Chapter 196: Can't afford to pay
Qian Lan was a little hesitant. If she opened a noodle shop, all the ingredients would have to be prepared in advance on the same day, and the same went for the noodles.
If they can’t be sold, they will go bad the next day, which is a lot of waste.
It’s not that she doesn’t believe in Yu Hui’s cooking skills, but taking herself as an example, she is reluctant to go out to eat.
It’s more cost-effective to make some noodles at home, or cook some sweet potato porridge with some kimchi, than to eat out.
Moreover, there is a canteen in their family compound, which is subsidized by the state. It is convenient and cheaper to get meat from the meat processing plant or grain from the grain station. The food in this canteen is also much cheaper than outside.
Xiao Yu has to take care of the child, so this small noodle shop must not be opened in the city, but must be opened near the staff housing estate.
The noodles sold in their noodle shop are definitely not as cheap as those sold in the cafeteria. How can they compete with the cafeteria for business?
"Is it opened around our family compound?" Qian Lan asked.
Yu Hui nodded. "Aren't there a few empty rooms next to the grocery store and the tailor shop? They belong to the military district. I think the military district leaders would support us unemployed wives if we wanted to open a small business to improve our lives."
After all, this way they don't have to go through the trouble of having the military district help them find jobs.
Arranging jobs for military wives has always been a headache for military district leaders.
"Maybe the rent can be cheaper for us."
Qian Lan frowned and said, "But have you ever thought that our military family compound has a cafeteria? We definitely can't afford to eat here, right?"
"Of course not," Yu Hui said, "Our prices are only slightly cheaper than those of state-owned restaurants."
After all, you still have to buy expensive meat and expensive grain without tickets, so the price is definitely not cheaper than the canteen, but it can be cheaper than state-owned restaurants.
"Our food is more expensive than the cafeteria's, so why would anyone come to eat here?"
Yu Hui: "Because of my good cooking skills."
"Your cooking skills are good, but I think most people in our compound are still relatively frugal. In order to save money, they probably won't go to noodle shops often to eat noodles." Except for those high-ranking military officers, there are many people in this compound who only earn a few dozen yuan a month.
A lot of it has to be used to support relatives in the countryside, so how can we afford to eat out often?
Yu Hui frowned and felt that what Qian Lan said made sense.
But on second thought, Qian Lan was looking at the problem from her own perspective. She was quite frugal, and she felt that a frugal person like her would rather spend less money and eat in the cafeteria than spend more money to eat out.
I would rather cook at home than spend money outside.
But there are so many people in the military family compound, and not every family is like hers. Many families have dual-income families.
The food in the cafeteria tastes average, but many people still go there to eat every day.
The food in state-owned restaurants is expensive and the service is not good, but many people still choose to take their families there for a meal every week.
Moreover, the people living in their family compound have strong purchasing power. She has seen many of them have bicycles at home and wear watches on their wrists.
Some people even go to the city to buy the most fashionable clothes.
If you can afford to buy a bicycle worth one or two hundred yuan, and grab fashionable clothes worth ten or twenty yuan at the first opportunity, how can you be reluctant to spend a few cents on a bowl of noodles?
"In this world, some people pursue affordability, while others pursue delicious food. Although there is a strong competitor like the canteen, I am still very confident in my cooking skills. If I open a noodle shop, I think the business will be good."
Qian Lan: “…”
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Yu Hui also saw some of her concerns.
"Sister-in-law, if you are worried about losing money and taking risks, I also have a partnership method that does not require you to bear the risk."
Qian Lan smiled embarrassedly, "Xiao Yu, don't laugh at my sister-in-law. She is just timid and afraid of this and that."
Although her husband, Lao Yu, got a salary increase, it was still no match for Gu Huai, and she couldn't afford to pay him back.
Yu Hui smiled and said, "I understand."
"What I mean by a risk-free method is that I provide the money, costs, and craftsmanship, and you provide the labor. Every month, you get 10% of the sales."
If Qian Lan was willing to form a half-and-half partnership with her, then they would definitely split it in half, but she didn't want to spend any money and didn't want to take any risks, so she could only get 10%.
And even if it is only 10%, the money will definitely not be less. Yu Hui is very confident in herself.
If she could be hired, it would be even simpler. She would just pay Qian Lan a salary directly.
Unfortunately, the current policy is that we cannot hire, so we can only adopt a profit-sharing model.
Qian Lan did the math in her mind. If the share was 10%, then if the store could make a net profit of 100 yuan a month, she would get 10 yuan.
But she felt that she might not be able to earn a hundred dollars, and she might only be able to get a few dollars.
She felt that it was a little too little, as there were more than just that many people washing dishes in this state-owned restaurant.
Since Xiao Yu wants to open this noodle shop so much, I will help her for a month or two. After all, I won’t lose much, just some effort.
If you really make money, then you make money too.
"Okay, I'll try it with you."
…
When Gu Huai came back in the evening, Yu Hui asked him to help find out if the vacant house next to the grocery store could be rented.
"Are you planning to open a restaurant?" Gu Huai paused while eating noodles.
Yu Hui nodded, "I talked to Sister Yu today, and she agreed to be a partner with me."
"How much do you estimate it will cost to open a store?" Gu Huai asked.
Yu Hui thought for a moment and said, "Just buy a big iron pot, build a big stove, buy a hundred or eighty bowls, and set up a few tables. It shouldn't cost much."
She had no plans to do any renovations, she just wanted the store to be clean and seatable.
For the initial investment, spending about a hundred or eighty yuan should be enough.
"That really doesn't cost much. I got a two hundred yuan bonus this month, which was paid out along with my September salary. Add that to my September salary of one hundred and twenty-four, and that's a little over three hundred yuan. That should be enough for you to open a shop."
Yu Hui's eyes lit up, "That's more than enough."
She was just worrying about not having enough money, but unexpectedly Gu Huai gave her gold coins.
Gu Huai looked at her and smiled.
"By the way, you have to get me an industrial ticket. I need a ticket to buy a pot."
"OK."
The next morning, Gu Huai went to the military district logistics department.
"Sister-in-law wants to open a noodle shop?" Secretary Zhao looked surprised.
Gu Huai nodded. "I've already checked with the Industry and Commerce Bureau, and the policy there is supportive. Aren't there a few empty rooms outside our military compound? They belong to our military district, so I wanted to ask if I could rent them."
Secretary Zhao frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "Although the house belongs to the military, it's never been rented out. I need to report this to the higher-ups and see what they think. However, since the current policy supports individual businesses, it shouldn't be a big problem."
"After all, arranging jobs for military wives has always been a headache for the leaders. Every time a position becomes available, there's always a lot of trouble over who gets it and who doesn't. For someone like my sister-in-law, who can open her own shop and doesn't need the military district to assign her a job, the leaders should support her."
"Thank you for your help. I'll treat you to a meal later." Gu Huai patted Secretary Zhao on the shoulder.
Secretary Zhao waved his hand and said, "Let's not talk about this."
However, if Deputy Captain Gu really invited him to dinner, he would have to go.
He had heard people say that Deputy Regiment Commander Gu's new wife was a good cook and could make delicious meals. Even Division Commander Zhan praised her after eating them.
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