Chapter 470 Opening of the First Branch
July 2nd.
The first branch of Daheyan Restaurant has officially opened.
The shop is located in a not-so-bustling alley. The signboard is very large and covered with red cloth. There is also a red carpet at the entrance, making it look very festive.
Manager Zhou stood at the entrance, rubbing his hands nervously. He looked at the neighbors who had gathered to watch the excitement and announced loudly, "The first branch of Daheyan Restaurant is officially open! Please welcome Manager Zhao from the main store of Daheyan Restaurant to unveil the silk cloth!"
Zhao Ergou walked over and gently pulled, and the red silk cloth fell down, revealing a glittering signboard with the words "Daheyan Restaurant" in large characters and "First Branch" in smaller characters below.
The crowd erupted in cheers.
"Dahe Banquet, isn't that the famous restaurant in Ping'an County? I heard the food is very special."
"I heard that the person behind him is from Sui'an. You know Sui'an people, right? He was just promoted to the sixth rank a month ago. He was only the ninth rank last year. He got promoted really fast."
"Hey, why didn't anyone from Sui'an arrive today? I wanted to see what they look like."
“People from Sui’an are no longer ordinary people. Why would they come to such a humble place? Don’t overthink it.”
"..."
"Everyone, please be quiet!" Manager Zhou said with a smile. "The first branch of Dahe Banquet is officially open! For the first three days, all dishes will be available for free tasting, and all customers will receive a 20% discount. In addition, the restaurant also offers membership cards. Please go to the front desk for details. All the tasting dishes are ready. Please come in!"
He stepped aside to make way for the doorway, and people filed in from the street.
The branch stores simply copy the sales model of the main store. The branch stores are just as bustling as the main store was when it opened.
The people who come in for free tasting may not be the target consumer group, but they all have mouths. The goal is to use their mouths to spread the news of the opening of the Daheyan branch, creating a word-of-mouth effect. The wider the reputation of Daheyan, the more customers it will attract.
Madam Zhou was in charge of the kitchen, Manager Zhou greeted guests in the lobby, the eldest son of the Zhou family answered customers' questions at the counter, and the second son of the Zhou family and the two maids of the Zhou family kept serving dishes.
Zhao Ergou brought Cheng Jia and Cheng Yi over to help maintain order.
Because there are enough staff, everything in the store is in good order.
"Wow, what's this dish? It's delicious!"
"It's meat, but I don't know what kind of meat it is. It looks like it's been roasted."
"It should be mutton. It has a slight gamey smell, but it's masked by the spices. I don't know what these spices are made of, but they really bring out the deliciousness of the mutton. It's so delicious!"
There were only two slices of meat in the small tasting dish, which was far from enough.
Manager Zhou walked over with a smile and introduced, "This is indeed mutton. The dish is called roast whole lamb. It is roasted over a fire and sprinkled with secret spices. Just smelling the aroma tells you how delicious it is. This is a new dish launched by Dahe Banquet in July. It is only available at our branch for the first three days. If you want to try it, you'd better hurry up and make a reservation."
Manager Zhao said that this is a perk for the first branch, as only the first branch can enjoy the customer base brought by the unique dish.
He tried several times to roast the whole lamb perfectly. Roasting is secondary; the most important thing is the secret spice blend. This spice blend is not made by them but provided by the main store.
There are also some seasonings provided by the head office. These are things we've never seen before, and when we put them into the dishes, the flavor immediately improves.
He finally understood why Dahe Banquet had become famous in the surrounding counties and towns in just half a year after its opening.
I understand why, even with such a high price, a single dish can still attract a steady stream of customers.
They understood even more why the Zhao family would entrust them with all the recipes: some dishes required secret seasonings, and without these seasonings, the dishes would merely be superficial.
On the first day of opening, we were busy from morning till night, with all fourteen tables always occupied and reservations booked up to seven days in advance.
The eldest son of the Zhou family calculated the total profit and was immediately dumbfounded: "Today, many people signed up for membership cards, twelve gold card members and twenty-four silver card members. We served a total of forty-nine tables of guests, and the total income was one thousand five hundred and eighty-seven taels."
Manager Zhou was incredulous and quickly snatched the ledger to examine it closely. Many people were topping up their cards, and although the money in the cards had not yet been spent, it would be spent in the future, which could also be considered income... More than a thousand taels of silver a day, and with two more days of opening period ahead, wouldn't that mean he could earn around four thousand taels? With the profits split 20/80 with the head office, he would still have more than three thousand taels of silver in income.
My goodness! Their family is going to get rich!
Looking at Manager Zhou's appearance, Zhao Ergou thought of himself back then.
He must have looked just as naive and inexperienced when he was settling accounts that day, but now he has grown up.
"It's getting late, so we'll take our leave now," Zhao Ergou said. "I won't be coming tomorrow; let Cheng Jia and Cheng Yi come and help for a couple more days."
Manager Zhou quickly said, "Manager Zhao, I want to go to Dahe Village together. I want to kowtow to your mother."
Zhao Ergou was both amused and exasperated: "Why are you kowtowing to my mother?"
“Although we are cooperating, you are more than ten years younger than me. I can’t possibly kowtow to a junior like you,” Manager Zhou said. “The owner behind Dahe Banquet is from Sui’an. I was able to become the manager of the first branch with the permission of the Sui’an people. Now that our Zhou family has finally made a name for itself, I have to kowtow to the Sui’an people, otherwise I won’t feel at ease earning this money.”
Madam Zhou came out of the back kitchen and agreed, "I'll go too. We need to prove our loyalty to the people of Sui'an."
Zhao Ergou had a headache.
The Zhou couple are not servants of the Zhao family, so how can they be loyal?
But the two men had already changed their clothes, harnessed their carriage, and followed behind his carriage.
Helpless, Zhao Ergou had no choice but to lead the Zhou family to Dahe Village. By the time they entered the village, it was already completely dark.
The carriage arrived at the gate of the mansion without any hindrance.
Two lanterns hung under the eaves at night, and the large stone lions stared with their round eyes, making the courtyard seem quiet and eerie.
The two Zhou family members exchanged a glance, straightened their clothes, and then followed Zhao Ergou inside.
Granny Qi greeted him respectfully, "The second young master is back."
Zhao Ergou nodded and walked over. Actually, he was not used to being called the Second Young Master. He had said it many times, but Granny Qi was unwilling to change it, so he just let it be.
On the way, they encountered several maids, including Liu Lü, who all addressed him as "Second Young Master."
This display of force completely stunned the Zhou couple.
As soon as they entered the flower hall, they saw Cheng Wanwan sitting on a rattan chair enjoying the cool air, with two old women reporting matters beside her. This scene made the two of them kneel down on the ground with a thud: "This humble subject greets the people of Sui'an!"
Kneeling on the ground was bad enough, but then they started kowtowing repeatedly.
Cheng Wanwan was really startled. She looked at Zhao Ergou, wondering what was going on.
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