Chapter 60 Chapter 60 Fighting in the ring with a thick face

Baozhu frowned after hearing this, and immediately thought of the strange man who came here often some time ago. That man always stared at her restaurant and the waiters there. She thought he was looking for reference.

"I just watched from a distance for a while, and then I saw several diners who didn't know the truth came in and asked if it was the same restaurant as ours. The waiter who was hanging the sign was vague, and they thought it was a branch of ours! If people really thought we were the same, wouldn't their reputation be ruined?" Jiang Shi was indignant.

Baozhu naturally understood this, but the other party hadn't come to cause trouble. Furthermore, the restaurant hadn't opened yet, and the name wasn't exactly the same, so even if she complained anywhere, there was nothing she could do. She couldn't change her restaurant's name, as that would be a huge advantage for them.

In the past few days, diners have come to Zhen's Restaurant one after another to ask whether the restaurant that is about to open across the street is the same as Zhen's Restaurant. Baozhu explained to them one by one that they have nothing to do with each other.

The restaurant across the street had opened a few days earlier, and the Zhen family could clearly hear the fireworks. It looked like the restaurant had copied the Zhen family's style perfectly, though they hadn't tried the food, so they couldn't say for now.

When Zhenwei Restaurant was first opened for trial operation, all the promotions such as the Guanpu turntable promotion were exactly the same. Many diners who were unaware of the situation flocked to the restaurant to join in the fun. Or even if they knew it was not the same restaurant, they would still go to check out the promotions.

The old customers of Zhen's Restaurant, whether they knew that Zhenwei Restaurant and Zhen's Restaurant were not the same restaurant, or mistakenly thought that the two were the same restaurant, all rushed to the other side of the street.

The more they went, the more customers came to Zhen's Restaurant to ask about it. Perhaps influenced by Zhenwei Restaurant, some people started to think that the food at Baozhu Restaurant was not right. In the end, even though they knew they were not the same restaurant, they just assumed that the food at both was not good.

Anyway, there are many restaurants in Bianjing. If this one doesn't work, they will go to another one. For a while, many diners didn't want to come to eat there anymore. Baozhu took the blame and said that the restaurant across the street was so disgusting that she couldn't eat for several days.

Because the new restaurant is right across the street from the shop next door, my restaurant has not had much business in the past two days. Except for the two months when the Sun family was open, this is the first time that it has suffered a loss in all its long history. Normally, even in the off-season, the restaurant business is still pretty good.

Even if the two restaurants were to compete to see which one offered the best deals, I think the restaurant next door would have its own way of dealing with it. And if Baozhu also followed his example and lowered the prices, the costs of his own restaurant were there, and it was impossible for him to pass off inferior products as good ones. If he kept competing with others endlessly, he would eventually close down due to losses.

The shop across the street was desperately trying to keep prices low, so the ingredients they used were naturally the worst. Baozhu knew that the shop across the street couldn't do business like this for long, but if it couldn't last long, it would bring disaster to her own reputation.

She wanted to go next door to find out the news, but she was afraid that people there would be wary. In the store, only Mrs. Chen from the kitchen rarely came to the front, so people probably didn't know her. So Baozhu asked her to go to the restaurant across the street to find out what was going on. After she had a clear idea of ​​what was going on, she could think of a plan to deal with it.

Mrs. Chen took the money and immediately changed her clothes. When she came back, she said that the decoration inside and outside of Zhenwei Restaurant was not much different from that of Zhenjia Restaurant, and the dishes were all imitated. Eighty percent of the menu was the same as that of Zhenjia Restaurant. She picked a few famous dishes of Zhenjia Restaurant and ordered them. After tasting them, she shook her head. Not only were these dishes very shoddy, but many of them were not fresh. She said that the fish and meat were all loose, and she didn't know how long they had been dead.

Although the price is low, it will not last long if it continues like this.

Relying on these crooked ways will naturally not last long, Baozhu disdains it. Nowadays, most of the diners in the restaurant are used to eating fried dumplings and soup noodles in the morning, and there are only two or three kittens at noon and in the evening. The Imperial College and those who are not short of money often come here, while most ordinary people still go to the restaurant across the street to seek profit.

