Chapter 23: Western Restaurant Conquers the Miser

The matter had been resolved, so the several fellow disciples naturally could not stay long, rushing back to look after their own Daoist temples. However, Zhang Cheng knew there were still matters to attend to later, so he said to Uncle Nine: "Senior Brother, I will stay at Third Senior Brother's place for a while before heading back."

Uncle Nine smiled and said: "That is fine. If you have nothing else to do, Junior Brother, you can go visit the Daoist temples of our other fellow disciples, get to know the way, and strengthen our fellow-disciple bond."

Zhang Cheng thought about it and realized this was indeed feasible, so he nodded and said: "Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother."

Uncle Nine then bid farewell to Lin Fengjiao and returned with his two disciples.

Lin Fengjiao looked at Zhang Cheng, who had stayed behind, and smiled: "Junior Brother, when I have a moment later, I will take you around the neighborhood."

Zhang Cheng returned the gesture: "Thank you, Senior Brother."

Qiusheng, who was busy working, said with an envious look: "Damn it, look at Junior Martial Uncle. He's so young yet he's already our elder. Sigh."

Wencai stammered: "Ju... Junior Martial Uncle is... is so sharp!"

Lin Fengjiao had just finished speaking with Zhang Cheng and walked over, frowning: "If there is work to do, then do it. Why so much chatter? All this paper money must be burned; not a single sheet can be missing."

Qiusheng asked in surprise: "Wow, Master, which sucker bought so much paper money?"

"Smack!"

Lin Fengjiao gave Qiusheng a slap on the back of his head and scolded: "Isn't it because of you two good-for-nothings? And you dare call the Master a sucker, you two little punks.

This amount of money is what I agreed upon with the ghost messengers. If we burn all the money, those ghost messengers won't pursue the matter of the escaped ghosts. Put your heart into it!"

Qiusheng teased: "Isn't this just bribery?"

"Can you even speak properly!" Lin Fengjiao glared at Qiusheng. Qiusheng quickly shut his mouth and obediently burned the paper money.

In the afternoon, Master Qian from the town sent someone to invite Lin Fengjiao to look at the feng shui. Zhang Cheng followed along, and as soon as they arrived at the restaurant, they saw Shi Jian and his disciple there as well.

This Master Qian was worthy of having learned the ways of the foreigners; he was very shrewd and wanted to compare prices among three different parties. However, Master Qian's daughter, Mary, looked down on Daoists like Lin Fengjiao.

But when Qiusheng and Wencai saw Mary's attire, they immediately turned into lechers, still discussing Mary's hot figure there. Also coveting Mary's body was Shi Shaojian.

Because Master Qian was discussing business with Shi Jian, it was naturally Mary who came to receive them. Mary stepped forward and asked: "A table for four?"

Lin Fengjiao naturally did not understand, but this bit of English was a piece of cake for Zhang Cheng. He interjected: "Miss, Master Qian invited my Senior Brother here to discuss business."

Mary's eyes showed some disdain as she turned and said: "Gentlemen, sit this way."

Before long, Master Qian walked over with a mercenary smile and hosted Lin Fengjiao: "Uncle Nine, what would you like to eat?"

Because Lin Fengjiao went by the name Lin Jiu to the outside world, everyone naturally called him Uncle Nine. As for Lin Jiuying, one should actually call him Uncle Ying.

Lin Fengjiao did not understand Western food, so he looked at Zhang Cheng. Zhang Cheng nodded slightly and said: "Since Master Qian runs a Western restaurant, we will naturally eat Western food. Then please bring four ribeye steaks, well-done, thank you."

Upon hearing this, Master Qian gave a thumbs up and said: "This Daoist is so young, yet he understands Western food? However, our restaurant's sirloin steak is the best."

Zhang Cheng smiled: "Sirloin steak contains blood, which is not very suitable for us Daoists. Ribeye steak, on the other hand, can be pan-fried or served well-done, which suits us very well."

Master Qian nodded repeatedly: "Oh my, Daoist, you are absolutely right, hahaha."

