Ye Xu: "..."
Isn't this unlocking method a bit too frivolous? It unlocks when mentioned, but pretends it doesn't exist if not mentioned, and even plays the hidden section trick?
Ye Xu struggled to keep his expression from crumbling. He nodded calmly, indicating that the monster meat could be arranged, but he needed to go back and discuss it with the purchasing staff before quickly leaving the scene.
Ye Xu planned to go back to the kitchen first to check what the newly opened specialty products section looked like, and also to explore whether there were any other hidden sections waiting to be unlocked. It couldn't be that only monsters were hidden; there should at least be a magic vegetable section, right?
In order to test how much the hidden section contained, Ye Xu actually found the "Western Fantasy Setting Collection" in the system's entertainment world, which was placed in the online novel section as a novel, and then read through the entries one by one.
The notification sounds rang out, unlocking several types of magical ingredients. It's ridiculous that this trick actually works.
Ye Xu smiled kindly: "So it really works."
Shuangshuang: "..."
After closing for the day, Ye Xu fulfilled his promise and went to unlock the ingredients. After that, it was time for the routine shop expansion and adjustments, and discussing whether to hire more staff.
Ye Xu said to Shuangshuang, "I feel that the shop is already at its current size and cannot be expanded further, as it would be a waste."
The people of Transi aren't stupid; soon, copycat shops will spring up everywhere. Don't tell me his shop's tastes far superior to others; it wouldn't be difficult for a nobleman to open a shop with comparable flavor. His broth might even be more suited to the local palate.
As for the ingredients at Ye Xu's place, their quality far surpasses that of other places. Even nobles can obtain ingredients of acceptable quality. Even if they are not as good as his, it doesn't matter much. Hot pot is inherently a dish with strong flavors, which can largely mask any flaws in the ingredients themselves.
Shuangshuang disagreed: "Competition in the future is a matter for the future. Expanding the store and making more money now is the right thing to do. Anyway, expanding the store is not expensive. Don't you still have renovation opportunities left? Besides, the store area can be used for a long time. If you expand now, you won't have to worry about it when you need more space to open other stores later."
Ye Xu thought it made sense. They'd already bought the renovation tickets, so they couldn't just leave them unused; that would be a real waste. He calculated that the current staff was barely enough to keep the three floors running, so he decided to just take over the empty third floor as well.
In areas where manpower is slightly insufficient, machines are still used to fill the gaps. Ye Xu also remembered that robot vacuum cleaners could be deployed on each floor, which would greatly reduce the workload of the cleaning staff.
The bottom line is that Ye Xu doesn't want to use employee vouchers to hire people, and would rather spend more points to buy machines. Buying more machines is still not as expensive as using employee vouchers. If it weren't for the fact that the machines also need staff to operate them, Ye Xu would be more than happy to replace them all with machines.
Shuangshuang felt that they should increase the number of staff. What was the point of having such a tight kitchen? If something went wrong one day, the whole shop would have to shut down.
"Manager, don't you still have several coupons? Split some out and give each special job a special SR card. You won't lose out." Shuangshuang earnestly advised, even giving Luna a wink to help persuade her.
The serious-looking pastor's expression cracked slightly. She knew nothing about business, so how could she advise her? But then she thought that having too many machines and not being able to manage them all would also be a problem, so she nodded and agreed with Shuangshuang's suggestion.
Ye Xu stroked Xiao Yu's fur without saying a word.
Shuangshuang delivered a powerful dose of advice: "Anyway, you won't be able to draw any UR cards in the short term, so it's a waste to keep the employee coupons. You just recently signed a contract with the guardian beast through the system, so it's unlikely to give you any more preferential treatment within a month. You'll definitely receive new employee coupons after a month, and you can use those then."
Ye Xu: "..."
Doesn't that mean Ye Xuguang can't expect to quickly draw good cards just by relying on his own abilities? Hmph! That makes sense, whatever!
"Do whatever you want, I'm going back to sleep." Ye Xu carried the little furball into the house, with no intention of putting it back in the pet space. Xiao Yu was also happy to stay with Ye Xu, and the two of them snuggled on the bed and played with their paws for half the night.
