Don't disturb me, I won't be a concubine

Dong Jialin has been busy renovating the restaurant recently and has not been to the bookstore and teahouse for several days.

He finished his work early that day and went to the teahouse.

When the shopkeeper saw him, he quickly put down what he was doing and came over, "Boss, something big has happened—"

"What's the big deal? Is it that a customer thinks our tea is not tasty?"

"That's not true."

"Since it's not a problem with the tea, what could be the big deal?" In Dong Jialin's view, as long as their stuff is fine, nothing will be a problem.

Seeing him so calm, the shopkeeper was anxious, "The boss has been busy these days, and I don't know yet. A new teahouse opened on Dongsi Street yesterday, and the layout is very similar to ours."

Dong Jialin didn't take it too seriously. "You're too worried. The capital is so big, we can't be the only one to open a teahouse. It's okay if the decorations are similar."

"Oh, not only that, they also followed our example and found a storyteller to tell stories."

Dong Jialin frowned, "The arrangement can be said to be a coincidence. If you add the storyteller, it is an imitation of us."

"Yes, our teahouse not only has the aroma of tea and a comfortable layout, but the most attractive thing is the stories told by the storyteller." The shopkeeper turned around and pointed, "Boss, look, since they opened yesterday, there have been fewer customers coming to our place."

Only then did Dong Jialin notice that there were fewer customers in the teahouse than usual at this time.

The teahouse business was booming, and some people were jealous. At the beginning, a few teahouses followed suit and hired storytellers, but they gave up after a while.

Because the stories told by the storytellers they invited were not as exciting as those here, the guests were tired of listening to them and did not buy into them. After the novelty wore off, they naturally returned here.

Dong Jialin thought for a moment and said, "Don't be hasty. We shouldn't panic. This situation has happened before. Let's wait and see. As long as we do our job well as always, the guests will see it."

"Boss, you are absolutely right. I was overly worried. Our teahouse is not afraid of comparison. Only with comparison can our customers know how good we are." The shopkeeper relaxed.

Dong Jialin nodded, "We'll do what we have to do."

After persuading the shopkeeper, Dong Jialin kept the matter in mind.

Two days later, he went to the teahouse in the afternoon and found that there were still not many customers.

The shopkeeper said, "Boss, I've asked around, and the prices at that newly opened teahouse are much cheaper than ours, and many of our old customers have gone there. Should we also lower the price of tea appropriately?"

"No," Dong Jialin refused without thinking, "We can't let others lead us by the nose."

"There's one more thing. I heard that on the day the teahouse opened, a bookstore also opened on that day. I don't know if I'm overthinking it, but I feel like the people behind this are targeting the owner."

Dong Jialin's expression became serious. "I understand. I will go to the teahouse in person tomorrow to take a look."

During dinner, Dong Jiafu found that Dong Jialin was a little absent-minded.

When the two of them came out of the main room, Dong Jiafu asked, "What's on your mind, second brother?"

"Business matters." Dong Jialin perked up when the cold night wind blew.

"Did the restaurant encounter any difficulties?"

"No, it was the teahouse and the bookstore." Dong Jialin told her what had happened in the past few days.

With so many things happening at the same time, it's no wonder that he has become less talkative. Dong Jiafu wants to help him share some of the burden.

"This guy is too lazy. He blatantly copied my second brother's business model. I will go with my second brother to take a look tomorrow."

Dong Jialin responded: "Okay, you can help me come up with some ideas."

The two made an appointment and went to the teahouse together the next day.

When they arrived at East Fourth Street, the teahouse was easy to find. As soon as they entered, a waiter came over immediately.

"Would you like to sit in the lobby or in a private room?"

Dong Jiafu suppressed her surprise and looked at him calmly.

"Give us a private room," said Dong Jialin.

"You two, please go upstairs."

The two followed the waiter to the private room and ordered two cups of tea.

Dong Jiafu looked at the people downstairs and said, "If the guys in the store weren't different, I would have thought I had entered our teahouse. The layout here is exactly the same."

"It seems that the owner behind this is going to compete with us head-on. He even has all our teas, and the price is cheaper than ours." Dong Jialin picked up the teacup and smelled it, then took a sip and said to Dong Jiafu, "Try it too."

Dong Jiafu took a sip and put it down. "It tastes a little worse than ours."

"Yes, but if you are not a tea lover, most people will not care about this difference. After all, it costs less money." Dong Jialin showed a confused expression, "If he does this, the teahouse will not make any money. What is he trying to achieve?"

"If it's not for making money, then it's to squeeze out our business. Did my second brother offend someone?"

Apart from this, Dong Jiafu couldn't think of any other reason that would make someone use such a tactic that would hurt the enemy by a thousand and hurt oneself by eight hundred.

Dong Jialin shook his head. "In business, everyone believes in making money through harmony, and they won't use such extreme methods. Besides, he wants to squeeze us out with what he learned from us, but it won't happen in a short time. After all, we opened it first, and we have some old customers, but we don't make as much money as before. If this continues, he may not be able to hold on until we go bankrupt."

"Then it depends on who has stronger determination and can make it to the end."

"I have confidence. After all, I still have you as my 'future visitor'. Many people come to our teahouse just to listen to the stories you write. He can learn other things, but even if he learns this, he can only learn the basics."

As they were talking, there was a cheer outside, and the two of them looked outside at the same time.

No wonder it was so lively. There was a storyteller in his forties standing on the stand downstairs. He started telling stories as soon as the wake-up stick was hit.

Hearing what the storyteller said, Dong Jialin was furious. "How despicable! I must meet the man behind this. He even imitated the script you wrote. How shameless!"

That’s right, the storyteller downstairs was also telling strange stories, which were very similar to the new “Sword Fairy” written by Dong Jiafu.

"There's no need to look at the bookstore. They must be selling the scripts of the stories told in the teahouse just like us." Dong Jiafu said coldly.

This person spared no effort to learn their business model inside and out.

Dong Jialin was so angry that he opened the door and shouted, "Someone come—"

A waiter came over quickly and asked, "What would you like to order, sir?"

"Call your boss. I want to see him."

"I'm so sorry, our boss is not here, it's the same if you tell me what you have to say."

"You can't make the decision, call your boss!"

"But……"

"What's wrong?" A man with a goatee came over when he heard the voice.

The waiter hurriedly said, "Boss, this distinguished guest insists on seeing our boss."

The man saw Dong Jialin, smiled and bowed, saying, "It turns out to be Boss Dong."