"My dad? I guess life would be worse than death now."
Chen Xiaoxu muttered absentmindedly, not noticing Shen Dapeng's shrewd eyes. When he was woken up by the ringing of his mobile phone, Shen Dapeng had already answered the phone.
"Hey, Brother Peng, I'm Li Zeyu."
Li Zeyu's smiling voice came over the phone.
"Big head? What's the matter?"
"I want to ask you something. You say...can Xiaohetang Hotpot become a national chain?"
Li Zeyu's voice was very small, hoarse as if squeezed out of his throat.
"Why did I suddenly remember this? Didn't Boss Tang from Xiaohetang say that when he opened a chain store, he was afraid that others would damage his sign? What? He agreed now?"
"I'm just in front of the Xiaohetang Hotel, and I'm just about to ask him if he agrees. The self-cooked hot pot fast food we make is very popular. Recently, more than one catering company has called us and asked us if we are willing to build a national chain of hot pot restaurants.
, the recipe for the hot pot base has already been priced at 500,000 yuan."
Under the premise that the per capita salary in 2002 was only a few hundred yuan, someone could pay a sky-high price of 500,000 yuan for a hot pot base recipe. This person can be considered to be discerning!
At least they have a good understanding of the relatively new business model of restaurant chains, or they have high expectations for the future of restaurant chains.
"Brother Peng? Why don't you say anything? Do you think Xiaohetang Hotpot can become a national chain?"
Li Zeyu's anxious voice came again on the phone.
"If we just talk about the taste, the base material of Xiaohetang is indeed good, but when we were doing self-cooked hot pot, Boss Tang had already refused to join the chain. He didn't agree. It's useless no matter how much you think about it. You might as well focus on the company.
In terms of business matters, if you have time, go to the food factory more often..."
"Okay, I understand. Since you said it can be done, Brother Peng, then I will go talk to Boss Tang. If he agrees, let's not talk about it for now..."
"Hey, hey..."
Shen Dapeng was afraid that Li Zeyu's impatience would make Boss Tang unhappy, so he originally wanted to give some instructions, but unexpectedly Li Zeyu hung up the phone in a hurry.
Li Zeyu happily entered the Little Lotus Pond Hot Pot Restaurant. He smelled the spicy smell and felt instantly in a good mood. He quickly went straight to the bar.
At noon, when lunch was busy, Boss Tang was busy settling accounts at the bar, while the landlady followed the customers at each table in the hall to order food. There were several waiters in the bakery inside taking orders and delivering food.
"Boss Tang, business is good!"
"Hey, Manager Li is here. Why are you alone and your little girlfriend hasn't come back?"
Boss Tang only raised his head for a glance and continued to click on the calculator in his hand.
"Ah, I'm not greedy, so I went back to the county to have a bite of you."
As if he were at home, Li Zeyu went to the bar and took a bottle of Yingying's classmates, unscrewed it and drank half of the bottle.
"Okay, then go and find a place to sit in the hall. Are everything as usual?"
"As usual, as usual..."
Li Zeyu had something on his mind, seemed a little absent-minded, and responded casually.
After Boss Tang finished paying the bill, he looked up and found that Li Zeyu was still standing next to him, "Why don't you go sit inside? There is a place! I won't be busy for a while, and I'll go have a drink with you."
"Yeah, I'll go first."
Li Zeyu casually found a seat near the back, crossed his legs and looked at the guests at the tables next to him who were talking about everything and talking nonsense.
The decoration of Xiaohetang Hot Pot Restaurant is not too high-end, and there are not many seats. However, it is always almost full during meal time. Even during holidays, the restaurant has to turn over the tables two or three times at noon and evening.
The gross profit in one day is three to two thousand yuan. After deducting various costs, it is estimated that you can earn several hundred yuan. This is considered a good benefit in a small county or even a city.
"Zeyu, I won't be busy for a while. I want your Uncle Tang to come have a drink with you."
The lady boss is very nice, she always has a down-to-earth and contented smile on her face, and she can handle even those who are drunk and acting crazy.
"I'll eat first and talk about it later."
As soon as the hot pot was served, Li Zeyu couldn't wait to take a spoonful of the old soup, drank it and enjoyed it, "That's right, you can't even get this taste in the provincial capital."
"Auntie, aren't you tired from working so hard every day? The self-cooked hot pot made by our catering company is quite profitable. Uncle Tang's 20% stake will pay dividends several times more than in your store in a year. You still follow
Are you worried about this store?"
"If I were you, I would have taken the money to find my son. Well, having said that, Tang Yu's little guy is really good-looking. If you don't take good care of him, the little girl will run away with someone else."
Seeing that Li Zeyu was not speaking seriously, the landlady rolled her eyes at him and said, "I am as young as your aunt. Do you believe that I will get you some rancid duck blood and put it all in the pot for you?"
"Tsk, I don't believe it. You don't even have enough ingredients to sell, so why are they sour?"
Li Zeyu stretched out his hand to rinse the mutton and looked at the proprietress, "Auntie, I'm not kidding you. It's so hard, why do you still do it every day?"
"You're a bastard. If you don't work for a day, you'll feel dizzy and your limbs will be weak. Either your arms and legs will be numb, or your muscles will cramp. If you're busy all day long like this, you'll be able to eat well and sleep well."
"Madam boss, I think you and Old Tang will work hard all your life."
A regular customer next to him said a scolding greeting and interrupted, "You two have earned enough pension money for yourselves, and then you can earn money for your son to get a wife. When your son marries a wife, will you still have to earn money for milk powder for your grandson?"
"Ha ha!!"
The proprietress and the surrounding customers were happy, but then they smiled helplessly.
Their generation is full of seniors and juniors, and they have caught up with the most unclear period of the country's economy, and they have also caught up with the last train of "raising children to provide for old age". Just like what the customer said, they have worked hard all their lives.
, just to save some wealth for their children, it seems that they must watch their children get married and have children, in order to be considered a complete meritorious deed.
"Oh, we just don't have the ability. If we could just casually get projects worth hundreds of millions like Boss Liu of the food factory, who would be guarding a hot pot restaurant from dawn to dusk?"
The lady boss touched her even greasier apron with her greasy hands, "In order to make some money, I make myself dirty every day, and I look down on myself."
"Auntie, come and sit."
Li Zeyu asked the proprietress to sit across from him, and after seeing that the people around him were no longer paying attention to him, he lowered his voice.
"Auntie, have you ever thought about not being so busy anymore? With the taste of your ingredients, it would be easy to open a few chain stores and hire a few capable people as store managers. At least you can make some money in our province.
.”
"Chain chain store? Do you mean branch store franchise?"
The landlady shook her head, "Your Uncle Tang must have told you, right? A relative of mine opened a branch before, but it didn't do well and almost destroyed our sign."