I've been reborn, I'm definitely going to become an internet celebrity!

Chapter 139 [The Person in Charge]

"Boss Liu, it's been a long time."

Having not visited the night market stall for a long time, Liu Zhuohao had just unloaded a few boards from his motorcycle when someone in the queue recognized him.

"Is Boss Liu setting up his stall in person today?"

"Heh, Boss Liu, you've been gone for a while, and we're starting to think your frying skills have improved a lot!"

"Boss Liu, what are you holding?"

Questions arose one after another. Liu Zhuohao smiled, placing the board on the ground as he casually replied, "It's normal that they're skilled; they're all culinary graduates."

"In the future, they will all have to learn how to do it in my shop."

He stood the board up and dusted off his hands.

"I'm not setting up my stall today because I have some things to take care of."

"This is the signboard for the shop I'm going to open next. I'm thinking that everyone will definitely come to support it, so I'm giving everyone their feedback first and letting them see if the dishes are suitable."

As he spoke, Liu Zhuohao placed several GG cards around the stall, one next to the condiment table and another standing in the queue.

Next to the crowd, there was a folding table set up for people eating steak.

This ensures that everyone—whether they're queuing, sitting, or standing—can be seen.

As for the customers saying that his skills are not as good as Huang Weixiong's?

Does he care?

How could I possibly care?

Liu Zhuohao never intended to become a chef.

His goal is to be a restaurant operator, to open a shop, to manage people, to turn a stall into a store, and to turn a store into a brand chain. He is a businessman, not a craftsman.

Huang Weixiong, the partner who has been with him since he started his business, is happy that the food he makes satisfies the customers.

"How's the store doing? When will it open?"

"Where are you planning to open the shop? Oh, Xin Nan Road—that location isn't very good, is it? It's too quiet. But it's still in the city, the rent must be quite expensive?"

"The dishes look good, but won't it cause some kind of malicious competition if we tell them in advance? I've seen on TV that restaurants keep their menus very secret."

"What's there to keep secret?" someone chimed in. "When the store opens, everyone will get a copy of the menu. How can we keep it a secret?"

TV dramas are TV dramas, and reality is reality.

"Teppanyaki beef rice, this is great! Mr. Liu, how much is this serving?"

The guests started discussing it animatedly.

Some people stared at the dishes on the menu board, some asked about the location, some asked about the price, and some worried about whether competitors would copy their business.

Liu Zhuohao took out paper and pen from his pocket and started taking notes as he listened.

"We might not be able to open for business for another two or three months, as we're still under renovation." He looked up and thought for a moment. "It's the end of December now, and if I think about it carefully, we'll definitely have to wait until after the New Year. Maybe around March next year."

He tapped the paper with his pen and added, "Don't worry, everyone, there's nothing wrong with looking at the menu. This restaurant is open to customers, there's nothing to keep secret."

"On the contrary, it's me, since it's my first time opening a store, I don't have much experience."

He took two steps forward and raised his voice a little: "The dishes I ordered are mostly ones I often see in restaurants, so I just ordered them accordingly."

"But on second thought, I feel that everyone has to be satisfied, after all, it's the big guys who are actually paying for it."

"If you have any opinions about the dishes, please feel free to share them."

As he spoke, he took a piece of paper and a pen and began to wander through the crowd.

A man in his early thirties was looking at the menu board from afar, with his wife standing beside him.

The man was wearing a dark blue work jacket with slightly dirty cuffs, as if he had just come straight from get off work.

He looked at it for a while and muttered, "It doesn't look like anything special."

He turned slightly to the side so his wife could see clearly: "Dishes like this black pepper chicken nuggets, spicy chicken wings, and this clay pot porridge and fried rice are indeed common restaurant dishes."

"It's not bad, but I can't really say what's good about it either."

That's really too common.

Western food, Chinese food, snacks—it has everything, a real hodgepodge.

His wife nodded, clutching her phone, the screen still displaying a picture of the menu—she had actually taken a picture.

She looked at Liu Zhuohao and said bluntly, "So why should we choose your restaurant, Boss Liu?"

Liu Zhuohao smiled and took two steps toward them.

"Our specialty is home-style cooking; we're all about the common, everyday dishes."

He gestured in the air with his pen: "Instead of trying to come up with any other fancy features, our main focus is on being a family-friendly restaurant."

