The Northern Stories of Chef Lao Tan

Chapter 56

February [-], [-], New Year's Eve.

This is the first Spring Festival celebrated by Lao Tan and his family of three after buying a house in the provincial capital.

For a migrant worker from the countryside, having a house of his own is something to be proud of, especially celebrating the New Year in his own home, which is both honorable and of extraordinary significance.

Lao Tan cooked the New Year's Eve dinner in a mood of excitement and joy, but also sadness.

While cutting the vegetables, many fragments of the past emerged before my eyes involuntarily.

When I was a child, I was happy, hopeful, and ignorant.In the warm old house, the mother and the second and third sisters are busy in the outhouse, cooking the few meat and bones, steaming steamed buns and bean buns that are only available during the Chinese New Year, stewing pickled cabbage vermicelli in the pot, and frying one vegetable.The fourth and fifth sisters cleaned up the house, cleaned the kang, cleaned the cabinets, and washed the tea bowls. He, the youngest child, the only boy in the family, greedily went to the pot to secretly tear the shredded pork off the bones——
When the firecrackers sounded in the village, he felt aggrieved and uncomfortable, his little face was full of unhappiness, and he always complained that his mother didn't buy him a small whip, and he couldn't go out to show off with the little friends in the village—the pockets of other people's children There are small whips that adults have unloaded from the hanging small whips, but he doesn't have any.

His mother would say, "I'll buy it for you during the Chinese New Year." And this phrase "I'll buy it for you for the Chinese New Year" became his yearning expectation, but when it came to the next Chinese New Year, he still didn't have it, so he was wronged again.

After a few years, when he understood a little bit the hardships of life and the difficulties at home, he didn't want it anymore.He knew that it was not because his mother refused to buy it, but because he had no money.

Home, too poor.

14 years old, in the Spring Festival of that year, he, his mother, and fifth sister were the only three left in the family.He cooked the New Year's Eve dinner. 14 years old, he is still a child in the eyes of adults, but in this poor family, he is no longer a child, he has become the head of the board of directors.

His mother was old, his fifth sister was studying with him, and he was the only male in the family. The hardships of life and the suffering of fate naturally pulled him out of the ranks of children and began to bear the burden of the family.

People who have not experienced it will think it is impossible, but life is like this, it does not matter whether you are old or young, the cruel reality is in front of you, you have to face it, or you have to face it.

People have to live all the time.

When he served the prepared dishes and ate with his mother and fifth sister, he felt a peaceful joy in his heart.I will never forget the way my mother looked at him like an adult, and the eyes of my fifth sister approving.

Later, the fifth sister got married, and he and his mother were left in the family.

He cooks the New Year's Eve dinner every year, and when it's ready, he brings it up, kowtows to his mother on his knees, and then eats.

Although there are few people, it is warm. As long as the mother is there, it is home, and there are countless warmth.
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The scene jumped to last year, celebrating the New Year at Fifth Sister's house. There were three members of their family, three members of Fifth Sister's family, and nine members of Fifth Sister's father-in-law, mother-in-law, and mother.During the meal, my mother said: "If this was in the past, I would never have thought of such a good life. Now it is worth dying."

My mother's words were full of relief and contentment, but thinking of the hardships and hardships my mother had suffered all her life, I couldn't help but wet my eyes with tears.

Hey, I should be happy during the Chinese New Year, but the more I celebrate the new year, I think of the past, especially when the days are better, and I think of those sad pasts.

Old Tan wiped away the tears streaming down his cheeks—the son went to the kitchen to ask for scissors, and Lin Yan was going to cut the pockets.

The sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner was put on the table. Lin Yanqi opened a bottle of white wine, poured a glass for Lao Tan and herself, and a drink for her son. The family of three toasted happily.

It is a peaceful New Year's Eve outside, and the sound of firecrackers from time to time adds to the taste of the year.

On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Lao Tan came to Yanhua's restaurant to start renovations.

The name of the restaurant is "Aqiao Dumpling Restaurant". According to the name, the decoration style is more Chinese, with modern simplicity.Judging from the renderings, it gives people a fresh and natural feeling, and at the same time, it can be seen at a glance that it is a dumpling restaurant, which is very civilian and down-to-earth.

This style of Yanzi and Yanhua, Lao Feng and Lao Deng all agree, and Lao Tan also thinks it is very good, and he said in his heart that he really has a specialization in art, so he does research and research, just talk about his ideas to other people's designs, and they will design It came out, amazing, admirable.

Old Tan did the math.The budget for decoration is 120,000, the budget for tables, chairs, benches and soft bags is 120,000, the budget for kitchen equipment and tableware is 34, the rent is [-], and the total investment is [-].

The storefront lease period is five years.Calculated on a yearly basis, the average cost of decoration is 120,000 yuan, plus the rent of 160,000 yuan, the annual basic cost is 80 yuan, which is [-] yuan per month, or [-] yuan per day.

This is the cost if you are not in business and employing no employees.

The monthly employee salary is [-].The daily turnover is calculated at [-], the cost of raw materials, water, electricity and gas is [-], and [-] per month.

In this way, the expenses under the business conditions come out: the monthly basic cost is 150,000 yuan, plus [-] yuan for employee wages, plus [-] yuan for raw materials, water, electricity and gas, and the total is [-] yuan.

The turnover is 180,000, and the profit is [-].

If the 6000 yuan is the salary of Yanhua and Yanzi, then the net profit for the year is 24 yuan, and the 22 yuan decoration cost will be returned that year.

