Courtyard House: Inheriting the Restaurant, the Jia Family Wants to Get It for Free

The second step, and the most crucial one, was to leverage Lou Bancheng's connections with high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Industry to secure a "Special Food Supply Unit" designation for the North China Food Processing Plant.

This qualification will allow factories to conduct "targeted procurement" and "targeted production" outside of the state's unified purchase and sales plan.

The products produced will be designated as "special supplies" and will not enter the market circulation, but will be directly supplied to specific units or individuals.

The third step was for the North China Food Processing Plant to obtain this "special supply" qualification, and then legitimately distribute the top-quality ingredients that had undergone simple "processing" (such as changing the packaging) to the three restaurants under Cheng Shuhai's name.

This creates a perfect, seamless, and verifiable legitimate supply chain!

From "local specialties from remote mountainous areas" to "specially supplied products" from factories, and then to "designated ingredients" for restaurants.

Every step has proper procedures and legal receipts.

In the future, even if someone is envious and tries to investigate his restaurant, they won't find anything wrong.

Because all his ingredients are legally purchased from "special food supply units" designated by the state!

This plan is a triple win!

Not only did it perfectly resolve the fatal crisis brought about by centralized purchasing and sales, but it also protected the biggest secret of his blessed space.

Moreover, it further elevated the status of the North China Food Processing Plant, making it a special unit with the power of "special supply".

What's even more amazing is that in that future era of extreme scarcity, Cheng Shuhai's restaurant will become the only place in the entire city of Beijing that can reliably supply top-quality ingredients!

This will create a de facto, absolute monopoly!

Having figured all this out, Cheng Shuhai's heart warmed once more.

Crisis, crisis, but there is opportunity within crisis!

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately picked up the phone and dialed Lou Bancheng's number.

"Brother Lou, I have something extremely important to discuss with you. Are you available now? I'll come find you right away!"

Lou Bancheng sensed the seriousness in Cheng Shuhai's tone and dared not delay. He immediately instructed the driver to prepare the car and rushed to Cheng Shuhai's restaurant.

In a private room at the restaurant, Cheng Shuhai laid out his entire plan.

Lou Bancheng was so shocked after hearing this that he couldn't speak for a long time.

He originally thought that centralized purchasing and sales would be a fatal blow to private enterprises like theirs.

He's been so worried about this matter these past few days that he hasn't been able to eat.

He never dreamed that Cheng Shuhai could smell such a huge business opportunity from this crisis!

"Shuhai..." Lou Bancheng looked at Cheng Shuhai, his eyes filled with shock and admiration. "I finally understand. You and I are simply not on the same level. I'm still thinking about how to protect my family business, and you... you're already thinking about how to create a huge mess!"

"A clever scheme, a deception, and then a complete reversal of fortune! Your plan is simply... a stroke of genius!"

"Turning our factory into a 'special supply unit' not only solves the problem of food sourcing, but it also turns risk into our strongest brand reputation!"

On the other end of the phone, Lou Bancheng's voice sounded tired, but when he heard Cheng Shuhai say there was something "terrible," he immediately perked up. He knew that anything that Cheng Shuhai would use that word for was definitely not trivial.

Less than half an hour later, Lou Bancheng's car pulled up in front of Cheng's Restaurant.

In the private room, Cheng Shuhai didn't beat around the bush and directly told Lou Bancheng about his and Chen Xueru's decision to donate all their businesses to the country free of charge, as well as their idea of ​​a "special food supply unit".

After hearing this, even Lou Bancheng, a man who had seen many storms, was stunned for a full half minute, his hand holding the teacup hanging in mid-air, forgetting to drink.

He looked at Cheng Shuhai, his eyes filled with complex emotions: shock, confusion, and even a hint of instinctive regret.

"Shuhai, you... why did you do this?" Lou Bancheng put down his teacup and sighed deeply. "Cheng's Restaurant, North China Food Factory, Xue Ru Silk Shop... these were all empires you and Xue Ru built brick by brick! And just like that... you gave them all away?"

In his view, public-private partnerships are an inevitable trend, but there are many intricacies involved in how to implement them. With his and Cheng Shuhai's current status and connections, they can negotiate with the public representatives to retain a considerable portion of the shares and dividends, achieving a "soft landing" that maximizes their interests.

In his decades of business experience, Cheng Shuhai had never heard of anyone who would even give away the pot to someone else.

"Brother Lou, do you think these factories, equipment, and shops constitute our territory?" Cheng Shuhai smiled and asked in return.

"Isn't that right?"

"It was before, but it won't be anymore." Cheng Shuhai's eyes deepened. "Have you read the newspapers? This public-private partnership isn't an economic adjustment; it's a political movement. In the face of politics, these things are not the country, but rather a hot potato, our 'original sin'."

"Keeping them is like having the word 'capitalist' tattooed on our foreheads. Today, things are calm, and they can make money. Tomorrow, if the wind picks up, they could kill our whole family."

Cheng Shuhai's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Lou Bancheng's heart.

It's not that he doesn't understand this principle, but deep down, the resentment and wishful thinking inherent in businessmen make him unwilling to face the worst outcome.

"But...but that cannery is a key project of Sino-Soviet cooperation. The country still needs us. They can't possibly..." Lou Bancheng wanted to argue.

"Precisely because it's a key project, we need to be even more proactive," Cheng Shuhai interrupted him. "We'll hand over the factory, but the technology, the formula, and your relationship with the Soviet Union—these are written in the contract and kept in our minds. These are things that no one can take away; they are the foundation for our future survival."

"I donated the factory in exchange for the status of an 'advanced model worker,' and the political cleanliness of my entire family. Then, we applied to have the cannery designated as a 'special food supply unit,' completely laundering the source of our ingredients. In this way, tangible assets became intangible status and legal channels. Do you think this deal was a loss or a gain?"