Chapter 181 - 167: I Won’t Take a Hit Just to Save Face

Chapter 181: Chapter 167: I Won’t Take a Hit Just to Save Face

AHEM—

Everyone seemed to pick up their teacups and take a sip at the same time, trying to hide their embarrassment at having been led off-topic by the young man, Xu An, without even noticing. In the end, it was the honest-looking middle-aged man who smoothed things over and began asking about Xu An’s restaurant. The man had heard about it from the old village chief and had even seen it on TV, but now he wanted to hear the story directly from the source—Xu An himself.

Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant was a legitimate business, not some shady operation, so there was nothing to hide. Xu An started from the very beginning, recounting how he first got the idea to sell boxed lunches from a stall. He explained how Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant now sold three thousand boxed lunches daily, a number that he expected to double once the exhibition began.

Initially, the honest-looking man had only asked out of casual interest in a junior’s business venture. But when he learned that Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant’s three locations, totaling less than two hundred square meters, were selling over three thousand meals a day—a number expected to double in the near future—his interest was piqued. The fact that the restaurant achieved such high sales by only serving lunch, in particular, made him deeply curious, and he began asking about the specifics of the operation.

For example, he asked how many employees the restaurant had, what their working hours were, and if that number of staff could really handle the workload, among a series of other questions.

When he heard that Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant had installed automated kitchen equipment to handle tasks like washing and chopping vegetables, which saved a great deal of time, labor, and resources, the honest-looking man’s interest reached its peak.

"Right now, a boxed lunch is eight yuan for three dishes and a soup. Can that price be pushed down any further?" After asking a few more questions, the honest-looking man suddenly posed this rather abrupt question.

A troubled look flashed in Xu An’s eyes. The quality and portion sizes of the meals from Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant were obvious to all—they were better than ninety-five percent of the other fast-food options out there. The current eight-yuan price point was a delicate balance. Any cheaper, and there would be no profit. Any more expensive, and customers would find it overpriced. If he were to lower the price, his only option would be to reduce the food quality; otherwise, it would be no different from running a charity.

"The quality of the boxed lunches from Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant is worth the price—it even exceeds it. If we lower it any further, we’d be operating at a loss." After thinking it over, Xu An decided not to put on a brave face and pretend he could do it. He rejected the suggestion outright.

The honest-looking man nodded thoughtfully, dropped the topic, and began a new round of questioning. For instance, how were the boxed lunches from Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant transported? Where were the fruits and vegetables sourced from? Could he provide documentation...?

Answering these questions, Xu An felt like he was back at the bidding session for the Hai City Machinery Equipment Exhibition. The questions from the honest-looking man were even more in-depth and detailed than the ones at the bidding. He was practically digging up every last secret of Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant.

After they finished questioning Xu An, Second Grand-uncle, Professor Yu, and the honest-looking man chatted for a while about the "mudflat aquaculture" project, and the three of them finally reached an agreement. Professor Yu gave his verbal commitment: as long as Xu Family Village leased the entire mudflat, he would immediately submit a research project application to his university. Assuming no unforeseen circumstances in the next three to five years, Professor Yu and his team would spend most of their time in Hai City. Second Grand-uncle could consult him about any technical problems or difficult issues.

The only regrettable part was that Second Grand-uncle had originally planned to put Professor Yu’s promised 300,000 yuan toward the initial lease funds. Now, that money would only be given to Xu Family Village for development *after* the mudflat was leased. This meant the preparatory fund was now short by 300,000 yuan.

’Professor Yu made that promise in front of Second Grand-uncle and the honest-looking man, so he won’t easily go back on his word. Looks like I’ll have to start the process of getting a loan from Hai City Bank. The approval takes time, so the sooner I get started, the better,’ Xu An calculated to himself.

After a bit more small talk, Xu An and Xu Dongliang were invited out into the courtyard to enjoy the moon, leaving Second Grand-uncle, Professor Yu, and the honest-looking man alone in the room. ℴ

After Xu An and Xu Dongliang had left, Second Grand-uncle looked at the honest-looking man and asked bluntly, "I get the feeling you’re trying to set up my grandnephew."

"Haha, how could that be? My dealings have always been open and aboveboard. Why would I do something to harm others? Especially since Xu An is your grandnephew, Old Village Chief, I would never try to harm him. If I’m approaching him, it’s definitely for something good." The honest-looking man finished, then added, "But this is something that earns fame, not money. It all depends on what your grandnephew thinks. If he’s not willing, I won’t force him."

Since it wasn’t a bad thing, Second Grand-uncle didn’t press the issue further and turned to discuss the details of the collaboration with Professor Yu...

After an attendant led Xu An and Xu Dongliang into the courtyard, he retreated to an inconspicuous corner, tucked his hands into his wide sleeves, lowered his head, and bowed his eyes, adopting a pose of ’see no evil, hear no evil’.

The two of them followed the stone path for a few dozen steps, listening to the gentle gurgle of water and gazing at the bright moon in the sky, before finally arriving at a pavilion and sitting on a stone bench. Xu An estimated the distance and, once he was sure the attendant couldn’t overhear their conversation, he finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and spoke.