Miao Chu

Chapter 285 Delay
It was getting a little dark, and it was quiet outside; there wasn't a soul in sight.

Song Miao wasn't in a hurry. She took out the accounts from the past few days and sat in the front hall to look at them slowly.

Cheng Erniang was very meticulous when she kept Song Ji's accounts, and recently she has been teaching Zhang Siniang how to do accounting. The two of them keep records together and check them against each other, so there are almost no mistakes.

But Song Miao read it very slowly.

She watched, took notes, and calculated as she went, paying particular attention to changes in ingredient prices and calculating the daily profit from each category.

Sometimes, more sales don't necessarily mean more money; profits fluctuate daily with changes in costs.

For example, when it comes to making steamed buns, the price of vegetables and meat varies with the seasons, but once the price of steamed buns is set, it cannot be easily changed. After all, frequent price changes will give diners a bad impression.

A char siu steamed bun costs ten coins. If the cost of pork, seasonings, firewood, labor, various utensils, dried lotus leaves, bamboo skewers, etc. is added up, it would cost six coins, leaving a profit of four coins. However, if the cost of a mutton steamed bun is three coins, and the selling price is eight coins, the profit would be as high as five coins. Different types of buns may have higher prices but lower profits.

For vegetarian steamed buns made with cabbage, green beans, carrots, wood ear mushrooms, and vermicelli, the price fluctuations of ingredients become more pronounced with seasonal changes.

At present, Songji does not need to worry about the loss of goods. As long as the products can be made, there is no worry about selling them. However, even if they are selling the same products, the profit can be more than double.

When to make what kind of dishes, how much to make, and how to maximize restaurant profits while maintaining variety and flavor with the existing manpower all require careful calculation.

Otherwise, if you work hard for a month and even add a few more helpers, but your earnings don't increase accordingly, how can you tolerate that?

However, in addition to simple calculations, we also need to consider how to more appropriately meet the taste needs of diners.

Even if some items don't make much money, or even almost no money, we should still keep a certain quantity if customers really like them. This is both a way to reward loyal customers and to boost sales of other food items.

However, this judgment of "liking very much" requires careful attention and discernment.

Some diners shout loudly, saying they really like a certain type of food, but if you keep a close record, you'll find that they don't come very often, and even when they do, they don't buy the same thing every time. They're lucky if they buy it two or three times out of ten.

Some diners hardly talk and buy many different kinds of food each time. However, if you look closely, you can tell that although they enjoy all kinds of food, they must have a particular favorite. Once they stop ordering that particular food, they will come much less often.

Furthermore, many diners often unknowingly "lie" to others.

For example, when Song Miao set up her stall the other day, many students complained that it was hot and they wanted to drink some refreshing beverages, so they ordered perilla drink from her.

But once it was actually available, the perilla drink was always the last to sell out every day.

After selling for a few days, Song Miao thought and thought, but since she couldn't find a reason, she simply called over many people in the restaurant and asked them what kind of drink would be best to drink to cool off in the hot weather.

As a result, out of the eleven people in the restaurant, including both short-term and long-term employees, nine of them ordered perilla drink.

The next morning at breakfast, Song Miao laid out perilla drink, pork rib soup, plum drink, sweet fermented rice, and mung bean drink on the table. Only Cheng Erniang took the perilla drink; everyone else chose the other dishes.

When asked why, it turns out that perilla drink is indeed very good for the body, and people think of it when they talk about relieving summer heat. However, when it comes to drinking it, some people say they don't want to drink it in the morning, others say that perilla is too strong in flavor and doesn't go well with breakfast, and still others say that it doesn't taste as good as other drinks. In short, everyone has their own reasons.

Nowadays, I set up a stall, but I don't make much. Even if I can't sell them all, I can drink the few left over myself. Besides, the cost isn't high.

However, if the restaurant opens in the future and the same situation occurs when preparing other ingredients and dishes, resulting in losses due to misjudging the tastes and needs of diners, then it will be a huge financial loss.

In addition, some people complained that the meat buns were a bit greasy and urged Song Ji to produce more vegetarian buns. But if you count them, you will find that for the same number of buns, the meat buns always sell out first. Even the person who made the suggestion buys four meat buns and two vegetarian buns every day.

Knowing how to discern the true needs of customers and how to adjust the menu based on the needs of the group and the actual profit is a meticulous and comprehensive task that requires careful consideration.

To be fair, Song Miao was well aware that Song Ji's requirements for its employees were strict, even to the point of being somewhat nitpicky.

Upon entering the kitchen, one must first memorize dozens of kitchen rules. Not only must one memorize them, but one must also follow them one by one. Just the rule of washing vegetables four times is enough to make many people unable to bear it.

With such tedious and long-winded requirements, simply talking nicely won't work if you want to recruit the right people; the most important thing is to offer them money.

