Siheyuan: Starting as a Chef Apprentice

The young man was very interested and said, "Let's learn more about it first. If it's suitable, we can come here often in the future."

In the kitchen, the chefs carefully prepare small dishes. When serving the small portion of "Kung Pao Chicken", the chef carefully places the peanuts and diced chicken to make the dish look delicious.

The chef was checking the quality of the dishes and said, "Although the portions are small, we must ensure that each portion is cooked to perfection. The taste cannot be bad, as this is related to the reputation of our restaurant."

When the dishes were served, the young people praised them one after another.

"This small dish looks really good. Although the portion is a bit small, it is just right for us."

“It tastes great and is much more cost-effective than eating elsewhere.”

In the promotion of business packages, the marketing manager came to an office building to negotiate with the executives of a company.

The marketing manager said, "Ms. Zhang, we are from Wang's All-inclusive Restaurant. Our current business packages are very suitable for your company's employees. We have a variety of packages to choose from, with rich dishes, balanced nutrition, and affordable prices. We also provide meal delivery service, which can ensure that it is delivered on time during lunch time and will not affect the employees' rest time."

Ms. Zhang said hesitantly, "It sounds good, but we have ordered meals from other restaurants before, and the staff reported that some dishes were not fresh. Can you guarantee the quality?"

The marketing manager said confidently: "Ms. Zhang, don't worry. Our restaurant has always attached great importance to the quality of ingredients. We have a special procurement channel to purchase fresh ingredients every day, and our kitchen hygiene standards are also very high. We can provide a few days of tasting first. If the employees are satisfied, we will sign a long-term catering contract."

After tasting, the company's employees gave high praise to the business set menu.

"This business set is really good, much better than what we ordered before."

"Yes, the food is fresh, tastes good, and the portions are generous."

In this way, with the promotion of small portions, business packages and membership system, the restaurant attracted many new customers and retained old customers.

Although the turnover has fluctuated due to the economic downturn, it has still maintained a relatively stable operating state.

……

Wang Jianye set his sights on the distant European continent and locked onto Paris, France, a city full of romance and art. He was determined to make all of Wang's hotels take root and flourish in this foreign land.

With both longing and anxiety for the future, Wang Jianye and his carefully selected core team set foot on this strange yet charming land.

For them who have just arrived, the differences in language, culture, customs and habits make everything seem unfamiliar.

Undoubtedly, site selection became the primary problem.

The city of Paris is like a huge and dazzling art maze, with streets and alleys crisscrossing, each exuding a unique charm.

Wang Jianye and his team members shuttled through the streets and alleys of Paris, not missing any possible corner, just to find the ideal store that would suit the development of Wang's entire hotel series.

It was a sunny day. The team members had been running around the streets of Paris for quite some time. The stores they had visited either had poor locations, too high rents, or unreasonable space layouts, and they had never found a satisfactory option.

Just when everyone was feeling a little tired and lost, team member Xiao Li's attention was suddenly attracted by a shop located in the old neighborhood.

His eyes lit up instantly, as if he had discovered a treasure. He quickly walked to Wang Jianye, pointed at the shop and said excitedly:
"Boss Wang, look here!
Although it is not in the most prosperous commercial center, you can see that there are many office buildings around it, and there are many office workers coming and going every day. In addition, the residential area here is also very dense, and the flow of people seems to be quite stable.

More importantly, the atmosphere of this old neighborhood is so unique, full of rich historical heritage and the unique romance of Paris, it may attract many locals. I think this place has great potential!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Jianye stopped and looked carefully at the surrounding environment in the direction Xiao Li pointed.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the pedestrians on the street, the surrounding buildings and the specific location of the shops, and quickly analyzed the various pros and cons in his mind. After a moment, he nodded slightly, with a flash of approval in his eyes, and said:
"Well, the location is not bad, but we still have to take a look at the internal structure of the store and the rent to see if it can meet our expectations. After all, opening a restaurant is not a trivial matter, and every aspect must be considered carefully. Let's go in and take a look."

As they spoke, everyone went forward to contact the landlord, and under the landlord's guidance, they entered the store to check.

As soon as we entered the store, we found that the space inside was quite spacious, but it was a little old due to its age. The paint on some parts of the walls was mottled and peeling, there were some spider webs hanging in the corners of the ceiling, and there were many damaged spots on the floor tiles. Overall, it looked like it really needed a large-scale renovation.

While walking around the store, Wang Jianye silently calculated how much money he would need to invest in the renovation. He was also thinking about how to plan the layout of the restaurant based on this space.

After checking it out, he felt that although the basic conditions of the store were somewhat unsatisfactory, as long as it was decorated carefully, an ideal dining environment could still be created.

So he decided to discuss the rent with the landlord and try to get a relatively reasonable price.

Wang Jianye cleared his throat and said to the landlord in a not-so-fluent but sincere French:

"Sir, look at the current condition of this store. We will need to invest a lot of money to renovate it later.

As you know, this is not a small amount of money, and we plan to operate it for a long time. We will definitely maintain this store well, turn it into a unique restaurant, and add new vitality to this neighborhood.

So, can you give us some discount on the rent? This will be a good thing for both of us."

The landlord was a kind Frenchman. He frowned slightly, as if thinking about something. After a while, he smiled and responded:
"Well, I understand your situation, but you also know that although this location is not in the most prosperous central area, it has obvious advantages and the rent is not cheap. But seeing that you are so sincere and come here from abroad to do business, it is indeed not easy. I can reduce it a little bit, but not too much. After all, I also have to consider my costs and benefits."

