Chương 66: He Has His Own Rhythm

"I just finished warming up too." Lin Zhiqiang looked at the glass jar Zhou Yan handed him, filled with red radish strips, and took it with a smile.

"You're so thoughtful. They've been asking me to get some more from you the other day, but I kept forgetting. Without your pickled radishes, they can't even swallow their morning porridge. I won't stand on ceremony with you." Lin Zhiqiang put the pickled radishes in the security room of the family compound and came out to jog with Zhou Yan, chatting as they ran.

"Wang Wei is a good comrade. If she hadn't made a formal report against Sun Meili for corruption and falsifying accounts today, the rent issue would only be temporarily shelved. They would definitely have tried to find another way to get you. Now it depends on the amount the security department and the discipline inspection commission find. You might even end up spending your life in jail..." Lin Zhiqiang gave Zhou Yan a general account of the situation. Zhou Yan was a little shocked after hearing this.

He really didn't expect Wang Wei to make a formal report and bring Sun Meili down. So bold! So bold! This woman looked to be about his age, a recent vocational school graduate who had been working at a textile factory for a year, and then she sent her boss to jail. He was indeed the catalyst. Wang Wei took pity on him, which is why she decided to file a formal complaint. Her original plan was to collect evidence for a while longer and investigate the food suppliers.

"Wang Wei really graduated from a vocational school with an accounting degree, not a police academy?" Zhou Yan was a little confused and couldn't help but confirm with Lin Zhiqiang. Lin Zhiqiang smiled and said, "Her major is correct, but her father seems to be a veteran criminal investigator from the Rongcheng City Public Security Bureau."

"I see, like father, like daughter, a woman who doesn't yield to men." Zhou Yan couldn't help but admire her. He owed her a favor; should he treat her to a meal later? Lin Zhiqiang continued, "Actually, Yao Yao is also very talented. She's been first in her major for three consecutive years, and she's won many awards for her paintings. She hasn't even graduated yet, and several provincial design institutes are already vying for her."

"Ah? Yes, yes, Xia Yao is very outstanding..." Zhou Yan didn't know why Uncle Lin suddenly changed the subject to Xia Yao, but he still continued the conversation. The conversation didn't last long. The topic shifted, and Lin Zhiqiang began discussing Deng Xiaoping's southern tour earlier in the year, the opening of fourteen coastal port cities, the massive wave of people leaving their hometowns to start businesses, and the establishment of private enterprises. Zhou Yan mostly listened.

After all, these events were only briefly mentioned in books, but hearing them narrated by Lin Zhiqiang gave him a sense of participation; he was, after all, just another grain of sand in that era.

"Little Zhou, do you agree?" Lin Zhiqiang asked, turning to look at him with enthusiasm.

"I think Uncle Lin's judgment is correct. Coastal cities like Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Guangzhou are full of opportunities and will surely become the leaders of China's economic development in the future," Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.

"Great minds think alike. This is the trend of the times. Go with the flow, seize an opportunity, and you can take off." Lin Zhiqiang looked into the distance, his eyes shining. Zhou Yan looked at him, a sense of admiration rising in his heart. A thirty-eight-year-old deputy director of a state-owned factory, with unlimited potential, yet he saw a much deeper national trend and was prepared to participate. Uncle Lin's desire to start his own business was stirring.

Zhou Yan had no doubt that with his abilities and vision, he had the potential to become a trendsetter. However, Zhou Yan himself didn't have such ambition or ability. A single wave of the times could drown him; right now, he just wanted to run Zhou Erwa's restaurant steadily, pay off his debts, and let his parents and Zhou Momo live a good life. Making money and living a leisurely life were his own priorities.

He loved the feeling of gradually expanding and strengthening this small restaurant, earning more each day....

"146. 3 yuan!"

"Hehehe!"

"Another record high!" Zhou Yan wrote down today's net profit on the paper, his smile gradually turning villainous. After his run, he took a shower and began his favorite daily routine of bookkeeping. Today's revenue reached a new high of 288. 6 yuan, more than fifty yuan more than yesterday. This was the effect of celebrity influence and riding the wave of popularity—it was indeed significant. After deducting the 20 yuan he paid back to his mother today, he had a balance of 388. 74 yuan. He still needed 299.

78 yuan to pay off all his debts. Today is Wednesday, and there are still three days left. Once he earns 300 yuan, he'll stop. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Putting the bundled money into the cash register, Zhou Yan didn't rush upstairs. Instead, he took out a pen and paper and started calculating the price of the rice bowls. Half an hour later, Zhou Yan put down his pen, crumpled the two sheets of paper, and threw them in the trash.

