Chapter 140 Believe Me
Xu Yao was frowning at the densely packed recipe notes, twirling a pen in her hand, wondering whether she should add some mint to the newly developed osmanthus glutinous rice lotus root to enhance the flavor, when she heard a rapid knock on the door, "bang bang bang" sounds that seemed to be about to break through the door.
"Here they come, the soul is coming!" Xu Yao muttered as she opened the door, and saw Aunt Wang with an anxious look on her face, as if she had just finished running 800 meters. "Yaoyao, this is terrible! Something big has happened!"
"Aunt, what's the urgent matter? Come in and have a drink of water." Xu Yao quickly helped Aunt Wang into the house and poured her a cup of herbal tea.
Aunt Wang drank half a cup in one breath before she recovered. "I just went to the town to buy vegetables and saw Miss Lin, dressed up gorgeously, whispering to the business owners from door to door. She even went to Boss Li's place and stayed there for a long time before coming out. From the look of her, she definitely has bad intentions!"
"Ms. Lin?" Xu Yao's heart skipped a beat, and a chill ran from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.
This woman is indeed haunting us. It seems that Xue Han’s previous warnings were of no use to her.
She subconsciously tightened the pen in her hand, and the pen shaft hurt her palm, but she didn't feel it at all.
"That's right! I secretly overheard a few words, and it seemed like something about a joint boycott, poor hygiene conditions, stale ingredients... Oh, there wasn't a single good word!" Aunt Wang became more and more excited as she spoke, and her saliva was almost spurting out.
Xu Yao took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.
When the enemy comes, we will fight him; when the water comes, we will block it with earth. She doesn't believe that Miss Lin can still turn the tables!
"Aunt, thank you for telling me this. You go back and rest first, I will take care of this matter." Xu Yao patted Aunt Wang's hand soothingly and sent her out.
After closing the door, Xu Yao immediately called Xue Han and told him everything.
"This woman is so insidious!" Xue Han gritted his teeth on the other end of the phone, "Don't worry, I'll go find her right away! Let's see what other tricks she has!"
After hanging up the phone, Xu Yao couldn't sit still anymore.
She decided to go to the town in person to understand the specific situation and try to minimize the negative impact.
She first went to several shops with which she had good relations, explained the situation, and guaranteed that her snack bar was absolutely hygienic and used fresh ingredients.
The bosses also expressed their understanding and support, and condemned Ms. Lin's despicable behavior.
"This Miss Lin is such a troublemaker! She has no time to enjoy her life but has to come here to disgust others!" said a lady boss of a cloth shop angrily.
"That's right! Yaoyao, your snack bar is clean and hygienic, and the food is delicious. We all like to come here! She is just jealous of your good business!" Another grocery store owner also echoed.
With everyone's support, Xu Yao felt a little more at ease.
It seems that Miss Lin's trick did not completely succeed.
At the same time, Xue Han also found Miss Lin and asked her, "What on earth do you want to do? Why are you spreading rumors to slander Xu Yao?"
Miss Lin pretended to be wronged and said with tears in her eyes: "Brother Han, I just care about you! I don't want you to be dragged down by a woman who can only run a small business! You should have a better future!"
Xue Han sneered: "You don't need to worry about my future! I warn you, don't interfere in my life again, otherwise I will not be polite!"
Miss Lin saw that she couldn't be soft anymore, so she changed her face and said viciously: "Xue Han, don't forget, I have something on you! If you dare to touch me, I will ruin your reputation!"
A cold light flashed in Xue Han's eyes, and his tone was icy: "Just try it! Let's see who will be ruined!"
After saying that, he turned and left, leaving Miss Lin trembling alone.
In terms of funding, Xu Yao also took active action.
She contacted several old customers, introduced them to the branch plan, and sincerely asked for their support.
"Yaoyao, don't worry! We all trust you! We have been eating at your snack bar for several years. The food tastes good and the prices are reasonable. We all support you!" An old customer assured, patting his chest.
"Yes! We are all willing to invest! Just go for it, we are all optimistic about you!" Several other old customers also expressed their support.
With everyone’s support, Xu Yao’s confidence has doubled.
She readjusted the profit distribution plan of existing stores, using part of the profits as start-up capital for branches to ensure that the funds were in place as soon as possible.
Everything seemed to be moving in a good direction, but Xu Yao always felt that something was unresolved.
