Chapter 21
The restaurant owner walked out while apologizing to the disturbed guests.
As they walked along, all the guests dining in the hall were attracted by the farce at the door. Some of them were so curious that they simply went over to take a closer look.
The people at the tables next to Lu Shang also stopped talking and looked over at the same time.
Just then, Jiang Wanning heard someone behind her say, "Isn't the signature dish of Guanhelou the Typhoon Shelter Crispy Duck? I wanted to order it just now, but the waiter said they were out of duck, so they gave them plum wine instead."
"The people outside are here to deliver the ducks, right? Why won't they let us in..."
The discussions at the back died down, and everyone craned their necks to watch the excitement at the door.
Seeing that Lu Shang was also paying attention, Jiang Wanning whispered to him what she had heard.
Seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, the shopkeeper simply asked the waiter to explain the situation outside to everyone, while he was responsible for negotiating with the old man outside.
The waiter found a gong from somewhere and banged it twice, attracting everyone's attention. He then bowed three times in a row and apologized.
"I won't lie to you. Guanhelou's signature dish is Typhoon Shelter Crispy Duck. Regular customers should know that we've been running low on this dish lately. The reason is that there's a problem with the farmer who supplies it."
"All the ducks in our shop are free-range meat ducks. They are carefully raised for a hundred days, and only the best ones are selected for use in our dishes. The farmer who supplies them is personally selected by the owner. There is only one such farmer within a hundred miles."
"But just last month, due to improper transportation by farmers, a large number of ducks died on the road. Although they returned to their hometown to transport new ducks, our shop has not accepted them to ensure the safety of our guests."
"After this, our shop will cancel its cooperation with them and look for new partners. We apologize for any inconvenience caused during this period. After the shopkeeper reports the situation to the owner, we will make appropriate compensation."
Even though many people come here just to try his signature dishes, whether the dishes are available or not is ultimately the restaurant's business.
The plum wine as compensation for each table alone would cost fifty or sixty cents on a normal day.
They couldn't even say anything harsh about this behavior that was for the safety of everyone.
"I don't think it's a big deal. It's easy to talk about. It's no big deal!"
"What a pity. I came here twice but didn't get to try the restaurant's signature dish. I'll have to wait until next time."
As the waiter explained the situation, most people's attention was diverted, and the shopkeeper also led the people at the door elsewhere, and the commotion soon subsided.
Only Lu Shang touched his chin and raised his hand to call the waiter over. He asked curiously, "You just said the duck died on the road. How did it die?"
"Oh no! The farmer insisted on traveling at night and ended up driving his donkey cart into a ditch. By the time they came out, most of the ducks were gone. The ones that remained got sick within two days and that's why they were all gone."
"So they delayed the restaurant's business. Are there any compensations for the restaurant?"
"Compensation?" The waiter was stunned for a moment, then looked at Lu Shang with a strange look in his eyes. "Although this was caused by their carelessness, the farmers suffered a lot of losses. Isn't it a bit inhumane to ask them for compensation?"
Lu Shang smiled and didn't ask any more questions: "Please give us another dessert. It doesn't need to be too large. We can take it away."
"How about hawthorn cake? Thirty cents a piece."
"Can."
Since the dishes were served, the two of them were either listening to what was happening next to them or outside. They only touched a few of the dishes on the table with their chopsticks, and even the sweet bean soup had cooled down a lot.
Lu Shang was in a good mood: "Let's eat first. I'll talk to the shopkeeper when he comes back. If everything goes well, I'll go buy something and go home later."
Jiang Wanning nodded and unconsciously quickened her eating pace.
As luck would have it, after they had finished eating and drinking, the shopkeeper just came back from outside.
Lu Shang was worried about leaving Jiang Wanning alone, so he had to take her with him and followed the shopkeeper. When he was about to go upstairs, he called people out.
The shopkeeper turned around and saw the unfamiliar faces, puzzled: "Who are you two?"
