"You little bastard, you're burning bridges after crossing the river!" Liu Heng immediately jumped up. To him, the restaurant was an ATM that sustained his extravagant spending.
Without the restaurant, what did he have left?
But, wasn't this little beast a fool? How did he find out about the cooked books?
Chu Hao just smiled and said, "You've skimmed off quite enough over these years. For the sake of our mother, let bygones be bygones; I won't pursue it further. But the Chu Family cannot fall under my watch, and definitely not under yours."
"You fool, do you even know how to manage a restaurant?" Liu Heng arrogantly stated, as everyone knew this nephew to be an idiot.
"Uncle doesn't have to worry about that," Chu Hao said indifferently. He had indeed never managed a hotel before, but although Earth's martial strength was low, its business competition was even fiercer, and he could replicate some management strategies here.
"No, I can't just watch idly as the Chu family's property falls apart in your hands," Liu Heng whined argumentatively.
Chu Hao didn't waste his breath on him, but instead said to Uncle Yu, "Uncle Yu, call up all the guys from downstairs."
"Yes, Young Master." Although Uncle Yu didn't know what Chu Hao was planning to do, as a loyal old servant, he simply carried out Chu Hao's orders without question.
Before long, all the servers from downstairs had come up.
"Listen up, everyone, from today onwards, my uncle is no longer in charge of the Fortune Full Building. If he comes to eat here, he will be treated no differently from other customers—umm, he can have a 20% discount. If he tries to dine and dash, don't let him in next time," Chu Hao declared.
"Yes." After a moment's hesitation, the servers all nodded. After all, Chu Hao was their employer.
"Are you trying to revolt?" Liu Heng roared. He had been in charge of the restaurant for a full ten years, establishing a deep-seated authority. His outburst made all the servers lower their heads.
Chu Hao simply waved his hand, saying, "The restaurant is not open for business yet; outsiders are not allowed to enter. Please escort my uncle out."
"You wouldn't dare," Liu Heng said, angered and humiliated. If he really was thrown out, what would happen to his face?
Chu Hao just swept his gaze over the servers' faces, his expression calm and composed.
After a while, two servers stepped forward, ready to pull Liu Heng away.
"Scoundrels, I can walk by myself," Liu Heng said angrily, knowing the outcome could not be changed. Pointing at Chu Hao, he said, "Fool, within ten days, you'll be crawling back to me on your knees, begging me to return."
How could an idiot manage a restaurant? Did he think just sitting there would bring in business? With such fierce competition and having lost the nobility branding, what else did the Fortune Full Building have to offer?
Although he had embezzled a substantial amount of the restaurant's profits, there had to be profits for him to embezzle, inadvertently proving his ability to make money.
Just you wait, he'd return in glory.
"You will definitely beg me to come back, you ungrateful little beast!" Liu Heng stressed.
"Then you wait," Chu Hao said. He felt no affection for an uncle who only knew how to scam his own family—according to his own conscience, he was indeed a complete stranger to Liu Heng.
After Liu Heng had left, Chu Hao smiled and said, "Starting this month, everyone's salary will be doubled."
At these words, all the servers revealed their surprise, and their fondness for Chu Hao instantly soared. The young master was so generous.
However, after the servers left the room in high spirits, Uncle Yu was left with a bitter smile on his face. Everyone knew how to win people over, but such a large increase as Chu Hao had proposed meant a loss to the Chu family's interests.
Could this young master really do business?
Chu Hao saw Uncle Yu's concern and said, "Uncle Yu, I want to renovate the restaurant. Take a pen and jot this down, and then have someone go do it." His main focus was on martial arts, not on spending too much effort on management.
"Ah," Uncle Yu could only agree, ready to listen if nothing else. If the young master was indeed careless, he'd stake his old reputation to invite Liu Heng back, if only to keep the Chu family's operations normal.
Chu Hao just smiled and instructed, "Name each floor of the three-story restaurant: the first floor will be called Sliver Full, the second floor Gold Full, and the third floor Guest Full. Starting today, the restaurant will close for a month for renovation, but booking is open."
"In the future, there won't be a menu. It will be ten taels of silver per table at Sliver Full, one hundred taels of silver per table at Gold Full, and one thousand taels of silver per table at Guest Full."
Uncle Yu was about to jump up. Starting at ten taels of silver just for a meal? That's enough to sustain an ordinary family of four for a month. Who would come here to eat? Fools, possibly.
"Young Master, if the prices are set this high, no one will come to dine," Uncle Yu reminded him.
"They will," Chu Hao assured with a smile, knowing that there were always fools with more money than sense in the world. How many fine dining establishments on Earth served food that wasn't even as tasty as street food, yet charged the equivalent of what an ordinary family might earn in a month, or even a year?
Of course, the precondition was to establish the brand. Otherwise, they'd indeed be taking people for fools.
This world was full of wealthy individuals; what was lacking was a sense of recognition. With only nine nobility positions in a city, no matter how rich, everyone else was just a commoner. What these wealthy people craved was recognition of their status. To elevate their "standing," they wouldn't mind spending a bit more money.
"Also, arrange to make some cards, forged from silver, gold, and purple gold. We'll engrave 'Fortune Full Building' on both sides. They don't need to be big, in fact, the thinner the better, so they can be worn on clothing as pendants, easily recognizable at a glance."
