Starting a new chapter in life

Chapter 193 Fragrant Garden

The plaque was ready in three days. On an auspicious day, three strings of firecrackers with five thousand shots were set off at the main entrance. The red paper covering the ground in front of the store made it even more festive. The opening day was Dou Zhixiao's wedding banquet. Although there weren't many guests, there were still five tables. Half of the hall was full, and the store suddenly became very popular.

Dou Zhixiao and Xiao Jinhua were dressed festively today, going from table to table toasting guests. The lively atmosphere allowed the casual customers who arrived after hearing the firecrackers to also share in the joy. Every customer who entered the store today received wedding candy, although each person only received two pieces, it was still a way for everyone to share the joy.

Chef Lin's culinary skills are truly superb. He can make even the communal meals delicious, let alone these small-scale dishes. The guests attending the banquet were very satisfied, and the walk-in customers who came in hoping to try something new were even more amazed.

Restaurants are indeed springing up like mushrooms after rain, but the quality varies greatly. There aren't many people who specialize in culinary arts, and even those who do tend to gravitate towards big cities or five-star hotels.

The restaurants on Changxing Island are generally mediocre, serving mostly local Shanghainese cuisine. However, the people working or living on the island come from all over the country, and their homesickness is indelible.

With hometown dishes available, who wouldn't want to come and have a meal to satisfy their cravings? In no time, the news that Xiangmanyuan Restaurant offered different cuisines spread quickly among the customers who had been there, and the restaurant became extremely popular.

Jingyan has been helping with the dishes in the kitchen lately. The restaurant is very different from the barbecue restaurant she used to run. Before, the main customer flow was only in the evening, but now the restaurant has one wave of customers from 10:00 am to about 1:30 pm, and another wave from 4:00 pm to 8:00 or 9:00 pm.

Not only was the workload in the front of house much heavier, but the kitchen was also incredibly busy. Even Chef Lin had to get involved in the food preparation. As a result, Jingyan had no choice but to temporarily ask Sister Wang to help with the food preparation. The place where her three children ate at home was changed to the restaurant.

At this time, Jingyan missed Xiao Zhou's wife terribly, but she wouldn't be able to arrive until mid-July at the earliest, which would be another four months. After three busy days, the number of customers increased rather than decreased, with most of them ordering Sichuan and Hunan cuisine, showing that strong-flavored dishes still have a place here.

Jingyan felt that they still needed to hire workers, otherwise everyone would be exhausted. Chef Lin was also surprised that there were so many restaurants and eateries on just one island, so he agreed to the hiring request.

Originally, we planned to hire one more regular chef, two vegetable cutters and washers, one dishwasher, and two more waiters, for a total of six people. However, we encountered difficulties when it came to actually recruiting.

Waiters and dishwashers are relatively easy to find jobs. There aren't many highly educated people these days, but there are still quite a few with only a middle school education. They're definitely good at talking, and hardworking middle-aged women are also easy to find. But let's not even talk about chefs. Chef Lin interviewed seven or eight people for food preparation, but he didn't find a single one he was satisfied with.

Jingyan wanted to persuade him to choose two similar ones, saying that teaching him slowly would always be helpful, but Chef Lin shook his head and disagreed: "Don't be fooled by the seemingly simple cutting and preparation; simple dishes like shredded potatoes require even more refined knife skills."

Otherwise, the inconsistent thickness of the grains will result in uneven cooking, with some grains being undercooked and others overcooked. The coarser grains might cook perfectly, while the finer ones will become mushy, affecting the overall texture. If I were to slowly teach someone, I don't have the time or energy. I don't plan to take on apprentices; I only want someone who can learn quickly.

Jingyan didn't want to persuade him any further, but it was really hard to recruit this kind of person. Chef Lin had been busy for a week and was really exhausted. As the saying goes, when you're poor, you think of ways to make a change. Chef Lin was so tired that he tried to contact two kitchen helpers he had met in the army canteen.

The two men were brothers from a remote fishing village in Guangdong. They were skilled at making seafood soups and porridges. I used to work for them, and although my cooking skills weren't the best, they were still much better than the average chef in the local restaurants.

The main difference was their knife skills, which even Chef Lin himself felt he couldn't match. He later switched careers and returned to his hometown. A few days ago, Chef Lin tried contacting them to ask if they would be willing to settle down there.

Originally, they weren't planning to leave home. They had an elderly mother to care for, and having returned home five or six years after their military service, they were married with children and didn't want to change anything. But Chef Lin said they could earn 400 yuan a month as kitchen helpers, which appealed to them.

