The night before the opening, Meng Zhao took Xiao Chuan to the new shop to prepare the inventory for the opening.
The shop has a separate door in the backyard. On weekdays, anything that needs to be delivered, such as various ingredients and groceries, will be brought in directly through this door so as not to affect the customers in front.
The doorway was large enough that Meng Zhao drove the donkey cart inside and parked it. He saw Lin Qiuniang stepping on the pedal to mince chicken.
"Qiu Niang, the minced meat is just right at this consistency. It will be chewier when you eat it. If you mince it for too long, it will become too soft."
Lin Qiuniang quickly stopped what she was doing. "Okay, I'll take it and cook it now. You can try it and see how it tastes later."
Meng Zhao nodded slightly, then turned and walked towards the front hall of the shop. She had previously had the tables, chairs and benches that had been delivered stacked together to decorate the walls, and now they were arranging them separately.
“Cui Ying, the tables don’t need to be placed so close together in winter. Everyone is wearing thick clothes now. If they are too close together, people will be sitting at both tables and their backs will be touching.”
Upon hearing this, Cui Ying moved the table a little further away, and Meng Zhao called Shen Yun over, asking the two of them to sit back to back and simulate eating, to see if there was anything else that needed to be adjusted.
While the shop was being renovated, people from the neighborhood would often come to watch the excitement, and Meng Zhao got to know quite a few people in the area. Now that the shop was about to open, she prepared a few portions of braised meat in advance and asked Aunt Feng'e to deliver them, so that Aunt Feng'e could also chat with people.
Not long after, Aunt Feng'e returned cheerfully. Meng Zhao asked, "Auntie, the braised meat has been delivered. What did they think?"
Aunt Feng'e's smile deepened. "Very few people who have tried our braised meat have said it's not good. You didn't see it, but after they tasted it, they kept praising how delicious it was. If you ask me, there aren't many food businesses on this street. I think these people will become our regular customers in the future."
The first batch of customers is crucial for the opening of this new shop. In addition to acquaintances who will come to support it, most of them are people who work or live in the surrounding area, so their word-of-mouth is very important.
Then he said to Aunt Feng'e, "Auntie, I bought another donkey cart. I'll leave the old one to you. Please bring the vegetables from the village over every day. I've already told Aunt Shuhua and Aunt Suyun to wait for you and Xiaoyun at the city gate. It's the middle of winter, so you can get some more sleep."
Lady Liu was busy wiping the bowls and basins that Meng Zhao had brought clean and putting them on the shelf when she heard this and immediately laughed.
“We are really lucky to have met such a kind host. You even provided donkey carts for the workers, and even we newcomers have brand new clothes. You can tell the cotton filling is thick just by touching it. Even when I wear them outside, I don’t feel cold.”
Hearing this from the side, Shen Yun immediately chimed in, "Of course! Sister Meng Zhao is the best employer. You'll see in the future."
Meng Zhao couldn't help but chuckle, gently patting Shen Yun's head. "If you want me to be nice to you, there are conditions. You all have to do your jobs well. Tomorrow is the first day of business, so be extra careful and don't let anything go wrong."
The people working in the front yard all agreed, saying they would definitely do their best.
Meng Zhao glanced at everyone and suddenly realized that someone was missing. "Xiao Yun, have you seen Xiao Chuan? Where did he go?"
“I just saw him run out, saying he wanted to write down which shops were on the surrounding streets so that he wouldn’t go to the wrong place if he needed to make deliveries in the future.”
Seeing how dedicated her employees were, Meng Zhao couldn't help but relax a little.
The first day of the twelfth lunar month is an auspicious day for opening a business, starting construction, or moving into a new house.
Having prepared in advance, Meng Zhao unveiled the red silk on the signboard early in the morning, announcing the official opening of Meng Ji Braised Pork Offal Xishui Street Store!
The characters on the plaque were written by Shen Qinghe. The strokes were simple and the brushstrokes were strong. Although it was not as gorgeous as the gold-painted and red-painted plaques used by some large shops, the classical design matched the overall storefront perfectly and had a touch of rustic beauty.
The opening ceremony was all about creating a festive and lively atmosphere. Meng Zhao hung two large red lanterns above the entrance, as well as two vertical banners. One read "Grand Opening Special Offers," and the other read "Non-stop Gifts." Below, there was a note that the gifts were available while supplies lasted.
When Tongfu Street opened, Meng Zhao offered a 20% discount for the first three days to attract customers, and business was indeed booming. However, some problems arose after the opening event ended.
Even though Meng Zhao always calculates the original price before offering the discounted price during promotions, many customers still complain about how much more expensive it is when they see the original price after the promotion ends, or complain about the smaller quantity even though they paid the same amount.
Customers who have already seen the cheaper prices will feel frustrated if they buy at the original price. Fortunately, their products taste good enough, so it didn't have too much of an impact.
Having learned from her previous experience, she gave up the discount this time and instead chose to give gifts, namely custom-made bowls and basins.
Many people were just passing by when they happened to see Meng Zhao's shop. They didn't have any bowls or basins, but they wanted to buy more soup. So they simply went to buy a bowl or basin. Meng Zhao had heard from Manager Zhao of the general store next to Tongfu Street that since her shop opened, the sales of bowls and basins in their shop had skyrocketed.
Later, Manager Zhao placed the bowls and basins in the shop in a prominent position, and Meng Zhao chose to give them away directly when the shop opened.
She set up a table at the entrance of the shop and piled up the prepared bowls and basins high up. In front of the table hung a large banner that read, "Buy 20 coins and get a free bowl; buy 50 coins and get a free basin."
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