Food Intelligence King

Chapter 149 Discovering a New Employee, Chestnut Buns (Revised Version)
At 7:30, the intelligence was updated.

First of all, it is still—

[Food News]: Winter melon, an annual vine, gets its name from the white frost that forms on its surface when ripe. It is one of the few vegetables that contains absolutely no fat. Shaped like a cannonball, it grows all over the world.

This information is a mini-lesson on food ingredients.

Ms. Lin would probably like vegetables that don't contain fat.

Then--

[Diner's Update]: Lao Meng is stuck in traffic on his way back.

Looking at the intelligence report, Chen Zhou couldn't help but shake his head and smile.

Traffic congestion has become the norm during the first and last few days of the National Day holiday.

It's quite common for regular customers of the community canteen to encounter traffic jams.

Whether they are going home for the holidays or going on vacation.

I've been thinking about returning home these past two days.

The shop's business is expected to return to normal after the holiday.

The third piece of intelligence—

[Market News (Rare)]: The intelligent streaming effect of the video "Ren Dan Ru Ju" is moderate, which will bring some customers to the community canteen. During this information period, there will still be customers who have never tried fresh meat mooncakes before, coming to try them out of curiosity.

The effect was moderate, which is consistent with Ms. Lin's performance.

Bringing in customers is the real source of intelligence.

Originally, mooncakes were supposed to be discounted after the Mid-Autumn Festival. Unexpectedly, someone still wanted to try the meat-filled mooncakes.

The curiosity factor is indeed quite interesting.

Once Aunt Zheng returns, we can prepare some simple things.

Finally, Chen Zhou's targeted intelligence this time—

[Employee Scout (Rare Target)]: Hou Wen, a 20-year-old, possesses professional-level noodle-making skills. He once struggled with weight gain due to his love of food. Currently, he helps out at a noodle and steamed bun shop in the Harmony Market, as his parents are getting old and want to sell the business. Hou Wen, however, still secretly wants to continue in this industry. Note that this employee has a large appetite.

She possessed professional-level skills at the age of 20, which shows she has quite a talent.

Chen Zhou felt that this would be a very promising employee.

The noodle and steamed bun shop is located in the Harmony Market, where he used to buy spices. It's not far, so it's very convenient to go there.

It's okay if you have a big appetite.

As for body shape, there's an old saying: "A big head and a thick neck mean you're either a tycoon or a cook."

Although this is a stereotype about the chef profession, it actually reflects the physical demands of this industry.

Losing weight isn't difficult; the proprietress has plenty of salads and mixed vegetables.

To-do list +1.

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To summarize, the person we need to pay special attention to in this intelligence is the young employee currently working at the Harmony Vegetable Market.

Whether it was Chen Zhou's previous speculation or the intelligence report mentioning a slight increase in diners' willingness to spend.

The time is ripe for community canteens to expand.

Chen Zhou plans to start with employee recruitment.

The number of chefs in the kitchen and waiters in the front of house can be gradually increased.

Once net profit increases, Chen Zhou's returns will certainly rise accordingly.

As the boss, Chen Zhou's principle remains:

Let's all make money together.

The 60/40 net profit distribution ratio has allowed Chen Zhou to basically recoup his initial investment.

Any additional equipment added to the store now will be included in the operating costs.

Chen Zhou is definitely not that noble.

After all, as the old saying goes, "Everyone hates capitalists, but everyone wants to be a capitalist."

Becoming wealthy is everyone's wish.

But he didn't really want to become a heartless boss.

Whether it's the junior sister or Aunt Zheng, their relationship with Chen Zhou at the community canteen is that of boss and employee, but in ordinary times, it's more than that.

The same applies when recruiting new staff in the future; provide adequate compensation and care, and let everyone work together to run the community canteen well—that's more important than anything else.

To put it simply, it boils down to one sentence.

"Now that I have intelligence and a system, can't I be a little bolder?"

After glancing at the intelligence and considering the subsequent operational issues, Chen Zhou was indeed stunned for a moment.

It was only when his junior sister shouted that Chen Zhou came back to his senses.

"Senior brother! Hehehe, what are you thinking about?"

Chen Zhou laughed and said, "You 'hehehe' startled me."

The junior student was getting a little self-conscious about her image. She asked, "Is it inappropriate for me to smile like that?"

"It's good," Chen Zhou commented. "It's authentic and unpretentious. It's very infectious."

After a brief chat, he turned his attention to the present moment.

Before them were steamed buns filled with chestnut paste, which Chen Zhou used as samples to attract customers to buy chestnuts.

He has already promised his uncle that he will sell as many as he can.

Delivering high-quality goods to customers through your own store is not only a way to earn some income, but also a meaningful thing.

Cook well and eat well.

This is a matter of utmost importance.

According to recent market news, videos featuring a calm and collected personality are expected to attract a certain number of customers.

Since Ms. Lin was still on holiday, Chen Zhou planned to call the boss's wife and daughter over to film another video about chestnut paste filling.

Although I don't need my wife's help to sell products.

But she is at least a mid-level food blogger in the lifestyle area, and has already played a role in attracting traffic many times.

As Chen Zhou was pondering this, Ms. Lin arrived with Chen Taotao.

Greet the young lady and the girl.

Lin Yifan also said to the two of them, "Aunt Zheng didn't come today, I was afraid you wouldn't be able to keep up."

Chen Zhou smiled and said, "You've come at the perfect time. I was just about to call you over. Take another video."

Ms. Lin thought for a moment: "The chestnut puree that my uncle told you about yesterday?"