They actually ran a small restaurant at home, which the two brothers ran together. However, business was inconsistent; sometimes they could earn six or seven hundred yuan a month, which was considered good, while other times they might only earn two or three hundred yuan.

Because they couldn't afford to buy a shop, they relied on renting, and the monthly rent was quite substantial. They initially thought this was manageable, but when they heard that the rent here was only 400 yuan a month, meaning the two of them would earn 800 yuan, more than they would make running their own shop, they started to consider it.

However, they were worried about their families, and being honest people, they directly explained their difficulties to Chef Lin. Chef Lin then approached Jing Yan and asked if they could take them to his house for accommodation.

How could Jingyan possibly ask Chef Lin to provide both manpower and housing? She directly promised to find a house in Changxin Community to accommodate this large family. A three-bedroom or four-bedroom house would be enough for them. Talented people are hard to come by, and the restaurant is currently short-staffed. With people available, everything else will be easier to discuss.

Chef Lin confirmed the arrival time with the other side, while Jingyan hurriedly looked at houses. The two brothers needed to settle their family matters. They said they would arrive around mid-to-late April. Since they were demobilized soldiers, the relevant documents were mailed over first. Chef Lin would then process their long-term residence certificates so they could start working immediately upon arrival on the island without delaying anything.

Jingyan's situation went relatively smoothly. The new apartment she found was in the same building as Chef Lin's. The renovation wasn't as good as Chef Lin's, but it was still decent, and it had everything she needed. In the end, it was sold for 82,000 yuan, and the apartment was registered under Jingyan's name.

The two brothers were thrilled to learn that accommodations had been prepared—a four-bedroom, one-living room, two-bathroom, and one-kitchen apartment—and couldn't wait to come. Although the local economy had been booming in recent years, most of the people making money were from out of town; the majority of locals were still poor.

Anyway, the two brothers can't afford to buy such a big house together, and they can't bear to rent it either. Working here, their accommodation and meals are free. At most, their family cooks at home, which doesn't cost much. Back in their hometown, they don't spend money on groceries.

With the house secured, the two brothers, along with their families, arrived in mid-April and moved in immediately. Their families were extremely satisfied with the living conditions, and the brothers, without even taking a break, started working at the shop the very next day.

This whole situation made Jingyan feel embarrassed, as if she were a landlord's wife from the old society who took pleasure in exploiting her long-term workers. Sister Wang was finally freed, and although she only worked for about half a month, she was still exhausted at almost sixty years old.

Jingyan gave Sister Wang an extra two hundred yuan as a reward for her hard work, but Sister Wang refused to accept it. Only after much persuasion did she finally accept it. She stayed at home for several days to recover from the fatigue and then focused on taking care of the three children's meals.

With the two brothers joining the restaurant, the food service speed increased significantly. A week later, the brothers' wives approached Jingyan, asking if there were any other jobs available that needed hiring, and if the two brothers could give it a try.

Coincidentally, Jingyan didn't want to wash the pots and pans anymore. Since they were short of dishwashers, they could fill in with one person. The two sisters-in-law discussed it and decided that one of them would stay at home to do housework and take care of the two families' children, while the other would go to work at the store, and they would split the earnings equally.

Jingyan had already agreed not to get involved too much, and she was happiest to be free. After six months of busy work, the sadness of her grandmother's passing had indeed faded a lot. Except for the occasional tears she couldn't control when she took out the things her grandmother had left her, her mental state had improved a lot.

With the chef, food preparer, and dishwasher all in place, banquet reservations, which had been suspended for two years, resumed soon after. This time, Jingyan didn't plan to serve banquets with fixed dishes like before. Back then, Sister Wang didn't have many dishes to offer, so she had to resort to tricks.

Now, with four chefs—Chef Lin, Xiao Zhou, and the Wang brothers—able to cook dishes from all over the country, Jingyan's confidence soared: "I can freely choose and combine any of the sixty-six dishes on the menu!"

For five tables or less, the regular menu price applies. For five or more tables, the price is 10% off; for ten or more tables, the price is 20% off; and for twenty or more tables, the price is 25% off. This discount is only available if you book one week in advance. Bookings made less than one week in advance will be charged according to the menu price.

Once this standard was announced, it attracted a lot of banquet booking customers. As life gets better and better, nowadays it's not just wedding banquets and graduation banquets, but also promotion banquets, full moon banquets, birthday banquets, and even small banquets and gatherings of all kinds, with the main focus being on gatherings.

