Rebirth 07: Starting with Saving a Bankrupt Restaurant

"Don't worry, it won't happen," Zhou Wen said with a smile.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries with the group, I offered each of them a cigarette.

After wiping away his sweat, Zhou Wen glanced around and, sure enough, the restaurants where people had been drinking looked more chaotic than usual, with bottles scattered all over the floor.

At first glance, there are quite a few black stains formed by spilled wine.

"I'll go cook for you, please bear with me a little longer," Zhou Wen said.

"Okay," Shi Ying nodded.

Shi Ling was already preparing the cleaning tools.

Zhou Wen, who had only prepared half of the meal, also came to the front hall, where Shi Ying and the other person were still cleaning, with only a small area left to be cleaned.

Zhou Wen looked at the places that had been cleaned, even though they were dirtier, messier, and worse than before, they were still clean after the cleaning was finished.

Shi Ling and Shi Ying's work has always been reassuring.

Seeing that the two of them were able to finish, Zhou Wen was completely relieved and went to the kitchen to continue preparing the meal.

Once the food is fully prepared, the front of the restaurant is thoroughly cleaned.

Zhou Wen looked around but didn't see Shi Ling, so he asked, "Where's Shi Ling?"

"My sister is playing with the rice ball at the door," Shi Ying replied.

Zhou Wen nodded: "Call Shi Ling in, the food is ready."

Every day after the restaurant closes for business, Shi Ling would go to the door to check on the rice balls; it had almost become a habit.

"Can you handle it?" Zhou Wen asked Shi Ying and the other person.

Shi Ling remained silent and simply nodded.

"There's no problem, it's just a few more empty bottles," Shi Ying said casually.

Zhou Wen nodded. "If you feel overwhelmed or tired, just let me know, and I'll have Shan Wei go out and help you."

"With more drinks, we might have to stay open about ten minutes later, so it might be a bit more work in the future."

Shi Ying and the other person had no objection to this.

After the others left, Zhou Wen also went to the freezer to take a look.

This afternoon, Lee Seung-jun delivered quite a lot of alcohol, filling the entire car.

At the time, the freezer was almost full, and there were also many cases of liquor on the side.

However, by the end of the night, most of the drinks in the freezer had been consumed.

Because the store didn't notify customers about the new alcoholic beverages, many customers brought their own drinks when they came; otherwise, they probably would have sold a lot more.

Zhou Wen also calculated the profit from purchasing the alcoholic beverages, and it was quite a few thousand yuan.

After confirming that there was nothing else, I turned off the lights and went upstairs to rest.

……

……

"Have you figured it out?"

"I've figured it out." Ma Xianling nodded and said:

"A crayfish appeared over there."

Liu Fengru was taken aback: "Crayfish? Have you ever heard of them?"

Ma Xianling had become somewhat numb to these things.

"You act like you've only heard of Zhouji Restaurant's dishes like sliced ​​beef and tripe in chili sauce, hand-shredded Sichuan peppercorn chicken, and roujiamo (Chinese hamburger)."

Ma Xianling pursed his lips.

"But apart from the previous sliced ​​beef and tripe, this crayfish dish is a bit too overpowering," Liu Fengru said, her features scrunched up.

Liu Fengru was already used to it, but the crayfish business was just too booming this time.

Although the "Husband and Wife Lung Slices" dish was very popular when it was first released, it didn't actually have a significant impact on Ruyi Restaurant.

Moreover, Chef Liao was also present at the time.

However, the restaurant's foot traffic has clearly declined in the past few days, with a noticeable decrease in the number of diners.

Even with Chef Liao around, it was all in vain.

With the decrease in customer traffic, the couple immediately guessed that Zhouji Restaurant had introduced new dishes.

Then I found out that it was true; the restaurant had served crayfish.

"However, some street food stalls also serve crayfish."

Ma Xianling added a sentence.

"Is that a lot?" Liu Fengru asked hurriedly.

"It's not a lot, but one or two out of every street food stall does it, though none of them are as popular as Zhou's Restaurant."

After thinking for a moment, Liu Fengru said, "Since some food stalls do it, can we do it too?"

"To be honest, nobody makes that 'husband and wife lung slices' dish, and we can't learn how. But some food stalls make crayfish, so why don't we make it too?"

"What?" Ma Xianling looked at Liu Fengru.

"Who did you get to do it? Someone does make it, but it's not like only Zhou's Restaurant is doing it this well. If it's really as simple as you think..."

Liu Fengru slapped her thigh, clearly blaming Ma Xianling for not thinking the same way she did.

"Isn't Chef Liao here?"

"Chef Liao?" Ma Xianling's expression turned serious.

After thinking for a while, he slowly shook his head: "Chef Liao may have never seen crayfish, which is served at a street food stall, before. If the taste is not as good as Zhou's Restaurant, then it will be a bit difficult."

Liu Fengru thought about it and realized that it was indeed as her husband had said.

If it tastes good after cooking, then there's no problem. But what if it doesn't taste good?

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Liu Fengru threw the problem back to Ma Xianling.

"How about this, I'll go ask Chef Liao first and see what his opinion is."

"This crayfish thing is probably going to be really popular for the next few days, but it'll probably calm down eventually, like the 'husband and wife lung slices' thing was back then. Let's wait a few more days and see how things go."

There really isn't a good solution right now; this is the only way we can do for now.

The next day, Ruyi Restaurant had half an hour left before it opened at noon.

"How is it? What did Chef Liao say?"

Ma Xianling shook his head: "Chef Liao has indeed never handled crayfish before. However, Chef Liao said that for this kind of street food, as long as you have a general recipe, the taste might not be as good as Zhou's Restaurant, but it won't be too bad."

"Then what about us...?"

After thinking it over carefully, Ma Xianling said, "Let's observe for a few more days. If crayfish really does become a hit, then we'll make it!"

Ma Xianling had also made up his mind.

……

Several days have passed in the blink of an eye, and the garlic crayfish has been ready for some time now.

Zhou Wen also plans to launch the last flavor of crayfish today: Thirteen-Spice Crayfish.

The production process for these flavors is essentially the same, with only a few steps differing.

This time, Zhou Wen made all three flavors of crayfish in one go.

Three flavors of crayfish—spicy, garlic, and thirteen-spice—were also placed on the table.

"Boss, is this the thirteen-spice flavored crayfish?"

Shi Ying pointed to the crayfish that weren't as bright red in color and didn't smell as fragrant as garlic sauce and asked.