Chapter 127 Daily revenue hits a new high.
During the seven-day National Day holiday, the number of customers at Gu's Private Kitchen was significantly better than usual, as evidenced by the increasingly earlier queues and waiting times.
The busiest day is National Day, partly because signature dishes like braised pig's feet, braised beef shank, braised chicken, and braised duck are making a comeback, and partly because people have a long-suppressed enthusiasm for Gu's Private Kitchen on the first day of the holiday.
For the remaining six days, there were still many customers queuing outside the restaurant. It felt like there were fewer customers than on National Day, but not by much.
However, this large customer flow did not have a significant impact on Gu's Private Kitchen. Gu Qingqiu increased the purchase of ingredients to try to serve 25 tables of customers per meal, so she could only helplessly turn away any more customers who came.
Many customers were extremely disappointed by this, and some even suggested on the spot that Gu's Private Kitchen should find an opportunity to expand its store, and hire more chefs and staff to help out, so that it could serve 45 tables of customers at once during the Chinese New Year.
Many people echoed this sentiment, agreeing wholeheartedly, and some even began to look forward to the wonderful day of hosting forty-five tables of customers. If Gu's Private Kitchen could accommodate forty-five tables of customers, they wouldn't be unable to get a number and miss out on lunch.
Some people objected: "No way, I feel that the boss's cooking skills are so high that they have become a unique skill. Even if he hires a chef to teach him step by step, I feel that he will not be able to reach the level of the boss for at least two or three years. In that case, I would rather come and queue up to eat the dishes cooked by the boss than eat the dishes cooked by other chefs that are slightly inferior in taste."
As soon as these words were spoken, someone immediately echoed, "That's right, we come to Gu's Private Kitchen for the delicious food. It's impossible for a hired chef to cook dishes at the same level as the owner in a short time. We also come for Gu's Private Kitchen's unique features. The menu is made up every day based on the fresh ingredients purchased, just like opening a blind box. If we serve a lot of customers, it might become a fixed menu one day."
Some people said, "The main thing about private kitchens is that the menu is unique, the ingredients are fresh and of high quality, and the portions are small and served until they're gone. I think Gu's Private Kitchen does all of these things very well. Ultimately, we're just late today, and we accept that. We'll come earlier tonight."
These words resonated with many, and even the customers who had previously suggested expanding the restaurant's premises, hiring more staff, and increasing capacity were now wavering.
They felt that their suggestion was fine, and that it was good for Gu's Private Kitchen to stay as it was; they could just come earlier next time to queue up.
After much deliberation, I ultimately leaned towards the latter.
To be honest, they came for the exceptionally delicious taste of Gu's Private Kitchen and the daily updated menu. If Gu's Private Kitchen were to expand its store, hire more chefs and staff, and increase its capacity, the quality of the dishes would drop significantly, which they would not be happy about.
They couldn't afford to lose sight of the bigger picture, nor did they want their wildly popular and highly-rated Gu's Private Kitchen to follow the same path of decline that many trendy restaurants have taken.
When these customers were expressing their opinions passionately, Sister Zhou couldn't stop them. Seeing that the tension between the two sides was gradually subsiding, she quickly spoke up to smooth things over and politely saw off the customers who were still full of regret.
Similar opinions exist online, divided into two camps just like this forum. Whenever this topic is brought up, it always generates 99+ comments. Gu Qingqiu has seen it when she spends her free time interacting on Xiaohongshu and Weibo.
However, she only browsed the thread to learn more and did not reply, because no matter how heated the discussion was, in the end, the side advocating for increasing the number of guests would yield to the side advocating for maintaining the status quo and ensuring the quality of the dishes. The two sides shook hands and made peace, as harmonious as online friends. The previous sharp and confrontational comments were like a friendly debate.
In fact, even Gu Qingqiu herself leaned towards the latter.
It's only a matter of time before I can train the chefs I recruit to my level, but my method of using spiritual energy to remove impurities from ingredients and condense a tiny bit of spiritual energy during the preparation and cooking process is something no one can learn.
Furthermore, the restaurant is expanding its premises, and the shops on both sides are long-time residents of Surrey Street, so they won't be selling easily.
