Chapter 22: Honest and Fair to All

Facts have proven it.

Demonic marketing methods are applicable to every era.

Lin Bai found a few shills to sing a song at the shop entrance: "You love me, I love you, Kitchen God Rice Divination welcomes you." After they were invited inside by a waiter temporarily borrowed from the shop to eat and drink heartily, and then emerged with expressions of complete satisfaction, it immediately ignited the enthusiasm of the onlookers.

As the joyful atmosphere grew, everyone watched "You love me, I love you" happily, even forgetting that this place was originally a Haunted House.

Finally, someone thick-skinned could no longer suppress their curiosity, broke through their psychological bottom line, sang a song overflowing with shame in front of everyone, and after their Spirit was sublimated, they were led into the restaurant by 【Deng Li Buduo】.

……

"I thought the boss just hung up a sign outside to disgust people, but I didn't expect it to be even worse inside. Where did you scavenge this broken table from?"

Two youths in their early twenties with gorgeous clothes entered the door. After singing the song, they were led inside by 【Deng Li Buduo】. As soon as they entered, they were stunned by the shop's decor.

The two found a table that looked a bit better and sat down. Before they could even speak, Lin Bai was already standing beside them, smiling and reminding them: "Dear guests, don't move your legs around. The previous guest accidentally kicked away the brick propping up the table, the food and drink spilled all over the floor, and they left without eating a thing."

Damn it!

The eyelids of both youths twitched at the same time.

One youth looked around at the environment, while the other picked up a teacup on the table to pour water for them both. By accident, the crooked spout poured water all over himself, and he couldn't help but curse: "Fuck!"

Lin Bai acted as if he didn't see it and maintained his smile: "What would the guests like to eat?"

The youth looking at the menu turned his head back: "What is deep-fried flower beef?"

"It's just deep-fried peanuts," Lin Bai said.

"Bring a plate," the youth's mouth twitched.

"Needless to say, Braised Beef must be braised beef!" The youth thought he had seen through Lin Bai's routine, gave a light hum, and asked.

"The guest is clever," Lin Bai gave a thumbs up.

"Cut a catty," the youth said.

"Coming right up," Lin Bai said.

"Four Steamed Cakes," the youth looked at the typo on the Wooden Tablet, "White, bah, bring a pot of wine."

"Dear guests, do you need anything else?" Lin Bai smiled and asked.

"No need, bring it all up together," the youth said.

"One plate of deep-fried flower beef, one catty of Braised Beef, four Steamed Cakes, one catty of White Wine. The total is 350 wen, please settle the bill first, dear guests," Lin Bai announced the order loudly and smiled.

Both youths were stunned at the same time.

Looking at the smiling Lin Bai, one of them suppressed his anger and reminded him: "Shopkeeper, we came in singing, so we should get a thirty percent discount."

"Guests, it has already been discounted," Lin Bai said.

"Are you bullying this young master for never having eaten elsewhere?" The other youth slammed the table heavily and said angrily.

The loose teapot lid fell onto the floor with a clatter, making a crisp sound.

Lin Bai glanced at the teapot lid and thought to himself, it's a good thing I had the foresight, otherwise the daily wear and tear would be too great.

The youth sneered: "The same food and drink, elsewhere, wouldn't even be three hundred wen without a discount. You black-hearted boss, why is it still fifty wen more expensive than elsewhere after the discount?"

"Dear guests, this is the specialty of this shop. We have put a lot of effort into the renovation, environment, and service, striving to let every guest who dines here experience scenery different from other places. After all, this is the legendary Haunted House. Dining here has a unique flavor in one's heart, and after leaving, you have the capital to brag to your friends."

Lin Bai maintained his smile, his voice neither hurried nor slow, "What is most commendable is that we mark our prices clearly and never cheat our customers. If the guests think it's expensive, you don't have to eat. The food hasn't been served, and the guests haven't paid, so neither side has lost anything. Calling us a black shop is a bit excessive."

"……"

The corners of the two youths' mouths twitched again and again. They were extremely awkward, but they couldn't find words to refute him. If one looked closely, every word he said was extremely reasonable.

That's right.

The food hadn't been served, and the price had been told in advance.

If you think it's expensive, you don't have to eat. Why are you getting angry just because you sang a song at the door?

"Dear guests, shall I serve the food?" Lin Bai didn't care about that much and continued to ask.

"Serve it!" The two youths looked at each other. One of them took some loose silver from his sleeve and threw it on the table, "I want to see what is so different about the food here compared to elsewhere?"

Lin Bai didn't even look at the silver and explained with a smile: "The guests might be disappointed. Our shop's Steamed Cakes are Wu's Steamed Cake from Tan Hua Street, the Braised Beef is Zhang's Braised Food from Jian Hua Street, and the White Wine is the common Sorghum Wine on the market; there is nothing special about them. These things must be explained to the guests in advance. If the guests don't mind, I will take the money and serve the food. If the guests do mind, please walk out and have a good day. You are welcome to come again next time..."

