Chapter 237 Sorry, I'm Late

"Why are there so many people?"

Ji Seok-jin looked at the crowd that suddenly appeared and seemed very confused.

And not only him, but even Kim Jong Kook next to him was staring in amazement at the sudden influx of people.

You have to know that this is just a very ordinary, even somewhat remote street in the suburbs of Seoul, and the flow of people is not very large.

When they came here just now, they were still a little confused as to why Huang Xu put the address of the hotel here.

This place is so remote, how many people would come here to eat?

As a result, they saw that it was not even twelve o'clock yet, but suddenly so many people came towards the hotel, which made Ji Seok-jin and Kim Jong-kook feel curious.

"Xiao Xu, where did these people come from?"

"These are all office workers and students working nearby."

"Then your publicity is pretty good. So many people knew about it right from the start and came to show their support. That's amazing."

“There’s a reason for that.”

Seeing the two people giving him a thumbs up, Huang Xu did not act very proud this time. Instead, he took out a coupon and handed it to the two people.

"Look at this. It costs money to get them here."

"This is? Free food?"

Looking at the words on the coupon, both Kim Jong Kook and Ji Seok Jin were a little surprised. They obviously didn't expect that Huang Xu would give people free food for the sake of publicity.

At the same time, I also understood why so many people came here.

After all, it's free. Even if you have never eaten this thing, it's worth walking a few more steps.

How much would it cost just to do this?
Huang Xu saw the heartache in the two people's eyes, but he didn't feel strange.

This is a common problem among Koreans, or many people nowadays. When investing, they are reluctant to invest and only think about small investment and big output.

But for someone like Huang Xu, who has experienced the Internet era and understands the effects of popularity or traffic, he is very concerned about the early publicity and the popularity of the hotel.

For example, when he opened a spicy hot pot restaurant last time, he used the Internet and celebrity idols to check in, which was one of his promotional methods.

This was the first time that people today got to know internet celebrities and saw what effect fame can have.

And after that, many businesses began to learn Huang Xu's method and invited some celebrity idols to promote their products, but the results were not as good as Huang Xu's.

This time, Huang Xu is not going to use the same method as last time. After all, that method also requires a lot of money for online promotion.

Therefore, Huang Xu said to the two people who were still a little distressed:

"It's free only for the first three days, and it's gone after three days."

"That's a bit too expensive, right? How much would it cost to just let them eat for free?"

"Yeah, can't we just give them a little discount? Why?"

"Alas, there is nothing we can do about it."

Looking at the distressed expressions of Kim Jong Kook and Ji Seok Jin, Huang Xu explained helplessly.

"Sour fish is a strange delicacy for people here. If it's not free, how many people would come here to eat it?"

"But the good thing is that it only happens for the first three days and then it's gone."

"And this can also be considered advertising. When enough people know about this pickled fish, subsequent franchise stores will not need to use this gimmick of free food. They only need to promote the discount when they open the store."

"."

After listening to Huang Xu's explanation, Kim Jong Kook and Ji Seok Jin nodded in understanding.

"Indeed, it's reasonable to promote your product when it first comes in."

“But will these people still come here after the discount is over?”

"Don't worry about this."

Huang Xu pointed at the stream of people coming over and began to question the two people.

"Can you tell the identities of these people?"

"identity?"

When the two heard Huang Xu ask this, they also began to observe the clothes and appearance of these people carefully.

As veterans who have been in society and the entertainment industry for such a long time, they have long developed a pair of sharp eyes.

A person's identity can be seen from his clothes, speech and behavior.

After just a few minutes of observation, the two of them figured out the general composition of the people who came here to taste the pickled fish, so they said to Huang Xu affirmatively:

"Judging from their clothes, they should be white-collar workers working nearby, students doing odd jobs or going to school nearby, and a small number of them are residents nearby."

"Yes, you are right. Do you know what the common characteristics of these people are?"

"Common ground?"

Hearing this, the two of them started thinking quickly again, trying to figure out what these people had in common.

But after thinking for a long time, the two could not find any common points among these people.

After all, the identities of this group of people can be said to be very complex and diverse, with people of almost all ages and identities.

If they had to have anything in common, it was that they were all nearby.

Looking at the two people who had been thinking for a long time but still couldn't figure it out, Huang Xu finally explained.

"What these people have in common is that their lives are relatively tight."

"Strong?"

"Yes, you can see that most of the people who eat here have low incomes and are not that well off financially."

"Is it?"

After hearing Huang Xu's explanation, the two of them observed again, wanting to see whether what Huang Xu said was true or false.

As a result, when they looked at it this time, they did find some problems.

At first they look like glamorous white-collar elites, but in fact their clothes are not as good as they look.

As for the young people and students who do odd jobs nearby, they hardly wear any brand-name clothes.

As for the residents nearby, they don't look like rich people.

Therefore, after seeing this, they showed expressions of sudden enlightenment on their faces, and immediately remembered what Huang Xu had said before.

"Our restaurant's main selling point is cheapness and value for money."

"For only 6,000 won, you can enjoy a delicious fish dinner."

“Free rice and kimchi.”

"."

All of this is for these low-income people. You only need 6,000 won to enjoy a pickled fish set meal. I believe these people will not object to coming here occasionally to taste a meal and improve their lives.

According to the minimum hourly wage standard announced by the government last year, the hourly wage is no less than US$5.85, which is about won when converted into Korean won.

A sauerkraut fish set meal here at Huang Xu's restaurant only costs 6,000 won, which is not even as high as the lowest hourly wage in Seoul.

Although there are many foods out there that are cheaper than pickled fish and can also fill you up, the price is so low that you can still support your consumption here even if you are financially tight.

When the two looked at Huang Xu again, their faces were full of admiration.

