Chapter 519 Plan
It was still some time before lunch, so there was no one in the restaurant. Everyone took a break and then started working.
Under Qian's arrangement, Zhou Dalang and his companions went to fetch water and buy ingredients, because there were unexpectedly many guests today, and the vegetables they brought yesterday and the meat they bought today were not enough.
The rest of the people washed dishes and cleaned the tables and chairs. Xiao Qian took Zhou Xi, He and others to take charge of the kitchen work.
To make steamed buns, to let the dough rest and make noodles...
Manbao and his younger brothers took out all the money they had received today, strung them together one by one, one hundred to a string, and ten strings to a string.
The food they sold was not expensive, and most ordinary people used copper coins, so they did not receive silver.
Everyone was happily counting coins, chatting while counting them. Erya came over from the kitchen after taking the accounts. "Auntie, look, this is the amount of flour and vegetables that my aunt and the others used today. I calculated last night that one basket of buns would require about 100 grams of flour..."
Erya calculated the approximate amount and said, "The two buckets of tofu pudding I made this morning have both been sold. I was the one who scooped the tofu pudding. I counted them, and there are about sixty bowls in one bucket..."
Manbao wrote this down and calculated how much it could be sold for.
Bai Shanbao took a look and said, "The difference seems quite large. How did this happen?"
Erya sighed and said, "The store was too chaotic before grandma and my aunt came today. Many people left without paying, and some people were charged the wrong amount."
Manbao frowned and said, "This won't do. We have a large family now and if we keep doing this, won't my sister-in-law and the others be even busier when we go back in a couple of days?"
"I've seen other restaurants with a lot of people, but they're all very well-organized. They don't need a lot of waiters," Bai Shanbao said. "Perhaps you should go see how other restaurants do it, and then learn how to arrange it. You'll naturally be hectic at first, since you're not familiar with the job, but you should become proficient after a few days."
Manbao thought about it and said, "I know how they arrange it. There's usually one person at the counter, two waiting tables, and I don't know about the kitchen."
Yang Heshu sat on the second floor and listened to their lively discussion downstairs. Finally, he had eaten and drunk his fill and put down his chopsticks.
"How many people have suffered so much before they figured out this method? Because they've been educated, they can easily learn it from others with just a little thought." Yang Heshu shook his head and sighed, "It's a pity that so few people know this."
Wan Tian didn't say anything.
Yang Heshu was very sad. "Reading has so many benefits, why don't people like to read?"
The people downstairs finally heard Yang Heshu's voice and remembered that the county magistrate was still upstairs.
Manbao put the counted money and the account book into the drawer, then went upstairs with Bai Shanbao and the others. "Master Yang, are you trying to persuade people to study?"
"Yes," Yang Heshu poured himself a bowl of water and said, "It's a pity that even after I persuaded people from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, not many people are willing to study, let alone get into the county school."
He glanced at Bai Shanbao again and asked, "Are you really not considering taking the entrance exam for the County School? If your grades at the County School are good, I can recommend you to the Prefecture School. Then you can enter directly without taking the exam."
Bai Shanbao thought about it seriously for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Thank you, sir. I still want to take the entrance exam to the provincial academy. I'm still young, and I think I can get in before I turn fourteen."
Yang Heshu knew he had a plan when he heard it, and he asked with interest, "What is your plan?"
Bai Shanbao said, "I've discussed this with my teacher. I should be able to get into the provincial school before I'm fourteen. After two years of study, I'll see if I have a chance to get into the Imperial Academy. It would be fine if I can take the imperial examination before I come of age."
Yang Heshu clapped his hands and smiled, "Not bad, not bad. With your talent and intelligence, you should have no problem getting into the Imperial College. By the way, do you plan to take the Imperial College entrance exam, or the Four-Door Academy?"
"Of course it's the Imperial Academy," Manbao looked at Bai Shanbao, "If I can't get into the Imperial Academy, I can still get into the Imperial Academy, right?"
Although Bai Shanbao was quite confident in himself, his teacher always said that there are always people better than you, so he said cautiously, "I will try my best, but the Imperial College only accepts 500 people, so I may not be able to get in."
However, Yang Heshu was very confident in him. Although Bai Shanbao was still young, his knowledge was not inferior to some people in the Imperial College. If he grew up a few years later, it should not be a problem for him to be admitted to the Imperial College.
However, Yang Heshu lowered his eyes and thought about it, and it was not necessarily true. After all, not only the Imperial College, but also the Imperial College could be admitted by relying on ancestral influence, and the number of students was no less than that of the Imperial College.
Yang Heshu glanced downstairs, then changed the subject and said with a smile, "Your shop has a great location, and your craftsmanship is pretty good. Judging from what we saw this morning, your business will definitely be good in the future."
Manbao thought so too.
But the situation was not as they imagined. The new store was busy for two or three days, and then slowly began to cool down.
There are still many people coming into the restaurant to eat every day, but the number seems to have dropped from the sky in an instant.
This was the first time that the restaurant had not sold all of the prepared ingredients and there were still a lot left.
Zhou Dalang and his friends were not stupid. After paying close attention, they discovered that a considerable number of the customers who had dined there in the past three days were provided by people from other restaurants in the city.
Perhaps after trying all the food they cooked and knowing their strengths and weaknesses, they stopped coming.
The number of customers suddenly decreased a lot.
In addition, some people who like to join in the fun may prefer to buy some food nearby, so naturally they will not come.
Zhou Dalang and the others figured it out and stopped worrying. "When it comes to business, it still depends on how old the store is. It looks like we'll need to prepare less ingredients starting tomorrow."
Xiao Qian nodded and said, "Let the rest of the family go back. Since there are fewer people here, there's no need to keep so many people here. The children also need to get ready to go to school."
"Old Six and I are enough in the front, but can you handle the back alone?"
"I don't think it will be possible for a while. I want to ask my eldest sister to stay."
Zhou Dalang thought for a moment and said, "That's fine, I'll help you."
The couple decided on it, and naturally the others listened to them. Zhou Dalang and Zhou Liulang had also practiced for the past three days. There weren't as many customers as in the previous two days, so it wasn't a big problem to deal with the previous ones.
The kitchen is even easier to handle, as Xiao Qian is used to doing kitchen work.
Everyone rushed home, and Old Zhoutou only reminded them, "For things like rice and flour, take them from home. If you don't have enough, buy them from the village. Don't buy them from the grain store; they're too expensive and not worth it."
He said, "We won't be selling the grain we grow this year. We'll leave it all for you to trade. As for beans, we'll have plenty. If you don't have enough at home, we can easily buy them from the village."
(End of this chapter)
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