Chapter 114
Malatang shops have sprung up around the school like a plague.
Various malatang shops have opened up not only in the Provincial Experimental High School, but also around some other high schools.
Malatang is easy to imitate. It is just a little bit of vegetables and meat, a pot of spicy soup, and sesame paste and minced garlic on top. Some people have eaten here a few times, and then go home and make their own according to Wang Mengmei's taste. Although the taste is not as good as Wang Mengmei's, it is more than enough to be sold outside.
Xue Ling came back from the street angrily and complained to Wang Mengmei: "They all learned from us!"
Some stores are so good that even their decoration is based on Wang Mengmei's design. If you don't know, you would think Wang Mengmei has opened a new branch there.
Xue Ling was angry, and Wang Mengmei persuaded her: "Come on, it wasn't my original idea, let them learn it if they want."
Just like hot pot, each restaurant has its own flavor of base sauce, and as long as the flavors are not the same, everyone can learn this method.
Wang Mengmei is now thankful for one thing, that is, she bought this storefront instead of renting it.
After her business was successful, the original owner of the house also came to patronize her, and she sounded a little regretful when she spoke about it.
If they were still renting someone else's house, Wang Mengmei would not dare to do such a drastic thing. She might be kicked out by the landlord before long.
Just like Sister Zheng at that time.
Speaking of Sister Zheng, one can't help but think of Zhao Xiaopeng.
Wang Mengmei handed over the key and left without meeting Zhao Xiaopeng. But before the New Year, when she was buying New Year's goods, she saw Zhao Xiaopeng and his wife from a distance.
If Jian Li hadn't pointed it out to her, she wouldn't have dared to recognize it.
In just over a year, Zhao Xiaopeng seemed to have aged several years.
His hair was not white, and he had no beard, but he looked frail. He had to rest for a while by the wall after walking a few steps. The stab wound had damaged his health, and he couldn't even lift a muscle to go to the market to buy vegetables.
Wang Mengmei heard someone she knew gossiping with her about what happened after Zhao Xiaopeng and his wife took over the store.
When Wang Mengmei left, the two sides overlapped in time, so many old customers knew that the restaurant had changed hands. But in addition to old customers, there are many regular customers, such as vendors in the vegetable market and residents who occasionally come to eat nearby.
Originally they wanted to live in a nearby place, but once Wang Mengmei moved far away, these people were limited by objective conditions and did not have the time or energy to travel so far.
So in the first half month after Zhao Xiaopeng took over the shop, business was still good. Zhao Xiaopeng hired a chef and paid him 500 yuan a month, including food and accommodation. He and his wife Wu Haixia were in charge of collecting money and accounting, while the other was busy with odd jobs and greeting people.
In the first half of the month, this model worked very well and everything went smoothly.
Zhao Xiaopeng did some calculations and found that apart from the high rent, the money he earned from other sources was also considerable.
But after half a month, the problems gradually emerged.
First, the chef wanted to leave. Zhao Xiaopeng thought that the salary was too low, so he raised the price to 600.
But no matter how much he added, the chef just said one thing: I won’t do it.
Zhao Xiaopeng was extremely angry: "Where can I find someone to replace you at this point? You can't stand me and are deliberately trying to harm me!"
The chef was even angrier than him and threw the big spoon in his hand: "Go out and ask whose chef is responsible for cutting and cleaning dishes! I'm busy cooking all day long, but your wife can't stand me having a moment of leisure! She calls me out to clean the table as soon as she has nothing to do."
Wu Haixia never managed anyone. After she opened her own shop, she always felt that she was underpaying the staff. When she saw the cook was idle, she would find things for him to do. In addition to working in the kitchen, the cook had to be called out by her to peel garlic and wash dishes.
Zhao Xiaopeng was a little weak for a moment. Of course, he saw what his wife did. The reason why he didn't care was because he actually felt wronged deep down.
Asking someone to give him a few hundred dollars, the more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became.
In this way, Wu Haixia ordered people to do things and he pretended not to see anything.
After a while, the chef said he would not do anything. No matter how much Zhao Xiaopeng tried to persuade him to stay, he still left.
Without a cook, Zhao Xiaopeng had no choice but to let Wu Haixia take over.
Wu Haixia's skills are passable, and she can slowly get by. But Wu Haixia has a fatal weakness: poking holes.
This kind of money-grubbing is annoying at best in life, but in business it is almost equivalent to driving people away.
They are reluctant to use more oil when cooking, reluctant to change the oil when frying meat, reluctant to buy good ingredients, and even reluctant to put a roll of paper towels on each table, but instead put them at the counter and wait for people to ask for them.
The person gossiping with Wang Mengmei curled his lips and said, "I think this company will close down sooner or later."
As expected, before New Year's Eve, Zhao Xiaopeng and his wife asked someone to take away their things, closed the store and quit.
Sister Zheng ran over and took a look, then she sat on the ground and cursed angrily.
Zhao Xiaopeng agreed to her high rent, but he deliberately delayed it for a month.
This means that even though I am doing business this month, I still owe the rent.
Sister Zheng didn't urge him before because she was afraid that if she drove him away, she wouldn't be able to get such a high-priced tenant. But when Zhao Xiaopeng saw that the situation was not good and ran away, she was dumbfounded.
