 104

Zhang Qi held the exchange coupon and quickly walked to the street where the fried vegetable restaurant was located.

"Wow! There sure are a lot of people," Zhang Qi exclaimed, noticing that both the fried vegetable restaurant and the fast food restaurant had plenty of customers.

But it was clear that the fried vegetable restaurant had more patrons.

Zhang Qi felt relieved.

He had watched Xiao Shen Fried Vegetables Restaurant being built, and he had developed some affection for it. Not to mention, he had a good relationship with Shen Siqin and the others. Seeing the restaurant doing so well now, Zhang Qi's steps became lighter.

A queue had already formed outside Xiao Shen Fried Vegetables Restaurant.

At the entrance of the restaurant, staff member Zhang Guanni had set up a row of small stools and provided hot water, allowing those in line to sit and wait, with hot water to drink when they got cold.

Zhang Qi nimbly moved to the end of the queue and sat down.

"Lao Zhang, you're here too. Nice work on that exchange coupon." The kitchenware store owner, Sheng Haiping, approached and smiled. He pulled out a colorful discount coupon from his pocket. "I didn't do as well; I only got a ten percent off coupon."

"Old Sheng! You’re here too?! Oh, what a coincidence. Getting a ten percent off coupon isn’t bad either. The more you buy, the more you save. I can only exchange for one new dish."

Zhang Qi had never known Sheng Haiping before. One had a shop near Beizhi University, and the other had a stall in the general market. Despite being just a few blocks apart, they seldom met. But wasn't it because Boss Xiao Shen enjoyed purchasing various kitchen utensils?

Boss Xiao Shen had bought a large electric rice cooker from Sheng Haiping’s store, and Sheng Haiping had delivered it to the restaurant. Since then, most of the kitchenware purchased by Boss Xiao Shen came from Sheng Haiping’s store, often delivered by Sheng Haiping himself. Over time, the two became acquainted.

Encountering an acquaintance while waiting in line was a good thing for both of them, as it meant they could chat instead of waiting silently.

"Speaking of which, the business next door is doing pretty well too, isn’t it? They’re benefiting from the fried vegetable restaurant," Sheng Haiping said in a lowered voice.

The dishes are the same, but the prices are lower. If he hadn’t bought a milk tea for his daughter today and gotten a ten percent off coupon, he might have wanted to try it.

Zhang Qi waved his hand dismissively. "Let them go if they want to."

The doors of the fried vegetable restaurant were wide open, and the aroma of dishes and pastries wafted out freely. As for the neighboring place, there was also the scent of food, but it was mostly the rich smell of oily and saucy dishes. As a seasoned gourmand, he knew without tasting that the ingredients used across the street were average.

City N was developing rapidly, and fast food restaurants were needed, but each area had its own situation. For their district, the success of food shops depended on good taste and quality ingredients, especially in the university town area. Many residents themselves ran shops, and those who could afford to open shops usually had enough money not to settle for cheaper options.

As for the students, they might be a bit tight on funds, but Xiao Shen Fried Vegetables Restaurant also sold pastries. Those attractive and delicious pastries would surely attract students even more.

Initially, he had been a bit anxious, but now he was no longer worried.

Today, Xiao Shen Fried Vegetables Restaurant was bustling with activity.

Yan Jihan had to take on the task of packaging orders.

She repeatedly said, "Sorry, these are prepared for the gratitude event. We only accept exchanges, not sales."

Only she, as the boss, could convince those who wanted to pay extra for new dishes and pastries.

An array of pastries and dishes was displayed in two rows.

Those available for exchange were placed in one row, while those for regular sale were in another.

As soon as Zhang Qi entered the store, he regretted it. Why hadn’t he drawn an exchange coupon for pastries?!

Tiny and adorable mochi, crispy and round peach biscuits, beautifully decorated lotus pastries, palm-sized cream puffs, round and plump imperial cakes, elegant and refined cream squares.

Just looking at them made him swallow hard.

Unfortunately, his coupon was only for a new dish.

He couldn’t help but sigh.

"What a pity." He looked dejectedly at the new dishes.

Cold beef salad, braised prawns, Sichuan-style spicy and numbing beef, pan-fried yellow croaker...

Smack!

Well, maybe it wasn’t such a pity after all.

"Uncle Zhang, what dish would you like to exchange?" Yan Jihan asked warmly upon recognizing him.

"Uh."

It was hard to choose; he wanted to eat everything!

"I, I want the pan-fried yellow croaker," Zhang Qi decided after a moment of hesitation. He already had Kung Pao chicken, so he should get something lighter.

With so many people in line, he didn’t want to delay things too long. He took a deep breath and said decisively.

Yan Jihan: "..."

Wasn’t it just choosing a dish? Uncle Zhang seemed overly excited.

"Sure." Yan Jihan swiftly served Zhang Qi a portion of the pan-fried yellow croaker.

Under envious gazes, Zhang Qi held the pan-fried yellow croaker in one hand and pointed at the pastry counter. "And half a pound of green bean pastries and half a pound of small cream puffs."

If he couldn’t have the new pastries today, he could still enjoy some of the old ones, right?

"Sure, just a moment," Yan Jihan quickly weighed out half a pound of green bean pastries and half a pound of small cream puffs.

