Miao Chu

Chapter 290 Free Gift

Song Miao, who was pushing the cart with the pancake, had no idea what the grand spectacle was like inside the Imperial Academy, or what undercurrents were brewing at the Southern Slope Academy.

She returned to Suanzao Lane and busied herself there. Just then, Cheng Erniang, Zhang Siniang, and others who had gone out to deliver food and shopped along the way also returned, bringing back some fabric scraps and several sets of clothes.

It was neither early nor noon, and the restaurant had a little free time. Cheng Erniang called everyone over to discuss things for a while, and then went to find Song Miao.

It refers to the clothing and attire of people in restaurants.

Since the tables and chairs outside were all dining tables, she asked Song Miao to go back to the back room, where she laid out a cloth and arranged the clothes one by one on the table.

“These days everyone has been looking. We went to see many embroidery shops and clothing stores. Since this is a long-term business for us, my wife also said that once the clothes are decided, they should not be changed easily. It is best if they are different from other restaurants, but not too different. After searching around, we finally chose these few items. Although they are not very satisfactory, we are in a hurry to bring them to my wife to choose from.”

Nowadays, all professions have their own established customs regarding clothing so that they can be easily identified at a glance.

For example, most tea and beverage vendors, regardless of gender, wear a shirt and trousers, an apron or towel around their waist, a cloth turban on their heads, and either hemp shoes or straw sandals on their feet.

There were also cart pullers, laborers, grooms, etc., who mostly wore short shirts and long trousers, with cloth belts around their waists and straw sandals binding their legs.

Song Ji is a restaurant, and after discussing it, everyone felt that they should follow the example of the restaurants next door. Regardless of gender, they should wear a shirt and trousers. In addition to waist binding and leg binding, there is another rule that Song Miao had set up long ago: those responsible for serving dishes and those who cook in the kitchen must cover their mouths and noses with cloths.

While covering the mouth and nose may not be as convenient for breathing as not covering them, it seems to prevent saliva and sneezes from flying around, which easily arouses the curiosity of diners. Once they ask and learn about its function, eight out of ten will immediately develop a good impression—wow, this restaurant is so clean!

After listening to Cheng Erniang's introduction, Song Miao looked at the clothes that everyone had chosen one by one. Seeing that the styles were conventional but the fabrics were rather rough, she asked, "Which set did most of you choose?"

Cheng Erniang pointed to two of the sets and said, "These two sets are more popular, but the fabric is light-colored and gets dirty easily, and they're also expensive..."

Song Miao looked at them and compared them to the price tags on the side; sure enough, both sets were much more expensive.

After a moment's thought, she wasn't in a hurry to decide and said, "It doesn't necessarily have to be from here. I think even the best fabric here is a bit rough. As for whether it gets dirty or not, darker colors are naturally better, as they won't show dirt as easily. But it doesn't necessarily have to be dark brown. I was already thinking that the clothes in our restaurant are regularly sent to the laundry to be washed, so there's no need to worry too much."

Just then, someone in the backyard was seen moving heavy objects with a loud "heave-ho".

In broad daylight, with the wooden window open, the two of them looked out in the direction of the sound.

In the courtyard, some people were washing vegetables, others were turning over dried meat, and still others were rubbing mung bean skins. In the main kitchen, people were preparing ingredients and carrying firewood to add fuel to the fire in preparation for sending steamed buns to the Imperial Academy.

People were coming and going, a scene of bustling activity.

The ones shouting out their wares were Zhang Si Niang and a newly arrived short-term hired woman.

The two carried a large basin of washed vegetables, ready to take them into the main kitchen to be chopped.

The basin was filled with water, and even though they were wearing aprons, had their sleeves and legs bound, some of them still accidentally got their pants wet or their clothes wet.

Zhang Si Niang was focused on her work and didn't pay much attention to anything else. As she backed into the doorway, her elbow bumped against the door and something caught on her sleeve, tearing it with a "rip".

Cheng Erniang looked at Zhang Siniang's sleeve from afar, then at the price list beside her. She lowered her head, thought carefully for a moment, and then said, "You've always treated me like one of your own, so I won't stand on ceremony. Although we've earned quite a bit, you still have a lot of debts. Now that the shop is about to open, we need to buy everything—tables, chairs, pots and pans, every scrap of paper costs money."

"It hasn't been many days, but just preparing all sorts of things for the restaurants has already cost me several tens of dollars. When I keep track of the expenses, I feel a little panicked."

