Food: Selling Boxed Meals at a Construction Site

Chapter 62: Chapter 62: No Pushover

The next morning at nine o’clock, Xu An and the others were busy in the kitchen.

Suddenly, the sound of firecrackers and gongs erupted from not too far away, mixed with bursts of cheering.

A little curious, Xu An stopped what he was doing and walked toward the front of the restaurant.

Just as he stepped outside, he saw the owners of the other fast-food joints nearby also coming out of their shops. They exchanged glances, greeted each other, and then headed together in the direction of the noise.

’Sounds like a new restaurant is opening!’

When they reached the end of the street and rounded the corner, they saw two rows of flower baskets arranged in front of the former Good and Come Again Fast Food Restaurant. In the open space between them, two lion dance troupes were performing, vying for the red envelope tied to the doorframe. Each leap drew gasps from the watching crowd.

As Xu An got closer, he saw the sign above the door—Delicious Restaurant.

A man of about fifty, balding on top, with large ears and long earlobes, walked out of the restaurant.

"Hello, everyone! I’m Jin Dayong, the owner of Delicious Restaurant. I’m delighted you could all come to my humble shop’s grand opening! My little place specializes in boxed lunches—eight yuan for a meal with two dishes and a soup, a large portion guaranteed to fill you up. During our grand opening, anyone who comes inside gets a free tea egg. Everyone is welcome!"

’Isn’t this the man who was asking about my business at the Hai City Library construction site? Why would he open a shop here?’

Xu An saw the man, and the man had clearly seen him too.

Jin Dayong’s expression showed no hint of panic. Instead, he approached with a wide smile. "Well now, young man, what are you doing here?"

"Yes, what a coincidence," Xu An said, his smile not reaching his eyes. "I wish Boss Jin a grand opening and prosperous business."

"Haha, this is my first time in business, so there’s a lot I don’t understand. I took some inspiration from your shop’s setup for a few things. I’m sure a young boss like you won’t mind, right?"

As he spoke, Jin Dayong handed Xu An a flyer. Xu An took it, glanced at it, and chuckled.

Just one look at the flyer told him this wasn’t ’inspiration.’ It was plagiarism—outright plagiarism.

Even the menu items were identical to Xu’s Fast Food’s, with only the number of dishes being different.

Xu’s Fast Food offered three dishes and a soup for eight yuan, while Delicious Restaurant offered two dishes and a soup for the same price.

Xu An mimicked Jin Dayong, narrowing his eyes and offering another smile that didn’t reach them. "There are no friends or family in business. Why would I mind? May the best man win."

"Haha, yes. May the best man win." Jin Dayong’s sinister smile broadened with a hint of smugness.

’A business run by a few little punks who don’t know how to pinch pennies, just wasting money left and right. I’ve already learned all your tricks. Just watch how I drive you into bankruptcy.’

After the sharp-edged pleasantries, Xu An returned to his restaurant with the flyer.

When Xu Heping saw Xu An return, he immediately came over and asked what was going on.

Xu An handed the flyer to Xu Heping, who took it, confused. "Isn’t this our shop’s flyer? Are we raising prices?"

"Take a closer look at the restaurant’s name."

Prompted by Xu An, Xu Heping finally noticed the name "Delicious Restaurant" in small print at the very top of the flyer and sucked in a sharp breath.

"So this is from that new place? Are they coming after us?"

Xu An nodded. "Let’s just observe for a few days and see what his game is. He gives me a bad feeling—seems pretty shady, not like someone who plays fair."

As he spoke, Xu An seemed to think of something and added, "I ran into him when I was running the stall at the Hai City Library. Keep a close eye out; he might be eyeing that spot too."

Xu Heping nodded, his expression turning a little grim.

Delicious Restaurant’s attack on Xu’s Restaurant came even faster than Xu An had anticipated.

10:50 AM.

Xu An stood at the entrance of his restaurant, looking across the street at the gates of the Zijing Garden construction site.

Two people were standing by the gates holding a banner, working hard to attract customers. The banner had a large slogan written on it: "Delicious Restaurant, Grand Opening Sale."

Qiao Xingguo had just picked up his boxed lunch when one of Delicious Restaurant’s promoters grabbed him.

"Hey, buddy! Our place just opened, and we’re having a grand opening sale! We’re giving away free tea eggs to anyone who comes inside. Wanna go check it out?"

