All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

With high wages come high service requirements. Guan Xiaoguan is indeed very demanding of her staff, with strict requirements on store hygiene, service, and even appearance.

In this era, there were no labor laws, and finding a job was extremely difficult. With such wages, there was no fear of not being able to recruit people. In fact, all of these waitresses were quite attractive, all eight points out of ten beauties, which could attract many hormone-fueled young people.

The four young people at the first table had only been sitting for a dozen minutes when the broth at the bottom of the pot was already boiling. Everyone looked at the hot, spicy, and fragrant broth and started picking up their chopsticks!

Some customers who came into the store were so engrossed in the rich, spicy aroma that their mouths watered. Many young people sat down and started looking at the menu. In no time, the waiters were running back and forth, and the store was bustling with activity.

When a young man picked up a piece of freshly cooked mutton roll and put it in his mouth, the instant taste of fresh, tender, and succulent meat, along with the scalding hot and spicy flavor, assaulted his tongue, making him feel completely conquered at that moment.

In this era of scarcity, many young people tasted this flavor for the first time in their lives, and this moment became a lifelong memory for them!

Sure enough, once you put it in your mouth, no one can resist the taste. In less than an hour, the store was full.

Steam rose and fell as a group of customers, their faces flushed and necks red, drank beer, ate hot pot, and occasionally uttered exclamations of delight, piquing the curiosity of passersby outside.

After all, it was only a little past ten in the morning, not even lunchtime yet, and the restaurant was already packed with customers. How could everyone not be surprised?

At 10:30, the first table of guests finally finished eating. The four young people were extremely satisfied with their meal. Although they were covered in sweat, they were very excited. They discussed that they must bring their friends to try it in a few days. This taste was completely imprinted in their hearts.

Today, Guan Xiaoguan personally stood at the counter to collect money. This job definitely requires a trusted person, and at the moment, only Guan Xiaoguan could do it herself.

Holding the bill, she quickly calculated on the calculator that the young people had ordered a lot more food, four bottles of beer, and two bottles of soda, bringing their total bill to 28.3 yuan!

Upon hearing that it cost 28.3 yuan, the young people's expressions changed slightly. They enjoyed the meal, but when it came time to pay, they naturally came to their senses.

This price is really not cheap. It's like four thousand a month in later times. Four people eating out costs two thousand eight. Naturally, everyone felt it was a bit expensive. A young man took the bill with a sullen face and started to look at it. The others gathered around to take a look.

Upon hearing the price, several customers who had entered the store stopped and gathered around to take a look, but none of them dared to go in.

The numbers on the bill are clear and match up. The food tastes so good, and the portion is small. I didn't pay attention to the price when I ate it, so I have to accept it now.

The young people reluctantly began to pool their money to pay the bill. Even young people in later generations would find it difficult to come up with 2,800 yuan in cash, let alone in this era. It took them a long time to gather the money.

Just as the group was about to pay, Guan Xiaoguan smiled and said to them.

"Why don't you draw the prize first? We've given out a lot of free meal vouchers today. If you win one, you can have a free meal!"

Guan Xiaoguan's words startled the young people. Then they remembered that there was a lucky draw. The only girl among the four, with a nervous expression, reached into the lucky draw box and slowly started to rummage through the hundreds of tickets.

She fumbled around for a while, as if finally making up her mind, and then nervously pulled out a lottery ticket from inside.

The lottery tickets are actually just cut-out cardboard pieces with words written on them, then folded and pasted together. However, for the sake of mystery, each lottery ticket is tied with a small rubber band.

Several young people were very nervous. The girl was probably too nervous, because she couldn't untie the rubber band after trying for a long time. A young man grabbed it, roughly tore off the rubber band, and then opened the cardboard box!

The words clearly stated in black text above were: "Congratulations! You have received a free voucher. This voucher can be used to offset one purchase in the store!"

Upon seeing the words above, the young people were stunned for a moment, then cheered wildly. Even the girl jumped up in surprise, and their actions immediately attracted the attention of all the customers in the store.

Everyone was confused about what was going on, and the crowd watching the commotion was also a little agitated. Everyone was happy for these young people, and of course, they were also a little envious.

Many customers were excited when they heard that the first table of customers had won a free meal voucher, and that the bill was only 28.3 yuan. Many customers who had almost finished eating got up to participate in the lucky draw.

Throughout history, the Chinese people's gambling instinct seems to be as natural as their nature. Even though it's not much money, the sudden surprise still makes many people eager to try.

Some customers who had already ordered thought about it and added two more plates of meat dishes, just in case they won the prize later.

The good fortune of these four customers was enough to give Hanjiazhuang Hot Pot Restaurant a resounding success.