The little fur ball was so much fun that Manager Ye naturally woke up a little late.
A new day begins, and as usual, Han Yingchen stands unmoving at the door, scaring everyone else away. Today, the shop manager is unusually sleeping in, and Shuangshuang is the one who opens the door.
She greeted Han Yingchen warmly and introduced, "We've added a new floor today. Which floor would you like to dine on?"
Han Yingchen was a little surprised. He had come for three consecutive days, and the shop was expanding every day, which was very strange. Normally, a shop would be prepared before it opened, but this shop gave him the feeling that it was expanding while it was still operating.
However, Han Yingchen didn't ask any further questions, subconsciously feeling that there was nothing worth exploring. He silently walked to a corner on the first floor, demonstrating his choice through his actions.
After taking only two steps, Han Yingchen noticed something else. The kitchen that used to be on the first floor was gone, and a few more tables and chairs had been placed in the empty area, presumably because the kitchen had been moved upstairs.
—Since all three floors need to supply skewers, it would be much more convenient to place the kitchen on the second floor.
Han Yingchen thought to herself that there must be a very powerful magician in charge of this shop, but it wasn't the shopkeeper or the little elf in front of her; neither of them had any magical aura. The other little elf did have it, and a very strong one at that, but that one was a priest, so it probably wasn't her doing.
Could it be that this shop has a powerful mage as its backer? Han Yingchen seemed to have a sudden realization.
Thanks to yesterday's promotion, there were significantly more customers queuing up today. Even though it was still early, many people were willing to brave the wind and snow to wait.
Ye Xu, who had stayed up all night, didn't come downstairs until 10 o'clock. Usually, by this time, the first wave of customers hadn't left yet, but they were also close to finishing their meals. Today, however, things were different. With the supply of monster meat, the customers didn't need to eat a lot of food to fill their stomachs. Seeing so many people queuing in the waiting area, they felt embarrassed to keep occupying the seats.
Shuangshuang flew over to inform the store manager about the business situation: "Today, the customers stayed for about half an hour, whereas before it was at least an hour and a half."
Ye Xu was startled upon hearing this.
What does reducing an hour and a half to half an hour mean? It means today's revenue will be at least three times that of yesterday, because the number of customers served has tripled. Of course, this is on the premise that the seats can be seamlessly connected without any empty tables.
Since yesterday, the number of customers willing to share tables has decreased significantly because the restaurant has plenty of tables and chairs. With just a short wait, you can get a table by yourself, so there's no need to share. Otherwise, the restaurant's daily revenue would probably be 10% higher.
Today, no one wants to share a table, since the wait time is shorter than usual. Without sharing a table, you can order four different hot pot bases at once, choosing whichever flavor you like.
Seeing this, Shuangshuang decided to take matters into her own hands and added 10 different base ingredients to the menu. She thought that with more base ingredients, she could attract some customers with obsessive-compulsive tendencies like the manager, who would insist on coming back several times to try all the flavors before they were satisfied.
Ye Xu highly praised the operation: "Well done, Shuangshuang is so smart."
Customers don't always order the same broth bases they haven't tried before; they'll inevitably have one or two favorites that they order every time. Just like Ye Xu always chooses the spicy broth when eating hot pot, and Shuangshuang loves the tomato broth, most customers are probably the same. They usually choose a maximum of three new broth bases each time, which unconsciously increases the number of times they come to the restaurant.
"Everything's fine, I'm relieved to leave it to you." Ye Xu happily assumed the role of a hands-off manager, planning to stroll around the store, check on the situation, and if everything was alright, he would go upstairs to relax.
When Ye Xu reached the first floor, he spotted Han Yingchen sitting in the corner.
They were all among the first to arrive, and everyone else had already finished eating and left, except for Han Yingchen, who was still quietly eating. There was nothing he could do about it; the others had plenty of spare money and could order a bunch of magical ingredients, but Han Yingchen was living frugally and could only afford cheap, filling food.
According to some gossip, Han Yingchen is currently short of money and has probably been eating only one meal a day for the past month.
