Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 272 Suggestion Box

Early in the morning, the aroma of noodles from breakfast stalls wafted through the alley.

The vermilion gate to the backyard of No. 7 courtyard was tightly closed, and the wind and rain of last night left a carpet of fallen leaves in the yard.

Sunlight streamed through the window into the bed in the north-facing room. Li Zhe slowly opened his eyes and looked around—it was still his own room, except there was now a soft, warm body beside him.

Tan Jingya lay on her side beside him, the thin blanket only covering her waist, her long, snow-white legs exposed, and the faint red finger marks he had left on her waist and hips from the previous night still lingered. The air was filled with the scent of jasmine soap emanating from her, mixed with the lingering aroma from the previous night, causing Li Zhe's Adam's apple to bob involuntarily.

Yesterday, the two of them stayed up until the early hours of the morning. He is still a little tired, but he has a lot of energy.

His hand rested on Tan Jingya's fair leg, slowly moving upwards...

Tan Jingya snorted softly, twisted her body to try and get away, and whispered, "Ugh, you've been up all night, aren't you tired?"

As she spoke, she turned to face Li Zhe, who reached out and put his arm around her lower back, pressing them together...

When Tan Jingya saw that he was about to get serious again, she quickly begged for mercy: "Stop fooling around, I have to go to work later." As she spoke, she moved to the edge of the bed, revealing a large expanse of her snow-white skin.

Li Zhe stared at her profile. Her breasts were full and rounded, her waist slender, her hips pert and her legs shapely—every feature was alluring. Recalling her allure from the previous night, he thought to himself, "This woman is truly a stunner..."

Tan Jingya felt a little embarrassed by his gaze, so she grabbed Li Zhe's shirt and threw it at him. She quickly put on her clothes and asked, "What do you want to eat? I'll make it."

"Sister Tan, I love anything you make," Li Zhe said with a smile as he caught the clothes.

Tan Jingya rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't help laughing: "Sleep a little longer, I'll wake you up when it's done."

After saying that, Tan Jingya got dressed and went to the bathroom to wash up.

Li Zhe lay in bed, but couldn't fall asleep. The catharsis last night seemed to have taken away his distracting thoughts, and his mind was exceptionally clear.

He started to think about work matters—things that he couldn't understand or sort out before were now gradually becoming more organized.

Around 8 o'clock, Li Zhe had just finished washing up when a fragrant aroma wafted in from outside.

Wearing a blue apron, Tan Jingya was placing freshly cooked savory pancakes on the round table. The golden-brown pancakes had crispy edges, and the aroma of shredded radish mixed with the oily fragrance of eggs made one's stomach rumble.

Coal Ball squatted on the corner of the table, its tail wrapped around its legs, meowing as it stared at the salty food in the plate, but Tan Jingya gently kicked it: "There's none for you, go play somewhere else."

"Sister Tan, you've worked hard." Li Zhe walked over, gently put his arm around her waist from behind, and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"It's not hard work, just that the shredded radish needs to be salted for a while, otherwise it will taste bitter." Tan Jingya was kissed on the cheek from behind by Li Zhe. She quickly glanced into the yard and whispered, "Hurry up and eat. It's broad daylight. Aren't you afraid of being seen?"

"It's just the two of us in the backyard, what's there to be afraid of?" Li Zhe smiled, "Food and sex are human nature, it's only natural."

Tan Jingya handed him the savory dish rolled with lettuce, saying, "Try it. If it's bland, eat it with the pickled vegetables."

Li Zhe took a big bite; it was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and the lettuce inside was just right to cut through the richness. He gave a thumbs up and exclaimed, "Delicious!"

"Tell me in advance if you want to eat it anytime. I'll put it in the refrigerator to remove excess water overnight, and you can cook it directly the next morning." Tan Jingya smiled and ladled another bowl of corn porridge in front of Li Zhe.

Li Zhe said, "Sister Tan, you should sit down and eat too."

"Mmm," Tan Jingya responded and sat down to eat with them.

As she was eating, she seemed to suddenly remember something and asked, "By the way, are you busy today?"

"What's wrong?" Li Zhe asked back.

Tan Jingya smiled and said, "The store is installing air conditioning this afternoon. With so many big items to add, I had to let you, the big boss, know."

Li Zhe thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll go take a look this afternoon."

After chatting for a few more minutes, Tan Jingya finished cleaning up the dishes, changed into a black knee-length dress, looking neat and elegant, with a shapely figure, and her rosy cheeks looked even more radiant than yesterday.

