Across the street, a middle-aged man dressed in a festive robe stood in front of the shop and shouted loudly, "Fellow villagers, Zhao's Braised Pork is opening today! Everything is 20% off! If you buy more than 50 coins, you'll also get a pot of sake! Don't miss this opportunity!"
The two shops were not far apart. Meng Zhao could hear it from the doorway of his own shop, and the diners nearby could naturally hear it clearly as well.
Suddenly, several diners who had been patiently waiting in line began to waver. "A 20% discount? That's quite a good price! Why don't we go check out the other side?"
"I just don't know how it tastes. We've eaten at Mengji Braised Pork more than once or twice, and it always tastes great."
"It's cheap anyway, so there's no harm in trying it. I'll go give it a shot."
One person turned and went to the other side, and the others couldn't stand still anymore, so they also ran to the other side.
The person at the front had already ordered a braised sausage and two pieces of pork belly. Hearing the shout from the other side, he immediately said, "Never mind, I don't want any more."
Upon hearing this, Madam Liu immediately became anxious, "Sir, I've already wrapped it up for you, how can you just say you don't want it?"
The man, however, stuck out his neck and said unreasonably, "What, are you trying to force me to buy? I haven't paid yet. You can just open it and put it in the pot. Why should I have to take it?"
Seeing that Lady Liu wanted to argue a few more times, Meng Zhao quickly stopped her, "It's alright, it's alright. If you don't want it anymore, you can try something else. It's your own money, you can spend it however you want."
The man snorted at Liu Niangzi and said sarcastically, "Look, your manager really knows how to do business. If all the employees were like you, the shop would close down sooner or later."
The man knew he hadn't done a fair job, so he smiled at Meng Zhao and said, "Hehe, I'll just go and try it. If their food isn't good, even if it's cheap, I won't go there again. I'll never come to your place again."
Meng Zhao maintained a kind smile, nodded slightly, and saw him off. Turning his head, he saw Liu Niangzi holding the freshly packaged braised meat, her eyes filled with grievance. Meng Zhao went over and patted her on the shoulder.
"Don't pay attention to what that person said. What you did was right. You were protecting the interests of our shop. As a staff member, it's commendable that you have this kind of heart."
Then, Meng Zhao paused slightly and slowly said, "But I'm different. I'm the boss, so I have to consider more things. Think about it, right now the store across the street is bustling with openings, but we're arguing with customers here. If other people compare the two, they'll inevitably think we're petty."
"So I chose to lose the money for a pack of braised meat over causing a bad impression. I know you're a shop assistant and it's not good to directly agree to a customer's cancellation, so I don't think you did anything wrong. But next time something like this happens, you should think more carefully. If I'm there, call me. If I'm not there, call Aunt Feng'e right away, okay?" Meng Zhao patiently explained his thoughts.
Lady Liu nodded. She had just felt ashamed. The man had said that with a job like hers, the business would eventually go out of business. Meng Zhao had been listening nearby, and she was really worried that she had done something wrong. What if Meng Zhao thought so too and kicked her out?
After hearing what Meng Zhao said, he finally felt relieved and raised the braised meat in his hand, saying, "It's just a pity that this meat could sell for forty or fifty coins."
The shop has a rule that once braised meat is cut, plated, or packaged, it cannot be put back into the pot, which is why she didn't ask the person to return it directly.
Seeing Liu Niangzi's appearance, Meng Zhao couldn't help but laugh and say, "What's there to regret? We can eat it together when we eat later. As long as it's in your stomach, it's not a pity. Eat a couple more pieces later, don't get angry at that person. Doing business is always a bit of a hardship, don't take it to heart."
Hearing Meng Zhao's words, Liu Niangzi happily turned around to cut the meat. Shen Yun anxiously said from the side, "What should we do, Sister Meng? We've only been open for a little over a month, and now someone across the street has appeared to steal our business. And they even have a name that sounds so similar to ours. Isn't that intentional? It's really unethical."
Meng Zhao reassured them, "This street isn't under our jurisdiction. Can we stop people from selling whatever they want? Don't panic. Let's see how things go first."
As the boss, Meng Zhao naturally couldn't be in a hurry, otherwise her subordinates would be even more flustered than her. She could only remain calm on the surface and let everyone else do what they were supposed to do, taking good care of the customers who came into the store.
However, how could she not care at all? After returning to the backyard, she quickly called Xiao Chuan over, "Xiao Chuan, don't you have many friends around here? Find someone to go to Zhao's Braised Pork across the street and buy some braised meat."
After saying that, he stuffed a handful of copper coins into his hand, saying, "Don't worry about the money, try to get a little of everything."
Xiao Chuan naturally learned about the new shop across the street, and he was also anxious. He took the money and hurriedly ran out.
At this moment, Meng Zhao lost interest in the ingredients and went to look at the front from time to time. He saw that the lion dance team was really lively, with a crowd gathered at the entrance. The middle-aged man was busy welcoming and seeing off people at the entrance for quite a while.
Zhao Shida was sitting in the courtyard of Zhao's Braised Offal, holding a book in his hand, listening to Manager Zhou's report, "Young Master, today is the first day of business, and business is very good. Many people who originally went to the other side have turned around and come to our side. Would you like to go out and take a look?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Shida's face was full of disdain. "What's the point of me looking at that mess? You're in charge. Remember, as long as you drive those people away, I'll tell my dad to give you a reward."
Manager Zhou secretly felt that this was really unfair. Everyone was doing business in this county town, so why be so confrontational?
But since he was working for the Zhao family, he naturally had to serve them wholeheartedly, so he could only say helplessly, "Young master, don't worry, I will definitely manage this shop well."
“How much money can a shop make? I’m telling you to drive the other side out of business, don’t you understand?” Zhao Shida was very dissatisfied with Manager Zhou’s lack of cooperation. If his father hadn’t said that this man had some ability, he would have kicked him out long ago.
Manager Zhou sighed inwardly and could only bite the bullet and say, "I'll do my best, young master."
As they were talking, Zhao Shida frowned when he heard the lion dance troupe outside quiet down. "Did the lion dance troupe not eat enough or what? Tell them not to slack off and to bring everyone over here."
"Young master, I sent them to patrol the streets so that more people would come over," Manager Zhou quickly explained.
Zhao Shida then remembered Shen Qinghe holding up the banner and instructed, "Remember to hold up the banner too."
Shopkeeper Zhou nodded and bowed, "Don't worry, everything is prepared in advance. It's much more eye-catching than the one across the street. I even found a few clever assistants to hawk their wares along the street."
Zhao Shida nodded in satisfaction, feeling that everything was under his control. He then ignored Manager Zhou and continued to leisurely lie down and read his book.
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