Rebirth: Starting from the Cafeteria

Chapter 242: Sichuan Cuisine

In recent times, Du Shaojie has not used any exchange points, but has consumed a lot of time.

It's just that there is a lot of time left, so he won't take the slight consumption to heart.

The chef level that he was most concerned about had indeed changed on the light screen, from "Special Level 3 Chef" to "Special Level 2 Chef".

Although the chef certificate has not been obtained yet, the system has recognized the result.

The next day.

Du Shaojie got up early in the morning and Wang Yuxiu was just getting ready to go out.

"Mom, don't leave yet. I have something to tell you."

Du Shaojie stopped his mother and hurried to wash up.

After he finished washing up, Wang Yuxiu also came back from outside with breakfast.

"Eat first, and we'll talk after dinner."

Wang Yuxiu didn't know what her son wanted to say to her, but she had some guesses.

Sure enough, after Du Shaojie put down his chopsticks, he advised her not to worry about business matters and just stay in Yangcheng.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm not used to living in a place that's so hot and humid. Besides, I won't have any friends there. I can't even find anyone to talk to. I'll get sick from holding it in."

Wang Yuxiu firmly rejected her son's suggestion and she would not leave the place.

Du Shaojie felt that his two younger sisters were both living in other places, and he would be spending more time in the south in the future, and he couldn't bear to leave his mother alone at home.

But after hearing what she said, it seemed to make sense.

"Son, I am much stronger now and can take care of myself. You brothers and sisters are all promising. Just do your own things and don't worry about me.

When I am old, I will live with you without you saying anything."

Seeing that her son was silent for a long time, Wang Yuxiu continued.

She doesn't have much ambition. Her life is good now and she just wants to live a peaceful life.

Wang Yuxiu enjoys her busy life every day. She doesn't want to "enjoy a leisurely life" at all. Instead, she feels very happy now.

"Okay, if you have anything to tell me, I can fly back in a few hours."

Du Shaojie sighed helplessly and dropped the topic.

However, he was still a little worried, so he went to find Qin Xiaomei and Huang Tingting and asked them to pay more attention to their mother and try to help take care of her if anything happened.

in the afternoon.

Du Shaojie called Dong Jun, Yu Jianxin, Luo Gang and others to his office to discuss the new storefront.

"Manager Du, there is nothing to discuss. Just let me open your own store and open a Da Pan Ji store."

Dong Jun only has his [Da Pan Ji] store in his heart and he wishes he could have one more branch.

Luo Gang thought it would be better to open a Sichuan or Hunan restaurant. The storefront area is large enough and is very suitable for opening a mid-range restaurant.

Yu Jianxin still insisted on his point of view and advocated opening a hot pot restaurant.

“Forget about the [Da Pan Ji] specialty store. It’s so close that it will affect the business of the second branch. After all, the second branch’s lunch service focuses on this dish.

As for Sichuan and Hunan restaurants, we don’t have enough talent at the moment and the risks are uncontrollable. Hotpot is a good suggestion, but who among you has experience?”

Du Shaojie needs to consider more issues. It is easy to open a restaurant, but the difficult part is to maintain long-term profitability.

Considering various factors, he found it a bit difficult to make a decision.

Of course, you don’t necessarily have to take on the project yourself. If that doesn’t work, you can also rent out the storefront.

"Manager Du, Chef Liu, who has just been transferred to the Chinese restaurant at Guangyuan Hotel, is very good at making Sichuan cuisine. How about you talk to him? I still think that with such a good storefront, we should open a mid-range restaurant."

Luo Gang had been thinking about what Du Shaojie said, and suddenly he thought of a way, which was to poach people.

The Chinese restaurant of Guangyuan Hotel is full of talented people. There are several top-grade chefs alone. Among them, Liu Ziwang, who specializes in Sichuan cuisine, is a top-level third-grade chef.

The turnover rate of a master chef who has a mentor will not be as high as that of outsourced personnel. Wouldn’t this solve the problem Du Shaojie is worried about?
Du Shaojie thought this was a good suggestion, and he immediately said to Yu Jianxin: "Master Yu, go back and find Master Dong and ask for his opinion."

Yu Jianxin is Dong Yunxian's apprentice, and Dong Yunxian is the person in charge of the Chinese restaurant. It would be better to seek the other party's opinion on this matter first.

After all, Du Shaojie and Liu Ziwang were not familiar with each other, and it would be somewhat rude to approach them rashly.

Yu Jianxin no longer hesitated over the options of "Sichuan restaurant" or "hot pot restaurant" and planned to ask the chef first.

The next day.

morning.

Yu Jianxin found Dong Yunxian and indirectly expressed his intention to take Liu Ziwang away.

"Is this what your manager Du meant? This guy is simply treating our Chinese restaurant as his talent training base. I have to discuss this with Master Liu. If the other party is unwilling, there is nothing I can do."

Dong Yunxian did not object and said he would ask the parties involved for their opinions.

Yu Jianxin nodded repeatedly. Anyway, he had already brought the message home, and the rest of the matter had nothing to do with him.

Two days later, Dong Yunxian called Du Shaojie and said that Liu Ziwang agreed to transfer to Guangyuan Catering Service Company. But the other party had a condition that his salary must be at least doubled compared to the current salary level.

