【System: "Attack! Wanglaiju!" Completed, please select the specified recipe.】
The popularity of French fries was completely beyond Si Li's expectations. On the second day of opening, the store's sales were purely supported by French fries and fried wolf teeth. Meng Taotao's tofu was of no use at all. Apart from helping to fry two or three pots of French fries when he was too busy, the tofu was blocked in the front hall by diners.
After all, there are still not many people in Wanglaiju. Even the shopkeeper Tang next door simply stays in Wanglaiju with buckets of milk tea and sugar water, and helps the kitchen staff to pass the names of dishes from time to time. Even so, he is still a little overwhelmed.
The system task completion reminder sounded when Si Li delivered a pot of French fries.
There were few diners in the lobby this morning, and those who were sitting there were regular customers of the dessert shop who had come to the next door because they couldn't find the shopkeeper Tang. The bustle in front of the door and the desolation inside formed a sharp contrast. Judging from the number of paper rolls placed behind the long table, it might not last until this afternoon.
The sound of copper plates falling was incessant. In a trance, Si Li seemed to see the booming skewers shop on the street in her previous life.
However, Si Li knew that the popularity of French fries was largely due to tasting and the cheapness of small portions. In a small stall in the suburbs of Beijing, one penny could only buy a piece of tofu, but in Wanglaiju, one penny could get a large handful of French fries. The comparison between the two, plus the fact that the French fries and seasonings given by the system were good enough, most of the people attracted by the children's songs turned into diners who wanted to try something new.
Snacks have always been a model of small profits but quick turnover, but if Wanglaiju wants to be seen by others and its cooking skills are truly recognized, it is not enough to just sell at a small profit but quick turnover. Si Li postponed the time of putting the only two-star dish, the sweet potato shreds, which had not been sold so far, on the shelf, handed the French fries to Meng Taotao, and turned back to the kitchen.
The system panel had been in front of her for a while. There were many one-star recipes in the system mall, which were printed densely in front of her eyes, making her dizzy. Since it was a system reward, if she didn't maximize the benefits, it would be unfair to the system that had cheated her so many times. Si Li didn't even look at the cheapest recipe "Fried Milk" that she wanted to buy. She flipped through the mall list and locked her eyes on the three most expensive one-star recipes.
Salt and pepper chicken fillet, millet hotpot and soy sauce biscuits priced at 8999.
Except for the salt and pepper chicken fillet, there is a line of small words under the other two recipes: "There may be a risk of failure when making it at the host's level, please purchase with caution."
Si Li wanted to choose chicken fillet, but she thought about the price of chickens she saw at the market before. A chicken weighing only two or three pounds cost fifty cents. If she wanted to buy a better quality chicken like a three-yellow chicken, the price was ridiculously high. The chicken seller said that winter was coming and the price would go up again. Si Li could wait for the price to drop, but she couldn't wait because of the mandatory mission deadline, so she had to give up.
[System: Ding, the host has selected the recipe "Sauce Pancakes", and the reward has been distributed. The task has been updated, please check it yourself. ]
After getting a recipe, Si Li submitted another task. This time the menu passed the system's judgment smoothly and the task reward was quickly given.
The appearance of the "attractive enough signboard" was far from its name. On a light brown wooden board with suspicious black stains on the edge were three large characters "Wanglaiju". In terms of Si Li's almost non-existent calligraphy aesthetics, the characters written by the system were not as good as Meng Taotao. The wood board looked like painted birch, and compared with the one given to them by the mason, it only had one more layer of paint. The varnish sealed the stains on the edge and the writing together, making it look particularly ugly.
To hang it up or not to hang it up, that is the question.
There was a knock on the kitchen door. Si Li quickly threw the wooden board back into the prop table, calmed herself down and looked up.
"The fries are almost gone..." Meng Taotao leaned in halfway and looked over in confusion, "What is the shopkeeper doing?"
Last night, Wanglaiju was open until the night curfew, and the two pots were turned on in turn. Including Wang Xiaochong, none of the five people slept well. As soon as she asked, she yawned uncontrollably.
Si Li handed over a bowl of warm water, pressed Meng Taotao's shoulders and asked her to sit down, "Take a break."
The pan was heated and the potato strips were put into the pan. Si Li took the pot of French fries to the front hall. As soon as she stood still, an acquaintance in the queue in front of the table took his turn.
The chief clerk bowed his hands politely and said, "Sir, I want a tomato one."
His attitude yesterday was completely different from today. Si Li looked at him more. He didn't say anything. Wang Ting, who was standing next to him, handed him a paper tube of French fries with a gruff look, and raised one hand, "Ten cents for the favor."
"Oh." The chief clerk suddenly realized something and blushed. He took out a purse from his sleeve and counted out ten coins. He then took out a paper card from his purse and said, "I want to add a flower. I wonder..."
Xiao Que on the other side of Si Li didn't wait for him to finish, she took the paper card from his hand and stamped it, "There are people queuing behind you, why are you dawdling!"
The chief clerk looked back and saw that many people in the team did not look at him well. He quickly picked up the paper tube and walked away. He stood under the eaves of Qiyun Building and watched for a long time. He reluctantly withdrew his gaze until Si Li returned to the kitchen.
On the upper floor of Qiyun Tower, Jiang Hengyun frowned, "This person is sneaky."
Zhong Liuru noticed it early and saw the change in the expression on the chief clerk's face. He smiled and said, "I was frightened by the appearance of the storekeeper. I admired her for my youth."