Gu Qingqiu was unwilling to move to another place to rent a shop to operate the business. Gu's Private Kitchen could only be called Gu's Private Kitchen if it was located on Suli Street and in the small two-story attic of her own house. It was Gu's Private Kitchen, which was passed down from her grandfather's generation.
This place holds so many memories of my parents and grandfather. Gu Qingqiu continues to run the restaurant here, as if she is preserving everything from the past. By innovating new dishes to make the restaurant more popular, she can say that she has done right by her parents and grandfather.
Furthermore, Gu Qingqiu felt that life was pretty good now. With Sister Zhou and the other two helping out at the restaurant, everything was just right. It wasn't too crowded, and everyone got along quite well.
The amount of ingredients she prepared was just enough to serve the number of tables of customers that she and the restaurant could handle, allowing her to earn money with ease and live a fulfilling life.
However, netizens have a suggestion that can be adopted: after the National Day holiday, when the daily service of serving 20 tables of customers per meal resumes, a message can be pinned to the top of the comments section of the "Today's Notes" posted on Xiaohongshu and Weibo as soon as the queue numbers are distributed, so as to avoid customers who come back empty-handed.
While customers who genuinely want to eat here would certainly arrive early and line up, some newcomers might be unaware of these things. Gu Qingqiu thought it was quite simple to do, so she replied to the comment that suggested it—
[Gu's Private Kitchen: Thank you for your suggestion. Starting from October 9th, the restaurant will post the queue numbers online as soon as possible after distributing them during lunch and dinner hours, pinning the post in the comments section of any new posts published that day.]
In addition, to thank you for your valuable suggestion, you can enjoy a 20% discount on your next meal by showing this reply (thank you very much).
This netizen is probably still browsing Xiaohongshu. When they receive a reply to a comment, a pop-up notification appears, and the reply message appears quickly in just three to five seconds.
[Ya is really Ya: Ahhhhh, I actually got noticed by Gu's Private Kitchen!!!]
[Ya is really Ya: Yay! I'm so honored that my suggestion was adopted by the boss, hahaha! I finally got the 20% discount promised by Gu's Private Kitchen, this is something I can brag about for a year! Thank you so much!]
After seeing this, Gu Qingqiu smiled and replied with a thank you emoji.
The netizens active in the comment section quickly noticed the activity in this comment and flocked to leave their comments, which were filled with envy, screams and admiration.
In response to a netizen's question about why the decision was only implemented on October 9th, Gu Qingqiu replied:
[Gu's Private Kitchen: We've been working non-stop for the seven-day National Day holiday, and my staff and I are all a bit tired. The restaurant will be closed on October 8th to give us a good rest. See you on October 9th!]
After posting that reply, she copied the content, made a separate note about it, and then posted it again on Weibo. The Weibo post was a bit longer, announcing not only the break time but also the suggestions she had just adopted from Xiaohongshu users.
Gu Qingqiu returned to Xiaohongshu and found that her newly posted note already had quite a few comments, making it very lively.
[Foodie: LOL, seeing this post just made me realize that Gu's Private Kitchen, which always closes on Tuesdays, hasn't closed this week for the National Day holiday. They should get some rest; they can't let the donkeys in the production team get exhausted (doge)]
[Yay! I love traveling: You've worked so hard! Wow, Gu's Private Kitchen has been open for seven days straight! The last time I worked this hard was probably the last time. Get some rest tomorrow, see you on the 9th!]
[Born to Laugh: Tears welled up. Gu's Private Kitchen was open when we were on holiday, but now that we're back to work, it's closed. We were destined to meet. We were never meant to be, but Gu's Private Kitchen went to great lengths to tempt me with its delicious food (covers mouth)]
[Just blurting it out: Oh no, I was thinking that with so many customers during the National Day holiday, it would be too competitive to eat at Gu's Private Kitchen. I was planning to avoid the peak season and wait until tomorrow, the 8th, when everyone's back at work, to enjoy a delicious meal at Gu's Private Kitchen. But it turns out Gu's Private Kitchen is closed for the holiday! Okay, I understand. I'll go again on the 9th. There's always next time (looking forward to it)]
[...]