This is a preliminary analysis. If done well, the daily turnover can reach 10,000 yuan.

Of course, it is difficult for a store of [-] square meters to sell [-], but it is not impossible, it depends on how it is operated.

Open a restaurant to make money?
Make money.

Master the four elements of opening a store well, and you will hardly lose money.

First is location, second is project, third is management, and fourth is operations.

Gone are the days when the fragrance of wine was not afraid of deep alleys, unless it was very famous, otherwise it would not work.Therefore, it is very important to choose the location for opening a restaurant. Choosing the right location is half the battle.

The project should be as popular as possible rather than niche, and the location of the store should also be taken into consideration when selecting options.Simple examples, don’t open Chinese restaurants in Muslim areas, don’t build restaurants near the market, don’t have high-grade old residential areas, don’t serve Cantonese cuisine in urban-rural fringe areas, don’t serve traditional restaurants in bustling commercial streets, and dumpling restaurants near university towns are guaranteed to fail. Malatang.

After the location and project are selected, it is the management and operation that determine whether the hotel will make money, which is the most important thing.

The location is selected and the project is right. If the restaurant does not achieve the expected results, there is no need to find other reasons. The problem must be in the management.

If there is a problem with the management, the operation will naturally not get better. This is a chain reaction.

No one opens a restaurant because he wants to lose money. This is the same as when employees don’t want to be laid off to apply for a job. They all hope for the best.

So is there a trick to making money?As far as restaurants are concerned, they can make money if they do the above four points well.

The renovation was done very quickly. In ten days, the kitchen's water, electrical, tiles, and roof had been completed, leaving only the installation of equipment and ventilation.

The wind is being arranged for the past two days. After the ventilation is finished, Lao Tan is going to buy kitchen equipment and choose tableware on Shisanwei Road.He greeted Yanhua and Yanzi first, and told them to get the money ready.

Yanhua asked, "How much does it cost?"

Old Tan said, "At least [-]."

The swallow on the side exclaimed: "Oh, money, it's like running water, it's going out in a swish, it'll be great when you can come back in a swish."

"It's too soon. I'll see the money back in two months." Old Tan said.

"Hurry up and get back some money, I feel bad after spending money these two days." Yanzi said.

"It's hard to make a profit without capital, and there is no way to make money without investing." Lao Tan said, suddenly remembered something, and asked Yanzi: "Sister Yan, do you believe the house that Lao Feng said?"

"Yes, there is an empty house on the second floor of the Wanjia community in front of us, we need to tidy it up." Yanzi said.

It was talking about the staff dormitories. Lao Feng found two houses for him. They were on the same floor and the opposite room, which happened to be men's and women's dormitories.

Old Tan said: "Clean it up, the kitchen will be moved in two days, just ask the decorator to do a simple renovation, install the water heater, buy a washing machine, and buy a bed."

Yanzi asked reluctantly, "Can you still buy a washing machine?"

Old Tan said: "Buy it, we don't want to wash it by hand, and neither do the employees. Besides, there are a few children who wash clothes now, and they are like treasures at home, and they are used as ancestors."

"Isn't it a salary?" Swallow said.

"Salary is wages, and treatment is treatment. Sister Yan, you are the boss now, and you have to behave like a boss. You, me, Yanhua, and the three of us are exhausted and can't manage this restaurant. It all depends on the employees, you know. Only when the employees serve well, can the employees serve the customers well.” Lao Tan said.

"I know that, but I just can't get it right for a while." Yanzi smiled teasingly.

"You and Yanhua need to understand one thing. Now you are the boss, not the employees. This restaurant is run by the two of you. Remember, you two run the restaurant." Old Tan emphasized his tone, and then continued: "The boss needs to do a good job Two things, first, do the right planning; second, serve the employees well.”

"You can be superior in behavior, but you must be considerate and enthusiastic to your employees. All bad reputations of restaurants are not brought in from the outside, but publicized from the inside. Respect employees. When employees don’t get respect for their hard work, they will walk away. When they leave, they will scold the boss with their salary and go outside to publicize how bad the restaurant is. Say, don't you?"

Yanhua had worked in a restaurant before, so she nodded in agreement.Yanzi felt that what Old Tan said made sense, and nodded.

Lao Tan said: "We have made the employees' dormitories better, so that the employees feel like home. They can take a hot bath when they come back from get off work after a tiring day. If they want to wash clothes, there is a washing machine. The beds are neat and comfortable. Let’s do it. Let me tell you that sometimes salary can’t keep people, but benefits can keep people, do you understand?”

"In addition, the dormitories are well-organized and the employees live comfortably. Not only do they not want to leave, but they also give people to come in. If there is a shortage of employees, they don't need to recruit. They will take the initiative to introduce their relatives and friends. This is great, the monthly salary is paid, the dormitory is in good condition, you can take a hot shower after get off work, and there is a washing machine for washing clothes, just like at home, the boss is nice, there are no such things, come here quickly."

"You know, when we recruited, we said that these employees thought we were cheating, and they didn't believe it. It's different from the employees' mouths, and the credibility is 100%. This is called small investment with big returns, and small money for big things. Definitely To learn how to be a boss, whether the restaurant makes money or not has nothing to do with me, it mainly depends on the boss.”

Yanhua said, "It's mainly up to you, we don't understand anything."

Old Tan smiled and said, "It seems that I need to talk to you two for ten yuan."

Yanzi laughed too, and said, "Hurry up and chat for ten yuan."

(End of this chapter)