Chapter 31: Ignite the Entire Venue!

After Old Shen left Hedilao, he did not go home. Instead, he went straight to an office building.

No one knew that apart from being an epicure, he was also the editor-in-chief of the most famous food magazine in Quan City, “Quan Food World”!

As for why an editor-in-chief had the time to search for delicacies outside all day…

The editor-in-chief was skipping work… That was not called skipping work. That was called searching for materials!

At that moment, Editor-in-Chief Shen, who had just finished searching for materials, slowly sat down on the sofa in his office.

“Little Hu, have you finished writing the food recommendation for the next issue of the magazine?”

“It hasn’t been printed yet?”

“Alright, let me replace it. I’ll write the draft. Tonight, I’ll work overtime to produce the electronic edition.”

Quan Food World was a bimonthly publication. It was not yet time for it to be published, but the electronic edition would be published on the official website of the magazine a few days before.

However, the electronic edition only contained half the content of the printed edition. This was also considered a marketing tactic.

Editor-in-Chief Shen turned on his computer and wrote a line of words. “Hedilao: A Gourmet Paradise with Human Culture!”

The accompanying picture was of Ye Feng giving out stools and snacks. This was a photo Old Shen had taken before he left.

…

At the entrance of Prosperous Flavor…

The blonde and roguish young person were staring wide-eyed at Manager Wu.

“You guys actually skipped work!” Manager Wu was so angry that his hair stood on end. “And you even went to eat hotpot at a competitor’s shop!”

“Manager Wu, one must be loyal!”

The blonde leaned against the door and lit a cigarette as he said, “We should’ve gotten off work at 6pm, but you asked us to work overtime for two hours.”

“I won’t listen to your explanation!” Manager Wu said domineeringly, “I’ll deduct half of your salary from today!”

“Next time, if you do this again, just get lost!”

Manager Wu had always hated those who led alternative lifestyles because he had been beaten up by such people quite a few times when he was young. Back then, he had only hired them because they were cheap to hire.

Obviously, Manager Wu did not have a good memory.

Even after being beaten up so many times, he still didn’t understand… that those with alternative lifestyles were not people to be trifled with.

“What? Not only do you want us to work overtime, you even want to deduct our pay —— Brother!”

“I’ve heard you!” The blonde puffed out a mouthful of smoke, and his gaze turned hostile.

“Ah Cheng, how old are you?”

“I’m 15.”

“I’m 17. Fine, you’re not 16 yet. Later on, if I tell you to beat him up, you’ll beat him up!”

…

In the end, the blonde did not manage to get back the other half of his salary. Instead, they were chased out by the security guards.

“Pfft, they’re bullying the weak.”

The roguish youth spat and said angrily, “Brother, what should we do?”

“I was too naive. This is our first time working part-time and we actually encountered such a situation. The hearts of the people in the underworld are too complicated…”

The blonde sighed slightly. “Brother, don’t worry. If he dares to offend our Buried Love Family[1], I will definitely teach him a lesson!”

…

At Quan City University, Dormitory 7012…

Ye Feng was excitedly smashing the head of a dog on his bed. Don’t misunderstand, it was simply a toy dog.

“Ah!”

After venting his emotions, Ye Feng lay on the bed while breathing heavily.

The results of the first day were out.

There were 153 members and their capital returns totalled to 140,000 yuan.

And this was only the first day!

Ye Feng was certain that the results would only get better and better on the second day, the third day, and even later on.

His first venture should be a success!

This result was already within his expectations. After all, with both of his strategies, combined with the terrifying customer flow at Tianda Plaza…

It would be strange if he did not have such results!

Ye Feng turned around. He began to look forward to the next day and what kind of results Hedilao would bring.

…

On the other hand, Li Xin was also looking forward to something.

“Ahhhh!”

After an intense “collision”, Li Xin lay on the bed, panting heavily.

Then, he opened his phone and saw a report that Liu Yan had just sent.

“The Development of the Ji City Market.”

That was right. Li Xin had already set his sights on the cities around Quan City. He was very ambitious and wanted to rely on Quan City to influence the neighboring areas, eventually covering the entire Lu Province. Ji City was his first target.

As for Hedilao——

He no longer cared about it. To him, it was just a small challenge on the road of life and was just like a rock. Once he kicked it away, nothing would happen.

However, even though the contents of the report were delightful, Li Xin still sighed in the end.

“It’s talking about money again!”

The expansion of markets often faced a strong backlash from local markets.

In Quan City, Prosperous Flavor’s greatest competitor, Jiangnan Flavor, as well as the largest chain hotpot restaurant in Ji City, Seventeen Doors, were launching a fierce counterattack against Prosperous Flavor.

In fact, Li Xin even suspected that the two restaurants had discussed this beforehand.

However, one could not blame them for doing so. After all, the market shares of Jiangnan Flavor had been squeezed dry by Prosperous Flavor. Thus, it was reasonable for them to seize the opportunity to launch a counterattack when Prosperous Flavor was developing their markets.

Such a level of commercial competition was all about money. One could imagine how much financial pressure there would be when Prosperous Flavor and its competitors went to war.

In fact, the competition between Prosperous Flavor and Hedilao at Tianda Plaza was only the tip of the iceberg. If Ye Feng paid enough attention, he would realize that the public bus he was on and the billboards beside the street were all filled with advertisements for Jiangnan Flavor and Prosperous Flavor.

However, all of this had nothing to do with Ye Feng.

…

At 8am, Ye Feng woke up on time.

The opening hours of Tianda Plaza were 9am to 10pm. Thus, it was just nice for him to go to the restaurant at this time.

Meanwhile, Zhao Zhen was still discussing the contract in Tai City. He said that he would be back today, but from the conversation on the phone, Ye Feng could vaguely guess that the news he brought back this time wasn’t good news.

At 9am, Tianda Plaza opened punctually. Meanwhile, there were already tourists dispersed along the nearby Gold Street.

These tourists seemed to have a goal as they rushed towards Tianda Plaza.

At the same time, cars drove over from Tianda Plaza’s underground parking lot. Moreover, these car owners seemed to know each other and started greeting each other as soon as they alighted.

“Old Qin, you’re here too?”

“Did you read the magazine too?”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

“I was recommended to this place by Old Xu. He said he found a treasure store here.”

…

In Tianda Plaza, Hedilao Hotpot Restaurant opened on time.

At the same time, a steady stream of customers poured into Hedilao. Qi Yun, who was instructing his employees to clean the tables and chairs as well as to set up snacks, was stunned when he saw this.

“Quick, quick, quick, go entertain the guests.”

“Charge forth!”

Soon, a long line appeared at the entrance of Hedilao. There weren’t even enough stools left, causing many people to stand and line up as a result.

Even so, more people flocked over. Hedilao seemed to have become a whirlpool, attracting the people around Tianda Square.

At this moment, the small Hedilao ignited the entire venue!

As the best-selling gourmet magazine in Quan City, Quan Food World had a shockingly large number of loyal fans. Many people didn’t hesitate to queue up and try the so-called gourmet paradise.

“Bah, how exaggerated!”

Manager Wu stood at the entrance of the shop with a look of disdain.

They didn’t hire anyone to assist them yesterday, but they had hired so many people today…

This store manager’s standard was far inferior to his!

[1] part of a subculture that highlights individuality and is not accepted by mainstream culture. It is similar to the scene subculture in United States