People who are not in the know will know that the styles of the two restaurants are similar. The most urgent thing now is to prevent diners from confusing the two restaurants. If they go to the next door and find the food bad, they will think that the food at Zhen's restaurant is also bad. The second priority is to attract new business.

Baozhu took a look when she passed by. Not only the signboard, but also the style of clothes worn by the waiters inside was similar to that of Zhen's Restaurant. The waiters' every move and every word were imitated from Zhen's Restaurant. If not ten percent, they were at least ninety percent similar.

After observing them for the past few days, she had figured out their tactics. Not knowing what the shopkeeper meant, Baozhu simply took Jiang Shi to visit him.

The shopkeeper was indeed the one who had often come to the Zhen's Restaurant to inquire about the situation. He looked shrewd and his face was thicker than a city wall. Seeing them coming, he didn't feel uncomfortable at all. He asked the waiter to take a seat and pour tea. When he saw that the restaurant was full, he scratched his head and smiled, "I'm really sorry, but the restaurant is crowded right now. If you, Shopkeeper Zhen, want to eat, I'm afraid you'll have to wait in line for a while."

There was no end to the chatter with such people, so Baozhu asked directly,

"What's the shopkeeper's last name?"

The shopkeeper laughed and said, "It's Zhen."

"I originally thought your surname was Jia, the shopkeeper. What a coincidence! There aren't many people with the surname Zhen in Bianjing, but you and I both happen to have the surname Zhen, and we both own a restaurant."

"I also moved here from out of town, and have been running a food business since then. I wonder why Shopkeeper Zhen wants to see me today?"

The shopkeeper pretended to be confused even though he knew the truth. He called himself the shopkeeper Zhen and elevated him to the position of an elder. Then he acted doubtful. Seeing him like this, Jiang Shi was so angry that his teeth itched and he cursed inwardly.

"It's really like drawing a nose on the door panel..."

What a big face!

"A lot of customers have been asking me lately if your restaurant is the same one as mine. Today I see it's true. No wonder customers can't tell the difference. Even if I come here, I'll just treat it as my own."

The shopkeeper said shamelessly,

"I think Shopkeeper Zhen is overthinking it. There's nothing similar about the two restaurants. My restaurant is called Zhenwei Restaurant, and even if there are some similarities, we're in the food business, so similarities are inevitable. I can't just sell northern dishes because someone else sells them, or just not let me sell noodle soup because someone else sells them."

The shopkeeper surnamed Zhen had a shameless look on his face and feigned humility as he bowed. "I know there are people behind your restaurant. Not to mention your relatives who are officials in the Guanglu Temple, I can't even afford to offend your elder brother who just graduated from high school last year."

"I beg Shopkeeper Zhen to show some mercy. Let's live in peace and go about our business. If the young lady were to blame me for the poor business, it would be a great injustice to me, and it wouldn't sound good if it got out."

When Jiang Shi heard him talking, he was so angry that he wanted to punch him. Baozhu naturally couldn't let him act impulsively. If they really hit him, they would be in the wrong.

Baozhu sneered, "Even if we each run our own business, the shopkeeper knows that taste is the most important thing. You can't keep trying to cheat others and will probably end up with nothing."

The shopkeeper smiled nonchalantly, feeling a little disdainful. He had been to the Zhen Family Restaurant many times before. The girl wasn't ruthless enough in business, so what if she was a bit clever? Even if he laid out his schemes, this young girl couldn't do anything to him. He felt more and more that Baozhu had come to him out of fear.

Baozhu first asked her father and mother to find out if there was any background behind the newly opened restaurant across the street. If there was someone behind it, they would have to use courtesy before force. Her second brother told her before leaving that if there was anything happening at home, she should tell him immediately. After all, he was an official in the court and had regular social interactions. If it wasn't for the royal family or nobles, there was nothing to be afraid of if the Zhen family was in the right.

After asking around, Madam Xu was told that he had no background. He was originally a well-known rogue in the city of Bianjing. He became wealthy after inheriting his uncle's estate. In the past two years, he had done a lot of shady businesses, with both profits and losses. Last year, he opened a restaurant which went bankrupt. This year, he opened another restaurant opposite the Zhen family. That restaurant was his uncle's property.

