"I'm the only one in my family, and cooking is already a hassle enough. I'll eat lunch here from now on, and I won't have to go home to cook anymore!"
"Not only are their prices cheap, but the food is also delicious. The chef's skills are almost on par with the head chef at Tianxianglou! I never thought I could eat braised pork for only twenty coins!"
The diners were all very satisfied with the food and service at Huajian Restaurant.
After they finished eating and got up, a new wave of people quickly poured in.
On the counter were more than thirty large porcelain bowls, each a foot in diameter, filled to the brim with food, but in the blink of an eye, very few remained.
Haitang was surprised and delighted to see so many customers on the first day of business. She turned to Chen Yuan and said, "I see that the vegetables are almost sold out. I need to ask Shuixian and the others to cook a few more! I'll go to the kitchen to help!"
"No need!" Shen Yuan stopped Haitang and said in a low voice, "Go to the door and tell them that today's food is sold out. You can come back for dinner or tomorrow."
Haitang Xiumei twisted her head slightly. Although she didn't understand Shen Yuan's actions, she still quickly walked to the door and hung up the "Sold Out" sign.
Customers who were unable to enter the store looked disappointed, but there was nothing they could do but come earlier next time.
The day was busy until the hour of Xu (7-9 PM) before everyone finally had some free time.
Shen Yuan closed the shop door and began to tally up the day's earnings after closing.
Because the food they sold was very cheap, they collected a lot of copper coins. Fortunately, the seven of them sat together and strung the coins together in groups of one hundred, and quickly counted all the copper coins they had collected that day.
There were a total of 8,560 copper coins.
Shen Yuan carefully put the copper coins away and locked them in the drawer. Then she said, "Today we spent 1,600 coins on meat and vegetables. Adding the braised meat, cured meat, and white rice we prepared before opening, the total cost is 2,800 coins. Each of you will receive 300 coins per day, which adds up to 1,800 coins. The total cost for today is 4,600 coins."
"Revenue minus costs equals profit. 8560 coins minus 4600 coins equals 3960 coins! Our gross profit is about half!"
After hearing the numbers Shen Yuan calculated, Haitang exclaimed excitedly, "You mean we earned almost four taels of silver today?"
Shen Yuan nodded.
"Four taels a day, that's one hundred and twenty taels a month. That means each of us gets an additional fifteen taels as a bonus every month, in addition to our nine thousand cash wages?" Haitang counted on her fingers, getting more and more excited as she did so.
Although this amount is not as much as she earns in a day at Zuichunlou, this money does not require her to grovel before men to earn it, nor will it be 90% taken by Madam Hua. Every penny she earns is truly hers!
Haitang suddenly felt that she wasn't tired at all after working all day!
With a monthly income of about twenty-five taels, she could settle down in Jian'an City in just two years!
Seeing Haitang's overjoyed expression, Shen Yuan couldn't bear to dampen her spirits, but she still needed to say something in advance: "We'll have a lot of customers these few days since we just opened, but whether we can operate sustainably depends on each of us doing our jobs well every day!"
"The dishes we cook every day must taste consistent; too salty or too bland is unacceptable. We must also clean the bowls and chopsticks used by customers thoroughly. For us food service workers, clean food and clean bowls and chopsticks are especially important!"
“Sometimes when it’s windy and rainy, people don’t want to go out, and we might not sell much that day, or even a single meal. But that’s rare.”
"We've remembered everything Miss Shen said!" Shui Xian and Chun Tao nodded, their attitude very serious.
Shen Yuan then smiled and said, "We not only sold out all the food today, but we also made so much money! With such a good start on the first day of business, the business will definitely be even more prosperous in the future! Everyone should go back to their rooms and rest early to get plenty of energy, and we'll keep going tomorrow!"
"good!"
After agreeing, the group got up and went back to their rooms.
As Haitang was leaving, she couldn't help but pull Shen Yuan aside and say, "Miss Shen, I have a question for you."
Shen Yuan sat down again and said, "Sister Haitang, please speak."
"We didn't prepare enough food for lunch and dinner today. Why didn't you let me add more later? I could have Shui Xian make a few simple and quick dishes that wouldn't take up too much time. That way, we could sell more meals, right?" Hai Tang finally asked the question that had been on her mind for half a day.
Shen Yuan countered, "Then how many dishes can you prepare in the shortest time?"
Haitang said, "Five or six is no problem."
How many of these dishes might contain meat?
"This..." Haitang pursed her lips. Stewing chicken or duck was obviously out of the question. She said, "We can stir-fry shredded pork, stir-fried vegetables with pork, or stir-fried radish with pork..."
As Haitang spoke, she lost her confidence. These dishes could only be considered half-meat, half-vegetarian, not purely meat dishes.
If she serves up a bowl of stir-fried radish and meat and then dismisses the customers who come specifically for the meat, wouldn't that ruin the reputation of Huajian Restaurant?
Seeing Haitang's slightly embarrassed expression, Shen Yuan knew that she had grasped the secret.
Then he said slowly, "If we don't have enough dishes, we can ask Sister Narcissus and Sister Furong to add a few more dishes temporarily."
"But adding dishes at the last minute is too rushed, and it is difficult to guarantee the taste and variety of the dishes. Even if five or six dishes are made, it is enough to eat, but not enough to choose from."
"If there are fewer dishes to choose from, customers will not have much of an appetite and will think that the food sold in our shop is just average."
"Instead of that, we should stop serving customers when we run out of food. It's better to let customers go hungry than to let them pay money and have a mediocre meal!"
"Moreover, Sister Narcissus and Sister Hibiscus can rest for a while and have more energy to prepare the next meal!"
After hearing this, Haitang nodded emphatically: "I still have a lot to learn from Miss Shen's business acumen!"
Shen Yuan smiled and said, "Sister Haitang, it's great that you were able to express your doubts! From now on, we should all share our insights on the restaurant's operation so we can discuss them together. Not everything I say is necessarily correct."
In the following days, the number of customers at Huajian Restaurant increased day by day.
One reason is that customers who have tried it say it's good, and more and more customers are returning!
Another reason is that many people haven't used the discount coupons that Shen Yuan distributed before the opening, and they all want to spend a few coins to try the dishes!
Seeing that the Flower Garden Restaurant was on track, Shen Yuan handed over all the management of the restaurant to Haitang, while she continued to focus on the pharmacy.
After all, she had been immersed in herbs since childhood, and handling medicinal herbs was her favorite thing to do.
As spring arrived and the sun grew brighter, Chen Yuan stood in the yard to protect herself from the sun on the daylily seedlings she had just harvested.
Xiao Ling stood behind Shen Yuan, hesitated for a long time before stepping forward and gently patting Shen Yuan's shoulder.
Shen Yuan turned to look at Xiao Ling, her smile bright: "What's wrong?"
Xiao Ling pursed his thin lips, remained silent for a moment, and finally handed the letter he had written to Shen Yuan.
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