Chapter 138 What’s wrong, Ernie
Six o'clock in the evening.
“It tastes good!”
Zhang Rui tasted the delicacies prepared by Huang Xu and showed an expression of surprise.
He didn't expect that Huang Xu had this ability.
When he and Huang Xu were collecting information earlier, they saw that Huang Xu only wanted to reproduce these delicacies based on recipes, and he was still a little skeptical.
After all, each family's secret recipe is a secret that is not passed down, and it is also the magic weapon they rely on for survival.
How could it be possible to reproduce it just by relying on the recipe?
However, looking at the food in front of him, he had to say that although these were not as tasty as the ones they ate locally, they were basically 70% to 80% as good as the original ones.
At the same time, he also sighed in his heart. Huang Xu's success was not his fault, it was just good luck.
However, in response to Zhang Rui's compliment, Huang Xu shook his head, put down the bowl and chopsticks and said:
"If you just open a small store in China, it's okay if the price is cheaper. But now we want to open a franchise chain in South Korea, which is not enough."
"How should I put it, I think the taste is okay."
Zhang Rui is a little confused now. Although the taste is not as delicious as what they had when they inspected it a few days ago, the taste is not bad.
He even felt that these things tasted better than the restaurants he had eaten in before in Henan Province. Why did he say that?
Even though the taste is not as good as the ones over there, isn't this the first time I've made it?
If you adjust it later, the taste should improve a lot.
Huang Xu saw Zhang Rui's doubts and knew that his way of thinking had not changed yet. He was still thinking about opening a store, so he pointed at the food in front of him and explained:
"Brother Rui, what do you need for a successful franchise chain brand?"
“As long as the taste is unique and the market audience is relatively broad, that’s enough, right?”
"That's what I say, but things are really not that simple."
Then Huang Xu began to explain what is needed to successfully create a franchise restaurant chain.
Apart from the commercial publicity activities, he gave Zhang Rui some necessary basic conditions.
The first is that the taste should be better, and many people can accept it.
The second thing is to be novel, have certain innovative points, and be able to attract people.
Finally, there is the issue of cost and ease of replication.
As for the delicacies that have just been made in front of them, whether it is staple food such as Dandan noodles or spicy noodles, or dishes such as pickled fish, Bobo chicken and couple's lung slices, although the taste cannot be said to be bad, they did not have the time to inspect it. The food was so delicious.
After all, he just copied these things according to very popular recipes.
Being able to be 70 to 80% similar is already the result of Huang Xu's previous life.
If he had not opened a restaurant in his previous life and often watched short video tutorials in his spare time, then what he does today might not even be 70% or 80% similar.
After all, although these things have recipes, the recipes inside were basically collected and compiled in the 1980s and 1990s.
There are even original recipes from the sixties and seventies.
And now it is already 2013. Let’s not talk about the differences in tastes of people in different countries. Let’s talk about the new condiments on the market now. Many of them were not available before.
The emergence of these condiments has made the taste of current dishes very different from before.
In particular, the emergence of various flavor-enhancing additives has improved the taste of the dishes on the market by more than one level.
This is also the reason why many traditional old restaurants don’t taste as good as those in franchise chains.
Huang Xu's Malatang franchise store uses a lot of technological means, which is why it has become so popular in a short period of time.
The second reason is because of his marketing methods.
If viewed from the perspective of future generations, Huang Xu's marketing methods are extremely low and common.
To put it bluntly, it is the internet celebrity effect, just taking photos and checking in.
But at this time, this is already an extremely advanced method.
But this is also a digression. The main thing is Malatang. This is the first time it appeared in Seoul and I have basically never seen it.
Coupled with the popularity on the Internet, it has created the current hot situation.
But there are more than just these things. These things can only guarantee his popularity, but they cannot guarantee that his store will attract so many people to join.
The most important thing is actually because his Malatang has a lot of black technology added to it. It seems very simple and can be made by many people.
But after actually making it, the taste is not that instant.
This is why there are still so many franchisees in their second round.
After listening to Huang Xu's explanation, Zhang Rui now understood. What he thought before was a bit simple.
So he asked Huang Xu:
"Then what should we do next? Let's go to China and invite a chef to help adjust the taste?"
