Chapter 145: I Must Protect My Hometown

"Twenty thousand burritos a day..."

Hearing this number on its own might not seem very impressive, but when paired with the concept of daily sales, it becomes quite intimidating!

To put it in perspective, Pearson City has a population of just over fifty-six thousand. Achieving daily sales of twenty thousand burritos would mean nearly every other resident would have to buy a burrito every single day. That's absurd!

"Are you kidding me?!"

If it weren't for Benjamin's reputation and the fact that Carter had acquired Forest Bank, Mayor Raeburn would have had every reason to believe that Carter was just some charlatan who appeared out of nowhere.

"Sorry, I got a bit worked up. But Mr. Black, you need to be realistic. Selling twenty thousand burritos a day is simply impossible! When McDonald's and Burger King were competing here with all sorts of promotions, they maxed out at twelve thousand meals sold in a day.

"And that was during good economic times. Once the promotions ended, sales plummeted. I'm grateful and supportive of your willingness to invest in Pearson City during these hard times, but... but... I also hope you genuinely make money here, right?"

Raeburn's words were overly polite. To put it more bluntly, he was essentially saying: "Talk is cheap! You're blowing hot air!"

"Hahaha, Hart, you're underestimating Carter! If he dares set such a target, he's got the confidence to back it up. Do you know the current daily sales of his burrito shop called Kentucky?"

"How much?"

Seeing Benjamin's confident laughter, Raeburn was taken aback. If this burrito business was truly booming, why hadn't he heard of it before?

"As of now, it maintains a stable daily sales volume of over three thousand six hundred burritos!"

"Only..."

"That shop is located twenty kilometers away from Douglas's city center, on the desolate Highway 23."

Raeburn: ...!!

"Are you serious? You're not lying?"

Raeburn was stunned. For the restaurant industry, a single shop's operational reach is typically very limited! A restaurant's location usually dictates that only nearby people would dine there. Without exceptional appeal, either from intrinsic qualities like reputation or external factors like being part of a shopping mall, the typical operational range for a restaurant, even in a sparsely populated area like America, is around 8 kilometers. Driving 20 kilometers just for a burrito...

"Why?"

"Haha, it's all about the cost! Mr. Raeburn, it's not that I'm being arrogant, but during economic downturns, what might be disastrous for other restaurants is actually the best environment for my burrito business!"

Carter laughed as he took over the conversation. Benjamin had already paved the way, now it was his turn to elaborate...

"My product doesn't have any technological barriers nor flashy marketing. The core of my business is low cost. While maintaining low prices, I offer a fairly decent taste. That's enough!

"Our calculations show that we can now compress costs to a level even cheaper than what most households would spend on home-cooked meals. And as this new store opens, I can push suppliers to lower their prices even more. Especially now, since they're also struggling, hahaha!"

"What are your current prices?"

"Right now, we…"

After hearing Carter's pricing and the approximate cost breakdown, Raeburn suddenly fell silent. Unlike his earlier agitated skepticism, Raeburn's current silence carried a grimness that darkened his expression.

"Phew, no way! If that's the case, I'm sorry, but I can't let you in!"

After a long pause, Raeburn finally spoke. His words shocked everyone.

"I need a reason, Hart! Carter and I came here with good intentions to help you, and you…"

The atmosphere at the table turned chilly as traces of anger appeared on Benjamin's face. Though he didn't pound the table and berate Raeburn for being ungrateful, his attitude clearly expressed his displeasure.

"It's not that I don't appreciate it, Robert. In these times, I'm incredibly grateful for any investment, even if it's just a small fast-food place employing a handful of people. But this isn't the case here! You're not here to help; you're here to exploit the crisis!!"

Raeburn's emotions grew increasingly agitated as he continued:

"Cheap food may extend Pearson's survival for a bit, but what happens next? If Mr. Black's burritos are truly this affordable, almost no one in Pearson would want to cook at home anymore! Even if not all three meals, at least two meals a day would be covered by burritos!

"In such a scenario, twenty thousand burritos? He could easily sell a hundred thousand a day! Especially with increased sales, Mr. Black would further drive down supplier prices, making his cost advantage even more pronounced!"

"This might be good for Mr. Black and your business, but it would be a disaster for Pearson! It would utterly destroy our city!"

Listening to Raeburn's increasingly accusatory tone, Carter's expression darkened as well. From his perspective, increased profits and lower food costs for Pearson's residents were positives. Why...

"You wanted a reason, Robert. I'll give you one! You know Pearson's industry structure as well as I do!"

"Besides the logging industry, nearly everyone here is in the service sector. They rely on supermarkets and restaurants... Look at this street, how many restaurants and bars are there on this less-than-two-kilometer stretch?

"If your business takes off, at least half of these establishments will go under! More importantly, once you take Pearson's money, most of your raw material procurement will funnel that money out of town, meaning there will be even less money circulating in Pearson!"

"Previously, our logging income offset some of the cash outflow. But now, as timber sales revenue visibly decreases, if you siphon off large amounts of cash, this city is finished!"

"I absolutely won't let you do that! I'm no hero, but I know I have to protect my hometown!"

"Robert, I don't know if you considered this aspect. I hope it's just an oversight. If it's not…"

As Raeburn said this, he was already off his chair. While leaving, he swallowed the words of doubt that had been on the tip of his tongue:

"Enjoy your meal. Put this on my tab. I have some matters to attend to, so I won't be staying..."