She greeted Li Zhe and then rode her bicycle to Shuxiangju.

Li Zhe poured himself a pot of jasmine tea, sat on a recliner in the courtyard reading a book, while his two dogs, Jinzi and Huoyan, chased each other around. Occasionally, a bird's chirp could be heard from the trees in the distance...

He quite enjoys this leisurely pace of drinking tea and reading books.

But after a short while, the sun rose higher and higher, so bright that he couldn't open his eyes, so he closed his eyes and rested.

He thought to himself: Why not just build a pergola in the yard? It would block out the sun on sunny days and allow me to listen to the rain on rainy days; it should be quite comfortable...

……

At 2 PM, the bustling atmosphere of the dining hall at Shuxiangju Restaurant had long since faded.

Most of the customers had left, leaving only two or three tables still slowly eating; they looked like they'd be finishing soon. In the kitchen, the exhaust fan was still humming, presumably preparing staff meals.

Tan Jingya stood in the center of the hall, raised her hand and glanced at the small women's watch on her wrist. The hands on the watch face had just passed 2:10.

Her hair was tied up, and she wore a well-fitting black dress that accentuated her slender figure. "Qiaomei, how many tables of guests are left on the second floor?"

Lin Qiaomei paused in her rag, straightened up and replied, "There's only one table left. I just urged them to prepare the main course, it should be ready soon."

“Perfect timing,” Tan Jingya walked over, lowering her voice, “The air conditioner installer will be here soon. You should take your people and get the other four private rooms ready first, so they don’t get in the way when the installer arrives.”

"Hey!" Lin Qiaomei's eyes lit up, and her hands moved a little faster.

The weather is getting hotter and hotter. Staying in the kitchen and dining hall for too long feels like being in a sauna. Installing air conditioning would be a great thing.

She turned and walked upstairs, calling out to the two waiters beside her, "Xiaoli, Suzhen, come with me to the second floor to tidy up the private room. Hurry up, we can use the air conditioning today!"

Fang Xiaoli, being quiet by nature, responded softly upon hearing this, picked up a clean tablecloth, and followed behind; Liu Suzhen, on the other hand, decisively picked up the cleaning bucket and followed with light steps.

Tan Jingya turned around and called out towards the door, "Manager Wang, the kitchen is almost out of chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns. Remember to have someone send some over tomorrow."

Wang Jianjun was smoking at the restaurant entrance when he heard Tan Jingya's words. He stubbed out his cigarette on the sole of his shoe, threw it into the metal trash can next to him, and replied, "Okay, I'll go to the kitchen later and ask Chef Han and the others if they need any other dried goods. We can get them all together tomorrow."

Tan Jingya breathed a sigh of relief as she watched her employees tidy up and wipe the tables. The recent turmoil at the shop had caused widespread anxiety, but thankfully it was all over, and now everyone was even more motivated to work.

Just then, a white Volga screeched to a halt at the door. Li Zhe got out of the car, and the moment his feet touched the ground, his brow furrowed—a few vegetable leaves were still stuck to the steps in front of the door, and some kitchen waste was scattered around.

Tan Jingya quickly went to greet her, smiling and asking, "Have you had lunch yet?"

"I grabbed a bite outside." Li Zhe nodded, his gaze still fixed on the ground in front of the door, his tone serious: "Sister Tan, you have to keep the area in front of the restaurant clean from now on, it's our storefront."

Imagine, customers come from afar, and if they see a dirty entrance, they'll be immediately put off. How can they possibly want to come in and eat?

"Okay, I'll remember. I'll have someone clean it up right now." Tan Jingya quickly agreed and stepped aside to let him into the lobby.

At this moment, the last table of guests also got up and left, and Zhang Hongqi hurriedly tidied up the tray.

Tan Jingya turned to Li Zhe and said, "Why don't you go to room number 5 on the second floor for a while? I'll call you when the air conditioning technician arrives."

"Okay," Li Zhe replied, and went upstairs to the second floor.

As they reached the second-floor corridor, the door to VIP room number 3 opened, and a group of people emerged, chatting and laughing. Leading them was a woman in a floral shirt, followed by several men and women in uniforms.

Li Zhe subconsciously stepped aside to make way for the guests. As they passed by, the guests were still chatting enthusiastically about the food they had just eaten—the woman in the floral shirt said with a smile, "The food today was pretty good. That Kung Pao Chicken with cucumber pieces was the first time I'd ever had it. The chicken was tender, and the cucumber was crisp. It was much better than what we get in our company cafeteria!"

