Siheyuan: A Cook in the 60s

"Yan Jiecheng, you have to understand one thing: one person cannot do too many tasks."

Cao Wei knew everything about this family.

In the original novel, Yu Li saw that the restaurant was doing good business, so she generously offered Sha Zhu a salary of 2000 yuan and also took him in as an apprentice.

As a result, they were only halfway generous. Business did improve, but they were also thinking about how to kick the business out and leave half the bucket of water for it. As a result, the restaurant went bankrupt.

For this matter, let’s put aside the issue of human character for now.

When doing things, either keep doing them, or if you want to make a breakthrough, don't hesitate. It's not right to have bad thoughts while doing things.

“Or, just shut down one or two and focus on running one. If you want to expand, be prepared and train talents.”

"But I do have a piece of advice for you two. If you want to continue expanding, you have to start thinking about people. Whether you can lead them or not depends on you."

The third uncle didn't say anything, but just drank his tea calmly.

In the old man's opinion.

Yu Li and Yan Jiecheng can just be small bosses.

If we go any further, there will be a lot of trouble.

The old man came from the old society.

In the past, any merchant with a bit of reputation must have a wealthy family behind him to support him.

The current market situation is better though.

But the principle is still the same. Let alone whether the family is rich or not, how many things did the shopkeepers in the past have to take care of? The dispatch of servants, accountants, cooks, personnel, and the courtesies during festivals, all those cumbersome procedures. Just hearing about it makes me feel troublesome. You can't neglect it. If you neglect it, the store will be difficult to run. Now that it has reached this level, it is good enough.

Yan Jiecheng and Yu Li looked at each other.

Some hesitation.

Put the purchasing matters aside?

Let the matter of settling accounts be released?

So do they still have the final say in this store?

Cao Wei did not continue to dwell on this matter.

Instead, he changed the subject and started talking about something else.

The third uncle also understood the meaning of the music. He chatted happily about family matters and then left with the two of them.

"Dad, I haven't even asked you clearly yet..."

"Isn't this clear enough?" The third uncle looked at his eldest son and sighed: "You, I understand everything, but you still don't understand."

"Do you understand?" Yan Jiecheng widened his eyes.

"I understand. If you want to expand, you can't continue to do it on your own. If you still want to continue doing it this way, then just be honest and run one or two stores. In my opinion, you don't have to fight to the death. Sometimes giving up is also a good choice."

"Dad, what do you mean?" Yu Li was a little surprised. The Yan family was well-known for their love of money.

"Yes, Dad, don't pretend to know something you don't. Don't you know? Every store has its limits..."

"Oh." The third uncle chuckled: "I'm already this old, what's the point of pretending to know something when I don't. In the past, in the old society..."

"Dad, don't talk about the old society. This is a new era..."

"The new era is the new era. Have humans become animals?" The third uncle laughed: "We won't mention the things about the shopkeepers in the past, such as the noble grandfathers behind them. We don't have these things now. But you have to be able to convince the public."

"The shopkeeper has a lot of people under his command. There are servants, oh, that is, waiters now, accountants, cooks who cut the meat. If you want people to do a good job and work for a long time, you have to win their support. I won't ask anything else, just ask you two, among the employees you have now, is there anyone who has worked with you from the beginning to the end?"

Yan Jiecheng and Yu Li looked at each other.

The answer is obvious.

No, none at all.

What is the difficulty in running a hot pot restaurant?

The only real difficulty is the base of the pot. Once the base is ready, all that's left is to cut the meat into pieces. Not many people would ask for two dishes at a hotpot restaurant. Even if they do, they don't have such high requirements for the taste.

It will be over if you just muddle through.

Therefore, the couple has always adhered to the saying "If you don't do it, there are plenty of people who will do it."

This statement was absolutely correct in the 90s.

It is no exaggeration to say that in this era, there are still people who go into the sea, but not as many as in later generations. The demand for work is very high, and the couple is very stingy. If they open a job today, they can call another one to take its place tomorrow.

The longest-serving employee in the store has only worked there for a year and a half.

"Well, that's the problem. You don't treat people as human beings either."

"Why don't you treat people as human beings..."

"I'm asking you, if I ask you to do one thing all the time, will you do it? I won't mention the private or public sector, Yan Jiecheng, do you remember why you left the steel mill?"

"Why else can I not take the exam..."

Having said this, Yan Jiecheng paused.

"It's boring to not be promoted. With such a small salary every month, anyone would leave." The third uncle took out a cigarette, lit it for himself, and took a puff: "When people are hungry, they only have one thought, that is to be full. But once they are full, they have many thoughts. A while ago, your mother asked me if I wanted to go to Tianjin Port to have a look."

"I asked her what happened over there?"

"She said she wanted to eat seafood. She heard that seafood there is cheap." At this point, the third uncle chuckled and said, "Your mother has never asked for anything in her life. After you went out to do business, she is willing to ask for it. Your mother and I are old men and women. We have the same wish every day. Do you think others don't have it?"

"You two should think about this carefully. You didn't hear the subtext of Cao Wei, did you?"

"What?" Yu Li and Yan Jiecheng asked at the same time.

"If we go one step further, we won't know what we will encounter." The third uncle said meaningfully.

"Dad, please explain it clearly."

"You guys." The third uncle nodded at them and turned away.

"Hey, hey, Dad, where are you going?"

"Where are we going? The teahouse. You asked Cao Wei to give you a box of tea leaves. Is it too much to ask me, an old man, to have a cup of tea and some snacks?"

"Not too much, not too much." Yan Jiecheng was happy.

Although he was stingy, he was still kind to his family and was willing to pay this little money. This was also the reason why the third uncle changed after being pointed out by Cao Wei, and he naturally changed a little.

As for whether he listened to what the third uncle said, no one could tell.

The three of them walked towards the teahouse, one in front and one behind, talking and laughing.