Reborn in 1985: From Selling Braised Duck to Becoming the World's Richest Man

Upon hearing Song Mei's words, Liang Ming's face revealed a mocking smile, and he said;

"Song Mei, I really don't know whether to call you stupid or what."

"To run a restaurant business, you need to rely not only on the taste of the food, but also on the service and other strengths."

"Even if you open a Hong Kong-style roast meat shop, it may not affect my braised food business."

"You want me to kneel down and kowtow to admit my mistake? Do you even deserve to?"

Liang Ming said this with a disdainful expression.

"You!" Song Mei's expression turned angry upon hearing Liang Ming's words.

Sun Xiao waved her hand to stop her, saying, "Xiao Mei, you don't need to talk to him so much!"

At this point, Sun Xiao turned to Liang Ming and said, "Since you're unwilling to admit your mistakes, then let's settle things in the business world."

"Whatever you want," Liang Ming said indifferently.

His dismissive attitude also annoyed Sun Xiao.

Sun Xiao snorted and left with Song Mei.

This farce has finally come to an end.

"Dear neighbors, today is the opening of our Liang Hei Ya branch. All our braised dishes are 8% off. Don't miss it!"

After Sun Xiao and the others left, Liang Ming immediately shouted to the neighbors around him.

Upon hearing this, the surrounding people cheered with joy.

"Really 8% off? Then give me two braised pig's feet."

"I want three pairs of braised chicken wings!"

"Give me a braised duck!"

People eagerly took out their money and lined up to buy.

Some people who live nearby even brought out their enamel basins and asked for several large spoonfuls of braising liquid when buying the braised food.

This braising sauce is incredibly fragrant. Take it home and use it to mix with rice, or use it to braise meat and vegetables—it'll be delicious!

Seeing the customers' enthusiasm, Qin Fang quickly led her staff to start selling braised food.

"Master chef, it's all thanks to you and the other chefs for holding your ground just now, otherwise our Liang Hei Ya opening ceremony would have been ruined by our competitors."

At this moment, Liang Ming led Jiang Meizhuang to give the head chef of the Golden Lion Team a large red envelope as a token of their gratitude.

Seeing this, the head chef of the Golden Lion team quickly declined, saying, "Boss Liang, you're too kind. In that situation, even if you hadn't spoken, I couldn't have let that black lion take our green head."

“We’ve already taken the green-haired man as payment, so take this red envelope back.”

Seeing that the Golden Lion team's master was unwilling to accept the red envelope, Liang Ming hesitated for a moment and turned to look at Jiang Meizhuang.

Jiang Meizhuang understood and immediately said to the master chef, "Master chef, this red envelope is not a reward, but just a little tea money for the brothers."

"This..." The head chef hesitated upon hearing the proprietress's words.

"Master chef, you helped me get revenge today, so you must accept this red envelope. If you don't, I won't dare to call you again when I open other stores in the future."

Liang Ming quickly replied.

Hearing Liang Ming's words, the head chef of the Golden Lion team could no longer refuse, so he accepted the red envelope and said:

"Mr. Liang, then I'll gladly accept it."

At this point, he also made sure his apprentices expressed their gratitude to Liang Ming.

After the Golden Lions left the field, Jiang Meizhuang sat on the back of Liang Ming's tricycle, eating braised food as she asked:

"Brother Liang Ming, Sun Xiao wants to open a chain of Hong Kong-style roast meat restaurants, along with your Liang Hei Ya (Liang Black Duck) restaurant. Have you thought about how to deal with that?"

"Not yet," Liang Ming shook his head and said.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Meizhuang immediately became worried: "Brother Liang Ming, you must take this matter seriously."

“Sun Xiao’s background is somewhat mysterious. All I know is that he is a businessman from Hong Kong, but his economic strength is not weak. He has already invested in and built several factories in mainland China.”

"If he wants to challenge you now, he will definitely go all out."

Liang Ming could hear the worry in Jiang Meizhuang's tone, and said with a smile, "Sister Meizhuang, I understand your worries."

"Don't worry, no matter what tricks Sun Xiao uses, I'll deal with them as they come."

It is now the mid-80s, and the country has just begun to transition from a planned economy to a market economy.

In this era, the influence of capital is not that great.

Talent can even triumph over capital!

Hearing Liang Ming's confident words, Jiang Meizhuang pouted, but ultimately said nothing more.

"Let Liang Ming's younger brother fight the other side first."

"If all else fails, I'll ask my family for help..."

She thought secretly in her heart.

