"Fuqiu, come in."
"They've already started imitating the mooncakes you mentioned. Do you want to go down and supervise them?"
Shen Jia sorted out the items on the table and thought to himself, "Starting production so soon? I hope it doesn't delay everyone's work. Let's go, then. I thought you guys had to wait until tomorrow to start."
"You don't know that every time you bring something, it will cause a new round of craze in the capital. Not only do the wives of officials and businessmen love it, but we like it too. As soon as we see it, we can't help but want to get it.
As for the remaining work, the others are also busy. The group of employees who went to the capital with me at the beginning of the year are almost ready to start their apprenticeship now."
When Fuqiu heard Shen Jia's puzzled question, she slowly explained.
Shen Jia was also surprised by what she heard. It seemed that everyone's growth rate was even faster than she expected. So she thought of her plan to open a branch and asked Fuqiu:
"In that case, with the current staffing of Zhenwei Pavilion, how many branches do you think we can open in other prefectures with the current staffing and materials?"
Fuqiu really didn't know what to answer at first. She stood there for a long time without saying anything, and finally her frown suddenly relaxed.
"Given our current high demand for food, we'll probably only open three more restaurants. Each restaurant can hire two experienced chefs, and the rest will be staffed by a few new apprentices. As for the remaining simple tasks, those who haven't learned much should be able to handle them."
"Then you should start planning. If you're short on staff, recruit a few from the academy and try to open three branches by next year."
"Actually, I feel like we're running out of manpower. I'm wondering if you've considered changing your enrollment scope. I think people from the surrounding counties would definitely be willing to join."
The main reason is that Shen Jia has always required his employees to be literate, which is a big hurdle for ordinary people.
In addition, she had previously only been willing to allow relatives of the workshop employees to join, and the shop was expanding too quickly. Even she, who was far away in the provincial capital, could feel it. She didn't believe that Shen Jia didn't realize it.
Speaking of this, Shen Jia also sighed and said helplessly: "I guess I will be busy with this matter when I go back, and now there are employees in several surrounding counties. I must think of a new way to solve the current problem of insufficient manpower.
Okay, enough talking, let's go to the kitchen and see how things are going. Who knows, they might be getting anxious waiting for us.
"Well, just make your own judgment."
After saying that, the two of them hurried to the kitchen. Because snow skin mooncakes do not require baking, they can be made faster. Now there are more than a dozen snow skin mooncakes of different shapes and flavors in the kitchen.
Seeing the two of them coming back, Chen Yaer quickly called out, "Boss, come and see, are we doing the same as what's written on the paper?"
The other people involved in the production also looked at Shen Jia with anticipation, and now they were waiting for her comments to see how talented they were.
Shen Jia looked at the mooncakes with white skin on the table, through which the purple, yellow or red filling could be faintly seen. They looked delicious just by looking at them.
Under everyone's expectant gaze, she picked up a mooncake with salted egg yolk filling. Compared with traditional mooncakes, its crust was softer and more glutinous, and it did not require time to be greased, so naturally it was impossible for it to be unbreakable.
When you take a bite, you can taste the salty and delicate taste of the salted egg yolk. It is roasted dry and fragrant before being wrapped. The ice skin on the outside is also sticky and very elastic. The egg yolk is almost crispy and falls off the ice skin when it leaves your lips.
She could finish the meal in just two or three bites. After she finished, she found that everyone was still staring at her in a daze.
So he urged them, "Hurry up and try it, it's really delicious. It might not be as good as other long-established dim sum shops, but with our unique features, we can still compete with them."
Now other people started to work. The soft and glutinous texture of the crust could be felt while it was being made, and it was quite different from traditional mooncakes when eaten.
Although the taste is quite good, some people are worried whether their changes can be accepted by the wives of officials and businessmen in the capital.
Now it is supported by the same trust in Shen Jia as always. Even if it is not sold as mooncakes, there should be many people who will buy it.
Now they could decide on it temporarily. The next day, Shen Jia and Fuqiu took the pattern they had drawn overnight to find a carpenter to make a more exquisite pattern first, and then start making the outer box.
For powerful people, when it comes to mooncakes, appearance may sometimes be more important than inner qualities, and they naturally cannot lose here.
As soon as Shen Jia entered the room, he saw the master craftsman inside carving something and asked, "Master, do you have time now? We want to make some molds, and we brought the patterns ourselves."
Master Yang stopped what he was doing and looked at the two people who came in with a serious look. His voice was like a broken bellows, "Show me the pattern first."
If everyone hadn't said that this was the carpentry shop with the best craftsmanship, and if there weren't two guards around him, Shen Jia would have really thought again before entering.
