Rebirth: Starting from the Cafeteria

Chapter 165 The Lost Spice Bag
"Manager Du, two small restaurants and a [Spicy Chicken] shop have opened near us. These people are really crazy. They have to gather near us. Isn't it obvious that they are here to steal our business?"

Sometimes things just happen to be so coincidental. Before Du Shaojie could come up with the third-generation recipe, the business environment of the snack bar changed.

In just a few days, four small restaurants and two [Pepper and Spicy Chicken] stores opened one after another, and even Dong Jun, who had always been full of confidence, was panicked.

"Brother Dong, if you are afraid of competition when doing business, then you should just not open a store. Don't worry, I will go to a few stores later to see if they have the guts to compete with us."

Du Shaojie smiled and waved his hand, signaling the other party to be patient.

The increase in restaurants and small shops will objectively help divert customers. But in the end, it all depends on the skill level, price level, environmental hygiene, etc. of each store. There is really nothing to be afraid of.

However, based on the principle of knowing yourself and your enemy, Du Shaojie took Huang Tingting to one of the restaurants.

This restaurant specializes in stir-fried dishes. The prices are not expensive, but the quality of the dishes is average.

"What the hell is this? It tastes terrible!"

The two of them had lunch in this restaurant, and when they came out, Huang Tingting started complaining.

"It's not bad. The chef of this restaurant is pretty good at seasoning. The problem lies with the ingredients. Their ingredients are not good. It's unwise to sacrifice the quality of the ingredients in order to save costs!"

Du Shaojie's evaluation is more objective. Overall, this restaurant does not pose a threat to the snack bar.

There are two other small restaurants that also specialize in snacks, one of which specializes in Sichuan snacks, and the other specializes in chicken soup wontons. It's hard to compare these, and what you like depends mainly on your personal taste.

There is also a breakfast shop, and the food there overlaps quite a bit with the snack bar. I will go there to try it tomorrow morning.

in the afternoon.

Du Shaojie asked people to go to two [Pepper and Spicy Chicken] restaurants and buy half a chicken from each of them. When everyone tasted it, they found that the taste was really unique.

Although it is not as good as the [Pepper and Spicy Chicken] in the snack bar overall, the price is lower and it still poses a certain threat.

"Manager Du, how about we also lower the price?"

Huang Tingting had never experienced anything like this and seemed a little impatient.

Du Shaojie shook his head slightly and said, "Lowering prices is not a good idea. The catering industry is different from other industries. There are more factors to consider. We should still adhere to the principle of quality first."

He decided to upgrade the recipe of [Spicy Chicken] from now on, from the second generation to the third generation.

At the same time, he is also firmly opposed to the practice of price wars. At present, the profits of snack bars are within a reasonable range. On this basis, efforts should be made to improve the quality of the dishes instead of considering other things.

The next day.

Du Shaojie arrived at the snack bar early and asked someone to buy some breakfast.

He, Dong Jun, Xiao Jianjun and others each had a portion. After eating, they commented that it was okay, with nothing to complain about and nothing to highlight. It was just a standard breakfast.

Xiao Jianjun put his worries aside and planned to add a few new varieties.

Du Shaojie then began to prepare the spices, and after preparing them he fried and ground them, and finally divided them into several spice bags.

"Tingting, we will use the new formula starting today. You need to be more careful and pay attention to the timing. Try to get every detail right."

He asked Huang Tingting to replace the spice package immediately. Upgrading the formula was actually to improve the quality.

Huang Tingting responded, and then the whole team started to get busy.

At lunchtime, Du Shaojie silently observed the situation in the store. Obviously, the emergence of competitors did have some impact on the business.

According to his calculations, the snack bar's customer flow today was 10% to 15% less than usual.

The sales volume of [Pepper and Spicy Chicken] is basically the same as in the past and there is no impact for the time being.

After get off work in the evening, Du Shaojie asked the finance department to do a statistics. Today's full-day turnover was 30% lower than the average level of the previous 18 days.

Dong Jun and Huang Tingting were both very anxious, but they couldn't find a solution to the problem for the time being.

"There's nothing to worry about. There are suddenly several more restaurants on this street. Even if customers just want to try something new, they will go and try it. We don't do business in a short period of time, but look at the long term."

Du Shaojie felt that this data was not unexpected and that there should be a rebound in a few days.

The secret to success in the restaurant industry is to maintain consistent quality. This is true for restaurants that have been around for decades or even hundreds of years.

"Everyone, this is not a short-distance race but a long-distance race. It tests our patience and perseverance. Don't think too much. Just do what you need to do and do your own thing well."

Du Shaojie gave them a bowl of chicken soup, then closed the store and left with them.

Of course, although he said that, deep down he didn't dare to relax at all.

At five in the morning of the next day, he came to the snack bar to check the status of each breakfast item. If there was anything wrong, he pointed it out on the spot and asked Xiao Jianjun to arrange for someone to make improvements immediately.

At the same time, he also personally demonstrated, for example, for the bone soup, he restarted the pot and made a separate portion.

