You promised steampunk martial arts, but you've got an internal combustion engine in your chest

Chapter 66 Abacus

Baili Jing sat in a chair, flipping through the restaurant's roster.

He would occasionally look up and glance at the employees of the Fengyulou building sitting on the ground in front of him.

These people naturally stopped causing trouble. However, they didn't show much fear in their eyes when they looked at Baili Jing. Instead, they were more scrutinizing and observing. Everyone was watching coldly, some playing with their nails, others watching the clouds.

Baili Jing ignored what these people were thinking; his gaze fell on the roster, and he secretly made his own calculations.

The sheer size of Jiangshan Fengyu Tower is truly astonishing; once you see it, you're taken aback. The entire establishment has a registered staff of at least seventy or eighty people.

The management team consists of five people: Old Zheng, the chief accountant and head manager; one purchasing manager; one warehouse manager; one head of the front-of-house staff; and Zhi Yao, the undisputed head of the kitchen.

The kitchen team consists of 3 sous chefs, 2 pastry chefs, 8 people responsible for knife skills and plating, and 10 kitchen helpers who wash dishes, pick vegetables, and fetch water.

There were quite a few people serving in the front hall, with more than 30 waiters responsible for running dishes, pouring tea, clearing tables, and greeting guests.

In terms of logistics, there were more than a dozen people responsible for the large boiler in the backyard to heat water, guard the gate at night, and do odd jobs such as cleaning.

In addition, there are 5 other resident musicians in the building who are responsible for singing and playing instruments.

"Feeding the people and feeding the horses, the expenses are considerable—"

Baili Jing closed the booklet and muttered to himself.

Baili Jie walked over quickly.

He leaned close to Baili Jing's ear and whispered a few words.

Baili Jing raised his eyebrows, nodded slightly, then cleared his throat and called out to Old Zheng, "Manager Zheng."

"Yes, sir, what are your orders?"

Old Zheng stood up, his back slightly bent, hands clasped in a gesture of respect, his face full of fawning smiles. If Baili Jing hadn't just overheard his storytelling and embellishments, he might have actually believed it.

Baili Jing didn't bother to argue and asked, "As the chief accountant, you know best about our restaurant's past accounts and expenses. Tell me about the income and expenditure."

"Alright, boss, listen up!"

Old Zheng replied, "Our restaurant has considerable expenses. The monthly cost of ingredients is roughly 1100 taels, and that's only after we get help from the Baihua Hall of the Cao Gang."

The price was 20% cheaper than the market price. In a regular restaurant, the ingredients alone would cost 1400 taels or more.

"Why is it so tall?" Baili Jing frowned.

Old Zheng explained, "Master, you may not know this, but the kitchen has to prepare hundreds of dishes every day. Chicken, duck, fish, meat, and seasonal vegetables are all indispensable. But when the weather gets hot, the goods can't be stored for more than a few days. Meat will not be fresh overnight, and vegetables will wilt the next day. We buy and sell every day, resulting in huge losses. All the unsold or overcooked food has to be lost. Just this loss alone costs us hundreds of taels of silver every month."

Baili Jing clicked his tongue in amazement.

Old Zheng continued his report: "The monthly wages for seventy or eighty people are about 400 taels; the monthly requirement for coal and firewood for the water boiler and stove is 80 taels."

Two: Maintenance and repair of the venue's tables and chairs, 50 taels per month; miscellaneous expenses such as bribing officials and giving gifts during festivals, about 70 taels per month; in addition, there is a hidden account: uncollectible debts from customers who run off with their bills and those that cannot be collected at the end of the year, ranging from 20 to 40 taels per month.

"All of these expenses add up to between 1800 and 1900 taels of silver per month, with occasional fluctuations."

"In addition, our restaurant's monthly revenue in previous years was around 3000 taels of silver. After deducting expenses, the net profit that came into the account each month was about 1100 to 1200 taels."

One thousand taels per month —

A small shop on the street costs only a few dozen taels of silver.

Yesterday, I cut down a tree and smashed the walls and windows of the inn, so I only had to pay a hundred taels of silver in compensation.

This Jiangshan Fengyu Tower is really making a lot of money.

Baili Jing glanced at his younger brother.

Baili Jie nodded. He had just checked the accounts from previous years at the accounting office, and it seemed that there was nothing wrong with the figures Old Zheng had reported.

Baili Jing counted on his fingers and found that Jiangshan Fengyulou's net profit margin was about 40%, and its gross profit margin was about 60%.

In his previous life, he had worked as a personal assistant to a big boss, so he had a fairly clear understanding of business and finance.

In the catering industry, maintaining a net profit margin of over 30% is already considered top-tier business.

A 40% net profit margin is definitely considered extremely high.

But that's not surprising.

Jiangshan Fengyulou is an absolute monopoly brand in Shanghai, with a huge brand premium. Moreover, it has the support of the Caobang (a powerful local business group) and access to Baihuatang's food supply channels, resulting in low costs and high profits. Therefore, it is reasonable for it to have such a high profit margin.

bang bang bang.

As Baili Jing was still making plans, there was a sudden knock on the back door.

Baili Jie's eyes flickered, and he immediately went over and opened the door.

It was Du Shaoyou who arrived.

He walked in, sweating profusely, and shouted as soon as he entered the courtyard, "Fourth Master, the brothers have brought the silver over to you!"

Behind him followed several members of the Canal Gang, who carried small wooden boxes and placed them on the ground.

Baili Jing raised an eyebrow, feeling much more at ease.

