1988: Back to the human world for a few years

Chapter 105 Crazy
With the emergence of Momo Chicken Steak, the people of Quancheng and Dezhou seemed to have discovered a gold mine and began to flock to the Momo Baizha franchise stores like crazy. In just one week, Momo Baizha not only returned to the public eye, but its single-store sales even far exceeded the initial sales, reaching a figure that made all store managers feel suffocated.

It's no wonder that domestic residents really got used to eating meat after 08. In this era when most people can only afford to eat meat once or twice a month, it's no wonder that everyone is so crazy about the sudden appearance of such a fried delicacy that is even cheaper than buying the ingredients at the market.

Of course, the most important thing is that people these days are relatively naive. Since the poster says that the price of 1.5 yuan per serving is a promotional price, they will really believe it... Everyone wants to get a bargain. If you don’t eat more times during the promotion period, what if the price goes back to the original price tomorrow? Wouldn’t that be a huge loss?
The store managers are both excited and anxious about the situation where the stores are packed with people as soon as they open every day.

They were excited not only because they saw the opportunity to quickly earn back the franchise fee, but also because the countless hands waving money and the pairs of eyes full of desire brought them a great sense of satisfaction... Compared with this kind of fulfillment full of exhaustion, the boring life like stagnant water in the drilling company was nothing.

The reason for their anxiety was that they had received a document from the quality control department three days ago asking them to control the number of chicken chops they output, and to impose restrictions directly on the distribution process... In other words, each of their stores now only has a distribution volume of 1,500 servings of fried chicken ingredients per day, not one more.

Although this method of hoarding sales has aroused a buying frenzy among consumers, making Momobai a common sight on the streets and its publicity effect is more powerful than direct advertising, they are really a little scared.

The reason why Mo Mo Bai Zha's sales continued to decline in the past two months was because those best-selling items were often out of stock. The document issued by the quality control department was undoubtedly telling them that the company's chicken steak raw materials were limited and there was a risk of supply shortage at any time.

God have pity on them. Although the company has cut off most of the items, which has greatly reduced the waste of raw materials and is a first-class good thing, and has also enabled them to reduce most of the unnecessary work, the problem is... the raw materials for 1,500 servings of fried chicken every day may sound like a lot, but it is actually not enough.

Assuming one portion can be fried every two minutes, and each pot can fry four portions at the same time, and each store has three oil pots operating simultaneously, at least two thousand portions are needed every day to meet basic demand...and this is just a normal situation. In the current situation where there are people queuing up anytime and anywhere, let alone fifteen hundred portions, even five thousand portions may not be enough.

You know, the portion size of the chicken steak designed by the quality control department is quite tricky, just enough that one portion is not too filling, but two portions are a little more. Therefore, many people who come to buy chicken steak now ask for two, three, or even four portions... It is obvious that they buy it to share with friends and family.

However, despite their worries, the tangible results in just a few days convinced almost all store managers of the new head of the business guidance team.
Therefore, even though the team leader, who was said to be only in his twenties, did some things that they couldn't understand and that seemed to be unprofessional, they could only suppress their curiosity and do as he asked.

There's no way. Didn't they understand why we drastically cut our product line and set the price of chicken fillet so low?

………………

Dezhou, Sanba Road, Momo Baizha NO: 49 franchise store.

As a clerk whispered a few words in her ear, the store manager Zhu Lihui nodded, looked at the somewhat gloomy sky outside and the long line of customers at the door of the store, wiped her hands with a towel, took a deep breath, and walked out of the kitchen.

The guests who were waiting to eat chicken steak outside became uneasy when they saw this.

What happened?
There weren't many people in the small kitchen to begin with, how come one of them suddenly left?
Are you going to the toilet?

Or... the promotion has expired, so do we need to change the price of the chicken steak back?
Or maybe... today's chicken steak is sold out again?
As they were thinking about it, the customers suddenly started to murmur, and the originally orderly queue also showed signs of chaos... There was no way, Mo Mo Bai Zha had a bad record in this regard. When the store first opened, fish balls and fish tofu were often out of stock.

And the situation of this Mo Mo Bai Zha today is a little different.

Not only was the plastic sheeting that had been around for almost a week replaced with a red curtain, but a cordon was also set up with ropes to prevent people from getting too close.

