Time flies, and two weeks of September have already passed before we knew it.

Duan Jian finally realized that he would probably never be a match for Feng Haidong.

From the very beginning, Feng Haidong never considered him a rival.

Duan Jian's crayfish restaurant has been open for ten days.

As a result, apart from the first three days of opening when the store was packed with customers, the number of customers in the following days could be described as a sharp decline.

No matter what methods the store uses, such as offering discounts or coupons, it cannot get customers to come back to eat there.

This once made Duan Jian and his boss Li Shitong very strange.

However, it wasn't long before Duan Jian and Li Shitong understood the reason and realized the gap between them and Feng Haidong.

Duan Jian's crayfish restaurant business is not doing well, not because Duan Jian's cooking skills are bad.

One reason is that the quality of the crayfish that Duan Jian and his team purchased was not as good as before.

The second, and most important, reason is that Duan Jian learned his cooking skills from Feng Haidong, so no matter how he cooks, he can't surpass the taste of Feng Haidong's restaurant.

Once everyone gets used to the taste of Feng Haidong's crayfish restaurant, they naturally won't think that Duan Jian's restaurant management is anything special.

Honestly, I've been using a source-switching app to read and follow my favorite books lately. It offers various source switching options and different reading voices. The .huanyuanapp works on both Android and Apple devices.

In addition, Feng Haidong started offering grilled fish and barbecue.

The new dishes attracted more curious customers to Feng Haidong's restaurant.

This immediately overshadowed Duan Jian's crayfish restaurant.

So even though Duan Jian's skills were not bad, he still couldn't get those lost customers back.

Duan Jian finally realized that he was no match for Feng Haidong.

But then, Duan Jian and his restaurant faced an even bigger problem.

That means the quality of crayfish is getting worse and worse.

At this point, Duan Jian and Li Shitong finally realized that crayfish are a seasonal food, and their quality would inevitably decline after the season ended.

Li Shitong felt somewhat helpless, so he specifically sought out Duan Jian to discuss the matter.

"Duan Jian, don't be nervous. I don't mean to blame you. This is not your fault. Your skills are undeniable. You have indeed learned the essence of Feng Haidong's shop. So the reason why business is not good now is not because of you."

Duan Jian felt somewhat embarrassed upon hearing Li Shitong's opening remarks.

“Mr. Li, I also bear some responsibility for this. I didn’t realize in advance that crayfish are seasonal. The quality of crayfish will deteriorate after the season, and if it’s after October, the crayfish may not be edible. I didn’t investigate this in advance.”

Li Shitong said, "Let's not talk about that. I came to see you today to discuss what should be done with our store next."

Hearing this, Duan Jian felt a little more at ease.

The fact that Li Shitong said this indicates that the other party did not intend to dismiss him.

Duan Jian's biggest fear now is that Li Shitong will turn on him and fire him, or simply close the shop and quit.

Whether he was fired or Li Shitong closed the store.

Duan Jian felt he couldn't accept it.

Duan Jian thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Li, I think we should change our strategy. Besides crayfish, I also have some culinary skills. Maybe we can transform into a restaurant."

Upon hearing this, Li Shitong shook his head and said, "It's definitely not feasible to run a restaurant. Our current renovation isn't in the restaurant model, and a restaurant kitchen requires a lot of people. Do you think your skills are enough to support a kitchen?"

Duan Jian was quite confident in his culinary skills: "Boss Li, I used to be a chef. I can find some of my former fellow apprentices to help me transform our restaurant. Actually, I'm more confident in transforming it into a restaurant."

Seeing Duan Jian's appearance, Li Shitong asked in a deep voice, "Duan Jian, I know you used to be a chef, but let me ask you, if you could run a restaurant, why did you go to Feng Haidong's place to learn how to cook crayfish?"

This question left Duan Jian speechless.

Duan Jian was indeed a chef before, and he even apprenticed to learn cooking skills.

It's just that running a restaurant is really tough these days.

Because there are too many food stalls on the street at night, and some snack streets piled up with all kinds of snacks.

Those places are more attractive to working-class people because they are usually good quality and inexpensive.

However, if you want to run a large hotel, the business is not doing well in various organizations now, so fewer people are dining at large hotels.

Duan Jian saw these things and realized that stores with the same unique characteristics as Feng Haidong's might become a trend.

That's why he went to Feng Haidong's restaurant to learn how to cook crayfish.

Faced with Li Shitong's question, Duan Jian really wanted to tell Li Shitong to invest more money so that the crayfish restaurant could be transformed into a specialty restaurant.

Duan Jian felt that by bringing together his former close fellow apprentices, he should be able to keep the small restaurant afloat.

But now, just ten days after the crayfish restaurant opened, it has turned into this.

Duan Jian was too embarrassed to ask Li Shitong to invest more.

Seeing that Duan Jian remained silent for a long time, Li Shitong could only say, "Duan Jian, it's not that I don't believe in your cooking skills. I've eaten the crayfish you made and the staff meals you prepared before. Your skills are indeed very good, but for our restaurant to continue, it still needs to have its own unique features."

Upon hearing this, Duan Jian nodded somewhat helplessly.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!