Upon arriving at Jiangshan Fengyu Tower, the first thing he did was send a waiter to the main headquarters to have Du Shaoyou fetch some silver.

Du Shaoyou wiped his sweat and said with a smile, "Fourth Master, all the congratulatory gifts from the grand banquet are here."

"Well done."

Baili Jing stepped forward and opened each box one by one.

The box exuded an alluring aura of treasure.

The contents were a mixed bag: strings of copper coins, scattered silver ingots, small gold bars about the thickness of a thumb, and various other items.

A small amount of agate, jade, and pearl jewelry.

These gifts were delivered in haste, and there was no time to count and categorize them. They were a mix of red and green, gold and silver, and at a glance, it was impossible to tell their exact value.

But even with just that one glance, the dozens of waiters, kitchen helpers, and servants stared wide-eyed. This new employer is rich!

Baili Jing, with his hands behind his back, ordered, "Manager Zheng, what are you all standing around for? Pick a few quick-witted people, give them some cash, and go buy ingredients as fast as you can!"

When buying drinks—don't forget to put them on the tab.

"Everyone else, open the gates and let everyone in. The opera troupe, hurry up and get on stage, let's put on this final performance!"

Old Zheng didn't hesitate and immediately gave orders: "Xiao Ning, go to all the major butcher shops to get supplies! Old Niu, you lead the waiters to greet the customers! Get moving!"

The entire backyard instantly went from still to bustling, with dozens of people scrambling about in a chaotic frenzy.

Baili Jing pulled Baili Jie aside, patted his younger brother's shoulder, and whispered, "Xiao Jie, from today onwards, you will personally inspect the valuables in these boxes, calculate every penny, and record them in the accounts. You don't need to be the accountant, but you must keep a close eye on the accounts."

When it comes to money, Baili Jing currently only trusts his younger brother.

Baili Jie nodded seriously, his eyes clear: "Don't worry, brother, there won't be a single mistake."

After saying that, the boy also picked up his abacus and account book and began to count the boxes of congratulatory gifts.

Seeing that everything was starting to get on track, Baili Jing turned around and grinned at Zhiyao: "Miss Zhiyao, according to the accounts Old Zheng just reported, can I understand that—as long as I achieve a revenue of 3000 taels per month, I'll pass the test?"

Zhiyao played with a strand of black hair, revealing a faint smile: "Master, you're thinking too simply."

"You're the Fourth Master of the Grand Canal Gang. Just today alone, you've received countless congratulatory gifts. If you just throw money around and force the revenue to meet the quota, can that be called good management?"

"According to the rules, you not only have to ensure that the monthly revenue reaches the usual level, but also maintain the restaurant's net profit at 40%. In addition, if you damage the brand, maliciously lower prices, or sell off the property in the building or lay off staff in order to save money, then you lose. I will compile a list of all the rules for you."

Upon hearing this, Baili Jing pouted somewhat unhappily.

What a terrible restaurant! They come up with rules one after another, like a bizarre tale of rules, leaving him no chance to find a loophole.

He was about to argue with Zhiyao when suddenly, a commotion of pushing and shouting erupted from the direction of the main hall.

Baili Jing frowned.

Immediately afterwards, a waiter came running over.

"Oh no! Boss! Oh no! There's a commotion in the front hall!!"

He ran very fast and shouted loudly, but there was no sign of panic on his face.

On the contrary, his thieving eyes held a hint of schadenfreude.

The waiter rushed to Baili Jing and reported, "As soon as the gate opened, the opera troupe and diners poured in, but the performers said they'd been waiting all day and there wasn't enough time. They could only perform two out of the three scheduled shows! But—they can't be shortchanged by a single penny for those three shows!"

"As for those who came to listen to the opera, they were unhappy when they heard that the performance wouldn't be completed today! They insisted that the troupe finish the performance—and they said that since they had been out in the sun all day, they couldn't just offer some melon seeds and cold water; they had to provide more food and drinks!"

Upon hearing this, Old Zheng burst into a tirade: "This is outrageous! They've really gone too far! Do they think we're running a charity?! So many ridiculous rules! Fourth Master, these are all..."

They've spoiled them rotten! I think we should just kick them all out!

Old Zheng may have been cursing fiercely on the surface, but Baili Jing could tell that the old man was just putting on an act.

These seasoned veterans of the Fengyu Tower are clearly trying to use the guests' disturbance to further sow discord among themselves.

Surely they weren't the ones who started this disturbance?

Baili Jing decided to put the matter aside for the time being.

He glanced at Zhiyao indifferently, then smiled and said, "Manager Zheng, you've acted impulsively. How can you blame them for our restaurant's poor performance? In my opinion, they haven't done anything wrong. Besides, I feel that their request is far from enough to quell my guilt."

"How about this, I'll go to the front hall myself and apologize to them."

With that, Baili Jing headed towards the front hall.

"Master."

Just then, Zhiyao suddenly called out to him.

She lowered her head slightly and said softly, "Don't forget, this show is completely free today. If you agree to their demands, you won't get your money back."

"If others hear that we're delivering wine and food, even more people will come, and the money we lose in one day might not be enough to recoup half a month's profits."

"When the end-of-month accounts come out, it will be very disadvantageous for you."

Baili Jing stopped, turned around, and laughed.

"Miss Zhiyao, don't worry, every copper coin I throw out today will be earned back tenfold, a hundredfold!"

Having said that, he turned around, flicked his sleeves, and strode towards the front hall.