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Chapter 2576 The Imperial Kitchen of the Ming Dynasty

Liu Hongchang spent the entire winter vacation in Nanjing and didn't go anywhere else.

He spent the Spring Festival at home with his mother, Wang Cuilan, helped his brother Liu Yunchang with chores for a few days, ate two meals at Su Ji Restaurant, and spent the rest of his time lying at home sleeping.

I originally planned to visit the He family with gifts, but after thinking about it, I felt it wasn't appropriate, so I gave up on the idea.

Before the start of the school year, Liu Hongchang packed his luggage, carrying a large bag on his back and a handbag in his hand, and went to the train station.

Wang Cuilan saw her troublesome son to the door, wanted to say something, opened her mouth, but then swallowed it back.

Knowing this son's character, he's incredibly stubborn; the more you talk to him, the less he'll listen, so it's better to say nothing at all.

Upon arriving in Beijing, Liu Hongchang threw his luggage into the basement, changed into his work clothes, and went to the Peking University cafeteria.

The stove is still the same stove, the pot is still the same pot, the spatula is still the same spatula, exactly the same as when he left.

He tied on an apron, lit a fire, and began to stir-fry the vegetables.

The cafeteria was bustling with activity, as students lined up with enamel basins in their hands, chattering about their winter break.

After finishing his work at the stove, Liu Hongchang went to the window and scooped out vegetables one spoonful at a time, a smile on his face.

He Wenhui also came to the cafeteria after the start of the semester. She was with several female classmates, carrying enamel basins, chatting and laughing.

When it was He Wenhui's turn to join the queue, she handed over the bowl, and Liu Hongchang gave her a serving of braised pork with an extra spoonful of broth.

He Wenhui said thank you, picked up the basin and left, without glancing at him once more.

As Liu Hongchang watched He Wenhui's retreating figure, a complex mix of emotions welled up inside him once again.

He took a deep breath, suppressed the bitterness, and continued serving food to the other students.

Li Jianbin also came to the cafeteria for a meal. When he saw that Liu Hongchang was still there, he felt extremely disgusted.

In fact, He Wenhui had known about Liu Hongchang for a long time and had never hidden it from him.

Li Jianbin didn't take it seriously at the time, thinking he was just an ordinary sycophant who had helped out a little.

But later it was discovered that this fellow villager had followed her all the way to Beijing and even worked as a cook in the Peking University cafeteria, hanging around under He Wenhui's nose every day.

This is not normal.

Li Jianbin spoke to He Wenhui several times, telling her to explain things clearly to Liu Hongchang so that no one would misunderstand.

He Wenhui spoke up, but Liu Hongchang wouldn't leave, so there was nothing she could do.

Li Jianbin could only endure it. As long as Liu Hongchang didn't harass He Wenhui or do anything relentless, he would pretend he didn't see him.

As for what Liu Hongchang thinks, that's his own business, and no one else can interfere.

Liu Hongchang did not harass He Wenhui.

He just cooks in the cafeteria. If we bump into each other on the street, he'll nod and smile, but won't say another word.

Liu Hongchang was like a nail, firmly fixed in the Peking University cafeteria, unmoving and just sitting there.

……

Life at Su Ji Restaurant is thriving.

The big yellow cat broke its leg and spent two months in the hospital. After it came out, it became much more well-behaved and never dared to show its face in the south of the city again.

The little yellow cat has lost its former arrogance and now avoids Suning, running faster than a rabbit.

Without these troublemakers, Su Ji Restaurant's business improved even more, becoming packed every day with customers queuing from noon until night.

Sometimes, even when the vegetables were sold out, there were still people queuing up. Yang Maixiang could only apologize to each of them, saying she was sorry and would come back tomorrow.

Looking at the daily income figures, Su Ning had a new plan in mind.

That evening, after closing the shop, the couple sat down to settle their accounts.

Suning closed the ledger, looked at Yang Maixiang, and said, "Maixiang, I want to open a branch."

Yang Maixiang was counting money when she looked up at him and asked, "Open a branch? Where?"

