Chapter 168 My Old Path Reflects Their Rise and Fall

"A restaurant, though small, has all the bells and whistles. Running a successful restaurant is quite complex. First, you have to position it well. Are you targeting the working class, the peasant class, the middle class, or even higher? Selling to different groups requires different locations, services, decoration, and even different food preparation.

After deciding who to sell to, you also have to consider what kind of food to offer them to best suit their tastes and budgets. Should it be rice topped with toppings, stir-fries, hot pot, or even boxed meals? Different types of food require different stores, and the differences between them are significant.

Not to mention the operation and updating of your restaurant, the efficiency from purchasing ingredients to processing and sales, and how to prepare dishes to minimize losses while allowing customers to eat fresh dishes, etc.

It may look like a small shop, but running it is as complex as running a business, with things to worry about everywhere.”

The diner on the right shook his head and sighed.

The diner on the left chuckled after hearing this, "You talk so conscientiously, someone who doesn't know you would think you run a five-star hotel!

Girls, don't be fooled by him. He used to sell boxed lunches on Minzu Road. His business was good at first, but as the street became more and more lively, his business declined and he closed down.

Don't be fooled by his eloquent words, or you'll end up ruining your business and not knowing how to run it!"

"What do you mean you're intimidated by me? I'm just sharing my experience of failure!" The diner on the right glared.

"Others are just starting out and need to work harder, but you're here passing on your set of failed experiences. Let's not talk about whether it's applicable or not. What if it's too much of a cold shower and the two girls become timid and don't dare to charge forward when they should?" The diner on the left raised his eyes and asked in return.

The diner on the right opened his mouth to refute, but looked at the diner on the left for a long time and didn't know what to say.

Zhao Xiaojing spoke at the right time, "The two uncles mean well. They are willing to chat because they like the food in our shop. We are inexperienced, so we are willing to listen to your experiences, whether it is failure or success inspiration."

"Yes, yes, what the two uncles said makes sense. Let's listen to it as a story. No matter success or failure, it's just a casual chat. Uncle, you just said that there are more and more people on that street, but this uncle's store is not doing well. Why is that?" Su Yuchen asked with curious eyes.

Seeing the two people's interest, the diner on the right raised an eyebrow proudly at the person opposite, "Well, they're willing to listen to my experience of failure! This isn't called pouring cold water, this is called using history as a mirror. My old path reflects their rise and fall!"

The diner on the left curled his lips, looked at the diner on the right and smiled, "Okay, I'll pour cold water on you, please continue, okay?"

Zhao Xiaojing and Su Yuchen looked at each other and smiled secretly at the same time. The diner on the right was satisfied, pushed the finished plate away and sat up straight.

“Although I didn’t understand why I opened the shop, I gradually figured out why it closed over the years.

Why was that street becoming increasingly crowded, while my business was declining and ultimately closing down? I'm telling you, I've been completely baffled by this question for the past two years! I've been scratching my head day and night thinking about it!

But in the past two years, I've gotten older, my son's job has stabilized, our family's finances are not so tight, and I don't need to work so hard anymore. After I calmed down, I finally came back to my senses."

The diner on the right was talking very vividly. Zhao Xiaojing and Su Yuchen listened with great interest while eating. Even the white rice seemed to be more fragrant than usual.

"I was only in my thirties when I opened the shop. It was during a wave of layoffs. My wife and I were both working, but we were both laid off from our factory jobs. I figured the iron rice bowl wasn't reliable anymore, so why bother working for others? So I decided to start my own business.

I was envious of the dumpling vendors at our factory entrance. They'd be open for a while every evening, and workers lining up to eat after work. My wife and I discussed starting a snack shop, and she agreed. The next day, we set up a lunchbox stall at another factory entrance.

This team worked hard for more than half a year, through wind and rain, and when we finally counted the accounts, we actually made several thousand yuan!

My wife's brother happened to own a shop, so she interceded and asked him to rent it to us. After that, we officially started selling fast food. Although we still sold boxed lunches, we raised the price by several yuan, and business was still good.

The people and the environment were different back then. I can’t say my cooking skills are that good, and the taste can’t compare to yours.

But back then, when we went out to eat fast food, we just wanted to solve the meal problem quickly. Fresh food, filling food and cheap price were enough, so this is the route our restaurant has always taken.

As for the previous question, why did I go bankrupt after Minzu Street became really lively?

The reason lies in the positioning problem I just told you about.

At that time, our street was full of fast food, such as rice noodles, dumplings, boxed lunches, and pancakes. People walked onto our street to eat. They didn't ask for particularly delicious food, as long as it was cheap, simple, convenient, and filled their stomachs. That was our positioning.

But after that street developed, the population became concentrated, people's lives improved, the types of people who moved around changed, and their demand for fast food also changed. Most people began to want to eat simple, affordable, but still good food.

At that time, some snack bars started to open on that street, and a few shops began to add other snacks to their regular menus. Later, barbecue restaurants, stir-fry restaurants, and hot pot restaurants were opened.

From that time on, my business gradually declined, until I was left with only a few migrant workers to run the business, and I couldn’t even afford the rent.”

"Yes, I am one of the last few migrant workers left!" The diner on the left said to Zhao Xiaojing and the others with a smile.

"So that's how the two uncles knew each other. They were guests in the past and are now friends." Zhao Xiaojing said in surprise.

The diner on the right smacked his lips and took two sips of the water Su Yuchen had just poured. "That's right! He ate there when we first opened the restaurant. He was so broke back then that he only ordered the cheapest dishes. He looked so skinny. My wife took pity on him and always secretly added meat to his lunch box!"

"Haha, back then, the rice he served me was pressed and pressed again, so it was so solid. I ate there for several years, and then my life got better, and his shop went bankrupt.

"When he told me the restaurant was closing, I was devastated for a while! Later, when he told me it was reopening, I literally rode my bike an hour and a half every day to eat there, haha." A diner on the left said with a laugh.

"How was the store that uncle opened later?" Su Yuchen continued to ask.