readsfreenovel Chapter 235 Testing the Waters
Chapter 235 Testing the Waters
For this reason, Sister Sweetie was prepared. She took a clean canvas eco-friendly bag from the back seat and handed it to the other person.
"Let's go in separately, not together."
"You go in with your bag and lead the way. Speak with a bit of your hometown accent, pretending to be a tourist who just got off the bullet train. Buy a few signature and cheap items. I'll go in after you come back, so we can avoid each other. Remember to buy different items and keep your payment receipts and slips of paper."
Lin Youzi nodded in agreement. She tidied her hair, picked up her canvas bag, got off the bus, and walked inside.
As soon as you step into the store, the aroma of a breakfast shop hits you right away.
She spoke in Mandarin with a slight southern accent: "Hello, I'm from out of town. I don't know what's good to eat here. Could you recommend some places?"
The staff member enthusiastically said, "Our signature dish is the Eight-Treasure Bun, which contains eight kinds of seafood. Our fried cakes are also freshly fried and delicious. Our braised eggs and tea eggs are also very good, as are our wontons and pork buns. These are all our signature dishes."
Lin Youzi thought for a moment and then said, "Then I'll have an eight-treasure bun, two fried cakes, a braised egg, and a tea egg."
The shop assistant smiled politely, quickly packed the item into a bag, scanned the barcode, and handed it back.
"Please take this carefully, it's hot."
Lin Youzi took the bag, but as soon as she secretly squeezed it, she felt something was wrong.
She didn't say much, just scanned the code to pay, and turned to leave.
A few minutes later, Sister Sweetie came in wearing a mask and carrying an inconspicuous commuter bag.
She walked straight to the order counter and quickly glanced at the kitchen.
"Hello, please give me a pork bun, a custard bun, and a cup of millet porridge."
Back in the car, the two found a parking space under a big tree, parked the car, and couldn't wait to lay out the things they had just bought.
Then, both of their phones simultaneously turned on the recording function.
"Alright, let's begin."
Sweetie pressed the record button, and the camera focused on the two of them.
After a brief opening, Sister Sweetie showed the receipt to the camera.
"Today we found a vegan breakfast shop on Zhongshan Road. It's noon now, and after we bought some, we immediately came here to do a review for everyone and see what's so great about this shop."
Lin Youzi had already put on disposable gloves and used the bamboo skewer provided to gently pry open the folds of the bun, showing the contents to the camera.
It was quite obvious that the buns didn't have the expected gushing soup inside; only a few drops of water seeped out.
Next, the dough is torn open, revealing a dark brown filling with a vague, grainy texture. It is vaguely recognizable as frozen seafood mixed with a large amount of diced fatty meat and starch.
After seeing it, Lin Youzi suddenly lost her appetite, but out of professional ethics, she still leaned closer to smell it.
"How should I put it? It has a very strange smell, quite fishy. And I'm not exaggerating, you can see that this seafood doesn't seem very fresh, it looks like it was frozen."
Sweetie tore the fried cake open and took a small bite.
"As you can see, this fried cake was just fried not long ago. The outer skin is no longer crispy, and it has a soft texture when you bite into it. Also, I feel that the red bean paste filling is a bit too sweet."
The two then conducted an evaluation of the remaining items one by one.
"The yolk of this braised egg has a slightly grayish edge, and this tea egg doesn't have much of a tea flavor."
"This millet porridge also has a spout. I feel like it's not because the millet is cooked thicker, but because starch water has been added. In short, it has a very strange, thick texture."
"Well, I won't comment on this custard bun. It doesn't feel like it's handmade; it looks like one of those frozen ones that you just heated up."
"This pork bun is also just average; you can't taste the natural sweetness of the pork."
After reviewing all the products, Sister Sweetie couldn't help but express her feelings at the end of the video.
"It really doesn't taste very good. If you don't believe me, you can give it a try. Of course, the above review only represents my personal opinion. If someone thinks it tastes good, it may be because we have different tastes."
The footage has been shot.
After turning off the phone's recording function, Sister Tiantian casually made a phone call to Chen Yuan.
As soon as the call connected, Sister Tiantian sounded quite anxious.
"Boss Chen, did you know that your store has a copycat branch? I just searched online and found that there's more than one. There's one on Zhongshan Road and another one in the south of the city."
"I just picked up a friend who works in social media, and we did a restaurant review in the car. It really wasn't very good. Your cooking skills are nowhere near as good."
"But the signboard and storefront are clearly copied, and the prices are quite low. It feels like they're specifically targeting out-of-towners. Are you aware of this?"
Chen Yuan's voice was steady: "I really don't know, but the opening time this person chose is quite interesting. My place just had a fire, and his shop opened right after. It must have been intentional."
Hearing his calm demeanor, Sister Tian laughed and said, "You know that? Then why aren't you in a hurry at all? These knock-off shops can easily ruin the reputation of the real ones. Besides, if you have any problems with the food, people will definitely come and scold you. I've already edited the video. Should I post it now or wait?"
"Send it. The sooner the better." Chen Yuan's tone was crisp: "No need to add any weird filters. And remember to show all the receipts and payment records so everyone can see for themselves. I'll get to the proper channels right away. When you send it, don't forget to tell me to make sure you buy from the real store and don't waste your money."
"Okay, I'll go back and check it again. I estimate it should be ready in about two hours."
After hanging up the phone, Sister Sweetie drove home.
Chen Yuan then dialed Li Ke's number.
"Li Ke, it's me. I wanted to ask if my trademark application is ready? Has the certificate been issued?"
"It's done, it was done yesterday, but the certificate won't be issued until next Monday."
"There's something I need to tell you," Chen Yuan said calmly. "Someone just called to say that someone has set up two knock-off stores of mine on Zhongshan Road and in the south of the city. They sell the same things as me, but at a few cents less."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.
Li Ke said, "It's not appropriate for us to get directly involved in this matter, but that's okay. I'll give you the phone number of a lawyer surnamed Zhao. He specializes in cases involving infringement of restaurant trademarks. The Mouth-Pin Law Firm is also very experienced. You can contact him directly and have him send a lawyer's letter."
"Most shops aren't that tough. As soon as you mention taking legal action, they'll definitely back down."