The years I was the shopkeeper at the Yinhun Inn Chapter 185 The three shopkeepers gathered at Fengde Building, and Zhou Shidao came to make a grand plan
Chapter 185 The three shopkeepers gathered at Fengde Building, and Zhou Shidao came to make a grand plan
"How many people?"
In Fengde Building, Chen Dayou's eyes widened after listening to the shopkeeper's story.
"The specific number of people is not yet certain, so we will prepare it for 200 people, and there will also be wine, snacks and other ready-made items..."
"Two hundred! Shopkeeper, you..."
Agui on the side quickly asked Master Chen to stop and stop the dirty words he was about to blurt out next.
On the early morning of the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhou Shi called the master chef, accountant, and senior clerks to a meeting to discuss the matter of hosting a feast for the new prefect on New Year's Eve.
As he expected, when he told the news to a few people in Fengdelou who could make decisions, their reaction was very negative.
"Shopkeeper, our New Year's Eve dinner orders are full. Even if we add one more person, we can't accommodate these two hundred people..." Zhao Qinfeng said while pressing the account book that recorded the guests who made reservations.
People in Jiangdu like to eat New Year's Eve dinner outside, so the tables in every restaurant on New Year's Eve will be sold out as soon as the twelfth lunar month enters. This is especially true for Fengde Building, one of the four famous buildings in Jiangdu.
"Can't I push this order?"
Zhou Shi shrugged: "We are the only one among the four famous buildings in Jiangdu that can receive guests."
Chen Dayou puffed his beard and said with a glare: "Can't he come on the Spring Festival?"
"You want the prefect to have New Year's Eve dinner on the road?"
"Maybe one day in advance, we can have a seat on the 29th!"
"If I can speak in front of the prefect, you shouldn't call me the shopkeeper, but the master."
Agui tentatively said: "After all, this is the venue that the new magistrate wants. Can you aggrieve the other guests and cancel their orders?"
"No!" Zhou Shi refused flatly, "The magistrate will only have one meal with us, and the people who ordered the New Year's Eve dinner are regular customers who have been there for ten or twenty years. If we cancel the order, what will we do in the future? Our business
Where to put the signboard?"
He took a sip of tea, adjusted his tone and said, "The problem is not the seats."
"Huh?" Everyone was confused.
"Isn't the entrance very empty? Let's set up dozens of tables on Yuqing Street, which can fully accommodate everyone."
"Ah?" Agui asked, "You want the guests to eat on the street?"
"Why, if there is an open-air stage, we are not allowed to have an open-air restaurant?" Zhou Shi raised his hand and gestured, "I just want to set up a stage in the house and invite the troupe to sing all night. How can a large banquet be done without a show?"
Agui opened his mouth, but did not speak. Indeed, according to the rules, there is no banquet without drama. And judging from his experience working in Yueqing Tower, drama is indeed the highlight of a banquet. Presumably the shopkeeper is
I thought about what I saw and heard when I helped Wu Zhaokun at his birthday party in Yueqing Building.
"But Fengde Building has never hosted such a large-scale banquet, and has no interaction with various theater troupes. Besides, it's already twenty-eight, where can I find a New Year's Eve theater troupe?"
There is no shortage of famous opera troupes in Jiangsu, but they must be like Fengdelou. They have a full schedule for New Year's Eve a month in advance. How can they free up their hands?
"Even if we can find it, I don't know what kind of wild troupe it is. I'm afraid the guests will curse if they hear it." Chen Dayou echoed, he is also a theater fan.
Zhao Qinfeng flipped through the account books with an ugly expression on his face: "Shopkeeper, please pay for the troupe's money..."
Zhou Shi raised his hand to suppress their speech and said: "The problem now is manpower. Master Chen, how about the manpower in the kitchen on New Year's Eve?"
"According to the thirty tables reserved, only five chefs and five underlings can stay on the night of the thirtieth. The others have gone back to celebrate the New Year."
Agui interjected: "There are eight assistants, and I will stay with them. Together with the five temporary workers, there are a total of thirteen people."
"The salary will be doubled again on New Year's Eve, and we will try to keep as many people as possible." Zhou Shi made the decision.
Zhao Qinfeng's face became even more ugly: "Shopkeeper, this salary..."
"Even if we all stay, we can't take care of thirty tables plus two hundred people! Unless we serve a big pot of food..."
"How can that be done? This is the magistrate's reception banquet!" Zhou Shi motioned Chen Dayou to sit down, "Wait a moment, an honored guest will arrive soon."
For a while, the front hall of Fengde Building became quiet. There were no guests on the 28th. The guys should go home and go to bed. Only Agui and Lao Zhao were discussing something in a low voice, looking up from time to time.
Zhou Shi enjoying tea leisurely.
It’s time to come...
It was almost noon, and Xiaosi led Meng Xingyuan into Fengde Building.
"Shopkeeper, Shopkeeper Meng is here!"
Meng Xingyuan was wrapped in a jacket to resist the cold wind, but at this time he had unbuttoned all the buttons of his clothes, and his forehead was still sweating. He had obviously trotted all the way here.
