Chen Pingjiang looked up and around, only then seeing Ma Lingli, Zhang Xinyue's classmate whom he had seen before in the second cafeteria, sitting in the corner of the hall.
He walked over with a smile and saw Zhang Xinyue, wearing a baseball cap and a black T-shirt, furiously devouring crayfish.
Upon seeing Chen Pingjiang approach, she subconsciously lowered the brim of her cap.
"Whoa, amazing combat power!"
The pile of shrimp shells in front of Zhang Xinyue was like a small hill.
Hearing Chen Pingjiang's teasing, Zhang Xinyue's cheeks flushed, and she rolled her eyes:
"This young lady is a customer now, is that how you talk to a customer?"
"Is that enough? If not, I'll get you another five jin!"
Another roll of her eyes, the speechless Zhang Xinyue couldn't be bothered to respond to him.
Last night, Zhang Xinyue had an internal struggle all night and didn't sleep well.
Two little figures were constantly fighting: one named 'Prideful' and the other 'Craving'.
It was Ma Lingli who saw through her facade at a glance.
Ma Lingli saw the bickering pair as soon as they met and unknowingly flashed an auntie smile.
Being a face-con, she acted as a protector:
"Chen Pingjiang, don't bully our Zhang Xinyue as soon as you see her. You didn't even invite our Xinyue to such a big event as opening a restaurant, causing her to lose sleep last night. She wanted to come and support but felt uninvited; if she didn't come, she felt like she'd miss something important."
"Ah, shut up."
Having her thoughts revealed publicly, especially in front of Chen Pingjiang, made Zhang Xinyue feel utterly mortified on the spot.
She wished she could crawl into a crack in the ground and quickly reached out to cover Ma Lingli's mouth.
"Phew, Yue'er, your hands are greasy!"
Ma Lingli smelled the spicy crayfish scent all over Zhang Xinyue's delicate hands.
"What can't be said? This is your problem, obviously... oh, you won't even let me finish."
"Say another word and I'll get angry."
Zhang Xinyue's face was now as red as a peach blossom, both embarrassed and annoyed, as she pretended to threaten.
Only then did Ma Lingli shut up:
"Alright, alright, I won't say anymore."
Chen Pingjiang watched the two bicker.
How could he not know Zhang Xinyue's complex maidenly personality?
On the surface, she was incredibly proud and cared about her reputation, but deep down, she dared to love and hate.
Silently applying to Dongjiang University of Finance and Economics was the best example.
This pride wasn't a derogatory term, but a characteristic of Zhang Xinyue.
Even if she liked Chen Pingjiang, she wouldn't actively express or pursue it.
Instead, she would wait for Chen Pingjiang to pursue her, and even if it meant missing out on a destined relationship, she wouldn't lower her proud head.
Although she had worked hard and done many things for Chen Pingjiang, she would absolutely never admit it, because doing so would seem too proactive and make her feel lose face.
Chen Pingjiang chuckled, changed the subject, and casually plastered twenty tons of cement over his chest.
However, when it was time to leave, Ma Lingli seriously said to Chen Pingjiang during Zhang Xinyue's bathroom break:
"Chen Pingjiang, what exactly are you thinking? I don't believe you can't tell that Yue'er likes you a lot. I don't know about your past, but the fact that she defied her family's wishes to apply to Dongcai for you should be enough to explain everything, right?
She's as proud as a white swan; she likes you but just won't admit it. She's both afraid that you know she likes you, and worried that you don't know she likes you.
She's afraid her situation will become passive if you know she likes you, and she's also afraid you'll leave her if you don't know she likes you. In short, she's very conflicted, it's agonizing to watch, which is why I have to speak my mind.
She's the type who'll say to you with her head held high, 'How annoying you are,' while secretly wishing you'd take things a step further. Such hypocrisy is truly something else. I advise you not to try to test her with your 'retreat to advance' strategy. If you hurt her heart, she will silently leave."
With that, Ma Lingli turned gracefully and left, leaving Chen Pingjiang squatting on the ground, puffing on a cigarette, its glow flickering in the dark.
At 10:30 PM, "Little Chen BBQ" concluded its business for the day, closing up shop.
Chen Pingjiang tallied the day's earnings and felt very satisfied; revenue reached eight thousand.
This was 2006, and for a BBQ restaurant of about a hundred square meters to achieve this revenue was truly remarkable.
Based on an average per-person spend of 40-50, the number of diners was nearly two hundred.
The BBQ restaurant's costs included food costs, labor costs, rent costs, utilities costs, taxes, and spoilage.
Chen Pingjiang calculated carefully: out of the eight thousand yuan, food costs were about 35%.
Labor costs were still okay because not many people were hired yet, but looking at today's situation, the front of the house and the kitchen were already operating at full capacity.
It would be troublesome if anyone needed to take time off for something, and hiring more people would drive labor costs up to 10%.
Rent costs were about 3%, utilities costs 2%, and kitchen spoilage added up to about 5%.
This meant the net profit was approximately 45%.
Taxes were levied at a fixed rate.
This was the era of cash, and most diners were students who didn't request many invoices, so everyone understands...
Based on today's net profit, it would be a hundred thousand a month.
Of course, later on, it might not be possible to achieve the same customer flow as the opening every day, but Chen Pingjiang was confident that through waves of marketing strategies, he could maintain high customer traffic.
If conditions were good, he would even take over the neighboring storefront.
At dinner time, everyone, including Zhou Guanghan and Chen Pingjiang, gathered around to eat and drink.
After a tiring day, everyone was exhausted but had smiles on their faces.
Despite the fatigue, they felt a great sense of accomplishment, especially since Chen Pingjiang had promised to take a small portion of the net profit as bonuses, which meant their income would increase.
Ai Zhiwei and Bao Yufang felt this most deeply.
Today's lively scene at the restaurant was a complete transformation compared to before.
Previously, they were so idle they felt restless; today, they were so busy their feet barely touched the ground, and their fingers cramped from grilling skewers.
There was no air conditioning in the kitchen, so the three of them worked especially hard.
He raised his glass and respectfully toasted Chen Pingjiang, admiringly saying,
"Boss, you university students are truly capable. We had more customers today than I used to see in a whole week."
Bao Yufang, the cleaning auntie, also sighed,
"Exactly, this is what makes work exciting. It's not like before, when I was so idle I thought there might not be a tomorrow."
Chen Pingjiang smiled without speaking.
Next to him, Zhou Guanghan was furiously devouring rice from his bowl, quickly finishing three bowls before raising his glass for a gulp of beer.
"Grand-uncle, when will our school's publicity campaign start?"
"No rush. It's useless if we get too many customers and can't handle them. The storefront is only so big; let's digest this wave of traffic first."
Chen Pingjiang saw Zhou Guanghan put down his chopsticks, promptly offered him a cigarette, lit one for himself, and then said.
The first wave of customer traffic from the opening would likely last about half a month.
After that, other competitors would surely follow suit and imitate.
At that point, they would need to start the second wave of customer acquisition.
As long as customer traffic was consistently maintained at a high level, competitors would always be left trailing behind.
(End of chapter)
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