Chapter 88 Chapter 88 It’s so cool
Not to mention the chef in the kitchen of Qingyu Inn. The meat he cooked was half-cooked, and even the stir-fried vegetables were half-green and half-yellow. They reported the problem to the vice president many times, but it was never properly handled.
Later, they found out what kind of relationship the innkeeper of Qingyu Inn had with the vice-president. Everyone in the inn, from the chef to the kitchen helpers, was related to the innkeeper.
In the academy, the vice-president has some status, and the manager will treat people differently based on their status. These students are not from wealthy families or descendants of officials, so even if their families have some money, they are not taken seriously.
"Oh," thinking of this, the student couldn't help but feel a little depressed. Studying was already tiring enough, and he didn't even eat well. He could lose several pounds a month. If he continued like this, not to mention passing the imperial examination and entering the official career, he was afraid that his body would not be able to bear it.
For a scholar, having knowledge is important, but health is more important.
In previous years, students who took the imperial examinations and were in poor health could not bear it and fainted halfway through the exam and had to be carried out. Some of them had to stay in bed for several days after leaving the examination room.
Without a healthy body, what good is it even if you are extremely wealthy?
"We should always think positively. Haven't you heard that the candies that many students in the academy have been eating recently are made by this person? Xie Baizhou and the others also said that this person used to sell meals outside our academy, and the food was delicious."
Even Xie Baizhou and his young masters praised the food highly, so the food must be of good quality.
"Who knows? Let's wait and see at noon."
"Really? This guy's cooking is really good. Haven't you seen the food he sells at the gate of the courtyard? It's more delicious than what's cooked in the restaurant outside."
The other students who had never tasted the food cooked by Qin Run just thought that he was exaggerating. There were many students who shared the same idea as him. It was not until noon that everyone realized what real fragrance was.
Xu Yunfan and Qin Run have agreed on the dishes for lunch today: one dish of sweet and sour spareribs, one dish of braised pork, one dish of braised chicken, and a serving of stir-fried vegetables. Three meat dishes and one vegetable dish, that's enough.
There were four dishes, and just killing the chicken and chopping the meat was enough to keep Aunt Qin and the others busy. Xu Yunfan boiled the mung beans that he had brought from home last night for half an hour, poured all the softened mung beans into a bucket, and then soaked them in ice cubes that had been prepared in advance.
After the college closed its fields for holiday, no one dared to set up food stalls outside. The other students who were too lazy to go to the town center to find food, out of curiosity, formed groups and walked together to the Qingyu Inn.
Qingyu Inn is at the back of the college, a few hundred meters away from the dormitory. Some students had already heard from Xie Baizhou and others that Qingyu Inn was no longer called Qingyu Inn, but was changed to Qingfeng Canteen.
After they spread the news from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, everyone in the academy now knew that Qingyu Inn had been replaced by Qingfeng Canteen, and the owner of the canteen had some relationship with Qi Xiu Ze and several other young masters.
In the cafeteria, the round tables that originally could seat four, six, and eight people have all been replaced by more than twenty rows of long tables and benches. The same is true for the second floor. If it is full, more than two hundred people can sit at a time.
These long tables and benches are all four-person tables and four-person benches, neatly arranged in an orderly manner.
There was a cylinder on the long table with several pairs of chopsticks inside.
The area more than ten feet away from the wall of the cafeteria was blocked by several wooden boards that were tightly joined together.
At a height of half a meter, there are several windows evenly spaced apart. These windows can be opened and closed, and on the long wooden table behind these windows are pots of meat dishes.
Next to the meat dishes were plates of white rice divided into squares.
On the left side of the cafeteria entrance are rows of wooden cabinets with the word "dessert area" written on the wooden board above, but there is not a single candy inside.
There were several large basins near the back door, and a wooden board with the place for tableware written on it. There was also an arrow below pointing outside the door. There was a large bucket outside, which was obviously used to dump leftovers.
The students just felt it was strange, and when they looked at the vegetable prices on the wooden board above the window, they were even more confused.
But no matter how big the doubts were, they could not obscure their determination to eat right now.
The tempting aroma filled their noses, and the already hungry crowd became even hungrier, drooling every time they swallowed.
While the other students were still wondering how to buy food, Qi Xiu Ze and his four companions had already run over and pushed aside the confused students who were standing outside watching.
The four of them stood in front of four windows and asked Qin San and the others inside, who were wearing masks that Xu Yunfan had asked Aunt Qin to help sew for them, "Waiter, how much are these vegetables?"
