1996: Starting from a bankrupt farmhouse restaurant

Chapter 123 What a coincidence! (5 words)

The next morning, when his uncle came to deliver the sheep, he excitedly found Lu Yuan.

"Nephew, there's an empty shop right next to Yang Ermazi's shop. It just opened up a couple of days ago!" The uncle's excitement was palpable.

Lu Yuan was somewhat surprised. What a coincidence!

"Which shop is it? Is it part of the supply and marketing cooperative or privately owned?" Lu Yuan asked.

These days, most of the shops in town are collective buildings owned by the supply and marketing cooperative, and there are relatively few privately built houses along the street.

The uncle said, "It was an illegally built house. The supply and marketing cooperative charges 2000 yuan a year for the rent, but he wants to charge 3000 yuan, so the previous merchant moved away."

Lu Yuan nodded. That made sense. More than 1000 yuan a year was something most merchants couldn't afford.

"Where is Yang Ermazi?"

If the landlord charges 3000 yuan, then Yang Ermazi will also get an extra 1000 yuan.

When the old man heard about Yang Ermazi, a gloating expression appeared on his face: "Of course it's 3000 yuan. This bastard thinks he can keep getting lamb offal from me at a low price, so he rented this 3000 yuan shop."

In this way, everything becomes clear. Yang Ermazi felt that the cost could be saved from his uncle's money, so the 3000 yuan shop was equivalent to the 2000 yuan shop of the supply and marketing cooperative.

You should know that the shops in the supply and marketing cooperatives are usually never empty. Whether it's selling vegetables or meat, it's much better than farming.

Ordinary villagers wouldn't even get a chance to own one; it's said that only those with connections can get these shops.

In this era of ever-increasing demands, going to the county or city is too inconvenient.

If you want to spend money, isn't the only place to do so in town?

"So, Uncle, you also think your costs are low and you want to rent this 3000 shop?"

My uncle chuckled a few times, realizing that what he was thinking had been revealed.

"I was just thinking, if Yang Ermazi can't do it, what can we do?"

The uncle added, "And when I confronted him, he made me a bowl of it, and it was absolutely awful, nothing like ours."

Lu Yuan thought for a moment, then asked his uncle to sit down. He was prepared to give his uncle a good lesson.

"Uncle, the taste is fundamental to your restaurant business, but that's no reason for you to rent a shop at 50% above market price."

Hearing Lu Yuan's implication that he didn't support the renting, his uncle quickly explained, "Xiao Yuan, I've done the math. Even if the rent is 3500, we can still make a profit!"

"Then let me ask you, can you be sure the landlord won't raise the rent to 4000?" Lu Yuan countered.

"Probably not? Don't we all have to write a contract?"

Lu Yuan continued, "The contract has a time limit. Can you be sure your business will be a hit?"

"Can you be sure your business will continue to thrive?"

"Are you sure you can operate year-round without interruption?"

"Are you sure there's always been this many people in town?"

Lu Yuan's barrage of questions left his uncle speechless.

In fact, given the taste of Lu Yuan Lamb Offal Soup, this shop could make a profit even with a rent of 5000 yuan.

But my uncle will eventually have to run his own business, and this kind of thinking could be very dangerous once it takes hold.

When opening a shop or doing business, rent is definitely the most important factor.

Many people don't consider rent; they only think about how much money they can make, and in the end, they lose everything.

When you're making money, rent is indeed insignificant.

But when you're not making money, rent can be the final straw that breaks the camel's back.

Business is cyclical; it's impossible to guarantee profits indefinitely.

Therefore, you should maximize profits when you are making money and minimize losses when you are not making money.

Especially in industries where landlords think, "I could do that too," when they see you making money from your shop, they might try to kick you out and open the shop themselves.

"Uncle, every extra penny you pay in rent is your profit. You need to sell it for twice the price to make up for it!"

Both of them were silent for a while. Lu Yuan then revealed this hidden conclusion to his uncle, who fell silent again.

A rent of 1000 yuan can generate an additional 2000 yuan in revenue.

A bowl of regular mutton offal with lung costs 1.5 yuan. This means that 1334 more bowls will be sold in a month, or 45 more bowls in a day.

45 bowls! The shop in town isn't very big; it can only fit 15 tables. On average, it would take one table to turn over to make up the difference.

But what does flipping a machine mean? It means not making any money for an hour during lunchtime, so what's the point of doing it?

