Chapter 241: Rivals Emerge
After Lu Xiang finished her work in the village, she returned to the store and said to Sister Lu, "You've been so hard lately!"
The store is always very busy, and I'm afraid that Sister Lu will be exhausted if she runs it alone.
Lu Xiang said, "From now on, I will stay in the store with you every day."
Sister Lu treats Lu Xiang like a little sister.
This made Lu Xiang feel a little embarrassed. She was a mother now, and only her eldest sister still treated her like a child.
Sister Lu said, "I'm feeling better now that I can move around."
Seeing that my elder sister has a rosy complexion, she looks healthier than before.
Seeing this, Lu Xiang felt a little relieved, as she was worried that she was too tired.
Sister Lu quietly pulled Lu Xiang aside to talk to her. She pointed at a woman with curly hair and said, "She's a little strange."
Lu Xiang asked softly, "What's wrong?"
Sister Lu was very busy on weekdays, with many guests coming and going, but only this curly-haired woman caught her attention.
This guy comes here every day, buying and taking food away. He also talks to the waiters all day long, wanting to ask who the boss is and how much money he can make from selling a bowl.
He also asked where the seasonings were purchased and how much it cost per month.
After a long time, Sister Lu couldn't help but become suspicious.
Lu Xiang said, "I guess he wants to steal the recipe." Lu Xiang has seen many people like this in later generations and is not surprised by them.
When Sister Lu heard this, her heart tightened: "She wouldn't steal it, would she?" The seasonings they had prepared were right there for everyone to see.
If you eat it every day, you will definitely know how much sugar and vinegar, seasoning water, and crushed peanuts to add.
This business is so profitable. If others set their sights on it and everyone does it, what will happen then?
Lu Xiang said: "It's okay, she can't learn it!"
The curly-haired woman thought she was being very careful and that no one would notice. But in reality, Lu Xiang had already known about it.
She spent half a day eating a noodle, and several people around her left. She wanted to get everyone around her to leave so that she could ask questions more easily.
Lunchtime passed quickly. Most of the people who came to eat on weekdays were workers from nearby factories. They left after eating, leaving a few aunts to take care of the hygiene here.
The curly-haired woman was eager to eat. She had been eating a bowl of spicy hot pot for almost two hours, and the noodles were clumping together.
When there were no more customers, the curly-haired woman approached Lu Xiang and said, "You must be the proprietress."
Lu Xiang pretended not to know and said, "What's the matter?"
The curly-haired woman said, "I want to learn your recipe and open a shop. Tell me how much it will cost."
Although what this woman was wearing seemed a bit old-fashioned to Lu Xiang.
But seeing this kind of clothing was fashionable in the 1980s, I knew she must be from a wealthy family.
Lu Xiang said, "I'm sorry, I don't have any apprentices!" She has been looking for a shop recently and plans to open a second store as soon as possible.
It’s just right for my second sister-in-law and eldest sister to be in the south and the north respectively, so that diners from far away can come here to eat.
The curly-haired woman didn't expect to be rejected. "Just tell me how much it is. Are you afraid I can't afford it?" She said with some disdain. She just thought Lu Xiang said that to ask for a high price!
Although Lu Xiang's store wasn't big, it was very profitable. Plus, her husband was the factory manager, so he wasn't someone you could just impress with money. He rejected the curly-haired woman again.
The curly-haired woman eats it every day, and the seasonings here at Lu Xiang's place are all laid out generously for seasoning. She eats and watches every day, and she feels that she has mastered the skills.
I also tried making it at home, and the taste was 60% restored.
But I don’t know what’s wrong with the taste. I’m used to eating from Lu Xiang’s restaurant, so I think the taste of my spicy hot pot is just average.
The curly-haired woman gave it to those who had never eaten Malatang, and they said it was delicious.
This time I want to learn and find out the 20% to 30% difference!
But she didn't expect Lu Xiang to be so difficult to talk to. No matter what she said, she just refused to teach her.
