At 7 PM, night gradually fell, and the commercial street outside Dongjiang University of Finance and Economics was lit up for the first time.
Freshman Cao Qi brought his new girlfriend to the entrance of "Xiao Chen Barbecue".
Yesterday, after seeing Xiao Chen Barbecue's brochure, Cao Qi and his girlfriend Tao Siyan made plans to come and try the food.
Mainly, the prices here were quite cheap; Set A for 2-3 people was just right, and Cao Qi had already spent almost all his living expenses since the start of school.
Approaching Xiao Chen Barbecue, they saw a lively and bustling scene.
In the large open space at the entrance, more than a dozen dining tables were densely arranged, with a pile of flower baskets nearby, and firecracker remnants on the ground.
Entering the store, the overall decor style was striking; unlike typical barbecue restaurants, the waiters were uniformly dressed in camouflage, looking valiant and spirited, and propaganda slogans like "Unity is Strength" were posted on the walls.
The hall was also packed with people, with no empty tables, and the sounds of chatter and shouting rose and fell.
His girlfriend Tao Siyan frowned,
"Business is so good, we probably have to wait in line."
Cao Qi nodded and said,
"They say it just opened today. If there's no space, we'll go to another restaurant."
Tao Siyan, from Sichuan-Chongqing, shook her head,
"I really want to eat their Wanzhou grilled fish. They don't sell it here, it's all grilled crucian carp."
Just as the two were hesitating, four or five more boys walked into the store from outside.
At this moment, a burly, muscular waiter in camouflage uniform walked over,
"Sorry, there are no seats available right now, you'll need to wait a bit. There's a dedicated waiting area outside."
Saying this, he guided the two outside the store, where about ten people were already waiting.
Soon after Cao Qi sat down, he was surprised to find a bottle of florida water, a bottle of medicated oil, tea, and small snacks thoughtfully placed on the small coffee table in front of him.
Seeing such thoughtful service, their displeasure at not having a seat immediately dissipated.
In summer, there are many mosquitoes, and florida water and medicated oil relieve itching and repel mosquitoes.
Tea quenches thirst, and snacks curb hunger – all very practical.
The owner also thoughtfully placed several floor fans that were humming at full power.
After waiting for about half an hour, a female waiter approached and said in not-so-standard Mandarin,
"Hello, there's a small table available here, please follow me."
After sitting down, Cao Qi said to the waiter,
"I'll have Set A."
"Alright, would you like any alcoholic beverages or other drinks?"
Tao Siyan looked carefully at the menu.
"I'll have a kumquat lemon."
She preferred sour drinks.
The two didn't wait long before all the dishes were served, shocking Cao Qi.
"The food is served so fast?"
Tao Siyan was also surprised,
"With so many people, the food is served so quickly. That's amazing. I thought we'd have to wait a long time."
Cao Qi very warmly unwrapped the cutlery for Tao Siyan and carefully scalded it with boiling water.
"Wow, this taste is quite authentic! I'm sure this chef must be from Sichuan-Chongqing. It's hard to find such authentic Wanzhou grilled fish outside this region, and the fish is very fresh."
Tao Siyan tasted the grilled fish and felt very satisfied.
Seeing Tao Siyan's happy expression, Cao Qi felt as if his heart was sweetened.
"As long as you like it. Shall we come again tomorrow?"
"Okay!"
Tao Siyan smiled cutely, her eyes like crescent moons.
...
Although he had anticipated a busy opening day, Chen Pingjiang hadn't expected it to be this busy.
Fortunately, there were plenty of ingredients prepared today, otherwise, they would probably run out by eight or nine o'clock.
He skipped class today, supervising the final preparations in the store from early morning.
Business wasn't bad at noon, but it absolutely exploded in the evening.
From six o'clock until almost eight, Chen Pingjiang hadn't had a moment's rest.
The three people in the back kitchen were incredibly busy, and it was even busier upfront.
Wei Xiaoqing and Zhou Guanghan didn't even have time to drink water, so much so that even store manager Zhu Yuanlan had to join in as a waiter.
Chen Pingjiang acted as a free agent, handling billing, collecting money, taking orders, and serving dishes.
If he got a slight break, he would also go to toast the classmates and student union connections who came today.
