Chapter 345 Zhong Xiangchao

The master chef’s surname is Zhang, Zhang Guohao, he is 46 years old this year. He started learning cooking at the age of 14 and studied for six years. At the age of 20, he was hired as a chef in a state-owned hotel.

This has been going on for twenty-five years.

This year the state-owned hotel where he worked closed down and he resigned.

He supports his whole family with this job, and he is reluctant to see the hotel close. He is only 45 years old, and he can work for at least another 15 years.

This chef was introduced by Su He's third brother Su Che.

Twenty years later, Su Che came to Beijing to study and met Zhang Guohao by chance. Since then, the two have kept in touch.

As soon as he heard that his brother-in-law was going to open a big hotel next year and needed an experienced chef, Su Che recommended Zhang Guohao to Gu Jianhua.

Gu Jianhua did not go empty-handed when he visited Master Zhang, he brought two bottles of wine.

Zhang Guohao has four sons. The eldest and second are married. The third and fourth are twins. They are 19 years old this year. They just graduated from high school and did not get into college, so they are staying at home.

Master Zhang's wife works in a supply and marketing cooperative. Since the country's reform and opening up, with the increase in private enterprises and self-employed individuals, fewer people go to state-owned restaurants and supply and marketing cooperatives to eat and buy things.

The state-owned hotel where he worked closed down this year, and he was afraid that the supply and marketing cooperative where his wife worked would also close down soon.

Now that both of them are unemployed, how are they going to raise a child?

So when Su Che came to tell him about this, he was very happy. It would be very stressful for a family to be the only one working.

When recruiting a chef, of course you have to test his cooking skills.

After Master Zhang and Gu Jianhua met, they chatted briefly and then went to the vegetable market to buy vegetables. Then Master Zhang showed off his halal skills to Gu Jianhua at the halal restaurant.

Made a large table of dishes.

Because it was noon, Gu Jianhua called the four elders, Su He and the children to taste the food.

"Delicious, delicious." Su He praised after taking a bite of the roast pork.

Gu Jianhua’s cooking is delicious.

But it's still incomparable to the chefs in state-owned hotels. Their braised pork is shiny and red in color, and tastes fat but not greasy, soft, glutinous and sweet.

I can eat two big bowls of Suho with rice.

Gu's mother also said, "The dishes made by this chef taste different. They can't compare to what we make ourselves."

Even the little girl Sui Sui said, "So cute."

If the chef's cooking skills are fine, then basically everything else will be fine too.

In the afternoon, Gu Jianhua took Master Zhang to see the big hotel that will open next year.

"How big is this store? How many square meters is it?" Master Zhang asked, looking at the four-story building in front of him.

Gu Jianhua: "More than 3,000 square meters."

"The renovation will be completed around April or May next year. Master Zhang, you will have to wait at home for a few months."

Chef Zhang, "That's no problem, but I'm afraid it won't work for a restaurant as big as yours to have only one chef, right?"

The store, which is over 3,000 square meters, can be considered a restaurant.

"Yes, and we need to hire a few chefs."

"But Master Zhang, I plan to hire you as our chef, and I will pay you this amount of salary per month." Gu Jianhua held up two fingers.

Master Zhang looked at it and asked, "Two hundred?"

That’s fine, it’s higher than his previous salary working in a state-owned hotel.

Gu Jianhua smiled and said, "It's two thousand."

Master Zhang was shocked. "Two thousand?"

So much?

Gu Jianhua, "Yes, Master Zhang, my restaurant will be handed over to you then."

The salary is high and the responsibility is great, and the hotel hasn't even opened yet. Master Zhang feels inexplicably stressed.

But thinking of his 30-year career as a chef, he regained his confidence.

Chef Zhang said, "Okay, Boss Gu, since you are paying me so much, I will definitely make the dishes for you and let the customers like them!"

Gu Jianhua, "Master Zhang, my wife said that a restaurant like ours should have a few signature dishes that are unique to the restaurant. Let's study it when we have time."

"Yes, the boss lady is right. Starting tomorrow I will go to your halal restaurant to help. Boss, if you have any ideas for special dishes or signature dishes, just tell me and I will try them out." Master Zhang was full of fighting spirit.

For such a big hotel, he must cook good food so that more customers will like his dishes.

Master Zhang found a job.

The whole family was very happy. His wife asked, "Did the boss say how much the salary is?"

Master Zhang held up two fingers, and his wife,

"Two hundred? That's quite a high amount."

Master Zhang, "It's two thousand!"

"What? Two thousand?" His wife was shocked.

Master Zhang, "Keep your voice down so they don't hear you."

Their family has not yet split up. Although the eldest son and the second son are married, they all live together. Fortunately, their yard is quite large, so each person can have a room, and it is not as crowded as other families.

However, my eldest son and second son are married now and have their own families, which is different from before.

Everything is planned for one's own family.

His wife lowered her voice and said, "Yes, yes, please keep your voice down."

Master Zhang, "Just tell them that I only make 500 a month."

"Okay." His wife nodded.

Then he asked, "Why does your boss pay you so much?"