“It’s hard to cut corners on other things, but for us workers, as long as the clothes are clean and tidy, it’s not that noticeable whether the fabric is better or worse. But when we’re working, they can easily get torn, which isn’t worth it. It’s better to use the second-best quality clothes for now and then buy better ones later when we’ve saved up more money.”

"Also, while washing a set of clothes at a laundry shop outside isn't expensive, for many of us here, it adds up to a considerable expense every day for a month... Actually, I think it's the same if everyone washes their clothes at home!"

Upon hearing this, Song Miao felt a warmth in her heart. She gently took Cheng Erniang's arm and said softly, "I know that Erniangzi is thinking of me and considering the restaurant, which is why she said such a thing."

She explained her reasons for wanting to buy nice clothes and help with the laundry.

As I said before, a person's energy is limited.

The workload at Songji was already enormous, with most people having to get up early. Even with the later addition of more people, it was all genuinely physical labor.

When I got home, it was already dark. In the dead of night, if there was no one to take care of the house, it would be impossible to see anything, even if I wanted to do laundry, just by the light of that one oil lamp.

As for items like clothes and shoes, they should naturally be made of comfortable and attractive fabrics with appropriate tailoring. This will not only make the wearer feel good, but also please the customers who come to the restaurant and make them feel comfortable.

Song Miao explained in detail, and then said, "Once the clothes are made, they will mostly be worn every day in the restaurant. We can choose better materials and the most suitable styles. Otherwise, after a busy day, we will be tired and have to wear coarse clothes. We can afford to buy more expensive ones now, it won't make a difference!"

He added, “Second Madam is right. If you want to make money, you need to increase your income and reduce your expenses. But we’re in the food business, and even the best wine needs to be advertised. On the one hand, the food has to be delicious, and on the other hand, we also need to know how to promote it.”

There's a saying that goes, "Clothes make the man, and a saddle makes the horse."

Song Miao pointed to the several sets of clothes on the table: "Our restaurant can't afford expensive decorations right now, but many of our dishes are quite expensive. If customers come and see that everything looks simple, they will naturally think that our food is not worth that much money. That's why the tables, chairs, plates and cups we ordered are not cheap."

Cheng Erniang hurriedly said, "Don't worry, my lady, I understand this principle. It's just that seeing so much money being spent makes me a little uneasy!"

She hesitated for a moment, then said, "It's a bit unlucky to say that—I'm afraid my wife will miscalculate and end up suffering without earning much money!"

Upon hearing this, Song Miao did some mental calculations and gave Cheng Erniang a number, saying, "Erniangzi, feel free to take people to buy it. As long as it doesn't exceed this price, it's fine!"

He added, “As the owner, if I can’t make money, I should find my own way. After all, if I do make money, I’ll get the most—I can’t just eat the meat myself and then drag others down with me when I get beaten, can I?”

But seeing how anxious Cheng Erniang was for her, she knew that besides Cheng Erniang's cautious nature, it was probably because there had been more and more things happening these days, many of which were things she had never experienced before, making her more nervous.

Furthermore, she often acted too independently, knowing exactly what she wanted to do but failing to communicate details, which could unsettle those in charge. Song Miao didn't say anything more, neither comforting nor encouraging.

She went next door to get paper, pen, and ledgers, and in front of Cheng Erniang, she copied out last month's net profit, divided it into several parts, circled one of them, and said, "In August, there will be another figure of this size, which I originally planned to save for the restaurant's opening."

"We've already made a list of what the restaurant has and what it doesn't have. When you have time, Second Madam, please take stock of everything. Once the rest is purchased and arranged, we can choose an auspicious time later."

"We only have so much money. As for how to divide it and how to use it, you can discuss it with everyone and come up with a plan for me."

After a few words, another task was assigned to her. Holding the paper written by Song Miao, Cheng Erniang had no time to worry about anything else. Instead, she kept calculating how much money had been spent, how much was left, and how to make the most of the remaining funds.

Once the restaurant was almost done with work, she took advantage of any spare moment to lead her people to clothing shops and embroidery workshops outside to select clothes.

This time, the crowd selected several more outfits, which looked much better, but the prices were considerably higher.

Everyone had already returned to the restaurant with the clothes they had made as samples, and they were still discussing it non-stop.

Cheng Erniang is not the same as before.

She started working for Song Miao soon after arriving in the capital, and her behavior was influenced by what she saw and heard. She didn't like to keep things to herself, so she spoke her mind to everyone early on.

