My Multiple Identities Revealed After Marrying the Bigshot
Chapter 409: Boss, Can I Join Your New Company?

Chapter 409: Chapter 409: Boss, Can I Join Your New Company?

Lu Youxi was still in contact with the supermarket executives, while the village chief hadn’t been idle since arriving in the Imperial Capital.

He started by visiting supermarkets near his home and gradually expanded his range.

He recorded the prices of various brands and origins of rice in the supermarkets.

Then he looked for domestically produced rice of the highest quality tier.

He picked well-known brands from reputable regions, buying one small bag of each to bring back.

Thankfully, the types of expensive rice weren’t many, so the village chief didn’t end up buying a lot.

Early in the morning, the village chief began steaming rice, preparing a bit of each kind, packaging them, and bringing them all to Hope Restaurant.

"Village Chief, what’s this all about..." Liu Yushu asked in surprise, seeing the large bag he carried in.

"I need to find out how our Hexing Rice compares in the market, so I went to the supermarket and bought different kinds of premium rice to steam." The village chief explained, "There are so many of us here, so it’s perfect for everyone to help taste and compare."

By this time, the lunch rush was over, and the diners had already left.

The students working part-time had just finished cleaning up the restaurant.

"You’re just in time! We were about to sit down for a meal," Grandma Xu said with a smile.

"I calculated the time and figured you’d be eating soon, so I came over," the village chief replied with a laugh. "I was busy steaming rice this morning, so I couldn’t make it here to help. I’ll stay and help out this afternoon."

"You don’t have to push yourself," Liu Yushu said as she walked over with two plates of food. "You have plenty to take care of with Hexing Rice."

"It’s not much of an issue. If I’m free, I’ll come by to help. If I have things to do, I won’t," the village chief said with a chuckle. "Otherwise, sitting idle at home makes me feel restless."

Grandma Xu watched as the village chief pulled out ten lunchboxes, filled to the brim with steamed rice.

"You must’ve spent a fortune just on the rice," Grandma Xu remarked.

There was no way the village chief could buy minimal quantities of each type of rice. The smallest bags were at least five pounds.

"It’s for market research," the village chief said with a hearty laugh.

"Are you putting this on the company tab?" Liu Yushu asked as she sat down. The other dishes had just been brought out by the staff.

She began distributing servings of rice to everyone.

"Tab for what company? The company just started and hasn’t made any money yet. I can’t expect Youxi to foot the bill for everything." The village chief laughed, "My travel expenses, my rent, all of it has been paid by Youxi. I can’t let her cover everything."

"Honestly, making You pay with your daughter’s money," he joked with a laugh.

Liu Yushu smiled and said, "Well, it’s because Youxi’s financial situation is better than yours right now. You’ve already left your wife and kids behind to come all this way to help us, so how could I let you pay for these things out of pocket? It wouldn’t be right."

"It’s all part of starting a business, isn’t it? You spend your own money at first," the village chief said, unfazed. "Youxi’s money doesn’t grow on trees either, and she has a company to manage. Come on, let’s taste these different types of rice and see where Hexing Rice stands."

By coincidence, Hexing Rice was the staple grain served at the restaurant for lunch.

Liu Yushu went back to get additional servings of Hexing Rice for everyone to try alongside the other types.

"Come on, everyone, give your opinions," the village chief called over a few students. "You need to be honest so we can clearly understand Hexing Rice’s position."

"What’s all the excitement about?" Lu Youxi entered the restaurant at just that moment.

"Youxi, what brings you back today?"

"I just stopped by to take a look," Lu Youxi said, noticing the table full of rice. "Looks like I arrived just in time for something good!"

The village chief explained the situation to her.

"Then I definitely need to give it a try," Lu Youxi said as she joined them at the table.

"I think Hexing Rice’s texture is similar to this brand," Lu Youxi commented after sampling all the rice.

"I feel the same, but I think Hexing Rice might actually taste a bit better," Liu Yushu added confidently. "The difference isn’t huge though, and I might be a little biased toward Hexing Rice. What do you all think?"

The three students carefully tasted the rice.

"I’m having trouble telling the difference, but they’re equally good."

"I think this brand might be a bit springier, while Hexing Rice has a stronger fragrance."

Lu Youxi nodded in agreement. "It could also be due to variations in the pots, timing, or water measurements used, which might cause some differences."

"Here at the restaurant, we use larger pots to accommodate customer demand," she explained. "Village Chief, what kind of pot did you use? I can buy one and we’ll steam the two kinds of rice under the exact same conditions to compare."

"Sure," the village chief agreed with a nod.

He didn’t mind the extra effort; after all, where in business could you shy away from a little work?

"You already have classes and your Little Pink Book to manage. Let me take care of buying the pot," the village chief said. "Once I have it, we can redo the test together to see the results."

Lu Youxi nodded and didn’t argue. "I’ve already arranged meetings with the purchasing manager and general manager of Yuehaolai Supermarket. Tonight, we’ll go out for dinner to discuss. We’ll also bring along our rice, let the restaurant steam it, and have them try it."

"Yuehaolai is a major supermarket! You managed to get in contact with them?" Liu Yushu said in surprise.

"Getting in touch wasn’t the hard part—it’s like sales, you know? The tricky part was scheduling a meeting and making sure our product impresses them enough to get Hexing Rice on their shelves," Lu Youxi explained. "Just securing the meeting took quite some time."

"If it’s like that, we should pick a good restaurant for the discussion, right?" the village chief asked. "Would a high-end place specifically cook rice for us?"

"Don’t worry, I’ve got it all arranged," Lu Youxi replied simply.

She had asked Zhou Shuyan to help contact Shi Yusheng and explained the situation, asking if they could use the hotel’s kitchen to steam their rice samples.

When Shi Yusheng heard that Lu Youxi was planning to sell rice, he suggested she bring extra so their hotel could try it out too. If it met their standards, they might purchase from her as well.

Lu Youxi had, in fact, considered this possibility.

If the kitchen at Dongshenglai Hotel tried Hexing Rice and liked it, they might become customers themselves.

This showed that Shi Yusheng was indeed professional in separating business from personal matters.

He didn’t promise to buy because of his connection to Zhou Shuyan but instead insisted on sampling it first to ensure quality.

"Excuse me... Boss, can I join your startup?" asked a male student named Yin Yiming.

"Join our startup? You mean Hexing Rice?" Lu Youxi asked.

"Yeah," Yin Yiming replied. "I’m a sophomore right now, but no worries—I won’t let it interfere with my studies. I can even tag along to your business meetings."

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