The pricing system was chaotic. Without low-priced side dishes, the rice bowls couldn't offer good value. Without lowering prices, they wouldn't attract more customers. Even if customers who originally ordered stir-fries were willing to eat rice bowls, it wouldn't significantly increase revenue; instead, it would confuse the restaurant's positioning.

Rice bowls leaned towards fast food, while the restaurant's current dish prices were relatively high compared to the cafeteria's large-scale meals, relying on taste to retain a segment of customers. What Zhou Yan needed to do now was to use taste and dining experience to retain these high-value customers, relying on a relatively high average order value to ensure revenue. Simply pursuing more customers would only make the kitchen busier and more chaotic, and might not necessarily lead to more money.

Currently, he was handling everything in the kitchen by himself, which was a problem he had to consider. Zhou Erwa's restaurant has been able to establish itself not because of low prices, but because of its delicious food. The canteen's ingredient purchase price is half that of his, and they also receive subsidies from the factory. They dare to sell a plate of twice-cooked pork for 55 cents—how can he compete?

Of course, if he can develop some more cost-effective dishes and hire suitable help in the kitchen, he can expand into rice bowls as a new growth point. What Zhou Yan wants to do is create a large bowl topped with three dishes, priced around 60 cents, satisfying customers while still making a 50% profit. Currently, no matter how the dishes on the restaurant's menu are combined, the price will never be lower than one yuan—it's basically unsolvable. He tossed the ledger into the cash box and carried it upstairs.

The most important thing in running a restaurant is cost and profit accounting; trade-offs must be made to run a successful restaurant. The veteran restaurateurs Zhou Yan interviewed have become his most valuable experience in running a restaurant. Lying in bed, he pulled up the system panel and glanced at it: [Player: Zhou Yan] [Occupation: Chef] First published on 69shu. com! [Wealth Points: 342. 08] [Occupational Skills]: Knife Skills (Advanced): 2600/100000 (A decent level) Cooking Skills (Intermediate): 4488/10000 (Like a tortoise walking to school - unable to stay at school) Seasoning Skills (Intermediate): 4688/10000 (Like an old lady climbing stairs - you can't help her) Eloquence (Advanced): 88890/100000 (Like a sparrow pecking at a cow's butt - a sparrow eating a cow's ass) Zhou Yan's gaze paused. This damn system, so many cheesy jokes.

After breaking through to the advanced level, his knife skills continued to improve steadily, and his control of heat and seasoning also showed significant improvement. This was something Zhou Yan could actually perceive himself; the system simply provided quantified data. He could slice pork belly into uniform 2mm thin slices, as well as pig ears, pig tongues, cucumbers, and potatoes. His knife skills didn't disappear with the ingredients; they truly became part of his abilities.

The same applied to improvements in heat control and seasoning. For example, the vegetables he stir-fried these past two days were noticeably tastier than those he stir-fried last Monday. This was the change brought about by improvements in heat control and seasoning. The dishes rewarded by the system weren't separate skill packs. Zhou Yan would definitely learn similar dishes much faster.

For instance, having mastered twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts, he wouldn't need to relearn the recipe to make twice-cooked pork with green peppers; he only needed to adjust the ingredients and continuously test the heat control and seasoning. Moving his gaze downwards, he saw familiar dishes—except for the smashed cucumber, all still at the advanced level. [Mastered Dishes]: Double Pepper Beef Noodles (Advanced): 99999/100000...

Garlic Sprout Twice-Cooked Pork (Advanced): 99999/100000 Cucumber Salad (Intermediate): 1871/10000... Special Skill: Food Appraisal (Master): 999999/1000000 (Cannot be upgraded) [Main Quest: Dominate the Textile Factory: Quest Progress: 712/1000] [Side Quest: Pick up the initial old braising liquid and start your braised food cooking journey! Quest Reward: Braised Food Grand Ceremony, Quest Progress: 0] [Wealth Mall]: Unlocked when wealth reaches 1000....

"This Wealth Mall will be open soon!" Zhou Yan couldn't help but feel a little excited.... The next day. Dock. Zhou Jie changed the signboard, replacing the original "Zhou Ji Qiaojiao Beef" with "Zhou Ji Soup Pot". The soup pot, which used to cost four cents a bowl, was now changed to: Qiaojiao Beef - Five cents a bowl!

"Braised Beef with Extra Beef"—60 cents a bowl! Zhou Liangliang and Wu Guihua, who had moved back from next door, stared wide-eyed at the new sign.

"What the hell?! They sell it for 60 cents at the docks?!" (End of Chapter)