Soon, the day arrived when the Natural Milk Tea Shop across the street opened.

July is the height of summer, when the earth feels like it's been baked. At this time, having a cup of ice-cold and delicious milk tea is simply heaven.

Following Fang Dingding's plan, Chen Fangmei and her son held a "buy one get two free" promotion for the opening of their new store. They would give away a free cup of the same milk tea for 60 cents, and also provide an extra 30% off coupon.

Not only that, they also recruited many students to stand on the street and hand out flyers.

The bright orange billboards, with the words "Natural Milk Tea House" visible from across the street, are easily identifiable.

Red carpets, flowers, and firecrackers filled the air, along with a series of lion dances, the deafening gongs and drums, and emcees in sexy short skirts offering free food tastings outside...

It's just a small milk tea shop, but they're making it look like a grand opening of a super department store.

Seeing the huge crowd ahead, and with many staff members maintaining order, I realized that the queue was very long.

Mo Yan'er kept looking out the window, and said impatiently, "Qiao Wa, what should we do? Shouldn't you organize some activities to win back our customers?"

"How about we offer a buy-one-get-two-free deal?" Little Fatty and his friends stood idly at the counter, looking across the street, and tentatively suggested.

Lu Siqiao sat in a comfortable armchair reading a book, without looking up, and said, "You don't need to pay attention to it. Tianran will only be a little busy these few days, and it won't have a big impact on Qiao House."

"How could it not have an impact? All the customers have been taken away," Mo Yan'er said anxiously.

Lu Siqiao said calmly, "Why was it taken away?"

"They're having an event," Mo Yan'er said matter-of-factly.

Lu Siqiao countered, "Will they keep holding events?"

"..." Mo Yan'er fell silent.

Lu Siqiao smiled and looked back at Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei nodded and said, "They have quite a few staff members, and their labor costs are also calculated. Besides, customers are interested in the discounted price, not necessarily the natural quality."

As they were talking, Li Zijun walked in from outside, carrying several cups of bubble tea, and urged Lu Siqiao and the others to try them quickly.

"Cough cough cough-" Mo Yan'er choked after taking only one sip.

"It's all saccharin, what is that stuff?" Monkey frowned and asked Li Zijun, "How much is this milk tea?"

"Six cents, buy one get one free, three cents a cup after discount." Li Zijun took a few sips and put the cup down with disgust. "It doesn't taste good. It's too greasy after drinking too much."

Lu Siqiao smiled: "Milk tea has the lowest cost. The key is whether you can make it well and make it sweet but not cloying."

Zhang Wei then asked Li Zijun about the prices of other milk teas.

Li Zijun handed over a flyer. On the colorful menu, apart from milk tea which cost 60 cents a cup, the most expensive peach and grapefruit fruit tea was priced at one dollar a cup, while the rest were 80 cents, 90 cents, and so on.

Besides that, they also bought small cakes for one dollar, fried chicken wings for 50 cents each, and so on.

Natural Home's individual items are significantly more expensive than those from Qiaowu.

The fruit tea at Qiaowu generally costs around 80 cents.

But they use real fruit, unlike Natural Home, which puts in too much ice, and the milk tea in the cup becomes very diluted in no time.

"I heard their rent is a thousand yuan a month. How can they break even if they don't sell at a higher price?" Little Fatty had already inquired about it and said with a disdainful look, "Customers aren't stupid. They just want to have some fun."

"And they also installed three TVs in their house; they really went all out to make a good impression," Monkey added.

Lu Siqiao interrupted their speculations and said with a smile, "Let's not panic, just do our job well. Remember, we are a milk tea shop in the style of a bookstore. Our customers are here to enjoy the quiet and relaxing atmosphere, which is different from our usual customer base."

“I’m the boss and I’m not worried, so why are you?” She blinked again. “If there are no customers, you can read some books and enrich yourselves. If we open a chain store, you’ll have to be able to stand on your own and be promoted to store manager.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wei and the others quickly returned to their posts and got back to work.

Lu Siqiao was right. Although there were many people at the natural venue, many of them were older women who came just to join in the fun. Many people would buy a cup of milk tea, have two people drink it, and sit there all day just to watch TV.

Not only that, those people also brought their own sunflower seeds to eat on site, making a mess of the ground.

The weather was already hot, and with people coming and going, even with ten high-powered fans in the store, it was still unbearably hot.

Some customers couldn't wait to drink their milk tea as soon as they got it. They finished it before even reaching the street, leaving them to shake the ice cubes in their cups, which was better than nothing.

Zhang Wei and his colleagues thought they wouldn't have any customers, but when it was mealtime, their regular customers still came in, ordered a cup of milk tea and two small cakes, and sat quietly in the corner. Some picked up world classics and read them with great interest.

Some white-collar workers also picked up Reader's Digest and browsed it in a relaxed manner.

They were scattered in twos and threes in the corners, not disturbing each other.

Compared to the brightly lit and dazzling Natural Milk Tea Shop, the warmth and tranquility of Qiao House inexplicably bring a sense of peace.

"Brother, I want to come work too."

Zhang Wan walked in from outside the door and said timidly.

A few days ago, Zhang Wei went home and said that Lu Siqiao was planning to implement a shift system and wanted to hire another person.

Zhang Wan was depressed and withdrawn for a while, and at one point felt like the sky was about to fall.

Zhang Wei told her that Fang Jun had opened a milk tea shop across from Qiao's house and was even planning to ruin Qiao's house, but he wouldn't let him have his way.

Watching Zhang Wei work at Qiaowu for a while, his entire demeanor changed dramatically, as if he had become a completely different person.

Not only that, but his soul was also elevated. He, who had never liked studying since childhood, actually learned to read and even found many books on management to read.

"Ah Wan, did you only want to work at Qiao House because of Fang Jun?" Zhang Wei wasn't as happy as he had imagined; instead, he questioned her.

At that moment, he saw Fang Jun walk out of the skylight, with a girl in a miniskirt in his arms, completely disregarding the stares of others.

Zhang Wan saw it too, her face turning deathly pale, as if all the color had been drained from her.

She desperately wanted to rush up and confront Fang Jun, asking him if he was heartless.

But she didn't move.

Seeing this, Zhang Wei sighed, "I have money now, and I can easily afford to send you to school. You're only eighteen; learning a skill is the most important thing."

“No, I just want to work. I can’t concentrate on studying.” Zhang Wan shook her head, looking dejected. “I’m afraid of being in this cold, impersonal house, I’m afraid of being alone…”

Zhang Wei was also unable to make a decision, and looked to Lu Siqiao for help.

Lu Siqiao nodded: "Working is fine, but there's a one-month probation period. If it's not a good fit, even if your brother pleads for you, it won't make a difference."

"Jova, don't worry, I'll do my job well."

Zhang Wan nodded obediently, turned around and looked at the Natural Milk Tea shop across the street with its neon lights flashing incessantly, secretly vowing that she would live a happier life than that scumbag.

This is the cruelest revenge against him!