A bespectacled man next to him chimed in, "I actually think the double-pepper fish head is delicious. It's spicy on one side and sour on the other, so you can taste two flavors. I could eat an extra bowl of rice with it!"

"The boiled pork was a bit lacking," another man in a blue shirt said, frowning. "It was covered in a layer of oil, making it greasy and not very tasty."

"What a pity, there's still a lot of food left on the table." Someone looked towards the private room, their tone filled with regret.

"Sister Huang, why don't you pack some to eat tonight?" a young woman asked.

The woman in the floral shirt, referred to as "Sister Huang," shook her head: "It's so hot today, the vegetables won't keep. If you leave them out for a few hours in the afternoon, they'll definitely smell bad by evening. Don't bother."

“That’s true.” The young woman nodded, and the group chatted and laughed as they walked down the stairs.

After all the guests left, Li Zhe headed towards private room number 3.

The door to the private room was still open. He glanced inside and, sure enough, saw a lot of leftover food on the round table—half a plate of Kung Pao Chicken remained, half a fish head was still left on the plate of the double-pepper fish head, and the red oil from the boiled pork was congealed on the surface, making it look quite greasy. There were also quite a few other dishes left over.

At this moment, Han Chunyan pushed the cleaning cart out of private room number one, wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, and saw Li Zhe walk into private room number three. As if she suddenly remembered something, she quickly parked the cleaning cart in the corner of the corridor and ran downstairs.

Less than two minutes later, Tan Jingya quickly went upstairs to the second floor. When she entered private room number 3, she saw Li Zhe standing by the round table with his brows furrowed.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly stepped forward: "Boss, is there a problem with this private room?"

Li Zhe turned his head, glanced at Tan Jingya, and asked, "Who is serving this private room?"

Han Chunyan quickly stepped forward and whispered, "Boss, it's me."

Seeing her nervously clutching the hem of her clothes, Li Zhe couldn't help but smile: "Oh, it's you. Why didn't you come in earlier? Why did you run downstairs to find your Manager Tan?"

Han Chunyan's cheeks flushed instantly, and she scratched her head somewhat embarrassedly: "I... I'm not good with words, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to explain it clearly, so I thought I'd ask Manager Tan to come over."

Li Zhe smiled, his tone softening slightly: "I just checked. The bone plates were changed promptly, and the tea was refilled frequently. The service was quite good, and you should theoretically receive a bonus. However..."

His tone shifted abruptly, and Han Chunyan's heart immediately jumped. Her smile faded, and she asked softly, "Boss, is there... is there a problem? I'll definitely change it next time."

Li Zhe pointed to the leftover food on the round table: "Look, there are nine guests at this table, but they ordered sixteen dishes and two soups. They can't possibly finish them all. It's such a waste to leave so much food."

Besides, if others see so much food left in our private room, they might think there's something wrong with the food and that the guests didn't like it.

Upon hearing this, Han Chunyan explained, feeling wronged, "Boss, they said they wanted to try more flavors, and that it's rare for them to eat out, so ordering a few more wouldn't be a problem..."

“I know you didn’t mean it. But as a waiter, you still have a duty to remind them.” Li Zhe interrupted her, his tone still gentle. “Of course, if you encounter a customer who is particularly concerned about saving face and won’t listen to reminders, then just let them be.”

"Yes, yes, I've got it!" Han Chunyan nodded quickly.

Li Zhe then pointed to the plate of boiled pork and said to Tan Jingya, "I overheard a guest in the hallway saying that this boiled pork was covered in a layer of oil and didn't taste good."

Tan Jingya quickly picked up the chopsticks beside her and gently stirred the red oil on the surface of the boiled pork. Her brows furrowed. "There's nothing wrong with how this dish is made. Boiled pork is supposed to be flavorful with red oil; it doesn't taste as good without it. But..."

She paused for a moment, then suddenly realized, "It must be because the dishes were served for too long and cooled down, causing the chili oil to solidify on the surface, which is why it tastes so sticky."

I turned around and told the waiters that after the dishes were served, they should remind the guests to eat them while they were hot, so they wouldn't get cold and affect the taste.

Li Zhe thought for a moment and then suggested, "I really like our boiled pork. The taste is fine, but could you improve the heat retention? As long as the pot stays hot, the chili oil won't solidify, and the texture will be preserved."

Tan Jingya blinked and asked tentatively, "You mean use a clay pot? Clay pots retain heat well; Chef Wu used one to make stews before."