Two thousand yuan is really a lot of money.

Chef Zhang, "The hotel I'm going to work in is over 3,000 square meters, four floors, and a big restaurant. The boss wants me to be the chef!"

"Chef, do you know anything?"

His wife hit him and said, "Of course I know. I'm in charge of everyone in the kitchen."

Chef Zhang, "Yes, firstly because I am the head chef, and secondly because I am a retired chef from a state-owned hotel, so my cooking skills are guaranteed."

“That’s why I gave it that high.”

His wife said, "Well, you have to do a good job. You have a high salary and a big responsibility for such a big hotel."

Master Zhang, "My boss is a rich man. He drives a car, his daughter and son-in-law also drive a car, and his son also drives a car."

"His wife is a teacher at Peking University."

"In addition to this hotel, they have more than a dozen other stores."

His wife asked, "How do you know so much?"

Master Zhang, "I saw the car myself, and Su Che told me about the rest. The boss and his wife are his sister and brother-in-law."

Su Che, his wife knew him and they had drank together before.

"It turns out to be Su Che's sister's brother-in-law."

Master Zhang: "Yes, we are half acquaintances."

His wife said, "You should just work hard for them. They pay you so much. It doesn't matter if you manage the kitchen staff well or not. The main thing is that you cook the dishes well. If you say that the business is not good after the restaurant opens, your reputation as a chef will be ruined."

Master Zhang, "Don't say those sad words. It must be good. I have to sit full every day."

"I'm going to work at my boss's halal shop tomorrow. He opened a halal shop. I heard it was a restaurant before, but it was changed later."

His wife said, "Go ahead, even though it's not a formal job, but if you do the work, your boss will definitely give you some salary."

Master Zhang: "Yes."

You can tell at a glance that his boss is not a stingy person, as can be seen from the two bottles of wine he brought him today.

The head chef of Gujia Restaurant was found, and the next step was to look for other chefs and a Sichuan chef.

Gu Jianhua, a Sichuan chef, plans to go to Sichuan Province to look for one after his wife has a holiday.

There is no rush for other chefs, they can just find one a month before opening.

All we need to do is find the main chef.

The next day, Master Zhang reported to the halal restaurant. With the joining of Master Zhang, Gu Jianhua had more free time. Apart from buying vegetables, Master Zhang did everything else.

He took the little girl, Sui Sui, for a stroll, visiting this store and that store.

In mid-November, the beauty salon in Soho was finally renovated.

Because the employees needed training, Su He rented a house specifically for Lin Shi Shi to teach them. Of course, Su He would also go there on Saturdays and Sundays.

After a few months, all 20 employees had graduated.

They have performed beauty massages on relatives and friends, and all received positive reviews.

The beauty salon was completed in mid-November, and Su He and his employees spent half a month cleaning it up carefully.

The beauty salon opened in early December.

The opening day was also chosen to be Saturday, and before that, we asked relatives, friends, and store staff to promote it.

Therefore, there were quite a lot of people in the beauty salon on the opening day.

Of course, apart from the opening day, the number of customers increased day by day.

Because there is only one beauty salon in Suhe, Beijing.

The services at her beauty salon are not cheap, but because there are so many rich people, it is always packed every day.

The December sales volume even astonished Gu Jianhua and his wife from Suho.

More than half a million.

Su He sighed, "The beauty industry is really profitable!"

Gu Jianhua, "So, my wife, we need to open a big store. Look at beauty salons and hot pot restaurants. Their monthly turnover is so high."

Su He nodded and said, "I feel that my beauty salon's sales in January will be even higher."

Gu Jianhua was puzzled, "Why?"

Su He: "Because it's Chinese New Year."

Gu Jianhua: "I understand, I understand."

You will meet relatives and friends during the Chinese New Year, so you have to dress up exquisitely and bring yourself to the best state.

There was more money in the card, and Su He felt itchy, so he bought two courtyard houses.

Finally, there are four courtyard houses.

There are still six to buy.

I will buy the remaining six next year.

Gu Jianhua was still proud of the big shop. He said, "Wife, we have to save money and buy a large shop to open a supermarket!"

"Opening a supermarket means you don't even have to think about it, business will definitely be good."

Su He, "That's right. Let's save the money for next year and buy a large store if we see one."

"When are you going to have your holiday, wife?"

"There are still two days left, what's wrong?" Su He asked.

Gu Jianhua, "You are on vacation now, let's go to Sichuan Province and look for a Sichuan chef."

Su He said, "Okay, but we have to go to Hai City first and send Jinyi over."

"Okay, let's go to Hai City first, and then we'll go to Sichuan Province. By the way, do you want to bring Changjun and Changhuan with you?"

Su He smiled, "They may not be willing to go with us."

Changjun and Changhuan will be sixteen years old during the Chinese New Year. They are no longer children. Unlike when they were little, they would clamor to follow them when they went out. Now, these two kids don't pay much attention to them.

Cool and aloof!

Gu Jianhua, "Well, if they don't go, we two can go. It's just right for us to spend some time alone."