She always felt that Boss Li's reaction this time was a little too calm...
It was late at night, and Xu Yao was still busy under the lamp.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and a familiar voice sounded outside the door: "Yaoyao, it's me."
Xu Yao opened the door and was stunned when she saw the person coming: "Boss Li? It's so late, what can I do for you?"
Boss Li had a mysterious smile on his face and said slowly: "Yaoyao, I heard that you recently developed a few new snacks, and they taste very good..."
Boss Li rubbed his hands together, his triangular eyes narrowed into slits, like a calculating old fox in a TV show, "Well, business in my store has not been very good recently, so I wanted to learn from you and see if I can learn something from you."
Xu Yao rolled her eyes in her heart and said, I don’t believe you!
The weasel pays a New Year's greeting to the chicken, but he has no good intentions!
But she smiled brightly, "Boss Li, you are too polite. If I want to learn from you, I have to learn from you. You have run a store in this town for so many years, you must have more experience than me."
The two of them boasted about their business to each other, and Xu Yao felt so annoyed that she wanted to pick up a rolling pin and kick this old fox out.
But she knew that now was not the time to fall out, and she had to keep her composure and see what he was up to.
"Yaoyao, how about this?" Boss Li smiled slyly, revealing two yellow teeth. "Sell me the recipe of your new snack and I'll give you a good price. How about that?"
"Oh, Boss Li, you are such a joker," Xu Yao smiled with her hands covering her mouth, her eyes moving, "This recipe is the result of my hard work, how can I just sell it casually? Besides, this thing depends on fate, maybe you won't be able to make it taste the same after you take it back!"
Boss Li hit a snag and looked a little unhappy, but he still didn't give up. "How about this, we work together. You provide the formula, I provide the money, and we expand the business together. How about that?"
"Cooperation?" Xu Yao raised her eyebrows and pretended to think seriously. "This is a good suggestion, but... I prefer freedom and don't like being bound. Besides, if we cooperate with others and there is a conflict, wouldn't it hurt our feelings?"
Boss Li saw that Xu Yao was not interested and was too lazy to pretend anymore. His face darkened. "Xu Yao, don't refuse my toast and then drink the forfeit! I'm telling you, you are not the only one who has the final say in this town! If you don't know what's best for you, you'll have to bear the consequences!"
"Oh oh oh, Boss Li, are you threatening me?" Xu Yao scratched her ears, looking nonchalant, "I'm not afraid of threats. If you want to play, I'll accompany you to the end!"
After saying that, Xu Yao closed the door and locked Boss Li outside.
"Hmph, you bitch, you have no shame!" Boss Li was so angry that he jumped up and down outside the door. He stomped his feet hard a few times and then left cursing.
After seeing Boss Li off, Xu Yao no longer had time to worry about developing new flavors.
She immediately decided to launch the newly developed snack varieties ahead of schedule!
The next day, Xu Yao hung a banner at the door of her snack bar: "Try new products for free for three days!"
This trick really worked. When the residents of the town heard that there were free snacks, they all came to join in the fun.
Xu Yao was well prepared. The stall was filled with snacks with new flavors, such as osmanthus glutinous rice lotus root, mint mung bean cake, and candied haws... The aroma filled the air, making people drool.
"This sweet-scented osmanthus glutinous rice lotus root is sweet but not greasy, and sticky. It's really delicious!"
"This mint mung bean cake is refreshing and delicious. It's the best to eat in summer!"
"This candied haws is sour and sweet, and the children love it the most!"
Customers ate the food and praised the dishes, and expressed their anticipation for the opening of the new store.
Xu Yao was very busy, but she was very happy in her heart.
After the three-day tasting event, Xu Yao's snack bar became completely popular, with customers coming in an endless stream every day and business was booming.
With the support of customers, Xu Yao gained more confidence and began to speed up the renovation of the branch.
In order to meet the deadline, Xu Yao specially hired the best decoration team in town to work day and night.
She also spends every day at the construction site, keeping an eye on the progress of the decoration and striving to do her best.
One day, Xu Yao was busy at the construction site when she suddenly heard two workers whispering in the corner.
"Hey, have you heard? Boss Li seems to be causing trouble."
"What's up?"
"I heard that Boss Li seems to be very familiar with the people in the regulatory bureau. He plans to find an opportunity to have them check Xu Yao's new store and find some faults to prevent her from opening the business."
