After the opening promotion ended, there were no longer long queues in front of Guifangzhai, and the customer flow was 40% less than during the promotion.
These are all within the expectations of the two bosses. Although there are fewer customers now, the overall profit is high. It’s just that these people who are not the core staff of the store cannot see the account books and don’t know!
Li Guifang was calm and composed, but Xie Dazui and the others were extremely worried. Dong Dongdong leaned over the counter, counting the passers-by eagerly, muttering to himself, "This is the eighth one... Another one who just looked but didn't buy..."
"Sister Fang, tell me," Dong Dongdong suddenly jumped up from behind the counter, "should we do some more promotions? All the customers have run away!"
Xie Dazui was restocking the glass case with peach cakes when he heard this and slammed the counter. "That's right! I saw that place across the street has a buy a pound get a free pound of cake for all cakes!"
She leaned forward and said, "How about we also..."
"What's the rush?" Li Guifang walked out of the oven slowly, holding a freshly baked croissant. "During the promotion, we were losing money just to gain publicity. Now is the time to do serious business."
Dong Dongdong's chubby little face was almost twisted: "But we only sold 12 kilograms of peach cakes yesterday! Even Aunt Wang went to buy some next door!"
She also said that he was her godson and didn't come to the store to buy things. If the store went bankrupt and her godson lost his job, where would she find him?
As he was speaking, the door curtain was lifted and Aunt Chen came in carrying a basket of vegetables.
Xie Dazui immediately put on a smile: "You're finally here! Is it still the same as before?"
Guifang! Make me ten croissants quickly!
She took out her wallet and slammed it on the counter. "My old man has chosen your girl. This old man is very picky!"
Li Guifang smiled and lifted the gauze: "Sister Chen, you came at the right time. The croissants are fresh out of the oven and are still warm."
Aunt Chen took the croissant and took a bite. The pastry crackled with a crisp sound, and she narrowed her eyes in satisfaction. "This is the taste! The dry bread at the supply and marketing cooperative can't compare."
Then she lowered her voice and said, "Guifang, the neighbors say your dim sum is expensive, but I think yours is authentic and full of ingredients!"
"Sister Chen," Li Guifang wiped her hands and took a piece of peach cake from under the counter, "Please try this freshly made peach cake."
The peach pastry in the bowl was thicker than usual and garnished with a few sesame seeds.
Aunt Chen took a skeptical bite and suddenly her eyes widened: "How come this peach pastry is even crispier and more fragrant than before?"
Li Guifang then lifted the curtain to the baking room. Zhang Fengzhi was kneading freshly ground sesame powder into the dough, while Huang Xiuying was brushing the peach cakes with honey. A rich nutty aroma filled the air.
"We used normal materials during the event, but now..."
Li Guifang broke open a piece of peach cake, revealing the golden honeycomb inside. "Look, the flour has been replaced with refined flour, and the sesame seeds are all roasted and ground freshly."
Xie Dazui and Dong Dongdong suddenly realized.
It turned out that Li Guifang had been going out early and coming back late these days. She went to the grain station to exchange refined flour and ordered freshly pressed peanut oil from the oil mill!
Aunt Chen had already taken out her wallet: "Give me another two pounds! This stuff is made with real ingredients, so it's worth the price!"
She suddenly remembered something, "Oh, my daughter is coming home the day after tomorrow..."
"I know. You want dragon and phoenix wedding cakes, right?" Li Guifang said, wrapping the pastry skillfully. "Use the newly arrived jujube blossom honey as the filling. It's guaranteed to be impressive."
After seeing off Aunt Chen, Li Guifang was clacking away at the counter, calculating on the abacus.
Although Guifangzhai's business is not as prosperous as when it first opened, it still retains a group of regular customers thanks to its authentic ingredients and excellent craftsmanship.
Li Guifang has a clear idea in her mind: if she is to make something, she must make it high-quality. She would rather have fewer but better products than just fill in the blanks.
She wants to launch new styles every month to give customers new experiences and keep the neighborhood fresh.
As for the old-fashioned egg cakes and cow tongue biscuits from the supply and marketing cooperative, she had no intention of touching them at all.
The markets for these traditional pastries have long been monopolized by state-owned factories. Doesn’t it matter where ordinary people buy them?
Instead of wasting time making these common goods, it would be more practical to bake more croissants. Most importantly, she didn't want to compete with the government for business.
You have to know that the supply and marketing cooperatives are backed by large state-owned factories. If she really angers them, it will be easy for others to deal with her, a self-employed individual!
So her shop has been open for a few months. She never competes with the supply and marketing cooperatives for the business of traditional pastries such as old bread and fried dough twists. She specializes in making exquisite Western pastries.
She thought that as long as they kept to themselves, everything would be fine, right?
But who would have thought that her rival would come to take advantage of her so soon.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was setting and the number of guests in the front hall of Guifangzhai gradually decreased.
Zhao Xiaomian stayed alone in the front hall to entertain the guests.
"Xiaomi, let's go first!" Dong Dongdong took off her apron and shouted to the kitchen: "Aunt Xie, you really don't want to come back with me?"
Xie Dazui's hearty laughter came from the kitchen: "I'll be free at home, so I'll help out here. It's a good opportunity to help Guifang!"
In the pastry room in the back kitchen, Li Guifang and Zhang Fengzhi were busy pinching dough.
The dough flew in their hands and soon turned into round dough balls.
The charcoal fire in the oven crackled, and the whole room was filled with the warm aroma of noodles.
"Fengzhi, add another 10% to the butter for these croissants." Li Guifang wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Mrs. Chen said yesterday that the puff pastry could be crispier."
There was a sudden commotion in the front hall.
Zhao Xiaomian was wiping the glass cover in front of the counter when the rag in her hand fell to the ground with a "bang".
"Ouch! My stomach! You are going to kill me, an old woman!"
An old lady in a navy blue cardigan stumbled into the store, sat down on the ground and started howling, "Your croissants... ouch... they're so delicious..."
Before Zhao Xiaomian could react, a young man wearing bell-bottom pants, a floral shirt and frog-eye glasses rushed in from outside the store, holding a copper gong in his hand and banging it loudly, "bang bang bang".
"Everyone, come and take a look! Guifangzhai is selling shoddy dim sum that's deadly!"
The young man yelled at the top of his lungs, "My grandma ate their croissants and now she's vomiting and having diarrhea. She's going to die!"
After each sentence, he would bang the gong: "Everyone come and see! Give us justice!" The sound of the gong attracted passers-by to stop.
The kitchen curtain was thrown open with a "swish", and Xie Dazui rushed out with noodles still on his hands.
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