Rebirth 07: Starting with Saving a Bankrupt Restaurant

"The store has recently launched a new Shaanxi specialty, oil-splashed noodles, which can be eaten with roujiamo (Chinese hamburger). Would you like some?"

Shi Ying introduces each customer to the store in this way.

In the past, Shi Ying's recommendations were not taken seriously by most people, and few people adopted them.

But after experiencing it a few times, everyone realized that there must be a reason why other restaurants recommend themselves in this way, so now Shi Ying's recommendations are being adopted by everyone.

"Oil-splashed noodles? How much is a bowl?"

Five yuan.

Five yuan? That's the same price as a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger)?

"The main thing is that this oil-splashed noodle dish doesn't have much topping. You can try eating it with a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger)."

"OK."

The allure of Shaanxi cuisine piqued the interest of many diners, who then discovered that roujiamo (meat sandwich) is also a Shaanxi specialty.

Some children would even ask their parents where Shaanxi was, and then say things like they wanted to go to Shaanxi to play someday.

"Boss Zhou, how come your restaurant has all kinds of food from all over the world? I've never seen you make these before." The speaker was a customer who had dined at Zhou's Restaurant a long time ago.

Zhou Wen was at a loss for words when faced with this question.

After a brief moment of thought, Zhou Wen replied with a smile, "I've been studying this since we reopened, and I've been learning again recently."

The diner nodded, but didn't press Zhou Wen to find out where he learned it, since it was a secret of the restaurant.

When Zhouji Restaurant reopened, I was somewhat disdainful, thinking to myself, "After doing so many despicable things, how dare they reopen?"

However, as more and more of my friends ate at Zhouji Restaurant and had positive feedback, I finally couldn't resist my curiosity after their constant recommendations.

The final result is obvious: I have now become a regular customer at Zhou's Restaurant.

As a foodie, I'm content as long as I can enjoy these delicacies from all over the world.

At 1:40 PM, close to closing time, the number of diners inside the store remained unchanged.

Zhou Wen didn't know whether to be happy or worried about this situation.

Having a lot of customers in the store is always a good thing, but it also means less time for rest.

The only helpers in the store right now are Shi Ying and Shan Wei, and neither of them takes a holiday. If they keep operating like this, it won't work, and eventually they won't even have much time to rest.

Zhou Wen shook his head, unsure of what to do.

It's past 2:10.

Zhou Wen came out of the kitchen and waved to Shi Ying.

"What's wrong with the boss?" Shi Ying asked.

"Some of the ingredients in the store are almost sold out. If any customers come in later, we'll let them know that we can't make some of the dishes."

Shi Ying nodded and said, "Okay."

Zhou Wen wasn't lying. The pork knuckle and foreleg used for dishes like braised pork trotters were almost gone, and the remaining small portion was usually used as a side dish.

It's not just the pork trotter rice; I reckon the ingredients for the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) and shredded chicken will run out soon too.

Before long, Zhou Wen heard shouts from the diners in the front hall.

"Boss, are you sold out?"

Zhou Wen nodded and said:

"The braised pork trotter rice and roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) are sold out, but the other dishes are still available."

The diner nodded and said, "A bowl of shredded pork with garlic sauce over rice is enough."

……

After the restaurant saw off its last customer, it was almost three o'clock before it closed, a full hour later than usual.

After the shop is almost tidied up and we have a meal, it might be 3:30 PM by the time we finish.

Shi Ying and Shan Wei would probably only rest for about an hour after returning home before heading out to the restaurant again.

Zhou Wen is alright, after all, he lives on the second floor, it's just a few steps away.

Zhou Wen cooked a meal for Shi Ying and the other person, and gave them a brief explanation.

"These past few days have probably been quite busy for everyone, and the working hours have been longer than initially agreed. I'll adjust the schedule this afternoon," Zhou Wen said at the dinner table.

Shi Ying didn't say anything, nor would she say anything.

Shi Ying didn't really care; she just rested whenever she got home.

On the contrary, I quite like the lively atmosphere of restaurants.

As for Shan Wei, he might have had some emotions, but he didn't complain.

After all, it's fine if you have any complaints, since it's only an extra half hour.

Zhou Wen has already come up with a solution and plans to put up a sign outside to explain the situation.

In the afternoon, a wooden signboard appeared outside Zhou's Restaurant.

Zhou Wen found it in the storeroom on the second floor. Because it had been stored for a long time, some of the edges and corners were damaged.

However, after being wiped clean, it was still barely usable.

The restaurant's opening hours are already written on the signboard.

From 11:00 AM to 2:20 PM, and from 5:30 PM to 10:20 PM.

The peak customer traffic occurs during two periods each day: one is from noon to 1 p.m., and the other is from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

These two time periods are naturally the busiest for lunch and dinner, while the number of customers is less and extremely uneven at other times.

There might be only ten to twenty diners in the first half hour, but in the second half hour, the number of diners might suddenly increase by ten.

Sometimes, just as closing time was approaching, Zhou Wen would be ready to close, only to have another customer suddenly appear.

Zhou Wen couldn't bring himself to say that the shop was already closed for the day.

After all, the restaurant's ability to reopen and reach its current scale is inseparable from the support of these diners who disregarded past grievances.

Of course, that's just the way it is said; the opening and closing times might be a little earlier or later.

After the restaurant opened in the afternoon, diners who came to the restaurant all saw the signboard outside the door.

"Boss, you're only open for eight hours a day? Aren't you going to make any money?" a customer joked as he entered the store.

Because the store had just opened, Zhou Wen was still busy with other things in the front hall.

Hearing this, he smiled and said:

"It's more than eight hours; count carefully if you don't believe me."

"That's quite a long time, and most people eat around mealtimes. Besides, working too long a day can be physically demanding, so health is more important."

Eight hours of business per day is actually a normal amount of time.

The diner raised an eyebrow, thinking that what Zhou Wen said did make a lot of sense.

"What would you like to eat?"

"Oil-splashed noodles and roujiamo (Chinese hamburger). I had them this morning and found they went exceptionally well together. The hot and sour noodles were a bit too spicy compared to the oil-splashed noodles."

Zhou Wen nodded: "Sit down for a bit, have a glass of water first."

"Okay, sure."