The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 530 Sea King Main Store
"It's because I didn't do my homework."

Qin Lang shook his head and began to reflect on his actions.

"Since the other party mainly operates on an appointment-only basis, the cooperation I propose will not be attractive to them."

"Let's try another one." Qin Lang glanced at the list. "Let's go to the elegant restaurant that's ranked second in popularity and reviews."

"Going again?" Zhao Qian's expression turned strange. "I feel like your approach is a bit unreliable. Which restaurant would agree to let us cook for their customers, especially for just one day?"

"It's not like we own the restaurant."

“Speaking of this…” Cao Dongdong, who was standing to the side, seemed to be prompted by Zhao Qian’s words and immediately showed a thoughtful expression, “Guanling City also has Haibawang Restaurant.”

"Hmm?" Qin Lang and Zhao Qian looked at Cao Dongdong at the same time.

“The one in Xianyu City is just a branch of Haibawang Catering. In fact, the first store of Haibawang Restaurant, which is the main store, was opened in Guanling City.” Cao Dongdong chuckled. “Qin Lang’s idea is not without merit.”

“After all, my family’s shop is actually here.”

Qin Lang and Zhao Qian's expressions immediately became quite interesting.

Cao Dongdong, that guy, he really is...

"Then let's go straight to Haibawang Restaurant and take a look." Qin Lang quickly changed his mind. "Perfect timing, let's see how Haibawang Restaurant is doing in Guanling City."
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"It's just ahead."

Cao Dongdong gestured towards a spot not far ahead, where a restaurant whose lavish decor was no less impressive than Weijixian's appeared before them.

Haibaowang Catering is backed by a giant like Tianzhou Group, so its financial resources are comparable to any other catering company, and it certainly has the ability to handle hundreds of millions of dollars.

"Oh right, I forgot to ask." Zhao Qian suddenly remembered something and looked at Qin Lang beside her, "What's Hai Ba Wang's popularity ranking in Guanling City?"

"Not in the top ten." Qin Lang shrugged.

As for the restaurants outside the top ten, he didn't pay much attention to them at all.

"They're not even in the top ten..." Cao Dongdong scoffed. "Alright, they're here to pick us up."

As they were talking, a round figure strode quickly toward them.

He was a short, stout man. Even the largest size suit looked so tight on him that it seemed like it might burst at any moment. Coupled with his face, which almost disappeared when he smiled, he gave off an indescribable sense of humor.

"Young Master Cao!"

The man immediately stepped forward and shook Cao Dongdong's hand, his smile carrying a hint of flattery. "I've been waiting for you like the stars and the moon, and you've finally arrived!"

"...Alright, alright." Cao Dongdong pulled his hand away from the other person's with a hint of disgust. "You're the manager of this Haibawang restaurant?"

"Yes, it's me, Song Pan." Song Pan said with a smile, "Have you three eaten yet? Let's go inside and have something to eat while we chat?"

“Sure.” Qin Lang nodded, then suddenly asked, “Manager Song, is there any problem with the food supply at Haibawang in Guanling City?”

"No." Song Pan shook her head, then her expression turned bitter as she couldn't help but complain, "Our Hai Ba Wang flagship store in Guanling City has always been diligent and conscientious, and we can say that we strictly control both the ingredients and the taste."

"Although it hasn't been open for long, with the strong support of the group and the hard work of everyone at the restaurant, the popularity of Haibawang's flagship store has soared, and it once even entered the top three of the popularity list in Guanling City!"

"If we could have a little more time to develop steadily, it wouldn't be impossible for us to take the top spot on the popularity chart and become the new number one restaurant in Guanling City."

"But who would have thought that something would happen to the branch in Xianyu City?" At this point, Song Pan sighed heavily. "Being in a different city, ordinary diners usually wouldn't get the news so quickly."

"But my colleagues in the restaurant industry are all incredibly shrewd!"

"Especially that Zhou guy from Weijixian!" Song Pan said through gritted teeth, "He looks all smiles, but he's incredibly ruthless when he strikes!"

"Manager Zhou from Weijixian?" Qin Lang looked puzzled, and the image of the decisive and efficient man he had just seen flashed through his mind.

“It’s her!” Song Pan nodded emphatically. “After receiving the news, this woman immediately bribed the media in Guanling City to report on the matter extensively.”

"Furthermore, in their report, they deliberately misled the public by claiming that the Haibawang branch in Xianyu Market used inferior ingredients, thus implying that the main store also used inferior ingredients."

“Even if we clarify and explain time and time again, once the mud is thrown, it can never be completely washed away.” At this point, Song Pan sighed, “As for other colleagues, they are all experts at kicking someone when they’re down.”

"In short, after that, the popularity of our main store plummeted, from its peak of third place to now being outside the top twentieth."

At this point, Song Pan's eyes reddened, and she grabbed Cao Dongdong's hand tightly, "Young Chairman Cao, you must talk to Chairman Cao about this!"

"It's not my fault that the main store has fallen to this state!"

"Alright, I understand." Hearing about Song Pan's experience, Cao Dongdong's face showed more sympathy. "I'll mention it to Lao Deng when I have the chance."

As they talked, they entered the Haibawang Restaurant and went into a large private room that Song Pan had prepared in advance.

"Although it's only in the twenties, Hai Ba Wang's business is doing quite well?" Qin Lang said casually after taking his seat.

Before entering the private room, they passed through the lobby area. Judging from the occupancy rate of the lobby, Hai Ba Wang's business did not seem too bad at the moment.

"That's because the food festival is about to start." Song Pan shrugged. "A large number of tourists from other places have flocked to Guanling City, and the number of customers in each restaurant has increased to varying degrees recently. We've managed to recover some of our losses thanks to this."

"But this is only temporary."

Song Pan sighed, "Once the food festival starts, their attention will be focused on the food festival, and the restaurant's customer traffic will continue to decline."

"And that's not the only bad news."

“I heard that the price of seafood in Qili Bay may more than double, and some of the supply channels for top-quality ingredients may even be temporarily cut off.”

"This time it's not just a problem for Haibawang, it's a problem that the entire Guanling City, and even other nearby cities, will face."

"Is it because of the maritime ban that was issued recently?" Qin Lang asked knowingly.

"Yes." Song Pan nodded.

Although the sea ban allows foreign vessels to enter, the fact that they are only allowed to enter but not leave will inevitably lead to a significant reduction in the number of vessels transporting seafood from Qili Bay.

Such regulations will directly impact the catering industry.

"I'm still having a headache about how to solve this!" Song Pan sighed, then looked at Qin Lang and the other two with hopeful eyes.

"So, are the three of you here to provide guidance on our work?"

(End of this chapter)