Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 2864 Maniao Castle (Part )

Tan Shuangxi quickly stopped his mother, stuffed the Maniaobao back into her hands, and consoled her, saying, "That was during the pre-war training, when I ate a lot. I'm on leave recently and don't have to train, so my appetite has decreased and I've gained weight. I'm receiving a wartime allowance now, so if it's not enough, I'll order one more portion."

The parents smiled at each other, as if they had agreed. The father chuckled and said, "Today we are having an Australian meal with our son." The mother and Tan Shuangxi both laughed, and their smiles were sweeter than ever before.

Tan Shuangxi tasted all kinds of food and used his imagination to create for his parents the glorious history and strange stories about these foods in the Fu Bo Army. Most of the interesting stories were made up by Tan Shuangxi on the spot.

Maniaobao is the signature dish of the Army Canteen. If the Navy wants to eat it, they need to get an order from the General Staff.

The Navy’s curry rice tastes like pig feed, it has a strong smell and makes your head sweat after taking a bite.

The meat pies in Maniaobao come in various flavors, including pork, beef, and horse meat, depending mainly on what kind of livestock has just been killed at the front.

The grassland rations were cooked into a paste, into which the barrel of the Minié rifle was dipped before firing, and after one shot it was baked into a cylinder, which tasted fragrant and crispy.

Cook the grassland rations into a paste, add potatoes and vegetable leaves, and add whatever you have. The key is to add a spoonful of chili and vinegar before eating. The cold zone version is best.

Cook the grassland rations into a paste, then throw in a bucket of spicy cabbage from Tianchu Sauce Garden. Everything will taste good when cooked with it. It must be from a large military barrel. The ones sold in small bottles outside don’t taste right.

……

The parents heard various exclamations of "Oh" and "Ah", and repeatedly sighed at the life of the Fu Bo Army. The whole family enjoyed the meal very much. Even the diners at the surrounding tables looked at them sideways, but Tan Shuangxi did not notice.

After eating almost everything, Tan Shuangxi felt that the food here was not only novel in taste, but also relatively affordable. He bought three cups of "lemon black tea" at the counter. They saw this thing being sold on the street just now, but his parents thought it was too expensive so they didn't buy it. The tea here is more than half cheaper than outside.

The sweet and sour drink with a strong tea aroma made the two elders feel relaxed. Although they still blamed him for "spending money indiscriminately" and "costing so much for a cup of sweet water", it was obvious that they liked it very much.

Seeing that they liked it, Tan Shuangxi took it to the counter for refills.

"This second cup is weak, not as good as the first one." The boss refilled the water, "How about I add some more tea juice. At least it looks strong."

"Thank you." Tan Shuangxi looked at the battle scar ribbon on his chest in order to find a topic to talk about. "The shopkeeper also recently retired from the army?"

"Yes, I was injured in Lianzhou last year." The boss nodded, "The injury was not serious, but I contracted an infectious disease in the hospital and almost lost my life. My health was damaged, so I retired."

Many wounded and sick soldiers died in the hospital due to infection. Tan Shuangxi knew several of them. He nodded and said with emotion, "I'm not afraid of fighting. Even if I die, it only takes a moment. I'm most afraid of getting hurt."

"Who said it wasn't!" The boss perked up immediately, and the two chatted for a while about marching and fighting. The Fu Bo Army was relatively small in size, and within a few minutes the two found some common acquaintances, and they felt like they had known each other for a long time.

"…But it was a blessing in disguise. I learned this while recuperating in Foshan, and now I'm back to open a shop. I've only been running it for less than a month, but I feel like it's doing well and I can support myself without any problems."

"Hehe... everything cooked with grassland rations, the Fu Bo Army version of the army pot... this is a good idea!" In a corner not far from the counter, a man in a homespun "cadre uniform" was listening carefully to the conversation between Tan Shuangxi and his family while writing something in a small notebook in front of him. He had written a lot of things in his notebook. If you look closely, you can see the number of customers at different times in the past two days, as well as some feedback and so on.

As the lunchtime customers gradually dispersed, there were not many people left in the restaurant. The boss took the opportunity to clean the place, but the man did not leave. Instead, he crossed his legs and read his notebook.

The boss was busy for a while before sitting down in front of the man.

“Chief…” “Don’t call me Chief. I’m here to do market research. If you keep calling me Chief, you’ll scare people away.”

"Okay." Old Mac nodded helplessly.

"Can you see what else can be mined from these stories?"

Old Mai laughed and said, "Commander Du, most of it is just bragging. The taste of grassland rations... I have never tried the way he said. Grassland rations are made into a paste and fried dry with an engineer's shovel. It's a bit crispy and tastes okay. Some soldiers specially roasted it and put it in their bags as a snack."

