1996: Starting from a bankrupt farmhouse restaurant

Chapter 127 Director Liu's Keen Eye (5K)

The next morning, Lu Yuan woke up in the courtyard as usual.

Zhao Yan changed her usual casual image and put on a white 0L-style suit, which gave her a mature and sophisticated look.

Lu Yuan stared blankly, instantly waking up from his sleepy state.

"Wow, Yan Yan is so beautiful! She's a perfect clothes hanger; she looks good in everything."

Wei Yinghong came over from the front hall and was also surprised by Zhao Yan's image as a workplace 0L. Then she handed the bread she was carrying to Zhao Yan: "This is bread that Auntie baked. Take it to school for breakfast. I heard from Uncle Xiaoyuan that those kids are really naughty. If you can't control them, Yan Yan, just beat them up."

Zhao Yan took the bread, smiled, and replied, "Thank you, Auntie, but teachers can't physically punish students."

Speaking of corporal punishment, Lu Yuan suddenly remembered when he was in school, the first thing his parents would say to his teacher was always: "Teacher, if you don't behave, you can hit me!"

Back then, the teachers really hit students. Even the most mischievous students like Chen Dongsheng had several sticks broken from the beatings.

Even the well-behaved students who usually sit in the first three rows will have their palms whipped with thin willow branches by the teacher if they make a mistake.

The teacher didn't like to lecture. If you didn't finish your homework or broke the rules, you could expect to get a beating!

But back then, no matter how badly the teachers beat us, it seemed like no one complained to them. On the contrary, they had a very good relationship with the teachers and always thought of them after graduation.

Unlike a certain period in later times, where teachers no longer dared to hit students, but also seemed to have become distant.

Teaching has become merely a job. Students attend classes according to a schedule at school, and if a student gets sick or commits a crime, their parents are notified to pick them up. They don't even grade homework.

Some parents, who are overly protective of their children, bring the dating routines they used before marriage into the school.

One minute they're organizing parents to give gifts, the next they're going to teachers' homes to slip them money for extra lessons.

This applies from elementary school to high school, and also from university to doctoral supervisor.

Teachers are very important in Chinese culture, as they are meant to impart knowledge, teach skills, and resolve doubts. However, teachers today are no longer able to shoulder such responsibilities.

Looking at Zhao Yan, Lu Yuan felt that the students of Baiyang Elementary School must be happy.

This kind of cross-level teaching would cost 1000 yuan per hour in later generations.

"I suggest you prepare a wooden stick; it'll be easier to use that way," Lu Yuan sincerely advised.

Zhao Yan rolled her eyes at him, annoyed, and said, "How can you teach people like that!"

While I was preparing the food in the morning, staff from the Industry and Commerce Bureau suddenly arrived.

However, they weren't there for inspection; like Chen Dongsheng, they were there to discuss the award with Lu Yuan in advance.

The person who came this time was the same staff member who had previously ordered Wang Facai and his group to shut down. He was a little surprised when he saw the new look of Luwangtan Village.

After chatting with the other party, Lu Yuan realized that the other party had contributed to his being recognized as an advanced individual business owner at the provincial level.

When they conducted a surprise inspection of this row of shops, they were very satisfied with the hygiene of Lu Yuan's kitchen and were deeply impressed by the taste of Lu Yuan's farm-style dishes.

After comparing Wang's restaurant with other restaurants, they decided to use Xiao Lu's farmhouse cuisine as a model and report it to the county as an advanced individual business.

Unexpectedly, when the process reached the provincial level, we received a letter of thanks from Dr. Huang.

As the saying goes, "foreign monks chant better sutras," especially organizations with Hong Kong capital backgrounds, which seem to have a higher level of prestige.

So the staff of the Industry and Commerce Bureau were called in to inquire about the situation. After understanding the situation, they also took into account Lu Yuan's public welfare activities.

Xiao Lu's Farmhouse Cuisine has been exceptionally included in this year's provincial-level selection of advanced individual businesses.

There's even a chance that he could be nominated for the next round of national advanced individual business owners, but that depends on Lu Yuan's future development.

The team was led by Director Liu of the county's industrial and commercial bureau, who was in his forties, wore black-rimmed glasses, and was very composed.

Director Liu walked around the row of shops, finding them increasingly novel.