Not to mention Bai Rao's one month's rent, how is she going to rent out the house at this time?
So a rent notice was posted outside the store, but Sister Zheng still refused to give up and asked for eight hundred.
But without Wang Mengmei, the other people turned around and left.
Sister Zheng struggled hard, but still had to endure the blame from her family.
"I was doing well at first, but you are so greedy!"
Sister Zheng was also furious: "Am I greedy? I asked for someone else's food, but you didn't eat it? I said I wanted to raise the rent, but you didn't agree? Later, when Zhao Xiaopeng came to rent the house, didn't you agree impatiently?"
Why blame her alone!
Sister Zheng had a quarrel with her family, and finally rented out the storefront for 500 yuan a month after the Chinese New Year.
…
When Wang Mengmei thought of Zhao Xiaopeng, she understood why the Malatang shop spread so quickly.
If you open a restaurant and don’t know how to do it yourself and just hire someone else, the cost will be too high.
It’s a simple category like this, which is easy to operate and does not require repeated seasoning. It’s very simple.
Changqing Street is home to not only a variety of malatang restaurants, but also two breakfast restaurants and a noodle shop specializing in noodles.
Wang Mengmei smelled something different.
Sure enough, after she asked around, she came back beaming with joy.
The construction of the hospital has not been completed yet, but several residential houses blocking the hospital have been confirmed to be demolished.
"After the demolition, the road in front of the house needs to be widened."
When the time comes, when this door of the hospital opens, this place will be facing the main entrance of the hospital!
Although there were speculations before, it is still not as exciting as getting the exact news now.
The reason why there are so many shops on Changqing Street is that they are occupying this space first and waiting for the hospital to open.
A grocery store opened next door to Wang Mengmei, and its floor space was even larger than Wang Mengmei's.
There are various areas inside, some selling thermoses, cooling mats, folding beds, and basins, some selling milk, cereal, and black sesame seeds, and some selling clothes, shoes, and socks...
There is a counter in front with various cigarettes.
Wang Mengmei understood immediately that this store had invested a lot of money, and the cigarette certificates alone were quite a lot.
Jian Li: "Isn't this just a small supermarket?"
The largest supermarket in Taocheng is now in the department store, on the second floor. While waiting for the elevator, it is considered by the locals to be a high-end place.
Jian Li couldn't help but sigh that there are people with a keen sense of smell in every era.
This family acted so quickly, and the store is located right opposite the hospital entrance. Not to mention the distant future, this store can make millions in just a few years.
Originally, there were not many shops open around here, but now there are suddenly so many shops that Changqing Street has become lively all of a sudden.
Wang Mengmei's store has a small supermarket on the left and a pharmacy on the right.
The small supermarket is its own house, and the boss is the owner. A woman who looks smart and capable comes to Wang Mengmei's store to eat and chat with her.
Wang Mengmei likes to associate with people who speak fluently. The two chatted for a few sentences and were polite to each other.
Although the small supermarket is large, it is run by a husband and wife team. The man smokes all day and is in charge of loading and unloading goods in the store. The woman greets customers. Now that the hospital is not open, most of the customers are merchants on the same street. The boss lady quickly remembers the regulars and often takes a handful of sunflower seeds to chat with people when there are not many people in the afternoon.
The pharmacy on the right is a rented house. After it was renovated, it is run by a couple. The man can treat headaches and fevers, while the woman is in charge of prescribing medicine.
Yao Feng, the proprietress of the small supermarket, was cracking melon seeds and sighing, "Among the three of us, I am the only one who is old and ugly."
I won’t talk about Wang Mengmei, she has a good foundation and there is no ugly person in her family.
The drugstore's proprietress, Zhuang Yan, had beautiful eyes, a high nose, a slim figure, and loved dressing up.
Yao Feng walked past Zhuang Yan and smelled a scent of perfume.
Yao Feng touched her cheek and said, "Don't look at me like this. I was also a flower when I was young and I loved to use perfume."
Yao Feng now has two daughters, and her waist is so fat that it is hard to imagine that she was once a beauty.
Zhuang Yan covered her mouth and smiled: "Okay, put some perfume on our flower too."
As he spoke, he took out a bottle of perfume from his pocket and sprinkled some on Yao Feng.
Yao Feng didn't hesitate and turned around to find her man sleeping behind the counter: "Come, smell it."
But her husband didn't understand the situation and said stupidly: "What are you smelling...what's that smell? It's so stingy. Go back and wash yourself!"
Yao Feng angrily slapped the man and said, "A wild boar can't eat fine bran!"
Several women laughed.
…
All the shops opened on Changqing Street are full of enthusiasm, waiting to attract students after school starts.
After waiting for a long time, it finally arrived on the 16th day of the first lunar month.
At the beginning of the new semester, as soon as the class was over, the students rushed to Changqing Street.
But this time, they have more choices.
The whole street was filled with the smell of spicy hot pot, and the strong spicy aroma was everywhere.
"New store opening big promotion, half price discount!"
"Eat one bowl and get one free!"
“Malatang comes with a free main course!”
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