Once the uncle did the math in his head, he understood why Lu Yuan wouldn't let him pay the 3000 yuan rent.

"Xiao Yuan, should we continue this business?" The old man was clearly disheartened.

"Of course we should do it!" Lu Yuan affirmed.

My uncle was a little confused: "If we can't rent a shop, how are we supposed to keep the business?"

"One word: Wait!"

"Wait?" The old man was even more puzzled.

Lu Yuan explained, "Do you think Yang Ermazi can survive on a rent of 3000 yuan?"

Uncle immediately shook his head. Yang Ermazi's food was bad, and now they couldn't even get low-cost mutton offal anymore, so he definitely couldn't continue.

"You just cut off the supply of lamb offal, so he probably doesn't even realize it yet. Once he realizes he's losing money, he'll definitely quit."

.

The uncle said with a regretful look, "Then I can't take revenge myself?"

Lu Yuan chuckled and said, "Sometimes watching the enemy slowly rot away is a form of revenge, and you don't have to get your hands dirty."

The old man said thoughtfully, "So, we'll wait until Yang Ermazi can't keep going, then take over his shop at a lower price?"

Lu Yuan shook his head and said, "You can indeed buy it below market price when he's in a hurry to sell, but wouldn't that just give him a break-even point?"

"What should we do then?"

Lu Yuandao: "Buy it!"

"purchase?"

Lu Yuan continued, "When Yang Ermazi can't pay the rent, the landlord will be anxious. Then we can discuss with him about buying the empty shop."

"But wouldn't that cost even more money?" the uncle asked, even more puzzled.

"That's what you call investing." Lu Yuan stood up and stretched his limbs, then said to his uncle, "I'll explain it to you slowly later. In the meantime, subtly ask the boss how much he's willing to sell for."

The surrounding towns, such as Jinling Town and Daning Town, are not far from the county seat. In the future, they will be connected to the county seat by building various industrial parks.

These shops are currently priced between 20,000 and 40,000, but in later generations, a tenfold increase would be considered low, and a twentyfold increase would be easy.

Anyone who has owned a shop knows how comfortable it is to own the shop, especially when the shop's value is constantly increasing.

We open when we're happy, close when we're not, and sell when we're short of money—we make money no matter what.

However, this only postpones the opening of the lamb offal soup shop a little, but it won't be postponed for too long.

According to Lu Yuan's calculations, Yang Ermazi could only last for half a month at most.

When he discovers that the cost of lamb offal soup has skyrocketed, he will start cutting corners and trying to save money on the product.

When product sales decline and backfire on him, he will cut his losses to survive.

This is human nature, and most shop owners cannot escape this rule.

This afternoon, Lu Yuan had some rare free time, so after finishing his work around lunchtime, he went to Daning Town with his uncle.

I'll go check out the location of that shop to see for myself. My uncle said it's pretty good, but I still need to see it for myself.

Daning Town is a town adjacent to Jinling Town. Daning Town has relatively little land, and a high proportion of villagers raise sheep and cattle.

In future generations, Daning Town will develop into a major center for the aquaculture industry, and many dairy and meat product companies will emerge in the surrounding area.

Daning Town, situated in the middle of this circle of enterprises, is developing quite well.

Around noon, groups of workers would come to eat, and every restaurant would be packed to capacity.

Lu Yuan and his uncle each rode a motorcycle for 40 minutes to reach Daning Town.

There was no market day in town today, so there weren't many people.

The layout of Daning Town is similar to that of other towns, with a small square in the middle where folk activities such as Shehuo (a type of folk performance) are held during festivals.

The square is surrounded by single-story shops on two sides, and the town government, town middle school, town health clinic and other units are clustered on the other two sides.

Lu Yuan immediately spotted the first row of shops, and the second shop's sign prominently displayed: Yang Ermazi Lamb Offal Soup.

So the vacant shop was actually the one at the very back.

This is the most exposed house in the whole town.

In later generations, the town's development also revolved around this square, and this shop was undoubtedly the best location.

Even if they do nothing in the future and just rent out this shop, my uncle's family can still live quite well.

"Uncle!"

"Huh?" The old man came over, listening to what Lu Yuan wanted to say.

"Take it!"

"What?" The uncle was a little confused, but then he saw Lu Yuan pointing to the empty shop and then he understood.

"We absolutely have to take this shop!" Lu Yuan emphasized, repeating, "Uncle, from now on, you should come over every noon to check on Yang Er Mazi's situation. When you're talking to the landlord, I'll personally come and discuss it."

