The growth system comes at the age of 30

Chapter 262 The Domineering Teacher Li!

Chen Jingle spent a day running around looking for store locations.

As the saying goes, "No investigation, no right to speak."

After circling around the Jiangbei campus of the Teachers' College several times and carefully observing and thinking, Chen Jingle realized that the catering industry is like writing online novels. It seems to have no threshold, but in fact there is.

Moreover, the entry requirements are not low.

It's definitely not as simple as just finding any location to open a shop and attracting a large number of customers.

You need to consider all aspects, or at least have a general idea in mind.

Most newbies who rush in with no knowledge of the market and money often end up losing everything and leaving in a miserable state.

At least Chen Jingle has cooking skills.

I really don't know where those people who are neither chefs nor management experts, but simply have some spare money, get their courage and confidence from.

It can only be said that when a person's wealth does not match their cognitive abilities, the excess wealth will flow back into society in another form.

The shop that Chen Jingle found was about 150 meters away from the entrance of the Teachers' College.

For college students who are extremely anxious about walking even a few extra steps, this distance is not short, but fortunately it is on the side of the main gate. You can just turn left after exiting the school gate and you don't have to cross the road.

It's a bit further away than the food streets where street vendors set up stalls.

The advantages of a small place are evident here; the rent for a space of about 40 square meters is quite cheap, and the contract is signed for one year at a time.

Chen Jingle, who is well-versed in legal provisions, wrote down all the costs of breach of contract, so that the landlord wouldn't force him to move out with just a word.

Harmfulness is not allowed, and defensiveness is indispensable.

These days, there are too many people who are envious of others making money, and he doesn't want to be someone else's benefactor.

The decor doesn't need to be too fancy. If it's too upscale, it will only turn people away.

Just paint the walls white and clean the floor; make sure it's not messy.

Add a transparent queuing window for food, set up a few tables and chairs, and that should be enough.

These are things that parents can handle themselves.

Chen Jingle had also decided on the name of the shop: "Chen's Congee, Noodles and Rice".

Simple, straightforward, easy to understand, and with a clear selling point.

Reject flashy and overly ornate designs!

……

In some ways, opening a shop is indeed quite similar to writing an online novel.

Whether it's choosing a niche market or highlighting one's own unique selling points.

Then we'll make two white signs with red lettering, one to hang up and one to stand upright at the entrance, using simple and direct information to attract customers' attention.

Although the shop is called that, it will most likely only sell braised pork rice bowls for the time being.

For student restaurants located near schools, the simpler the menu should be in the early stages. Those that try to cram every kind of dish onto the menu are often the ones that go out of business the fastest.

As for pricing, taking into account the prices of food in the teachers' college cafeteria, Chen Jingle decided to sell it for 12 yuan a serving, which includes one meat dish, one vegetable dish, and a free soup.

It doesn't have a big price advantage, but it does offer free refills of rice.

College students are still growing, especially boys. They eat a full meal in the afternoon and get hungry again before nine o'clock at night. Their digestive ability is so strong that people wonder if they can swallow a dinosaur.

Being able to get free extra rice is equivalent to saving a dollar or two.

It's still very attractive.

When I told my parents, they were understanding: "It's okay to earn less, as long as those students can have enough to eat."

His strength will always be the taste!

This is something no other family can compare to!
In fact, the profit margin of rice-based fast food is far lower than that of noodle and rice dishes.

He dares to sell you a bowl of ramen with beef noodles, two ounces of noodles, a few slices of beef, and a handful of scallions for 15 yuan.

Would you dare to use rice instead?

The gross profit margin for noodles and rice products is usually above 65%, while that for rice products is only around 55%.

If that's the case, why did Chen Jingle choose to make rice-based fast food?
Because rice dishes are simple.

For parents, cooking rice is simpler than cooking rice noodles or noodles. They can cook several pots of rice at once, but not rice noodles or noodles.

For braised pork rice, simply order one serving of rice, top it with braised pork and sauce, and add a few green vegetables.

It's even simpler than cooking at home.

If he could, Chen Jingle wouldn't want to go into the catering business, but unfortunately his parents didn't have any other skills.

He also wanted to know what kind of business in the world had no barriers to entry, was effortless, and made a lot of money.

……

There was a little incident in the middle.

Hongqi started construction on the eighth day of the lunar new year.

Chen Jingle had promised Li Qiguang that he would come back to attend the meeting, so he arrived at the company early to sign in.

Of course, it's definitely not for the sake of receiving a start-of-work bonus.

However, since Li Qiguang sent it to him, he shamelessly accepted it: "Thank you, boss! You're so generous! I wish you good health!"

Everyone gets a share; it would be a huge loss if you didn't claim it.

I got two hundred yuan for free; that covers my grocery money for today.

Old Li was speechless at his grinning face and shook his head inwardly. He really didn't know what to say to this guy.

However, during working hours, one should indeed refer to plants.

After receiving the start-of-work bonus, I went to the meeting.

Only the company's middle and senior management attended the meeting. The meeting mainly summarized the situation of the previous month and the Chinese New Year period, and then made some targeted adjustments.

Because there was less rainfall during the Lunar New Year this year, Chen Jingle was unsure whether the harvest of fruits such as longan and lychee would be affected, so he brought up this issue with Li Qiguang.