The curly-haired woman was furious. "I'm learning from you, not that I won't pay you. Is that so? Aren't you just worried that someone else will open a business and disrupt your business? Why are you so stingy? You can earn all the money by yourself!"
Lu Xiang said, "How come you don't understand what I'm saying? I told you I won't teach you, but you're so capable and you still beg me to learn? Just figure it out on your own."
Lu Xiang's words made the curly-haired woman's face turn red and white.
She had always heard that Lu Xiang had a good temper, but who would have thought that she was also so good at talking.
The curly-haired woman turned and walked away, snorting harshly.
When she left, the aunties in the store were a little unhappy: "This person is really sick! How can she talk like that?"
Sister Lu kept frowning. She came here every day to learn from others. What if she really understood everything?
Lu Xiang seemed to see her elder sister's dilemma and said, "Since I dare to show it, I'm afraid others will imitate it!"
She still has this confidence. Although Malatang is a snack, the preparation is very complicated. The soup is bone soup. The chili oil is the essence of it. It requires several ingredients to complete.
Plus, there are multiple flavors. These hidden skills are definitely not something you can replicate by eating spicy hot pot for a few days.
…
The next day, Lu Xiang saw that the curly-haired woman had actually bought the shop diagonally opposite them, which was facing them from a distance.
Sister Lu was so angry: "She actually wants to open a store?" There was a signboard standing next to it, and it was the same signboard she used. If you didn't know, you would think it was the same store.
Lu Xiang said, "Just open it if you want to." Opening a snack stall depends on one's own ability.
But after thinking about it, I still didn't want her to take advantage of the popularity of the same brand, so I hired a painter to add two words "Xiang Xiang" on the plaque.
It not only shows that the taste of their spicy hot pot restaurant is good, but also it is Lu Xiang's name.
That curly-haired woman wouldn't be so crazy as to use Lu Xiang's name directly, right?
When the other party saw it, his face turned dark.
The other party was also very skillful and opened the business in no time.
Regular customers all eat at Lu Xiang’s, but some also want to try something else.
He just boiled a bowl and took a few bites and left it there. He came to Lu Xiang's house. This behavior made the curly-haired woman embarrassed!
"Is it delicious?" Lu Xiang asked.
"It's not tasty, it's far worse than the ones you have!" Diners who have tried it frowned, as if they were ruining their taste by eating there.
The food there is too bland, and they are so stingy with the ingredients that they don't put in. It tastes terrible.
Sister Lu felt a little relieved when she heard the diners' comments.
But since it was the first time I had such a competitor, I couldn't help but look across at dinner time.
The strange thing is that there weren't many people on the first day, but on the second day, those who said the food was bad still went there. As more people came, some other people became curious and went to try it too.
Sister Lu was so anxious that her mouth was full of bubbles.
Lu Xiang said, "There are quite a lot of people here now. It's quite busy. As for whether they can attract customers, that's their business. Big sister, please help me think about the branch."
For this branch, the location was chosen and the seasonings were all pre-mixed and delivered from the main store. Mrs. Fu took the lead and even came here specifically to learn from the experience.
Sister Lu asked her to work as the store manager for a few days, and she finally got familiar with the job.
Seeing that Mrs. Fu was under a lot of pressure, Lu Xiang said, "It's okay, it will get better over time! It doesn't matter if there are some mistakes at the beginning."
Lu Xiang also said: "For the opening, I plan to do some activities. If you dine in, I will give you a bottle of soda."
The demand for soda is high in summer, and it has become standard to have a bowl of spicy hot pot with a soda.
Mrs. Fu was a little reluctant to give it away because it was sold separately in the store, and each bottle cost 20 cents.
Lu Xiang said: "Let's just send it off for seven days, to make it lively and exciting."
Mrs. Fu finally agreed. Before leaving, she said to Lu Xiang, "Do you know why the food across the street is selling so well?"
Lu Xiang asked, "Why?"
Mrs. Fu said, "She put something addictive in it."
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