Chapter 107
When Shen Wei was talking to Qi Zhong, Su Jun suddenly rushed in and said that there was trouble.
Su Jun's face had turned pale, and then he took out his phone to show Shen Wei. Their pop-up store had been doing very well, with only four or five days left before it closed.
Many people had left comments below, hoping that it wouldn't end.
They said they hadn't had enough and many people hadn't managed to get tickets.
Some who had experienced it even wanted to revisit.
Just when the hype was at its peak, Shen Qingqing opened an amusement arcade.
It was clearly targeted at the pop-up store of Starry Sky Kindergarten.
Not only did it have large-scale immersive murder mystery games, but also dance classes, music classes, and a self-service restaurant. At a glance, it was imitating what they had been doing.
Crucially, their competitor's ticket price was 300 yuan per person, a full 100 yuan cheaper than their own.
And it was located diagonally across from them.
This infuriated Su Jun. It wasn't that they weren't allowed to do it, but their intentions were just too obvious.
Now their pop-up store was ending.
A large number of returning customers wanted to come back again.
With the high imitation amusement arcade opening, all their initial efforts had essentially brought customers to their competitor.
Everyone knew about the conflict between Shen Qingqing and Shen Wei.
There had been two incidents before, and no one had expected even a relative to be so mean. People generally disliked Shen Qingqing.
After Shen Qingqing partnered up with Lu Zheng, she came and issued threats.
Although they were heavily criticized online, it still ruined the reputation of the kindergarten.
And now she was pulling this stunt again. She was really pushing them to the limit!
Su Jun asked, "What should we do now?"
Qi Zhong had just come to chat, but he didn't expect to run into such a situation. "You two discuss it, I'll leave."
The two of them didn't think much of it, but then Qi Zhong went and told Liu Chef about the matter.
Liu Chef was furious when he heard about it.
He ranted about it in the group chat, and in an instant, everyone knew.
Shen Wei's parents had just returned from their vacation.
They were specifically in charge of the small vegetable garden. It was the lightest task, and they could also see the fruits and vegetables being harvested.
But when they saw this incident in the group chat, Shen's Father's smile immediately disappeared.
Since the last time Shen Qingqing had caused trouble online, the two families had been at odds.
This time, he immediately called Shen Qingqing's parents and angrily criticized Shen Qingqing's dishonorable actions.
He said that even in business, there were limits to how much one could exploit others.
Ever since Shen Qingqing had partnered with Lu Zheng, the Shen family had become arrogant.
Now, when Shen's Father called, they immediately said, "What, only you're allowed to make money, and others aren't?"
Shen's Father said, "Are we talking about the same thing?"
The other party snorted and said, "Just do it, and let's see who has the real ability!"
They even said a few harsh words, which made Shen's Father so angry that he hung up the phone.
When the people in the group learned about this incident, the employees were all very worried.
The news couldn't be hidden, so Shen Wei announced that a meeting would be held.
The meeting mainly covered two points.
First, the pop-up store would be closed for five days.
After 5 days, the pop-up store would start selling tickets again.
During this time, everyone had been busy without rest. They had indeed reached their limit.
The employees also needed to rest properly.
Second, the pop-up store would remain open.
From then on, it would operate four days a week, with tickets for each week going on sale every Monday.
Originally, the pop-up store was meant to be a temporary amusement, and later it would become the second branch of Starry Sky Kindergarten.
But they hadn't expected the pop-up store to become so popular right from the start.
The craze kept growing fiercer, and even she couldn't easily say it would close.
Fortunately, she had enough money during this period. She could open a second branch anytime.
This news lifted the spirits of all the employees.
The success of the pop-up store wasn't just due to the amusement projects. It was because everyone's love for Starry Sky Kindergarten had been extended to these games.
After the meeting, no one paid any attention to Shen Qingqing.
As long as Shen Wei didn't mess things up, no one cared about Shen Qingqing.
...
Shen Wei was somewhat speechless. It seemed that Shen Qingqing, her sister, had taken on the role of an overbearing female lead, obsessed with whatever Lu Zheng loved.
Why was she always fixated on her?
