Super Rich: It all started when I met a young woman in a sleeper car.

The bowls were all the same large black bowls, the eggs were fried into heart shapes, the sausages were cut into decorative shapes, and two pieces of green vegetables were placed on the side.

Even the placement of the chopped scallions was almost identical.

Chen Xun ate a few bites and then put down his chopsticks.

He took out his phone, pretending to play on it, but actually taking pictures of the store's environment.

After taking a few photos, he stood up and walked over to the photo wall.

The walls were covered with notes and messages from customers.

Chen Xun glanced at a few of them casually.

"Delicious! I'll definitely come again!"

"The decor is amazing, it looks fantastic in photos!"

"Is the boss handsome? I hope we can bump into each other!"

He turned to leave, when he suddenly saw the blonde girl behind the cashier talking to someone.

The man had his back to Chen Xun and was wearing a black apron.

The figure from behind looks familiar.

Chen Xun narrowed his eyes.

The man turned around and went to the kitchen.

In that instant, Chen Xun saw his profile clearly.

A man in his thirties, with a buzz cut and a scar on his left cheek.

Chen Xun remembered.

This person has been to their store before.

A few days before the store opened last month, a man came in and said he wanted to franchise. He asked a lot of questions and even took some photos.

At the time, Chen Xun was busy with renovations and didn't pay much attention, assuming it was just a routine consultation.

Looking at it now, that's not true at all.

Chen Xun didn't linger and turned to leave the store.

Back in his car, he sent Yang Xiaotao a WeChat message.

"Was the man who took photos this afternoon the one with a buzz cut and a scar on his left cheek?"

A few minutes later, Yang Xiaotao replied.

"Yes! That's him! I remember now, he came here once before the opening!"

Chen Xun put down his phone and looked at the people queuing in front of the store.

Good guy.

They've been targeted.

They not only copied the decorations and products, but they even sent people over for "on-site inspections".

He started the car and drove back to the store.

Around 4 PM, there weren't many customers in the shop.

Yang Xiaotao, Lin Xinyue, and Li Qian were all waiting behind the counter.

As soon as Chen Xun entered, the three people surrounded him.

"That store copied 70-80% of our business."

Chen Xun put his phone back on the counter and looked at the three girls who had gathered around him.

Yang Xiaotao's eyes widened: "Seventy or eighty percent? That's that ruthless?"

"The decor is similar, the products are similar, and the prices are the same," Chen Xun said. "I went to check it out, and the kitchen staff member is the same one who came to our store before it opened—the one with the buzz cut and a scar on his face."

Lin Xinyue cursed, "Damn, this was premeditated!"

Li Qian didn't speak, she just looked at Chen Xun.

"What should we do?" Yang Xiaotao asked anxiously. "They're so close; they're stealing all our customers."

Chen Xun thought for a moment: "Just watching the video isn't enough, we need to go again and figure it out."

"Going again?" Lin Xinyue asked. "Didn't you just get back?"

"This time is different," Chen Xun said. "We need to go in and check out the details, order something, taste the food, and... test the waters a bit."

Li Qian asked, "How should we test the waters?"

Chen Xun glanced at her, then at Yang Xiaotao and Lin Xinyue.

"Okay, Li Qian and I will go in and pretend to be a couple," Chen Xun said. "Xiao Tao and Xin Yue will stay outside and keep an eye on the flow of customers, watching for any suspicious people."

Yang Xiaotao blinked: "Why is it Sister Qian going with you?"

Lin Xinyue patted her on the shoulder: "Of course, Li Qian is the prettiest, they look like a couple."

Li Qian's ears turned a little red, but she didn't refute it.

"Okay," she said. "When are we going?"

"Now," Chen Xun stood up, "while there are still many of them this afternoon."

The four of them tidied up quickly and locked the shop.

Chen Xun drove and arrived at the shopping mall on the next street in just a few minutes.

He parked his car on the side of the road and didn't get out immediately.

"Li Qian and I will go in first. You two wait here," Chen Xun said. "Pay attention to how many employees they have, how much customer traffic they have, and whether they have any of our regular customers."

Yang Xiaotao nodded: "Understood."

Lin Xinyue said, "Don't worry, we're both good at judging people."

Chen Xun looked at Li Qian: "Ready?"

Li Qian took a deep breath and nodded.

The two got out of the car and walked into the mall.

As they reached the shop entrance, Li Qian suddenly reached out and took Chen Xun's arm.

Chen Xun was stunned for a moment.

Li Qian didn't look at him, and whispered, "Weren't we supposed to be pretending to be a couple?"

"Yes." Chen Xun realized what was happening and relaxed.

The two walked arm in arm into the "Instant Noodle Research Institute".

The restaurant was quite crowded, with seven or eight tables fully occupied.

The decor is indeed very similar.

Industrial-style walls, retro posters, photo wall, light gray sofa.

Li Qian took out her phone and pretended to take a selfie, but actually scanned the store environment with the camera.

"Family, look at this renovation, it's absolutely amazing," she whispered into her phone, as if recording a video.

Chen Xun almost burst out laughing.

That's impressive acting.

The two walked to the cashier.

It's still that blonde girl.

"What do you want to eat?" She didn't even look up.