When I first arrived, all I saw was this row of tall signs, which left a deep impression on me.

But after going through it carefully, I realized it wasn't that simple.

In particular, the signs of each shop all seem to have been meticulously designed.

The name "Lu Dajie Malatang" not only features a more unconventional font, but also portrays a kind and gentle older sister figure, which inspires trust.

As Director Liu approached, he frowned slightly because there were many outdoor tables and chairs set up at the entrance.

In fact, this is unreasonable according to regulations, but it falls into the category of things that can be managed or not managed, so no one said anything.

There was a large glass cabinet for mixing cold noodles at the entrance. Director Liu peeked inside and found that all the sauces were covered.

The glass was also wiped clean and sparkling, clearly indicating that it had been carefully cleaned.

He inspected many of these cold noodle stalls, and the vast majority of them kept the sauce basins running all the time, which is actually a very unhygienic practice.

Furthermore, because the soup often spills out when mixing cold noodles, the glass inside often gets oily and doesn't look very clear.

But this Lu Dajie Malatang is different; its cold noodle display case is practically perfect.

He regretted not bringing his camera; otherwise, he could have taken a picture as a record and shown them what a role model was when they checked it later.

Director Liu was in a good mood. His report on Xiao Lu's farm-style dishes had been praised by his superiors, who also recognized his work achievements.

He came alone, while his staff were handling forms and paperwork with Lu Yuan.

He hadn't originally planned to check, but when he got to Sister Lu's door, he became interested and simply pushed the door open and went in.

The aunt and her second aunt had just finished preparing the dishes and were resting in the front hall when they suddenly saw a man in uniform walk in. They both stood up nervously.

However, the older woman, being of advanced age, remained relatively calm. He asked in the manner Lu Yuan had previously instructed him, "Comrade, are you here for an inspection or for lunch?"

Director Liu was taken aback by the question. In most of the restaurants he went to, the waiters were a little afraid of him.

He was quite impressed that the old woman, a rural woman, could remain so calm.

After thinking for a moment, Director Liu replied, "Hello, just consider me an inspector."

Upon hearing this, the old woman didn't immediately take him for a checkup. Instead, she remembered the training Lu Yuan had given them:

Don't be intimidated by people in uniform. Many scammers use inspections as an excuse to cheat people out of food, drinks, and even money.

The woman then pressed further, "Do you have the relevant identification documents?"

Director Liu was somewhat shocked when he heard the question; he never expected that a rural woman would want to check his identification.

However, upon further reflection, he realized that this was indeed a normal procedure, but it seemed that people often omitted this step in their daily work.

So he took out his ID and handed it to the old lady.

After taking it, the old lady glanced at the photo and the real person, then handed the document to her second aunt: "Take a look, I can't recognize all the characters."

Director Liu was in turmoil, thinking to himself, "They dare to check my ID even though they can't read all the characters?"

After carefully reviewing it, the second aunt returned it to Director Liu and said to the old lady, "No problem, they're from the Industry and Commerce Bureau."

.

Upon hearing this, the old woman's face immediately lit up with a bright smile: "Comrade, don't mind me. There are too many people trying to scam free meals and drinks these days. It's not easy for us farmers to earn money, so it's always better to be careful!"

Director Liu wasn't angry at all. Instead, he waved his hand cheerfully and said, "What you did was correct. May I take a look at the kitchen?"

"Of course, please come in!" The old lady immediately made way for them and lifted the curtain at the back of the kitchen to let them in.

When Director Liu entered the kitchen, his first impression was that it was tidy; everything was arranged very neatly.

Large basins, large bowls, small bowls, and plates were all neatly arranged. He picked one up and looked at it; there were no water stains.

This shows that they wiped the dishes clean. You know, many restaurants, to save time, just leave the dishes piled up after washing without wiping them.

Not only does this easily breed bacteria, but the untreated water left in the bowl can also cause health problems for customers.

All the small condiment boxes on the stove were covered with lids, and there was no spilled sauce on the outside of the boxes. The outer walls of the boxes were also wiped clean.

The pre-cut side dishes were placed in bowls and covered, with even the potato slices neatly arranged one by one.

Director Liu found it pleasing to the eye and was filled with admiration.

He inspected too many kitchens; after seeing most of them, one would lose all desire for the restaurant.

