I'm incredibly ambitious after being reborn.

Chapter 14 Special Mode
Zhang Daxiang handled the interior design of "Zhang Family Canteen" entirely on his own. He used a second-hand computer that could run 2D drawing software, and used graphic design software for the exterior design. He then produced drawings and gave a copy to each of his uncles who were carpenters and masons.

Experienced craftsmen with technical skills but no design skills treasure blueprints. They keep them as long as they have them, and when they take on small projects in the future, they can simply modify the old blueprints to save the client a design fee.

Because the blueprints were given away for free, the uncles from the same clan within five degrees of kinship did not charge any wages; they only needed to provide three meals a day.

We provide three meals a day because breakfast is now also provided at "Shizipo," so if we can make sure everyone is full, we can save our family from having to eat one meal at home.

In the end, we didn't actually lose money.

"Plastic ceiling panels will do, leave plenty of space for light fixtures, and make sure the lighting is good. Smoking is prohibited in these cubicles, and two stalls should be enclosed together against the wall..."

At the construction site of "Zhang Family Canteen," Zhang Daxiang's requirement for fire safety was simply to pass the test; fire extinguishers only needed to be visible, and sprinkler systems were definitely not going to be installed.

After all, although he has a kitchen, he doesn't use a high-powered stove. Although there are many pots and pans, they are all ordinary gas stoves, which are only suitable for stir-frying.

We didn't apply for natural gas; a regular household small steel cylinder is fine, and we're too lazy to buy a large commercial steel cylinder.

These small steel cylinders for liquefied petroleum gas are found in every household in the countryside; you can collect as many as you want.

The entire "Zhang Family Canteen" even set aside a small area specifically for elementary school students. This wasn't because Zhang Daxiang was handsome and kind-hearted, but because many parents at Beimen Elementary School were relatives of the Zhang family. Knowing that someone had opened a fast food restaurant in Sanxingli, they wanted to save their children the trouble of going home for meals.

Lunch costs three or four yuan a day, with meat, vegetables, and rice to choose from. Naturally, we made arrangements well in advance and prepaid for ten days' worth of meals.

Try it for ten days first. If there are no problems after ten days, then you can pay for it monthly.

In fact, some parents have already visited "Shizipo" and had a meal there. They felt there was nothing wrong with it. It wasn't exactly a delicacy, but at least the meat was flavorful, the vegetables were refreshing, and the rice wasn't made from old rice.

That's quite generous.

When cooking a meal at home, we don't specifically buy pork chops or braised meatballs. If we buy too much, we can't finish it, and it's more economical to buy something that costs three or four yuan.

Beimen Elementary School also has a cafeteria, but it is mainly for the lower grades. By the time students reach the fourth, fifth and sixth grades, their motivation is ridiculously strong. If the food is not good, they really won't eat it, but if it is good, they will try every means to eat it.

In early August, some children were taken to "Shizipo" to eat. There was nothing wrong with it, but it wasn't to the point of being rave about it. However, the braised pork, braised lion's head meatballs, braised pork chops, and other meat dishes were not disgusting unless you really couldn't cook.

Zhang Daxiang had assumed that the office building business would open first, but unexpectedly, primary school students became the first batch of regular customers, which was slightly beyond his expectations.

"Leave some space here, and make holes in the wall. I'm going to install a light box."

Unlike ordinary fast food restaurants, Zhang Daxiang requires all the decoration materials, furniture and furnishings for "Zhang Family Canteen" to be easy to disassemble and replace, and to be standardized parts.

The price list is not in the form of a KT board or bulletin board, mainly for cleanliness and easy cleaning. The price list on the light box is a strip, similar to the old-fashioned train schedule.

There's also a display case for alcoholic beverages next to the cashier. As soon as "Zhang's Canteen" was starting to take shape, two beverage companies contacted us to deliver refrigerated display cases. We can make a thousand or so yuan a month, which is not bad.

The renovation was completed quite quickly. Using second-hand white floor tiles saved a lot of money. Firstly, the white floor tiles have a uniform color, so we don't have to worry about not having the same tiles when we open a branch in the future. Secondly, the white floor tiles have a good reflective effect, making the already bright lobby space appear even larger.

Kitchen renovations were left until last. Zhang Daxiang had brought people to the "Zhang Family Canteen" early to rehearse cashiering, order taking, ticket counting, serving food, cleaning up... After dinner, there would be a buffet until 10 pm. Guests could help themselves to whatever they wanted to eat. This buffet idea was mainly mentioned to the uncles who helped with the renovations, so that when they did work that didn't include dinner, they could bring their workers over to eat until they were stuffed.

Some dishes can't be kept overnight; throwing them away would be wasteful and a pity, so it's better to let people enjoy them whole.

As long as you don't pack leftovers or waste food, even if you eat all the lion's head meatballs at a buffet, you won't be able to eat many.

"Ah Xiang, should we expand the storage area for fresh vegetables?"

"No need, freezers are the main option."

"Oh, okay."

Unlike home-style stir-fries, "Zhang's Canteen" mainly focuses on pre-made dishes, even lion's head meatballs can be frozen and vacuum-sealed.

Boxed or bagged packaging is fine, since the plan is for commercial use. Once the scale is established, it's also possible to produce specialized commercial frozen drum or box packaging.

Currently, there are only two stores, "Shizipo" and "Zhangjia Canteen," and the total consumption is actually not that high. However, since we have mentioned opening a factory to my uncle-in-law Cheng Wenlin, the commercial pre-cooked food production site will be located in Cheng Wenlin's hometown.

A few dozen acres of land are more than enough to set up several dedicated workshops and production lines for specific product categories. Dishes such as "Dongpo Pork", "Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Mustard Greens", "Boiled Fish Slices", "Braised Lion's Head Meatballs", and "Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs" are best suited for quick freezing to preserve freshness and flavor.

If there are commercial customers making purchases, a one-month shelf life is sufficient. If business is good, a seven-day shelf life is also acceptable.

Pre-cooked dishes that have been frozen for a long time are actually more difficult to prepare. It's not as simple as just adding a preservative; the loss of flavor is a major drawback.

Therefore, Zhang Daxiang's main goal is to operate a high-turnover business, as high turnover of ingredients and high turnover of capital have something in common.

As long as your processing plant consumes raw materials quickly and in large quantities, many suppliers will choose Zhang Daxiang first. As long as the payment period isn't as long as a year or two, building goodwill won't be as slow as an ox.

Zhang Daxiang's only weakness is not the processing equipment, but the lack of culinary artisans.

This is not something that can be solved by famous chefs; it requires a proper food industry expert who is both formally trained and experienced.

Generally speaking, an expert who can turn food into shelf-quality products can usually turn a small factory into a large factory in just a few years with just one product.

It's like a small game company having a brilliant planner and project manager who creates a blockbuster game, enabling the entire company to achieve collective financial freedom and transforming the small company into a large one.

If Zhang Daxiang were really just a roadside stray dog ​​in the countryside, it would be hard to say if he could find such a person. But since Zhangshi Village has thousands of households, there must be some relatives or acquaintances among them.
Moreover, when my great-grandfather Zhang Zhixu led people to evade taxes, apportionments, and Latinization, he sheltered many people who should have died early and been reborn. This favor would have been enough to benefit Zhang Daxiang's father's generation.

But Zhang Daxiang's father, Zhang Zhenghong, has been dead for a long time, so the one who owes this favor is himself.

Once the people are taken care of, he can handle the equipment and everything else by himself.

　I'm being forced to take a day off, so I'll add an extra chapter. Tomorrow I'll be posting a side story about Brother Hao Nan.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)