"No, no, no, this is not important."
"Why?"
Huang Xu's words made Zhang Rui even more confused at this time. What was the reason?
Looking at Zhang Rui's confused look, Huang Xu showed a meaningful smile at this time.
“Brother Rui, do you think it’s enough as long as you can recreate the original taste?”
"Isn't it?"
"Brother Rui, don't forget, this is South Korea, not the country."
Huang Xu then began to explain the reason.
In China, there are also regional differences, but they are not as obvious as those abroad.
Especially today's young people, in fact, the acceptance of taste is already very high.
But it's different here in Korea. The young people here are fine, but the middle-aged and elderly people are very repulsive to new things.
If it comes to food, if these delicacies do not undergo certain localization transformation, then they will become just an Internet celebrity store at most.
There is still a big gap between Huang Xu's goal of locking the alliance company.
After listening to Huang Xu's explanation, Zhang Rui still didn't understand. After all, in his opinion, as long as it tastes delicious, someone will buy it.
If you haven’t looked at the foreign restaurants that are now coming into the country, isn’t the business pretty good?
Why did Huang Xu say this couldn't be done?
Huang Xu also saw what he was thinking, but he did not continue to persuade. Instead, he turned back to the kitchen and tidied up the mess that the two of them had just made. At the same time, he also put away the ingredients and prepared to make the dishes again.
As for how to persuade Zhang Rui, Huang Xu didn't need to worry, because he had already called for foreign aid. When these foreign aid arrived, I believe Zhang Rui would know the specific reason soon.
Fortunately, the two people in front have already made the seasoning, and now we only need to prepare some main ingredients.
It only took them more than twenty minutes to prepare their things, and then sat in the hall waiting for people to come.
However, compared to Huang Xu's calmness, Zhang Rui was a little curious at this time.
After all, Huang Xu just said that someone coming soon could give him a surprise.
"Xiao Xu, who's coming soon?"
"Don't worry, you'll know when they arrive soon." Huang Xu looked at Zhang Rui's expectant look. He didn't plan to reveal the secret now. After all, he himself didn't know who was coming today.
And if the secret is revealed now, there will be no surprises soon.
However, the two of them didn't wait long before they saw several beautiful figures appear at the gate, and Huang Xu's phone rang at this time.
When Huang Xu saw this situation, he hurried to the door, opened the store door, and welcomed the few people at the door in.
After a few people came in, Zhang Rui fell into ecstasy. Although he had met many Korean celebrities yesterday, he was mentally prepared.
But after seeing the person coming, he was still very surprised.
Therefore, in addition to Sunny and Goo Hara, there were also Seohyun and Jung Soo-yeon from SNSD, and Jung Soo-jung from Function Group.
After a few people came in, Huang Xu greeted a few people and then went to the door and closed the store door.
But when he turned around, he saw sisters Xu Xian and Jessica Jung, staring at Huang Xu with curious eyes.
"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with me?"
Huang Xu looked at the three people staring at him, and he felt a little uncomfortable.
And he was also curious. Except for Zheng Xiujing, whom he had never met before, it was not the first time for the other two to meet.
Especially Jessica. Counting the last time he sent Sunny as a gift, this was already the third time they met. How could she still stare at her like this?
"No, I'm just curious about what kind of person can take down Sunny."
After Jessica heard Huang Xu's question, she looked at Huang Xu with more unscrupulous eyes, as if she was seeing Huang Xu for the first time.
Xu Xian and Zheng Xiujing, who were standing next to her at the same time, were observing Huang Xu with the same curious eyes.
But the points that a few people are curious about are a little different.
Jessica and Seohyun were very surprised in the afternoon when they suddenly saw Sunny saying in the group that if anyone was okay tonight, she would treat them to a big dinner.
As teammates who have been together for several years, they know Sunny's personality very well and know that she is a homebody when she is not active.
But this time, she was the first to run during the break, which already made them very curious.
As a result, they suddenly said today that they wanted to treat guests to a big dinner, which made them feel even more strange.
However, because the break this time was relatively long, except for Xu Xian who was fine in the dormitory, everyone else was busy.
Therefore, she was the only one who responded to Sunny's call.