Gu Qingqiu smiled as she read several comments, but this time she didn't like or reply. After exiting Xiaohongshu, she didn't look at anything else and instead counted the transactions for the seven-day National Day holiday at the cashier.
Normally, the restaurant's monthly revenue is tallied at the end of the month, but with business so good during the seven-day National Day holiday, Gu Qingqiu was curious to see just how good it could be. Although she had a general idea, since the prices of the dishes and the number of tables served were fixed.
She had been working for seven days straight and was feeling a bit tired. Tomorrow she could take a good rest. Taking stock of the earnings over the seven-day National Day holiday would satisfy her curiosity and boost her morale, thus relieving her fatigue.
Zhou Jie and the other two finished their work and went home around 8:40. Gu Qingqiu also went upstairs to take a shower, dried her hair, played on her phone for a while, and then came downstairs.
She turned on the computer at the cashier's counter, skillfully opened the payment processing software, and exported the accounts for the seven-day National Day holiday into an Excel spreadsheet.
After opening the app, Gu Qingqiu entered the purchase bill one by one, referring to the payment records on her phone.
She used to enter data once a week, only able to do these computer tasks on her days off. She was already exhausted from completing her business tasks, and had no time or energy to enter the daily purchase invoices.
The seven-day National Day holiday will only make me more tired and less likely to be able to enter purchase invoices, so this is a good time to enter them.
Enter the purchase bills for these seven days, along with the purchase bills for September 30th, into the system. After all, the purchases on September 30th were also for preparing braised meat for National Day. Gu Qingqiu then calculated the seven-day turnover, the daily turnover for these seven days, and the corresponding profit.
Her eyes lit up when she saw the results, and a bright smile instantly spread across her face. She felt that the hard work of the past seven days was all worthwhile.
Beautiful!
Whether it's the seven-day revenue or the daily revenue, it's all exceptionally good. The procurement expenses are slightly higher than usual, but that's because the number of customers served has increased, and the revenue has increased accordingly, resulting in increased profits.
Gu Qingqiu clearly remembers that the highest daily revenue and profit since the restaurant opened were during the May Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays. Compared to the May Day holiday when the restaurant had just opened and served fewer customers, the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday had higher daily revenue and profit, which remains the peak to this day.
This record has now been broken. The daily turnover and profit on National Day became the new peak, and for the next six days, they almost always exceeded the daily turnover and profit of Mid-Autumn Festival.
Gu Qingqiu was overjoyed. The money earned in these seven days was almost equivalent to the amount earned in eleven or twelve days of a month. If the restaurant continued to operate normally, it could set a new record for monthly revenue in October.
That's amazing!
Gu Qingqiu's lips curled up, her eyes and brows full of smiles.
She forwarded the newly calculated Excel spreadsheet to her phone, and then exported the previously imported purchasing accounts separately as a table to save them, so that it would be convenient to continue entering data and reconciling accounts at the end of the month next week.
After finishing, she deleted the original Excel spreadsheet and then cleared it again from the recycle bin before shutting down the computer.
Gu Qingqiu hummed a catchy tune that she had heard many times in short videos recently. After checking that all the doors and windows were locked, she went upstairs to relax and rest.
On the 8th, while all the working class and students were painfully ending their seven-day National Day holiday and heading back to work or school with tears in their eyes, Gu Qingqiu was sleeping soundly on her cozy little bed in her own room.
She unusually didn't set an alarm clock, and even after her biological clock woke her up, she still chose to close her eyes and continue sleeping.
When I opened my eyes again, the sun was high in the sky, and even the blackout curtains couldn't block out the intense sunlight outside.
Gu Qingqiu rubbed her sleepy eyes, took a deep breath, and sat up to stretch her arms, legs, and back. She felt refreshed and the fatigue accumulated over the past seven days had dissipated by 90%.
She wasn't in a hurry to brush her teeth or wash her face. Instead, she sat back up on the headboard, took out her phone, opened a food delivery app, ordered breakfast, and then browsed her WeChat Moments for a while.
She hasn't posted on WeChat Moments since her rebirth, but she checks it almost every day, morning and evening, to see what other people are up to.
