Blissful Days After Widowhood

The plaque of the shop was arranged by Mr. Wen.

The day before the opening, Mrs. Wen also said that he hired someone to come to the lion dance. Gu Yin was also a little excited when she heard it. Of course, the more lively the opening, the better, and after watching so many TV dramas, it was so lively Who wouldn't want to see the lion dance?

After inquiring about the price, Gu Yin could only... Excuse me, farewell!

Of course, the expenditure for publicity is definitely necessary. Gu Yin renewed the lease of the stall on the dock for a month, but she has not let anyone go there, and only set up a card to indicate the location and opening of her new store Time, and then she also thought of the most common flyers in later generations.

At this time, printing is not yet popular, unless you pay for a customized printing plate, or it is more cost-effective for someone to transcribe.

Later, Wu An took over the job. Anyway, he has to practice calligraphy at home every day, and Gu Yin only wants to be understandable by ordinary people, not beautiful.

He wrote one hundred flyers in half a month. Although the number is not large, the number of literate people in the town is not particularly large, and it is enough to put them in the wealthy areas near the Wen's and Wang's old houses.

Gu Yin gave him 100 yuan of wages, but he refused to accept it at first, but then he finally persuaded Gu Yin to accept it, he turned his head and gave it to Wang, and Wang gave it again Gu Yin, this hundred words are still in the hands of three people.

Gu Ye does the job of handing out flyers. He likes to go out and hang out every day, and handing out flyers is a convenient thing. He didn't say no and said he wouldn't accept the wages, but only said that he couldn't put it in his small purse, so he asked his mother to save it for him first, and then marry a daughter-in-law.

Gu Yin and Mrs Wang couldn't stop laughing after listening to it, Mrs Wang looked at his pea-like body and asked her, "Do you know what it means to marry a daughter-in-law?"

Gu Ye said blankly: "I don't know, but I heard people say that when you get older, you have to marry a wife and spend a lot of money."

This has kept Gu Yin and Wang happy until the opening day.

In the morning, Gu Yin first let someone put a bunch of hanging whips, and then came out with shopkeeper Zhou to say a few scenes, even if it was a simple opening ceremony.

Because of a little bit of publicity, the trend of "Mr. Wen's porridge" has not yet passed. Many people knew the news and came to line up in advance.

After entering the store, the guests first felt novel about the layout of the store.

Walking into the store, there are two rows of square tables against the wall on the left and right. This square table was custom-made by Gu Yin. It is a circle smaller than the original square table in the shop. Of course, it must be enough for four people. Sitting, just save some space, so that there were only enough places for six tables, and now there are eight tables.

The wall, which had only a few small windows, has also undergone a major renovation. The upper part was almost completely knocked out, making it a half-person-height large window. And it is not the kind of window that is pushed open from the middle, it is the kind of fan that is similar to the one, and the customer chooses to open or close the window next to him.

If it weren't for the glass of this era, which is still a rare thing, Gu Yin has already arranged the floor-to-ceiling windows.

In the middle of the store, there is a large counter in the shape of a zigzag. There is a circle of single low tables and round stools around the counter, which can seat more than 30 people.

As for the space between the counter and the square table beside the wall, Gu Yin originally wanted to make a smaller table for two, but after a rough calculation, the store can now seat 60 or 70 people. For a store that has just opened, this capacity should be enough, so it will be put on hold for the time being.

There are four service staff in the store, led by Mrs. Wang at that time, then Mrs. Xu and another pair of Mrs. Tian who lived in Zhenyi Lane.

Mrs. Xu was invited by Mrs. Wang. Of course, she wanted to do good things together, but in fact, Mrs. Wang was afraid that she would not be happy at first—after all, she was a scholar and his mother. Not ashamed, but not too elegant either.

But I didn't expect Xu to accept it at once.

The income of the Xu family is only the rent of two small yards, which is seven or eight taels of silver a year. This money is only enough for half of Xu Qingchuan's beam repair.

In these years, I mainly eat the old money left by the Xu family.