Song Miao paid very high wages, and in addition to the regular wages, she would also give bonuses to employees based on the restaurant's earnings each month.

If we want to pay more wages, we need to make everyone's labor more valuable.

Rather than forcing everyone to work harder and risk their lives to do more work within a set time, it is naturally more effective to coordinate the types and quantities of work.

However, this matter is too troublesome, and no one can be found to take it over yet. She looked through her subordinates and intended to make use of Cheng Erniang and Dabing.

While others were setting up stalls, Cheng Erniang, Zhang Si Niang, Da Bing, and several other long-term female servants took turns accompanying them. Most of the others simply engaged in buying and selling, but Da Bing, in just a few days, had become familiar with many students, addressing them as "brother" and "scholar" at every turn.

He not only remembered the faces of his regular customers, but also noted down the preferences of many of them.

Although Cheng Erniang wasn't particularly keen on socializing, she was exceptionally gifted in learning.

She learned to read the fastest, even faster than Dabing and Xiaolian, and she also learned arithmetic the best. She had a good grasp of accounting, but she needed to be guided slowly.

When the time comes, one of them will handle the overall accounting, and the other will provide feedback from diners. Working together, they can save themselves a lot of effort.

But that's a matter for later.

Because it was a meticulous task, Song Miao spread out two sheets of paper and slowly checked the calculations. Soon she was completely absorbed in it. As she was calculating, she suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves and wheels at the door, followed by the sound of a coachman reining in his horse, and then the sound of voices. When she looked up, she saw that it was already dark outside, but two people carrying lanterns came in from outside.

Upon seeing the visitors, she was extremely surprised and hurriedly went forward to greet them. After exchanging pleasantries, she asked, "It's so late. Are you two gentlemen not tired after a long day out?"

He then asked, "Do you want something to eat, or is there anything else you need to tell me?"

The visitors were none other than Masters Chen and Master Cao.

Master Chen smiled and said, "No need to rush. I'm already full from that delicious meal you gave me. Just come and sit down—we'll have a couple of sips of tea."

He continued, "On my way back, I ran into Old Cao at a calligraphy and painting shop outside..." As he was speaking, Master Cao handed him a bundle and said to Song Miao, "Young Miss Song, take a look and see which one you find more pleasing to the eye!"

Song Miao hurriedly took it. Because there was paper underneath the table, she wasn't afraid of oil. She gently unfolded it on the table and looked down, and was immediately stunned.

Inside, there were two large characters that read "Song Ji Restaurant". One character was calm and steady, while the other was vigorous and powerful. Both characters were very beautiful in terms of style and form.

Besides the large characters, there are two more couplets for welcoming guests.

Song Miao looked at the large characters, then at the small characters, and couldn't help but sigh, "These characters are really beautiful—if you asked me to choose, I really couldn't!"

Master Chen chuckled and said, “Take your time choosing—one of these was written by me, and the other by Lao Cao. See if there are any characters that can be used together for the signboard and door couplets. If not, we can write them later. It won’t take much trouble!”

As he spoke, he pointed to the table beside him and said to Master Cao, "Old Cao, come here."

Seeing that the two had sat down at the large table next door, Song Miao quickly moved some clean tea over there.

Master Chen gestured with his chin towards the paper and pen on the next table, and shooed her away, saying, "Go about your business, there aren't any left to choose from!"

As he spoke, he flipped over the teacups on the table and poured tea for the two of them himself.

After a moment of peace, and after being offered tea, Master Chen said, "Old Cao, there's only Miss Song here, and no one else. Tell me honestly—what exactly happened at home?"

Master Cao was visibly taken aback for a moment, then said, "Didn't I say during the day that my husband is ill..."

Master Chen snorted coldly and said, "You can only use that to fool others. How many years have we known each other?"

“If your sister-in-law were genuinely ill, you would be so anxious to ask for leave, let alone a refined gathering like today, or even during a regular class,” Master Chen said, unable to help but sigh. “You can keep it from others, but what do you mean by keeping it from me?”

Hearing him sigh, Master Cao also sighed deeply and said, "I won't hide it from you anymore. Ling An has run into some trouble recently. I didn't want to get involved, but his mother is extremely worried. He's had a fever twice in half a month. We've called doctors, but he hasn't recovered. It's making me very anxious. I really couldn't refuse, so I had to agree to try to find a solution..."

Knowing that Ling An was Cao Du's only son and was always cherished, Master Chen knew that the so-called "really couldn't refuse" was mostly just a way to get a way out. Since he had heard that the patient was much better during the day, he asked a couple of questions and then asked, "What trouble is there? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"There's nothing else to do. I've already asked an acquaintance—I have a nephew who's the same age as me and he's currently working at the Sixth Route Shipping Office. I asked him to send a letter, and now I just need to wait for his reply."

