Chapter 517

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Protagonist:

Lu Feng

Among those first-tier high-end restaurants, which one doesn't have deeper foundations than their company?

Not to mention one month; even if they were given a year, they might not be able to shake the status of those industry giants.

But Guo Mingyuan then thought: if their company couldn't do it, could that inconspicuous Lu Family Restaurant possibly do it?

Even if its business is booming now, it surely couldn't be better than their high-end restaurants, right?

"Bureau Chief Cheng, to be honest, this requirement of yours is a bit too harsh for us."

Guo Mingyuan chose his words carefully, showing a hint of displeasure on his face: "Do you mean that the performance of that Lu Family Restaurant is already number one in the whole city? To be blunt, I really find that hard to believe."

"That's not the case; that restaurant is still a bit short of being number one in the whole city."

Bureau Chief Cheng smiled and waved his hand; he had always been honest and straightforward, and he naturally wouldn't speak nonsense about heights the Lu Family Restaurant hadn't reached.

Then he slowly added: "However, as far as I know, that restaurant is only open for two hours a day, and under such circumstances, the tax amount it paid last month already ranked fifth in the whole district."

"Your company's scale and resources are much more substantial than this small restaurant, right? Since General Manager Guo, you're so confident and covet its position, and even want to annex this restaurant, then I'm asking you to make your performance number one in the whole city—this requirement shouldn't be considered excessive, right?"

"Open only two hours a day, and still rank fifth in the whole district?"

Guo Mingyuan couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath, thinking he had misheard, and expressed his doubt in a gentle tone: "Bureau Chief Cheng, did you get it wrong? I think this is simply impossible!"

What he learned from the Market Department was only that the Lu Family Restaurant's business was very booming, with many customers queuing there every day to eat.

But as for the specific turnover of the Lu Family Restaurant every day and how much tax it paid, they didn't know such data.

Now, having learned the approximate performance data of the Lu Family Restaurant from Bureau Chief Cheng's mouth, he finally understood what level this small restaurant was at.

However, this data sounded truly astonishing, far exceeding his expectations, and making him dare not believe it.

"Whether you believe it or not, this is the fact."

Bureau Chief Cheng still had a calm and composed expression on his face, with a hint of something else in his tone: "General Manager Guo, I think your understanding of that restaurant is not thorough enough; otherwise, you wouldn't have invited me here today."

Guo Mingyuan heard the meaning in Bureau Chief Cheng's words, and his expression suddenly became somewhat unnatural.

He remained silent for a long time, and finally shook his head helplessly: "I see, I understand now."

"Mm, it's good that General Manager Guo understands, so I can't help you with this favor."

Bureau Chief Cheng said as he stood up, looking at Guo Mingyuan and said: "Since that's the case, I think there's no need to continue this meal; I still have some official business to handle when I return, so I'll leave first, General Manager Guo, let's make another appointment another day."

"Ai, Bureau Chief..."

Seeing this, Guo Mingyuan quickly stood up, wanting to speak to detain him.

But Bureau Chief Cheng just waved his hand and had no intention of staying for dinner, walking steadily toward the private room door.

Seeing that he was determined to leave, Guo Mingyuan could only sigh helplessly, and with Zhou Li, saw Bureau Chief Cheng out of the private room, not stopping until they were outside the restaurant gate.

After seeing Bureau Chief Cheng off, Guo Mingyuan and Zhou Li returned to the private room.

"What's going on? The boss of that Lu Family Restaurant, according to the investigation, is just an ordinary person; there shouldn't be any backing, right?"

Guo Mingyuan scratched his head somewhat irritably, his tone full of confusion and unwillingness.

"Hello, may I ask if the dishes you ordered can be served now?"

The waiter politely knocked on the door, pushed the door open, and asked in a gentle tone.

"Not eating! Refund what can be refunded, and pack what can't be refunded as takeaway."

Bureau Chief Cheng had already left, and Guo Mingyuan had lost interest in eating at this point, waving his hand irritably and said.

"Alright, then I'll go tell the kitchen."

The waiter politely said a word, then closed the door and left.

"General Manager Guo, according to our investigation, that boss named Lu Feng indeed has no background."

Zhou Li looked at Guo Mingyuan's dark expression and said cautiously.

"That's strange!"

Guo Mingyuan frowned, then muttered to himself with a puzzled look: "Could it be that Bureau Chief Cheng lied to us? He deliberately made up a lie just because he simply doesn't want to help us with this favor?"

But then he shook his head again and said with a certain look: "No... when Bureau Chief Cheng was speaking just now, the expression on his face didn't look like he was lying; could it be that this small restaurant really can reach the level of paying taxes ranking fifth in the whole district?"

"General Manager Guo, now it seems that this is the only possibility."

Zhou Li beside them, although also finding it hard to believe, couldn't think of any other possibility.

Previously, when their Market Department investigated, they only saw that the Lu Family Restaurant's business was very good, with many diners queuing every day.

However, its actual revenue and tax payment situation indeed couldn't be easily found out.

This couldn't be considered negligence in their work, after all, this kind of data isn't publicly available for casual inquiry.

But Zhou Li originally thought the Lu Family Restaurant was just that kind of flash-in-the-pan internet celebrity restaurant; she didn't expect it actually hid such strong strength.

This greatly exceeded Zhou Li's expectations.

If their new store opened on Food Street, could it really snatch away the customer flow brought by the Lu Family Restaurant?

She suddenly felt a bit lacking in confidence in her heart now.

"It seems we've all underestimated that Lu Family Restaurant too much."

Guo Mingyuan raised his hand and rubbed his swollen brow, his tone somewhat helpless: "Originally thought it was just a small shop that could be easily annexed; Bureau Chief Cheng just now put his words to death, obviously treating that store as a key object of care; it seems it's impossible to directly swallow it now."

"Then... General Manager Guo, what should we do now?"

Zhou Li couldn't help but ask, her tone very nervous.

Originally she was full of joy, thinking that after successfully dealing with the competitor Lu Family Restaurant today, the company would arrange a department-wide dinner in the evening to celebrate this victory in advance.

Who knew Bureau Chief Cheng would refuse outright, without any room for negotiation, which made all her original fantasies fall through.

Guo Mingyuan fell silent for a moment, then stood up and picked up his coat, his face regaining its composure: "What else can we do? The plan to acquire Lu Family Restaurant can only be given up."

"Let's return to the Company first, notify the core team to hold an emergency meeting, and we need to discuss the details in the proposal again carefully. Since we can't take down this position, from now on we'll have to compete head-on with that restaurant for customers. We must surpass it comprehensively in every aspect, we must beat it!"