But the amount of money out is far greater than the amount of money in the money. After taking the old money for all these years, Xu's hand has not much money, especially after the spring of this year, she found that Xu Qingchuan was copying books for the bookstore in private , more and more unpleasant.

She really wants to find a job to do, but there are not many places to recruit female workers in the town, and she has been pampered in the first half of her life, and she has no special skills. , This kind of work is not only hard, but also less profitable. She wanted to do this kind of work several times, but Xu Qingchuan refused, and said that he would read books in private, and copy books only for reviewing the old and learning the new.

Wang's invitation is tantamount to sending charcoal in the snow to Xu.

She responded immediately. Later, Mrs. Wang said that there were still two people left in the store, Mrs. Xu recommended her to Tian’s mother and daughter who lived in Zhenyi Lane.

The Xu family also moved here later, while the Tian family has always lived in Zhenyi Lane. They can talk because Tian Shi is also a widowed mother and a daughter.

Tian's life was really bumpy. The young man lost his husband and took his daughter alone to seek a living. After finally waiting for her daughter to grow up and marry someone, her son-in-law also asked the imperial court to enlist in the army a few years ago, but there is no news.

Her daughter's mother-in-law was also cruel, thinking that her younger son would probably not be able to come back, so she drove her daughter back to her parents' home, claiming that Tian Shi and her daughter had bad luck, Otherwise, how can a widow be a mother, a daughter who has been married for less than a year, and her husband also on the front line, whose life and death are uncertain?

The mother and daughter of Tian's mother and daughter had a bad reputation under the propaganda of the mother-in-law, and the work of sewing and pulping was very difficult - after all, there were many people who believed in those in this era, so it was somewhat taboo.

After the recommendation, Mrs. Xu also told the truth and said: "Tian's mother and daughter are both quick-witted and diligent people. , is fame... So I just recommend it, it's up to you whether you use it or not."

Gu Yin wanted Wang to take up the position of lobby manager in later generations, so she delegated the power to recruit people.

Immediately, Mr. Wang didn’t take it seriously and said: “What are you doing, my family’s Qingyi has been criticized for a bad life a few years ago! I want to say that this is a deliberate fabrication by those warlocks. A fool. I don't believe in destiny, it's better to believe in myself!"

At the recommendation of Mrs. Xu, Mrs. Wang met the mother and daughter of the Tian family. It was exactly as Mrs. Xu said, both mother and daughter looked like people who could work, although the clothes on their bodies were old I can't see the color, but they are clean and flat, with calluses and scars from severe frostbite on both hands, and the house is well organized.

Wang is a person who loves cleanliness, and she felt very satisfied at the moment, but she didn't finish her words. After she went back, she discussed with Gu Yin.

The four maids headed by the Wang family were also ready to go. They were wearing uniform light yellow dresses, so light that if they were a little dirty, they could be seen clearly. But as long as it's cleaned, just looking at it makes people feel that the store's things are extra clean.

Wrappers of the same color on their heads and wearing pure white gloves on their hands, they did not come out to greet the guests, but stood at the counter.

Looking at the counter, one finger-deep and three-foot-long wooden trays of uniform size were neatly arranged together.

The food in the wooden plate is naturally food, because the opening time is in the morning, and the food in the store is mainly made by Gu Yin.

Steamed buns, flower rolls, meat cabbage buns, bean curd buns, leek cakes, meat patties, eight-treasure porridge, green vegetable porridge, and of course the most famous preserved egg lean meat porridge... There are as many as ten types, unified Displayed in wooden trays.

And there is a price tag in front of everything. Steamed buns and rolls are worth one penny each, vegetable buns and leek cakes are two penny apiece, meat buns and meat patties are three penny apiece, vegetable porridge is two penny a bowl, and eight-treasure porridge and bean curd brains require some effort. The most famous preserved egg and lean meat porridge is a bowl of three cents.

In fact, under the name of "Grandpa Wen's porridge", some people will buy it even if it is twice as expensive, but Gu Yin thought that when her family was not famous, this porridge was sold for two cents for a big bowl. Nowadays, the price has been raised too much, but it has a bad reputation, so I only mention a penny, but the bowls in the store are not sea bowls, they are just the size of a home-cooked bowl. Some.