In reality, the winning rate of the free vouchers is not low, probably above 25%, which is already quite high. Almost every now and then, a customer wins, and there have even been good news stories of three tables of customers winning at the same time, which makes many customers feel that the winning rate is particularly high.

Han Chunming's plan was to build a reputation even if the opening event didn't make money. Only with a continuous stream of winning customers would word spread, allowing the shop to become famous in just one week!

As for that motorcycle, it's the store's prized possession, so it definitely won't be taken away on the same day. Han Chunming plans to put the motorcycle prize ticket into the lottery box on the third day. He wants to attract customers in the first few days first!

Lotteries are bound to be rigged; even state-issued lotteries have their supervisors, let alone Han Chunming's small shop.

In short, you can draw with confidence; Han Chunming will definitely not lose out.

Every winning customer is registered, and at night, the profit and loss for the day are calculated together. If the loss is too great, the winning rate will be lowered tomorrow. If the winning rate is too low, the number of winning customers will be increased dramatically the next day. In short, everything is under control!

Indeed, everything was under Han Chunming's control. On the first day of business, including drinks, the turnover was 1,376.3 yuan, with an average spending of more than 17 yuan per table. This was even after the prize of a free meal.

Two people won the first prize today, which is 200 yuan, and another 26 free vouchers, for a total of 453.6 yuan.

If you do the math, he gave away 653.6 yuan today. In reality, Han Chunming only gave away a little over 400 yuan, since he included his profit margin when he offered the freebies.

In other words, besides the lucky draw, there was a profit of nearly 400 yuan today.

That's about right. That motorcycle cost over four thousand, and after seven days, I'll still lose over a thousand. It's not much; I can definitely afford to lose it!

Han Chunming had a well-thought-out plan, but he never expected that this booming opening was just the beginning!

The next morning, before the hot pot restaurant even opened, there was already a long queue outside. Han Chunming was taken aback. After asking around, he learned that everyone had come to eat hot pot!

Han Chunming was both amused and exasperated. Why eat hot pot so early in the morning?

Among the people queuing, many were repeat customers who had come yesterday and brought their relatives and friends today. Han Chunming even saw several customers who had won free vouchers yesterday, which made him both amused and exasperated.

On this street, which stretches for nearly a kilometer, there's a nourishing soup shop in the middle of the street, where long queues form in the mornings.

At the end of the street, a newly opened hot pot restaurant also had a long queue, a spectacle that greatly surprised passersby.

This has also propelled the reputation of hot pot restaurants and nourishing soup shops to new heights.

Han Chunming hadn't expected a hot pot restaurant to be so popular. Even Guan Xiaoguan was a little surprised. But Xiao Lanmao was a worldly person, so she quickly called the waiter to start serving them.

The shop opened at nine o'clock, and all sixteen tables and four private rooms were full. The waiters were extremely busy, and the vegetable preparers were sweating profusely as they chopped and washed vegetables, without even having time to eat breakfast!

Han Chunming even developed dark circles under both eyes.

Although he is the boss, he manages two stores. He is in charge of purchasing ingredients for both stores, and he is already feeling the strain on the very first day.

In this day and age, shopping is really hard work because you simply can't buy many of the ingredients in the market!

Although the reform and opening up has been going on for several years, the supply of goods on the market is still not particularly abundant, especially meat, which is really difficult to purchase in bulk.

To secure the procurement, Han Chunming spent half a month before opening his shop visiting markets. He not only contacted many individual vegetable vendors but also went to some rural markets. Fortunately, most of the meat he bought was offal, which was easy to handle.

Han Chunming was exhausted from running around, but the hot pot restaurant was so popular that they were consuming far too many ingredients every day!

We need to hire people; we absolutely must hire people. We must free ourselves up.

Although there are many shady dealings involved in procurement, as long as you check the accounts in a timely manner and establish a good reward and punishment system, there will definitely be no major problems.

Even if he were to be greedy for a little money, as long as the matter was handled well, Han Chunming wouldn't mind!

Han Chunming is currently extremely busy, but he is both tired and happy!

The kind of happiness he experiences is something most people wouldn't even dare to dream of!

His booming business has indeed brought him great fame, and even reporters have wanted to interview him.

However, Han Chunming refused them all. He preferred to make his fortune in a low-key manner. There were too many people in the world who wanted to show off, and this world wouldn't allow him to stand out so much.

Han Chunming didn't want to be in the limelight, but people still paid attention to him. On the fifth day after he opened his shop, the veterinary medicine shop he used to own was rented out.

Moreover, the other party quickly started renovations. Judging from the equipment inside, it was clearly a hot pot restaurant. Han Chunming smiled without saying a word, looking forward to the other party's store opening as soon as possible!

Chapter 52: Accusing Han Chunming of Crimes

After a busy week, the opening event is finally over!

