Siheyuan: Starting as a Chef Apprentice

Amid the bustling city of Suzhou, the business of the Wang's Restaurant branch gradually improved after experiencing some twists and turns.

The restaurant is bustling with people coming and going, new and old customers walking around, laughter and joy interweaving, the aroma of various dishes fills the air, telling of the prosperous scene of the restaurant's revival.

But behind the prosperity, a hint of worry is quietly emerging, like an undercurrent beneath the calm lake.

As the number of customers continues to increase, the demand for ingredients has skyrocketed.

Wang Jianye, who became more and more particular about taste, knew very well that the quality of ingredients determined the success or failure of a dish. However, at this time, local suppliers became a problem that gave him a headache.

These suppliers who have been cooperating with Suzhou restaurants for a long time are accustomed to providing the ingredients needed for the delicate and sweet style of Suzhou cuisine, and know very little about the ingredients with strong Xuzhou characteristics in Wang Jianye's restaurant.

It was an ordinary weekday, but the hotel was busy as usual.

The chef rushed into Wang Jianye's office in a hurry, with minced meat still on his hands from cutting vegetables, and his face was full of anxiety: "Boss, something terrible has happened! This batch of pork belly that just arrived is totally unsuitable for making braised pork belly! The fat-to-lean ratio is seriously unbalanced, what can we do?"

When Wang Jianye heard this, his heart skipped a beat and he quickly got up and followed the chef to the kitchen.

When I opened the kitchen door, the strong smell of heating and ingredients hit me in the face.

There were several large boxes of pork belly on the ground. He picked up a piece and frowned instantly: "How can this meet our cooking requirements? The business is getting better and better, but the supply of ingredients is messed up. What should we do?"

Wang Jianye was lost in thought, feeling anxious and uneasy. "It seems that relying on local suppliers is not going to work. We must find a new solution, otherwise the business that has finally improved will go down the drain..."

After careful consideration, Wang Jianye decided to go to Xuzhou in person, a familiar and friendly land, to find a reliable source of food and establish direct contact with local farmers and agricultural product suppliers.

When Wang Jianye set foot on the land of Xuzhou, he was filled with emotion.

The warm sunshine shines on the vast land of the countryside, and the fields are full of vitality.

Wang Jianye didn't stop for a moment and ran straight to the pig farm.

The first pig farm he entered was filled with the sounds of pigs and the smell of feces.

The farm owner was a simple and honest uncle with dark skin and wearing old stained clothes. He was feeding the pigs with a feed bucket.

Wang Jianye took the initiative to step forward, with a sincere smile on his face, and introduced himself: "Uncle, hello! I am the owner of a restaurant in Suzhou, and I would like to discuss cooperation with you.

Our restaurant has a great demand for pork and would like to purchase it from you."

The uncle stopped what he was doing, looked up, and looked at Wang Jianye in confusion: "Suzhou? It's so far away, why did you want to come here to buy pigs?"

Wang Jianye patiently explained: “Uncle, we are making Xuzhou specialty dishes, which require high quality pork.

I traveled so far just to find a partner who can provide a stable supply of high-quality pork.

Don't worry, I can give you a reasonable price and purchase from you for a long time.

However, I have some requirements on the quality of pork.

You see, the pork belly must be evenly fat and lean, and the pigs must be fed with natural feed without any added messy things. Only in this way can the dish be delicious. Are you satisfied?"

The uncle scratched his head, thought for a moment and then said, "Well, I have always fed my pigs with the food I grow myself, and I don't do anything crooked.

But how much can you offer me for the price?" Wang Jianye told the uncle seriously: "Uncle, the price I offer is guaranteed to be higher than what you sell to local buyers, and it is a long-term and stable business.

You don’t have to worry about sales. As long as the quality of the pigs is good, our cooperation will continue.”

The uncle's eyes flashed with excitement: "It sounds good, but are you in a hurry? Some of my pigs are not ready to be slaughtered yet."

Wang Jianye quickly said, “Uncle, I know that pigs have a growth cycle, and I am not asking you to supply them immediately.

We can sign a cooperation agreement, and when the pigs reach the appropriate stage, you can supply them according to the standards we have agreed upon.

If you encounter any problems, please feel free to contact me."

