"Is the location bad? Or did Jiang Liu not give you the full recipe?"

"Mom, can you please stop harping on about him not giving us the full recipe? I still trust Jiang Liu."

"I..."

Yang Yixue waved her hand wearily. "Forget it. Let’s drop it. I was up all night and came up with a plan. We’ll do a ’buy six, get one free’ deal for all the buns in our shops. That should help us recover a bit."

’She really didn’t want to sacrifice her profits.’

But now she had no other choice.

’Her only option was to run a major promotional event to win back the old customers she’d lost.’

’If things still didn’t improve...’

’Yang Yixue would have to consider selling the business.’

Selling would mean losing her entire investment, sending years of hard work down the drain and leaving her back at square one.

An idea struck Li Xiaoyan. "Daughter, your mother has a great idea. Isn’t that Xiaotong’s Restaurant doing really well? Why don’t we go and learn a thing or two from them?"

"Their recipe must be better than ours. We could buy it on the cheap and use it for ourselves!"

"Or we could secretly poach their top chefs at a high price and have them work for us!"

Yang Yixue’s eyes lit up.

’A great idea!’

’It was indeed a good option.’

’She had checked out Xiaotong’s Restaurant before. Their business was surprisingly good. Maybe their recipe was even better than Jiang Liu’s.’

’If she could start from here, buy their recipe or business methods, she might just be able to turn things around!’

The two of them immediately set off for Xiaotong’s Restaurant.

「9:50 AM.」

Hu Yongfa had just hung up the "Temporarily Closed" sign. He was leading his staff in preparing the bun and meal sets for lunch.

Yang Yixue walked in, wearing a green knit sweater and jeans. She wasn’t old, and despite having had a child, she was still very attractive.

Of course, compared to Jun Qingmeng, she was like an ugly duckling.

A female waitress politely approached her. "Hello, ma’am. I’m sorry, but we’re not open for business right now. The chefs are cooking. Could you please come back at eleven?"

Yang Yixue frowned. "I’m not here to eat. I need to discuss a business partnership with your manager."

The waitress kept her smile. "I’m very sorry, but our manager is busy. Many customers are waiting to eat, so he doesn’t have the time."

’She knew her priorities.’

’Boss Jiang had said that no matter what, the customer’s experience was the most important thing.’

’If she went to get Manager Hu, she’d just be asking for trouble.’

’Every minute of Manager Hu’s time she wasted was another minute a customer would have to wait.’

Yang Yixue and Li Xiaoyan’s faces paled.

’They had been given the cold shoulder.’

After the waitress walked away, Li Xiaoyan said angrily, "What’s so great about them? They only have one shop. We have twenty! The thought alone should be enough to scare them to death!"

"Alright, Mom. We’re in their territory, so we have to play by their rules. We’re the ones asking for a favor now. Let’s just wait."

At 11:30, Hu Yongfa finished his work. He rubbed his aching back and sore neck, planning to take a short break and eat something.

The female employee came up to him and whispered, "Manager Hu, two strange women came into the shop. They keep saying they want to discuss a big partnership, but they’re incredibly arrogant. They seem a little unhinged. Do you want to go check it out?"

"Oh? Where are they?"

"They should still be at the entrance. They haven’t left, and they’re taking up a table meant for our customers."

"Okay, I got it."

Hu Yongfa untied his apron, walked out of the kitchen, and saw the two women as he rounded a corner.

Li Xiaoyan was dressed gaudily, adorned with gold and jade. Her face was caked in white powder like a ghost, her eyeliner was jet-black, and one look told you she wasn’t someone to be messed with.

In contrast, Yang Yixue was much more elegant, carrying herself with an extraordinary air.

"Ladies, I’m Manager Hu, the manager of this restaurant. How can I help you?"

Yang Yixue secretly sized up Fatty Hu. He looked fair and plump, with a beaming smile.

But as someone experienced in the world of business, she could tell at a glance that he was more than he seemed.

At the very least, he exuded an air of confidence and self-assurance.

"Hello. Let me introduce myself. I am the founder of Yang’s Buns. The company I founded, Yang’s Buns, has already grown to twenty locations. I’ve come today to make a high-priced offer to acquire your bun recipe."

"I’ll offer one and a half million. What do you say?"

Yang Yixue didn’t beat around the bush; she laid her cards on the table.

Her attitude was unconsciously a little arrogant.

In her eyes, she was handing him free money. For a few lousy bun recipes, one and a half million was more than he could make in ten years.

As for the one and a half million, Yang Yixue had to scrape it together.

Her current liquid assets were at rock bottom. To come up with the 1.5 million, she would have to borrow another seven or eight hundred thousand.

After listening, Hu Yongfa frowned and refused without hesitation. "The recipe is not for sale. It was passed down to me by my master. I can’t possibly sell it without his permission."

"The recipe belongs to your master? And he is?"

Hu Yongfa shook his head and chuckled. "And why would I tell you that?"

A glint flashed in Yang Yixue’s eyes as she stated her guess confidently, "The recipe is probably yours, isn’t it? This ’master’ of yours is just an excuse. How about this: you name a price, and I’ll consider it."

"Alternatively, I have twenty well-located, luxuriously decorated storefronts under my management. I can transfer one of them to you."

’Transfer one to me?’

Hu Yongfa was tempted. "In that case, please wait a moment. I’ll ask my master."

"Heh."

Turning away, Hu Yongfa sent a WeChat message to Jiang Liu: "Master, two women came to our shop. They said they’ve opened twenty bun shops and are acting all high and mighty. They even offered 1.5 million for our recipe. I refused, but then she said she could trade one of her well-located storefronts for it."

Jiang Liu was in the middle of processing some crayfish meat.

His phone vibrated, and a WeChat message popped up. He opened it, read it, and was left a little speechless.

"Are those two wearing patient gowns?"

"They’ve already opened twenty bun shops, and only now are they trying to buy a recipe?"

Jiang Liu couldn’t help but laugh.

’It takes all kinds to make a world.’

’These two were a real piece of work.’

’It’s like opening twenty foot-massage parlors and then suddenly realizing you don’t have any technicians!’

Hu Yongfa deeply agreed. ’The master is still the master, spotting the key issue in a single glance.’

’It would have taken him ages to realize that.’

Hu Yongfa: "One of them looks like a boss, pretty young, drives a BMW. Oh, she said her name is Yang Yixue, and she’s in charge of some Yang’s Buns Group, or something like that."

"The other one is a woman around fifty. Her makeup looks like a ghost’s scribbles. And her crossed eyes really startled me."

When Jiang Liu saw the message, he was stunned.

He never would have imagined that the ones causing trouble at his shop were those two.

Jiang Liu thought for a moment and decided to be brutally clever. "Don’t agree to their terms. We’re not selling the recipe. Also, tell those two that I am your master."

Hu Yongfa: "Huh? Why, Master? Didn’t you want to keep your identity a secret?"

Jiang Liu confessed, "That Yang Yixue is my ex-wife."

Hu Yongfa’s expression immediately turned sour.

.............