Night falls and the city lights come on.

After a busy and noisy day, Zhou Yang took a shower, changed into comfortable loungewear, and went out onto the balcony to enjoy the breeze.

The evening breeze carried a hint of coolness, brushing against his slightly damp hair and taking away some of the day's fatigue.

The city lights and shadows flowed in his eyes, neon lights flashed, and cars and people moved about.

Just then, the phone rang abruptly, breaking the silence.

Zhou Yang picked it up and saw the name "Wang Miao" flashing on the screen.

He raised an eyebrow slightly, answered the phone, and said in a flat tone, "Hello, Wang Miao, is something wrong so late?"

Wang Miao's voice, which sounded shrewd and capable yet tinged with a hint of probing, came from the other end of the phone: "Zhou Yang, good evening. Did I disturb your rest?"

"Speak your mind."

Zhou Yang doesn't like beating around the bush.

Wang Miao seemed to choke for a moment, then adjusted his tone and got to the point.

"Zhou Yang, regarding your braised food recipe, the price of 500 million... after careful discussion, our board of directors still feels it's a bit too high."

"Oh? So, what does Miss Wang mean?"

He leaned against the railing, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger.

Wang Miao took a deep breath and presented her proposal: "However, it's not entirely impossible. We have a suggestion, but I don't know if you dare to accept it."

“We can sign a performance-based agreement, if you have enough confidence in your formula…”

"A performance-based agreement?"

Zhou Yang repeated himself, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes, "Interesting. Tell me, how does the bet work?"

Wang Miao's voice immediately became clear and fluent, clearly indicating that he had been prepared: "Our Yunfan Hotel Group, headquartered in Jindu, is a five-star chain hotel with a total of fifty-eight branches nationwide, plus the head office, making a total of fifty-nine."

"Hmm, and then what?"

Zhou Yang gestured for her to continue.

"We will immediately launch your braised food recipe in all 59 of our hotels and restaurants."

Wang Miao spoke slightly quickly.

"The terms of the bet are simple: within one month, if the total net profit of these 59 stores, solely from the braised food products made using your recipe, reaches 50 million yuan."

"As long as this goal is achieved, our group will immediately make a decision to buy out the exclusive right to use your formula for 500 million yuan. The contract can be prepared in advance and will take effect immediately upon achieving the goal!"

After hearing this, Zhou Yang couldn't help but scoff.

Fifty million in net profit? In one month? Fifty-nine stores?

He did the math: 50 million divided by 59 stores, on average, each store would need to contribute about 847,000 in net profit per month.

Haha, this betting agreement, to put it bluntly, is just a way to get something for nothing, isn't it?

First, get his formula, and then spend a month having 59 five-star hotels across the country work for him for free to test the market.

They will only be willing to spend money if the results are phenomenal and reach their predetermined, extremely high threshold.

If he doesn't reach that target, or if he uses some tricks along the way to make the profit "just" fall short of 50 million, then wouldn't his formula have been used by them for nothing?

They might have even figured out the core of it, and could easily come up with a knock-off version?

That's quite a clever scheme!

but……

Zhou Yang stroked his chin, a hint of confidence flashing in his eyes.

In one month, a five-star hotel generated a net profit of over 800,000 yuan using his exclusive secret-recipe braised food.

Is it difficult?

For him, it couldn't be easier!

You should know that he now runs a small roadside stall, supplying a limited quantity of over 200 kilograms of braised meat and braised vegetables every day, and his daily net profit is stable at over 20,000 yuan.

That's six or seven hundred thousand a month!

This is just a mobile stall!

What does it mean to replace it with a five-star hotel?

Location, customer base, brand effect, marketing capabilities, pricing flexibility... aren't they all hundreds of times better than his small stall?

If a five-star hotel were to fully promote his braised food, Zhou Yang wouldn't find it difficult to generate a net profit of over 800,000 yuan a month, let alone 1.8 million yuan.

These old foxes, seemingly setting a high bar, actually underestimated the power of his "Alternative Gourmet" system!

However, confidence is one thing, but that doesn't mean Zhou Yang would accept terms that clearly treat him like a fool.

"Miss Wang."

Zhou Yang's voice turned cold, filled with undisguised sarcasm, "Your so-called betting agreement, if I may be so bold, has absolutely no sincerity."

Wang Miao on the other end of the phone seemed surprised by Zhou Yang's directness, and paused for a moment: "What do you mean by that? We are very sincere in wanting to..."

"Sincerity?"

Zhou Yang interrupted her, his tone somewhat mocking.

"How is my braised food stall doing every day? If you ask around or look at the news online, is it hard to guess how much I earn each day?"

"You want to take my recipe directly and use it for a month? What if you find some excuse later, saying that the profit target wasn't met, or you simply turn your back on me? You already know my recipe and the ingredient ratios. Who can I complain to?"

"Mr. Zhou, our Yunfan Group is a nationally renowned large group with a good reputation..."

"Can reputation feed you?"

Zhou Yang's voice grew even colder, "You know better than I how difficult it is to register a patent for food formulas. Once leaked, the cost of protecting your rights is outrageously high."

"You've got a clever plan. You want to use a one-month trial period to gamble on my formula worth 500 million, leaving me to bear all the risks while you reap all the benefits? Wang Miao, do you think I'm someone who's so easily fooled?"

Zhou Yang paused, his tone becoming indifferent.

"Since your Yunfan Group hasn't shown enough sincerity, then I don't necessarily have to sell this formula. Let's leave it at that."

"No, no, no, Zhou Yang, you've misunderstood. We absolutely didn't mean that. The terms are definitely negotiable! We can pay a deposit first, or..."

Wang Miao's urgent voice came through the receiver, trembling slightly, clearly stunned by Zhou Yang's ruthless attitude.

"No need."

Zhou Yang interrupted her, his voice indifferent.

"I don't necessarily want to sell this formula to your Yunfan Group. Since you're not sincere enough, there's nothing to talk about. As for that ridiculous betting agreement, don't even think about it."

"I'm about to hang up."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Yang didn't give Wang Miao a chance to speak again and swiftly pressed the hang-up button.

Hearing the busy tone from her phone, Wang Miao froze on the spot, her face turning pale and then flushed beneath her delicate makeup.

She furiously grabbed her meticulously styled wavy hair, pacing back and forth in the living room of her villa, her expensive high heels clicking impatiently on the floor.