"Correct."
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"Um"

Chen Zhou borrowed a bag of raw chestnuts, completely shelled, from his cousin.

No shelling is required, making it very easy to process. Simply steam it until it's soft enough to be easily crumbled.

Even after steaming, chestnuts remain very dry, which is where black tea comes in handy.

Put a piece into the dough mixer and blend it into a paste.

Out of curiosity, Chen Taotao tried the black tea in the shop.

Just a small sip, but it should keep her awake for the rest of the afternoon.

Chen Zhou was also not good at drinking tea, so he left the rest to his elderly mother.

Without comparison, the difference might not be very noticeable. After drinking it, Ms. Lin felt that the tea given to her by Chen Taotao's teacher definitely tasted better.

Chen Zhou thought to himself: How novel.

The junior apprentice, who was responsible for boiling the eggs every day, hadn't actually tasted this tea herself. She was also invited to have a cup:
"I don't really know much about it, but I think it's pretty good for making tea eggs."

People inside the shop take a short break while the dough mixer keeps working.

The chestnut puree was already mixed with a buzzing sound.

Next, it needs to be stir-fried in a wok.

Keep the heat low, add a small amount of syrup and corn oil, and stir-fry to remove the moisture from the tea, leaving only a light tea aroma.

During the frying process, Chen Zhou discovered the effect of the tea leaves.

Chestnuts themselves have a rich, mellow aroma, but when combined with sugar and oil, chestnut puree can become somewhat cloying.

The addition of tea balanced the flavor of the chestnut puree.

The final product should be very good.

Of course, to make it sweet, you need to add a tiny bit of salt.

You can't taste the saltiness, but the sweetness becomes more pronounced.

Uncle only gave Chen Zhou the recipe for chestnut paste filling; whether to use steamed bun dough or sesame seed cake dough was up to Chen Zhou to decide.

The shop sells steamed buns, so wrapping them up is just a convenient thing to do.

However, since the chestnut paste filling has a sweet taste, Chen Zhou also added more milk to the dough when kneading it.

This allows the milky aroma of the dough to fully develop, resulting in a more harmonious overall flavor.

The method of wrapping the buns is still the same, only they are smaller and more delicate.

The chestnut filling is thick and smooth, and can be easily shaped.

Then Chen Zhou spread a tiny bit of chestnut paste on the top of the bun, which also helped to distinguish it from other buns.

The chestnut buns were ready in no time.

After steaming, the dough remains white and soft, and the small tuft of chestnuts on top of each bun adds a touch of playfulness and cuteness.

As a sample, everyone gets a share.

The two girls, one older and one younger, showed great interest.

I bent down and took a small bite off the bun.

The two's simultaneous actions brought a smile to Ms. Lin's face.

When you pinch it with your hands, the bun is still soft, but the texture is somewhat different from the meat filling.

Once put in the mouth, this difference is reflected in the texture.

Soft, delicate, and fluffy.

The simple dough first releases a milky aroma. Then comes the unique sweet fragrance of chestnuts, and finally a faint hint of tea.

The aftertaste is a subtle sweetness left by the breakdown of starch.

"It's delicious, Dad."

Chen Zhou smiled slightly, but did not correct Tao Tao. He glanced at the young woman next to her.

Zhao Yilin commented:

"This should be considered a small dessert, and it's quite delicate."

Ms. Lin finished recording, picked up a milk-flavored chestnut bun, and began to enjoy it.

The three gave Chen Zhou a 2.5 rating.

The neighbors weren't here today, so their comments were all amateurish.

After the internal tasting, it's time to face our customers today.

When you encounter unfamiliar samples while shopping in a mall, you might refuse them out of embarrassment or because you're in a hurry and worried about being pressured into buying them.

However, when a new product is launched in a familiar store, many people are still willing to try it.

Even because it looks so good, passersby want to try one.

An anonymous ABB customer stated:

"It's fragrant, sweet, soft, and chewy; it tastes great!"

After learning that the community canteen was still selling chestnuts, she bought two jin (1 kg) from the store.

My uncle's chestnuts thus found a market.

Chen Taotao's math skills have really improved. After Sister Zhao weighed the chestnuts, she even helped count them. There were about fifty or sixty chestnuts in a pound.

Quality is something you can taste inside the chestnut buns, while size and quantity are things you can see with your eyes.

Good products sell well if placed in the right location.

Since his uncle's chestnuts were not selling well, Chen Zhou didn't mention the price, setting it at the current market price of 8.5 yuan per jin in Guangming District.

Starting from around noon when the chestnut buns were made, more than ten kilograms were sold very quickly.

Business ended a little early today.

Since they were all at the shop, Chen Zhou cooked the food together.

I made a pot of winter melon meatball soup and two pancakes using the winter melon and minced meat I had on hand.

A simple, ordinary home-cooked meal.

The two girls, the older and the younger, had eaten chestnut buns—more than one—so they weren't very hungry by noon.

Ms. Lin couldn't help but say a few words to them.

Having a small dessert in the morning shouldn't interfere with the main meal, right?

Chen Zhou took the blame upon himself, and said to his wife with a smile, "It's my fault."

Ms. Lin was certainly not really blaming anyone.

He snorted, and that was the end of it.

She divided the remaining food into two takeout containers.

I brought extra chili oil for my junior sister to take home and eat.

As for Chen Taotao, Ms. Lin knows her daughter very well. The little girl probably won't be able to calm down at noon because she drank some tea.

(End of this chapter)