Upon hearing this, Master Chen frowned and asked, "What is it that you can't just say? You're so blunt!"

“It’s not that I’m unhappy…” Master Cao shook his head. “Never mind, I’m not afraid to tell you—the court is urging the progress of the Liuta River project, wanting Lü Zhongchang to give an explanation as soon as possible. That Lü fellow wants to shirk responsibility, saying that there are not enough people and resources for the river works, and that the local officials are unwilling to put in the effort and are just dragging things down.”

"Because of the pressure from above, Ling An had no choice but to find him another thousand or so workers."

At this point, Master Cao was somewhat helpless and said, "This matter is all your Zhengyan's fault—I heard that when he went to Huazhou, he recruited local strongmen to help dredge the river. Since he provided food and lodging, the work was done very quickly. What was supposed to be a month's work was finished in less than half a month."

"When the news reached Liutahe, a man surnamed Lü heard about it and wanted to do the same. He kept Ling An and his men busy for more than half a month, recruiting two or three thousand people in the towns and villages of Xiatou County, Chanzhou. Now they are urging the state government to help solve the problem of food and lodging for the people..."

As Master Chen listened, cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He quickly wiped it away with a handkerchief and said, "Two or three thousand people for food and lodging? That many??"

"Exactly, why didn't you say so earlier? You just wanted it, but there's nothing wrong with us. We can't use the Ever-Normal Granary, and we can't use it easily anyway. This year's rains have been so heavy, and the dikes at Chanzhou are already in bad shape. What if something happens..."

Master Chen fell silent for a moment, and after a long while, he said, "You're looking for the Sixth Route Transport Office because you want to ask for grain from the south?"

"Yes, it has already been submitted. Minister Li said that the court will allocate grain, but arrangements will be made after the grain shipments from the two routes in Jiangnan arrive in the capital. I was thinking of sending someone to urge them to see if the Transport Department can arrange for more grain shipments first, and other items can wait a little longer..."

Master Chen then said, "Let's see what your fellow graduate has to say. If that doesn't work, let me know. I'll ask around and try to find someone from the Sixth Route Transportation Office—at a time like this, we shouldn't worry about saving face."

He added, "We need to gather the grain for him as soon as possible. Otherwise, with two or three thousand people needing to eat and drink every day, and Chanzhou not being a large prefecture, where will we find so much surplus grain? To put it bluntly, if something unexpected happens and we run out of grain, we won't know what to do to provide disaster relief and help the people!"

Song Miao was sitting on the side, her head down reading the words, when she heard the words "Six Routes Transportation Office" and almost immediately thought of Wang Shuji, whom she had met in Huazhou.

On that day, the other party also gave her a visiting card, an address, and documents, wanting to invite her to be a cook, and asking her to come to their door promptly if she was interested after returning to the capital.

I was really busy with other things, and my mind was full of business, so I didn't pay attention to it for a while.

Wang Shuji was, after all, the deputy commissioner of the six routes of transportation. I just didn't know where he was right now. Although my words might not carry much weight, I figured I could at least make an introduction...

After thinking for a moment, she didn't hesitate and immediately told Cao and Chen about the matter in Huazhou. She added, "If needed, I can write a letter here. It may not be useful, but it's still a way. Also, I know Young Master Han Li..."

Upon hearing this, Cao Du was somewhat pleased and said, "Right now, it is Vice Envoy Wang Shuji who is in charge of the canal transport! However, he is away from home most of the year and is a southerner. I have looked around and found that no one knows him!"

He added, "Let's wait for my classmate's reply first. If all else fails, then we'll come back to see Miss Song!"

The two old men sat and drank a cup of tea, chatted for a while, and seeing that it was getting late, they dared not linger. They simply told Song Miao to choose the right words carefully and then hurriedly took their leave.

Master Chen said, "I'm afraid it will delay your closing time!"

Song Miao and her companion were seeing them off when they heard the sound of horses galloping outside. Looking up, they saw the horse had already reached them, and a person dismounted and quickly approached without needing a torch or lantern.

Master Cao stood at the front, squinting at the newcomer, and laughed, "Young man, what are you doing here so late? Miss Song's shop is closed. It's late at night, you can just find something to eat anywhere!"

The visitor smiled, first calling him Mr. Cao, then calling him Senior Brother, and finally saying, "It's not for a meal, I just came to bother you with a small matter. I'll be leaving shortly, it won't delay you."

As he spoke, he stepped forward to light the lamp, helped the two old men onto the carriage, and then helped close the carriage door.

　Thank you so much for the sachet and the herb you sent me! Also, thank you to book friends 20250321160216798, Yuan Chengzhi, and Yusi Fenfei 72 for each of the sachets you sent, and to Ice and Snow Hedgehog for the herb! ^_^
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　　(End of this chapter)