Chapter 418: He’ll Have to Thank Us

Chapter 418 -207: He’ll Have to Thank Us

Huang He and Zhao Shulan’s expressions were filled with shock.

“How much?” Huang Bing’s eyes, suddenly clear, fixed on Huang Ying as he asked.

“You eat there three times a day without fail, and you still haven’t figured it out? Have you just been freeloading?” Huang Ying rolled her eyes at him and began ticking off points on her fingers. “Zhou Yan’s restaurant is absolutely booming from morning till night. They sell noodles in the morning for sixty cents a bowl and move about a hundred bowls. The price of meat has gone down recently, but the price of noodles hasn’t, so he makes at least thirty yuan from that alone.

“They sell over a hundred bowls of Kneeling Beef every day, which Mrs. Zhao handles all by herself. That’s at least another thirty yuan.

“The braised meat business is amazing. We take twenty to thirty pounds a day, and he sells nearly a hundred pounds on his own. Zhou handles all the cutting, portioning, and weighing by himself, and that brings in at least a hundred yuan in profit a day.

“The braised vegetables are cheap, but the ingredients are cheap too. Selling a hundred pounds a day brings in another thirty or forty yuan.

“And that’s not even counting the lunch and dinner crowds. He has twenty tables, and they get turned over during every service. Let’s just estimate that at eighty yuan in profit.

“So for the whole day, the gross profit is at least 260 or 270 yuan. After deducting rent, labor, and other overhead, 200 yuan is a conservative estimate for net profit. He’s open six days a week, business is incredibly stable, and there’s really no such thing as an off-season for him.

“Le Ming Restaurant is state-owned, and their head Chef’s monthly income isn’t more than three hundred yuan. Forget Jiazhou—even in Rongcheng, I doubt any restaurant could afford to hire him.”

The three of them were left dumbfounded.

Huang He nodded repeatedly after she finished, looking at Huang Ying with gratification. “Yingying, you’re the reliable one. You got your meals, you lost weight, and you even managed to figure out all of Zhou Yan’s finances so clearly.”

“My math was pretty much the same,” Huang Bing added, trying to save face.

“Oh, cut the crap. You were just there to freeload,” Huang He shot him a glare.

Huang Bing: …

Zhao Shulan, however, sighed with admiration. “A net profit of over six thousand a month… That’s more than our restaurant makes during the off-season. That young man is incredible!”

“Well, that’s good then,” Huang He said with a smile. “If I can’t have him, and Le Ming Restaurant can’t have him either, then I feel much better about it.”

“Six thousand a month… that’s over seventy thousand a year! Yan is incredible!” Huang Bing calculated on his fingers, an expression of pure admiration on his face.

“That’s what I was hoping for when you were born,” Huang He said, looking at him with deep disappointment. “When are you going to get featured in a magazine or a newspaper? Let the Huang Family have a moment of glory, why don’t you.”

“Old Man, is that what Grandpa used to say about you?” Huang Bing asked, his face full of curiosity.

Huang He fell silent, lowering his head and starting to rummage for a feather duster.

“Dad, calm down, calm down,” Huang Ying said placatingly, while simultaneously picking up the feather duster from beside her feet and handing it to him.

“Huang Ying! You traitor!” Huang Bing seethed, then turned and bolted for the kitchen. His voice drifted back, “I’m going to practice my Knife Skills! I’m not hanging around with you guys anymore…”

“That little rascal!” Huang He couldn’t help but laugh, placing the feather duster on the counter.

“If he’s the son, does that make you the turtle?” Zhao Shulan shot him a look, half-annoyed and half-amused. “You two, father and son, are cut from the same cloth. You weren’t much different from him when you were young.

“He’s actually been doing pretty well lately. He heads straight for the kitchen every day when he gets back, and his hands are covered in cuts. Sun Zhou told me that even though he’s not the most talented, he’s been working hard. If he keeps it up for two or three years, mastering his Knife Skills won’t be a problem. After all these years of running a restaurant, the Huang Family might finally produce a real Chef.”

“With his level of talent? If he can become a decent prep cook, that’ll be an achievement,” Huang He laughed, but then nodded. “Still, ever since he started eating at Zhou Yan’s, he’s stopped staying out all night and fooling around. The dark circles under his eyes are gone, and he’s much easier on the eyes.”

“He bikes to Suji and back three times a day. What energy would he have left for fooling around? The second he hits the bed, he just wants to sleep,” Huang Ying said with a laugh.

Huang He looked her up and down, a wide smile on his face. “Yingying, you’ve really lost a lot of weight. You don’t have anything going on this afternoon, so have your mom take you to the department store. You two should both buy some new clothes that fit. The ones you’re wearing are way too loose on you now.”

“That sounds like a great idea. A mouse just chewed a hole in my purse, so I want to get a new one. Yingying, you can come with me,” Zhao Shulan said, grabbing her wallet from a cabinet and taking Huang Ying’s arm.

“Mom, I’ll go with you to buy a purse, but I’m not buying any clothes,” Huang Ying said as she followed her out the door.

“Why not?”

“I’m still losing weight every day. If I buy clothes this month, they might not fit next month. I’ll wait until it’s closer to the New Year. I’ll buy new clothes then and really dazzle all our relatives and friends…”

“Good idea.”

…

「Le Ming Restaurant, Office.」

Manager Liu Ye put down the newspaper in his hands and looked at Kong Guodong, who was sitting across from him. “Guodong, this article is fantastic! It truly captures the spirit of your Kong Sect. It even mentioned how Kong taught classes here at our Le Ming Restaurant back in the day, passing on his skills. Reading it really brings back memories.”

“I had just been transferred to Le Ming Restaurant back then, working in personnel. The old manager spent a long time discussing the training classes with Kong and Second Master Kong, trying to convince them. In the end, it was Kong who made the final call to start the classes. The Jiazhou Daily did a full-page feature on it on page two, and it caused quite a stir in Jiazhou’s culinary world.”

“Exactly. So many young Chefs signed up back then. It was a major event for the Jiazhou culinary scene. I’m surprised you still remember, Manager Liu,” Kong Guodong said with a nostalgic smile and a nod.

“This young Chef, Zhou Yan… he’s Xiao Lei’s apprentice? And Chef Xiao Lei has resigned from the Jiazhou Textile Factory cafeteria, is that right?” Liu Ye continued, looking at him, “These are all outstanding talents from your Kong Sect. Do you think there’s any chance you could invite them to come take over the kitchen here at Le Ming Restaurant?”