Chapter 93: Uninterrupted

The next morning, Lu Hao arrived at his Neijiang Restaurant with a grudge in his heart. No matter what, making money for himself was the most important thing. The restaurant was a big drain, but if managed properly, it could be a profitable venture. And since Lu Weiming claimed he could not open it, along with Sun Wanguo and Zhou Run and these other bastards who wanted to impose blockades, Lu Hao intended to prove to them whether the market was vast, the personnel crucial, or the local forces powerful.

Lu Hao entered the restaurant and saw a desolate scene. It was already noon, yet not a single customer was dining there. This starkly contrasted with the bustling early days when the Neijiang Restaurant had guests streaming in and out. Moreover, passersby occasionally glanced at the Neijiang Restaurant with expressions of fear and unease. Clearly, they must have received some message and dared not eat there.

At this moment, Manager Wu was in the front hall. Upon seeing Lu Hao, he walked over first, his face showing some worry. "Boss, I do not know why, the business has been sluggish these past few days," Manager Wu said. "And I discovered that opposite us, a new restaurant opened two days ago called Li Shui Restaurant. Obviously the location is not large, and the brand is not old enough, yet it is packed with people every day. I do not know what is going on."

Lu Hao nodded, realizing this was somewhat unusual. "Have you seen their boss?" he asked in a low voice. "Yes, I specially had the chef under me go over and secretly take a few photos of the people there," Manager Wu replied. He then took out his phone, pulled up the photos, and handed it to Lu Hao.

"Boss, take a look," Manager Wu said, showing him the photos. "So it is them," Lu Hao said after a glance, immediately recognizing many faces in them. Although he did not know the staff at Li Shui Restaurant, among the diners he spotted Second Tiger and Huang Mao, the person he had dealt with the other day. These were none other than the lackeys under Sun Wanguo.

"Without a doubt, it is them," Lu Hao breathed deeply, his expression turning gloomy.

"What do you mean, boss?" Wu Manager beside him asked, bewildered.

Lu Hao pondered for a moment and said to Wu Manager, "Our poor business now is not because we changed teams, nor because the dishes we serve are not tasty. But someone is secretly sabotaging us, blockading us so that people in the village dare not come to eat."

"I thought it was because our prices are too high," Wu Manager touched his head and smiled.

"Time is of the essence, call everyone immediately for a meeting to discuss countermeasures."

"Yes."

In Li Shui Restaurant, Xu Juan and her good friend Wu Rui were having lunch there. Wu Rui took a bite of the spicy chicken in her bowl and said with a smile, "Juan'er, the restaurant your husband opened makes such delicious food. I love it so much. If it were not for your connections, this dish would cost at least forty to fifty."

Xu Juan smiled, her expression beaming with pride. "It is average," she said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. Her bowl had a large portion of rice with only a small bite eaten, and in front a large plate of twice-cooked pork with just a few bites. These two women were dining at a six-person table, having ordered over ten large dishes.

"I did not originally open this restaurant to make money. My goal was to squeeze that Lu Hao out. He thought by opening a clinic and taking over the Neijiang Restaurant he would be successful? Just a bit of a turnaround? Little did he know, in front of my husband, he is no different from a frog jumping around."

Xu Juan sneered coldly, her smugness deepening. For Xu Juan, the more miserably her ex-boyfriend Lu Hao lived, the happier she felt, proving how wise and correct her choice was to abandon him and choose Sun Wanguo, the rich second-generation.

Wu Rui smiled, "Who says not? If I had not advised you to discard that useless man back then, you probably..."

"Shut up..." Xu Juan stood up, "In the future, you had better not mention this in front of me, especially not in front of my husband Sun Shao. If he finds out, watch out, I will slap your mouth."

Wu Rui's expression changed, and seeing Xu Juan's vicious look, she understood. This Xu Juan was no longer the same as before.

At this moment, Lu Hao was in the conference room discussing with the numerous employees. Ultimately, they decided on a strategy of small transformation combined with low consumption to resist the blockade. Small transformation meant repurposing the store's refrigerator to sell ice cream and soda, turning it into a cold drink spot for passersby to break even a little. At the same time, sell soy milk, youtiao, and baozi for breakfast in the morning. Low consumption meant minimizing personnel and fund expenses in the store to resist the blockade, but without laying off staff, salaries would continue to be paid, though appropriately reduced, and would be increased back if the small transformation profited. Correspondingly, the restaurant would only operate for two hours at noon and evening, closing the rest of the time to rest, primarily selling ice cream. Starting with pilot operation, which naturally gained approval.

However, the most critical point was raised by Lu Hao. "Their blockade against us is not in line with the market, it is unreasonable and unhealthy, so it absolutely cannot last long. The Sun family and Zhou family are not government institutions; they have no right to dictate where villagers must eat after going out. This is forced buying and selling, malicious competition. Such matters can continue for a week or a month, but after that, for three months, six months, or even a year, it is impossible to sustain. Eventually, villagers will begin to resist this domineering behavior. At that time, our business will slowly return to normal."

At this time, Manager Wu and Zhao Xiaojie echoed from below, "Boss is right. Our only goal now is to keep the store open. If it collapses, there is no hope. We cannot let these villains succeed. Just like surviving the winter, be frugal, resist for a while; eventually, we will welcome vitality, and then everyone might get a raise!"

Very quickly, Lu Hao's strategy gained consensus.

When they finished the meeting and arrived at the front door of the first-floor restaurant, a group of guests walked in, led by Yang Tian, Lu Hao's former junior high school classmate.

"Little Mouse, I did not expect that after more than ten years, you have such skills and opened a shop." The other said quite arrogantly.