"Boss Du, you have to be careful with Shuxianglou. Don't be careless."

After sitting down, the two ordered a cup of hand-ground coffee each and chatted intermittently.

As they were chatting, Ye Weiming suddenly said this.

"Boss Ye, why do you say that? What rumors have you heard?"

Du Shaojie was stunned for a moment, then asked.

"These are just rumors. They say Shuxianglou will make some big moves later. Maybe it's targeting you."

Ye Weiming didn't say anything too specific, because the information he had obtained was already fragmented, so he could only give a vague reminder.

Du Shaojie did not continue to ask. Nowadays, competition often involves using any possible means, and it is not uncommon for the other party to use any strange tricks.

The next day.

After breakfast, Du Shaojie called Luo Qin to the study.

"Assistant Luo, you need to strengthen your connections with the various stores. I got a message saying that Shuxianglou might be making a big move soon. Try to find out what they are planning in advance."

"Okay, I'll keep a close eye on it."

As an assistant, Luo Qin naturally represents Du Shaojie to the outside world.

It would be best to let her be the first to handle matters like this, so that the people below her won't dare to disobey.

A few days later, Luo Qin received feedback and Shuxianglou began to adjust the supply of dishes.

Du Shaojie actually also had news that three head chefs from Xichuan Restaurant had jumped to Shuxianglou.

Strictly speaking, these three people did not change jobs directly. Due to personal reasons, they resigned and left one after another six months to a year ago. I really don't know where Shuxianglou dug them out from.

The three of them brought some of the signature dishes of [Xichuan Restaurant], it seems that the change of menu has something to do with them.

"Boss Du, the three of them signed confidentiality agreements before leaving. Now that our classic dishes have been leaked, can we sue them and Shuxianglou?"

Luo Qin not only got the new menu of Shuxianglou, but also asked the company's consultant to taste their new dishes. It can be confirmed that this was a leak.

She thought the other party's behavior was plagiarism, and she felt very angry.

"It's not impossible to sue them, but it's probably hard to win. The three of them have already left the company, and it's legal for them to work at Shuxianglou now.

As for whether they have violated the confidentiality agreement, you should talk to the company's legal department and see what they think."

The most difficult thing about this kind of thing is evidence. The basic cooking methods of Sichuan cuisine are all the same. As long as someone makes a slight change in the production process, it is difficult to prove that the other party is plagiarizing.

However, Du Shaojie still asked Luo Qin, Yu Jianxin and the company's legal department to contact each other to see what suggestions the professionals had.

Yu Jianxin's opinion was to resolutely sue, even if he couldn't win the case, he would not let Fu off easily. This kind of thing could not be hidden from people in the industry, and if the matter got out of hand, the reputation of [Shuxianglou] would definitely be ruined.

The Ministry of Justice suggested that the matter be handled with caution and that they plan to collect evidence first before making a decision.

Du Shaojie adopted the advice of the Ministry of Justice and asked them to collect evidence as soon as possible. A week later, regardless of whether the evidence was strong or not, Xichuan Restaurant would formally sue Shuxianglou.

"Boss Du, we have another fellow in trouble. Not only did Shuxianglou plagiarize some of our signature dishes, it also used improper means to steal a series of secret recipes from a company in Chengdu."

Yu Jianxin and the Ministry of Justice began to collect evidence intensively. At the same time, a post on a forum caused an uproar on the Internet.

The whistleblower claimed to be the owner of a small catering business in Chengdu. He accused Shuxianglou of stealing the company's series of secret recipes by bribing internal staff and other means.

This small business specializes in Sichuan snacks and has a history of a hundred years. I didn't expect something like this to happen.

"Hmm? What is Shuxianglou doing? Are they crazy? I wonder if this company has called the police?"

Even the well-informed Du Shaojie was shocked by the news.

[Shuxianglou] is not a self-employed person, nor a small enterprise, but a large catering enterprise that has successfully listed in Hong Kong. However, the other party's work style has fallen to the level of obscenity, which is unbelievable.

"They said they called the police, but since there was no solid evidence, the police couldn't do anything."

A secret recipe may not necessarily have a physical form, and if it is leaked through word of mouth, it would be difficult to find evidence.

Again, if someone else has the secret recipe, you can't say it's yours as long as you add a few spices. Otherwise, many restaurant owners prepare the ingredients themselves and never tell others the secret recipe, because once the formula is leaked, you can't win the lawsuit.

This is determined by the characteristics of the catering industry itself, and no one can do anything about it.

A small business in Chengdu accidentally had its secret recipe stolen. Calling the police was useless, and the lawsuit was obviously unwinnable. The boss was furious and posted the incident online, with the intention of disgusting [Shuxianglou].

"Assistant Luo, please try to contact the company in Chengdu. If you can, tell them that we are willing to hire a lawyer to help them with the lawsuit for free."