"Pay attention to my production process and seasoning. Bone soup needs to be stewed for a long time, so you must not be lazy. I will give you a week. If you have any questions, just ask me. If you still can't do it well after a week, your bonus will be deducted."

Du Shaojie made it clear that the main breakfast items in the future will be [tofu pudding] and [bone soup], and the others will be auxiliary varieties.

So next, he personally made a big pot of marinade. The key to whether the tofu pudding is delicious lies in the marinade. It is not easy for him to be a contractor. Sometimes he even teaches them step by step.

After being scolded, Xiao Jianjun and others were not angry, but full of gratitude to Du Shaojie. If it were someone else, who would teach skills like her without reservation?
To put it bluntly, after they learn it, they will be more than capable of opening a small shop on their own.

After a few days, more customers came to the snack bar to buy [Pepper and Spicy Chicken] than before. It seems that the taste of the third-generation recipe has been recognized by many customers.

The closest [Pepper and Spicy Chicken] shop to the snack bar is owned by Tan Xiaoshan, who is in his early thirties.

He was standing at the door of his shop at this time, looking towards the snack bar.

The business in the store has been very good these days, and he is full of confidence in his [Spicy Chicken]. Before opening the store, he learned from others for a period of time, and the food he made was up to standard.

But dishes are afraid of comparison. The [Pepper and Spicy Chicken] made by Tan Xiaoshan is even inferior to the "second generation" [Pepper and Spicy Chicken" in the snack bar, not to mention that it has evolved to the third generation.

Business is booming for only a few days, and then it drops drastically.

"I still don't believe it!"

Tan Xiaoshan didn't believe it, so he asked someone to go to the snack bar and buy a [Pepper and Spicy Chicken].

After eating it, he had to admit that their food was well made! The aroma was strong, spicy but not dry, and the spicy and numbing flavors were perfectly blended together. The taste was simply amazing.

The key is that the taste of the chicken they make is just right, and the more you eat it, the more you enjoy it.

Tan Xiaoshan pondered for a while and felt that he might not be able to come up with the same recipe. He wondered if he could find a way to get the recipe of the snack bar, as he heard it was a collective enterprise.

After a brief shock, the snack bar's business gradually stabilized.

Du Shaojie took Xiaoya to the train station in the morning. Xiaomei will arrive by train today. Xiaomei and Xiaoya are both on winter vacation.

"Brother, sister is back, when will sister Yan Zi come back?"

The brother and sister arrived early, and there were still about forty minutes before the train arrived.

The two bought platform tickets and found a place in the waiting room to chat, mainly because it was cold outside and people were not allowed to go to the platform so early in the morning.

"According to what she said in her last letter, she should be home in the next two days. What's wrong? Do you miss your sister Yan Zi?"

"Yeah, I miss her. I want Sister Yan Zi to take me ice skating."

"You can go ice skating by yourself. I'll take you and your sister to People's Park later. There's an ice skating rink there, and you can rent ice skates."

The time they spent chatting passed quickly, and ten minutes early, the two entered the station and reached the platform.

Soon, the train slowly pulled into the platform and stopped.

Du Shaojie took Xiaoya to find carriage No. 6. The door opened and a large number of passengers came out.

"Brother! Xiaoya!"

Xiaomei and her classmates raised the car windows, stuck their heads out and waved vigorously.

"Xiaomei, please hand over your luggage first."

Du Shaojie and Xiaoya walked over and took a pile of luggage from the car window.

There are those from Du Xiaomei and his classmates, there are quite a lot of them.

"Hello, Brother Du! We're leaving first. See you later."

A group of male and female classmates walked towards the station entrance, and Du Shaojie then left the platform carrying a large travel bag and two bags.

Xiaoya grabbed her sister's arm and refused to let go, chattering non-stop.

Afterwards, the three siblings took the bus back to Chunfeng Lane. Because of Wang Yuxiu, they would stay in the old house to accompany their mother during this holiday, and Du Shaojie would stay in the new house most of the time.

"Mom, brother, Xiaoya, look what I brought you?"

After entering the house, Xiaomei took out a bunch of things like showing off treasures, including sausages, snacks from Yangcheng Restaurant, and two grapefruits.

"You kid, you've come a long way and you have to change cars halfway. It's so troublesome to carry so many things."

Wang Yuxiu said something to her daughter, but her face was full of joy.

Du Shaojie was also very happy. It didn’t matter how much stuff she got. The most important thing was that her sister remembered her family, which was more important than anything else.

He didn't plan to go to the snack bar in the morning, so he prepared two dishes for Xiaomei to welcome her. He planned to make [Big Plate Chicken] and [Beef Stew] for lunch, and two vegetarian dishes.

Du Xiaomei had long wanted to eat the food her brother cooked, and she almost drooled when she smelled the aroma.

"Okay, bring the dishes over and get ready to eat."

Du Shaojie quickly prepared four dishes, and the family of four sat down and prepared to eat.

At this moment, Huang Tingting ran over in a hurry and said nervously, "Manager Du, I may have made a big mistake. Two bags of spices you gave me before are missing for unknown reasons."

(End of this chapter)