In the few days since the opening, the turnover has been soaring every day, with the highest daily turnover reaching 2,600 yuan.

But after seven days of hard work, he ended up with nothing to show for it and even lost nearly a thousand yuan.

However, all of this expense was worthwhile. The investment of tens of thousands of yuan in event expenses completely made Hanjiazhuang Hot Pot Restaurant famous.

The motorcycle lottery, under Han Chunming's deliberate manipulation, was finally won by someone on the sixth day.

The only slight disappointment was that the lucky winner of the grand prize was an old man.

An old man, draped in a big red flower, stood in front of a hot pot restaurant posing for a photo, pushing his motorcycle. His face showed no joy whatsoever, but rather a slight worry, creating a very incongruous scene!

The main reason was that the old man couldn't ride a motorcycle at all. He had come with his seven-year-old grandson that day, and his son was working in another city. Han Chunming said that he was willing to pay four thousand yuan to the old man to redeem the motorcycle.

But the old man was very stubborn. He made it clear that he wanted a motorcycle, saying that his son worked in Tianjin and that with a motorcycle, he could ride it back and forth!

Helpless, Han Chunming could only watch as the old man pushed the motorcycle, his grandson sitting on it, the two of them slowly pushing the motorcycle away in the sunset. Han Chunming shook his head at the sight!

The lottery event is absolutely real, and Han Chunming doesn't know that old man at all. Han Chunming wouldn't play tricks for a few thousand yuan.

Aside from this minor incident, the opening event was a great success.

Although there weren't the usual morning queues after the opening, business was still booming. The restaurant was already full before mealtimes every day, showing no signs of being affected by the end of the promotion.

Han Chunming's hot pot restaurant has become a household name, and naturally, imitations began to appear.

Several of my colleagues who used to run nourishing soup shops were on the verge of collapse, just like my brother and sister, when they suddenly saw the explosive popularity of hot pot restaurants.

It was as if those business owners had found a guiding light in the darkness once again; in less than a week, three hot pot restaurants opened.

However, none of this affected Han Chunming's business. Hot pot restaurants, being a novel concept, did indeed create a trend in Yanjing City. As long as the taste wasn't too bad, the shops could generally stay afloat.

Just like the veterinary drug store not far from Han Chunming, it has now become a restaurant called Sijixian Hot Pot. The owner is obviously not as powerful as Han Chunming. He didn't do any promotions when he first opened. On the opening day, as soon as the firecrackers went off, customers came in.

They quickly established themselves by leveraging the popularity of Hanjiazhuang. Although their food was just average, they found a unique niche.

The plates at this hot pot restaurant called Siji Xian are all a size larger than those at Han Chunming's shop, so their side dishes are served in larger portions.

Vegetable dishes start at 20 cents, meat dishes at 30 cents and cap at 60 cents. With this marketing method, they have successfully established themselves. As for the taste, although it is just so-so, it is still acceptable. Some customers who are looking for good value for money will consider their restaurant.

Han Chunming didn't mind the competition. In the catering industry, people eat regardless of their means. Some people eat for the taste, while others eat to fill their stomachs. This is normal.

Moreover, with the addition of this competitor, the foot traffic at the end of his street is significantly better than before.

Han Chunming recruited several more people, including a logistics purchasing agent. This person was quite impressive; he had previously been the logistics director of a factory.

Although the other person is a bit old, already in his sixties, he is quite capable.

This fat old man called Lao Chen was hired by Han Chunming at a high price.

Old Chen had worked as the logistics director in a state-owned enterprise with more than 5,000 employees for 30 years and just retired this year. What Han Chunming valued in this old man was his network of contacts.

The fact that this person could stay in the position of logistics director for thirty years without being promoted or demoted is a real skill. Moreover, Han Chunming also learned that several of the other person's relatives were in top positions in the organization. This is what Han Chunming really valued about the other person.

Han Chunming offered the other party a base salary of 100 yuan, plus a monthly commission of 1% of the turnover!

Han Chunming's only requirement was that the purchased items must be complete, the quality must meet the standards, and there must be no kickbacks, because if kickbacks were involved, the quality would definitely become inconsistent in the future.

Old Chen was a seasoned veteran and understood Han Chunming's meaning, so the two readily signed the contract.

The store now has a daily turnover of over 2,000 yuan, which translates to a monthly turnover of 60,000 to 80,000 yuan. The commission alone is 600 to 800 yuan per month. In addition to the base salary and holiday subsidies, the average monthly salary can reach over 1,000 yuan.

Of course, people's hearts can never be satisfied forever, so Han Chunming signed a contract with Lao Chen. If any violations are found during the procurement process, the other party will not only have to compensate Han Chunming for his losses, but also have three months' commission deducted.