Du Shaojie feels that exposing the news online is a good method, but it is not enough. The lawsuit must be filed. Only in this way can it have a greater impact.

Luo Qin agreed and got up to work. Du Shaojie then called Winnie and asked about the stock performance of [Shuxianglou].

"The share price of [Shuxianglou] is very strong, currently fluctuating between HK$30 and HK$35. However, based on the company's current performance, it is difficult to support this share price in the long term."

Winnie looked it up and then gave Du Shaojie a detailed explanation.

"Okay, I understand. I'll contact you later."

Du Shaojie hung up the phone and could probably guess why Shuxianglou started to go crazy.

There is no doubt that [Shuxianglou] has been kidnapped by capital and has become a capital-driven enterprise. For them, stock price is the most important, and they are even willing to abandon their bottom line in order to achieve performance.

He suddenly discovered that the current [Shuxianglou] was much more difficult to deal with than before.

Time flies.

[Shuxianglou] received two subpoenas, both accusing the other party of infringement.

The two lawsuits were quickly exposed on the Internet and traditional media, and the topic became more and more popular. Bailian Catering must have been behind this, otherwise it would not have formed such a large-scale public opinion trend.

[Shuxianglou] flatly denied all accusations and publicly stated that this was a smear campaign by its competitors.

Next, Xichuan Restaurant sued three former employees on the grounds that they had violated the confidentiality agreement they had signed and disclosed Xichuan Restaurant's core secrets to Shuxianglou.

The spectators never get tired of this kind of excitement and find it very joyful.

"Boss Du, the sales of Xichuan Restaurant have increased significantly recently. I think it may be related to this wave of public opinion.

However, [Shuxianglou] also reaped the benefits, and it is said that their turnover has also increased significantly. Is this fair?"

Yu Jianxin called Du Shaojie and asked him some soul-searching questions.

Du Shaojie didn't know how to tell the other party. The Internet is still in its infancy in China, and it is difficult for everyone to understand the true meaning of "black and red are also red."

However, the more Shuxianglou enjoys this wave of traffic, the more severe the backlash will be in the future.

Du Shaojie did not indulge in the excitement of the melee. Instead, he organized a short-term training course at the training center and taught the 12 Sichuan fusion dishes he had researched to the company's key personnel.

Despite the previous leaks, he will not give up and will continue to improve the company's foundation step by step.

Of course, the company has also strengthened its internal management in response to leaks. Although it cannot completely prevent such incidents from happening, it can help prevent them from happening.

Next, Du Shaojie organized a “Sichuan Cuisine Market” in front of all Xichuan Restaurant stores in Yangcheng.

This activity is mainly aimed at ordinary consumers, allowing everyone to taste authentic Sichuan cuisine that is of good quality and affordable.

This morning.

Du Shaojie came to the Yangcheng (Railway Station) branch of Xichuan Restaurant. After entering, he changed into chef's uniform and cooked several classic traditional Sichuan dishes himself.

Nearing noon, the Sichuan cuisine market outside the store was already bustling with activity.

Exquisite Sichuan dishes were delivered to the display cabinets, and people lined up to buy them and put them in lunch boxes to take away. The market does not provide dine-in services, so you can only take them home to eat.

Of course, there are staple foods, and you can also get a portion of rice when you buy vegetables.

There is definitely a difference between the dishes served at the market and fast food lunch boxes. The level of fast food lunch boxes is the same as that of big pot dishes, while each dish at the market is individually prepared by professional chefs, and the quality is no different from that of dishes in restaurants.

The price is definitely very favorable. The purpose of holding this event is to enhance the reputation of [Xichuan Restaurant] and allow consumers to form their own judgment through tasting.

The market activity at the railway station store lasted for three days, and then moved on to the next one.

The market itself does not make much money, but it can let more consumers know about [Xichuan Restaurant]. This is a change in business thinking, and it is hard to say how effective it is for the time being. We need to wait until the event is completely over before making an assessment.

The company's chefs took turns to follow the market, and Du Shaojie insisted on the three-stop activity and then went to the Magic City.

He will continue this activity in Shanghai. Previously, it was to accumulate experience, and now it can be fully implemented across the country.

Anyway, the market activities of a store only last for three days. If it lasts too long, it will affect the normal operation of each store, which will not be worth the loss.

Time flies.

Du Shaojie traveled around the country, and when he returned to Guangzhou, Luo Qin told him a piece of news.

"[Shuxianglou] is so shameless. It hasn't been long since we went out and they started copying our activities. We call it Sichuan Cuisine Market, but they call it Sichuan Cuisine Bazaar. It's really speechless."

"Haha, you're really shameless, huh? However, this kind of plagiarism is nothing in business. As long as they are thick-skinned enough, there's nothing we can do about it."

This was expected, and Du Shaojie was not disturbed at all. (End of this chapter)