408: Widely acclaimed

Once they were certain that Ye Su hadn't been poisoning them after tinkering all afternoon, the two of them finally put down the shacha sauce and went to wash their hands.

Taking advantage of this time, Ye Su went ahead and added some items that needed to cook for a while.

By the time the two returned from washing their hands, Ye Su had just finished poaching the shrimp.

"Let's eat!"

After a long day at work, being able to eat a hot meal as soon as she got home made Chen Xinyi happy; she picked up her bowl and chopsticks, fished out some shrimp and beef balls, and started eating.

"Mmm!"

Trying a dip of the shacha sauce Ye Su had made, Chen Xinyi's eyes instantly lit up: "This sauce is so delicious!"

"Let me try some too."

Seeing Chen Xinyi's reaction, Yan Ran peeled a shrimp, dipped it in the shacha sauce, and put it into her mouth, chewing slowly.

"It's certainly good."

After tasting it, Yan Ran also gave Ye Su's secret shacha sauce a high rating.

Although she hadn't eaten shacha sauce much before, compared to other sauces she had eaten in the past, Yan Ran preferred this secret shacha sauce.

"How is it? I didn't steer you wrong, did I?" Ye Su poached another ladle of beef and divided it into their bowls: "Try it again and see how this shacha sauce pairs with the beef."

To test the flavor of the shacha sauce, the beef Ye Su bought this time was the same kind used in Hot Pot Restaurants, only he had bought a variety of cuts.

"It smells so good!" After finishing a bite of beef, Chen Xinyi couldn't stop praising it: "This shacha sauce of yours is a perfect match for beef hot pot; it's much better than the ones at those Hot Pot Restaurants outside!"

"Sister Ran, what do you think?"

"It's very delicious." After saying this, Yan Ran tried another bite of beef without the shacha sauce: "This shacha sauce has at least elevated the flavor of the beef by a level."

"Since you both think it's good, I'll start planning to bring this shacha sauce to market."

"Given the taste of this shacha sauce, it definitely has great commercial value. It would be a waste if you didn't bring it to market and only ate it yourself."

Yan Ran asked curiously: "Then how do you plan to promote this shacha sauce?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xinyi didn't stop moving her hands or mouth; while stuffing meat into her mouth, she peeked out from behind her bowl with wide eyes, looking curiously at Ye Su.

"My plan is to use this shacha sauce as our signature feature, create flavor differentiation, establish a beef hot pot brand, and then expand it into a nationwide restaurant chain."

Ye Su briefly explained his plan, letting Yan Ran, this formidable businesswoman, give him some advice.

Chen Xinyi didn't like using her brain; she just focused on eating, treating their conversation as a side dish for her meal.

"Your plan is indeed good." After listening, Yan Ran expressed her approval of Ye Su's plan:

"In terms of daily condiments, many people have already formed fixed perceptions about certain brands and rarely choose a new brand they have never heard of.

Although your shacha sauce tastes very good, breaking consumers' fixed perceptions would require a massive investment. One wrong move, and consumers might perceive it as over-marketing, which would be counterproductive.

On the other hand, creating a restaurant brand with it as a signature feature to differentiate from other competitors would be a better strategy than just selling the condiment alone."

Ye Su gave a thumbs up: "Since CEO Yan thinks this plan is viable, I'll go ahead and do it."

"Smooth talker." Yan Ran shook her head with a laugh before continuing:

"As it happens, there is a Shancheng Hot Pot on the seventh floor of Joyful Gathering that isn't renewing its lease after this month. If you want to open a beef Hot Pot Restaurant, you can use that space."

"Oh my, how could I accept that?"

Looking at the affected Ye Su, Yan Ran didn't believe for a second that he was actually embarrassed: "Since you feel embarrassed, then just pay me the rent on a monthly basis."

Ye Su changed his expression faster than turning a page, immediately putting on a serious look: "We're all family, why talk about money? If my main wife says she'll give me the shop, I'll definitely accept it obediently."

"Pah, who is your main wife!"

Yan Ran spat out the words, but her eyes were filled with sweet smiles.

Chen Xinyi, who had been burying her head in her food, joined in on the fun: "If Sister Ran doesn't want to be the main wife, I can do it, and Yan Ran can be the second wife."

Ye Su chimed in: "That works too."

Yan Ran couldn't bring herself to hit Chen Xinyi, so she grabbed a vegetable leaf and threw it at Ye Su: "Are you two trying to rebel?"

"Hehe." Ye Su offered a conciliatory smile and placed the vegetable leaf back on the table: "Just kidding. Anyone with eyes can tell that you are the [main] wife."

As he spoke, Ye Su stretched his neck and took an unscrupulous look at a certain part of Yan Ran.

Chen Xinyi followed suit, holding her chopsticks in her mouth while her eyes wandered over from the side: Truly, a ridge when viewed horizontally, a peak when viewed from the side; it looks different from near and far, from high and low.

Yan Ran couldn't do anything about the two of them, so she could only continue talking about business:

"I remember the total area of that storefront is about 240 square meters. After deducting the cashier counter, kitchen, and other areas, if you calculate based on 6 to 8-person tables, it should fit about 20 tables. If you mix in small 2 to 4-person tables with 6 to 8-person large tables, you could fit over 20 tables. That should be enough for you, right?"

Ye Su thought for a moment before nodding: "That should be enough. Once this shop is up and running, I'll see where else is suitable to open a second branch. This one at Joyful Gathering will serve as the flagship store."

"Alright." Yan Ran encouraged Ye Su: "I'll be waiting for you to make the brand a success and help bring more foot traffic to Joyful Gathering."

"Since the main wife has spoken, I will definitely complete the mission."

Ye Su looked at Chen Xinyi again: "By the way, aren't you about to resign? I'm planning to start a self-media company. I just hired an employee this afternoon who is temporarily in charge of directing and operations. Are you interested in signing with me? You can set your own terms and benefits; you can even have the boss sleep with you every night."

Chen Xinyi automatically filtered out the last sentence and pushed all the decision-making onto Ye Su: "Just make the decisions yourself. As for the benefits, room and board should be included, right?"

"That's a must." Ye Su persisted: "And the boss sleeping with you."

Chen Xinyi couldn't be bothered to respond, but Yan Ran unexpectedly stabbed him: "So there's the boss sleeping with you, huh? I was wondering why you suddenly wanted to open a self-media company. You wouldn't happen to be planning to provide this service to all the beauties you sign to the company, would you?"

"Nonsense, I am a gentleman; how could I have such thoughts?"

"Oh, a gentleman, are you?" Yan Ran asked with great interest: "Then tell me, is this employee you suddenly hired male or female?"

"Uh... female..."

"Oh—" Yan Ran drew out the sound meaningfully: "Female, huh? Is she pretty? How's her figure?"

"She's pretty, her legs are quite long..." After blurting it out, Ye Su realized something was wrong and hurriedly corrected himself: "What are you talking about? We just met for the first time, how could there be anything else between us?"

As for Ye Su's explanation, the two of them turned a deaf ear. In their hearts, they had long since equated Ye Su with a lecher.