"Anyone who dines at Sliver Full once will get a Silver Card, at Gold Full will receive a Gold Card, and at Guest Full, a Purple Gold Card."
"Hire some people to advertise for Fortune Full Building around the city. It doesn't matter how exaggerated the claims are."
"Additionally, Sliver Full will only take fifty table reservations per day, Gold Full only ten, and Guest Full only three."
"I'll also provide some recipes. They might not be the tastiest, but they will definitely be dishes others haven't seen before."
Chu Hao shared his ideas one by one, he wanted to turn the Fortune Full Building into a symbol of status.
To increase business, one measure was to improve the taste of the dishes; the other was through marketing. He couldn't cook, and even if he could, he couldn't afford to spend his time on the restaurant, so marketing was the only option.
Promotion and momentum creation—turning Fortune Full Building into a symbol of status.
Uncle Yu went from complete disbelief to gradual acceptance. Although he still had his doubts, if they really started to implement Chu Hao's ideas, then the Fortune Full Building would become a chicken that laid golden eggs.
The young master has finally come around. Even if it fails, what of it? As long as Chu Hao can cure his foolishness, everything else is trivial. That is the only hope of the old master.
Uncle Yu couldn't help but shed tears of joy; Heaven had finally opened its eyes.
As for what followed, Chu Hao didn't need to worry about it anymore. He was merely the designer, and once he proposed his ideas and concepts, naturally, others would realize them.
On the way back, he bought ten doses of Strong Muscle Powder and ten Strong Body Pills, which cost him 1500 taels of silver. Adding to this the renovations and refurbishing of the restaurant meant a significant amount of money was needed, and his family's savings were almost depleted.
If a month later the restaurant reopened and there was no business, then the Chu Family would be on the verge of bankruptcy.
Humans plan, but Heaven decrees; we shall wait and see.
He placed a bath barrel in his room, filled it with half a barrel of warm water, then sprinkled a dose of Strong Muscle Powder into it before stripping down to just his underwear and stepping into the barrel.
So hot!
The water was merely warm, so why did it feel as hot as fire?
This indicated the Strong Muscle Powder was authentic.
Once the Strong Muscle Powder was in the water, its efficacy could only last for half an hour. After this period, the potency would rapidly evaporate into the air, and it was no longer possible to absorb it. Therefore, there was only half an hour to absorb the powder's strength.
Chu Hao did not even frown as he put his other foot in, and he didn't stop there; he crouched down, letting the water rise to his neck.
Hot! Hot! Hot!
His entire body felt like it was on fire, and Chu Hao felt an urge to immediately leave the tub.
——Although the potency of the Strong Muscle Powder could persist for half an hour, in reality, there were few who could withstand it that long. Common folk could only soak for about five minutes, individuals with strong endurance for about ten minutes, and those who could last longer than 15 minutes were rarer than giant pandas.
Just like with the Strong Muscle Powder, how much strength one could gain varied greatly from person to person.
Chu Hao, however, had immense ambition; he wanted to endure the full half hour.
He was far behind others, and if he wasn't as determined as the rest, how could he catch up with the time he had lost?
Next time, I need to find a thin bamboo shoot to breathe through and submerge my whole body in the medicinal liquid. As Chu Hao soaked, this thought echoed in his mind.
If others knew about this, they would surely call him a madman.
In a certain sense, geniuses are not much different from madmen, displaying a terrifying dedication to what they've set their minds on. For Chu Hao, martial arts were filled with challenges, reigniting a passion he had long missed.
Back on Earth, why did he chase after adventures? It was the monotony of life that he found too dull.
Only with challenges is it interesting.
Beads of sweat began to form on Chu Hao's forehead, his entire body trembling from the intense pain.
No wonder the average person could only endure five minutes; it was indeed excruciating. After just a few minutes, Chu Hao felt like he was about to pass out; his consciousness became blurry and dazed.
But at this moment, he absolutely needed to maintain clarity of mind, because this was just the first step. What followed was high-intensity training to allow the potency absorbed into the body to act on the cells, promoting cell strengthening. If he passed out, he would just lose the potency from within, suffer in vain, and waste money.
Chu Hao clenched his teeth, and although his muscles twitched from the intense pain, a smile began to form on his lips.
Only with challenges is it interesting.
Ten minutes later, the burning sensation intensified as if his whole body was roasting on a fire. The torture was beyond words, leaving one with only two options: escape or faint.
Chu Hao's eyes were wide open; his skin was as red as a cooked shrimp, shockingly so, and even purplish.
15 minutes, 20 minutes, 25 minutes.
Chu Hao's physical fitness was only average, but when it came to the resilience of his will, it was top-notch.
To use Strong Muscle Powder for the first time and endure for over 25 minutes, even up to 30 minutes, was definitely a miracle. Throughout history, there could not have been many with such resilience.
30 minutes.
Chu Hao did not immediately stand up. The potency of the powder was fading, but not yet completely gone, and there was still a little left to absorb. However, once the time was up, the rate at which the Strong Muscle Powder evaporated was astonishingly fast; the once slightly greenish liquid quickly returned to being colorless and clear before his eyes.
However, Chu Hao had already absorbed most of the powder's strength, and what evaporated was negligible.
Wearing only his underwear, Chu Hao went to the family's training ground to begin the real Body Refinement.