Unlike many people who add a lot of strangers casually, Gu Qingqiu's WeChat contacts were only relatives and acquaintances from junior high school to college graduation. In junior and senior high school, she only added classmates. In college, she added some classmates with whom she had a casual relationship but could only name them because of clubs and organizations. After graduation, she added colleagues and some unfamiliar colleagues and partners from other departments that she needed to contact.
However, some of the people she wasn't very familiar with had all their Moments restricted to chat only before she even transmigrated.
Now, I scroll through my WeChat Moments every day, just to see what's going on in my life, to keep up with the latest happenings of those who might have crossed paths with me or never will again, so as not to miss out on my memories of the cultivation world that are decades behind me.
What if we happen to run into each other on the street someday, and the other person doesn't recognize us even though we haven't seen each other for less than a year, which arouses their suspicion?
Although Gu Qingqiu wasn't afraid of this suspicion, she loved browsing her WeChat Moments, so she figured she might as well take a look.
After finishing scrolling through her WeChat Moments, she got up, grabbed a set of clothes, changed, went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face, then went to the kitchen to boil some water and made a cup of warm water by mixing it with the cold water from last night.
The takeout arrived quickly. Gu Qingqiu went downstairs to pick it up and then returned to the dining table on the second floor to eat.
She ordered the classic breakfast items today: red rice rolls, pan-fried chive dumplings, and salted dumplings, and also bought a cup of soy milk.
Gu Qingqiu had eaten at this breakfast shop before and thought the food was good and the ingredients were quite fresh. This time, when she wanted to eat breakfast, she subconsciously ordered from this shop.
I had the red rice rolls and pan-fried chive dumplings before, and they were still the same in appearance and portion size. She could finish them in one meal.
These salted water dumplings are quite exquisite. The three dumplings are packed in a slightly sturdy transparent box. Many noodle shops sell round salted water dumplings, but this one is specially made into the shape of a little swan. The chubby body and small, proud head exude an elegant and proud spirit. The dumplings are golden and crispy, and are decorated with two black sesame seeds for eyes. They look very appetizing.
Gu Qingqiu couldn't resist taking apart disposable chopsticks and picking up a swan-shaped salted dumpling to eat.
She was not one to show any mercy to women; she took a bite out of the swan's delicate neck, savoring its crispy, salty flavor and the soft, sticky texture of glutinous rice inside.
Gu Qingqiu chewed and swallowed in two or three bites, then took a big bite of the little swan's round body. This time, the crispy texture was even stronger, and you could hear the crunching sound as her teeth bit through the outer skin of the saltwater swan.
During the deep-frying process, small, even bubbles form on the outer surface of the salted water dumplings, giving them a slightly grainy texture. The main flavors are the savory aroma of lard and the sweet fragrance of glutinous rice.
This time, Gu Qingqiu bit into a little bit of the filling, tasting the sticky, soft texture of the glutinous rice and its savory flavor. She then took a big bite, this time tasting even more of the filling.
She savored and chewed carefully, tasting the texture and aroma of the minced pork, the salty aroma of the ham, the tender and mushroomy aroma of the shiitake mushrooms, and the fresh aroma of the dried shrimp. The slightly crunchy texture was probably due to the addition of water chestnut pieces.
The flavorful and multi-layered filling, combined with the sticky and soft glutinous rice skin, is absolutely amazing!
Gu Qingqiu mentally elevated the evaluation of this breakfast dish, even surpassing the status of red rice rolls and pan-fried chive dumplings.
The filling of the salted water dumpling was savory and delicious, moist and juicy, which somewhat neutralized the slightly dry texture of the outer glutinous rice skin. Gu Qingqiu quickly finished the whole salted water dumpling and thought that she could give this breakfast a good review later.
She then ate the red rice sausage, which also had a crispy outer skin, or rather, the outermost red sausage skin was thin and soft, the middle layer of fried dough sticks was quite crispy, and the inside was mixed with fresh, sweet and firm shrimp. It was especially enjoyable to eat all three layers in one bite.
After eating two pieces of red rice sausage, she picked up a pan-fried chive dumpling and ate it.
The chive dumplings served at breakfast are usually quite large. The ones we ordered here cost eighteen yuan for only three, and one of them is equivalent to the amount of two or three regular chive dumplings.