【Resentment value from Song Qing and Zhu Huan; +1+1+1……】

The two youths glared at Lin Bai, their fists clenched tightly, panting heavily.

Damn it, this isn't coming to eat, it's coming to eat anger!

Singing and dancing, having to endure your broken table and rotten chairs, and finally having to pay a high price to eat food that can be bought anywhere outside—are you sure you aren't fooling idiots?!

Song Qing quietly took back the silver from the table. To be honest, he already felt a bit full.

"Two guests, are you still eating?" Lin Bai pretended not to see Song Qing's small movement and asked a question he already knew the answer to, "Speaking of which, what we eat is the atmosphere. You definitely won't be able to experience this kind of experience and feeling outside..."

You definitely won't!

No one doing business dares to be as annoying as you!

Song Qing took a deep breath, stood up, and suppressed the anger in his heart: "Shopkeeper, forgive me for being blunt, but if you keep running the shop like this, I'm afraid it won't be open for long."

That's because you don't know what I want at all?

Lin Bai bowed to the two and smiled: "Two guests, honest management, no cheating of old or young. Lin does business based on fate. If we see eye to eye, naturally you will patronize Lin's business. If we don't, the Great Dao faces the sky, and we each walk our own side. Whether I make money or not is secondary."

Lin Bai's words.

Immediately made more than half of the anger in the two youths' hearts disappear.

The two looked at each other.

Zhu Huan shook his head and said: "Shopkeeper Lin is indeed an open-minded person."

Lin Bai said: "It all depends on fate; those who are willing will come. Two guests, are you still eating?"

Zhu Huan looked at Song Qing: "Brother Song, what do you think?"

Song Qing looked at Lin Bai and suddenly smiled: "Since we're here, and we've already sung the song, we can't come for nothing. The shopkeeper is right; what we're eating is this atmosphere. Let's eat."

After saying that.

The two of them sat back down.

Song Qing tossed the silver onto the table again: "Shopkeeper, bring out the dishes."

To the side.

The Blacksmith's son, Zhang Dashan, and the carpenter's son, Zhang Bao, were dumbstruck, looking at Lin Bai as if he were an immortal; could he really get away with that?

In the middle.

They had been sweating for Lin Bai, terrified that the customer might lose control and smash a fist into his face.

What atmosphere, what high-end renovation? You clearly opened this shop in two days, the paint isn't even dry yet!

Lin Bai came before the two of them and asked with a smile: "Did you learn it?"

The two of them nodded blankly.

Lin Bai said: "When guests come again, you will receive them just as I did. The process cannot be chaotic; what needs to be made clear must be made clear. We would rather not make money than deceive a guest."

"Yes, Shopkeeper," the two said in unison.

"Remember to keep a smile on your faces. Our setup is simple, so we must put effort into our service. Every guest who enters the shop must feel as if they are bathed in a spring breeze." Lin Bai glanced at the two and added, "As the saying goes, one does not strike a smiling face. If a customer has a violent temper and strikes you, do not fight back. Let them hit you, and afterwards, we will report it to the authorities and ask the City Lord to uphold justice."

"Yes, Shopkeeper." This series of actions and teachings left the two temporary shop assistants convinced and impressed.

On the other side.

Having heard the entirety of Lin Bai's instructions to his assistants, Song Qing and his companion exchanged a smile, instantly regretting the impulse to sit back down.

The two young assistants went to serve dishes and pour wine, and Lin Bai turned back to come to the side of Song Qing and his companion, cupping his hands: "The new shop has just opened, so the young assistants are inevitably inexperienced. I had to give them a few pointers; I hope I haven't made a fool of myself before you two."

Song Qing gave a wry smile: "The Shopkeeper certainly does things without a single leak."

Lin Bai said: "There is no other way. The world is difficult; if I am not thorough, I fear I shall starve to death."

You're afraid of being beaten to death, aren't you?

Song Qing rolled his eyes at him, engaging in Belly-Defamation.

"Lin has many other matters to attend to, so I shall not disturb you two any further while you dine. I wish you both a pleasant meal." Lin Bai cupped his hands again and bowed to them in turn.

Song Qing and his companion returned the gesture.

Lin Bai stood up and walked toward the exit. Upon reaching the door, he turned his head back: "Two honored guests, after you return, could you say a few kind words about my little shop to your friends and family? As the saying goes, it is better to share joy with others than to enjoy it alone. Wouldn't it be a great pleasure in life to let more people experience the beauty of this shop?"

Having said this, he walked out the door without waiting for them to answer.

Kind words, my foot. Are you trying to get us to bring more people to fall for your tricks?

Song Qing nearly laughed out of anger. He was just about to curse Lin Bai, but then he had a change of heart: he had suffered a loss here, so why shouldn't he watch others suffer the same fate?

This might just be a kind of fun!

He turned his head to look at Zhu Huan, just about to speak.

Yet he saw that Zhu Huan was also looking over, his face full of strange amusement: "Brother Song, we still underestimated the Shopkeeper. This shop is going to make it!"

(End of chapter)