Chapter 451 Grand River Banquet Franchisee
"Ooh ooh ooh!"
The crowing of roosters awakened Dahe Village.
Zhao Ergou got up early. Although he didn't need to learn martial arts, he would still practice a few moves as a way to stay healthy.
After practicing for a while, villagers began to arrive in the courtyard. These were the people who supplied the restaurant: the preserved eggs and salted duck eggs from Old Lady Zhu's family, the wine from Lu Yingxue's family, and vegetables, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and wood ear fungus provided by some villagers. Some villagers who wanted to sell chickens and ducks also sold them directly to the restaurant. Some men even brought fresh fish.
After all the goods were loaded onto the carriage, Wu Huiniang finished packing as well. Zhao Dawang and Chunhua also finished packing and came over together. The four of them got into the carriage and headed to Ping'an County.
When the carriage arrived in Ping'an County, it was just beginning to get light. Many vendors in the town had already started hawking their wares, and the day's activities had begun.
Yan Tiezi had arrived long ago and was just waiting for the carriage to arrive so he could start unloading, moving everything inside, sorting and arranging it neatly so that he could get what he needed without having to look for it.
Wu Huiniang and Chunhua tied on their aprons, went into the kitchen, and began preparing lunch.
Zhao Dawang received the goods at the shop entrance. The main items delivered this time were chicken, duck, fish, meat, and some daily seasonings.
Cheng Fang helped clear the inventory and check the orders.
Zhao Ergou was writing flyers. He planned to go to Hekou County later to promote the franchise opportunity. He couldn't wait for others to come to him; he had to take the initiative.
After writing dozens of forms, he handed over all his work to Zhao Dawang and drove to Hekou County.
The early morning in Hekou County is even more lively, especially at the dock, where many merchant ships are moored and workers shuttle back and forth, all busy and sweating profusely, without even a moment to rest and drink water.
Zhao Ergou didn't linger there. He went to the street and specifically looked for shops with poor business to hand out flyers. If the shopkeeper wasn't interested, they would just kick him out. If they were interested, they would ask a few questions, but as soon as they heard that they had to pay money and take a cut, they didn't want to ask any more questions.
After making his way around Hekou County and distributing all the orders, Zhao Ergou finally returned to the Daheyan Restaurant.
Upon seeing his expression, everyone knew that the situation was not good.
Zhao Dawang walked over and said, "How about I go to Baiyun County and Fenghuang County again tomorrow? A few more trips will surely yield results..."
"You stay here and learn how to be a manager," Zhao Ergou laughed. "Your brother Ergou won't give up so easily. Sooner or later, I'll successfully open the first branch. When that happens, I'll have to go and do other things, and this restaurant will be completely in your hands."
Zhao Dawang's eyes lit up: "Really or fake?"
"Why would I lie to you? If I don't give it to you, who else can I give it to?" Zhao Ergou patted him on the shoulder. "You're getting married soon, so do a good job and don't let Damai suffer because of you."
Zhao Dawang's dark face flushed red, unsure how to respond, and he turned to get back to his work.
Zhao Ergou smiled, lowered his head to calculate the morning's accounts. The restaurant had six tables in the main hall and four tables in the private rooms. A total of twelve tables of guests were served at noon. The prices of the dishes in their restaurant were relatively high. Even if only three or four dishes were ordered, it would still cost more than three taels of silver. In addition, some people ordered drinks, making the price of a table of food and drinks even higher. The total income from the twelve tables was forty-two taels and five mace.
During this period, the average daily income has reached about one hundred taels.
He couldn't understand why people wouldn't join such a lucrative business.
It seems he needs to change his approach.
He took out a pen and paper, reorganized his thoughts, and planned to go to Hekou County again tomorrow morning. Three shops had expressed interest in franchising today, but they backed out as soon as they heard about the franchise fee and commission. These people were potential franchisees, and he needed to make another effort...
As they made these plans, it was already afternoon, and customers slowly started coming into the store.
He noticed that a man of about thirty years old was sitting alone by the window. He ordered a plate of peanuts and a bowl of water. His eyes were fixed on the customers in the store. He even walked towards the kitchen, but did not go in. Instead, he walked around the store and then sat back down in his original seat.
Zhao Dawang quietly walked over and whispered, "Brother Er Gou, I suspect this guy is a spy sent by another restaurant. His eyes are darting around everywhere; he's up to no good. Should I kick him out?"
Zhao Ergou waved his hand: "No rush."
When this person passed by the counter, he smelled cooking oil on him, so he must be someone who works in the kitchen all year round. The shops he went to this morning were all snack shops, and this person must be the owner of one of them.
They took the initiative to come to the Grand River Banquet, so it seems they're interested.
Then let's give them a chance to observe slowly. Once they see the business potential of Dahe Banquet, their interest will likely increase even further.
He said, "Have the kitchen cook a bowl of clear soup noodles and send it over, saying it's from the manager."
Zhao Dawang nodded and went to do it.
A moment later, a bowl of clear soup noodles with a poached egg was placed in front of the man. The man was slightly taken aback and looked at Zhao Ergou.
Zhao Ergou gestured for him to proceed.
The man understood what was going on, stopped refusing, and started eating heartily. After finishing, he didn't hog the window seat anymore, but asked for a chair and sat down at the counter.
Zhao Ergou put down his abacus and said with a smile, "If I'm not mistaken, you're Manager Zhou from Zhou's Wonton Shop, right?"
When he arrived in the morning, he only encountered the proprietress. The woman asked him a few questions out of interest, but as soon as the franchise fee was mentioned, she kicked him out.
"Manager Zhao has a good eye," Manager Zhou said sincerely. "I apologize for the inconvenience caused by my sudden visit. I found this place after seeing the order you left at the wonton shop. I mainly wanted to see if Dahe Banquet is really as profitable as the rumors say."
Zhao Ergou nodded: "Then Manager Zhou thinks this Dahe Banquet can make money?"
Manager Zhou sighed. He had looked at the menu prices. The cheapest was three to five hundred copper coins, while the more expensive ones were close to one or two taels of silver. On average, each table had four dishes: two meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and one soup. It would easily bring in three or four taels of silver. As someone in the catering business, he could naturally calculate the cost. The profit was really high.
His wonton shop was a grueling business; he worked himself to the bone every day, and earning two taels of silver was considered the absolute best.
Business is not good these days. I can't even earn two taels of silver anymore. Sometimes I only sell a dozen bowls a day and then go hungry for several days in a row.
It's because the shop is really hard to keep going, otherwise he wouldn't have come here to try his luck.
“Once you become a Daheyan franchisee, you’ll have everything Daheyan has to offer.” Zhao Ergou took a sip of tea and spoke slowly. “Whether you buy it outright or pay 200 taels of silver to choose a revenue-sharing franchise, your rights will remain the same. There’s only one condition: the Daheyan headquarters has the right to audit the accounts at any time. If any problems are found with the accounts, the franchisee will be shut down immediately.”
Manager Zhou pressed further, "I'd like to know exactly what rights I can enjoy?"
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