Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 263 Restaurant Arrangements
After a meal of noodles with soybean sauce, people from the purchasing station and the store kept praising it. In the end, everyone closed up the stall because there was no more noodles and soybean sauce left.

Yan Jiekuang ate with his mother, second sister-in-law and children. While eating, Shi Lei said, "I will never get tired of this noodle if I eat it for the rest of my life."

After Yan Jiekuang finished his meal, he handed over the rest of the stall to his second sister-in-law and left alone.

On the way home, Yan Jiekuang bought some fruits for his family. He didn't know whether his children would be obedient.

Arriving home, Yan Jiekuang frowned as he pushed open the door. The door was not locked. This had never happened before. As soon as he entered the yard, Aunt Wang came out of the hall and said, "A few people are looking for you. They say they are your friends, and one of them is a soldier. So I let them in."

Yan Jiekuang handed the fruit to Aunt Wang and walked into the central hall. He saw five people sitting there drinking tea. When they saw Yan Jiekuang coming in, they all stood up at once. Yan Jiekuang saw Xu Delin at a glance, but he didn't recognize the other four people.

"Hey, Brother Xu, how come you have time to come to my place?" Yan Jiekuang said with a forced smile.

Xu Delin smiled and said, "That's true. I asked your father for the address. You're so close to us."

"Yes, who are these people?" Yan Jiekuang asked.

Xu Delin quickly gestured to one of them and said, "These are my friends. This is the leader of the Ministry of Industry, who is in charge of our work, Vice Minister Xu."

Yan Jiekuang stepped forward and shook his hand, saying politely, "Nice to meet you, Minister Xu."

"No, Deputy Minister, just call me Old Xu. These three are my younger brothers," said Deputy Minister Xu.

"Sit down, sit down quickly and have some tea. I wonder what you guys want to see me about?" Yan Jiekuang said as he made way for the guests.

Deputy Minister Xu said, "It's like this. I asked Xu Delin to bring me here. It's a bit presumptuous. I'm sorry."

Yan Jiekuang waved his hand, meaning it was okay. Deputy Minister Xu said, "Our department recently wanted to discuss some machinery imports with guests from the United States and Europe, but the head of the other delegation is a Chinese, and he made a request in his words."

Yan Jiekuang listened carefully and said casually, "You go ahead."

Although Deputy Minister Xu was embarrassed, he still said, "He wants to eat authentic palace cuisine, and specifically asked for a thousand-year-old banquet. I have seen records of this thousand-year-old banquet, but I don't know who can cook it. I heard that you cook palace cuisine, so I came to ask you."

Yan Jiekuang chuckled and said, "You are quite good at eating, but this is impossible. This thousand-year-old banquet has forty-nine dishes. Let alone not having the ingredients, even if I had the ingredients, would you dare to eat it?"

Several people understood at once. They really didn’t dare to eat it. No, they really didn’t dare to make it. If they did this to entertain the delegation, it would be a mistake.

Yan Jiekuang went on to say: "This Chinese ancestor must have been an official in the Qing Dynasty, and a high-ranking official at that. I guess he heard it from his ancestors, so he has a bit of obsession."

After thinking about it, Deputy Minister Xu deeply agreed with what Yan Jiekuang said, but he was also in a dilemma now, so he turned around and asked Yan Jiekuang if there was any other way.

Yan Jiekuang thought for a moment and said, "How about this? You all have standards for hospitality. Let's say this is a hard and fast rule. We can select ten dishes and one soup from the Thousand-Year Birthday Banquet as the hospitality. See if that works?"

Vice Minister Xu's eyes suddenly lit up and he said, "That's a good idea. Let's do it."

"But you have to hurry, I may have to go out of the hospital soon." Yan Jiekuang reminded.

Deputy Minister Xu said, "I'll give you a reply tomorrow. How about we go and coordinate first?"

"You are busy. By the way, if you meet Minister Wang, please give him a hello on my behalf. We are old acquaintances." Yan Jiekuang said.

Deputy Minister Xu was stunned, turned his head to look at Xu Delin, and then said, "Of course, of course, I won't bother you anymore."

Several people walked out. Yan Jiekuang stood beside Xu Delin and asked in a low voice, "Your relatives?"

"We're distant relatives. Let's talk when we have time. I'm leaving first." Xu Delin also answered in a low voice, quickened his pace and followed the others.

Yan Jiekuang closed the door. He didn't take the matter seriously at all. He turned around and wanted to go into the kitchen to cut fruit for the children. He didn't expect that Aunt Wang had already cut the fruit. She was holding a fruit plate and said, "The children are in the backyard."

As Yan Jiekuang walked, he asked, "Are the elder brother and the others back?"

Aunt Wang heard this and said, "No, but he wrote to say that he is safe. After the second son graduated from university, I wanted him to come back, but he insisted on working in the Special Administrative Region. It was also arranged by the state, mainly because he studied economics."

Yan Jiekuang comforted Aunt Wang and said, "It's a good place. I may have to go to the Special Administrative Region for some time. Maybe I can run into my second brother then."

Aunt Wang looked at Yan Jiekuang suspiciously. Yan Jiekuang didn't explain much, and Aunt Wang didn't ask much. The two of them came to the backyard. It turned out that three children were standing there, educating the five puppies. The five puppies were too lively. Except when they were quiet while drinking milk, they ran around the rest of the time. Yan Jiekuang shouted, "Wash your hands and eat some fruit."