"Sister Meizhuang, it seems we've finished all the braised food. Would you like some more? I'll go get you some more."

Liang Ming noticed that all the braised food in the car had been eaten, and smiled lightly at Jiang Meizhuang.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Meizhuang realized that she had unknowingly eaten two braised pig's feet, a pair of braised chicken wings, two braised chicken legs, and half a pound of braised pig's ears.

"No, no need. I'm already full. I can't eat any more dinner tonight."

Jiang Meizhuang blushed and quickly waved her hand.

"Let's keep it and let Manager Qin Fang sell it."

Even if Liang Ming were willing to give her some, she wouldn't dare to eat any more.

What if she leaves Liang Ming with the impression that she eats a lot and he can't afford to feed her?

"Are you really not going to eat anymore?" Liang Ming asked doubtfully, seeing that Jiang Meizhuang still seemed to have had enough.

Noticing Liang Ming's gaze, Jiang Meizhuang became even more embarrassed and said:

"Brother Liang Ming, I'm going back to Xiangmanlou Restaurant now. There's still a lot of work that needs my attention."

"I'll take you," Liang Ming said quickly.

After dropping Jiang Meizhuang off at Xiangmanlou Restaurant, he went to Liangji Canned Food Factory in Taoyuan Township.

"Deputy Factory Director Wang, have the gift boxes for the canned lychees been produced yet?"

Liang Ming found Wang Ren and asked him.

"Boss Liang, these are all ready."

Upon hearing Liang Ming's words, Wang Ren quickly pointed to the tractor loaded with 500 cans of lychee gift boxes on the factory's open space and said:

"Take a look, are there any flaws in the design of this gift box?"

Upon hearing this, Liang Ming turned to look and, seeing that the gift box containing the lychee preserves was indeed as he had designed, nodded in satisfaction and said:

"Great, this is the effect I wanted."

After thinking for a moment, he said to Wang Ren, "Move all these lychee canned gift boxes to my car, and I will personally deliver them to the county state-run restaurant."

After all, this was the first time we were collaborating with the county's state-run restaurant on canned fruit, and having the owner personally deliver it made it seem more sincere.

Upon hearing this, Wang Ren didn't ask any further questions and immediately had his men load the lychee canned gift boxes onto Liang Ming's car.

……

In the county-run restaurant.

Since it was afternoon, there weren't many customers coming in for dinner, so Qian Jian specially gathered all the employees together for a short meeting.

"Comrades, I believe you all know that as the number of private restaurants increases, the wages of employees in these restaurants are also rising sharply."

"As workers in state-run restaurants, although your jobs are stable, your wages are almost catching up with those of restaurant workers outside."

Qian Jian's voice rang out from a private room in the restaurant.

The restaurant staff looked at each other, completely bewildered by Qian Jian's words.

Their wages are increased based on seniority; there are no other ways to raise wages except by accumulating seniority.

Could it be that Qian Jian has a way to get them to raise their wages?

Qian Jian saw through what the employees were thinking, and without wasting words, he got straight to the point:

"So, I recently found a way to increase everyone's income without violating the restaurant's rules."

Upon hearing this, the employees' faces immediately lit up with excitement.

"Director Qian, are you serious? Is there really a way for us to make more money without violating the hotel's regulations?"

A long-time employee was the first to ask.

As employees of state-run restaurants, the only way they could earn extra money besides their wages was to go to the countryside with the chefs during their holidays and prepare banquets for the villagers.

However, in these rural banquets, since the host family provides most of the ingredients, the hosts only earn a small labor fee, while the chefs in the kitchen take the lion's share.

Moreover, this violates the regulations for state-run restaurants, so they only dare to do it secretly in private.

"Of course, I have no reason to lie to you..."

Qian Jian smiled and recounted in detail how he and Liang Ming had reached a cooperation agreement to stock a batch of canned lychees on the shelves of the state-run restaurant.

When the restaurant staff heard that they would receive a 1-cent bonus for every can of lychee they sold, their eyes lit up.

"Each can costs 10 cents. If I sell 10 cans a day, that's 1 yuan. In a month, that's 30 yuan, which is almost my monthly salary!"

Some employees looked excited, as if they were already imagining their future of living a comfortable life.

Some employees asked Qian Jian with suspicion, "Director Qian, are you sure you're cooperating with Liang Ming, the owner of Xiangmanlou Restaurant?"

"When Director Bai was in charge, he had quite a few conflicts with Boss Liang Ming. Does he really want us to make this money?"