Siheyuan: Starting as a Chef Apprentice

Master Zhou smiled innocently: "We who live by the sea have been eating shrimp since we were young, it's a skill we've learned since childhood.

You see, you have to use a toothpick to pick it from this position."

The most critical change is the establishment of an "innovation reward mechanism."

Wang Jianye hung a suggestion board in the staff lounge to encourage everyone to put forward suggestions for improvement.

Not only will the adopted suggestions win bonuses, but the proposers can also participate in the research and development of new products.

Xiao Li was the first person to try something new.

She summoned up the courage to say, “I think our welcome speech is too stiff.

In Tangshan, when people meet acquaintances, they will ask, "Have you eaten?" This is more intimate.

After this seemingly simple suggestion was adopted, it indeed produced unexpected results.

Many local guests would smile knowingly when hearing this familiar greeting, and the whole dining atmosphere would immediately become a lot more relaxed.

Liu Fang raised a service detail: "I found that people in Tangshan like to chat at the table, and it is not good to serve the food too quickly.

We can adjust the rhythm of serving dishes.”

Even Zhang Lei boldly contributed a family recipe: "My grandma's braised fish with soy sauce is really delicious. Do you want to try adding it to the menu?"

Wang Jianye went to Zhang Lei's house in person to taste this dish, and found it to be truly unique.

After Li Gang’s professional improvement, “Grandma Zhang’s Braised Fish with Sauce” became the new signature dish, and Zhang Lei was promoted to assistant chef.

These changes were like gentle spring rain, slowly melting the ice between employees from the north and south.

At a staff meeting three months later, Wang Jianye saw Li Gang and Zhang Lei walking in arm in arm, and Liu Fang and Xiao Li sharing the same bag of melon seeds, and he couldn't help but feel deeply moved.

"Mr. Wang, look at this."

Xiao Liu from the finance department handed over the latest report, which showed that the service complaint rate had dropped by 70%, the table turnover rate had increased by 15%, and most importantly, the employee turnover rate had dropped to the lowest point since the opening.

Wang Jianye nodded with satisfaction, but he knew in his heart that the real challenge had just begun.

As business improves, they need to recruit more employees. How to get newcomers to quickly integrate into the already formed team culture will be the next issue.

Outside the window, the night sky of Tangshan is dotted with stars.

Wang Jianye recalled a saying from his hometown of Xuzhou: “Many hands make light work.”

Now, his team finally understands this.

The differences between the North and the South are no longer an obstacle, but instead a source of innovation.

He picked up a pen and wrote down a new plan in his notebook: employee skills competition, cross-store exchange and learning, and even if possible, sending outstanding employees to culinary school for further studies. Ideas took shape in his mind.

In this era of change, his "Xuzhou Family" must not only make delicious dishes, but also cultivate an excellent team that truly integrates the north and the south and learns from each other's strengths and weaknesses.

Bursts of laughter came from the kitchen; it was the employees who were finishing their night shift sharing a midnight snack.

Wang Jianye walked over and saw Li Gang teaching everyone an old joke from Xuzhou. Even the usually shy Zhang Lei was laughing so hard that he fell over.

At this moment, he knew that the real taste of this restaurant was not just the fusion of the dishes, but also the fusion of the hearts of this group of people.

The Xi'an Bell Tower in 1996 glowed with an ancient blue-gray color under the early summer sun.

Wang Jianye stood in front of the newly renovated store, looking up at the brand new "Xuzhou Home" sign, feeling both expectant and nervous.

This is their first branch in the Northwest region, located on the food street next to the clock tower, opposite the famous Tongshengxiang Pao Mo.

"Mr. Wang, is the sign hung up properly?" Zhang Dehai, a veteran chef from Xuzhou, asked in a thick Xuzhou accent, holding a wooden spoon covered in sauce in his hand.

Wang Jianye took a few steps back and looked at it carefully: "Another half an inch to the left. OK, that's it!"

The final preparations before opening are tense and busy.

Wang Jianye personally inspected every stove in the kitchen and tasted every trial dish.

Zhang Dehai patted his chest and assured: "Don't worry, Mr. Wang, our Xuzhou Baozirou is absolutely unique in Xi'an!"

On the opening day, Wang Jianye specially put on a brand new white shirt and stood at the door to greet guests.

At 11 o'clock in the morning, the first batch of customers came into the store, most of them were curious diners who came for the reputation of "Xuzhou specialties".

"Boss, what's the origin of your 'Bazi pork rice bowl'?" asked a middle-aged man wearing glasses while flipping through the menu.

Wang Jianye introduced enthusiastically: "This is a traditional delicacy of Xuzhou. We use top-quality pork belly and stew it slowly with more than 20 kinds of spices. It is salty and sweet, and fat but not greasy."

The man with glasses nodded: "Then give me one to try."

In the kitchen, Zhang Dehai personally cooks.