"I don't know what you mean." Jiang Hengyun frowned and turned his head to look at Xia Sheng. The wooden box Xia Sheng was holding did not change at all. Jiang Hengyun pondered for a moment and said, "Go buy a few copies and bring them back to Ah Fei."
---
After the first wave of customers in the morning left, it was almost lunch time. Fortunately, Wanglaiju was not like other restaurants and bars, and its business hours were mainly lunch and dinner. Otherwise, the staff of Wanglaiju would have to prepare food for lunch right after finishing the morning. Seeing that there were no more customers, Tang, the shopkeeper, stretched his lazy waist and strolled back to his store with the empty wooden barrel. The three people guarding the front hall also breathed a sigh of relief.
Before opening, we were worried about not having customers. Now we are worried that there will be too many people and we won’t be able to handle them.
"Business is good. Thank you for your hard work these past two days!" Si Li took over the money jar from Meng Taotao. The sound of the copper plates knocking against each other in the jar was refreshing. Although the system had already counted the quantity, the process still had to be followed. She poured all the copper plates onto the long table in the lobby and tapped on the tabletop, "Taotao, count."
"One thousand and three coins."
The thin profit margin of snacks is clearly highlighted as diners flock in enthusiastically. But in reality, after deducting the cost of firewood, water and materials, this gross profit is still not as much as what Buddhism would make in a day's stall.
"Now that the stall is open, we need to calculate the money for everyone." Si Li estimated the cost and divided the money on the table into five parts. "I promised Xiao Que and Tao Tao 30% each. Wang Ting takes the monthly salary from the manor, so the share here is still 10% of my own profit. Do you think there is any problem?"
In fact, the salary ratio recommended by the system was much lower than what Si Li said, but she didn't want to break her promise. Xiao Que and Meng Taotao had accompanied her until now, and Si Li always remembered what she had promised them to stay.
Meng Taotao hugged her and said, "Don't be so anxious. It's just the beginning, right? Let's wait until the end of the month."
Xiao Que carefully took a coin from the pile of money and held it in his hand, "Just give me this much to buy food!"
Looking around, Wang Ting said angrily, "You guys act as if I'm a money-grubber!" He held the table and said, "You still have to give me my 10%."
"Of course." Si Li counted out a part of his and put it in front of him. Her frank attitude made Wang Ting feel uncomfortable. "I didn't say I wanted it now."
Si Li smiled, "Then let's count them together at the end of the month. The 22nd of next month will be our one-month opening, so it's a good time to take a break."
After sorting out the accounts, Si Li stretched her arms that had been holding the spatula for most of the morning, and put them down before Wang Ting's indescribable gaze came over. The beef tendons produced by the system had an immediate effect on the original owner's body. On the fourth day of eating beef tendons, Si Li's difficulty in lifting the spatula and the soreness after long practice were reduced to a negligible level.
Corresponding to this is the achievement points which are on the verge of hitting rock bottom again. Si Li is quite open-minded about this, after all, money is earned to be spent.
Just when she was about to ask Meng Taotao to write a few decent menus and hang them up during lunch break, there was a knock on the half-closed door. Si Li tilted her head and saw a girl in Hu clothing holding a horse whip stepping in. "Shopkeeper, do you still have French fries and jasmine milk tea? I want fifty servings."
After saying this, the girl seemed to have thought of something interesting and burst out laughing, "By the way, can I send him to the West City Qunying Academy?"
Si Li was dazzled by the girl's smile, and her attention was quickly drawn to her words. The Heroes Academy, in the mouths of most people, including the students of the academy themselves, only uses the two words "girls' school" to refer to it. If the girl hadn't mentioned it, Si Li would have almost forgotten this name in the original owner's memory.
The original owner had the opportunity to enter the academy, but now it is Si Tang, who is two years younger than the original owner, who is studying in the academy and has become famous.
Si Li put her thoughts aside and went over to greet him with a smile, "You look a little unfamiliar. Would you like to try the fries first? Of course I can, but milk tea is hard to carry. Can I just give you the fries? There are four flavors. Which one do you like?"
The girl frowned and said, "No need to use honorifics. My last name is Xiao. I'll just deliver the fries. I have classes this afternoon. If you know the way, come earlier. If not, I'll wait for you."
The girl was Xiao Qi. Jingzhao Prefecture and the Ministry of Justice were very close to each other. When she went to look for her mother yesterday, she happened to see several officials on leave delivering food to the clerks who stayed behind in Jingzhao Prefecture. They praised "French fries" and "jasmine milk tea" very much, so she paid some attention to them.
Thinking of Si Tang's ugly expression in the morning, Xiao Qi's smile, which had just stopped, reappeared.
However, why does the owner of this restaurant seem somewhat similar to Si Tang?
Xiao Qi's thoughts were interrupted by a packet of warm snacks that Si Li stuffed in front of her. Si Li smiled apologetically, "This is the last portion of the morning. It's a little cold, so I'll give it to you. Please wait a moment, we'll make the take-away portion right away. The dipping sauces are all on the side, just ask them to add whatever you want."
Fifty servings of French fries are a big business, and it’s also a rare takeout order. The customers can’t be kept waiting, so Si Li pulled Meng Taotao straight to the kitchen.
Xiao Qi picked up a French fry, the long, warm strip was slightly greasy, the crispy outer layer was bitten open, the inside was soft, sticky and salty, she could finish the whole portion without any dipping sauce.
She struggled to control her urge to rush into the store's kitchen, grabbed the sweeper, and said vaguely, "Add four more and send them to the Ministry of Justice."
Wang Ting who was held back: ???