The host was generous and wanted everyone to be more comfortable and relaxed on weekdays, so he took out a sum of money to make and wash clothes.

Nowadays, there's no need to worry about the hassle of washing or the price; you can simply choose a nice, elegant, and comfortable style and fabric.

Being able to order clothes and design them yourself, and getting several sets of clothes for all four seasons for free, naturally makes everyone happy.

The women who were hired on short-term contracts were especially excited when they discovered that they could also choose clothes and would have a share in the future.

Although it was said that if you didn't work for a full year, you couldn't take your clothes with you, and if you wanted to take them, you would have to pay for them on a monthly basis, the newcomers had all worked hard and decided to stay, so they didn't have this worry.

The advantages and disadvantages of Song Ji are quite obvious. The advantage is that the money is generous, the atmosphere in the restaurant is excellent, the owner and manager are all friendly, and if you do a good job, you will be praised and rewarded, and you will not suffer any dissatisfaction.

The downside is that it's too strictly controlled.

Just the fact that you have to wash vegetables four times is enough to deter many people.

That's why, once you accept these troubles, everything else is a benefit. Once you get used to doing things here, you'll feel very uncomfortable going to other places.

While Cheng Erniang led a group of people to pick and choose, Song Miao took advantage of the break to pick up her brush, dip it in ink, and write down the names of the dishes that the students from the Imperial Academy had reported the day before, as well as some dishes that she had originally thought of.

During the period between the restaurant's opening and its subsequent closure, she had a lot to do.

Most other tasks could be delegated to others, but the selection of dishes and the determination of cooking methods were things that Song Miao had to do herself.

According to the current plan, two small private rooms will be partitioned off from the front hall, and tables of various sizes will be provided in the remaining area, totaling about twenty tables.

Mealtimes are like a fleeting breeze, meaning that if customers actually come in, several tables might be ordering and rushing to serve their food at the same time.

Currently, apart from Song Miao, Song Ji only has two proper cooks: Zhang Si Niang and Da Bing. The former is better at cooking hot dishes, while the latter is better at cooking cold dishes, but neither of them can cook independently yet.

Song Miao's approach is to prepare some things in advance, such as braised, stewed, roasted, and drinks, but if she wants to eat a certain dish, she needs to order it in advance, otherwise she cannot be sure if it will be available.

But most importantly, how to adjust the order and method of making certain dishes to preserve the flavor as much as possible while reducing the difficulty and increasing the flavor, so that even if you are not there, Zhang Si Niang and Da Bing can make them with ease.

Some dishes are simple. If they are steamed or boiled, you can just provide the seasoning ratio and make the Worcestershire sauce yourself. After doing it a few times and getting familiar with the process, you can try making it yourself.

Looking at the list she had just recalled, Song Miao glanced at it and soon selected a few dishes that were suitable for trying out new recipes.

As she was making plans in her mind, she saw a man hurry up to the eaves and ask, "Does Madam have a moment?"

Song Miao looked up and saw a hired woman.

She had only written half of the recipe, and if she stopped, she might not be able to pick up where she left off when she came back. So she asked, "What's wrong? Are you in a hurry?"

The other party hurriedly replied, "It's hard to say—it was Second Madam Cheng who sent me to find you. She said that the old woman I mentioned yesterday has indeed come again today and is currently sitting outside. She asked if you were here and brought many things with her. She seems quite polite!"

Song Miao followed up by asking, "What's this old woman's name? What's her background? Do you know?"

The hired woman said, "I vaguely heard that her surname was Shen, but as for her background, I was in a hurry to deliver the message and didn't hear it..."

Upon hearing the name "Shen," Song Miao's heart stirred. She quickly put down her pen, stood up, and went out to the front hall.

Sure enough, there was a person sitting at the table, and Cheng Erniang was sitting on the other side—the latter was holding several pieces of cloth in her hand, looking at them intently.

Upon seeing Song Miao come out, Cheng Erniang quickly stood up and said, "Madam, there is an old woman named Shen here. She said she heard that we are going to make clothes for everyone in the restaurant and wants to take on this business, so she came here to deliver samples!"

As she spoke, she came over and handed several pieces of fabric to Song Miao, then quietly pointed to the price tags on them and made a gesture.

Song Miao glanced at it following her directions.

The material is excellent, and the price is so low it's practically free.

(End of this chapter)