Gu Yin pushed out a wooden cart and smiled: "Please pick up the dinner plate here."

The guests felt novel everywhere, so they naturally answered her words and took their plates.

The wooden dinner plate is also custom-made, which is like the stainless steel dinner plate used in the cafeterias of later generations. There is a large grid and several small grids.

After getting the plate, the guests go to the counter to choose the food, from one end to the other tail, is the cashier place, there are two "cashier" and There are two small signs "Order Meal", so that guests can pay for the meal together after choosing. Of course, if there are other things they want to eat, they can also order meals here, hand over the money, and get a sign.

But because today is the first day of opening, the special order is not yet open.

This cashier work is naturally done by the Wang family, but because everyone rushed in on the first day, it was definitely too late for one person to cash out, so Gu Yin asked Wu An to use the ten-day leave. He stood on the small bench and collected money with Wang.

Wu An's arithmetic is really good. Gu Yin told him the price once, and he remembered it all. Just glance at the food on the plate and he can calculate the price immediately. That speed is almost no slower than later generations of scanners, so even with the long queues in the store that day, the checkout speed did not slow down.

After eating and paying for the meal, guests can sit down and eat at any place in the hall.

Steamed bread rolls are small and delicate, extremely soft, chewing twice in the mouth, that is, it immediately melts in the mouth, leaving only the sweetness of a mouthful of fine grains.

The outer skin of the vegetable cabbage cake is also fragrant and soft, and the vegetable filling inside has the aroma of lard, which is delicious and delicious.

The meat of the meat patty is full of gravy, and the mouth is full of fragrance when you bite into it.

The bean curd is fragrant, and the eight-treasure porridge is fragrant. The most famous Wen Laotai porridge has more preserved eggs, and its mellow and special taste is more intense.

In the beginning, most people just came for the name of "Mr. Wen's Porridge", and then they would be surprised and praised by others no matter what they bought, so they went to the counter to buy the porridge next to them. eat.

After the meal, the guests gave Gu Yin a thumbs up.

Especially the regular customers on the pier who came to take care of her business, and even praised: "I have only eaten a few dishes made by the little lady before, but I didn't expect that the little lady would be able to do it at this age. So much."

Gu Yin smiled and said, "Actually, I will be there. Every morning, there will be a sign at the door, which will write the special dishes of the day."

They were talking, and the guests who had eaten well went out one after another, but the number of guests outside was gradually increasing.

The two large windows facing the street exposed Gu Yin's food to the outside.

Is it still enough to eat.

After about half an hour, Manager Zhou came out of the back kitchen, and together with Mrs. Wang, they removed the large plates that were almost sold out on the counter.

The guests queuing outside saw it through the big window and immediately quit, shouting: "We haven't queued up yet! What's the matter with you taking everything away? The first day of opening Did you just prepare so much food?"

Gu Yin came out and explained with a smile: "Don't be impatient, the food in the morning is indeed sold short, but look at this day..."

The opening time was the time she deliberately chose between the morning meal and lunch, so after selling one round of the morning meal, the sun was on the rise, and it was close to noon.

"So it's not that it's not for sale, but our lunch market is already open."

After explaining, Gu Yin moved the sign of the morning market at the entrance into the hall, and replaced it with another sign of the lunch market, and there was also a red paper on it, which said the dishes of today's lunch market.

The brand has just been changed, and shopkeeper Zhou, Mrs. Wang and others have placed new large wooden plates on the counter.

The lunch market is naturally the home of the shopkeeper Zhou, braised pork, fried crispy pork, Kung Pao chicken, fried pork with cabbage, eight treasures tofu, vinegar and cabbage, and eat the unique preserved egg of the Tian family Tofu...hot dishes, cold dishes, meat and vegetables are all available.