Lu Shang bowed politely and said, "I think there seems to be some problem with your store's supply. I am not very talented, but I might be able to provide some assistance. I wonder if the shopkeeper has time to talk to me."
The store owner was upset because the supply of signboards had been cut off and he didn't know how to deal with the boss's accountability. Looking at the expressions of Lu Shang and the other man, he didn't think they could provide any useful advice and didn't want to waste any more time on them.
Before he could refuse, Lu Shang said, "It's only about half a minute, why don't you listen to it, boss?"
The shopkeeper was silent for a moment, then turned sideways and said, "Please, both of you..."
Led by the shopkeeper, the group went to the private room at the innermost part of the second floor. Being able to open the largest restaurant in town must have its own unique features.
It may not be noticeable on the first floor, but once you get upstairs, both the decoration and the waiters are obviously more luxurious. Even the waiters' clothes have been changed to a brighter sky blue.
Once people are invited in, the shopkeeper will receive them well and show all the necessary courtesy.
After everyone sat down, the shopkeeper went straight to the point: "May I ask what method you are talking about, sir?"
"I heard from the waiter earlier that your store's goods are all delivered by farmers. Have you ever considered hiring someone specifically to take charge of procurement and transportation?"
The shopkeeper frowned and remained noncommittal. "Young Master, you've probably misunderstood. Guanhelou's supply is delivered by farmers. It's just that the demand within the store is low, so there's no need to hire someone specifically."
"But the shopkeeper has seen that any problem with the farmers will directly affect the store. This time it was just a problem during transportation, but what if something happened at the farmer's home? It's midsummer now, and poultry and livestock are most prone to problems. If you're not careful, they might catch plague."
"What do you want to say, sir?" The shopkeeper's eyes became sharper.
Lu Shang chuckled and toasted the shopkeeper with tea instead of wine.
He said, "I'd like to ask if you have any plans to find a middleman. Your store only needs to make the request, and the middleman will be responsible for finding the source of goods and transporting the goods."
The shopkeeper didn't understand at first, but after hearing what he said next, he suddenly realized: "Young Master, you are talking about the spy."
"I still say what I said before. The demand for the store's goods is not so high that we need to hire a middleman. We can obviously just pay the farmers, so why give the middleman a share?"
Lu Shang shook his head: "No."
"What I mean is that a middleman is not only the link between the buyer and the seller, but also bears all risks for both parties. Just like the accident that happened to the farmer's shipment this time, from the moment the farmer handed the goods to me, all problems along the way were my responsibility."
"As long as it occurs during transportation, whether it is the buyer or the seller, I will compensate you."
"What do you mean by guaranteeing compensation?" The shopkeeper's heart skipped a beat.
Lu Shang said, "Take last month's ducks as an example. If these ducks were worth ten taels, and we caused losses due to poor transportation, we would compensate the farmers ten taels according to the actual price. We would also assess the impact on your store and compensate you exactly the same."
"Sir, you know, the duck may not be worth much, but once it's in the store, the loss it causes is more than a hundred taels!"
Lu Shang tapped the table with his fingers. "The intermediary fees that the shopkeeper paid before were not just for compensation in this situation?"
If we follow Lu Shang's words...
The shopkeeper couldn't help but think that if he was a little more ruthless and deliberately created accidents, and happened a few more times, the compensation alone would be enough to make up for the restaurant's losses.
Lu Shang raised his head, a sharp gleam in his eyes. "Lu's Logistics emphasizes punctuality and convenience, and our compensation service is the greatest guarantee for our customers."
The shopkeeper was intimidated by him: "Excuse me, sir, whose business is this Lu's Logistics?"
"..." Lu Shang paused slightly, "Shopkeeper, don't worry about these things for now. Just tell me, is this person necessary?"
"Of course it's necessary!" The shopkeeper nodded hurriedly. "Could you please introduce me to the person in charge of Lu Logistics?"
Lu Shang was a little worried. How was he going to explain to the shopkeeper that he was the only one running Lu’s Logistics now?
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