"In addition to the usual measures, we will also enhance the dining environment by installing surveillance cameras in every corner to ensure that employees are properly handling food serving,

The chefs cooking in the kitchen are completely visible and transparent.

He paused for a moment, then said, "At that time, the children might be out of school, and the parents might be tired from work and not want to cook and wash dishes at home. They can pick up their children and go to our restaurant for a simple, clean, and hygienic meal."

The man listened, his brows relaxed, and he looked at his wife.

His wife didn't say anything, but glanced at the menu board again.

She pursed her lips, as if she was pondering something.

"Boss Liu, aren't you afraid that if word gets out, someone else will throw money in and come up with an exact copy of your shop faster?" Someone else laughed and spoke up. It was a young man wearing glasses, holding a steak and waiting for a table. "There are so many people in the night market now, who knows if there won't be competitors?"

"That would be awkward. Even if the store opens, people will think you copied someone else's idea."

Upon hearing this, many people in the crowd unconsciously looked to the side, as if searching for a possible colleague.

The owner of the barbecue stall next door also poked his head out and glanced over.

Liu Zhuohao waved his hand with a smile: "Hey, I said before, as long as it's not the kind of malicious competition where we report each other, what's wrong with you opening a shop next to me? We can each attract customers based on our own abilities."

He put his pen away, put it back in his pocket, and stepped forward: "Like this stall, after I resolved the complaint, I said that if anyone is willing to do it, I'd be happy to help promote it as long as it's clean enough to set up a street-side steak stall."

"But what about now? It's been over a month, and nobody has come looking for me."

He paused, then added, "Of course, but it does seem like some people are starting to set up steak stalls in several other night markets."

As soon as these words were spoken, someone in the crowd immediately chimed in.

"Yes, yes, yes! There's a steak stall like that in the night market next to the West City Market!" A woman with curly hair shouted the loudest. "But business is so-so. Although there are customers, there's never a queue like here."

At the next table, a girl who had already started eating leaned over with her phone. The screen was still lit up, showing a photo: "I glanced at it when I passed by last time. It was thirty-three yuan. The steak was similar to what Boss Liu's restaurant serves, with pasta, broccoli, eggs, and the sauce was the same too."

"But the meat looks a little strange, it's quite round."

Her classmate chimed in, chewing something, "Yeah, yeah, it's so round! It's like the beef slices in a beef burger, with such neat edges, I'm almost hesitant to eat it."

The young man with glasses nodded: "It doesn't feel as clean as your stall, Boss Liu. I don't know what kind of meat you're using. I'm not comfortable with it."

"Boss Liu promised to help with advertising for free, but since no one's come looking for us, they're probably afraid of being exposed!" the middle-aged man chimed in. "If the hygiene isn't up to standard, why would they dare come looking for us?"

Liu Zhuohao quickly waved his hand: "No, no, don't talk about things behind my back without evidence."

He said that, but something was really going on in his mind.

In this small city, there really are people doing the same job as him, and the customers know it better than he does.

They started discussing the steaks at other stalls, and without exception, they all expressed doubts about the quality of the meat.

A steak costing around thirty yuan, while much cheaper than those in Western restaurants, is still a considerable sum.

If you actually spend that thirty-odd yuan to eat a steak whose quality you can't even feel and whose cleanliness you're unsure of, you might as well buy a bowl of beef rice noodles for twenty yuan.

It's all beef anyway.

Liu Zhuohao simply brought up the topic without joining in their comments.

He has no proof as to whether the steaks at that stall are clean or hygienic, so he won't make any unfounded claims.

However, what a few people inside said surprised him somewhat.

"I never expected that what I said to show my 'magnanimity' would unintentionally affect the market," he muttered. It was his first time opening a stall after being reported, when he said, "As long as it's clean and hygienic, I'll help advertise for free."

He only remembered it when a few customers in the crowd mentioned it.

This statement sounds reasonable, but if you think about it the other way around, if someone nearby sets up a stall and doesn't ask you to help promote it, wouldn't that indirectly suggest that there's a problem with the quality of their steak?

Are they afraid they won't pass the test?

Now that I think about it, I feel like I'm some kind of local bully.

If other people want to set up a stall, they won't dare to buy much if they don't come to our stall first to say hello and pay our respects.

Liu Zhuohao couldn't help but feel a little vain.

Which man hasn't dreamed of having the power to command the winds and rains?

With a wave of his hand, he summons followers everywhere.