And when Sunny said that Huang Xu was going to invite them to try new dishes for today's big dinner, several people in the group started to get excited and wanted to come over to meet Huang Xu and see what happened during their last meal. The little restaurant owner who didn't pay much attention.
It's a pity that Sunny said it too late. The others were either not in Seoul or had appointments in the evening.
Only Jessica was moved when she saw the news. She gave up the evening activities and came here with Jessica.
Compared with other teammates who wanted to taste delicious food or meet Sunny's boyfriend, her thoughts were a little different.
She was really curious about Huang Xu, and even gave up on the vacation she had finally spent with her sister today.
He brought her here directly, and looked at Huang Xu so unscrupulously, wanting to see what was so special about him.
However, after observing for a long time, she found that Huang Xu didn't seem to have any other characteristics except that he was taller and had a better figure.
He looks no different from a recent graduate.
This made him even more curious.
Because other teammates, they just want to eat, but she is a little different.
She had great "ambition" very early on. She was not willing to just be an idol of a girl group and wanted to start a career of her own.
Therefore, after SNSD became successful, she has been paying attention to making more connections.
When she first met Huang Xu, she didn't pay much attention. After all, in her opinion, Huang Xu was just a restaurant owner.
When they met for the second time, he was already Sunny's boyfriend.
But this was nothing. Although she didn't understand why Sunny found such a boyfriend who owned a restaurant, she didn't say anything.
After all, everyone has their own ambitions, and she is not very optimistic about the future of the two of them.
After all, there is such a gap in status between the two people, and their worldview and consumption outlook are different, so it is unlikely that they will be together for a long time.
But what she didn't expect was that a few months later, when she was shopping, she saw many Malatang shops.
It was by chance that I heard about the Malatang franchise store at a cocktail party.
It was also at this time that she realized that the little boss she looked down upon before seemed to have become very successful now.
Especially a few days ago, when she learned from some channels that the number of Huang Xu's second batch of franchisees had reached hundreds, her curiosity was completely aroused at this moment.
It is precisely because of this that she brought her sister here today.
But now was not the place to talk. Afterwards, a few people chatted for a while, introduced Zhang Rui to a few people, and after taking a photo, they turned around and went to the kitchen to start preparing for today's dinner.
Only a few girls stayed in the lobby, looking at the empty lobby, and started chatting.
Waiting until Huang Xu brought the food to the table and invited a few people to start tasting, her eyes wandered back and forth between the food and Huang Xu.
"Is this the latest franchise product he is preparing to launch?"
She began to guess in her heart that the things she ate today were the new products prepared by Huang Xu.
And to what extent can these things reach such a level that they will become popular all over Korea like Malatang last time?
Just when she started to guess, she suddenly noticed something else out of the corner of her eye.
That is, after Huang Xu put the food on the table, he actually sat between Sunny and Goo Hara,
There's nothing wrong with this. After all, the table is so big, so there's nothing strange about Huang Xu sitting next to Sunny.
But what she felt was strange was that even though Sunny was by her side, there was something obviously wrong with the interaction between Huang Xu and Goo Hara, and it seemed a little too close.
Intimate as if they were a couple.
Sunny is Huang Xu's girlfriend, and some of their intimate actions are as they should be, but what's going on with Goo Hara.
How could he become so close to Huang Xu?
And didn’t Sunny find anything wrong?
This sudden discovery made her straighten her face, revealing her iconic iceberg face, and frowning at the same time.
Her sudden change was noticed by Xu Xian beside her, so she looked at Jessica with concern:
"What's wrong, Unnie? Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?"
Xu Xian's words were also heard by several other people, so they all looked at the frowning Jessica with concerned eyes.
Huang Xu, in particular, hurriedly asked.
“Is there something wrong with the taste of the food?”
His purpose today is to ask a few people to help him try the food to see how it tastes and whether there is anything inappropriate.
That's why he was so concerned when he saw Jessica's frown.
But what Huang Xu didn't expect was that his concern made Zheng Xiuyan's expression become even more ugly.
It's even like seeing something disgusting.
But fortunately, her expression management skills in the past few years were not in vain, and she immediately controlled her expression.
"It's okay, I just feel a little uncomfortable. The food tastes okay, it's delicious."
(End of chapter)