Ye Xu couldn't understand how those guys knew even this kind of thing. Did they follow people around every day to calculate how many meals they ate?
Over the next few days, Ye Xu gradually learned a lot of detailed information about Han Yingchen. Considering that both of them had Eastern ancestry, he really wanted to take extra care of him. Meeting in another world was fate, and he would help in any way he could. This person might even be a descendant of his compatriots.
I delivered steamed buns yesterday, but not today. I've already missed the time when Han Yingchen ordered them, so delivering more would be too conspicuous.
Ye Xu thought for a moment, then secretly pulled up Han Yingchen's bill, manipulated it a bit, and gave him a discount. After doing this, Ye Xu quietly left without disturbing the people who were enjoying their meal.
Han Yingchen only noticed the anomaly when he was paying the bill. He knew that the store manager must have been secretly helping him again, so he quietly collected the extra silver coins that came out of the cash register and didn't make a fuss.
It's the store manager's business to do good deeds, and I can't just accept it without feeling guilty. I should give back in some way. But I don't have any other skills, so I can only come over more often when I have time to see if anyone is causing trouble, and if so, I'll help smooth things over.
With a mage already in charge of the shop, it seems unnecessary for him to do anything extra.
Many people, like Han Yingchen, mistakenly believed that a powerful magician was in charge of the shop, so business had been going smoothly for the past few days. This smooth sailing continued for quite some time, until another hot pot restaurant suddenly opened across the street.
A note from the author:
The next chapter will be available for purchase (VIP), and there will be six chapters a day thereafter.
(Regarding competitors, I've come up with a rather interesting solution by referencing economic cases.)
The next book in the same series is "I Sell Magic Potions by Drawing Cards," a story about Ye Ye selling magic potions (just kidding) and causing trouble (just kidding) in a melodramatic novel. Those interested can check it out!
Chapter 23 Following the Trend
It was the fifth day since the monster meat was launched. In those five days, Ye Xu hadn't expanded the number of stores. Even though he had a lot more employee coupons, he had maintained the current scale. The store's customer traffic was basically at saturation, so there was no need to add seats. Adding seats would only result in empty tables at certain times.
During this time, Ye Xu gained a lot of experience by carefully completing four cumulative tasks, directly leveling up to level 17. This was largely thanks to the magical ingredients; if they hadn't reduced customers' dining time, tripling the number of customers served each day, Ye Xu wouldn't have been able to accumulate points so easily.
Unfortunately, those comfortable days were over. With the emergence of the first competitor, the previous profits could never be achieved again.
"It's alright." Ye Xu had a good attitude and even comforted the angry Shuangshuang, "I've been promoted three levels in the past few days and received a lot of employee coupons."
Looking at the coupon in his hand, Ye Xu would wake up laughing in his sleep at night.
"It's a pity that I haven't had any luck these past few days and haven't been able to find a suitable employee."
Sigh, without the system's help to cheat, things just won't work. Compared to the hot pot restaurant across the street, Ye Xu was more annoyed by this; having employee coupons but not being able to use them was quite worrying.
Shuangshuang glared angrily at the spineless store manager: "Manager, you're too soft-hearted! It's one thing for them to open a hot pot restaurant, but what's with opening one right across from us? They're deliberately stealing our business, it's too much!"
Many new customers have only heard that there's a good hot pot restaurant on this street, but they have no idea which one it is. The restaurant across the street has already attracted quite a few customers using this tactic.
If it were just about making money from a hot pot restaurant, Shuangshuang wouldn't be so angry. The main issue is that he deliberately opened his shop across the street, which is incredibly unethical. Shuangshuang was so angry that she wanted to rush over and smash his shop door.
Ye Xu quickly reached out to stop him: "Alright, calm down. What's there to be angry about over such a small thing?"
Miss Luna also flew over to help stop them. The little furball sensed the commotion outside and poked its head out to see what was going on.
It has been doing this often these days. At first, a head would appear out of nowhere, but its head and body together form a whole sphere, so Ye Xu was horrified to see half a sphere appear in the air.
The scene was rather horrifying, and Ye Xu advised it to at least separate its head from its body, turning it into two balls, one in front and one in back. Xiao Yu obediently agreed, and so its entire head began to float in the air.
