YM778.TV Chapter 429: 429: Baldy Conan
They initially discussed Zhou Rui, Mijoe, and other members of the “Divine Technology” secret department, as well as the two associated ants, No. 001 and No. 002. However, Xiang Kun suddenly changed the subject and started talking about what they ate at noon.
Xia Libing glanced up at him without saying anything, realizing that someone was probably going to arrive.
Indeed, the next second, the box room door was pushed open, with You Meng personally bringing in a plate of cut fruit.
“How was the taste of the dishes today? Was the mushroom soup too bland perhaps?” After placing the fruits on the table, You Meng glanced at the leftover dishes and asked, “You two don’t eat much, did it not suit your palate?”
“Not at all. Everything was delicious. We had a late breakfast, so we couldn’t eat much. The new mushroom soup was excellent too, right, Old Xia?”
Next to him, holding a soup bowl, Xia Libing nodded, “Yes, it was tasty.”
Actually, Xia Libing had eaten all the food for lunch alone, while Xiang Kun only dabbed his bowl and chopsticks with some soup to make it seem like they had been used. You Meng, assuming both of them had eaten, including Xiang Kun, who seemed like a big eater, naturally found the leftovers a bit scarce.
“Have you finished all the work in the kitchen?” Xiang Kun asked.
“Yes, there are only three tables of customers left. No new customers will probably arrive around this hour.” You Meng, clearly in a good mood, spoke cheerfully, “I didn’t expect our promotional video and inviting internet influencers to the restaurant would work this well. I thought business would be slack for at least one or two months, but within a few days, we already had a full house. Awesome, Kun!”
Xiang Kun smiled and said, “Initially, it was your local friends who patronized the restaurant. Having tasted the excellent dishes, they must have spread the word.”
Xiang Kun knew that the reason for this explosive promotional effect was mainly because the food was great and the ‘Emotion Infused’ cat woodcarving fascinated the first few customers.
For most people, whether it’s watching a fantastic movie, TV show, comic, or novel, eating delicious food or drinking an amazing beverage, if it exceeds their expectations, they will feel compelled to recommend it to others. They wish that others too could enjoy the experience, and then they could discuss it together.
Modern people have WeChat, QQ, and Weibo, everyone is a moving self-media. Compared to mass media, personal recommendation has a stronger influence on the people they know.
In the first few days, the customers who came were all referred by friends. After being amazed by the taste, they further recommended it to more people, which quickly led to a rapid and explosive spread of word.
You Meng laughed. “Not all those friends came because of me. Deputy Director Liu, Brother Chu, Boss Liu, and all the people Boss Qi brought with him were clearly here because of you.”
“As long as the business goes well, that’s all that matters. You must be short-staffed now, right?” Xiang Kun said.
“Yes, we are starting to hire people. If you were willing, you could open a restaurant yourself. The taste of those dishes is your creation, and you developed the cooking process as well… but unfortunately you have other more important tasks to attend to…” You Meng shook his head and sighed.
Xiang Kun laughed. “This was pure theory on my part. You are the professional. Without you, the restaurant wouldn’t have opened so easily. If it were solely up to me, it would have taken me months of trial and error to understand everything and get it off the ground. By the way, what do you think about setting up branches?”
Although this restaurant has only reopened for a week, considering the anticipation, thinking of opening branches isn’t really a rash idea.
“Boss Qi and Brother Chu have both discussed this with me. In terms of funding, connections, and channels, Boss Qi has influence across the province, particularly in the provincial capital. If we plan to expand there in the future, Boss Qi should be able to help a lot. However, if we’re focusing on Jianzhou City and the surrounding areas, Brother Chu’s influence isn’t half bad either. He has connections in many commercial properties, which I trust.” You Meng said.
“Actually, you could negotiate together. Co-operating together, once our restaurant brand becomes famous, we may not limit ourselves to just rabbit meat,” said Xiang Kun. “Regarding this matter, you have complete autonomy to make a decision. No matter who you choose to partner with, and how, I will support it. The ‘Youlong Restaurant’ brand is yours.”
“Don’t say that. I’m well aware, without your operation and help, I wouldn’t have been able to keep this restaurant running,” You Meng hastily shook his head.
“Let’s just say I’m a blind cat who caught a dead rat. I just got lucky, haha…you can think of it as me being lazy.”
After some casual chat, Xiang Kun was ready to leave the restaurant with Old Xia, returning to Chongyun Village. They had a series of experiments to conduct.
“Are you coming back tonight?” You Meng asked.
“We won’t come tonight. But we’ll be back tomorrow,” Xiang Kun replied.
“Oh right, Zi Cheng asked me to find a house for him, he also wants to live here for a while,” You Meng remembered something and added.
Some time ago, Zi Cheng came to Tongshi Town for a gaming discussion, but he didn’t go to Peng City with Zhang Qian. Even when Tang Baona and Yang Zhen Er left, he refused to go, ostensibly because of his “trust in Director Zhang, Boss Tang, and Boss Yang!” and decided to stay behind and enjoy himself.