He then looked at Lin Fengjiao and asked: "Uncle Nine, you have seen it too. I run a Western restaurant, and foreigners value science, so I don't believe in feng shui. But ever since I opened this restaurant, business has never been good. I have to believe in the supernatural even if I don't want to."

Lin Fengjiao actually didn't see any problems, but Qiusheng was quick-tongued and said directly: "Your place looks so gaudy, who would come to eat here?"

Mary, who was on the side, glared at Qiusheng: "Hmph, what do you know?"

Zhang Cheng had long found this girl unpleasant.

It's fine to open a Western restaurant, and it's fine if you like foreign culture, but you cannot discriminate against or look down on others because of it. Regardless, discriminating against your own culture is wrong. You can improve it, rather than being bossy and acting superior.

Therefore, Zhang Cheng spoke up: "Eh, Qiusheng is right. Master Qian, as a businessman, how did you not realize the problem here?"

Master Qian frowned slightly: "Daoist, I, Qian, have reached where I am today; I certainly do not lack experience in the way of business."

Zhang Cheng smiled: "Master Qian, your shop does indeed have a feng shui problem. The original feng shui of this place was very good. Look at the flow of people in front of the street; the feng shui is excellent. It is just that because you opened a Western restaurant, you made this feng shui ineffective."

Master Qian was very confused. He had specifically chosen this location because it was good before opening the Western restaurant, so he asked: "Daoist, where does the problem lie?"

Qiusheng quickly said: "Junior Martial Uncle, collect the money before doing the work."

Master Qian laughed: "True. I wonder how much the Daoist is asking for?"

Qiusheng opened his hand and said proudly: "Five hundred silver dollars!"

Master Qian's eyes widened in surprise: "Five hundred silver dollars? Do you think you're robbing me?" Mary on the side also sneered.

Shi Jian also walked over and kicked them while they were down: "Two Junior Brothers, I didn't expect you to be even more ruthless than me. I only asked for ten silver dollars."

At this moment, Shi Shaojian pulled a strand of Mary's hair. Lin Fengjiao hurriedly tried to warn them, but Shi Jian continued to harp on the matter of the five hundred silver dollars.

Zhang Cheng felt this was a perfect opportunity to teach his Senior Brother a lesson, so he said: "Senior Brother, the suggestion I proposed can bring Master Qian's Western restaurant back to life. Five hundred silver dollars is not excessive; after all, the money Master Qian earns later will be more than five hundred silver dollars."

Master Qian frowned: "Daoist, are you not just boasting?"

Zhang Cheng said directly: "Master Qian, the reason no one comes to your Western restaurant is that it is too high-end. How many people in this town can read foreign languages? Isn't your high-end approach just casting pearls before swine?

Since it is a Western restaurant for our compatriots, you naturally cannot copy the foreigners' operating model. You must localize it. At the very least, you should prepare two menus: one in Chinese and one in English.

Furthermore, your waiters act a bit superior, which easily angers customers. Therefore, waiters must smile at everyone they face; only then will customers come. As for guests with high status, just prepare a private room for them.

Moreover, you must make slight changes according to the tastes of our compatriots and launch signature Western dishes. It is best if someone can introduce them. In this way, even if Master Qian's business isn't booming, it won't be this deserted.

So I say there is no problem with the feng shui here; it is Master Qian's own actions that ruined the feng shui."

After hearing this, Master Qian slapped his thigh and said: "The Daoist is absolutely right! I always felt something was wrong before; so the problem was here! Mary, quickly bring five hundred silver dollars!"

Mary was greatly surprised. She did not expect her father, who was as stingy as Grandet, to be generous for once. However, she also felt that what Zhang Cheng said was very correct; indeed, many customers who came to the restaurant didn't understand anything.

Shi Jian listened to Zhang Cheng's long-winded speech. Although he didn't quite understand it, his rich experience made it clear to him that Master Qian's reaction showed that his Junior Brother was absolutely right.

He snorted coldly, looked at his son who was messing around on the side, and felt a surge of anger. He gave him a slap and said: "Let's go, still here making a fool of yourself!"