Ye Xu: "..."
In the end, Ye Xu changed into clothes with pockets, so that Xiao Yu could peek out from the big pockets to watch the fun each time. With the pockets covering her, others couldn't see the other half of her body and wouldn't be frightened.
Even though it couldn't speak, Xiaoyu still wanted to participate. It stretched out one paw and meowed, like a primary school student raising its hand to speak.
Ye Xu rubbed its little head: "Go inside and play, this matter will be resolved soon."
"Meow?" Xiaoyu tilted her head, and after confirming that the shopkeeper wasn't lying, she happily shrank back into her spatial dimension. That's how capricious this creature with both time and space attributes is; not only can it come and go freely, but it can also only come out halfway.
After hearing Ye Xu's words, Luna realized something: "The store manager already has a solution, right?"
Luna felt this was a difficult situation to handle. The methods the other party used were considered fair competition in business, and at most she would be called unscrupulous. Retaliating against them for that wouldn't be very justifiable.
The appropriate level of response is also difficult to gauge; going too far will make one seem unreasonable, while failing to do enough will leave one feeling frustrated. Luna is certain she cannot accurately pinpoint the most suitable solution.
Ye Xu smiled and said nonchalantly, "What's so difficult about that? If you think carefully about how the other side makes money, you won't be in such a hurry."
Ye Xu genuinely doesn't mind others opening hot pot restaurants like him. He's not the founder of hot pot, so he's not that petty. Besides, he can't stop people from doing it anyway; if they see him making money, they'll definitely follow suit.
Of course, not minding people following suit and not minding people openly challenging each other are two different things. It's just that the other side's actions were really stupid, making Ye Xu feel it was not worth arguing with them.
"How do they make money?" Luna repeated Ye Xu's words, lost in thought.
Shuangshuang was also completely bewildered, and after a long while, she tentatively asked, "Trying to ride on our coattails?"
Ye Xu shook his head and instead brought up another point: "Their broth must taste pretty good, otherwise they wouldn't be able to ride the wave of popularity and retain customers."
The cost of a delicious broth base in this era is not low. Just imagine the price of spices in ancient society. Many modern seasonings were precious spices in ancient times.
Unfortunately, the shop across the street is currently pricing the same as the Dimensional Hot Pot restaurant, including ingredients and broth. Ingredients can be purchased wholesale to lower prices, and selling them at market price seems to make a profit. However, the broth is definitely being sold at a loss to attract customers.
Can you make money just by profiting from the price difference of ingredients? Not necessarily. Even if you own the shop and don't have to pay rent, aren't the labor costs for processing the ingredients and skewering them still a cost? There are also fuel costs, etc. The expenses of opening a shop are much higher than expected.
Ye Xu strongly suspected that the store wasn't making any money at all, but it wasn't safe to say yet, so he said to Shuangshuang, "Let's have a promotion where you get free dishes when you spend a certain amount."
Giving away free items can garner more positive emotions from customers and make competitors anxious and frustrated.
This common tactic is actually a form of price reduction, just without explicitly adjusting prices. It appears to be a way of rewarding customers, which not only looks good on the surface but is also quite effective in winning back some customers.
Ye Xu's goal wasn't to win back customers, but rather to prevent the neighboring restaurant from making irrational decisions in their haste, such as also sending out dishes. After all, Ye Xu wouldn't lose money by sending out dishes, while the neighboring restaurant would definitely lose money.
However, before Ye Xu's food delivery event was even announced, they had already made a foolish move.
The boss was a bit clever; he knew that lower prices could attract more people to eat there. Without Ye Xu's prompting, he proactively lowered the prices, wanting to compete with Ye Xu.
This person felt that offering free dishes was less practical than lowering prices. Lowering prices would allow customers to take whatever they wanted, creating a "the more you eat, the more you get a bargain" mentality, which would drive higher consumption. Offering free dishes was different; the dishes offered weren't necessarily what people liked to eat, and since they were offered free dishes regardless of how much was ordered, why would customers order more? They might as well just go and eat and drink for free.