Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 179 A Century-Old Shop

The boss went to get the pot, and the five people sat down around the stove to warm themselves by the fire.

Xiao Wei said, "The food at this store is good, but the business seems so-so. There shouldn't be a huge crowd here."

Chen Xiao glanced at Xiao Wei and said, "Look at this place. It's right next to the farmers' market, and there are definitely a lot of people here, but look at who they are. Ordinary people, vegetable vendors, small business owners—how many of them are willing to eat out every day? If they come here occasionally to treat themselves to a meat dish, they're already living quite well. Do you really expect this little shop to have any VIP customers?"

Xiao Wei looked around the shop, nodded, and said, "Indeed. I understand, I was just saying, what a pity."

Xia Maosheng, with his shifty eyes, whispered, "Isn't that perfect? ​​If his business were booming, would he even bother with you?"

Chen Hui nodded and added, "Right, right, isn't that perfect? ​​Xiao Wei, what's your mentality? Are you colluding with foreign powers?"

Xiao Wei laughed and said, "I wonder who would open a snack bar and use it to entertain high-ranking officials? And they still have the nerve to criticize me."

Chen Hui grinned and said, "What? You're not convinced? 1,500 square meters, bigger than yours, right? Haha, I'm keeping my awesomeness to myself, I'm not telling you."

Xiaohong asked, "When will you be able to open it? The renovations are in progress; how are you going to do that in the dead of winter?"

Xiao Wei said, "It's okay, Uncle Chen will definitely make arrangements. We just need to light a fire inside. The interior is easy to handle, but the facade is difficult to deal with. I haven't come up with any good ideas yet."

Chen Hui said, "You can't do this, haha, come on, let me tell you. It's simpler to do it at the entrance than inside. Inside, you need cement and a stove to burn it. You don't need that outside. It's all welding, welding angle iron, and then you just drill a hole in the stone and hang it up. I've seen this kind of work."

Xiao Hong asked, "Then it will be sturdy, right?"

Chen Xiao said, "I noticed that all those storefronts are made by carpenters, right? Like the one we went to today, it looked like they used some kind of board, right? A wooden frame, glued together. I saw quite a few places like that. Can you really hang stones on it?"

Chen Hui said, "Just you wait and see, let's see who comes out on top. Haven't you noticed before? The facades of those big hotels and such are all made of stone, so imposing, but they're expensive, they can't afford to do that for small businesses."

Chen Xiao asked, "Is it sturdy?"

Chen Hui said, "It's much stronger than sticking on aluminum sheets. Large buildings are all hung like this. You can't use cement; the stones are too big, and cement won't stick. Hanging it like this is the strongest. The steel bars and angle iron inside are welded together; you can't even pry them off. Don't worry."

Xia Maosheng asked, "How do you make those characters?"

Xiao Wei said, "Let's make it out of wood, make it bigger, and have Uncle Chen hire someone to write it with a brush and carve it out. It won't look the same for ten or twenty years, and the longer it's used, the more interesting it will become."

Chen Hui said, "I've thought it through. The main entrance will be done exactly as you suggested, Xiaowei. Then I'll build a few large ones on top, and turn on the lights at night so that people can see it from several kilometers away."

Xiao Wei said, "The decoration should mainly use wood. In Chinese tradition, wood is valued. Hire a few good carpenters. Don't forget to build a screen wall directly opposite the main gate. Old An's family heirloom must be hung up. That's the most valuable thing in your shop."

Chen Hui thought for a moment and asked, "Why is it the most valuable?"

Chen Xiao punched Chen Hui and said, "How come you become so stupid when things get serious? That signboard has been passed down for generations, over a hundred years. If you hang it up, it'll be a century-old shop, understand?"

Chen Hui was stunned, his eyes widening in disbelief as he looked at everyone, finally asking Xiao Hong, "Is Chen Xiao right?"

Xiao Hong smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes, hanging it up will make it a century-old shop."

Chen Hui scratched his head and thought for a moment, then waved his hand excitedly and said, "Great, hang it up. I'll find a master craftsman to make the most authentic screen wall, set it up, turn on the lights, and it'll be awesome, a century-old shop."

Xiao Wei said, "So your decoration should be mainly wood-based. You need to find some experienced carpenters. We're not in a rush. Take your time and do it until it's done well. You need to make people feel a sense of history as soon as they walk in, so that they're embarrassed to speak loudly inside, and so that they forget that this is a newly opened store. Then you've already won more than half the battle."

Xiao Hong turned her head slightly, looking at Xiao Wei with admiration. At that moment, there was a radiance on Xiao Wei's face that made her reluctant to blink.

Xia Maosheng said, "I didn't go in to take a look. His kitchen needs to be fixed properly; it can't be too small."

Chen Hui said, "Then let's make it bigger. We'll ask An Laowu how big he needs, and then add two more stoves for cooking. Anyway, it'll be enough no matter how you do it. The first floor is over 500 square meters."

Xiao Wei said, "I suggest you put the kitchen on the second floor. The second floor can be used for the kitchen and private rooms, not for individual seating. The entire 500 square meters on the first floor, excluding the counter and the entrance, can be filled with individual tables. But these individual tables can't be placed side by side like in a regular restaurant. They have to be arranged in a circle, with different heights, to create a certain feel."

Chen Hui asked, "Why? Wouldn't that mean we'd need to set up far fewer tables?"

Chen Xiao blinked, understood, patted Chen Hui and said, "If you don't understand, then listen to Xiao Wei."

Chen Hui shrank his neck and said, "Oh." Then he thought for a moment and asked, "So why is that?"

Xiao Wei said to Chen Hui, "Your restaurant is different from ours. Fengtian is too big to be run like ours. You have to have your own positioning. Don't think that ordinary people will come to your restaurant for fun. Your target is the rich and powerful, understand? The number of tables doesn't matter, it has to be awesome, it has to make people feel it's worth it."

Xiao Hong said, "Shouldn't the waitresses' uniforms be made specially? Like those ancient ones, like palace maids?"

Xia Maosheng gave Xiao Hong a thumbs up and said, "Yes, yes, Xiao Hong is right, let's do it that way."

Xiaowei said, "The palace maids are a bit over the top. Don't make the clothes too bright or gaudy. Have someone design something that combines ancient and modern styles, something elegant and dignified. Xiaohui, tell your dad that we need to install air conditioning in the room. The heating these days isn't very reliable. You can't have it cold in winter and hot in summer, or it'll be a disaster."

Chen Xiao thought for a moment and said, "My God, how much money will this cost? I think even two or three hundred thousand wouldn't be enough."

Xiao Wei said, "We still have to go for it. If we're going to do it, we have to do it right the first time. Don't worry, once this shop is up and running, it can last for twenty years without any problem. We'll definitely make money."

Xia Maosheng said, "Uncle Chen has taken another step forward. He can definitely work for another twenty years, no problem."

Xiao Wei shook his head and said, "At first, you can rely on connections, but that won't work later. You have to rely on reputation and business management. Uncle Chen's role back then was to protect you from the wind. Once you get things going, there will definitely be people who are envious. When Uncle Chen came back, it wasn't reliable to rely on connections for business. So you still have to do things well."

(End of this chapter)