Chapter 125 - 111: Look, No Meal Is Eaten for Free
Chapter 125: Chapter 111: Look, No Meal Is Eaten for Free
"Alright," Zhou Yan said with a smile and a nod.
That was a yuan and sixty or seventy cents right there, almost a full day’s wages for Master Zhang.
’Money earned in the restaurant gets spent on the restaurant; not a single cent makes it home.’
"I think Zhang’s Braised Shop has a rich history and a great story behind it. The next time I come to Suji, I’ll find you again for an interview to learn more. We’ll leave some material to dig into for my next visit. I think you have a real literary flair. If you have an article you want to submit to our magazine, just mail it to this address." He Zhiyuan left an address for Zhou Yan.
"Alright, see you next time," Zhou Yan said, nodding as he took the paper.
"Goodbye, He! Goodbye, Li Guoguo!" Zhou Momo stood at the door, waving her little hand at them.
"Goodbye, Momo," the two of them said, smiling and waving back before turning to leave.
On the rickety bus to Jiazhou, He Zhiyuan took out a pen and paper and began to write his article.
Li silently turned his head away, pretending not to see, and closed his eyes to sleep.
’Question: How do you slack off when your boss is working right next to you?’
...
During business hours, Master Zhang and the other two craftsmen would take their midday break on some wooden planks on the embankment, only resuming work after the lunch rush was over.
After the lunch service ended, Zhou Miao took Zhao Tieying back to Zhou Village to return some bowls, and specifically pried out a door to carry back to the restaurant.
The old master was highly efficient. In just one day, he’d built two walls and applied a rough coat of white lime plaster to the second-floor walls.
The once dim and gloomy second floor instantly brightened up, and the space felt much larger.
"Tomorrow, I’ll come apply a coat of Dabai, and the second-floor walls will be completely finished. The door will have to wait two days to be installed; you need to have a carpenter make you a new frame. I’ll come back later to patch up the wall in that room." Master Zhang took the packed pig head meat and pig ears from Zhou Yan as he gave him a progress report.
"Alright. Thank you for your hard work," Zhou Yan nodded.
’Looks like I’ll have to sleep on the first floor for a few more days.’
’Renovations are never that simple, after all.’
The three craftsmen finished their work for the day, and the factory workers got off their shifts. The restaurant grew busy again, especially the braised meat stall out front, which was now mobbed the moment the evening shift ended.
In contrast to the busy Master Zhou, Yang the Third and Zhu Feng across the street were far too idle, their faces etched with worry.
Sales of their pig head meat had been slashed in half, and then in half again. They had already lowered the price to one yuan and eighty cents per jin, but they were only selling five or six jin a day, earning just two or three yuan. It was a far cry from before.
Sandwiched between them, Zhao Minghui’s Zhao’s Sweet-Skin Duck stall was also surrounded by customers.
"Have a taste! Buy it if you like it!"
"Alright, that’s one jin weighed out for you. Here’s your change!"
"Miss, it’s sixty-three cents, how about we just make it sixty? Don’t worry about the odd cents."
"Ma’am, we’re sold out of sweet-skin duck for today. You want half a duck for tomorrow? I’ll put you down for it. You can come pick it up after work tomorrow evening."
Zhao Minghui and Zhang Xiuqin, the couple, greeted their customers with beaming smiles, full of energy.
Their braised peanuts were now selling thirty jin a day, and the spillover business helped them sell one or two more sweet-skin ducks than before. Their income had increased significantly.
Life was full of hope!
Yesterday, Yang the Third and Zhu Feng had tried to stir up trouble again. They also started selling braised peanuts to compete with him, and at a price of only thirty cents a jin—fifteen cents cheaper than theirs.
But after customers tasted their braised peanuts, they either said they were too salty or that half the shells were empty, so they ended up buying from his stall instead.
Of the dozens of jin of peanuts the two of them braised, they only sold a few jin in the end. Today, they didn’t dare to make any more.
Zhao Minghui was beginning to understand Zhou Yan’s philosophy.
When your product is good enough, a price war from your competitors can’t defeat you.
...
Zhao Tieying was welcoming customers with a smile and showing them to their seats when the doorway darkened. Two people entered, one of them asking with a smile, "Sister-in-law, still have any tables?"
"Master Xiao!" Zhao Tieying was a bit surprised when she saw who it was, but she quickly smiled and nodded. "Yes, yes, we have tables. Please, come on in. Master Zheng, you’re here too! Are you here to eat, or are you looking for Zhou Yan?"
"We’ll eat first. After we eat, we’ve got some business with him," Xiao Lei said.
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PS: A big 4.4k-character Chapter. Asking for monthly tickets~~ There will be another update tonight!