In addition, starting more than an hour ago, they had faintly heard bursts of strange noises coming from the store, as if something was roaring.

To be honest, there has been a lot of speculation since the day these silent bastards started to surround most of the stores with plastic sheets.

The most mainstream speculation is that... Mo Mo Bai Zha is not doing well, so it wants to sublet the store and enclose the store, which means the new owner is doing the renovation.

The reason why this statement has become mainstream is that some people did see a lot of workers going in and out of the Momo Baizha store at night, and that a lot of things used for decoration were transported in. It is also an indisputable fact that the business of Momo Baizha declined rapidly in the first two months.

If it was half a month ago, Mo Mo Bai Zha would have just transferred the store. It has nothing to do with most of them anyway.

But now... that’s not possible!
They haven’t had enough of the chicken chops. If Mo Mo Bai Zha transfers the store, where will they be able to eat such cheap and delicious chicken chops... Well, although the chicken chops are a little spicy, doesn’t it also come with a large glass of drink to relieve the spiciness?

………………

Unexpectedly, after Zhu Lihui came out, she did not announce in public some news that no one wanted to hear. Instead, she and a few women who appeared from nowhere, wearing clothes of the same style but with different words embroidered on them, placed a number of folding tables and stools on the street in front of the store.

This was in 1989. Sanba Road in Dezhou was basically made up of rectangular brick and tile bungalows with very large storefronts, and there were not so many regulations in different places. If it were in later times, you would be charged with occupying the road in minutes, and your tables and chairs would be taken away.

It was obvious that the customers waiting in line and the people passing by were not paying attention to those ordinary low tables.

Silently stir-frying?

What is this...?
Looking at the words embroidered on the clothes of those employees, some of whom looked unfamiliar, some looked familiar, everyone was confused.

What I mean is...what new tricks has Mo Mo Bai Zha come up with?
While thinking about it, Zhu Lihui raised her hand to look at her watch, then signaled the staff to light the fire.

With a crackling sound of not long firecrackers, Zhu Lihui and several employees pulled open the red cloth embroidered with the words "Mo Mo Bai Chao".

Suddenly...

After a week of overtime work, the renovated store finally appeared in front of everyone.

The house is still the same house, the same rectangular brick bungalow.

The colors are still the same, the same orange and white, and the same eye-catching;

But this room originally had only one doorway, and the solid red brick wall facing the street had two-thirds of it knocked down at some point, revealing a large, bunk-like opening that is extremely rare today.

Contrary to the extremely fashionable style of Mo Mo Bai Chao, on the three-meter-long cement door of the big bunk bed, there were just these few big words "Mo Mo Bai Chao: N049" written in orange paint with white edges.

There is also a relatively small line of white words below - Mo Mo Bai Chao, eat well and be full.

Further down, in the large bunk bed that looked like a huge open mouth, apart from a large kitchen separated by glass, the rest was filled with small low tables and small benches.

It can be said that if Momo Baizha is an urban girl with exquisite makeup, then this Momo Baichao that has just opened its curtain gives people the feeling of a rustic rural aunt... It is not very classy, ​​but it is easy for people to feel close to it, and it does not cause any fear.

Looking at this familiar yet slightly unfamiliar layout of a fly-in-the-wall restaurant + production brigade canteen, just when the customers were wondering what the hell this Mo Mo Bai Chao was up to, two employees each carried pots of hot dishes and placed them on several tables displayed in the middle of the store. Soon the tables were full... After counting, the number was neither too many nor too few, just eight large stainless steel basins, plus a soup bucket and two rice buckets.

The dishes were still being served, while the other two employees were handing out flyers on the street: "Come and take a look, the sister store of Mo Mo Bai Zha officially opened today... We have meat, vegetables, and soup! You can eat full for 80 cents, and eat well for 1 dollar. If you are willing to spend 2 dollars, you can't eat as deliciously as this in a restaurant!"

Sanba Street was very lively in the 1980s and 1990s, with small vendors all over the roadside... Although the current environment is not friendly and these vendors often need to move around with their goods, overall, there is no shortage of people.