Of course, the quality of alcoholic beverages has also risen sharply. Nowadays, Wuliangye is considered a good brand, and government officials and leaders of large companies often order high-end liquors like Moutai and Wuliangye when they come to dinner.

Jingyan has made a lot of money from alcohol sales, especially high-end alcohol, which are priced 40-50% higher than the market price, yet people are still willing to buy them.

Restaurant invoices are the fastest-used receipts in the store. Some people will even discuss with Huo Benqin whether to charge them more and issue them high-value restaurant invoices in exchange for a commission.

Huo Benqin, being an accounting major, couldn't possibly be unaware that these people were trying to falsify reports. If this matter wasn't investigated, the consequences wouldn't be significant; but if it was, the restaurant closing down would be the least of her worries. She and the owner might end up in labor camps. She was timid and hadn't enjoyed her freedom enough; she wasn't prepared to put herself in jail.

After she firmly refused several times, the number of official gatherings at the restaurant did decrease significantly. Huo Benqin discussed this with Jing Yan, specifically pointing out the potential responsibilities she might have to bear if she profited from it. Jing Yan cherished her life and fully supported Huo Benqin's choice.

She would rather lose some customers than take risks. Jingyan didn't know that because of her timidity, she pushed a group of big customers to other restaurants. Her competitors, who were originally resentful because of her good business, were much calmer and at least didn't cause her any trouble. This can be considered a case of unpredictable gains and losses.

Anyway, Jingyan didn't know and didn't care. But Chef Lin was prepared for someone to cause trouble and disrupt the shop. However, after three months of peace and quiet, he was finally relieved and said that the people on Changxing Island were simple and honest, and everyone was a legitimate businessman. It was a perfect misunderstanding.

July arrived in the blink of an eye, and school started its summer vacation. The three children, except for breakfast, came to the restaurant every day for lunch and dinner. Chef Lin, who had never had children of his own, especially loved kids.

Including his apprentice's child and the two brothers' children, a total of six people came to eat at mealtimes. Chef Lin patiently prepared special meals for them, which made Jing Yan envious.

There are several dishes with complicated steps, and she would have to pester Chef Lin for a long time before she could eat them. But as long as the children asked, Chef Lin would fulfill their wishes. She's quick-witted; if she wanted something, she would urge the children to eat it, telling them how delicious it was.

Whether the children were unaware of her intentions and their cravings were aroused, or whether they knew she was greedy but were still willing to be ordered around, they would always order from Chef Lin. As a result, Jingyan doted on them even more. The children's pockets were always full of candy, and they could always eat seasonal fruits like watermelon and cantaloupe at the store. In short, they were having a great time.

With the arrival of Xiao Zhou's wife, several more casserole dishes and seafood congee were added to the restaurant's menu. Changxing Island is located at sea, and these dishes are specialties from Guangdong. Thanks to these dishes, the two brothers went from being prep cooks to full-fledged chefs, and their wages increased from four hundred yuan to five hundred yuan.

This salary increase was so large that even Chef Lin felt a little heartache, let alone the two brothers. He quietly said to Jingyan, "Actually, adding fifty yuan would have been enough. You're really willing to spend a hundred yuan."

Jing Yan smiled like a little mouse and whispered to Chef Lin, "Their signature Cantonese dishes are treasures. They're not only good for the stomach, but also have a light flavor. Locals in Shanghai prefer light dishes, so these will be popular with them."

"Once we establish our reputation, we can earn a considerable amount just from these few things. I'm doing this to retain our staff. Any one of our chefs is better than the chefs in the surrounding restaurants. If I'm stingy and they're poached, where will I go to complain? At worst, we'll earn a little less, but we won't lose out."

Chef Lin was persuaded and went back to praise Jing Yan from head to toe. The two brothers were honest people and didn't realize that they had been subjected to workplace manipulation by the boss and the chef. On the contrary, because they were so grateful to Jing Yan, they wanted to add all the dishes they knew to the menu.

As Jingyan expected, the clay pot porridge did indeed attract many diners, especially the elderly, those with weak stomachs, and those with children at home. After entering the store, the clay pot porridge almost became a must-order item.

Looking at the number of orders for congee every day, Chef Lin's worries finally subsided. Jingyan is a kind-hearted and honest girl, so he couldn't let her lose money. He had to increase the profits by at least 30%, if not double, otherwise it would be unfair to all the people who had invested so much.