However, in order to see the results as soon as possible, Shen Jia handed over the thing in his hand. The other party carefully examined it and found that the carving skills did not need to be very advanced, but the patterns were a little complicated.
With his ability alone, it would probably take him a day or two. The only special thing was the hollow wooden box below that said it could be transformed, which attracted his attention.
When closed, it can become a wooden box for storing things, and when the two sides are separated, it can become a flat piece of hollow patterned wood carving, which looks particularly exquisite.
He had the impression that this kind of thing could only be made with soft gold wire, and most skilled craftsmen made it into small gold sachets.
He immediately became interested after just one look at it and wanted to try if he could make it by following the steps described above.
However, Fuqiu, who was standing by, felt that the craftsman had been silent for a long time and could not help but ask:
"Can the stuff here be made? If you're not sure, let's try somewhere else."
This really infuriated Master Yang, who immediately declared, "If I can't do anything, you'll get the same result if you ask anyone else in this city. I think this is a good idea. Pick up the mooncake molds in three days. As for the rest, wait ten days. They won't be late for your Mid-Autumn Festival."
He was quite arrogant, but Shen Jia had to admit that this was the old carpenter that everyone generally recognized after getting some information.
"Okay, we'll see when the time comes."
Originally, Shen Jia was planning to pay a deposit, but once the other party got the blueprints in his hand, he didn't even want to look at anyone else. While she was talking, he waved his hand to signal them to leave quickly.
Chen Yaer, who was accompanying them, explained, "Master Yang is highly skilled, but his only shortcoming is his bad temper. The boss and Manager Chen should be more tolerant of him."
"It's okay, as long as we make what we need, I'm a master, so I can tolerate a little temper."
After returning home, the kitchen of Zhenwei Pavilion is still making several other types of mooncakes, and because the previous cakes were so popular, the kitchen has now built four ovens in a row.
From time to time, the aroma of milk from cakes and mooncakes wafts from the oven. As soon as I enter the kitchen, I feel that my life is much more fulfilled. A sweet career is so wonderful.
The three days passed quickly. After making a few mooncakes with the new mold, they were looking forward to the new wooden box developed by Shen Jia.
She has studied thoroughly how to grasp the thoughts of the wives of officials and businessmen, and the gift boxes must be sold on high shelves.
When Shen Jia personally demonstrated the special features of this wooden box to all the employees, everyone present was amazed.
"How can there be such exquisite wood carvings in the world! It seems like this. I used to envy the wooden boxes that the maids brought back when they bought food, but compared to what I see now, there is really a world of difference."
"I feel like my eyes are almost not enough. How can this thing be stacked without touching or breaking?"
Now, the only two made have become treasures in everyone's eyes, and we need to pay attention to their safety at all times.
At the same time, he also began to calculate the approximate production of this wooden box by the Mid-Autumn Festival and what price should be set to maximize his own profits.
As for the other boxes, Shen Jia used cardboard to decorate them, painting flowers, birds, fish and insects that suited the occasion on the outside.
Shen Jia had stayed in the provincial capital for quite some time. After confirming the branch plan with Fuqiu once again, she left the provincial capital with peace of mind and returned to Ning'an Town.
It was almost the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the streets and alleys were bustling with activity. The workshop was still busy with the soybean harvest.
Because the scope of this collaboration was so wide, it was a hassle to handle. Everyone gradually realized the power of the four words "inability to do the job". After working hard for a long time, everyone was deeply exhausted.
On the day when all the soybeans were finally processed, Shen Jia gathered all the employees together and said loudly:
"I've seen how hard everyone has worked during this period, and I know we're facing a serious shortage of staff in our workshop right now. Don't worry, I'm already thinking of a solution.
I've gathered everyone here today to say that for all your hard work over the past month, I will be giving you bonuses based on your contributions, triple the previously agreed bonus amount, and give you five extra days of annual leave to use as you please.
Normally, Shen Jia would give out a high bonus at a time like this, otherwise how could no one have complaints? Now Shen Jia has tripled it, and they really have no idea what to do.
Everyone on the scene praised Shen Jia's wisdom, "Wow wow wow! Thank you, boss! You are truly the best and wisest boss in the world!"
Looking at everyone's happy scene, Shen Jia couldn't help but smile and enjoy the joy with everyone.
The soybean harvest has just ended, and the peppers over there can't wait any longer. Previously, they were picked after turning red and dried in the workshop before being transported to the provincial capital.
Now is the peak production period for peppers, and the workshop can only spare ten people to help every day. Now after this round of busy work, everyone has to enter the next battlefield.
The author has something to say:
It's only a little over half a month until the Mid-Autumn Festival, so this chapter is quite fitting.
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