Although there were many people who made a lot of money by setting up stalls in the 1989s and s, many small vendors could only make ends meet for various reasons. Especially in , when the cold winds first started to blow, many vendors who set up stalls faced many unknown risks, but their income was even lower than that of an ordinary worker.
Just like people who go to work in big cities in later generations, at this moment, they try to save as much as possible and avoid spending money as much as possible.

But since we are human, we have needs. Even if you are as strong as a rock, you cannot avoid the four things in life: eating, drinking, defecating, urinating, and sleeping.

Therefore, when they heard the two employees of Mo Mo Baichao shouting the slogan "80 cents can fill your stomach", they were immediately attracted... At that time, the price breakthrough had just ended, and the feeling might not be obvious in rural areas, but people living in cities could clearly feel the soaring prices.

Eighty cents might not have been a cheap expense two years ago, but now... Didn't you see that a bowl of vegetarian noodles in Dezhou City was sold at this price last month?
Take the flyer and take a look.

One meat and one vegetable for 8 cents;
One meat and two vegetables: 1 piece;
Two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes for 1 yuan;

Two meat dishes and three vegetable dishes for 2 yuan?
Huh? ?

This price is quite affordable!

Huh? ?

Looking at the large and clear words at the bottom of the flyer, almost everyone who received the flyer rubbed their eyes in disbelief.

As long as it is not wasted, you can have as much rice as you want! ?
hiss~!

Many vendors gasped.

It is said that young boys eat their fathers out of money, but in fact, for adults like them who live outdoors all day and have to compete in 100-meter obstacle races from time to time, their appetite is no less than that of young boys. Enough rice?

Is this Mo Mo Baichao crazy?
In this age of severe oil and water shortage, it is easy for a man to eat five bowls of rice with pickles in one meal, and he even dares to promise free refills of rice... Haha, I can't make you poor by eating you out!
As if they had found a godsend opportunity to eat three meals in one meal, everyone who received the flyer, after confirming its authenticity with the clerk, ran towards the newly opened Mo Mo Bai Chao restaurant without any hesitation.

What a joke! Just for the fact that I can eat as much rice as I want, I'll pay the 80 cents even if they serve me hot pot water!

then……

When everyone rushed to the new store opened by this idiot, they took a look at the large pots of dishes and gasped in unison.

Fried squid rings with chives,

Stir-fried luncheon meat with green peppers;

Chicken bits and pieces stewed with potatoes;

Mapo tofu;

Starch sausage fried with green peppers,
Lao Nai Yang Ya (the southwestern term for fried mashed potatoes);
Sweet and Sour Cabbage...

Everyone was stunned when they saw the huge pots of dishes, almost half of which were soaked in oil and soup and exuding an enticing aroma.

8 cents...

Can you eat so many greasy meat dishes?

This, this, this...

Isn't this a dream?
Damn, it’s totally worth it to spend 80 cents to buy a spoonful of oily soup to dip rice in!

Everyone went crazy when they saw the waiter in charge of serving the food, using a method that could be described as that of a wealthy man, to put a spoonful of soup mixed with chicken gizzards, chicken wing tips, chicken feet and potatoes on the customer's plate.

"Boss, give me two meat dishes and one vegetable dish for 80 cents... no, one dollar!"

"Hey, I'm going all out today, boss... give me two meat dishes and three vegetable dishes... here's two dollars, keep it!"

Thus, in less than twenty minutes, all the seven or eight tables, including the one that Mo Mo Bai Chao had temporarily set up, were packed with men who were eating heartily with earthen bowls in their hands.

“Hiss~hiss~!”

"To be honest, it's no wonder that the restaurant has a background in state-owned enterprises. Although the dish is a bit salty and spicy, the solidity of the ingredients, the fat content, and the taste are beyond reproach!"

After burping with difficulty, a vendor with a rough face tried hard to swallow the last mouthful of cabbage soup and sighed sincerely.

Upon hearing this, the others nodded.

Indeed, these southwestern people are really good at cooking. Although it’s a bit spicy, this dish... is really delicious!
………………

At this time, the office of the head of the management steering group.

Yang Mo was using a very polite but distant smile to face Officer Jiang who had come to visit him:

"Teacher Jiang, I hope you understand that as an indispensable member of the team, you have the responsibility to raise questions about any expenditure of the project and even to pursue responsibility afterwards... But if you have any questions, please raise them at the project summary meeting or monthly meeting, instead of running over to communicate with me one-on-one like you are doing now!"

