strictlysupreme Chapter 84 A good start
Chapter 84 A good start
Before Qian Fulai could even taste it, Xiao Si arrived with Li Huaiyuan.
"Lord Li, as you can see, our second young lady has prepared a meal for you. Please come in."
Li Huaiyuan walked in and said, "Congratulations, Miss Tian Er."
Tian Tian cupped her hands in thanks, "Thanks to your kindness, sir."
"No, no, I wouldn't dare," Li Huaiyuan waved his hand.
He turned his gaze to the food on the table...
"All the dishes at our Baishi Teahouse are here," Xiao Si explained.
Li Huaiyuan looked around the table and was immediately overwhelmed by the variety of dishes.
He considered himself to have tasted quite a few delicacies, including pastries such as osmanthus cake, mung bean cake, pea flour cake, almond cookies, dragon beard candy, various rice cakes, and more...
But he hadn't eaten any of the food on the table.
"Lord Li," Qian Fulai handed over chopsticks, "please have a taste."
Although these meals were prepared for him, since Lord Li had arrived, he had no choice but to back down.
Li Huaiyuan accepted it and said politely, "Young Master Qian, please have a taste."
"This humble subject dares not," Qian Fulai said respectfully, bowing deeply.
"There's nothing I wouldn't dare to do. There are so many dishes, even I can't finish them all. Come, let's have a taste."
Li Huaiyuan sat down and picked up a shrimp dumpling.
Qian Fulai didn't dare to sit down, but after Li Huaiyuan picked up a shrimp dumpling, he picked one up as well.
Li Huaiyuan didn't touch any of the other dishes, nor did he dare to.
Through the paper-thin skin, you can clearly see the shrimp meat inside the shrimp dumplings, like rubies set in white jade.
Take a gentle bite, and the chewy texture of the dough unfolds on your tongue.
Then, the juice inside the shrimp dumplings gushed out like a fountain, so delicious that it was intoxicating.
Next came the other dishes, each offering a unique texture and flavor...
The more Li Huaiyuan ate, the more confident he became.
Baishi Teahouse is sure to become famous; he made the right bet.
With the prior publicity from the steamed bun shop, many people paid attention to Baishi Teahouse. By the time Li Huaiyuan and Qian Fulai finished eating and came out, all the tables downstairs were full, and a lot of people had gathered outside the shop to queue up.
The shrimp dumplings were the first to sell out because the amount of shrimp was limited.
"Shrimp dumplings sold out today!" Xiao Si rang a bell in the lobby and announced loudly, "Shrimp dumplings sold out today!"
The guests waiting outside were getting impatient.
"Are the shrimp dumplings all gone?"
"I heard from people that shrimp dumplings are the most delicious and also the most expensive."
"No shrimp dumplings today."
"Let's eat something else first, and come back earlier another day for shrimp dumplings."
"Yes, let's try something else first."
The number of people in line did not decrease; in fact, it increased.
Lu Tao and Liu San Niang were helping out in the kitchen. Although they weren't at the front and didn't see the grand spectacle of a room full of guests, they...
Their hands, which had been constantly busy, were incredibly sore.
"Madam Lu, Madam Liu, business must be booming today," the woman who was also taking a meal said with a smile.
Everyone was wearing hats and masks.
Lu Tao and Liu San Niang exchanged a glance, and their eyes disappeared into slits as they laughed.
“Our girl is clever; these dishes she makes are all very novel and will definitely be a big hit,” the others chimed in.
"We've been busy since dawn, our hands haven't stopped, but the steamer baskets on the pot are gone in no time..."
The women were also happy, because if their master's business was doing well, their wages would be well paid.
Outside the two kitchens, several hired women were washing used steamer baskets.
They haven't stopped working since the teahouse opened, and the washed steamers are placed on the rack outside the kitchen to drain.
When you run out of food in the kitchen, just come out and get more.
On the first day, from the middle of the morning (5-7 AM) to the end of the evening (7-9 PM), the teahouse was constantly packed with people.
After finally seeing off the last table of guests and closing the door, it was already past midnight.
Everyone in the teahouse gathered in the lobby to enjoy the teahouse's food.
The shopkeeper was fiddling with his abacus behind the counter.
"It's so delicious..."
Everyone kept their voices very low, not wanting to disturb the shopkeeper.
"I have never eaten anything so delicious."
Xiao Si had been smelling the aroma all day, and finally got to eat it.
He opened his mouth wide and stuffed a whole shumai into it.
It's delicious, really delicious.
It seems to taste even better than the ones he tried before.
No wonder so many guests couldn't stop eating today.
"Second Miss is really amazing."
Half an hour later, the shopkeeper finally finished calculating.
"Miss, we have collected a total of two hundred and twenty-three taels...five hundred and sixty-seven coins today."
"After deducting the cost of 66 taels and 900 cash, we made a profit of 156 taels and 667 cash."
I earned 150 taels...
The shopkeeper's voice trembled as he announced the numbers.
The manager is the manager of Chuxing Restaurant, whom Tian Xiang invited back.
"Manager Duan...did you calculate correctly?" Tian Xiang asked, somewhat uncertainly.
She remembered that Chu Xing Restaurant used to have a daily turnover of about fifty taels, and could earn about twenty-five taels.
The teahouse's revenue on its first day was more than four times that of the Chuxing Restaurant, and it also earned significantly more money.
Teahouses make up about 70% of the market, while Chuxing Restaurant only accounts for 50%.
Tian Tian was quite satisfied with the amount.
After Fu Lai Restaurant became popular, its daily turnover was around 150 taels, and it could earn about 90 taels, with a profit margin of 60%.
Baishi Teahouse still has a lot of advantages.
In addition, the shrimp dumplings sold out early today. If we had enough ingredients, we could have made another thirty or fifty taels.
“Young lady, you’re right.” Manager Duan knew that Tian Xiang’s question wasn’t a challenge to him, so he smiled and nodded. “With so many customers today, and each person trying several dishes, it’s only right that we made so much money.”
"If we had more people, we could have even more."
Manager Duan's main job was to handle the cashier's duties. He had plenty of time to observe the customers and talk to them while doing so, asking for their opinions.
Some customers said that there were too many people and they couldn't get many of the dishes.
Therefore, he felt that if he had more staff and the meals were served promptly, he could earn more money.
Tian Tian nodded. "That is indeed the biggest problem right now."
There's a secret in the kitchen; she can't just hire people, she has to buy them.
But previously, I had limited funds.
She needs to use the money she earned today to buy more people.
Tian Tian turned to look at everyone who had worked hard all day, "Thank you all for your hard work today."
"The teahouse business is thriving thanks to everyone's hard work."
"Today is the first day of the teahouse's opening, and everyone has performed exceptionally well."
"Shopkeeper, give everyone a bonus of 500 coins."
"Including you, shopkeeper, and..."
Tian Tian looked at Lu Tao, Liu San Niang, and Tian Xiang, "Madam Lu, Madam Liu, the eldest daughter... everyone has one!"
"Thank you for the gift, Second Miss." Everyone stood up happily to express their gratitude.
"Thank you for the reward, Second Miss." Manager Duan waved to everyone, "Quickly line up and come to me to collect yours."
A large crowd lined up and crowded in front of the counter.
Manager Duan counted them out for them one by one...
Tian Tian looked on and encouraged them, "As long as everyone works hard in the future, there will be a bonus at the end of each month."
"Don't worry, Second Sister, we will definitely do our best."