"Okay, but you have to talk to your grandfather for your uncle before you buy the shop, otherwise he definitely won't agree."

"No problem!" Lu Yuan said, "Uncle, you can wander around by yourself. I'll go to Yang Ermazi's house to find out."

Since he was already there, Lu Yuan decided to go check out Yang Ermazi's shop.

It was past lunchtime, and there was no one at Yang Ermazi's house. It was pitch black inside, and they didn't even bother to turn on the lights.

After Lu Yuan went inside, no one greeted him, and he didn't rush to call out to anyone. He peeked around and carefully looked at the front desk and the kitchen.

He noticed that the menu on the wall had been altered, with each type of lamb offal dish now priced 5 cents higher.

He watched for a full five minutes before Yang Ermazi finally came out of the kitchen.

Upon seeing Lu Yuan, Yang Ermazi immediately greeted him warmly, "Young man, you've come for some mutton offal soup? Come on, have a seat! Our mutton offal soup is the best, I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

After sitting down, Lu Yuan looked at the menu and said, "I'll have a bowl of lamb offal soup with lungs!"

"Alright, young man, just a moment, it'll be ready soon!"

The menus at lamb offal soup restaurants are usually categorized by quality.

Pure helu noodles are simply helu noodles added to mutton offal soup; there's no meat at all.

Lamb offal noodles, with lamb offal as a garnish, the main dish is still he luo noodles.

"Mianfei Yangza" (面肺羊杂) consists of both noodles and lungs, as well as other offal.

Pure lamb offal, without any lungs or noodles, only lamb liver, lamb head and other meats, is the most satisfying to eat.

Lu Yuan ordered the lamb offal and lung noodles, which is the most common dish among diners.

After all, lamb offal soup with lungs and offal is reasonably priced and offers good value for money, as it includes meat.

When people judge a lamb offal restaurant, the first thing they consider isn't the taste, but how much lung the owner puts in.

If it's all lung and noodle soup, then the owner is unscrupulous; even if it tastes good, I won't eat it.

If the ratio is 1:1, then the restaurant is pretty good and worth eating at.

Before long, Yang Ermazi placed a bowl of mutton offal soup in front of Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan took a sniff; the aroma was so-so, which meant the broth wasn't cooked well.

The red oil on top is a deep red color, which means it's not mutton fat chili oil at all, but rather fried in vegetable oil.

Even the scallions and cilantro were scarce, making it look rather bland.

Lu Yuan didn't rush to eat; he used his chopsticks to pick up the bottom of the bowl.

Good guy!

The bottom was all lung and noodle soup, with only a few pieces of sheep liver and sheep head meat floating on top.

Judging solely from the sensory experience before eating, this bowl of mutton offal is a failure.

Lu Yuan had already given up hope that this bowl of mutton offal soup would taste good.

But since we're already here and have already ordered, it would be a waste not to eat it.

Lu Yuan picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks, took a small bite, and then immediately spat it out.

"Boss!" Lu Yuan slammed his hand on the table.

"What's wrong, bro?" Yang Ermazi asked with a smile as he ran out from behind the front desk.

"I'm asking you, did you do it on purpose or accidentally?"

"What do you mean?" Yang Ermazi was also completely bewildered.

"Try it, is this edible? It smells awful!" Lu Yuan pushed the mutton offal aside.

Yang Ermazi desperately tried to explain, "That's just how mutton offal tastes; a little bit of a gamey smell is normal!"

"Pah!" Lu Yuan stood up abruptly, cursing as he walked out. "Someone like you runs a shop? Even my pigs wouldn't eat food with your skills!"

Lu Yuan was genuinely angry. As a chef, he simply couldn't tolerate the fact that even the ingredients weren't cleaned properly.

The catering industry does have low barriers to entry, so there are many mediocre people trying to pass themselves off as experts.

When this happens, the diners are the most unlucky ones.

There's no such thing as returning food; you only find out you're eating junk food once you've already put it in your mouth.

Unless you find a fly or something in it, you can't just ask for a refund because it doesn't taste good, right?

Given this attitude, Yang Ermazi's bankruptcy was inevitable.

Lu Yuan rode his motorcycle home in a depressed mood. When he passed by Lu Tao's house, he saw Zhao Tong installing a door frame for Lu Tao.

The name is: Lu Tao Specialty Restaurant.