Yang Mo politely picked up the thermos and made him a cup of tea: "You should know that the project is at its most critical stage. As the project leader, I am very busy... very busy... I can't hide the fact that I wish there were 48 hours in a day so that I can deal with various situations that may arise in the project."

"So... I think there are some things that we should talk about after we are done with this busy period... What do you think?"

When Officer Jiang heard this, the corner of his eye twitched.

Why couldn't he understand the meaning behind Yang Mo's words?

It's nothing more than telling him: I don't want to have anything to do with you now, follow the normal procedures if you have anything to do, and don't think about interfering with my business decisions. If you don't agree, ask your General Wang to remove me from my position as team leader.

God have mercy on you. If Mr. Wang could replace you as the head of the business guidance team at will, he would have done it long ago!

If the normal process was useful, he would have left long ago...Now everyone knows that you have the final say in the management team. Is it useful to give suggestions at the monthly meeting?
Besides, there is still more than a week until the beginning of next month.

Even if that crappy monthly meeting is useful, by the time you come to correct the problem, it will be too late!

Taking a deep breath, Officer Jiang looked at Yang Mo with a very serious expression: "Team Leader Yang, according to regulations, financial personnel can raise questions, but they cannot interfere with business decisions."

"But the problem is that this project is of great importance. Our team has already suffered a great loss due to imprudent decision-making. We cannot make the same mistake again!"

As he spoke, Officer Jiang raised his fingers and stared into Yang Mo's eyes. "I don't understand business operations, and I can't come up with innovative ideas, but I'm a financial officer, and I know very well that no matter what business project it is, it needs sufficient gross profit margin to support it. Otherwise, after a short period of prosperity, there will only be a mess."

"It is clearly written in the report I just submitted. In the past week, the average gross profit margin of Momo Baizha has dropped from 34% to 28%;"

“Although the statistics of the newly launched Momo Baichao project have not yet come out, I personally think that its gross profit margin cannot even reach 28%!”

At this point, Jiang sighed earnestly, "Xiao Yang, I know you have your concerns, and I know you are eager to achieve results; but as a member of a state-owned enterprise, we must focus on the long-term and not rush for quick success. If this project has any problems due to lack of stamina, it will not be a good thing for you or me!"

Hearing this guy admonishing him at the end with the attitude of an old senior, Yang Mo naturally knew why he was so anxious.

At the moment, he just smiled and said, "Teacher Jiang, do you think 28% gross profit is too low?"

He shook his finger playfully: "No, no, no, in my opinion, the gross profit margin of 28% is still too high. This is not conducive to Momo Baizha fully utilizing its own resource advantages, and it is also not conducive to building our own moat!"

"In fact, I might as well tell you frankly that my psychological expectation is to reduce the average gross profit margin of the project to 18%!"

"The reason why we urgently launched the derivative project of Momo Baichao is that we have to digest the inventory that we don't need, but more importantly... I need to reduce the average gross profit margin of the project to the range of 18%~20%!"

As he spoke, Yang Mo looked at Officer Jiang with a hint of warning and a hint of ridicule in his eyes: "Since I am the person in charge of the project now, the project must naturally follow my plan... As the saying goes, preparation is the key to success, and lack of preparation leads to failure... As you said, we should always look further ahead, right?"

There was a flash of surprise and anger in Officer Jiang's eyes.

An average gross profit margin of 18%?

Are you kidding! ?

In order to consolidate your position, you actually put a project involving tens of millions of dollars on a tightrope. Are you crazy?! ?

But he had to admit that Yang Mo played this move very ruthlessly.

If the gross profit margin of the Momo Baizha project remains above 30%, then after the project stabilizes, Yang Mo's importance will naturally decrease... Although the drilling company lacks pioneering talents, it is not without people who are good at maintaining the status quo.

But once the average gross profit margin of the project drops to 18%...

No, let alone 18%, even if it was 28%, no one in the company would dare to take over such a bomb that could explode at any time!
Damn it!
This young man is crazy!
As if he had seen that Mr. Wang's subsequent plan had failed, Officer Jiang's chest rose and fell a few times, and when he looked at Yang Mo, his eyes involuntarily took on a hint of gloom...

(End of this chapter)