Chapter 114: Chapter 114: An Anticipated Life
“Ma’am, our restaurant might be a regular one, but we have six signature dishes that are very popular.”

“Despite being made from common ingredients, the unique skills of our head chef make them highly sought after by customers, and thus the prices are slightly higher, varying from three to five thousand per dish.”

“Since you ordered all six signature dishes, the price naturally reflects that.”

The waiter explained patiently.

“I didn’t find anything special about them. Signature dishes? It must be a scheme to cheat consumers.”

“I’ll have you know, I won’t be the sucker here. Call your manager over; I want to see if they dare to charge me this much.”

“If they do dare, I will file a complaint against you for deceiving customers. I wonder if your restaurant can remain open after that!”

Liu Yujuan declared righteously.

“Ma’am, please watch your language. Accusing us of cheating consumers is defamation against our restaurant. We have been an established restaurant for eighteen years, and never before has a customer accused us of deceit. If you cause any negative impact on our restaurant, we can sue you.”

The waiter was firm, his expression turning slightly stern, not indulging Liu Yujuan at all.

In fact, their restaurant was doing quite well.

Furthermore, the restaurant staff were all professionally trained and had been clearly told how to handle such situations.

“You want to sue me? This is my first time seeing such an out-of-control restaurant. Not only do you cheat consumers, but you also sue them? You’re really something. I’ll just sit right here and wait for you to sue me.”

Liu Yujuan laughed in anger, her first time in such a restaurant.

“Ma’am, are you refusing to pay the bill?” the waiter asked.

“With such steep prices, how can I settle the bill? Call your manager, I want them to explain. Otherwise, I’m not only refusing to pay, but I’ll also expose your rip-off establishment!” said Liu Yujuan with a cold laugh.

“Wait a moment, I will call the manager.” The waiter left.

She knew she couldn’t handle it herself and needed to find the manager.

Three minutes later, the waiter returned with a middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes.

“Madam, I’ve been informed about your issue.”

“Firstly, I need to reassert that our restaurant is not a rip-off joint, nor do we engage in any consumer deception.”

“The prices of our dishes are all clearly marked and have been filed with the Bureau of Commodity Prices and approved by them.”

“For this private room, you ordered our restaurant’s six signature dishes and two additional dishes, which totals over twenty-three thousand. We’ve already rounded down the decimal for you.”

“I hope you’re willing to settle the bill and refrain from making slanderous comments about our restaurant. If they cause any negative impact, we reserve the right to protect our legitimate interests through legal action.”

“Here is the Bureau of Commodity Prices’ approval for the pricing of all our dishes. You may take a look,” said the restaurant manager, placing a document in front of Liu Yujuan.

“There’s actually an approval from the Bureau of Commodity Prices? Could this be fake?” Liu Yujuan’s face turned unsightly upon seeing the document.

“Madam, if you suspect it’s fake, you can make a phone call to verify. If it were fake, our restaurant wouldn’t have been operating here for eighteen long years,” said the restaurant manager.

Make a phone call to verify?

Liu Yujuan neither had the time nor saw the need for it.

She picked up the menu to check and found that indeed, the first three pages listed the six signature dishes, all with clear pricing, revealing no fraudulent activity.

For Zhao Yuxin to order such expensive dishes and speak in that way was simply like fleecing herself.

Liu Yujuan’s expression grew increasingly unsightly.

She was beginning to suspect that Zhao Hai agreed to have dinner with her just to fleece her, to purposely disgust her.

Whether that was his intention or not, she felt fleeced all the same.

“Madam, please pay the bill. If you do not, we will take legal measures to protect our legitimate rights,” the restaurant manager said.

One had to admit, the waiters and the manager of this restaurant were indeed unyielding.

In other restaurants, even when faced with unreasonable customers, the staff would still keep smiling.

“I’ll pay, but before I do, I want to ask why the food is so expensive when your restaurant looks so ordinary? Can’t you decorate the place to look a bit more upscale?” Liu Yujuan asked, puzzled.

“Many customers have asked this question. Our boss has said that in the food and beverage industry, what matters most is the taste of the food, not the decoration of the restaurant. If having good decorations meant good business, then there would be no need to research cooking skills.”

“Fact has proven our boss right. Although our restaurant’s decor isn’t luxurious, our food tastes great, and our service is flawless, so business is really good, and we have many returning customers,” the restaurant manager explained with a smile.

“By the way, I see there’s a Jiang Di Lao nearby. Has it affected your business?” Liu Yujuan asked another question.

This area is not far from the headquarters of Jiang Di Lao, and the nearby branch is their flagship store, the largest among Jiang Di Lao’s twenty-one outlets.

Delicious Hotpot has branches near other Jiang Di Lao outlets, but none here.

Since Jiang Di Lao’s headquarters is located here, enjoying the home ground advantage, Delicious Hotpot did not open a branch in this area.

“At the beginning, we were slightly affected, since Jiang Di Lao is hugely popular and many customers went there for the experience, even I did,” the manager admitted.

“But Jiang Di Lao is a hotpot restaurant after all, and it’s a different type of dining from our stir-fry; it targets different consumer needs. After a while, business returned to normal.”

“Those who want to eat hotpot at Jiang Di Lao do so, and those who want to dine with us will come here. Our business hasn’t suffered.”

“We’re not like Delicious Hotpot, which made the mistake of opening right next to Jiang Di Lao. When it comes to choosing hotpot, consumers will inevitably pick Jiang Di Lao over Delicious Hotpot.”

“I really can’t fathom what the people in charge of Delicious Hotpot were thinking, opening right by Jiang Di Lao’s branches.”

“Unless I’m mistaken, Delicious Hotpot has suffered a heavy loss. Now it likely has only two options left, either shutting down or relocating…”

“Sorry, I’ve gone off on a tangent,” the restaurant manager said, realizing he had spoken too much and promptly stopped.

“Let’s settle the bill,” Liu Yujuan thought she shouldn’t have asked.

Even the restaurant manager, an outsider, thought that Delicious Hotpot was down to its last straws. Delicious Hotpot was surely finished.

And Yang Tiancheng was completely sidelined in the company, with no choice but to leave.

This only made her feel more strongly that she needed to get back with Zhao Hai.

Only that way, not only would there be no decline in her standard of living, but it could even surpass her past lifestyle.

After all, Zhao Hai was the general manager of Jiang Di Lao, and Xu Yang was the boss of both Fengcai Guild and Jiang Di Lao.

Getting back together with Zhao Hai would transform her into a wealthy woman overnight.

The very thought of such a life filled her with anticipation.

She took out her bank card and handed it to the restaurant manager.

The restaurant manager personally processed the transaction and helped her pay the bill.

“Madam, we look forward to welcoming you again!” the restaurant manager said as he returned the bank card to Liu Yujuan.

Liu Yujuan did not say a word, took her handbag, and left the restaurant.