He scooped up a spoonful of thick sauce and poured it over the rice, then topped it with thick-cut pork belly and garnished it with a few green vegetables.

The presentation is as exquisite as a work of art.

"Table number three, braised pork with rice--" the waiter Xiao Yang dragged out the dish.

Wang Jianye stood behind the counter, watching the customers' reactions expectantly.

The man with glasses looked at it curiously at first, then carefully picked up a piece of meat and put it into his mouth.

Wang Jianye saw that he frowned slightly and his chewing speed slowed down significantly.

"How is it?" Wang Jianye walked over and asked.

The man with glasses forced a smile: "The taste is quite special."

After saying this, he lowered his head and concentrated on eating, without touching the plate of pork belly again.

The number of customers at noon was half of what was expected.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, which should have been the peak lunch time, there were only a few tables of customers left in the restaurant.

Wang Jianye noticed that most of the braised pork rice bowl on almost every table was left over.

"Boss Wang, something's not right."

The store manager Li Wei came over and whispered, "I just heard several tables of customers say that the meat was too sweet and not to their taste."

Wang Jianye's heart sank.

He walked to the back kitchen and saw Zhang Dehai cleaning the stove with a gloomy face, while several kitchen helpers hired locally from Xi'an were whispering beside him.

"Master Zhang, customers say the steamed buns are too sweet," Wang Jianye said tentatively.

Zhang Dehai turned around abruptly and slammed the iron spoon in his hand onto the stove with a bang: "Sweet? This is what steamed pork tastes like! I've been selling it in Xuzhou for 30 years and no one has ever said it's sweet!"

A young man named Ma Qiang couldn't help but interrupt: "Master Zhang, people in Xi'an are used to eating spicy food, but you really like sweet food."

"What do you know!" Zhang Dehai's eyes widened in anger. "Can you just change the recipe passed down by our ancestors?"

Wang Jianye quickly tried to smooth things over: "Don't worry, let's discuss it slowly."

But cracks have already appeared.

Over the next few days, things got worse.

A report in the local media in Xi'an titled "Can the sweet Xuzhou flavor conquer Chang'an?" made matters worse, causing passenger flow to plummet.

After closing on the fifth night, Wang Jianye sat alone in the empty restaurant, looking through the dismal business reports.

The light from the clock tower outside the window shone through the glass, casting mottled shadows on his tired face.

"Did I choose the wrong place?" he muttered to himself, tapping the table unconsciously with his fingers.

But then he thought again, and his successful experience in Shijiazhuang and Tangshan told him that the problem was not the location, but how to integrate. Just as he was thinking, a fierce quarrel suddenly came from the kitchen.

Wang Jianye walked over quickly and saw Zhang Dehai and Ma Qiang confronting each other in a tense situation, with overturned seasoning jars scattered on the ground.

"What's going on?" Wang Jianye asked in a deep voice.

Ma Qiang was so angry that his face turned red: "Boss Wang, I just said that you can try adding some chili to the braised pork, but Master Zhang knocked over my chili powder!"

Zhang Dehai stiffened his neck and said, "Nonsense! Can you still call it Bazi meat if you add spicy sauce to it?"

Wang Jianye looked at the bright red chili powder on the ground, and suddenly an idea flashed in his mind: "Wait. Maybe Ma Qiang's idea makes sense."

"Mr. Wang!" Zhang Dehai widened his eyes in disbelief.

Wang Jianye patted the old chef on the shoulder and said, "Master Zhang, do you still remember how we improved the braised pork in Tangshan?"

Zhang Dehai was stunned: "That's different, Tangshan just adjusted the saltiness."

“It’s the same in Xi’an.”

Wang Jianye bent down and picked up the can of chili powder. "We are not trying to change the essence of Bazi Rou, but to make it more suitable for the taste of Xi'an people."

He looked around with a determined look in his eyes: "No one should leave tonight. Let's prepare a new pot of braised pork in the kitchen that is suitable for Xi'an!"

At one o'clock in the morning, the kitchen was still brightly lit.

Wang Jianye rolled up his sleeves and stood in front of the stove himself.

Although Zhang Dehai was reluctant, he also guided the basic steps of traditional practices.

"Fry the sugar color first." Zhang Dehai said in a muffled voice.

Wang Jianye fried the rock sugar into an amber color according to the traditional method, then added the pork belly and stir-fried it.

When it came time to add spices, he turned to Ma Qiang and asked, "What spices do you Xi'an people like best?"

Ma Qiang thought without hesitation: "Star anise, cinnamon, peppercorns, and most importantly, chili powder!"

Wang Jianye nodded and took a small handful of chili powder: "Try putting a little bit first."

Zhang Dehai kept shaking his head: "Nonsense, nonsense!"

But as the stewing progresses, a peculiar aroma gradually spreads - it has the unique sauce aroma of Xuzhou Baozi meat, and the spicy flavor familiar to Shaanxi people.