Five cents a spoonful of meat dishes, three cents a spoonful of half meat dishes, two cents a spoonful of vegetarian dishes, the spoons are all long-handled wooden spoons like porridge, and one spoon is just enough to cover the dinner plate of a grid. The staple food can choose steamed bread and rice, hand-rolled noodles, steamed bread is still a penny, rice is a penny a spoon, hand-made noodles are not expensive, a big bowl of three cents, the bowl is a sea bowl, if you want noodles, you can add vegetables as toppings .

It's like an ordinary man with a big appetite, three cents a bowl of plain noodles, plus two cents and a spoonful of vegetarian toppings, five cents can also be full in it.

However, the people who came to cheer on that day were all people with a decent living standard in the town, and they all tried several kinds of hot dishes with all kinds of colors and flavors.

The menu was drawn up with the help of Gu Yin. At that time, she also inquired about Shopkeeper Zhou's specialty dishes, for fear that the home-cooked dishes she wanted were from all over the world and not within the scope of Shopkeeper Zhou's expertise.

Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper Zhou gave her another surprise.

Treasurer Zhou is from the capital. Unlike Chef Xu, who is a layman who learns a little bit of fur, he learned it from chefs of various cuisines in his own restaurant when he was a child, but his family fell into disrepair. I just came out to make a living.

He knows most of the dishes Gu Yin said, even if he doesn't know, just listen to her how to do it, and shopkeeper Zhou can make it right away.

The hot dishes are full of flavors and aromas, and the flavors spread farther than those of Baian dim sum.

The dissatisfied guests who watched them remove the wooden plate from outside immediately stopped complaining, and just smelled the fragrance and urged the people inside to come out quickly after eating.

After cooking a few kinds of hot dishes, eating with white steamed buns doesn't count, and I deliberately shouted praise.

"Oh, this braised pork is fat but not greasy, so fragrant!"

"This Kung Pao Chicken, cucumbers and peanuts are crunchy, this chicken is extra smooth, so fragrant!"

"This preserved egg tofu. Wow, this black preserved egg can also be used as a salad, it's delicious!"

The person queuing outside asked him angrily: "Why do you say fragrant, fragrant, delicious! Can you change the word?"

The man smiled proudly: "What about me? I'm happy! Oh, it's fragrant, delicious!"

The guests outside are mad and greedy, but seeing that he really eats deliciously, he has been queuing for so long, and it is about to be his turn, so he can't go directly!

Gu Yin estimated that there would be more guests on the first day, but she did not expect it to be like this. Seeing that the guests by the window would make the people queuing outside anxious, she simply opened a temporary Separate take-out window.

In this era, there are no disposable tableware, so the take-out food box is also custom-made by Gu Yin, which is a wooden lunch box.

This box has to add two cents, but if you wash it and return it after eating, the two cents can be refunded.

Bento sent out.

Dine-in and take-out are combined. By noon, the hot dishes in the store are already sold out.

Just when the guests who didn't have their turn felt discouraged, the shopkeeper Zhou had already prepared a new round of dishes.

But even so, it was another hour, and the dishes were still sold out.

Fortunately, there were no customers who did not eat at this time, and everyone in the store could finally take a breath and take advantage of this time to eat lunch.

Gu Yin and Shopkeeper Zhou rested for half an hour, and then they entered the back kitchen to prepare the evening food for sale in the evening market.

Red and white cases are mixed in the evening market. There are five kinds of steamed buns, dim sum porridge and hot dishes.

When it was time to eat dinner, the shop began to enter the store again.

Of course, after a lively day, there were fewer guests in the evening, especially people in this era pay attention to sunrise and sunset, and there are no entertainment activities in the town, and every household can eat We go to bed early and go to bed early, so at the beginning of Xu Shi, that is, after seven o'clock in the evening, the store is closed for the day.

After the end, Mrs. Wang let Mrs. Xu and Mrs. Tian go back to rest, and she stayed behind to do the follow-up cleaning work.

Gu Yinze reconciled with Shopkeeper Zhou. She really did not expect that business would be so hot today. At that time, she thought she could be responsible for bookkeeping, but later she was in charge of packing lunch boxes. Shopkeeper Zhou He also burned two rounds of dishes, so he didn't bother to go to the front to help.