“We’ll open one in each of Nanjing’s districts, one by one. We’ll start in Gulou, where there are many people and it’s close to the scenic spots, so there are many tourists. Then we’ll open one in Qinhuai, which is the old city with many residents, so there’s no shortage of customers. We’ll also open one in Xuanwu and Jianye districts.”

Yang Maixiang's eyes widened, her mouth agape. "Are you crazy? How much money would it take to open so many stores? Our family's savings aren't even enough to open one branch, and you want to open several?"

Su Ning smiled; he knew Yang Maixiang would react this way. "Don't worry about the money; I have a way."

"What method?" Yang Maixiang didn't believe it; she knew her family's finances all too well.

In the few months since the wedding, Su Ji Restaurant has indeed made a lot of money, but after deducting costs, rent, utilities, and taxes, what's left is still far from enough to open a branch.

"A loan. Go to a bank," Su Ning said.

Yang Maixiang paused for a moment, then shook her head. "A loan? Why would a bank lend to us? We don't have any collateral."

Su Ning moved her chair forward a bit. "Mai Xiang, you don't understand the ins and outs here. You know exactly how much revenue Su Ji Restaurant makes each month. Banks look at your repayment ability, not how much money you have. Show them your accounts, and they'll know how good your business is. Whether they lend you money or not, they'll do the math themselves."

Yang Maixiang was skeptical, but she knew that what Su Ning said made sense.

Su Ji Restaurant is indeed doing very well. It's so good that bank employees have dined there several times and always praise it, saying that if the restaurant were located in Gulou, it would definitely be even more popular.

“And another thing,” Su Ning continued, “we can buy the shops first, then mortgage them to the bank and get more loans. We can use the loan money to open branches, and when the branches make money, we can buy more shops, mortgage them again, and get more loans. This cycle will continue, growing bigger and bigger. Before long, we'll have more than a dozen shops in Nanjing.”

Yang Maixiang was stunned.

She didn't understand what a mortgage, a loan, or a cycle meant.

All she knew was that what Su Ning was saying sounded like a fantasy.

But when Suning said it, it sounded just like the truth.

This person never does anything without being sure of success; perhaps he really will succeed.

"Do you really think it can work?" Yang Maixiang asked, still somewhat uncertain.

Su Ning held her hand. "Maixiang, trust me. Our lives will get better and better. We'll not only open branches, but we'll also build a brand so that everyone in China will remember the name 'Su Ji'. I want everyone to know what kind of person you, Yang Maixiang, married."

Yang Maixiang looked at him for a while, then smiled and said, "Okay."

……

In the days that followed, Suning was extremely busy.

I get up before dawn every morning and don't get home until midnight. Sometimes I'm so busy that I don't even have time to eat.

Yang Maixiang felt sorry for Su Ning and advised him not to push himself too hard.

Suning verbally agreed, but the next day he still worked from dawn till dusk.

Because he knew in his heart that now was the best time.

In the early 1980s, everything was in ruins and opportunities were everywhere. If you were a step behind, someone else would seize the opportunity.

Suning cannot afford to be slow, nor does it want to be slow.

This is where the advantages of pre-cooked meals become apparent.

The kitchen doesn't need a head chef, a chopping board operator, or a prep cook; two kitchen workers are enough.

One person was responsible for heating the pre-cooked food, and the other was responsible for stir-frying vegetables and cooking rice.

With two waitresses in the front of the restaurant and the proprietress Yang Maixiang, the four of them were enough to keep the shop running.

He felt at ease knowing that Yang Maixiang could keep an eye on things when Su Ning wasn't around.

Su Ji Restaurant's business is becoming more and more stable, with a relatively fixed daily turnover. After deducting costs and labor, the net profit is quite considerable.

Suning took the ledger to the bank, and the people in the credit department flipped through a few pages and their eyes lit up.

These days, it's not easy for self-employed individuals to get loans; banks prefer to lend money to state-owned factories.

The turnover of Su Ji Restaurant is so impressive; it makes half a year's worth of business in one month.

The head of the credit department hesitated for a few days, but finally approved it.