But this Lu Dajie Malatang is different. Just like when I inspected Xiao Lu's farmhouse restaurant, it was like appreciating a work of art!

As a staff member who has been conducting inspections on the front line for many years, Director Liu is very clear about where problems are most likely to occur.

He tiptoed and touched the top shelf; there was no dust!

He then lay down on the ground and looked in the corner; there was no oil stains, no cockroaches.

He even picked up the rag and smelled it; it didn't smell rancid, only the fresh scent of dish soap.

Absolutely flawless!

This is the second time Director Liu has lost a battle in all his years in the profession; the first time was at Xiao Lu's Farmhouse Restaurant.

But he accepted his defeat wholeheartedly and felt quite comfortable with it!

After coming out of the kitchen, he didn't check the business license, but instead asked the old lady with a hint of amusement, "Sister, is your restaurant owned by the same person as Xiao Lu's Farmhouse Cuisine?"

To everyone's surprise, the old lady shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, we can't disclose the boss's information."

This amused Director Liu, who thought to himself, "They're making it sound quite mysterious."

He staggered out the door and went to Uncle Lu's house next door. The situation he encountered was exactly the same as at Sister Lu's spicy hot pot shop.

Upon entering, you're immediately interrogated; the inspection is quite thorough, but you still can't find out who the boss is.

The same goes for Uncle Lu; he has an urge to apply for advanced individual business licenses for every restaurant in the village.

But after thinking about it, I realized that wouldn't work; the boss would criticize him. We should at least give him some consideration in other areas.

Thinking of this, he shook his head helplessly and glanced at the sign again as he walked back.

To my surprise, their signs all said "Lu Family Cuisine"!

What does this mean?

Director Liu's mind raced, and from the cases he had studied and trained, he came up with a possibility.

This village needs to be branded!

This is absolutely outrageous!

Keep in mind that this is just a concept; he has never actually seen anything like it done in real life.

It's like if someone told you in 2008 that the future is the era of AI, you would say yes, yes, but you wouldn't really feel it.

Then I turned around and found someone writing a paper on a bean bun, which was a very impactful experience.

Although the concept of Lu Family Cuisine is only a rudimentary form of branded operation, it has at least taken a small step, rather than just a concept he heard about during his studies.

As they walked toward Xiao Lu's farmhouse restaurant, Director Liu was overwhelmed with excitement.

What does it mean for a village to successfully brand itself within its jurisdiction?

The last village to be this successful was Huaxi Village, a household name across the country.

Although the direction and content of the operation are different, they are essentially the same. The rise of a village is far greater than the rise of an individual.

Now that the land reform and collective factory-run phases are over, Luwangtan Village clearly has its own ideas: catering!

These days, there's a popular concept: the future belongs to the tertiary sector.

Anyone who went to school in the 90s knows that back then, the service industry in Europe and America was touted as something amazing, while our own agriculture and industry were belittled as worthless.

Of course, we later rose to prominence by relying on heavy industry, and then grew wheat and raised salmon in the barren desert, but that's another story.

In this context, if Luwangtan Village succeeds, it will be a groundbreaking achievement for the new millennium.

Do you want to know where Luwangtan Village is?

The rural areas of some of the poorest provinces in the country, including some remote rural areas.

Director Liu was bursting with excitement; he could almost see his family's ancestral graves emitting wisps of smoke.

He pinpointed all of this to one key figure: Lu Yuan!

Based on the two encounters, it is clear that this young man named Lu Yuan is the key figure on this street.

After returning to Xiao Lu's farmhouse restaurant, Lu Yuan had already completed the registration procedures, and his entourage was waiting for him to go back together.

He was just about to have a chat with Lu Yuan when Boss Wang came in with a bunch of people to order food and eat.

Then people started coming in, and Director Liu couldn't find a chance to talk to Lu Yuan for a while. He couldn't just stop people from doing business, could he?

So he gritted his teeth and said to his colleagues, "Since we're already here, let's eat before we go back. It's on me!"

The colleagues were overjoyed to hear this, especially those who had been here with Director Liu before and knew all too well what the food tasted like.

He had been craving Xiao Lu's farm-style dishes for a long time, and he never expected the director to give him the opportunity.

As expected, the stir-fried lamb won over the new colleagues. They ate with gusto, their mouths greasy, and complained about the poor quality of the company cafeteria's cooking.