Gu Qingqiu ate one. The outer skin of the chive dumpling was also fried until crispy, and the filling was a very fragrant chive and pork filling. It tasted a bit like water chestnuts, crisp and juicy, moist and salty, very delicious.
After finishing her meal, she picked up another salted dumpling and ate it.
After savoring the rich, savory filling and the crispy yet soft and sticky outer layer of glutinous rice once again, Gu Qingqiu felt extremely satisfied.
While eating these, she would occasionally drink a few sips of soy milk if her mouth felt dry.
You can tell this soy milk is freshly squeezed and not diluted with too much water. The unsweetened soy milk has a pure soybean flavor, a rich and delicious taste, and every sip is full of plant protein.
Gu Qingqiu was quite full. She had saved some of the red rice sausage, pan-fried chive dumplings, and salted dumplings. She took out her phone and took a picture before putting the lid back on and leaving it on the table for later reheating at noon.
The idea that had popped into her head earlier, now that she had nothing else to do, she just put it into practice, opened her food delivery app, found the order she had just completed, and wrote a positive review.
The rider received a five-star rating, and the merchant also received five stars in all three categories. Usually, this would be the end of the review, but Gu Qingqiu continued writing her review.
She first emphasized that this was her second purchase, then briefly described the delicious taste of the red rice rolls and pan-fried chive dumplings, and praised the delicate and delicious salted water dumplings, as well as the freshly ground soy milk with its rich and mellow aroma.
After posting it, Gu Qingqiu smiled. This was the best review her customer could give to the breakfast shop.
After playing on her phone for a while, she realized that she had been so busy for the past seven days that she hadn't had time to clean the second floor. She had only swept up dust and hair when she saw something dirty during her breaks.
This time, I simply took a broom and swept the second floor inside and out, then took a mop, wrung it out in the mop bucket, and mopped the entire second floor.
After mopping the floor, Gu Qingqiu also grabbed a damp cloth and wiped the coffee table and sofa in the living room, because she didn't spend much time in the living room and it had accumulated more dust.
The desk in the room is used every day, and if it gets dirty, I just wipe it with a tissue, and it's much cleaner. I don't need to wipe it specially right now.
Gu Qingqiu washed the rag, wrung it out, and hung it on the balcony to dry. Then she went to her room to take off the four-piece bedding set and put it in the washing machine to wash, taking advantage of the good weather to dry it.
Without pausing, she went to the wardrobe, took out a light green floral four-piece bedding set, and remade the bed. The whole bed looked refreshing and pleasing to the eye, and her mood also became cheerful.
Gu Qingqiu breathed a sigh of relief after finishing, counting how much housework she had done. Looking at the time, it was only a little past eleven o'clock, and she felt a great sense of accomplishment.
She was sweating a bit, so instead of lying down on the bed to sleep, she went to the bathroom to get a towel, wrung it out, and wiped the sweat off her face and body. Then she went to the sofa in the living room, sat down, and rested while playing on her phone.
She picked up her phone and saw a WeChat message notification at the top of the screen. As she clicked on it, she wondered if it was from her uncle, aunt, cousin, or Lan Jingcheng. These were the only people she had been in contact with lately.
When the WeChat page redirected directly to the sender's chat box, Gu Qingqiu raised an eyebrow in surprise.
This person really can't stand being nagged. This morning, he said he was checking his WeChat Moments to make sure he wouldn't forget people from the past if he ran into them in the future. And now he's received a message from a former colleague who used to work at the magazine.
[Yan Yanqiu: Qingqiu, it's been so long since we last contacted each other. How have you been lately? During my National Day holiday on the 3rd, I went to eat at Gu's Private Kitchen, which is very popular in Jiang City right now. I saw a chef cooking in the kitchen whose back looked a lot like yours. Could it be you?]
[Yan Yanqiu: I remember you mentioned before that your family owned a restaurant. I never imagined you were such a good cook, making Gu's Private Kitchen so successful. You've really succeeded in quitting your job to start your own business (laughs)]
[Yan Yanqiu: I originally wanted to confirm with you that day, but seeing you were busy in the kitchen, I left first, afraid of delaying the later customers. I figured you must be quite busy during the seven-day National Day holiday, so I only dared to contact you today. Please don't mind!]
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