Xiang Kun laughed, “So he’s planning to settle down here permanently? Seems Miss Chu’s charm is quite strong. Zi Cheng is head over heels in love, doesn’t he plan on sticking around in Tongshi Town forever?”
Zi Cheng’s lingering in Tongshi Town had nothing to do with his old classmate and brother, Xiang Kun, or the beautiful scenery. He was infatuated with Chu Xiuwen’s niece.
Even though Zi Cheng had been quite fond of Yang Jie and showed it, she was not very interested in him, so no sparks were ignited between them.
This time in Tongshi Town, on the day when “Youlong Restaurant” opened, Chu Xiuwen brought several family members to show support. Among them was his niece, Chu Xiaoting, who just returned from studying in America. Because of their shared overseas background, the two had a great chat.
Even though nothing had been made official yet, judging from Zi Cheng’s recent behavior, he was clearly infatuated. Thus, matters like the company, gaming, his career, and even brotherhood were put on hold.
You Meng also laughed, “I think they make a great pair, and it seems like Brother Chu and Xiaoting’s family are not opposed to it.”
Then he remembered something else and said to Xiang Kun, “But if Zi Cheng gets along with Xiaoting, don’t you think you should also seize the day and make it official?” While speaking, he couldn’t help casting glances at Old Xia.
Xiang Kun, of course, understood his intention, but all he could do was divert the conversation, “They haven’t even confirmed their relationship yet, let’s not think about their marriage. Ah, it looks like it’s about to rain heavily again, we should leave.”
You Meng saw them off to the entrance, then turned his attention to the TV news in the restaurant, “Have you seen the news today? Did you hear two criminals escaped from Wushu Mountain Prison, injuring two prison guards? The authorities are searching everywhere. There’s a reward of one hundred thousand for any clues.”
Xiang Kun laughed, “Are you thinking of playing the Good Samaritan? But for prisoners who escaped from Wushu Mountain Prison, it’s unlikely they’ll head this way, so I’m afraid you won’t earn that money…”
“How could I possibly play the Good Samaritan? I wish I could sleep in the restaurant these days. I was telling you about catching criminals. Miss Yang and Miss Tang mentioned you’ve done this before. You caught a knifed fugitive on the street and received a twenty thousand reward from the police station! Later, you took down human traffickers and got a two hundred thousand reward! Miss Yang refers to you as the ‘Bald-headed Conan’ and ‘Bounty hunter number 47’, wherever you go, something happens… And indeed, the time you guys came to visit, my wife and I picked you up and the car got hit by Liu Feibao and Boss Qi, very nearly causing a big conflict. Then, when we tried to visit Wushu Mountain, there was a tourist falling accident…so really, anything could happen. What if the escaped prisoners flee to Chongyun Village? You need to be careful…” You Meng started off jokingly, but stopped as he realized his ramblings were making a lot of sense.
Xiang Kun forced a smile, “The way you put it…it’s as if I am a jinx.”
“Well, you wouldn’t be a jinx, since no matter what incident occurs, you always solve it. So, maybe you’re more of a…trouble buster…” said You Meng, unable to hold back his laughter.
“Alright, if those two escapees really come to Chongyun Village, whether I encounter them or not, I’ll have to change my name to Xiang Kexing (trouble buster in Chinese)!” joked Xiang Kun.
He didn’t believe the possibility of a successful prison break nowadays. There are surveillance cameras everywhere and everyone has a mobile phone. Where could they run? He even suspected that those two fugitives were caught by the local authorities while they were still chatting. Geographically, it’s much more likely for those two prisoners to go north, east, or south than to Tongshi Town or Chongyun Village.
Exiting “Youlong Restaurant”, Xiang Kun and Old Xia walked to the parking lot, where they got into a second-hand Great Wall pickup truck.
As they would be staying in Chongyun Village permanently, it was a necessity to have a car to commute to the town. Initially, Old Xia wanted to buy a new Prado, but Xiang Kun opted for a very cheap second-hand car.
Not that he was tight-fisted – while he didn’t have much money left, the main reason was to test some theories regarding the “Super Sensory Item System” which involved modifications or part replacements.
Using a cheap car for the experiment would not cause any heartache.
After purchasing the car, Xiang Kun had it taken into a garage familiar to You Meng for lots of modifications, from engine oil and air filters to tires and air conditioning compressors, and even some rubber pads, parts, and seat cushions were replaced. He spent a lot, leaving the mechanics wondering why he was changing so many things in such an old car.
Meanwhile, Xiang Kun managed to establish “super sensory contact” with four tires, several rubber pads, screws, and sheet metal during the process.
For now, driving this car, Xiang couldn’t reach professional racing driver level. However, through the four tires he had a connection with, he could better detect the road conditions and through various parts throughout the car, monitor the car’s operation.
While these things could be done to a certain extent with his own superior sensory abilities, he believed that as he established more “super sensory contact” parts on the car, corresponding application abilities would definitely develop significantly. He could even remotely “drive” the car without being in it.