Most people who came to exchange coupons today also bought additional items. In fact, despite giving out so many coupons, their daily turnover was likely to increase due to the high number of visitors.

"So, did you find out anything?" Dou Feiyang watched anxiously as the neighboring store had a long queue.

Although his business here is decent, it's just decent. It doesn't even compare to his other fast-food restaurants.

This is nothing like what he imagined!

Secretary Zhao entered the small side room next to the kitchen and simply recounted the activities at the milk tea shop and the fried vegetable restaurant.

"How could this be?! How come I didn't hear about this?!" Dou Feiyang slammed the table heavily, shouting in anger.

Secretary Zhao didn't even blink, only reminding him, "Boss, the sound insulation here isn't great. Don't disturb the customers eating."

They already don't have an advantage in taste; if the dining environment is poor as well, there's no chance of turning things around.

To buy this new store, they had to withdraw funds from several other fast-food restaurants.

"You!" Dou Feiyang felt a surge of frustration, unable to breathe properly.

Secretary Zhao sighed. Originally, he thought following a young and ambitious boss would be good, but now he was unsure.

"Boss, we kept our opening a secret from them, so naturally, they would keep their activities hidden from us too. I found out that many old customers only learned about the joint promotion today. Many people didn't know until lunchtime, and they heard about it from Shen Siqin. They didn't do any advance publicity."

He knew long ago that competing with Xiao Shen Fried Vegetables Restaurant wasn't a good idea.

Shen Sijian must have known about this long ago, yet he didn't try to mediate. That means Shen Sijian didn't want to reconcile!!

Similarly, Siqin and Yan Jihan didn't show any intention of reconciliation either, showing their family's attitude clearly.

They tried to hide their opening, but they didn't really succeed. However, when others wanted to keep their activities secret, they managed to do so effortlessly. Not only did they hide it from us, but they also hid it from the customers, and without any publicity, the promotion brought in a lot of people immediately!

What kind of appeal is this?

Secretary Zhao thought he had overestimated this small fried vegetable restaurant, but now he realized he had underestimated it.

No, more accurately, he underestimated the appeal of Boss Xiao Shen.

"Don't worry, don't worry. This money-losing promotion won't last long. As long as we hold steady, our business will improve." Although Dou Feiyang was young and impulsive, he quickly forced himself to calm down.

"How long will their promotion last?" Dou Feiyang asked, hands on his hips.

Secretary Zhao replied, "Three days."

"Three days, just three days. Let's offer a discount today to test the waters." Dou Feiyang said, gritting his teeth.

"Put up a sign outside, offering a 10% discount on everything!"

He understood that their main attraction was being cheap, with decent food similar to the menu across the street. Many people were willing to try it out. Initially, he thought that as long as people came to try it and found it satisfactory, they would continue coming back.

But now, even getting people to try it out was difficult, let alone anything else.

Secretary Zhao nodded silently after a moment. "Alright, I'll arrange it right away."

Apart from this, Secretary Zhao couldn't think of a better solution.

But he felt they had taken a wrong turn.

If their fast-food restaurant only aimed to attract customers looking for cheap and convenient meals, why did they need to imitate Shen Siqin's menu in the first place?

They could have just stuck to the familiar food packages used in other fast-food restaurants. Relying on Xiao Shen Fried Vegetables Restaurant to draw customers might bring in more profits.

Deep down, Dou Feiyang regretted it somewhat, but it was too late now. He had already offended them, and now he could only try to win as many customers as possible.

*******

Shen Libin skipped ahead happily.

Shen Siqin and Lin Shengjin walked side by side behind him.

The bustling crowd pushed away some of the winter chill.

"There are so many people; there's even a queue outside the fried vegetable restaurant," Lin Shengjin said with obvious amusement in his tone.

Shen Siqin: "Yes, it looks like the promotion is going well."

More people were attracted than he expected. Shen Siqin squinted and spotted a few familiar faces.

Oh, quite a few scalpers have come.

Just as they approached the fried vegetable restaurant.

"Someone is glaring at me." Shen Siqin frowned slightly. He was very perceptive. Those who could make a name for themselves in a competitive industry were rarely not perceptive.

Lin Shengjin stopped upon hearing this.

Shen Siqin suddenly turned and looked in the direction of the glare.

His gaze met Dou Feiyang's eyes straight on.

Under Shen Siqin's calm, unbothered, and almost indifferent gaze, Dou Feiyang felt a sense of shame.

It was like being caught misbehaving in class by the teacher's gaze when he was in elementary school.

After the shame faded, Dou Feiyang felt a surge of anger.

All his efforts might not even matter to the other party!!

Shen Siqin's reputation wasn't great, known for trying to live off Mr. Wen's daughter and then dumping her. Even though Secretary Zhao had researched and found that Shen Siqin's name was well-regarded in this area, Dou Feiyang never took him seriously.

But now, he realized his judgment was likely wrong...

"What's wrong? Who was it?" Lin Shengjin tugged at Shen Siqin's sleeve.

Shen Siqin calmly turned back, giving Lin Shengjin a faint smile and shrugged. "I don't know him. Probably someone from the fast-food restaurant across the street."