He waved the flag, and just as he was about to smash it, he stopped it in time.

After all, I'm not a young person anymore.

The idea that knowing more people makes you more prestigious is a thing of the past.

Liu Zhuohao is thinking about something else now.

He walked over to Huang Weixiong's side.

Huang Weixiong was standing in front of the hot plate, his two spatulas flying, the steak sizzling and the smoke rising. When he saw me coming, he looked up and greeted me.

"How's your recruitment going lately?" Liu Zhuohao asked in a low voice.

Huang Weixiong's hands didn't stop, but his voice was lowered: "————It's alright, most of them are settled." He deftly moved the spatula, flipping several pieces of steak over. "Some of them are my senior classmates, but some aren't from our school. They were introduced by each other, and they're all skilled cooks."

"Okay, after we finalize the contracts in a while, you'll come with me to your mentors' houses. I'll bring some cigarettes, alcohol, and tea," Liu Zhuohao said, then asked, "What about the others? Waiters, odd jobs?"

"We don't have enough people to help out right now, and we're a bit overwhelmed with things on both sides, so we need to find some more manpower."

Upon hearing this, Huang Weixiong raised his hand and waved to Yang Boran, who was greeting guests.

Yang Boran had just finished serving steaks to a table of guests and was walking back with an empty tray still covered in sauce. He wiped it with a cloth as he walked.

Seeing Huang Weixiong waving, he jogged over.

"What's wrong, boss?"

He saw himself standing next to him and immediately knew he had something to tell him.

"How's the recruitment process for waiters and general helpers going?"

Liu Zhuohao asked.

Yang Boran put down the tray and rubbed his hands together.

"We've confirmed a few people so far," he said with a forced smile, "but the number still doesn't meet the requirements you mentioned before, boss. After all, we won't be able to open for business for another two or three months, so some people can't keep waiting for us."

"If there are any suitable ones, we can find a few to lend a hand." Liu Zhuohao lowered his voice and moved closer to the two of them. "The stall needs someone to help out. A-Kai is keeping an eye on the renovations, and we need to find someone to go over there occasionally to take over. We can't let him be there alone all the time."

"and----"

He paused, then leaned forward half an inch: "Recently, a few steak stalls have finally set up. Now, we're not the only ones doing this business in the city. I'm thinking of getting a few people to go and check it out."

Yang Boran's eyes lit up: "You want to recruit them?"

"What do you mean by 'recruit'?" Liu Zhuohao glanced at him, a smirk playing on his lips. "I'm planning to help make connections."

"Find someone reliable, go there privately to taste the food, see if the steak is clean, and what kind of person the stall owner is."

"If he's really a genuine businessman, then I'll help him make connections and introduce him to our supplier boss."

Upon hearing this, Huang Weixiong slowed his shovel for a moment and exchanged a glance with Yang Boran.

"—We're going to help others do business?" Huang Weixiong's voice was extremely low, tinged with confusion. "We've only been in our own business for a short time. How come we're helping our competitors?"

"That's not how it is." Liu Zhuohao shook his head, took a half step back, and subconsciously reached into his pocket for his cigarette pack. But when he saw the stall and customers in front of him, he stopped himself. "We don't have to do much. We're just helping to make connections and contact the suppliers."

"A business can't be dominated by one company; we're too popular right now."

Yes, that sounds impressive.

With just a few words, I can get someone's business going.

If you don't speak up, it's assumed that the stall is unclean and unhygienic, and customers won't dare to eat there.

That sounds like a high-status position.

But this position is too hollow.

It was a position that was achieved by offending people.

What Liu Zhuohao wanted was for the two shops to have a conflict in the future, and for him to be the first person they thought of and ask to mediate.

Instead of being gossiped about behind your back, with people saying things like, "That Boss Liu, he blocked all the opportunities because he started first. He talks a good game, but in reality, if you don't pay him tribute, he won't let you do business."

Huang Weixiong and Yang Boran exchanged a glance, seemingly understanding something.

"Okay, I'll find someone reliable." Yang Boran nodded, then added, "I'll report back to you once I've found out everything."

"Um."

Liu Zhuohao patted him on the shoulder, then took the paper and pen and walked into the crowd.

But basically, the customers didn't have any complaints about the dishes. Just as I had expected, they were all ordinary dishes, and few people could find fault with them.

Even if they did offer suggestions, they would only mention things like the lack of distinctive dishes, prices, or location.

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