Two hours later, the first pot of "Xi'an Special Baozi Rou" came out of the pot.

Wang Jianye cut a small piece and tasted it, his eyes lit up immediately: "This taste is amazing!"

Zhang Dehai took a bite doubtfully, and his expression gradually changed from resistance to surprise: "Is this still pork belly?"

"Of course!" Wang Jianye said excitedly, "It just has a little more of Xi'an's soul!"

Ma Qiang also tasted it and gave a thumbs up: "Boss Wang, people in Xi'an will definitely like this taste!"

The next day, Wang Jianye had a new idea.

He found Master Zhao, the owner of a famous noodle shop nearby, and humbly asked him how to make Shaanxi noodles.

"Splashing noodles with oil? Easy!" Master Zhao demonstrated generously, "The key is to make sure the chili is fragrant and the oil is hot, and then there is a sizzling sound, and that's what makes it beautiful!"

Wang Jianye was so engrossed in watching that he suddenly had an idea: "Master Zhao, what if we cut our pork into cubes and put them on the fried noodles?"

Master Zhao's eyes lit up: "Huh? This is a new way to eat it!"

After repeated experiments, a new "North-South fusion" menu was born: "Spicy Braised Pork with Rice", "Braised Pork with Oil-Splashed Noodles", "Braised Pork with Steamed Bun". There is even an innovative "Braised Pork with Steamed Bun", which combines Shaanxi's most famous beef and mutton steamed bun with Xuzhou's Braised Pork.

On the first day the new menu was launched, Wang Jianye specially put up a blackboard at the door and wrote "Specially for Xi'an - a new flavor fusion of the north and the south" with chalk.

The first customer was a fashionable young girl who curiously ordered a bowl of "Braised Pork Noodles".

When the waiter Xiao Yang brought the noodles to the table, the bright red chili oil was topped with amber-colored diced pork, and the aroma was fragrant.

The girl first took a picture with her mobile phone, and then tasted it carefully.

"Wow!" she exclaimed in surprise, "This is so delicious!"

This sound attracted the attention of the diners around.

Soon, more and more customers began to try the new dishes.

During the lunch rush, there was an unprecedented queue in the store.

Zhang Dehai stood at the kitchen door, looking at the full restaurant with a complicated expression.

Wang Jianye walked over and handed him a bowl of freshly made "Spicy Braised Pork".

"Master Zhang, would you like to try it?"

The old chef took the bowl and tasted it slowly.

After a long while, he sighed and said, "Boss Wang, I give in.

It is still pork, but more alive.”

Wang Jianye smiled: "This is the charm of fusion."

In the following days, business got better and better.

The local media in Xi'an is here again, and this time the title of the report is "A culinary miracle of fusion of North and South."

The reporter who once gave a bad review has also become a regular customer, and his favorite dish is "Pao Mo Ba Zi Rou".

At a staff meeting a month later, Wang Jianye looked at the packed restaurant and felt deeply moved.

Zhang Dehai and Ma Qiang have now become the best partners, one is responsible for traditional craftsmanship and the other is responsible for localized innovation.

The original dispute has long since disappeared, replaced by mutual respect and learning.

"Mr. Wang, where should we open our next branch?" Li Wei asked with a smile.

Wang Jianye looked out the window at the towering bell tower and said with a smile, "Let's gain a firm foothold in Xi'an first.

But I think, as long as you master the wisdom of integration, it won’t be a problem where to go.”

There was a burst of fragrance wafting from the kitchen, it was a new pot of "Spicy Braised Pork" being stewed.

This aroma has both the mellowness of Xuzhou and the spiciness of Xi'an. Just like this restaurant, it has found its own unique flavor in the fusion.

……

At five o'clock in the morning, the city of Xi'an was still shrouded in mist when Wang Jianye was awakened by a rapid phone call.

He squinted his eyes and reached for the mobile phone on the bedside table. From the receiver came the almost distorted voice of the purchasing manager Ma Qiang: "Boss Wang, something big has happened! Lao Liu, Lao Wang and several other suppliers called collectively this morning to say that the price of pork will increase by 30% tomorrow!"

Wang Jianye sat up with a start, and a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.

Outside the window, the outline of the clock tower was looming in the morning light, but he seemed to see that the Xi'an branch that he had worked so hard to run was crumbling.

"What's the reason?" he asked, suppressing his anger.

"They say...they say the supply is tight."

Ma Qiang's voice was filled with guilt. "But I just asked someone to find out that it was Qinweiju who was behind this. Their boss Zhou Dafu has bought up all the produce from several large farms in the suburbs."

Wang Jianye slammed his fist heavily on the bed.

Zhou Dafu, a well-known "local tyrant" in Xi'an's catering industry, has been causing trouble ever since the spicy pork belly of "Xuzhou Renjia" became popular.

First they poached employees, then they gave malicious negative reviews, and now they are even trying to monopolize raw materials. (End of this chapter)