Food Intelligence King

Chapter 132 Steamed Buns Become Advance Payment
On Tuesday morning, Comrade Wang Meng came to the store for lunch as usual.

This guy comes every week without fail.

It's almost like clocking in for work.

But business was quite busy today, and there wasn't much interaction.

However, when the junior sister had a little free time in the morning, she asked Chen Zhou a small question:

"Senior brother, am I a chatterbox? Do I ramble on and on like that? I've never felt that way before, but lately, I've suddenly felt that I am a little bit like that."

Chen Zhou gave a forced smile:

"Repeat what you just said."

“Okay, let me think about it.” Zhao Yilin actually repeated it.

The conscientious and meticulous Aunt Zheng helped her carefully count the number of words.

“Xiao Zhao, there were more than fifty words just now, and the two times you said them seemed to be slightly different.”

"Really? I don't feel anything."

Yes, because you speak very fast, Chen Zhou thought to himself.

It takes skill to say so much when explaining something so simple.

He comforted:

"Actually, you'll get used to it and it won't bother you. We'll extract the useful information from it ourselves. Don't be bothered by it."

"I'm not bothered at all," the junior sister said with a smile.

"I'm really happy when I feel like someone is listening to me seriously."

Chen Zhou dared not presume to recognize this earnest person.

He really does often skip over what his junior sister is saying.

The junior sister's reaction reminded Chen Zhou of the spice shop owner he had met yesterday.

Sometimes she simply doesn't bother to explain when customers misunderstand her.

When Chen Zhou went to negotiate with Huang Zhi, he knew in advance that the spices Huang Zhi was selling were of excellent quality, and he showed his approval from the beginning.

The huang liao master was quite polite.

Perhaps everyone is hoping to meet someone who can understand them and listen to them.

Chen Zhou felt that Ms. Lin did a very good job in listening.

The only problem is that the way they respond is a bit simplistic.

It's just the same few sentences over and over again.

But thinking about it carefully, once you get used to it, it's actually quite nice.

Mai Xiang Ji will come to deliver flour on Wednesdays.

In the afternoon, Chen Zhou spoke with Maixiangji's sales representative by phone to confirm the delivery arrangements for the following day.

Chen Zhou provided the order information:

Five bags of high-gluten flour and two bags of medium-gluten flour.

That's roughly the amount the store consumes each week.

Considering the issue of inconsistent flour quality and other unforeseen circumstances, Chen Zhou usually keeps two bags on hand.

The sales representative from Mai Xiang Ji provided an approximate delivery time and the delivery driver's contact information.

Besides weekly phone calls, Chen Zhou occasionally saw the salesman in the store.

The two have been in contact for quite some time.

This time, he also brought Chen Zhou some good news.

It is said that after Yan, an engineer from the R&D department of Maixiangji, went back to the company, he suggested that the company cafeteria purchase steamed buns from Chenzhou's store.

Engineer Yan was sent by the manufacturer, and his words carried considerable weight with the distributors.

Furthermore, since various departments had given the same feedback, the dealer's boss made the decision.

The young salesman talked on and on over the phone:
"Mr. Chen, you don't know, our company's field promotion work is full of conflicts between different departments."

We complained that the delivery was too slow and couldn't meet the customer's requirements.

When the delivery department gets overworked, they complain endlessly and go to the boss to ask for more staff.

After hearing this, the boss thought about how much more money he needed to hire more people. So he came back to us asking for sales targets again. It became a vicious cycle.

But surprisingly, there was a consensus within the company regarding ordering steamed buns from your store on Friday.

We've eaten steamed buns at your shop before, and I guess the delivery driver did too.

Both parties agreed to send the steamed buns to the cafeteria.

So when the meeting started, even our boss was stunned.

I thought they were going to team up to sideline him. I've been asking around about your steamed bun shop for ages.

Chen Zhou smiled and said, "This shows that your company's cohesion has also improved, which is a good thing."

The young salesman smiled too:

"Yan is the worst. He came with the factory's quota, and all he ever wanted to do was eat steamed buns in the canteen. He went to the boss several times."

Chen Zhou remembers Engineer Yan who came to provide technical services that morning, just in time for the opening.

I didn't expect it to be so effective.

He then inquired about the number of meals ordered from Mai Xiang Ji canteen:
The young man replied:
"Under normal circumstances, there are about 20 to 30 people ordering meals at the cafeteria on Fridays."

I estimate there will be about 150 steamed buns.

However, the order count is always compiled on Thursdays, so we'll contact you again next week.

"Okay, let's communicate in advance."

Chen Zhou thought to himself: Judging from this, there are at least twenty or thirty people. The flour I buy every week is almost as expensive as the steamed buns.

The salesman had a very clear understanding of the numbers:

"The company will arrange for me to handle things with you; let's just calculate the prepayment."

Chen Zhou looked at the calligraphy given to him by Teacher Wei on the wall:
"That's daring."

This time, the community canteen has officially secured a fixed group meal business.

When the staff promoting the food delivery service came over, Chen Zhou had also considered the issue of online orders.

However, the store is quite busy, and the platform takes a relatively large cut.

Chen Zhou recently made contact with upstream and downstream businesses in the catering industry and also learned that:
A five-yuan coupon is split 50/50 between the platform and the merchant, essentially a collaborative effort between the platform and the merchant to generate revenue.

This doesn't even include the platform registration fee, which is several thousand yuan.

In the end, it's not worth the effort, and someone has to keep an eye on the platform's orders.

Positive reviews and negative reviews alike, and there are plenty of troubles to deal with.

The store's current business model is quite good.

And this order from Maixiangji Canteen is really delicious.

Advance notice and fixed-quantity bulk orders allow for a more relaxed approach to everything from preparing ingredients to making buns.

Although it was still made to order on Friday.

But I have confidence in my abilities and solid foundation.

As for using steamed buns as a prepayment for flour, this possibility was mentioned in the intelligence when we first came into contact with Mai Xiang Ji.

This is the fruit of a stable partnership.

In terms of cash flow, this can result in a surplus of money.

Live hog futures are Chen Zhou's personal stash of wealth, accumulated little by little through prudent investment.

However, the steamed buns ordered by Mai Xiang Ji canteen were to be placed on Friday.

The easiest way for their flour delivery driver to pick it up is on his way back. However, the delivery driver's schedule is not fixed every day, so the store may need to send someone.

The proprietress definitely doesn't have time to help deliver the steamed buns.

The distance isn't short, so we also need to consider the delivery issue.

At Chen Zhou's shop, since they don't offer delivery services, you can occasionally see delivery guys helping you queue up to buy steamed buns.

You can ask them if you have the chance.

Thinking of the delivery guy, Chen Zhou looked at the braised pork rice that was registered on the menu.

Finding the right person shouldn't be too difficult.

(End of this chapter)