Qin Qi, nervous, quickly forced himself to remain calm and recited the content Xu Yunfan had spent half an hour training them this morning. "Hello, please take a look at the menu on the wooden board above. Sweet and sour spareribs are twelve cents per portion, braised pork is also twelve cents per portion, and braised chicken is ten cents per portion."
This price is not cheap. Qin Qi repeated what Xu Yunfan had taught him. "The sweet and sour spareribs are made with sugar, and the braised meat is also made with a secret recipe, so it will be more expensive. As for the portion size, I'll give it to you."
After saying that, Qin Qi took a large bowl and poured out a portion of sweet and sour pork ribs and two other dishes. "For lunch, we have these three meat dishes and one vegetable dish. If you want two meat dishes and one vegetable dish, or one meat dish and one vegetable dish, or two meat dishes and no vegetable dishes, that's all fine. In short, you can order whatever you like. The shopkeeper said that the cafeteria is my home, and we all queue up honestly and politely. So, please line up consciously and come one by one. As for those who haven't got a turn yet, please think about what you want to eat and bring your own copper coins. If you don't have copper coins, you can exchange them with our shopkeeper."
Qin Qi pointed to the place on the left where the coins were exchanged, and motioned the students to look over there.
Originally, Xu Yunfan planned to implement a meal ticket system, but then he thought that it would be impossible for the dishes he offered to be the same over and over again. Not to mention whether the students would get tired of them, there were no meal cards or card machines here. Some meat dishes required more seasonings, so the prices would naturally be more expensive. It would be difficult to achieve a unified price for the dishes, so the idea of meal tickets was simply not feasible.
If he wants to promote meal tickets, he still has to think about how to do it appropriately.
After hearing what Qin Qi said, the students suddenly understood, and then they quickly lined up and counted the copper coins on them to see if they were enough to buy the dishes they wanted to order.
Xu Yunfan would think of doing this, so he would not worry that some students would take advantage of the time when Qin Qi and others were serving food to give him less copper coins. After all, if they were discovered, it would be a matter of ruining his reputation.
As long as they are not stupid, they will not do such things. Otherwise, they will be too embarrassed to face others.
Qi Xiu Ze took out a copper coin and said arrogantly, "Give me one serving of each of these dishes. As for the rice, give me two servings."
After ordering, he held the copper coins in his hand and asked, "Where should I put the copper coins?"
Qin Qi pointed to the cylinder on the right side of the window and said, "Just put it in there."
Seeing Qin Qi and the other waiters filling a large bowl with rice and vegetables for them, some students couldn't help but feel that it was too rude.
But when they saw the things on Qin Qi and the others' faces and asked them what dishes they wanted, they couldn't drool on the food even if they wanted to. Just for this reason, they felt a little more satisfied.
This satisfaction outweighed their dissatisfaction with only having one bowl for lunch.
Qin San was quick and nimble, quickly serving Xie Baizhou his meal. Just as Xie Baizhou was eagerly trying to take his own, Qin San stopped him, pushed a bowl of chilled mung bean porridge over to him, and pulled out the speech Xu Yunfan had given him this morning. "Our boss said that since today is the first day of business, we'd like to treat all the students dining here to a bowl of mung bean porridge. We've only been in charge of the cafeteria for a short time, so there are still some shortcomings. If you have any dissatisfaction, please give us some suggestions. We will humbly accept them and do our best to correct them."
"Okay, your boss is thoughtful." Xie Baizhou deliberately said loudly, then happily took the bowl of mung bean porridge. As soon as he touched it, he immediately exclaimed, "What is this? What is this? Why is it so cold?"
This time, Xie Baizhou was not deliberately building momentum for Xu Yunfan, but was really surprised.
It’s so hot today, where did Xu Yunfan get something so cold?
Xie Baizhou was already hot and thirsty when he ran to the cafeteria. He didn't even go to the table. He just picked up the bowl and took a sip.
After taking a sip, Xie Baizhou felt that the mung bean porridge was amazing. He could clearly feel the coolness from his throat to his stomach. All of a sudden, all the heat seemed to be driven away, and was replaced by a cool feeling.
If Xie Baizhou were to describe this feeling, he would use one word: cool; two words: very cool; and three words: extremely cool.
Xie Baizhou let out a satisfying "Ah", as if he had eaten something delicious.
The students saw Xie Baizhou's natural and exaggerated expression, and thought for a moment that he was about to become an immortal and ascend to heaven. That ecstatic expression was so cool to watch.
