Food Intelligence King

Chapter 158 Small Portions of Dishes at the Community Canteen

The next morning, while Chen Zhou was waiting for Yongjia Fresh to deliver the meat, a young man he had never met before appeared.

Of course, Lao Zhang had already clasped his hands in greeting to Chen Zhou beforehand.

Ask Chen Zhou to take good care of his nephew.

The two had a long-standing and harmonious working relationship, so Chen Zhou naturally had no reason to refuse.

She even came out a little early in the morning to turn on the lights in the shop.

Now that it's late autumn, it's getting light much earlier.

Chen Zhou was also worried that he would be hard to find.

However, the young man had arrived a while earlier and, as usual, flashed his headlights.

But he was much more restrained than Lao Zhang.

Perhaps that's what his uncle told him, and that's how Xiao Zhang learned it.

Chen Zhou walked out of the store and started negotiating with Xiao Zhang.

Yongjia Fresh Delivery Vehicles are easy to recognize; it's still the same van.

Even the security guards at Sunshine City residential complex know that this car stops temporarily in front of the community canteen every morning.

As for Lao Zhang's nephew himself, he is also easy to identify.

They all look somewhat alike.

After getting out of the car, his nephew, Xiao Zhang, politely said to Chen Zhou:

“My uncle said that no matter what, we have to deliver your pork order first. On my first day of delivery, the first order was delivered to you.”

"Uncle" is a dialect term used in the coastal city to address a man younger than one's father.

The young man was of the same generation as Chen Zhou and Lao Zhang.

He also greeted Chen Zhou warmly as "Uncle Chen".

Chen Zhou smiled and said, "Thank you for your help."

"Oh, it's no big deal." The young man took out the pork and let Chen Zhou inspect it. "These two bags are from your shop."

The bag still says "Chen's Meat," and the quality remains impeccable.

Moreover, as a stable major customer of Yongjia Fresh Food, Chen Zhou always prioritizes his own needs.

After the other party has checked and confirmed that everything is correct,

Xiao Zhang picked up two bags of pork and carried them to the kitchen for Chen Zhou.

If you were to suggest that this young man stay at the shop for a meal of steamed buns, that would definitely be just a polite gesture.

The meat just arrived, where did the steamed buns come from?

Chen Zhou then got him a drink from the store as a gesture of goodwill.

"Let's drink on the way."

"Oh, thank you, Uncle Chen."

The young man seemed very busy, and Chen Zhou didn't chat with him much after checking the pork.

He was only allowed to come and try the steamed buns when he had time.

Xiao Zhang and Zhang Jinsheng both grinned.
"Uncle, I've been here before, but you were busy then, so we didn't chat. I've also tried your mooncakes; they're so delicious."

Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Chen Zhou gave some gifts to acquaintances and friends.

The young man was also very good at talking.

Chen Zhou laughed and said, "Okay, let's sit together again sometime."

"Okay, you go ahead with your work, Uncle Chen."

Xiao Zhang drove away to deliver goods to his next customer. At the same time, several employees from the community canteen arrived at the store one after another.

Everyone took their places: cooking porridge, mixing fillings, and kneading dough—the shop began a new day.

After nearly a week of adjustment, the newcomer, Xiao Hou, has adapted to the work rhythm.

Because of his strong physique, he also took on a lot of the heavy lifting in the store.

This saved Chen Zhou a lot of trouble.

At 7:30, Chen Zhou began reviewing the intelligence.

First of all—

[Food News]: Lao Zhang's Yongjia Fresh Food is preparing to open a branch store and is currently in the site selection and planning stage.

Chen Zhou thought to himself: This was my oversight. Although he and Lao Zhang chatted and met frequently.

But because it was too frequent and the format was too fixed, many things were not discussed in detail.

Old Zhang's business seems to be doing well.

He said that when his family was at its peak, they had several stalls and employed many staff.

This guy's definitely making a comeback. No wonder he didn't come this morning.

Then, the second piece of intelligence—

[Diner Update (Rare)]: Zhang Jing from the rental and sales center next door is about to leave her job. She will come to the community canteen tomorrow to eat her last meal of steamed buns before leaving. Zhang Jing will order all kinds of dishes.

This young girl is about the same age as Zhao Yilin.

The two often found themselves chatting together.

Sometimes Chen Zhou would see his junior sister tapping on the wall, and then the shop would refresh the appearance of that girl.

Chen Zhou didn't know how the two of them did it.

However, intelligence suggests that Zhang Jing is about to resign, which may mean the end of their relationship.

Chen Zhou planned to treat her well tomorrow.

After all, we've been neighbors for so long.

finally--

[Market News (Rare)]: According to surveys, the increase in single people and small families, along with diversified consumption concepts, has broken the traditional ordering model of large-portion dishes. Small-portion dishes have significant development potential. In Haibin City, there is a large market gap and consumer demand for small-portion dishes.

A piece of intelligence regarding the development of the catering market.

A few days ago, when Chen Zhou went out to eat, he noticed that it was quite inconvenient for one or two people to have a meal at a restaurant.

Ordering too much is wasteful, while ordering too little won't be satisfying.

The fact that there are still many vacancies in the small-portion vegetable market in Haibin City really reminded Chen Zhou.

If the community canteen extends its operating hours, it could try adding smaller portions of dishes.

He had been thinking about adding a full meal option at lunchtime.

Now is the perfect time to seize the development opportunity and make some plans.

Of course, extending business hours directly into the evening is a very risky idea.

First, the working hours are already excessive. Second, the store is understaffed.

You can start at noon and take it slowly.

Steamed buns are a signature breakfast item at the community canteen, contributing two-thirds of its revenue during breakfast hours, and we'll definitely continue with them.

During lunchtime, the menu gradually shifts towards smaller portions.

With Xiao Hou joining the team, Chen Zhou basically didn't need to participate in making steamed buns at lunchtime. He could also make use of the other recipes he had learned.

After finishing his business, Chen Zhou briefly shared his ideas with a few employees.

In the overall development of community canteens, the owner is the absolute helmsman.

"Boss, whatever you say, we'll do it."

Whether in private or at staff meals, the junior sister has eaten the most meals cooked by Chen Zhou.

When expressing opinions, they also exhibit a strong personal bias:

"Senior, I'm not exaggerating, but your cooking must be incredibly popular. Actually, one of the reasons I wanted to work at the shop was because your food is so delicious. I can't get enough of it."

Chen Zhou smiled, and the greedy girl babbled on and on, revealing her innermost thoughts.

Aunt Zheng and the newcomer, Xiao Hou, are indeed professionals in the field of pastry making. Making steamed buns is their main job.

If business shifts towards smaller portions during lunchtime, both of them have kitchen experience and can temporarily handle simple tasks like chopping vegetables and serving rice.

Aunt Zheng reassured the boss:

"I'm definitely not a problem when it comes to getting the job done."

Aunt Zheng is always so focused on her work, she never takes her mouth away from the cutting board while talking, which is really reassuring.

Xiao Hou agreed in a muffled voice as well.

He really enjoys working at the store and has recently planned out a specific route and schedule for his 10-kilometer run after get off work.

As for the recipes, Chen Zhou was both in charge of the helm and the chef.

I'll have to study this carefully when I get back.

(End of this chapter)