“Clay pots are good at keeping things warm, but we also have to consider safety, efficiency and cost,” Li Zhe analyzed. “Clay pots are easy to break, and when the kitchen is busy, it takes time to wash them; if we use a small iron pot with an alcohol lamp at the bottom for heating, it is safe and convenient, the cost is not high, and the heat retention is sufficient.”

Tan Jingya clapped her hands: "That's a great idea! I'll talk to the kitchen staff about it and have them give it a try."

The more she thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. She couldn't help but admire Li Zhe's intellect; despite being a layman, he always managed to see the crux of the problem.

The two left the private room while talking, and Han Chunyan pushed a cart in and began to clear the table of dishes.

Li Zhe and Tan Jingya entered private room number 5. Tan Jingya took out a tea canister from the cabinet in the corner and brewed a pot of jasmine tea. The aroma of the tea quickly filled the air.

Seeing that Li Zhe was sitting at the table without speaking, she asked, "Are you still thinking about room number 3?"

"No." Li Zhe shook his head, reached out and patted her waist, gesturing for her to sit on the chair next to him. "I was thinking, should our restaurant get a suggestion box?"

After our meal, please have our guests rate our food and service. They can also write down any complaints they may have so we can make timely improvements.

Tan Jingya was taken aback. Having worked in the catering industry for so long, this was the first time she'd ever heard of a "suggestion box," and she was a little unsure: "How exactly does this work?"

"I've thought it all through," Li Zhe said patiently, taking a sip of tea.
"Place the suggestion box in a prominent and convenient location in the restaurant, such as near the exit or next to the cashier. Make sure to clearly write 'Customer Suggestion Box' on it. Don't make it too hidden, otherwise customers won't be able to find a place to write their suggestions."

Prepare some simple feedback cards; they don't need to be too complicated, just enough to clearly state the problem.

He paused for a moment, then continued, "There must be a process for handling feedback. Every day after closing, have someone open the boxes, like you or Wang Jianjun, and organize the feedback. On the same day, categorize and write down the issues, such as 'the dishes are too salty' or 'the waiters have a bad attitude.' These should all be clearly written down."

Problems that can be improved immediately should be corrected as soon as possible; for more complex problems, let's discuss them together.

Additionally, if a customer leaves their contact information, you should proactively call them back. This makes the customer feel that their opinion is valued and also increases trust.

Tan Jingya took out her notebook and carefully wrote down what Li Zhe said, the pen scratching on the paper.

But then she thought about it again and became worried: "The idea is good, but I'm worried that the employees won't cooperate."

Imagine if a customer wrote negative feedback, such as a waiter having a bad attitude or a chef making bad food, the employees would definitely worry about being criticized or having their wages docked.

They might privately advise customers not to write feedback, or even secretly open the suggestion box when no one is around and tear up the negative feedback cards.

"I've also considered the issue you raised," Li Zhe nodded, pondered for a moment, and said:
"So we need to make it clear to the employees in advance that the purpose of the suggestion box is to 'improve the restaurant together,' not to find fault with everyone and to prevent them from resisting."

Furthermore, during each staff meeting, positive customer reviews can be read aloud, such as "The customer said Han Chunyan provided excellent service" or "The customer praised Chef Wu's double-pepper fish head dish as delicious," letting everyone know that their efforts are recognized.

If there are negative issues, provide targeted training. For example, if the service is poor, organize etiquette training; if there are problems with the food, have the chefs work together to find ways to improve it, so that employees feel that feedback can help them, rather than be used to criticize them.

Tan Jingya was still a little worried and asked again, "What if some customers get upset? For example, if they write insults or make up false accusations because they have to wait a long time for their food; or what if some competitors deliberately smear us, saying that our hygiene is poor or our ingredients are not fresh? What should we do then?"

Li Zhe took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, and said calmly, "This situation will definitely happen, and you'll need to identify it yourself."

For example, if a customer complains about poor hygiene, we will check the corresponding area to see if there is really a problem.
If a customer says the ingredients aren't fresh, check the purchasing records and the storage conditions of the ingredients.

If it's confirmed to be malicious feedback, ignore it. Focus on the common opinions of the majority of customers.

Tan Jingya looked at Li Zhe with admiration in her eyes: "You're amazing, you always come up with new ideas."

Li Zhe smiled and said, "This is just a suggestion. You can discuss it with Manager Wang, Foreman Lin, and the other workers later, listen to their ideas, and make a decision together so that things can go more smoothly."

"Boom boom boom——"

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door of the private room, interrupting their conversation.

(End of this chapter)