Chapter 18: Doing Business Within the System

  Five male laborers, eight female workers, no wages are paid, only three meals a day are provided. A few cooks get one hundred cents in wages per month.

  Such a low treatment, Wang Tong felt that it was already oppressive, but Zhang Shiqiang and Ma Widow advised him, why bother with wages, as long as they provided food, the capital would not know how many people would flock to their doors.

  Sweeping the last copper coin on the table into a box, Wang Tong calculated for a moment in his mind and said in a low voice:

  "Today I sold 120 copies, after deducting material and labor costs, I made a net profit of 600 wen."

  Zhang Shiqiang looked at Wang Tong's somewhat disappointed expression, had already prepared himself to hear the loss, and after hearing "six hundred Wen" he was still a bit unresponsive, immediately followed by extreme joy, speaking with a trembling voice:

  "Six hundred coins, in a month isn't it almost twenty taels of silver, sir..."

  As agreed, he would get about four taels from this side, and his monthly earnings would suddenly double. How could he not be overjoyed? Wang Tong smiled and shook his head, saying:

  "The first day of business is always fresh, let's see about tomorrow!"

  Earning this little money is really too boring for him, but "without taking small steps, one cannot reach a thousand miles", although the earnings are meager, after all, it's still earning, let's do it slowly.

  The first day of opening was a novelty for the people around, and sales would naturally drop on the second day. What Wang Tong didn't expect was that at noon on the second day, a queue had formed in front of Meiwu Hall.

  Clean and sufficient, but not particularly delicious meals are surprisingly attractive, which is really strange. Wang Tong walked along the edge of the queue crowd and heard this sentence:

  "It's so hard to find a suitable place to eat in this area, I didn't expect Nan Street to have such a store, it's worth walking a bit further and trying it out."

  Yesterday's customers spread the word, and soon everyone in Nancheng knew about a strange shop that served decent food and was very convenient. People with free time came to check it out.

  It's no longer just the flow of people on South Street, but also brings a lot of people from other areas.

  On this day, the number of boxed lunches sold was surprisingly 40% more than on opening day. The male and female staff in the store couldn't even get a leftover to eat, they had to make their own.

  The trend of increasing customer flow continued until the sixth day, and around noon every day, nearly 300 copies could be sold. Surprisingly, there were also customers from other places who came here to eat.

  This situation can only make Wang Tong sigh, people in this era have seen too few new things, the constant stream of customers makes the profit of the small restaurant "Mei Wei Guan" even better, because the quantity of food purchased increases, the price will naturally become cheaper, bringing increased profits.

  But after all, this is just a small restaurant. After several days, the daily business stabilized at around 240 orders, but this already requires an increase in staff.

  Everything in the store was under Zhang Shiqiang's watchful eye. He had been poor for many years and finally had this opportunity to make money, so he naturally wanted to grasp it tightly. The entire store, from food to hygiene, was closely monitored by him. Those male and female workers did not dare to be slow in the slightest, and Zhang Shiqiang was like a big boss.

  In winter, the staple vegetables are cabbage and radish, but the variety of meat dishes is constantly changing. Chicken, duck, beef, and mutton have started to appear, but what's truly popular is still braised pork belly.

  In those days, sugar was still relatively expensive and sweetness was a very luxurious taste. The sweet aroma of braised pork in soy sauce was truly tantalizing, making people's fingers move with desire to eat.

  Wang Tong, in order to attract business, spared no effort and did not skimp on materials. After more than a dozen days at Meishiguang, this fast food model unexpectedly also made a name for itself with its signature dish: the big pot braised pork.

  Many people come here specifically to buy this braised pork to take home, it's delicious with rice. If you just buy one bowl, the quantity is quite substantial, but the price is 15 cents, however, it doesn't affect sales, those who can afford to buy it alone don't mind the money.

  It should be around 230 to 240 copies every day, Wang Tong went to check the numbers in the morning and returned to Nan Street, then stayed in the restaurant to count various data.

  Only after knowing the number and trend of changes can we make a good plan. Although the business is small, it must be done seriously. Wang Tong suddenly felt that he had returned to the modern company, with detailed analysis and various plans coming out one after another.

  After calculating the various expenses for opening this store and daily income, it is estimated that the investment can be recovered before March next year. Considering that it is approaching the end of the year now, people from other places in Beijing have started to rush back home for the New Year's holiday, and customers with consumption ability are decreasing. After the Spring Festival, the income will increase, and the recovery of investment can be faster.

  In the spring when everything comes alive, this hastily built simple house also needs to have its foundation solidified. If business doesn't change much, we'll need to add some more decorations, and maybe even buy out the two houses on either side...

  The store had few customers, so Wang Tong took off the cloth hat on his head, picked up a charcoal pen and several sheets of paper, and started scribbling and drawing. The apprentices also liked it, looking at the remaining braised pork and mutton stewed with radish, they all hoped that no more customers would come today, and everyone could have a taste of the leftover dishes. If they were sold out and had to be remade, Ma Dajie was a frugal person who wouldn't give them extra meat.

  "Shopkeeper, six portions of twenty cents each."

  Originally, Wang Tong would have directly ignored him, but this voice was sharp and delicate, rather feminine, seemingly a woman's. Although the social norms of this era were not as exaggerated as those described in later books, generally speaking, women from ordinary families would not dare to show their faces in such a marketplace, unless they had to rush about for a living like the poor.

  He looked up in surprise and saw six young eunuchs wearing cyan robes standing at the entrance, one of whom was taking out money.

  Wang Tong glanced at him and lowered his head, but stopped writing. The eunuch who was counting the money smiled and said:

  "The day before yesterday, I came here to eat with Little Li. The price was not expensive, but the food was delicious, much better than that big pot dish in the palace. The place was also clean and tidy, so we could eat with peace of mind..."

  A few people found their seats, chatted and laughed as they started eating. They talked about some trivial matters within the palace, which had nothing to do with the royal family, but rather the private affairs of eunuchs and palace maids.

  Wang Tong was stunned and suddenly stretched out his hand to gently pat his own forehead.

  I am really muddled. This restaurant is located at the foot of the Imperial City, but it always focuses on the pedestrians on the street. The largest customer group is actually inside the Forbidden City.

  Having lived on South Street for so many years, eunuchs from the palace pass by every day. On both sides of the Meridian Gate, there are several small gates for these eunuchs to go in and out when they are on official business outside the palace, one of which is just near South Street.

  The eunuchs in the palace were very free to act, and those with some status had a few coins in their hands. Although there was an imperial kitchen and small kitchens within the palace, they only served the emperor, his consorts, and the high-ranking eunuchs. Those below them who wanted to eat something good couldn't find anywhere to go, so why not do business with them at Meishan Hall?

  "This tastes really good, much better than that half-cooked mushy food in the palace..."

  "The roasted meat in my mouth is like it's melted, delicious..."

  When those eunuchs finished eating and were chatting with smiles on their faces, preparing to leave, Wang Tong stood up and said politely:

  "A few old men stopped in their tracks."