"Interesting, let's try it later." Du Yibin turned a blank page in the notebook, "Let's talk about the trial operation stage now. It's been more than a month since the trial operation, so we should have some data."

"Okay, okay, I've sorted them all out." Boss Mai quickly took out an account book and several pages of crumpled paper from the drawer behind the counter, on which were densely written many words.

"The first problem is the price. The price of Maniaobao should be acceptable in Linggao. After all, such a large meat pie costs this much if you buy meat at home, but it doesn't seem cheap. But the problem is that most people don't eat so much meat every day, so many customers say they can't come often. I think the price can't be set too high. Customers should feel that they have found a bargain so that they will come often. It would be better to have some cheap substitutes. The prices of pork and chicken are still high. I wonder if adding more fish would be better..."

"The second problem is profit. According to the price given by the food factory and the number of customers during this period, I filled out the calculation form given to me. There is no problem in supporting my wife and I, but it is not enough to pay the rent of this store. Of course, after the discount is over, the price will be higher and the profit will be better, which is enough to pay the rent. But I am worried about the number of customers... Everyone is still looking for something new. In my opinion, this store is only suitable for the model of a husband-and-wife store, which is enough to support a family. It is difficult to hire employees, and it can't be considered a big business..."

"The third issue is the taste. Most customers say that the Manio Fort tastes great, but other than that, the reviews for the other items are average. To be honest, this isn't a place where you can have a drink or entertain guests. It can only be considered a snack shop where passersby stop by for a quick bite. It all depends on the location..."

"The fourth question is the portion size. I've eaten it a few times myself, and one Maniobao is actually enough to last me until the next meal, but I don't feel as satisfied as eating a few bowls of rice. Many customers also say that it's not satisfying enough, and it's better to add something to fill their stomachs. I think rice cakes can be taken out separately as a topping. If the grassland ration porridge is improved, it will be very filling. Anyway, if it's not enough, you can add water. It's just that the taste is not good..."

Boss Mai was well prepared and raised more than ten questions in one breath. He not only raised the questions but also talked about his own ideas.

Du Yibin took notes while listening, and after listening, he smiled and said, "You speak very clearly about business, no wonder the business people recommended you to open this store!"

"Before I came to Lin Gao, I made a living by opening shops. It was my profession." Boss Mai smiled, feeling proud but also a little sad. "It's a pity that all I opened were small shops, just to make a living for my family. I never managed to run a big shop."

"This store was opened for you by the Senate. You used all your skills to figure out the business model of the store. Not only can you make money, but you can also benefit those comrades who are also injured and retired."

"Yes, this all depends on the cultivation of the Senate." Boss Mai is very good at speaking.

Du Yuanlao's current job is a new one. It is currently one of the financial support projects for entrepreneurship jointly organized by the Political Department of the General Staff and the Commercial Department. In theory, he is essentially the county director of Enping, but in that poor place, there is really nothing for the county director to do except selling for the Tiandihui.

So whenever he had free time, he would go to Guangzhou and Lingao to "work on projects." Many people said he was "not doing his job properly."

This project is part of the "Veterans Re-employment Support Program" proposed by Du Yibin and a group of veterans. This program aims to solve the livelihood problems of veterans. Of course, with the current expansion and development speed of the Senate, veterans can easily find employment through recruitment and examination. This support program is actually mainly for veterans who have been discharged due to injuries and still have a certain degree of labor capacity, to support them in starting their own businesses.

In addition to workshops that use a small number of machines, the projects are mainly small-investment life service projects such as grocery stores, small restaurants, tea shops, and small hotels. The Senate provides venues and goods at a discount or for free, and provides free skills training. The supported people are self-employed and responsible for their own profits and losses.

After the Guangdong-Guangxi Campaign, the Senate had a large number of confiscated industries and related operating assets to use. The start-up capital came from a loan from Delong, and the investment cost was limited except for the need to provide loan guarantees. If the business project is successful, it will create tax revenue for the regional government and solve the problem of wounded resettlement for the civil affairs department and the military. More importantly, these veterans can become the backbone of town and village-level organizations, like nails inserted into the lives of local people, so that the Senate has a reliable spokesperson and megaphone at the grassroots level.

Such a good plan, of course, all departments support it wholeheartedly. Of course, if the project fails, it goes without saying that, not to mention how many people will be offended, even the four-character comment of "ineffective work" can make the elders unable to turn over. Elder Du felt terrible just thinking about it.

Therefore, Elder Du was very cautious about the feasibility of the project. Although the plans were all based on the most successful small businesses in the old time and space, he had to ensure that these projects would not suffer large-scale losses due to local incompatibility. Elder Du really did it himself and was worried about it.