"What do you want to eat?"
"Well... I haven't eaten out for a long time. Why don't we go to the state-owned restaurant?" Shen Mo suggested, holding his arm.
Although we have Aunt Liu's delicious cooking at home, it's nice to change the taste occasionally.
"Okay, I'll listen to you." Lu Qingyang smiled and nodded, carrying Shen Mo towards the small state-owned restaurant in his memory.
However, when they arrived at the building with the sign of "Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Restaurant", they found it was completely different from the bustling memory.
The entrance was deserted, with only a few people hurriedly passing by.
Pushing open the heavy glass door, I found that the room inside was too spacious.
There were only two or three sparsely occupied tables of customers in the spacious hall. The waiter in a white apron leaned listlessly against the counter, wiping the floor intermittently with a mop.
Lu Qingyang raised his eyebrows slightly and found a relatively clean seat by the window to sit down.
A middle-aged waitress walked over slowly, threw two menus with rolled-up corners on the table, and said in a flat tone:
"What do you want to eat? Come on, the chef in the kitchen is almost off work."
There aren't many dishes on the menu and the writing is a bit blurry.
Shen Mo looked at the menu and muttered softly, "I feel like there aren't as many dishes as Aunt Liu makes..."
Lu Qingyang didn't look at the menu. He glanced at the empty hall and the dusty decorations in the corner and asked casually:
"Master, this restaurant...why is it so deserted? I remember when I came here before, I had to wait in line for a table."
The waiter sighed, his face showing obvious helplessness and a hint of confusion about the future:
"Oh, don't mention it. We used to eat from the same pot, and it didn't matter how much we worked. Now the government has said that everyone will be responsible for their own profits and losses. What's the contract responsibility system? Our restaurant is a bit out of the way, the dishes are old-fashioned, and the prices are not cheap. Who would want to come?"
I heard... I heard that they're researching and they might merge us or even close us down. We don't know where we'll end up in the future."
Her tone was filled with worry that her iron rice bowl would soon be lost.
"Be responsible for your own profits and losses? Close down?" Lu Qingyang's mind moved.
He looked at the waiter's face, which showed confusion about the future, and then looked at the spacious but empty store. An idea suddenly flashed through his mind like lightning.
"Mo, what do you think...we should buy this place and open a restaurant ourselves?"
"What?" Shen Mo was looking at the menu with those unremarkable dishes worriedly. Upon hearing this, she suddenly raised her head and widened her eyes in surprise.
"Open a restaurant? Brother Qingyang, are you...are you serious?"
She looked around the empty restaurant and lowered her voice: "This...is this possible? This is a state-owned restaurant! And opening a restaurant...it takes money, it takes money, and it takes business knowledge...we..."
She subconsciously felt that the idea was too bold.
Self-employed? Although I heard that some people in the south were doing it secretly, it was still a very new and even a bit "risky" thing in Beijing.
The more Lu Qingyang thought about it, the more he felt it was possible.
He held the hand that Shen Mo had placed on the table and said, "Listen to me, the policy has changed, and 'self-financing' is the trend. The state-owned enterprises can't continue, which means the market needs something new.
You know Aunt Liu's cooking skills are no worse than any other chef! What we lack is a place like this, a place where they can sell good things in a bright and cheerful way! "
“You see, the location here is actually not bad, it’s just that the old state-owned system has become rigid.
We can definitely buy it, renovate it, and make it fresh, affordable, and delicious. I'll also find a few reliable chefs...it'll definitely work!"
"Yes," she said, still a little hesitant. "How much would it cost to buy this place? Can we afford it? And... the policy, is it really allowed? Will there be any trouble?"
"I'll find a way to solve the money problem. As for the policy... since it allows 'self-financing' and contracting, this is an opportunity! As for the trouble..."
He paused, a hint of confidence curling up at the corner of his mouth. "As long as the product is good and can stand the test of time, there will naturally be less trouble. Besides, we are not fighting alone."
He thought of the endless supply of high-quality ingredients in the space, and the simple and effective management and marketing concepts that he had mastered and that had been proven by later generations, and he was more confident.
"Waiter, please excuse me. I'd like to see the person in charge, or the one who's in charge, to ask you something."
The waitress looked at the young man who suddenly said he was in charge with some surprise, wondering what these two people were up to. But looking at Lu Qingyang's calm and determined look, she nodded:
"Okay, I'll go see our director, but he's not in a good mood..."
While waiting, Lu Qingyang quickly whispered his thoughts: "Policy relaxation is certain. The newspapers are increasingly mentioning 'emancipating the mind' and 'invigorating the economy'. We must seize the opportunity of 'self-financing' and emphasize that we can alleviate their burdens and create benefits..."
After a while, a middle-aged man with a frown came out with the waiter.
He was about fifty years old and was Director Sun of this "Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Restaurant".
"You are the ones looking for me?"
The news of the hotel's closure weighed on his heart like a huge stone. Employee placement, asset disposal, a pile of messes were waiting for him.
"Hello, Director Sun, I'm sorry to bother you. Lu Qingyang, this is my beloved Chen Mo, we are both college students." He first revealed his identity to increase his credibility.
"Oh? A college student?" Director Sun's expression softened slightly, but the suspicion in his eyes remained. "What's the matter?"
Lu Qingyang didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point: "Director Sun, I just heard from the waiter Wang Zhi that our hotel is facing difficulties in operation because it is self-financing. Could it be facing closure and merger?"
Director Sun's face darkened again when this was mentioned. He sighed, "Ah, yes, the policy has changed, and our old ways can no longer keep up. Customers are decreasing, and we can't reduce the turnover. We are suffering from heavy losses. We need to... study and solve the problem."
His tone was heavy, full of uncertainty about the future.
Lu Qingyang looked at him with a sharp gaze. "Look, instead of waiting for closure and merger, and letting all the employees lose their iron rice bowls...is there another way?"
"Another way?" Director Sun looked at him doubtfully.
"Yes, the policy allows for 'self-financing' and the exploration of new business models. I heard that some places in the south have begun to try to contract out some poorly managed state-owned shops to individuals or collectives. These businesses are responsible for their own profits and losses, but are guaranteed to pay a certain amount of profit or management fees to the original employer and are also responsible for placing the original employees. This not only reduces the burden on the employer, but also protects the employees' jobs and creates benefits for the country. It's a three-pronged approach!"
"contract?"
Of course, he had vaguely heard some rumors, but in a state-owned unit, this was still considered very "bold".
He subconsciously glanced around and lowered his voice, "Jiuzhi, don't say that! Contracting? Isn't that capitalism? This... is this feasible? Can you agree with this?"
"Director Sun, this is not capitalism!" Lu Qingyang corrected him immediately, his tone firm, and quoted the argument from the newspaper, "This is to revitalize the economy! It's to explore various business methods! The core is to create benefits for the country and the collective! Think about it, if the restaurant is closed, these tables and chairs, pots and pans will become waste, and the employees and volunteers will have no place to go, and the country will have to pay for their resettlement.
If it's contracted out, someone can take over the management, revitalize the assets, keep the restaurant open, keep the employees employed, and the government can collect the contracting fee—isn't that a great thing? It's completely in line with the spirit of 'emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts'!"
Every word he said touched Director Sun's heart.
Director Sun frowned and fell into deep thought.
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