Qiao Xingguo was about to shrug the person off, but when he heard about the free tea eggs, he grew interested. "You get one just for coming in?" he asked, skeptical. "Or do you have to buy something first?"

"Just for coming in! If you like what you see, you can stay and eat. If not, just take the tea egg and go. Absolutely no strings attached," the promoter promised, patting his chest.

The thought of getting a free tea egg just for taking a look swayed not only Qiao Xingguo but several of his nearby coworkers as well. A whole crowd of them ended up following the promoter in a great procession toward Delicious Restaurant.

As the promoter led the group to Delicious Restaurant, he made a point of marching them right past the front of Xu’s Fast Food in a show of triumph.

Liang Dani was inside packing boxed lunches when she looked up and saw the scene. She immediately stopped what she was doing, ran out, and stood beside Xu An.

"Boss, what’s going on? I saw that guy leading away a bunch of our regulars."

Without waiting for Xu An’s reply, Liang Dani headed out, leaving him with only a quick, "Boss, I’m going to go see what’s happening."

Liang Dani moved so quickly that Xu An didn’t even have time to call out to her.

Ever since she saw that figure at the Hai City Library construction site a few days ago, Liang Dani had felt a vague sense of unease.

Now, seeing them poach customers from across the street, her unease peaked. This tactic looked disturbingly similar to her second uncle’s methods.

Several years ago, her family had opened a small convenience store in their village. Business was good at first, which made her second uncle green with envy. So, he opened his own shop right next door.

Then, he hired people to stand at the village entrance and pull in customers, promising little snacks or small packets of salt and other things to anyone who shopped at his store. They weren’t worth much, but it made people feel like they were getting a good deal.

Under her second uncle’s relentless pressure, it wasn’t long before her family’s store had to close down. And from that moment on, her second uncle’s shop stopped giving away freebies.

Before Liang Dani even reached the front of Delicious Restaurant, she saw a crowd of workers packed outside, waiting to collect their tea eggs.

Standing at the entrance was a man with a balding head and a chubby, large-eared face. Liang Dani recognized him instantly—it was her second uncle.

After finishing his speech, Jin Dayong stepped aside and had his employees start handing out the tea eggs. His smile grew wider as he watched the workers receive them.

’Looks like doing business here isn’t so hard after all. A few free tea eggs are enough to attract so many customers.’

’I wonder if that little brat from Xu’s Fast Food is fuming right now.’

’Young people have a lot to learn. You can’t just jump straight into business like that.’

Just as Jin Dayong was reveling in his triumph, Qiao Xingguo collected his tea egg and, looking quite pleased, headed for the exit.

And it wasn’t just Qiao Xingguo; many of the workers took their tea eggs and left immediately without even glancing inside the restaurant.

Jin Dayong grew anxious. He quickly stepped forward and stopped Qiao Xingguo. "Hey, friend, aren’t you going to come in and take a look? We have a great variety of dishes, and the prices are low. You won’t regret eating here."

Qiao Xingguo looked at the tea egg in his hand, then back at Jin Dayong, and asked in confusion, "Didn’t you say it was free just for coming over? Do I have to buy something? In that case, I don’t want it."

He started to hand the egg back to Jin Dayong, but the owner quickly waved his hands, laughing. "Of course not, it’s completely free! I was just wondering why none of you seem to want to stay and eat."

"Your menu... we just had something like it yesterday. Today we definitely want something different. Besides, you only offer two dishes, and we can’t get free refills on soup and rice. It’s not as good a deal as Xu’s Fast Food," Qiao Xingguo said bluntly. With that, he took his egg and left. This time, Jin Dayong didn’t try to stop him.

He asked a few more customers and got the same response from all of them.

Jin Dayong couldn’t help but get angry, cursing the workers in his head. ’So ungrateful! And so damn demanding! Do they think I opened a restaurant just to run a charity?’

’It seems free tea eggs alone won’t be enough to attract people. I’ll have to copy Xu’s Fast Food completely if I want to survive.’

Just as Jin Dayong turned to go back inside, he saw Liang Dani. A broad smile immediately spread across his face as he waved her over. "Da Ni, what are you doing here? Oh, right, I heard you’re working as a helper at another shop. How about you come work for your second uncle? I’ll give you the same pay."

Heh.

Liang Dani gave Jin Dayong a cold sneer and walked away.

’I have to go back and warn the boss to be extra careful with this Delicious Restaurant,’ she thought. As someone who had experienced it firsthand, she knew better than anyone that her second uncle was not to be underestimated.

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