When Wang Jianye heard that the landlord showed signs of relenting, he was delighted and quickly said:
"Sir, you are such a reasonable person! I am very grateful for your understanding and support. How about this? We can sign a relatively long-term lease contract, such as five years or longer. In this way, you don't have to worry about the store being vacant, and we can be more flexible in the payment method of rent. What do you think?"

After listening to Wang Jianye's proposal, the landlord nodded slightly, touched his chin and said:

"Well, your proposal is quite interesting. However, for a long-term contract, I still need to consider some details, such as the increase in rent, and how to deal with special circumstances that arise during the contract. Also, I still need to calculate how much the rent can be reduced."

Wang Jianye said quickly:
"Of course, we can discuss these details. When is it convenient for you, we can sit down and talk in detail to sort out all the terms and ensure that the rights and interests of both parties are protected."

The landlord thought for a moment and said:

"How about this, I happen to be free tomorrow afternoon, we can make an appointment to talk about it in detail, is that okay with you?"

Wang Jianye replied hurriedly:

"Yes, yes, thank you very much, sir! We will be here on time tomorrow afternoon."

After some bargaining, the two sides finally reached a lease agreement the next day. Wang Jianye and his team members breathed a sigh of relief. Although the process was a bit bumpy, they finally took the first crucial step to open a hotel in Paris.

Next comes the tense and exciting decoration preparation stage.

Wang Jianye knew very well that in order to stand out in Paris, a city with a profound catering culture and fierce competition, the hotel's decoration style must be unique and able to cleverly integrate the cultural elements of China and France to create a distinctive dining environment for customers.

Therefore, he specially invited designers from China and France, hoping to use their professional vision and creativity to create a space that would be eye-catching.

At the first design discussion meeting, everyone sat around a large table covered with various design drawings and materials. The Chinese designer spoke first, holding the drawings and gesturing, and said passionately:

"Boss Wang, I think we can incorporate some Chinese-style screen partitions into the lobby.

You see, screens have a unique position in traditional Chinese culture. They can cleverly divide the space, allowing customers to have a certain sense of privacy when dining, and they can also well display the Chinese charm and create a subtle and elegant atmosphere.

Paired with Chinese-style lamps, such as wooden palace lanterns with traditional flower and bird patterns, the light shines through the lampshade, dim and soft, and the whole hall instantly becomes warm and elegant. "

As Wang Jianye listened to the description of the Chinese designer, a beautiful picture seemed to have emerged in his mind. He could not help but nod repeatedly, his eyes full of approval.

At this time, the French designer also spoke up:
"I fully agree with the Chinese designer's idea of ​​creating a unique atmosphere, but I think we can also use some French retro wallpapers.

Wallpaper with delicate textures and retro patterns, when pasted on the wall, can instantly enhance the texture and sense of history of the entire space.

The carved ceiling decoration is also a common element in French classical architecture. Applying it to the ceiling design of our hotel complements the Chinese elements.
It will surely demonstrate a unique sense of cultural integration, so that customers will feel as if they are in an art palace that transcends time and space as soon as they enter.”

Wang Jianye listened carefully to the French designer's suggestion and felt that this idea was brilliant. He said happily:

“Okay, let’s design it according to your ideas. Your ideas are very creative and they just fit in with the unique dining experience I want to create.

However, we still need to think about the specific details to ensure that every element is matched just right and does not appear abrupt. "

The two designers smiled at each other and nodded in agreement. Then they began to discuss various details in depth, from the material, color, and pattern of the screen, to the style and tone of the wallpaper, to the style of the ceiling carvings, etc., leaving no detail untouched.

Wang Jianye was not idle either. He listened carefully to the designers' discussion, raised his own ideas and questions from time to time, and also recorded some important information in a notebook.

After the decoration officially started, Wang Jianye went to the site almost every day to check the progress and communicate the details with the workers to ensure that every link was carried out accurately according to the design plan.

One day, Wang Jianye came to the construction site as usual. As soon as he entered the door, his eyes were attracted by the color of the walls that had just been painted.

He frowned, walked quickly to the wall and looked at it carefully. The more he looked, the more he felt something was wrong. The color of the wall was not the same as the sample he had chosen before. The tone was too bright. The calm and elegant feeling he wanted to create was not reflected at all. Instead, it looked a bit frivolous and dazzling.

Wang Jianye hurriedly found the workers in charge of painting the wall and said anxiously:

"Masters, the color of this wall is not the same as the sample we decided on before. The tone is too bright. We need to darken it a little to create a calm and elegant feeling. Please redo it. This color has a great impact on the atmosphere of the entire hotel. We have to try our best to make it perfect."

When the workers heard Wang Jianye's words, they stopped what they were doing and gathered around. One of the older workers looked at the wall, scratched his head and said:

"Oh, boss, maybe the proportions were slightly off when we were mixing the paint. We thought it was about right at the time, but we didn't expect the result to be wrong. I'm really sorry, we'll redo it right away."

Wang Jianye quickly waved his hand and said:

"It's okay, masters. It's not a big problem. As long as it can be adjusted, it will be fine. We all hope that this restaurant can be decorated beautifully. Thank you for your hard work."

After hearing Wang Jianye's words, the workers felt warm in their hearts and said:
"Don't worry, boss. We will adjust the wall color as soon as possible and guarantee your satisfaction."

After that, the workers immediately took action. Some went to mix new paint, while others began to prepare tools for repainting. The entire construction site became busy again. (End of this chapter)