If the kindergarten was popular, she had to do a kindergarten.
If the pop-up store was popular, she had to open an amusement arcade.
Shen Wei was puzzled. Did these two even have time for a romance, with how closely Shen Qingqing was watching her every move?
Shen Wei had previously thought that they might be imitated, because the market was huge and there was an undersupply.
Everyone could see it.
An entertainment experience costing 400 yuan per person was not a small amount.
There were bound to be many people wanting to enter the industry. But she didn't expect it to happen so quickly.
This pop-up store had become extremely popular.
Even the cultural and tourism authorities had taken notice. Apparently, people from other cities wanted to experience it.
Because of this, they had even called Shen Wei, hoping she wouldn't close the pop-up store.
After the meeting, the employees' hearts were settled.
When they first heard about it, they were furious.
Now, everyone felt much more relaxed.
They marveled at how composed Shen Wei was.
Liu Chef had initially breathed a sigh of relief, but he quickly became enraged over another matter.
His former disciple Liu Ming, who had been expelled from the sect, was now working as the head chef of the self-service restaurant at Shen Qingqing's amusement arcade.
Shen Qingqing's relationship with Shen Wei was complicated.
And the disciple clearly knew that he was at Starry Sky, yet he had provided a gimmick for someone else.
Liu Chef was furious.
He wasn't even this angry when his disciple had betrayed him before.
Shen Wei had been generous to Liu Chef, making him the deputy principal in charge of everything.
And previously, just because of something he said, 2 million yuan had been invested in the small vegetable garden.
He didn't want Shen Wei to face backlash again because of him.
So he took the disciple's number out of his blacklist and purposely called him. The other person answered quickly.
"Liu Ming, what are you thinking, trying to go against me?" Liu Chef was truly heartbroken.
He had raised this disciple like a son before.
After this incident, he had been criticized by many peers in the culinary world for lack of discipline.
And now the disciple was stabbing him in the back again and again. Was he just a pincushion that could be stabbed freely?
As expected, Liu Ming said, "I have no choice, I need to make a living too."
In the end, he said meaningfully, "When I wanted to go to Starry Sky Kindergarten before, you didn't agree. Just give your disciple a way to survive."
Liu Chef said, "Although our master-disciple relationship has ended, if you still remember that I was once your teacher, then you should resign from there, and I'll let bygones be bygones."
Liu Ming laughed, "You sound so magnanimous."
Liu Chef said, "Don't you understand what they mean by using you? They want to challenge me to a cook-off."
His apprentice, Liu Ming, replied, "I know."
Liu Chef was left speechless.
Liu Ming continued, "I used to truly respect you as my master, but no matter how I cook, my dishes never taste as good as yours. Are you secretly holding back techniques? How could you be so malicious, Master?"
Liu Chef, being a kind-hearted soul, was taken aback. This was the first time anyone had called him malicious.
He chuckled in disbelief, "Your talent is limited. How dare you blame me for that?"
Seeing that his words weren't getting through, Liu Chef said, "Since you insist on a cook-off, I won't hold back!"
The idea of Liu Ming challenging him to a cook-off was laughable. Did he even realize his own capabilities?
As for Liu Ming's accusations, they were utterly baseless.
In the culinary world, natural talent is also crucial.
Some aspects, like heat control, temperature, and timing, are quite mystical. Even with the same dish and identical steps, some people's cooking tastes better than others.
It's absurd to blame the teacher when one lacks talent.
He didn't want this cook-off, but he certainly didn't want to lose.
Over the years, he hadn't been idling in the culinary world. He had catered for many distinguished guests.
Through this time, he had amassed quite a few favors.
Now that his apprentice and Shen Qingqing had pushed him this far...
Even a cornered rabbit will bite.
How much more so a human?
So, he decided to directly reveal the list of master chefs he had been working with recently.
At Starry Sky Kindergarten, where people had spent a few hundred yuan, they had been enjoying meals prepared by state banquet chefs.
In the past, everyone praised the food as delicious, unaware of the caliber of chefs behind the scenes.
This time, with Liu Chef's public revelation, those dazzling reputations would instantly blind many with their brilliance.