Others mentioned this in the meeting, but it seems like people aren't taking it seriously enough. The weather this year has been really weird; he's almost developed PTSD from the static electricity in his house. In his 31 years of life, this is the first time something like this has happened.

This made Chen Jingle feel very uneasy.

Moreover, this drought has affected a wide area, encompassing most of the Lingnan region. If the entire Lingnan region experiences drought, it will be a serious problem.

Severe droughts are often followed by floods...

Chen Jingle wants to eat cheap lychees and longans this year.

However, he wasn't sure, since even weather forecasts aren't 100% accurate, let alone his own.

All we can say is that we should make multiple preparations so that we won't be caught off guard when a real drought strikes.

Even if we don't end up using it, there's no loss.

It's better than doing nothing.

……

After spending a day dealing with things at Hongqi, I returned to preparing to open the store.

Chen Jingle had asked Sister Xiu, and the students from the Teachers' College wouldn't be back for classes until February 21st.

There is enough time to prepare.

After rigorous calculations, Chen Jingle was able to control the gross profit margin at over 60%, which put his mind at ease.

In the catering industry, if the gross profit margin is below 55%, it's like working for free. This is because after deducting all remaining costs, there are still many hidden expenses. When the profits are spread out, a gross profit margin of 55% means a loss.

To achieve a 60% gross profit margin, you need to sell at least 200 fast food meals a day.

On average, 100 servings are served at noon and 100 servings are served in the evening.

Given the size of the teachers' college branch campus, getting it done quickly shouldn't be a problem.

However, such profits are still too low.

Chen Jingle considered that he might have to sell beverages as well, and try to make each order 12-15 yuan. Otherwise, he was afraid that he wouldn't make much money if it was only 10 yuan per serving.

Add to that the summer and winter vacations, and the turnover will definitely plummet. So at the end of the year, it will probably be only slightly better than working for someone else, and only slightly better.

This store, in particular, is extremely reliant on the technical support provided by Chen Jingle. Without Chen Jingle's help, it might not even have been able to open.

All I could do was sigh, and all I could do was have a headache.

Is it really necessary for a store like this to continue operating?

The answer is definitely yes!

I never expected my parents to make a lot of money; as long as they don't lose money, that's fine. The key is that they have something to do.

Just consider it a change of lifestyle.

No one is born with a skill; most of the time, it comes from practice.

Chen Jingle will help out a lot in the early stages, but once things get on track, even without his help, his parents will be able to complete the entire process from cooking to selling on their own, which means the transformation will be successful.

This is the result Chen Jingle wanted to see.

To others, it may seem like just a small fast food restaurant, but often, such a small shop can change the fate of a family.

If his parents had owned such a small shop 30 years ago, perhaps he wouldn't have had to rack his brains to earn money to support his family.

……

Li Beixing was quite surprised when he learned that Chen Jingle had been busy with this for the past two days.

While showing interest, they also asked with concern, "I've heard that working in the restaurant industry is very tough. Are you sure it's okay?"

Chen Jingle nodded: "That's true, but I told my parents that we don't need to worry about losing money. If we get tired, we can just close the shop and rest. Health is much more important than making money."

Money can never be earned enough. Expecting your parents to achieve financial freedom through this is a pipe dream.

This point needs to be made clear from the beginning, so that they are not left wondering.

Li Beixing thought for a moment: "How about we switch to a different type of store?"

Chen Jingle shook his head: "The others aren't much better. Everything is tough these days. There are no easy ways to make money for ordinary people. Let's use this to practice first."

"That's true." Li Beixing agreed wholeheartedly.

Many people's success is not only due to their own abilities, but also largely due to being at the forefront of the times. However, the era in which ordinary people could board the high-speed train and have the opportunity to achieve financial freedom is over.

At this stage, achieving financial freedom through hard work is not entirely impossible, but it is certainly much more difficult than before.

Chen Jingle laughed and said, "Let's just start doing it. Besides, we haven't even opened for business yet. Let's see how it goes once it's up and running. If it doesn't go well, I definitely won't let my parents continue."

Let's get the shop decorated before school starts.

Once the students return, we'll know the results in two or three days after the business reopens.

Chen Jingle felt that the business should be doing well. He was confident in his judgment and even more confident in his cooking skills!
"Your birthday is the week after next, right?" Li Beixing suddenly asked.

"Hmm."

Chen Jingle paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "Don't worry about that. I'm very casual about my birthday. I just buy a chicken leg and eat an egg, and that's it."

He would feel uncomfortable if there were any celebrations.

"no!"

Li Beixing objected: "That was before. Starting this year, I won't allow you to celebrate your birthday so casually!"

What a domineering teacher, Mr. Li.

Chen Jingle sighed helplessly, "But it's really unnecessary. I don't need any special ceremony. Simple is fine. At most, I'll cook a few more dishes so everyone can eat and drink well."

“I have no objection to what you said, but you can’t refuse my other birthday celebration plans and gifts.” Li Beixing glared at him.

Seeing her serious expression, Chen Jingle grinned and said, "Alright."

Li Beixing then smiled again.

Ta-da!
Actually, she had already decided what gift to give Chen Jingle.

(End of this chapter)