As Xie Baizhou finished his exaggeration, Qi Xiu Ze and the other three people who had received a bowl of mung bean porridge at the other three windows couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "This mung bean porridge has sugar in it, and it's ice cold. It's so refreshing to drink it."
The other students originally thought that Qi Xiu Ze and the others were pretending because the cafeteria owner was their brother. Otherwise, how could they feel cool in such a hot day?
Even if the mung bean porridge is soaked in well water, it will definitely not be cold enough to be praised by people.
More and more students bought their meals and received mung bean porridge. As soon as they sat down, they couldn't wait to start drinking it.
There was no way. When they got the bowl of mung bean porridge and touched the cold layer on the outside of the bowl, they realized that what Xie Baizhou and others said and showed was not an exaggeration.
After drinking a mouthful of mung bean porridge to suppress the heat brought by the sultry weather, my appetite came back.
The food in Qingfeng Canteen is really delicious.
There is no need to describe how delicious the food was, leaving a lingering aftertaste. Suffice it to say that the cafeteria was packed with people, and the large bucket at the back door, which was used to hold leftovers, was still empty after the students had their lunch, showing how satisfied the students were with the food.
Aunt Qin, Qin Sanniang, Fang Yi, Qin San, and Qin Qi are tired but happy.
According to Xu Yunfan's estimation, there shouldn't be too many students coming to eat at the beginning, but he obviously underestimated Qin Run's cooking skills. Perhaps it was also because of the temptation of his bowl of iced mung bean porridge, so that the students who had eaten returned to the dormitory and were still smacking their lips, savoring the taste.
When other students see this, they will be curious and will definitely come to have a look and try it.
As a result, students came in batches. Qin San and his classmates were so busy getting food that their hands were almost cramping, and the cylinder of copper coins on the table was emptied bucket after bucket.
After Qin Run finished cooking the dishes, he came out and stood at a window just in case. Aunt Qin and Aunt Qin Er were responsible for adding dishes, rice and porridge, and they were all very busy.
Xu Yunfan observed the situation, stroking his chin in thought, and discussed with Qin Run, who was resting and drinking mung bean porridge nearby, "This won't work, Run'er. There are 600 students in Qingfeng Academy, and more than 200 of them showed up at noon. We're already exhausted and can hardly cope. You've been cooking from morning until noon, without even taking a break before continuing to work. There will be more students eating later, so we have to open more windows. It seems we still have to hire more people, including the waiters and the chef."
Previously, Xu Yunfan underestimated the students' ability to eat, and thought that it would be great if there were more than one hundred or two hundred people coming for each meal.
It is also possible that the publicity Qi Xiu Ze and the other three gave him was so strong that he couldn't resist it, and it was difficult for him not to make money.
Xu Yunfan was delighted when he saw Qi Xiu Ze and the other three sitting in the middle of a pile of copper coins helping to count them.
So many copper coins, wow, it must be at least seven taels.
After finishing their work, Aunt Qin and the others had some free time. They looked at the copper coin pusher and were so envious that they began to doubt their lives.
It’s not their fault. After living for decades, when have Qin San and the others ever seen so many copper coins?
How much silver would that many copper coins require?
For farmers who worked hard all year to earn only six or seven taels, Xu Yunfan could earn the same amount of money as they could earn in a year in just one day. This was something they could not even imagine.
But now they see it.
This morning, when Xu Yunfan was standing on a stool writing the prices for the dishes, some of them had advised him, "Xu kid, isn't twelve cents a serving of spareribs too expensive? Will the students find it too expensive?"
How much does a pound of pork ribs cost at the butcher outside?
Even if they fried the ribs, when selling them to students, a serving of ribs would only cost seven or eight yuan. For Aunt Qin and the others, Xu Yunfan's price was naturally too high.
At that time, Xu Yunfan said, "Auntie, this price is not expensive, only twelve cents. I put sugar in the ribs. Don't worry, I am not deliberately ripping off these students. My price is still cheap."
After Xu Yunfan and Qi Xiu Ze inquired about the prices of dishes at Qingyu Inn, Xu Yunfan set the price of twelve cents. Compared with the previous price of several dozen cents or several taels of silver for a dish they ordered, twelve cents for a dish was simply the cheapest it could be. What's more, Qin Run's cooking skills were no match for the previous chef at Qingyu Inn.