It also uses the name of Lu Family Cuisine, and seems to be from the same school as Uncle Lu and Old Man Lu.

Lu Yuan simply turned and went to Lu Tao's house. When Lu Tao saw this, he immediately ran over and said, "Xiao Yuan, we still have to listen to you. After the storefront was changed, it looks completely different."

Lu Yuan asked with a smile, "Opening tomorrow?"

"Yes, I've been resting for several days. If I don't work soon, your sister-in-law will be worried sick," Lu Tao said with a chuckle.

Lu Yuan then asked, "Are you good at stir-frying lamb now?"

"Yes!" Lu Tao nodded firmly. During the two days that the business was closed, he had been practicing stir-frying lamb with Aunt Guifen.

Lu Yuan's requirement for him was simple: the stir-fried lamb dish had to be up to standard.

After all, everyone is now developing as a whole as Lu Family Cuisine. As long as you put up the Lu Family Cuisine signboard, you have to bring out your signature dishes.

Lu Yuan waited a while, and after Zhao Tong finished installing it, he ran straight to Lu Yuan's side and said, "Come on, let's see your new GG?"

Lu Yuan asked in surprise, "It's installed so quickly?"

"Of course, I'm a professional now!" Zhao Tong said as he opened the car door and got in.

The GG Zhao Tong mentioned is the Optimus Prime GG by the national highway. After the GG is applied to these new stores, the Optimus Prime GG will need to be replaced.

Since these restaurants all use the name "Lu Family Cuisine," it should be reflected on Optimus Prime's GG account accordingly.

So the latest GG term has become: authentic Lu family cuisine, traditional northern flavor.

Below is a line of smaller print: Lu Family Cuisine's century-old techniques create a unique dish from the northern frontier: stir-fried lamb.

This issue of GG is straightforward and simple, with no frills. Lu Yuan plans to keep it up for a long time before opening the new store.

The goal is to brainwash people and equate traditional northern cuisine, authentic northern flavor, with Lu family cuisine.

At the same time, everyone should understand that stir-fried lamb is a unique creation of Lu Family Cuisine, and the most authentic flavor can only be found at Lu Family Cuisine.

With the superior taste of stir-fried lamb, I'm sure someone will imitate it in the future.

Therefore, he needs to form a stereotype based on this concept from the outset, so that whenever he thinks of this dish, he must come to Lu Family Cuisine to eat it.

Just like Chen Mapo, there are so many people in the world who make Mapo Tofu, but as long as someone says it, they are the authentic one.

Zhao Tong is indeed doing very well now. As Lu Yuan has seen along the way, he has gained a lot more GG positions.

After seeing the GG sign, on the way back, Zhao Tong suddenly said, "By the way, Yuan, be careful lately. Chen Dongsheng called me last time and said he was going to come and get you!"

"Mess with me?" Lu Yuan was completely bewildered. "Why would he mess with me?"

Zhao Tong thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don't know the specifics either. It seems he attended some kind of reception event, and someone said he was dead, which made him very angry."

"He said he's dead? Who's that powerful?" Lu Yuan asked again, "If someone said he's dead, they should go find someone else. Why are they bothering me?"

Zhao Tong was also confused: "I don't know, but you'd better be careful. He sounded pretty angry."

Lu Yuan felt confused until a bread truck with a line of red characters written on its side drove by.

Lu Yuancai suddenly remembered the reason and immediately slapped his thigh.

#, I really did talk him to death, but the question is, how did he know?

To put Dr. Huang and the others at ease, Lu Yuan made up a lie, saying that Chen Dongsheng, who had been born with a cleft lip, had died.

Moreover, after Dr. Huang settled in, he mentioned this matter more than once later on.

Because Lu Yuan was so engrossed in writing the story, Dr. Huang and his colleagues wanted to record it as a typical example.

As a result, Lu Yuan's lie became more and more believable, eventually even involving Chen Dongsheng's family.

But how did Chen Dongsheng run into Dr. Huang and the others?

Zhao Tong said he participated in a reception event. Did Chen Dongsheng receive Dr. Huang?

Logically speaking, there is indeed a possibility that Chen Dongsheng works at the corresponding unit.

But what kind of coincidence is that?

You should know that Chen Dongsheng is a complete scoundrel; he's been mischievous and combative since he was a child.

When Lu Yuan heard that he was coming to mess with him, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He thought he should call him first to explain.

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