If there were any officials backing him up, the Zhen family would have a legitimate reason to be in trouble. However, he was just an ordinary citizen, which would be difficult for the Zhen family to deal with. After all, the second brother had just taken office, and the fake shopkeeper was a scoundrel and very difficult to deal with. If he said that the Zhen family was using their power to bully others, it would inevitably cause trouble again.

Baozhu naturally wouldn't be so foolish as to take the bait and do something stupid like using her power to bully others. There was nothing to be afraid of such a scoundrel. She simply asked someone to make a wooden sign that was not much smaller than her own sign and put it at the door. It read:

Zhen's Restaurant, serving dishes from both north and south. There's only one such restaurant.

After the signs were hung up, a red notice was posted at the door, announcing that the restaurant was going to hold an eating competition.

Anyone who registers can eat as many coins as they want. The person who eats the most will be the first and will be rewarded with 20 taels of silver. The second person will be rewarded with 12 taels of silver, and the third person will be rewarded with 5 taels of silver.

The first ten people to participate will receive two pounds of pork, and all participants will receive a paper coupon for half the price.

There are only two conditions for participating in the competition: 20 cents to register, and a slogan must be shouted before the competition begins. The slogan is about Zhenjia Restaurant, which serves northern and southern cuisine. There is only one such restaurant.

First, print the invitation for the eating competition on paper and distribute it widely, and also specify the location of Zhen's Restaurant, the requirements for participation, and the time of the competition.

Register before the end of March and compete on April 8th.

Baozhu went to the Street Office early and applied for an empty lot at the door on the eighth day of the first lunar month. She wanted to pay taxes actively and without any omissions.

She also gave a lot of favors to the Street Office during the New Year holidays. When the yamen runners went to eat, she remembered everyone clearly, greeted them all, and gave them drinks and side dishes. She also gave them a lot of discounts when the bill came. Even though Erlang was an official, he was still very polite. They were all ordinary people, so naturally they accepted her favor. She only needed a small piece of land for the competition, and it only took one day, so it was naturally approved quickly.

I don't know how many invitations to eat heroes' feasts Baozhu had printed. In short, there was a stack of papers on the streets and alleys, even on the stalls of Liu Si and Wang Da, asking them to give them out to anyone they saw.

Anyone who received the flyer had to read the most conspicuous black words: Zhen's Restaurant, serving northern and southern cuisine, the only one of its kind.

This sentence spread to the streets and alleys of Bianjing along with the heroic letter. Even three-year-old children were infected by it and kept shaking their heads and saying that there was only one Zhen's Restaurant.

Because the signup slogan was just that, and seeing the fake Zhenwei Restaurant across the street, even a fool would have known the restaurant was up to something. Uninformed diners had tried the Zhenwei restaurant's dishes and found them mediocre. After questioning them, they realized they weren't the same restaurant. So, despite the better prices, many refused to go in.

Just look at the fake shopkeeper who wants to imitate Baozhu and hold a gluttonous competition, but the slogan on Baozhu's heroic post has already been shouted out, so no matter how much he wants to link the two restaurants together, they are far from being related.

Anyway, organizing this gluttonous competition is also a form of entertainment for the people, so there are quite a few people who sign up.

Baozhu was not afraid that he would learn, but was afraid that he would not learn. But this guy just learned everything and even chose the same day for the competition.

Baozhu was having a slot machine eating competition, while the restaurant across the street was having a noodle soup eating competition. The only difference was that in order to prevent diners from wasting money, Baozhu required those who came to register to pay twenty cents before they could get a ticket, while his restaurant, in order to show off, was free to pay anything and anyone could join.

Zhen's Restaurant offers all-you-can-eat pork and cabbage dumplings, or fried dumplings. Even if you have to pay twenty cents, it is obviously more cost-effective than the noodle soup. Just two bowls will make you enough money.

Those who were reluctant to spend the twenty cents could go to Zhenwei Restaurant across the street, and those who wanted to eat dimes could go to Zhenjia Restaurant.

Jiang Shi collected the money and registered everyone one by one, and also gave them a note with a special stamp on it, which stated the date, time and location of the competition. In the past few days, there were long queues in front of the two restaurants. The elderly, the weak, women and children who did not participate in the competition, as well as some bored spectators, were all waiting for the two restaurants to fight.