Actually, things were quite different in the 1980s compared to later years. Banks had loan targets, and failure to meet those targets would result in penalties.

When Suning received the loan, he had mixed feelings; not excitement, but a sense of relief.

Now that we have the money, it's time to spend it.

In several districts of Nanjing, Suning took out a motorcycle from its virtual shopping mall and drove it all over Nanjing.

I visited Gulou, Qinhuai, Xuanwu, and Jianye districts one by one, and wandered through street by street.

Nanjing in the early 1980s was different from later years. There weren't many high-rise buildings or shopping malls and supermarkets. Everywhere there were old houses and old streets, with plane trees providing ample shade, making it very cool to walk under them in the summer.

The housing prices are unbelievably cheap; shops in good locations can be bought for just tens of thousands of yuan.

The problem is that good houses aren't for sale; they're all held by the local street offices. If you want to buy, they won't sell; if you want to rent, they see you as a self-employed individual and don't want to deal with you.

Suning spent several days trying, only to be met with a rebuff.

He suddenly realized a problem: these days, although individual businesses have begun to emerge, in the eyes of most people, they are still not as respectable as state-owned businesses.

If you run a small restaurant and want to rent a house on the street, people would rather leave it vacant than rent it to you, because they're afraid you won't be able to pay the rent, that you'll make the house dirty and messy, and that the neighbors will have complaints.

Suning was initially annoyed, but later realized that a head-on confrontation was not the solution and they had to find another way.

So, Suning turned its attention to those poorly managed state-owned restaurants.

These days, state-run restaurants are having a tough time. The service is poor, the food is unpalatable, and the prices are high, so ordinary people don't like going there. But they can't close down, just because they belong to the state, so they have to keep going even if they lose money.

Suning has its eye on three stores: one in Gulou, one in Qinhuai, and one in Xuanwu. All are prime locations with large storefronts and good locations, but the business is frighteningly slow.

When you go in during mealtimes, there are more waiters than customers. Some people are eating sunflower seeds, while others are knitting sweaters, and nobody pays any attention to you.

Su Ning went directly to the street director, surnamed Wang, who was in his fifties, chubby, and looked like a seasoned veteran in the workplace.

When Su Ning explained his idea—that he wanted to contract the three restaurants, pay a fixed annual contract fee, and bear all profits and losses himself, without the neighborhood committee having to contribute a single penny—he was able to get the restaurant to operate.

After hearing this, Director Wang was stunned for a long time, probably because he had never seen such an operation before.

He thought for a moment and asked, "If you take over the contract, what will happen to the original employees?"

Suning said, "Those who want to stay will be retained, but they will need to undergo training. Those who don't want to stay are free to do as they please; the neighborhood committee will be responsible for making arrangements. Their salaries will not be lower than they are now, and those who perform well will receive bonuses."

Director Wang thought about it again and felt that it was a worthwhile deal, since those three restaurants lost money every year and the neighborhood committee had to subsidize them every year, which was painful for them.

Now that someone is willing to take over the contract, the neighborhood committee doesn't have to pay any money, and they can even collect a contract fee. Why not?

So Director Wang made the decision: the three restaurants would be contracted out for ten years, and Suning would have priority in contracting and purchasing rights.

The day Suning received the contract, he rode his bicycle around Gulou and looked at the sign of that state-run restaurant, feeling an indescribable sense of joy.

This location, this shop, this spot—ten years from now, you won't be able to rent it for any price.

Now that I've got it, ten years is enough time for me to do whatever I want.

……

After signing the contract, Suning went to Shenzhen again.

These days, Shenzhen is a bustling place, full of construction sites, young people, and opportunities.

Suning isn't here to speculate on land; they're here to register a company.

In the early 1980s, only Shenzhen allowed the registration of private companies nationwide; in other places, everyone was a "sole proprietor." If you wanted to register a company, you had no chance.

Su Ning sat on a train for more than 20 hours in a hard seat, which made his butt hurt, but he didn't feel tired at all.