"Is this true? Boss Li is too sinister!"
"Who said it wasn't! But we have to be careful and not let him find out, otherwise we'll be in trouble."
When Xu Yao heard this, her heart skipped a beat and an ominous premonition came to her mind.
She walked over quietly and asked casually, "What are you talking about?"
The two workers were startled and waved their hands quickly, "No...nothing, we were just chatting casually."
Xu Yao did not ask further questions, but just smiled and said, "Oh, it's nothing. Everyone, please be careful when working and pay attention to safety."
After saying that, Xu Yao turned and left, but her heart couldn't calm down for a long time.
Boss Li really has no good intentions and actually came up with such a shady trick!
It seemed that she had to prepare in advance to avoid being caught off guard.
After returning to the store, Xu Yao immediately called Xue Han and told him what she had heard.
"Boss Li is such a bastard!" Xue Han was so angry that he yelled at the other end of the phone, "Don't worry, Yaoyao, I'll go find him and settle the score right away!"
"Don't be impulsive," Xu Yao hurriedly stopped him, "The most important thing now is to find a way to deal with it, rather than confronting him head-on."
"Then what do you think we should do?" Xue Hanle calmed down and asked.
Xu Yao pondered for a moment and said, "If an enemy comes, we will fight him with our troops; if a flood comes, we will block it with earth. If they want to investigate, let them investigate. As long as we are upright, they won't be able to find any evidence against us."
"But..." Xue Han was still a little worried.
"No buts," Xu Yao interrupted him, "Trust me, I have my own way."
After hanging up the phone, Xu Yao let out a long sigh. She just didn't believe that with her wisdom and hard work, she couldn't beat a small Boss Li!
In the next few days, Xu Yao was more cautious and carefully checked every corner of the store every day to ensure that there were no hygiene issues.
She also specially invited the town's health supervisors to inspect the store so that they could point out problems in advance and make timely corrections.
Everything seemed to be moving in a good direction, but Xu Yao always felt that something was unresolved.
She always felt that Boss Li's conspiracy this time would definitely not be so simple...
It was late at night and the town had already fallen into silence.
Xu Yao sat alone in the store, staring at the account book.
She always felt uneasy, as if something bad was going to happen.
Suddenly, there was a rapid knock on the door.
"Who is it?" Xu Yao asked warily.
"Yaoyao, it's me, open the door!" A familiar voice came from outside the door.
Xu Yao was startled, and quickly opened the door. Seeing the person coming, she couldn't help but exclaimed: "Aunt Wang? Why are you here so late?"
Aunt Wang looked anxious and breathlessly said, "Yaoyao, it's bad, something big has happened!"
Xu Yao's heart suddenly sank, and an ominous premonition came to her mind...
"Boss Li has teamed up with Miss Lin. I don't know what they are up to. They seem to..." Aunt Wang leaned closer to Xu Yao and lowered her voice, "They seem to have... bribed the people in the regulatory bureau and are planning to conduct a surprise inspection of your branch tomorrow!"
After hearing this, Xu Yao's face turned pale instantly, but she still tried to calm herself down. She took a deep breath and said casually, "Aunt Wang, don't worry, it's okay. Even if they come to check, we are not afraid. As long as there is nothing wrong with us, they won't be able to find any handle."
Seeing Xu Yao so calm, Aunt Wang felt a little relieved. She patted Xu Yao's hand and comforted her: "Yaoyao, I know you are a good child. You will definitely get through this. Remember, I will always support you!"
Xu Yao looked at Aunt Wang gratefully, her heart filled with warmth.
At this critical moment, she felt extremely comforted to have Aunt Wang's support.
After seeing Aunt Wang off, Xu Yao sat alone in the store, thinking quickly of a strategy in her mind.
She knew that tomorrow would be a tough battle and she had to be fully prepared to deal with the conspiracy of Boss Li and Miss Lin.
The night was getting darker, but Xu Yao had no desire to sleep. She clenched her fists tightly and swore secretly in her heart that no matter what, she would protect her hard work and would never let Boss Li and Miss Lin succeed!
Suddenly, a rapid telephone ring rang, breaking the silence of the night.
Xu Yao picked up the phone and after the call was connected, a strange voice came: "Hello, is this Xu Yao? I am..."
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