After a satisfying meal, the young colleague leaned back in his chair and exclaimed, "If only restaurants had the hygiene standards and taste of Xiao Lu's farm-style cuisine, how wonderful the world would be!"

"Then we'll be unemployed too, won't we?" another colleague joked.

"We have a secure job, what's there to be afraid of losing?" the young colleague said proudly.

Director Liu listened from the side, but had many thoughts in his mind.

He was a respectable college graduate from a prestigious university, and deep down he really wanted to make something of himself.

However, many people waste the potential of those who are eligible for support, such as Luwangtan Village, because of the secure job.

Now that he has ideas and resources, he is determined not to let go of such a promising enterprise again.

Director Liu wasn't in a hurry, so he just sat there waiting for the meal to end. When his colleagues got impatient, he simply told them to go home first and waited there by himself.

It was past 3 o'clock when Lu Yuan finally came out of the kitchen leisurely, as usual taking a bottle of soda to cool off.

Actually, he wasn't that busy; he was just instructing Lu Jie on how to cook in the kitchen.

Lu Jie's talent for being big and strong was fully displayed on the wok, and he flipped the big iron wok quite skillfully. Lu Yuan had been giving him special training recently.

Director Liu finally seized the opportunity and followed Lu Yuan outside the restaurant, sitting down with him on the steps at the entrance.

Lu Yuan heard someone sit down next to him, turned around and looked back, slightly surprised.

"Director Liu, you haven't gone back yet?" Lu Yuan asked, not understanding what the other party was thinking.

Director Liu adjusted his glasses, revealing a kind smile, and said, "Mr. Lu, don't overthink it. I have some things I'd like to discuss with you."

Lu Yuan took a swig of soda and said, "Please go ahead."

Director Liu didn't rush to state his purpose, but said seriously, "Let me introduce myself first. I graduated from Aurora University and I am a local from Jinling Town."

Lu Yuan was somewhat surprised after hearing this. These days, college students are very precious, especially those from prestigious universities like Aurora University.

It's important to understand that these days, many employees within the system are only high school graduates or vocational school graduates, and some are even former military personnel.

This is especially true in underdeveloped areas like the northern border regions, which is actually why these areas in the northwest have never been able to develop.

Director Liu continued, "If I'm not mistaken, Mr. Lu wants to develop Lu Family Cuisine as a brand, right?"

Lu Yuan was quite shocked. He thought to himself that this was indeed a top student from a prestigious university. He was the first person who could understand his thoughts.

But the Lu Family Cuisine brand is just one part of Lu Yuan's strategy. He countered, "You understand branding too?"

Director Liu smiled. He understood what Lu Yuan meant: this was an inquiry, a probe, and a test.

If I didn't explain things clearly, I doubt Boss Lu would have told me the truth.

Director Liu said confidently, "This is my opinion. Boss Lu has unified the signs of all the shops in this row, and even the management is highly unified. In this way, customers feel at ease and trust the restaurants in this area. This is a cluster effect."

Lu Yuan nodded in agreement, thinking to himself that this top student was indeed something, at least he hadn't heard anyone else say what he said.

Director Liu continued, "In this way, Lu Family Cuisine will form a regional brand, and can even expand outwards."

"Director Liu's insights are brilliant!" Lu Yuan indeed agreed with Director Liu's views.

But the value of a brand goes beyond that. The commercial value of a successful brand is reflected in the upstream and downstream supply chains.

A standardized supply chain can significantly boost employment across various aspects, including raw materials, food processing, logistics, and warehousing.

Moreover, the supply chain reduces the operating costs at the retail level, giving the brand sufficient competitiveness.

More importantly, the stereotypes formed by top-tier brands are the most valuable.

For example, Mixue Ice Cream was found to have used leftover lemons during a routine quality inspection, which was considered acceptable by everyone.

If you switch to a more expensive brand and use leftover lemon juice, you'll be cursing the brand owner's ancestors to death overnight.

This is the stereotype of Mixue Ice Cream: extremely cheap.

Although later brands like Shanghai Auntie and Sweet Lala also lowered their prices, and even Mixue Ice Cream started to release some high-priced products, people still think Mixue Ice Cream is the cheapest.

Even Lucky Coffee, which shares the same parent company, couldn't get a share of the pie in the cheap market.

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