Zhou Shi quickly stood up to greet him: "Shopkeeper Meng!"
"Shopkeeper Zhou, I... cough, water!"
After a bowl of warm tea, Meng Xingyuan gasped and said:
"The guys and masters and I have said that they can all come on New Year's Eve. Good guy, if it's a little later, they will pack up and go home. Fortunately, I can run fast, huff..."
Zhou Shi patted his shoulder and said with a smile: "Thank you very much."
Agui, Chen Dayou and Zhao Qinfeng looked at each other and hurriedly pulled the waiter who brought Shopkeeper Meng aside to ask.
Xiaosi's face was flushed by the cold wind, and he explained to everyone in Fengde Tower:
It turned out that the shopkeeper told him last night to go find Meng Xingyuan, hoping to hire people from Yue Qinglou.
Originally, the orders for the New Year's Eve dinner at Yueqing Building were also full, but during the fire, Meng Xingyuan made a decisive decision and ordered the burning Yueqing Building to be destroyed to prevent damage to the neighboring houses. As a result, it turned into a pile of ruins, and the New Year's Eve dinner had to be cancelled.
.
Although a lot of high-quality wood was rescued, more money and time were needed to rebuild the Yueqing Building, so the masters packed their bags and went home for the New Year in advance. It was just that they didn’t have the last pay of the year, plus the work for the coming year.
Without a place to live, they won’t be able to live a good year.
At this moment, Zhou Shi suddenly sent someone to the door and said that he wanted to hire all the people in Yue Qinglou.
This is not a help in times of need, it is simply a divine weapon sent from heaven!
For the guys at Yueqing Building, there is a lot of income; for Meng Xingyuan, the guys will not leave Jiangdu if they have work to do, and they won’t have to recruit new people when Yueqing Building is rebuilt next year. It’s a win-win-win situation.
Good thing!
"Shopkeeper Meng, how are you raising the money to rebuild Yueqing Building?" Zhou Shi asked while giving up his seat to Meng Xingyuan.
"Well, we have enough money for materials, but if we need to hire workers before and after the Spring Festival, the price will be sky-high." Meng Xingyuan said with a frown, "I have no income here, and the amount is too large, and people from the chamber of commerce are unwilling to lend.
, it’s really..."
"No income? How come? Isn't the terminal's revenue very stable?"
"But now I... hmm?"
Meng Xingyuan suddenly raised his head and faced Zhou Shi's smiling face.
"Don't worry, Shopkeeper Meng, even if Yueqing Building is temporarily unable to work, our income from the dock will be half of yours."
"But..."
"It's a 50-50 split. This is what we agreed upon at the beginning, and there's no way we can go back on it." Zhou Shi smiled, "We'll make up a contract later and send it to the Chamber of Commerce. I'm sure they will lend some money." p>
Zhao Qinfeng held the account book and did not dare to interrupt. But his face looked like a dead person.
"This... Well, thank you so much, Shopkeeper Zhou. Don't worry, I borrowed this money. I will pay it back when the Yueqing Building is rebuilt. Oh, and more!" Meng Xingyuan slapped his forehead, "I beg you.
The theater troupe hasn’t left yet, so we’ve just invited them to come to Fengde Tower!”
Yueqing Building is a famous building that specializes in hosting banquets. It has friendship with all the famous troupes in Jiangdu. The troupe problem that Fengde Building worried about has also been solved. Seeing the two shopkeepers chatting enthusiastically, Agui on the side was a little surprised. Shopkeeper Meng was there.
He has always been remembered as a sharp and mean person, but why has his temperament changed so drastically...
He thought of his current shopkeeper and felt that he was a near-zhuzhechi.
At this time, a middle-aged man with a broad body and a strong body strode in and said loudly: "You two had a great time chatting!"
After hearing this, Zhou Shi and Meng Xingyuan quickly stood up and saluted Qian De'an.
Qian De'an sat down carelessly and said to Meng Xingyuan: "It turns out that shopkeeper Zhou asked our two families for help. I also said that even the two families of Jifengde Building and Huaiyue Building could not host such a large banquet. Now I can sit back and relax."
La!"
"Ha, ha..." Meng Xingyuan's smile was not pretty.
Qian De'an drank the tea, wiped his mouth and said:
"Shopkeeper Zhou, why did you ask me to bring workers here? I think Fengde Building was not burned much by the fire. Does it need to be repaired?"
Earlier today, Xiaosi went to Huaiyue Tower to find him, saying that Zhou Shi wanted to invite him to discuss matters, and also said that he would borrow the craftsmen he hired to repair Huaiyue Tower.
Zhao Qinfeng waved his hands desperately to the shopkeeper, saying that he had no money. There was really no money on the counter! If he wanted to hire workers to make temporary repairs, he would have to tear down the beams and exchange money!
"Haha, it's not repairing." Zhou Shi laughed, "It's dismantling."
In the astonished eyes of everyone, he waved his arms and said passionately:
"Here, here, and here, I want to demolish the entire Fengde Building!"