The Northern Stories of Chef Lao Tan

Chapter 551 Arrive in Zhengzhou
Lao Tan stayed in Changsha for four days and was about to go to Suzhou after arranging the work here. Zhou Xiaomei called and said that he had signed the contract with Zhang Liguo and that the first payment had already been made to his account.

So Lao Tan changed his itinerary and went to Zhengzhou the next day after talking with Wang Shulan on the phone.

Zhengzhou is located in the north-central part of Henan Province, at the boundary of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River.It is adjacent to Kaifeng City in the east, Xuchang City and Pingdingshan City in the south, Luoyang City in the west by Zhongyue Songshan Mountain, and Xinxiang City and Jiaozuo City in the north by the Yellow River.

Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan Province.Henan people are Chinese gypsies, who have traveled all over the country since ancient times, building their own lives with hardworking hands.

People in Henan are bold and open-minded, which is comparable to people in Northeast China.

Zhang Liguo's two dumpling restaurants are located in Zhongyuan District and Jinshui District respectively. The one in Zhongyuan District is an old shop, and the one in Jinshui District is a new shop, both with an area of ​​more than [-] square meters.The decoration is modern, it is a high-end restaurant, and it is a landmark restaurant in the local area.

The two stores employ 400 people. When the business is good, the monthly turnover is more than 7 million, and the annual income is nearly 5 million.The business started to decline three years ago, and now the monthly turnover is around 300,000, hardly making any money.

The restaurant is like this, saying that the business is good is almost extremely good, every day it is full and the table has to be turned over, and the private rooms have to be reserved in advance.It only took a few days to say that the business was not good, and it slid down in a hurry, and the brakes couldn't stop it.

It was almost evening when Lao Tan arrived in Zhengzhou, and Wang Shulan arrived an hour earlier than him. After meeting at the airport, the two got into the car picked up by Zhang Liguo, and arrived at the old shop in Zhongyuan District an hour and a half later.

After getting off the car, Lao Tan stood outside the store and watched for a while.

The third floor of the restaurant is brightly lit, and the seven big characters of "Pearl Seafood Dumpling House" are particularly eye-catching, showing the glory and height of the past.

There are scattered tables on the first floor, and the dining situation inside can be clearly seen through the large floor-to-ceiling glass. The attendance rate is about 60.00%.

In the booth on the second floor, the dining situation is not clear, only more than ten tables of guests can be seen near the window.

In the private room on the third floor, half of the lights are on and half of them are dim.

Zhang Liguo led Lao Tan and Wang Shulan into the store, and there were doormen and greeters standing on both sides of the door, all of whom greeted each other with smiles and warm greetings, with an attitude of ninety percent.

When entering the store, the lobby manager is the first to greet you, a beautiful lady aged 32 or [-] years old. The well-fitting business attire perfectly outlines a graceful figure, and the warm smile makes people feel like spring breeze.

"Good evening, chairman!" The lobby manager greeted Zhang Liguo first, and then Lao Tan and Wang Shulan: "Sir and Madam, good evening!" She regarded Lao Tan and Wang Shulan as a family.

Lao Tan and Wang Shulan laughed, Zhang Liguo was a little embarrassed, and said to the lobby manager: "These are the two teachers we invited."

The lobby manager blushed a bit, and immediately changed his words: "Good evening, two teachers!"

At this time, the general manager and the executive chef who went to Beijing to study with Zhang Liguo last time came over, and shook hands with Lao Tan and Wang Shulan warmly.

When Lao Tan shook hands with the executive chef, he couldn't help being stunned for a moment, looking at the executive chef's face, he felt familiar.

The executive chef held Lao Tan's hand and said, "Chef Tan, I can't remember. I, Du Hongli, are from Binhai Qinghua Pavilion."

When he said that Lao Tan suddenly remembered, it was no surprise that this was Du Hongli, the chef of Blue Flower Pavilion back then, and the two had worked together for nearly a year.

"Oh, I remembered, I remembered." Old Tan said hurriedly, and then asked, "When did you—"

"I resigned shortly after you left. I was just in time for Mr. Zhang to hire a chef. I was introduced by a friend. It's been ten years." Du Hongli said.

Zhang Liguo on the side said: "Old Du once said that he was from the Qinghua Pavilion, so I stayed without saying a word."

Lao Tan didn't expect to meet his old subordinates here, and he was also the chief chef here, so he couldn't help being filled with emotion.If the world is big, it is big and boundless, if it is small, it will meet everywhere, and go to reason.

The reception dinner was held in the large private room on the third floor. The store managers, chefs, lobby managers, and floor managers of the two stores all attended, as well as the accountant, cashier, and HR manager of the hotel.

It was very grand, like receiving a big person, which made Lao Tan feel a little uncomfortable.But it’s also good to think about it the other way around. From tomorrow onwards, I have to deal with these people. It’s more convenient to get to know them in advance.

Some of these people have been to the provincial capital to study, such as the store managers and chefs of the two stores, the personnel manager, and the two lobby managers.They went to learn point-based management and introduced it when they came back. However, they did not study it by themselves.

Of course, there are opposing factors among them-this is how they have come over these years, and they have laid down the country, not to mention creating brilliance.Now that the general situation is bad and the business is declining, can you blame the management?

There are many people who hold this kind of thinking, especially the veterans who are still in management positions since opening the store. The inherent concept has been formed and it is difficult to change.

It is inevitable that any enterprise will encounter resistance of one kind or another when introducing new management.Especially in the catering industry, if some big bosses do not cooperate with the new management, it will be difficult to implement, because they not only have the right to speak, but also hold resources in their hands, including crucial technology and manpower.

Take Aqiao as an example, if Yanhua wants to implement something in the group, it will be difficult to implement it when Lao Tan objects, because Lao Tan has someone in his hands.

In this case, there must be a person who is more powerful than the big bosses, so that those big bosses have no capital to clamor—you either cooperate unconditionally, or you are laid off.Because they are better than you, if you go first, others will come in and do better than you.

After the dinner, Zhang Liguo personally sent Lao Tan and Wang Shulan to the hotel, followed by the general manager and the head of the personnel department.We already know the general manager, surnamed Niu, 40 years old, very handsome in appearance, mature and stable, not lacking in masculinity.

The HR manager's surname is Bian, which is a very rare surname.Slightly fat, 37 or [-] years old, a very charming woman.

Lao Tan's work here is mainly connected with these two people.

After Zhang Liguo and the others left, Wang Shulan said to Lao Tan: "His family made themselves too tall. Look at the management, they are so awesome. They don't think much of us who came from the small restaurant."

Old Tan said, "It's a little bit."

"Arrogant soldiers are bound to lose, and the decline in business is also reasonable."

Old Tan nodded noncommittally, and then said: "Let's not be in a hurry for training, let's inspect for two days, walk around the two stores, chat with the executives, and find out the situation."

Seeing Lao Tan talking about the business, Wang Shulan became serious, nodded and said, "Okay."

Lao Tan went on to say: "I mainly inspect the kitchen. There is Xiao Du here. He can introduce you in detail. You inspect the front desk and communicate more with Manager Niu."

Speaking of communication, Wang Shulan smiled and joked, "Don't worry about communicating with him? I can communicate with men."

"Don't worry, there is nothing to worry about, how can you run away with him?"

"What if?"

"Heh, if you run away with him, I won't even report to the police, and I have to buy two whips to celebrate."

Wang Shulan was not annoyed, she kissed Lao Tan on the face, then got up and said: "I'm tired today, go back to sleep." After speaking, she walked out of the house.

Lao Tan didn't call her, but watched her go out and closed the door behind him.

(End of this chapter)