"Let him come. I'll test his level first. If his level satisfies me, everything will be easy."

Du Shaojie doesn't care about the other party's requests. It is normal for capable people to make requests, but at least the other party's level should be worthy of the income.

Since the two were not familiar with each other, Du Shaojie thought they should try the dishes first.

"Okay, I'll talk to him right away."

Dong Yunxian then hung up the phone and informed Liu Ziwang to go to Chunfeng Lane to find Du Shaojie.

Du Shaojie met Liu Ziwang in his private kitchen. The other party was about thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, of medium build, always with a smile on his face, and looked easy to get along with.

Liu Ziwang and Du Shaojie exchanged a few words and then began their performances.

He made a dish of [Mapo Tofu] and a dish of [Fish-flavored Shredded Pork] with great skill and the taste was very authentic.

Du Shaojie tasted every dish and found that Liu Ziwang's cooking skills were pretty good, only slightly behind Yan Dabao. If he met a famous chef like Liao Yongxin, he would probably catch up with Yan Dabao soon.

"Master Liu, welcome to join the company. I am planning to open a new Sichuan restaurant. The restaurant is positioned as a mid-range restaurant. If you are willing, you can be the head chef of the Sichuan restaurant."

Du Shaojie smiled and shook hands with the other party, and then finalized the salary and benefits.

When Liu Ziwang heard that the salary offered was beyond his expectations, he immediately expressed his willingness to work with Du Shaojie.

Du Shaojie then transferred Yu Jianxin and Luo Gang out, and specifically asked Huang Tingting to be in charge of [Guangyuan Catering Service Company]. He also promoted two elderly people from Chunfengxiang Restaurant and Minzhu Road Restaurant to be in charge of the operation of the two restaurants.

Yu Jianxin and Luo Gang's cooking skills have improved rapidly in the past two years. After learning from Liu Ziwang for a period of time, they should be able to stand on their own.

What followed was busy preliminary preparations, and Xichuan Restaurant opened successfully before New Year's Day.

This restaurant is registered under the name of [Guangyuan Catering Service Company Branch 2], but it has its own management system and separate accounting.

Yu Jianxin is the manager of [Xichuan Restaurant], Liu Ziwang is in charge of the kitchen, and other staff are also in place.

At this stage, the projects that Du Shaojie is working on seem a bit mixed, but they are actually still in his screening process.

[Barbecue restaurant] is at the low end, but it is not easy to copy, and the various disadvantages are obvious. Therefore, this road is definitely not feasible, but it is a good place to accommodate people in the early stage.

[Seafood House] has a very advantageous geographical location and can continue to operate, but whether it is suitable for large-scale promotion remains to be seen.

As a representative of traditional Sichuan cuisine, Xichuan Restaurant can be successfully replicated and is suitable to be developed into an independent brand in the future. The newly opened Xichuan Restaurant in Chunfeng Lane is an attempt. Once successful, it can be managed in a chain operation mode.

Du Shaojie already had a complete plan in mind, but he was currently subject to too many constraints and could only develop it step by step.

After the new store opened, Du Shaojie stayed in the kitchen for 10 days.

I didn't do anything else but set standards for Liu Ziwang and others. The quality and taste of the dishes should be on par with those of [Xichuan Restaurant] in Yangcheng, and there should not be any obvious differences between the two restaurants.

This work is very tedious and we have only just started it. We will have to continue it with the support of Liao Yongxin, Yan Dabao and others.

"Manager Du, there's a phone call for you."

In the blink of an eye, it was the middle of the month. Du Shaojie was still busy in the restaurant's kitchen when an employee from upstairs ran down and called him.

He hurried to the office to answer the phone, and Qin Lu's voice came from the receiver.

"Ajie, haven't you always wanted to buy a storefront? There is a 53-square-meter storefront in Causeway Bay, and the owner wants HK$106 million. Are you interested?"

Qin Lu said that the owner bought this shop 13 years ago for HK$12. At the peak of the price, someone offered HK$120 million but he refused to sell it.

Hong Kong's property market is currently in a downturn and homeowners are eager to cash out.

The rent for storefronts in Causeway Bay is high and the selling price is even higher, so generally few people are willing to sell.

"Lulu, ask the landlord to wait for a few days. I'll go there right away."

Du Shaojie didn't say anything more and directly agreed to go to Hong Kong to take a look.

The next day.

Du Shaojie arranged everything and flew to Guangzhou.

He did not even stop in Guangzhou, and went to Hong Kong via Shenzhen.

Qin Lu has been quite busy lately and often has to travel between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, so she asked Manager Jiang from the real estate agency to accompany Du Shaojie to look at houses.

"Manager Jiang, this isn't the first time we've dealt with each other. Tell me the truth. Is it possible for the owner to lower the price to below HK$100 million?"

Du Shaojie looked at this store and found its location to be very advantageous.

He planned to buy it, but he still had to bargain with the other party.

Manager Jiang didn't say anything. He calculated carefully and gave a reference price of HK$99.

Du Shaojie understood, and when he met the homeowner later, he kept working towards this goal. The homeowner was very short of money at the moment, and after more than an hour of wrangling, he finally agreed to the price.

Next, you need to sign the contract, pay the deposit, and transfer the property.

After two days of hard work, the matter was finally settled and he now had another store in Hong Kong.

(End of this chapter)