Fortunately, I remember the account of grocery shopping clearly, and a gross profit can be calculated by subtracting the cost of grocery shopping from one day's turnover.

Gu Yin doesn't plan to make plans, but the abacus of the shopkeeper Zhou is very fast. After one pass, the gross profit on the first day is about fifty taels of silver.

Wang was mopping the floor next to him, and almost fell to the ground when he heard the number five taels.

Five taels! ! This is half a year's worth of chewing for ordinary people in one day!

Gu Yin said helplessly: "Mother be careful, it's not that you earn five taels, it's not over yet."

The gross profit is of course not accurate, because the labor costs are not counted!

Gu Yin thought that the follow-up business would probably fall back a little, and then stabilized at a certain range, temporarily counted as a gross profit of three or two a day.

A month is 90 taels, the sum of the monthly money of the four maids of the Wang family is 22 taels, the shopkeeper Zhou is 22 taels a month, and the chef Xu and his apprentice have not come yet. I hired five temporary helpers who can cook. The five people add up to 12 taels a month. There are also three or four store rents per month. In addition, I have to pay taxes. Silver money, plus the wear and tear of the utensils, is also required to be spread out for twelve taels a month.

You can earn forty taels a month, even if the business is booming.

Because there are no outsiders, Gu Yin counted all these for Wang Shi, and Wang Shi was still excited after hearing it.

The initial investment is more than 70 taels, and I earn 40 taels a month. Isn’t it possible to pay back the cost in less than two months? In her opinion, this is really no different from falling pie from the sky.

Zhou Zhangui waited for Wang to laugh enough, and then said: "Actually, the owner has missed a thing. The owner does the most work. Twenty taels of wages are also indispensable."

This sentence made Wang calm down, yes, the daughter-in-law does the work of several people by herself, and she does not pay herself to start the work, so she seems to make a lot of money. If, like other companies, the owner only does simple and coordinated work, and hires a chef with a salary of 22 taels on the white case, in fact, the profit of the entire store is only about 22 taels in the first month, which is still a good business situation. Down.

Wang shi immediately made a decision: "No, you have to calculate twenty-two wages for yourself!"

Gu Yin didn't argue with her about this, she just said: "Let's not talk about that, I think we have to recruit people. Today, Wu An and Ono are both there, and the two little guys can't do anything. Less work, but Wu An wants to study, Ono wants to learn martial arts, it is impossible to keep them in the store all the time. After all, we have to recruit more people."

The matter of recruiting people in the front has always been in charge of Mrs. Wang. In order to save money, she thought that adding four of her own people would be enough. After such a day of business today, she knew that Gu Yin was right.

She nodded and said, "Trick, listen to you!"

A clerk costs two and a half taels a month anyway, but the two people add up to one tael more per month.

Although the money in the future has not yet arrived, Mr. Wang, who is used to being thrifty and wishing to split a penny into two halves, already feels that a tael of silver is nothing!

After finishing speaking, Mrs Wang reflected again: "Actually, I really don't understand this. Just make up your mind at the beginning, you shouldn't listen to me and save money."

Gu Yin touched her nose and said, "It's not my mother's fault, in fact, I thought at first that I could save a little bit."

Wang asked her strangely why, after all, Gu Yin should spend money without hesitation.

"Why else?" Gu Yin looked at Wang Shi and then at Shopkeeper Zhou.

In detail, almost everything replaced is made to order, and the price is much more expensive than those that can be bought now!

But Wang Shi and Shopkeeper Zhou were extremely supportive after hearing her expectations. Wang Shi asked her to do it anyway. Anyway, she didn't have enough money to ask Wang Dafu for a debt. The shopkeeper Zhou is also a bit "outrageous", saying that he will be paid a few months later to start the work. Anyway, the house he rented has been returned, and now he lives in the backyard of Shiweitian. The food and accommodation are in the store, and there is no cost .

Under the encouragement of the two of them, Gu Yin figured out all the things she expected, and this is how she is now.

So don't look at some people who are bright and beautiful, and the business in the store is very hot, in fact, there is only money for tomorrow's grocery shopping!