Rebirth 07: Starting with Saving a Bankrupt Restaurant

"That's an extra bonus," Zhou Wen explained.

Shi Ying didn't react for a moment. When she did, she wanted to say something, but her mouth just trembled and she couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

Seeing the girl's touched expression, Zhou Wen smiled.

Then, in a very relaxed tone, he said, "You have more work to do than initially agreed, so it's normal to receive some bonuses."

Back in 07, a front-of-house server at a restaurant of this size might only earn 800 yuan a month, and in most places it was probably close to 800 yuan.

Including the initial onboarding bonus and the current extra bonus, I earn a total of 1300 a month.

You should know that in the past, even if you worked yourself to the bone in a factory, you might only earn a little over a thousand a month, not to mention the basic expenses like three meals a day.

However, Zhou Wen believes that the price is entirely worthwhile.

Shi Ying nodded emphatically, then took the red envelope and tried to put it in her pocket.

However, I still feel a bit unsafe.

So the red envelope eventually returned to Zhou Wen, who then kept it for him.

After receiving her salary, Shi Ying had a smile on her face all morning.

As for service quality...

Zhou Wen has always been very satisfied with Shi Ying's service quality. From the first day until now, she has always treated her work with the highest standards, and there hasn't been much change.

……

"Boss, I'll be going now."

After finishing her meal and resting, Shi Ying waved her hand and said.

"Be careful on your way back," Zhou Wen reminded him before going upstairs to rest for a while.

……

……

"How's it going?"

"I used some connections to find a great chef," Ma Xianling replied.

Liu Fengru wasn't really concerned about how skilled the chef she found was; what mattered more to her was how much money she spent.

"Has an agreement been reached?"

Ma Xianling nodded and said, "After much persuasion, we've finally reached an agreement."

"How much does that cost per month?"

Ma Xianling counted a number.

"Three thousand five?" Liu Fengru was somewhat surprised, then looked at Ma Xianling with a questioning gaze.

After seeing Ma Xianling nod in confirmation...

"Are you kidding me? Three thousand five hundred a month?" Liu Fengru's voice grew louder, and the cup trembled slightly.

Ma Xianling frowned: "Keep your voice down."

In Liu Fengru's mind, a price of around two thousand would be more appropriate, but the current price of three thousand five is far beyond Liu Fengru's expectations.

"He's been to Beijing before, and he used to be a head chef at a restaurant in the next province. If he hadn't retired, do you think you could hire him for this price?"

Liu Fengru scoffed, "If you really have that ability, you can find other places to go even after you retire."

"Alright, alright. We've already invited them all. If they're really capable, we'll use them. If they're not, we'll just not use them next month." Ma Xianling felt somewhat speechless.

Whether they're truly capable or just pretending, we'll find out tomorrow.

Liu Fengru stopped talking, clearly not satisfied with the price, and sulked alone.

……

the next day.

After a day, Zhou Wen had come up with new dishes, and Ruyi Restaurant welcomed their head chef.

Zhou Wen is still making rice bowls, and this time he plans to serve two kinds at once.

They are minced pork and eggplant rice bowl and Mapo tofu rice bowl.

As for the reasons for choosing these two types of rice bowls, one is that they are good with rice, and the other is that the preparation process is relatively simple.

"Shi Ying, could you help wash the groceries you bought?"

"Okay." Shi Ying replied and went to the kitchen to wash the vegetables she had bought that morning.

As restaurants offer more and more dishes, the amount of food they use each day also increases.

Shi Ying, who arrived in the morning, had an extra task: to wash the vegetables she had bought.

Of course, this task was not entirely handled by Shi Ying alone; Zhou Wen would also participate in the cleaning.

After all the vegetables were washed, we began preparing two new dishes.

"Does the boss's new dish have anything to do with eggplant and tofu?" Shi Ying asked from the side.

While preparing the ingredients, Zhou Wen nodded and said, "Yes, one dish is eggplant and minced meat rice, and the other is Mapo tofu rice."

"Two portions at once?" Shi Ying's eyes lit up, but then she looked at her not-so-protruding belly.

If there are two new dishes, I probably won't be able to eat that much.

Cut the washed eggplant into long strips, then marinate it with a spoonful of salt, and then make a sauce.

Light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, white sugar, starch, and half a bowl of water.

After marinating the eggplant, rinse it thoroughly with clean water, then squeeze out the excess water. Add a spoonful of starch so that the eggplant won't absorb too much oil when cooked.

Once the oil is hot, add the eggplant and fry until the surface is slightly browned. Then remove it from the oil and set it aside.

Sauté scallions and garlic until fragrant, then add minced meat and stir-fry until it's just cooked through. Next, add fermented bean paste, then eggplant, stir-fry until it's colored, and finally pour in the pre-mixed sauce.

Cook over high heat until the sauce thickens, then remove from heat, sprinkle with chopped green onions, and the minced meat and eggplant dish is ready.

In Zhou Wen's eyes, the taste of rice bowls doesn't need to be amazing. As long as the portion is large and affordable, and the taste is decent, that's enough.

Scoop out a bowl of steamed rice and pour the prepared minced meat and eggplant mixture over it.

After the minced meat and eggplant are cooked, it's time to make Mapo Tofu.

Cut the tofu into cubes and put them in a pot of cold water with salt to blanch and remove the beany taste.

Heat the oil and add the minced meat. Stir-fry until it is cooked through, then add the chopped scallions, ginger, garlic, and chili peppers. Add the fermented bean paste and stir-fry until the red oil is released. Finally, drizzle some cooking wine along the edge of the wok to remove any fishy smell.

Add half a bowl of water to the pot, add salt, chicken bouillon and other seasonings, then add the tofu. Bring to a boil over high heat, then thicken with cornstarch slurry in small amounts several times, so that the tofu is evenly coated with the broth.

Continue to reduce the sauce over high heat until it thickens slightly, then sprinkle with the final touch of chopped scallions.

Mapo tofu is now ready.

When Zhou Wen brought the Mapo Tofu Rice Bowl out of the kitchen, Shi Ying in the front hall had already eaten nearly half of the Minced Meat and Eggplant Rice Bowl.

"How does it taste?" Zhou Wen asked as usual.

Shi Ying wiped the sauce stains from the corner of her mouth with a tissue, nodded with bright eyes, and said, "The eggplant is all mushy and has completely blended with the rice."

"Boss, I can't describe the other flavors either, but it's just delicious." After saying that, Shi Ying looked at Zhou Wen and nodded seriously.

Shi Yingchong is just a little foodie; it's highly unlikely that she would describe the taste in such detail like those so-called gourmets.

However, the taste reflected in the actual product is the taste feedback of most diners.

"Try this one again. If you're a bit full, I'll share some with you."