After an in-depth conversation, Wang Jianye and the uncle reached a preliminary cooperation intention.

In the next few days, Wang Jianye visited pig farms one by one. Wherever he went, he learned in detail about the pig breeds, breeding methods and time of market release, and patiently introduced his needs and ways of cooperation to the farmers.

On a scorching afternoon, Wang Jianye walked into a slightly larger pig farm.

The owner of this pig farm is a young and strong man. He is sitting in his office looking at breeding information.

Wang Jianye knocked on the door, went in and said, "Hello, brother! I'm from Suzhou and would like to talk to you about pork procurement cooperation."

The eldest brother raised his head and looked Wang Jianye up and down: "Suzhou? You came all the way to cooperate with me. Tell me your ideas."

Wang Jianye then explained the situation of his restaurant and the requirements for pork quality in detail, and finally emphasized: "Brother, we pursue the taste and quality of the dishes, so we have relatively high requirements for ingredients.

As long as you can provide high-quality pork, our cooperation prospects are very promising.

We can establish a long-term cooperative relationship and develop together."

The eldest brother frowned, a little worried: "It sounds good from what you said, but transportation is a big problem.

It's such a long journey from Xuzhou to Suzhou. What if something goes wrong on the way and the pork goes bad? "

Wang Jianye’s heart tightened. This was indeed a key issue that had to be considered: “Brother, you did remind me of this.

I am still trying to figure out the transportation method, but please rest assured that as long as we can reach a cooperation, I will do my best to find a reliable transportation method.

We guarantee that you will not suffer any loss due to transportation problems. "

Seeing Wang Jianye's sincere attitude, the eldest brother thought for a moment and said, "Well, I think you are also a sincere person.

You should find a solution to the transportation problem first. As for our pig business, I will reserve it for you. Once your transportation problem is solved, we can discuss the details of cooperation. "

Wang Jianye felt both grateful and stressed: "Thank you for your trust, brother! I will solve the transportation problem as soon as possible and live up to your expectations."

After leaving the pig farm, Wang Jianye knew that transportation was an urgent problem, so he went around Xuzhou's streets and alleys under the scorching sun to inquire about the problem.

Wherever he went, he did not miss any clues and asked passers-by and merchants if there were any reliable freight companies.

Sweat soaked his back, but he didn't care about that. He only wanted to find a solution as soon as possible.

In a small teahouse, Wang Jianye started chatting with a local.

He asked anxiously, "Brother, I want to find a reliable freight company that specializes in transporting food from Xuzhou to Suzhou. Do you know of such a company?" The local took a sip of tea, thought for a moment, and said, "You really asked the right person.

There is a freight company called Hengtong in the north of the city. It has been in this business for many years and has a good reputation. Many breeders ask them to transport goods.

But I heard that they have very strict requirements on goods, so I don’t know if they will accept your food transportation.”

Wang Jianye's eyes lit up: "Great, big brother! Could you please tell me the exact location?" After getting the detailed location, Wang Jianye did not dare to delay for a moment and immediately went to Hengtong Freight Company.

As you walk into the company's gate, you'll see a busy scene inside. Workers are moving around among piles of goods, and the sounds of ringing telephones and noisy conversations are intertwined.

Wang Jianye walked to the front desk and explained his purpose to a young lady: "Hello, I am in the catering business in Suzhou, and I would like to discuss cooperation in food transportation with your company.

We have a batch of special ingredients shipped from Xuzhou to Suzhou. I wonder if you can take it over?" The lady smiled and replied, "Please tell me the details first.

There are many factors to consider when transporting food, such as freshness, packaging, and transportation time.

What are the characteristics of your ingredients?" Wang Jianye quickly introduced in detail: "It is mainly fresh ingredients such as pork, which have extremely high requirements for freshness.

We hope to transport it to Suzhou in the shortest possible time to ensure that the quality of the ingredients is not affected.

Can your company meet these requirements?" After hearing this, the lady frowned and thought for a while: "Meat transportation is indeed difficult. We used to mainly transport some dry goods and daily necessities.

However, our company has always wanted to expand into new business areas.

How about this, I'll ask our boss to come over, and you can talk to him in detail."