Xu Yunfan had shocked Qin Run so many times that he was used to it. Compared to Aunt Qin and the others, he was relatively calm. Thinking of what Xu Yunfan had just said, "How many more people do you think we need to hire?"
"What do you think?" Xu Yunfan intended to train Qin Run's ability to stand on his own two feet. Ever since Qin Run told him that he wanted to learn how to do business from him, Xu Yunfan discovered that Qin Run not only had a quick mind, but also had great insights into some things.
Qin Run thought for a moment, "When I was serving food to the students just now, they mentioned that they can rest for an hour and a half every day at noon. This period includes their meal time. So, if more students come to eat in the future and we open too few windows, not only will it affect their rest time, but the queues in front of them will be too long. They may not notice anything for a few days, but the longer it goes on, the more dissatisfied they will become. Once they become dissatisfied, they will naturally be dissatisfied with everything they see and eat."
"So I think we need to open two or three more windows here, and we need to add more staff to the kitchen. Now that the weather is hot, we can stir-fry some meat dishes and put them aside, but when the weather gets cooler, we need to start using other stoves. If we want to hire a chef, we need to find a good candidate now. After having someone learn from me for about two weeks, they will be able to cook a few dishes on their own."
What Qin Run said made sense. Xu Yunfan asked again, "Who do you think we should choose?"
"Let's use Qin's people. Although they have no experience as cooks, if we hire a cook from the town, people's hearts are unpredictable. Even if we sign a contract, if someone gives them more money, they can turn around and sell us out. Of course, not everyone is like that. I'll look for one recently."
But if we use the Qin family who knows us well, it will be different.
Xu Yunfan's business is getting bigger and bigger, and he will certainly hire more clansmen to work in the future. If anyone dares to betray Xu Yunfan, not only will Qin Run and Xu Yunfan not let it go, I'm afraid that Qin's people will step in first to deal with him.
After all, as long as they are not stupid and have a clear brain, they should know that if someone really becomes a traitor and they do not give Xu Yunfan a satisfactory result, will Xu Yunfan still use their people in the future?
Even though Xu Yunfan is on good terms with them now, everyone in the Qin family knows that Xu Yunfan doesn't need to interact with them at all. The reason he deals with them and hires Aunt Qin and Fang the Hunter to do work is because you think he has no one to hire?
No, the reason they were hired was all for Qin Run's sake.
If someone violates the contract and betrays him, what friendship will Xu Yunfan still have?
I'm afraid Qin Run won't even care about the feelings of being a fellow clan member anymore.
For people at that time, if someone was driven out of the village or the tribe, his fate could be imagined.
Therefore, considering people's hearts, Qin Run's first choice is naturally to choose from among the Qin family members or other friendly people.
Xu Yunfan smiled and said, "I'll do as you say. Everything you say is right."
"Really?" Qin Run only made a superficial analysis. No matter who it was, they could think of these things based on the pros and cons.
"Of course, your concerns are spot on, and the solution is not bad. I've met the Qin family before, and they're really quite nice. We have the contract to bind us, and the respect our clan members will have for us in the future. As long as they're not idiots, they should know the principle of killing the chicken to get the eggs."
His idea was confirmed, and Qin Run continued enthusiastically, "Yunfan, I checked this afternoon. We only have two floors here. Although the tables have been placed to minimize the space, there's still not enough seating. Today, I saw some students couldn't find a place to sit and had to stand and wait. So, I think we can add another floor when we have more money. But for now, we have to find a way to solve the problem of insufficient seating."
"Well, your suggestion is right." Xu Yunfan also found out at noon that there were not enough seats. This problem was urgent and it was impossible to wait until there was money to build it.
Eating while standing is tolerable for one or two meals, but if there is not enough space every day, these students will start to get angry.
They have to find a way to resolve this shortcoming this morning.
Qin Run: "I think the space next to the cafeteria is empty anyway. If the dean allows, we can build a few temporary sheds there. This will solve the problem temporarily. When the college is on vacation, we can hire someone to build the third floor."
"Don't worry about using that piece of land. I've asked Xiu Ze and the others before. Run'er, you're becoming more and more powerful now. You can try to take charge of things on your own. Can I leave these problems to you?"
Xu Yunfan didn't want to be lazy, but now that he was around, he could let Qin Run do it freely. If there was anything inappropriate or wrong, he could correct it on the spot. Once he took over as the teacher, he would not be able to be with Qin Run all the time.
"Okay." Although Qin Run did not have complete confidence in his abilities, he was not afraid of anything as long as Xu Yunfan was around.
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