First of all, he took the low-income groups into consideration and created a sauerkraut fish set meal that tastes so good and contains so much fish, so that these low-income groups can improve their meals.

Secondly, it’s because he came up with this business model.

Although it has just opened today, the two can already imagine that after its popularity increases, there will be many people who will choose this place as their first choice for improving their meals.

And they also understood why Huang Xu said that even with a lower gross profit margin, money can still be made.

The rent is low, the labor cost is low, and there is almost no waste, so even if the gross profit is only 50%, it can still make more money than many high-priced restaurants.

After thinking all this through, Ji Seok Jin looked at Huang Xu with fiery eyes.

"Xiao Xu, when will you open for franchise? I want to reserve a spot now."

"Don't be in a hurry, Brother Shizhen. This is only the first day of business. What if it doesn't work later?"

"No, your business model has a low chance of failure."

Ji Seok-jin almost instantly rejected Huang Xu's statement that the public would not accept this matter.

As a middle-aged man, and someone who has climbed up from the bottom of the society with scarce materials and extremely low income, he has a deep understanding of human nature.

Although he does not rule out the fact that in today's society, many young people have changed their consumption concepts and have begun to pursue various luxury goods and consume in advance.

But there are still many people who are frugal and thrifty in life.

And there is also a very realistic problem, that is, the income of most people in Seoul is not very high. Coupled with other living costs, there should be many people who regard this place as a place to eat and improve their meals.

So he looked at the crowd in front of him that was still coming in an endless stream and had even started queuing at the store entrance and said:

"Just look at the situation in front of you, how can you fail?"

"Then you don't have to be so anxious. Why don't you wait a few days and see what happens?"

Huang Xu didn't expect that Ji Seok-jin was so optimistic about his restaurant at this time, but he didn't agree immediately. Instead, he continued to persuade Ji Seok-jin to wait for a few days.

At this time, Ji Shizhen had already made up his mind and said to Huang Xu.

"No, I've already made my decision, and if I wait a few more days, I'm afraid I won't have a spot."

"Besides, whether there will be a suitable location for me to open a store by then is also a problem. It is better to decide now and start looking for a store."

"Indeed, let alone Brother Shizhen, I am a little moved now."

Looking at Ji Seok Jin's determined look, Kim Jong Kook seemed to be infected and began to persuade Huang Xu according to his words.

"Since Brother Shizhen has made up his mind, you can help him."

"This is not a big deal. I'm mainly worried that business will be bad in the future and Brother Shizhen will be screwed."

"It's okay. As I said before, the chances of your business failing are low."

At this time, Ji Seok-jin was very optimistic about Huang Xu and his franchise stores. After hearing Huang Xu's persuasion, he was not shaken at all.

Seeing this situation, Huang Xu could only say to him.

"Okay then. I will arrange for my staff to help Brother Shi Zhen to look at the shops and try to find a good location."

"Hehe, that's right."

Hearing that Huang Xu finally agreed, Ji Seok Jin immediately showed a happy expression on his face, and then he looked at Kim Jong Kook.

"Guo Zhong? This business is so good, don't you want to join in?"

"I"

When Kim Jong Kook heard what Ji Seok Jin said, he immediately hesitated.

It’s not because the investment requires a lot of money and he can’t afford it.

As a singer who has debuted for more than 20 years and is also a triple crown singer in South Korea and a well-known variety show host, his wealth can be said to be quite good.

Although his net worth has not yet reached 60 to 70 billion won in the future, it is still over 10 billion won now.

It can be said that the investment in this restaurant is just a drop in the bucket for him.

But he accumulated all this money bit by bit through his cautiousness and determination not to invest.

The last time he was able to agree to open a music restaurant bar with Huang Xu and Ha Dongxun, it was almost entirely due to Ha Dongxun's constant persuasion, and because he really wanted to help him, so he invested.

That's why he was so cautious about Ji Seok-jin's invitation.

And the most important thing is that he really has no time to manage the store.

Huang Xu also noticed Kim Jong Kook's hesitation at this time, so he said to Ji Seok Jin.

"Brother Zhong Guo, don't be in a hurry. If business is really good later, you can come in later."

"Let's go. If you have nothing to do, follow me back to the company. There is some preliminary survey data there. Let someone help Brother Shi Zhen find a store location or something."

"Okay, okay, this is more important. I must help you choose a good location."

"."

Huang Xu then brought Kim Jong Kook and Ji Seok Jin back to the company, and asked the employees to take out the information they had collected when selecting the store before, and began to help Ji Seok Jin choose a suitable location.

When Ji Shizhen looked at the map that Huang Xu and the others took out, and the data next to it, the smile on his face became even brighter.

Looking at the data marked above, Ji Seok-jin couldn't stop sighing.

"You have gone into such detail, how could you possibly fail!"

Then he selected two areas based on the recommendations of his employees and spoke to Huang Xu.

"Xiao Xu, I really want to thank you today. Come on, I'll treat you to dinner."

"No, no, no, Brother Shizhen, you are taking care of my business. I will treat you if you want."

Huang Xu looked at Ji Seok Jin who was pulling himself and Kim Jong Kook and insisting on treating them to a meal, and quickly waved his hand to refuse his invitation.

"The main reason is that I have something else to do today, so I really can't accompany you. Otherwise, I would definitely have to entertain the first customer of our new project."

"So, Brother Shizhen, I'm really sorry."

Seeing Huang Xu's firm attitude, Ji Seok Jin gave up. After making an appointment to meet again later, he left the company with Kim Jong Kook.

After Huang Xu saw the two off, he drove hurriedly towards the airport.

Huang Xu arrived at the airport at lightning speed and jogged towards a certain location in the airport until he saw a petite figure sitting quietly, then he stopped.

"Sorry, I'm late."

(End of this chapter)