"How many people are still waiting in line outside?"
Chen Pingjiang asked Zhu Yuanlan, turning his head after finishing one table's bill.
Tiny beads of sweat were seeping from Zhu Yuanlan's forehead.
She pulled out a napkin, wiped it, and said,
"None left."
Hearing her say this, Chen Pingjiang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The timing was about right, as the dinner rush had already passed.
"But Boss, we don't have much grilled fish or crawfish left,"
Zhu Yuanlan said, taking the mineral water Chen Pingjiang handed her, and gulping down a few sips before continuing.
It was the first day of business, and no one was quite sure how many customers there would be.
Although they were already quite optimistic, it now seemed very conservative.
"How many more tables can we serve?"
"About ten tables."
Chen Pingjiang nodded,
"Roughly. We can probably last until after nine. Anyone who comes after that, if there's no more, then there's no more."
Set A and Set B sold the best; as for Set C, which serves 6-8 people, not many were sold.
For Chen Pingjiang, A and B made money from table turnover, and C made money from drinks.
Both were fine.
Chen Pingjiang pushed open the door to Private Room No. 1 and heard Zhao Shaoyang boisterously coaxing people to drink inside,
"Damn it, are you chickening out? If you admit you're a coward, you don't have to drink."
"Who the hell is chickening out? If you want to drink, drink!"
Wu Zhaogang immediately felt as if he had received a great pardon when he saw Chen Pingjiang.
"Class monitor, that son of a bitch Zhao Shaoyang is too wild."
Chen Pingjiang smiled, found a stool, sat down, and asked,
"How is it? Does it suit your taste?"
"It's good, I think it's great."
"Cheap and good value, and the taste is also great."
There were about ten people in the private room, all a group of boys who were quite familiar with each other from class.
Some were still eating outside, some hadn't come, and some who came were sent away by Chen Pingjiang because there truly weren't any seats.
Only this area was the liveliest.
It wasn't that Chen Pingjiang favored one over another; he simply didn't have enough space to accommodate so many people.
This group of people could really drink, finishing three whole cases of beer and the three catties of crawfish from the set meal, then ordering another five catties separately.
Leaving the private room, Chen Pingjiang went to Zhai Fei's private room, where a group from the college student union was.
"Boss."
Seeing Chen Pingjiang reappear at the front desk, Zhu Yuanlan leaned over and asked,
"How should we charge your classmates?"
She was a bit unsure; after all, it was the first day of business.
If she arbitrarily charged them, it would make the boss lose face, but not charging them felt like a big loss.
Chen Pingjiang smiled,
"No discounts, no freebies, no cost price. You can round down the change."
"Huh?"
Zhu Yuanlan didn't expect her boss to be so "stingy".
"I'll step away when they're settling the bill. They'll feel awkward facing you, plus each table has already received a complimentary cold dish."
Zhu Yuanlan hesitated, wondering whether to offer a reminder,
"Won't this..."
Chen Pingjiang knew what she was going to say, waved his hand, and said,
"Discounts will make people think our prices are inflated. Only charging cost price will make people mistakenly believe we've made a lot. Freebies are even less possible – will we give them free next time they come? Only when they see me sitting at the table eating with them will it be free."
Zhu Yuanlan nodded vigorously, feeling that what the boss said seemed very reasonable.
Chen Pingjiang had more to say, but didn't.
He didn't have much money in his pocket, and giving everything away for free would result in heavy losses.
Once the barbecue restaurant had been running stably for a few days, he would only come in after closing at night to check the accounts, to avoid awkwardness.
A business owner needs to have a realistic understanding of their situation.
The goal is to make money.
If you offer discounts here and freebies there, you'll go out of business within a month.
Chen Pingjiang had that realistic understanding; his family fortune wasn't deep enough to withstand such a drain.
Chen Pingjiang could treat these classmates to a meal elsewhere, but he wouldn't do it at his own shop.
Chen Pingjiang had barely taken a moment's break when he heard a clear, pleasant voice calling his name,
"Chen Pingjiang."
(End of chapter)
---------------------
Support me on P@treon
[email protected]/charaz
$3 -> 15 chapters in advance
$5 -> 30 chapters in advance
$10 -> 60 chapters in advance
Check my pinned post on P@treon