Upon arriving in Shenzhen, I went directly to the Industry and Commerce Bureau, handed over the documents, and the staff looked at them. "What's the company's name?"

Suning had already planned it out: "Daming Imperial Kitchen Catering Culture Co., Ltd."

The staff member was taken aback, probably because they had never seen such a long name before.

He glanced at Suning again and asked once more, "Are you in the catering business?"

“Yes.” Su Ning nodded.

The staff didn't ask any more questions, filled in the name, and stamped it.

With the business license in hand, Suning felt reassured looking at the words on it.

The name "Su Ji Xiao Guan" is too rustic, sounding like a street food stall, and not suitable for large-scale development.

The name "Imperial Kitchen of the Ming Dynasty" sounds weighty, cultured, and profound.

And you know what? Ordinary people and consumers actually buy into this. The same dishes, called "Imperial Kitchen," command a higher price than those called "Small Restaurant."

……

After returning from Shenzhen, Suning began renovating the three restaurants.

The space world is full of AI robots, and designing decoration plans is a piece of cake for AI.

Suning stated its requirements: the style should be consistent, it should be suitable for chain operations, and it should be easily recognizable as a single store.

The AI ​​quickly generated three options, and Suning chose the one he was most satisfied with. It was antique-style, with wooden tables and chairs, warm lighting, antique-style calligraphy and paintings on the walls, and exquisite chopstick rests and napkins on the table. It looked much more upscale than those state-run restaurants.

AI robots are responsible for employee training, which is absolutely top-notch service training.

The tableware is also produced in the spatial world.

Uniform bowls, plates, cups, and chopsticks, all bearing the logo of "Imperial Kitchen of the Ming Dynasty," an antique seal design that exudes sophistication.

The staff uniforms are also uniformly designed. The waiters wear modified Ming-style Hanfu, which is plain in color, simple and elegant, with delicate piping on the collar and cuffs. The male kitchen staff wear white chef uniforms, which are clean and neat.

Suning showed the sample to Yang Maixiang, who looked at it over and over several times before saying, "This dress is even better looking than those in big hotels."

Su Ning laughed, "Of course, if we're going to build a brand, we need to have the image of a brand. We can't be like those dirty and messy little shops on the street; who would want to come in and eat there?"

"It seems you're serious."

"Silly wife, when was I ever not serious?"

"..."

……

With three stores under renovation at the same time, Suning was extremely busy.

He rides his motorcycle back and forth between the three shops every day: Gulou in the morning, Qinhuai at noon, Xuanwu in the afternoon, and Su Ji Xiao Guan in the evening to help out.

Suning doesn't not want to rest, it just can't.

With three stores opening at the same time, there are too many things to worry about: the progress of the renovation, the quality of the materials, and the management of the workers. Everything has to be kept in mind, otherwise problems will arise if there is any negligence.

Of course, AI robots are keeping an eye on all of this for them, but Suning still prefers to be busy themselves.

Fortunately, the pre-made food model is simple and does not require complicated kitchen management; two cooks can handle it.

Suning designed the kitchen layout of each store to be the same, with uniform positions for the stoves, refrigerators, and storage shelves. This way, kitchen staff can get started in any store without having to adapt.

The front-of-house staff are also uniformly trained by AI robots on how to greet guests, serve food, handle bills, and resolve customer complaints...

Suning had its AI robots write operation manuals so they could follow them.

Yang Maixiang looked at the manual, flipped through a few pages, and exclaimed, "You're more professional than the managers of those big hotels."

Suning smiled but offered no explanation.

He can't very well say that he was an emperor in another world and ruled the whole world, so what is a restaurant compared to that?

……

The news spread throughout Nanjing even before the three stores opened.

Some were curious, some questioned, and some were waiting to see the joke.

A small restaurant owner has contracted three state-owned restaurants and wants to do some kind of chain operation? Isn't this just a waste of time?

Suning ignored the gossip and continued with its work: renovations, hiring, training, and inventory preparation, pushing things forward one by one.

He was well aware of what he was doing and what he was capable of achieving.

I can't control what other people say, and I don't want to.

...(End of this chapter)