Chen Xun glanced at the menu.

Goodness, even the menu layout is almost identical.

The signature braised beef noodles, spicy beef noodles, pickled cabbage and shredded pork noodles... all have the same name and are in the same order.

"Our signature braised beef noodles, with an egg and sausage," Chen Xun said.

"Me too," Li Qian said.

"Two portions for thirty-six," the blonde girl said.

Chen Xun scanned the QR code to pay and took a number.

The two found a spot against the wall and sat down.

Li Qian continued to hold her phone, pretending to take pictures.

"Look at that poster," she whispered, "it's in the exact same spot as the one on our wall."

Chen Xun looked over.

Indeed, even the angle of the posters is almost the same.

"And that photo wall," Li Qian said, "the placement of the plush toys is practically a copy-paste."

Chen Xun nodded.

At that moment, he noticed the man with the buzz cut coming out from behind the cashier.

He stood next to the cashier, his eyes scanning the store.

When he saw Chen Xun and Li Qian, his gaze lingered for a moment before quickly shifting away.

But Chen Xun saw it.

His eyes were somewhat evasive.

The noodles have been served.

The arrangement is exactly the same as the original plate.

A large black bowl, a heart-shaped fried egg, a sliced ​​sausage, and two pieces of green vegetables.

Chen Xun picked up his chopsticks and took a bite.

The taste was still not good; the soup was salty and the meat was tough.

Li Qian also took a bite and frowned.

"It's not as good as the ones at our shop," she said softly.

"But it's cheaper," Chen Xun said. "Eighteen yuan a day."

Two girls were sitting at the next table, chatting.

Li Qian suddenly raised her voice slightly: "Honey, what do you think about us opening a shop like this someday?"

Chen Xun understood and replied, "Go ahead and open it. I think this business is pretty good."

"But running a shop is so tiring," Li Qian said. "Look at us when we were setting up a stall, we worked from dawn till dusk, we were almost exhausted."

"That's different," Chen Xun said. "Setting up a stall is hard work, but opening a shop is even more stressful. Renovating, stocking inventory, hiring staff—all of that costs money."

"That's true." Li Qian sighed, "Starting a business is too difficult; it's much more comfortable to work for someone else."

The two ate and chatted, their voices neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for the people next to them to hear.

Chen Xun glanced at it out of the corner of his eye.

Behind the cashier, the man with the buzz cut was listening intently in their direction.

Li Qian noticed it too.

She quietly kicked Chen Xun.

Chen Xun remained calm and continued eating his noodles.

After finishing their meal, the two went to pay the bill.

Chen Xun walked to the cashier and looked at the man with the buzz cut.

"Boss, I have a question for you," Chen Xun said.

The man with the buzz cut looked up: "What is it?"

"Does your store offer franchises?" Chen asked. "Business seems pretty good, so I'd like to know how much the franchise fee is."

The man with the buzz cut paused for a moment, then his eyes darted away again.

"Well... I don't know, you'll have to ask our boss."

"Where's the boss?" Chen asked.

"He's not here, he went out," the man with the buzz cut said. "Leave your phone number, and I'll have him contact you when he gets back."

"Okay." Chen Xun gave a fake number.

The man with the buzz cut took note and visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen Xun and Li Qian walked out of the store.

As soon as they stepped outside, Li Qian let go of Chen Xun's arm.

"How is it?" she asked.

"There's a problem," Chen Xun said. "He panicked as soon as I asked about franchising."

The two returned to the car.

Yang Xiaotao and Lin Xinyue had been waiting for a long time.

"How is it? How is it?" Yang Xiaotao asked.

"It's undeniable that they copied it," Li Qian said. "The decoration details, the menu, the plating—it's all copied."

Lin Xinyue said, "We've also made some discoveries here."

"What discovery?" Chen asked.

"The customer flow is indeed large; fifteen people came in within half an hour," Yang Xiaotao said. "But there's a problem."

"What's the problem?"

"The customers are all young people, and they look like they're here for the first time," Lin Xinyue said. "We stared at them for a long time, but we didn't see a single familiar face; they were all new customers."

Chen Xun thought for a moment: "In other words, they haven't stolen our old customers yet."

"Yes." Yang Xiaotao nodded, "They're all new customers who came for the online celebrity photo op."

Li Qian said, "And the taste was bad; I couldn't eat more than a few bites."

"You can copy the decor, but you can't copy the taste," Chen Xun said. "Our soup base is made by Xin Yue, and the chili peppers are cooked by Li Qian. They can't steal this skill."

Lin Xinyue snorted: "That's my secret recipe."

"So what do we do now?" Yang Xiaotao asked.

Chen Xun started the car.

"Let's go back first," he said. "I've figured it out today. They're just imitating, but they haven't captured the essence."

"What's next?" Li Qian asked.

Chen Xun smiled.

"If they copy us, we'll do something they can't copy."

"For example?" the three girls asked at the same time.

Chen Xun didn't answer, he just kept driving.

Outside the car window, the sign for the "Instant Noodle Research Institute" was lit up, and there were quite a few people queuing up.

But Chen Xun knew that relying solely on plagiarism wouldn't get him far.

True core competitiveness is never on the surface.