The three children came running over, washed their hands in the sink, and then climbed onto the stone bench. The puppies didn't know what was going on, but they also ran after them and circled under the stone table.

Aunt Wang also sat down, and Yan Jiekuang went to see Tiantian. Tiantian seemed a little abnormal this time after coming back, not as lively as before. Yan Jiekuang didn't make a fuss about it, and just thought of it as a mature father.

Yan Jiekuang played with the children for a while. The children were a little tired, so they ran to the study to read. This was all thanks to Yongchang and his friends. They always showed off what they had learned in school in front of the three children. The three little ones originally pestered Yan Jiekuang and asked to go to school too. Yan Jiekuang explained for a long time, and finally Aunt Wang said she would teach the children, and the three little guys calmed down.

Yan Jiekuang lay on a recliner in the backyard, quietly thinking about the path he would take. To use a phrase from later generations, it was impossible for him to work for others, he could only be his own boss. However, the current situation and social situation made it difficult to do business, and everyone was like walking on a tightrope.

But Yan Jiekuang knew that everything would change after next year. Yan Jiekuang knew the rules of the system too well. He felt that if he didn't make some noise, he would be letting himself down by coming back to this world.

June was a dull month. Deputy Minister Xu did not come, and Minister Liu Zheng did not come either. But he did not do nothing. The courtyard next to the Summer Palace was repaired, and another courtyard was acquired opposite the Forbidden City. It had three entrances and was said to be the courtyard of a certain warlord. Anyway, Yan Jiekuang handed it over to Wang Xuan and never took care of it again.

The city was getting gradually hotter in July, and the first general meeting was held at Yan's Restaurant, which was organized by Yan Jiekuang.

When the four waiters and his apprentice heard that a meeting was going to be held, they all showed strange expressions and found it very bizarre.

One evening after closing the store, Yan Jiekuang gathered all the employees together.

Yan Jiekuang looked at everyone and said, "First of all, thank you all for your efforts. Although I have given you wages and bonuses, I can still see your efforts. Today's meeting is about future development. I will try my best to make you understand what I say. If you don't understand, just ask directly. Let's not be so unfamiliar."

The employees below applauded enthusiastically, and Yan Jiekuang continued, "Except for Wang Qing, you all don't know that our second store, Liulichang Store, is about to open. Do you know what this means?"

Everyone except Wang Qing was confused. Yan Jiekuang said, "This means that Manager Wang is leaving. He is going to take charge of the new store. Yin Liguo and Wang Yue are leaving with him."

Except for Wang Qing, Yin Liguo and Wang Yue were all shocked because no one had told them in advance.

Yan Jiekuang then said seriously, "Now let me talk about the personnel arrangements. Manager Wang Qing will go to the new store to take charge of the work, so here, Yang Lifen will be promoted to store manager with a salary of 300 yuan. Qi Li and Zhao Yuan will be promoted to foremen at the same time, mainly responsible for the training of new employees. Come on, let's give them a round of applause to encourage them."

Everyone applauded. The three people who were promoted stood there in a daze. Zhao Yuan asked directly, "Boss, you are all leaders and there are no waiters?"

Yan Jiekuang laughed and said, "We will recruit ten more people and give them to you two for training. But you should also read more books on catering management. Have you read the ones I gave you before?"

Qi Li and Zhao Yuan said in unison: "I saw it."

Yan Jiekuang nodded and continued, "In the kitchen here, Yang Liwei is the head chef, managing the kitchen, and he will hire a few cooks and handymen. In the new store, Wang Yue is the foreman, and Yin Liguo is the head chef. I think everyone has no objection, right? Oh, by the way, the head chef and the manager get the same salary."

As soon as he finished speaking, several people cheered together and shouted "Long live the boss". Yan Jiekuang hurriedly stopped them, as if outsiders heard it, it would cause a lot of trouble.

Yan Jiekuang continued, "There will be a new manager in the future, her name is Yan Jiedi, that is, my sister. She will not be involved in the management of the store, but will only be responsible for personnel and finance, including the selection of cashiers. Okay, that's all for today, let's go. By the way, you need to study more, otherwise how can you be a store manager in the future, do you understand?"

Several people answered together: "Got it."

Yan Jiekuang took Wang Qing out of the restaurant and went to the tavern. The tavern was now completely new. Not only had it been expanded, but it also provided dinner. These were all inspirations that Xu Huizhen got from Yan Jiekuang.

Wang Qing knew that Yan Jiekuang wanted to discuss something with him, so he followed him. The two of them sat in a corner and ordered two pots of wine and some side dishes.

Wang Qing looked at Yan Jiekuang and said, "Third brother, what's going on? I'm so confused."

Yan Jiekuang sorted out his thoughts and said, "Wang Qing, you have been with me for so many years. I want to talk to you today and tell you something from my heart. It may be a bit of a surprise for you, so you should be mentally prepared."

Wang Qing looked at Yan Jiekuang and said, "Third brother, what are you talking about? I just want to follow you, not anything else."

Yan Jiekuang whispered, "I'm going to Hong Kong Island in a few days. I have a company in Hong Kong Island. I plan to move to the city and set up a new company. I plan to ask you to help me."

When Wang Qing heard this, he stared with his eyes wide open and his mouth open, with an expression of disbelief on his face.

Yan Jiekuang chuckled and said, "You look like you have never seen the world."

(End of this chapter)