After a while, a middle-aged man came over. He had sharp eyes and a capable look.

Wang Jianye repeated his needs again.

After listening to this, the middle-aged man pondered for a moment and said, "Boss Wang, to tell you the truth, your food transportation is a new challenge for us, but it is also an opportunity.

However, before we cooperate, we need to discuss a complete transportation plan to ensure the freshness of the ingredients.

In addition, do you have a budget for transportation costs? "Wang Jianye already had a plan in mind: "Boss, I know the cost of transporting fresh ingredients must be high.

As long as the food can be delivered to Suzhou safely and freshly, the price can be negotiated.

Let’s finalize the plan first. I believe that as long as the cooperation is successful, it will be beneficial to both parties.”

After some bargaining and in-depth discussions, the two parties finally reached a cooperation intention.

The freight company promised to design a special plan for Wang Jianye’s food transportation, using cold chain transportation technology to ensure the freshness of pork and other ingredients during transportation.

Wang Jianye was relieved: "Great! Now that the transportation problem has been solved, I can talk about cooperation with the farmers with peace of mind."

In the next few days, Wang Jianye once again traveled between various pig farms and formally signed cooperation agreements with the farmers he had talked to before.

The farmers looked at the agreement and smiled with satisfaction.

A farmer smiled and said to Wang Jianye: "Boss Wang, this is good. We won't have to worry about selling our pigs anymore. We just need to raise them according to your quality requirements."

Wang Jianye replied happily: "Yes, brother! Our cooperation is a win-win situation. I promise to act according to the contract, and we will work together to get this done in the future!" Not long after, the first batch of pork raised according to Wang Jianye's requirements was shipped from Xuzhou to Suzhou.

When these fresh, evenly fat and lean pork belly were delivered to the kitchen of Wang's Restaurant, the chef showed a long-lost smile on his face: "Boss, this batch of pork is great. With stable good ingredients, our braised pork belly will definitely be more popular!" Wang Jianye looked at these fresh ingredients and felt deeply: "All the hard work along the way has finally paid off.

With a stable food supply chain, the quality of our restaurant’s dishes will remain consistent, and we will definitely be able to go further in the future.”

However, just when Wang Jianye thought that the supply chain problem had been completely solved, new problems quietly emerged.

Due to the increase in the transportation volume of pork and other ingredients, freight companies occasionally encounter scheduling difficulties, resulting in some ingredients not being delivered on time.

Once, the restaurant was about to hold an important event, and a large number of customers booked set meals including Xuzhou specialties.

But just one day before the event, Wang Jianye suddenly received a call from the freight company: "Boss Wang, I'm so sorry, there was a problem with the transportation this time. A batch of pork may not be delivered on time. There were some unexpected problems on the way."

Wang Jianye was immediately anxious: "What can we do? Tomorrow is an important event, and a lot of dishes will use this batch of pork. You must think of a way!" The person in charge of the freight company was also helpless: "Boss Wang, we have tried our best to coordinate, but it is really difficult to solve it in a short time.

How about you think of another way first? "After hanging up the phone, Wang Jianye paced back and forth in the office, anxious: "We can't let this ruin the event, we must find other emergency plans quickly."

He immediately contacted some local suppliers in Suzhou to see if he could urgently purchase some pork.

Although the price is much higher than that in Xuzhou and the quality is not as ideal, he had no choice but to accept it for the sake of emergency.

After the event, Wang Jianye realized that these potential risks in the supply chain must be thoroughly addressed.

He found the freight company again and said seriously: "Boss, this incident has caused losses to both of us.

We need to develop a new plan for dealing with emergencies to ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again.”

The owner of the freight company also realized the seriousness of the problem: "Boss Wang, it is true that we did not do our job well.

We plan to add more transport vehicles and improve the dispatch system. If we encounter such a situation in the future, we will make timely adjustments to ensure that your food supply will not be delayed again."

After this incident, the cooperation between Wang Jianye and the freight company became closer and more complete.

Together, they developed a series of emergency plans to ensure a stable supply of food in any emergency situation.

With a stable food supply chain that continues to supply high-quality food, Wang's Restaurant's business is getting better and better, and the taste of its signature dishes remains stable, gaining acclaim from customers. (End of this chapter)