Return To 1977 Chapter 649: Capability
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As for its special dishes, we might as well mention two.
In the history of the capital, there was a single exception, a restaurant run by "Kouzi Chu". That is the "Runming Building" opened in Dong'an Market in the 1920s.
At that time, there were two signature foods of "Runminglou", one was "Huoshao" and the other was "Crab Race".
Both of these items were created by Master Wuerhunwu Qiye of Shanzheng during the Tongzhi period, and are authentic imperial dishes. Later, it was introduced to this industry through the apprenticeship of "Kouzi Chef" He San.
So in addition to going to this restaurant, if people in the capital want to eat these two things, they have to do "ceremony and white things" to enjoy the food. It is also because of this particularity that the business of "Runming Building" is booming.
As for later, "Kouzi Kitchen" gradually disappeared due to changing customs and simplified weddings and funerals. On the contrary, two guys from the "Runming Building" founded the "Xiangrui Restaurant" in Menzhang Hutong, which is today's "Ruibin Building", and finally passed down the "Yanqiao Fire".
Now this flavor has become the signature of this well-known time-honored brand in Beijing. Everyone in the old Beijing knows that the only way to eat "Huoshao" is at "Ruibin Tower".
Like other no-name chain stores, the "衡袢火丝" made is mushy and greasy, which may confuse people who don't understand it, or it is just for convenience.
Finally, there is another key point, which is the most popular aspect of "Kouzi Kitchen". That is trustworthiness, being considerate and considerate of customers, and never doing anything wrong.
People in this industry are very gangster-like. Most of them are brothers in the same discipline, so they only give in and don't argue with each other internally.
As for customers, because we rely on word of mouth, we pay special attention to personal reputation. A word must be spoken, and words must be deeded, and deeds must bear fruit.
And the most important thing is that not only do they make good use of ingredients, they are always richer and more affordable than originally planned, and they never cut corners. For poor families, they can also decide according to the price agreed in advance, find ways to save face, and complete seemingly impossible tasks.
Give me an example. "Kouzichu" accepts jobs in two ways: "relaxed seating" and "reserved seats". "Loose work" means that the host purchases the materials himself, while "booking a table" means stating the price of each table in advance and settling the bill together with the work and materials.
When negotiating, we must also decide on the style of the banquet, whether it will be fish, shrimp and sea cucumber, chicken, duck and fish, or rice noodles with meat, lion head, braised elbow, etc. In particular, it must be stated whether it is for "eating", "looking good", or "saving money" to decide the specific method.
Common banquet noodles include "eight bowls and one sea", "eight bowls and two seas", "eight seas and one pot", "nine pieces of flowers", "four bottoms" and so on. But no matter how frugal it is, stir-fry dishes with meat are the main ones, so there must be some meatballs.
What should you do if you meet someone who can’t even afford this money? For example, in today's terms, if there are ten people at a table, each person only has the money to pay for a plate of egg fried rice or a bowl of beef noodles in the restaurant. Can we still reserve seats?
In this case, the host often blushes and is embarrassed to speak out.
As long as there are enough people, you can tell me the specific amount. "Kouzi Chef" can blurt out without thinking, "Okay, okay, how much money do you have to pay for our work in Kouzi, no matter how big the job is, we will be worthy of you, and we will definitely not lose you."
And even with such a banquet, it can be done beautifully.
Either four large plates of stir-fry meat, two bowls of stew, a large bowl of soup, rice, steamed buns and flower rolls. Or there are four large plates of stir-fried meat, a bowl of diced pork with fried sauce, a bowl of sliced meat and eggs marinated, and enough water to cover the noodles.
In fact, the money earned by "Kouzi Kitchen" here is all from the relationship with suppliers, and it never wastes raw materials and saves money. The principle of doing things is always "no one of us should lose anyone, hello, me, hello, everyone", so as to attract repeat customers.
For this reason, ordinary people in the capital never look for restaurants when doing business, but only look for holes. Their reputation is extremely high.
Yes, what I have said above is actually to express one meaning.
Master Pang, who is in his fifties. That is the canteen master who changed his profession from "Kouzi Chef".
He studied under He Sanyi lineage, and his master was the famous "Cook Meng" in the south of old Beijing.
In the past, whether it was well-known or not mainly depended on whether it could create a brand name and whether it was necessary to hang a sign in front of the house. The full name of Master Pang's master is "Lam Gan Shi Kou Zimeng".
How come the employees of "Polar Bear" are so happy? This person can be considered a "professional", he can save materials, knows a lot of dishes, and the taste is good. This is not an ordinary bandit army.
As for Li Fu, after he returned to Beijing from his hometown in the 1950s, it was difficult to find a job, so he worked as a "waitress" for a while.
Although the work was getting less and less, until the "three-year natural disaster", he could still make a living by running around.
So after he met with Master Pang, he exchanged some pleasantries and said, "I would like to ask you to organize a 'luozuo' (meticulously made) 'private banquet'. One with a higher standard, are you interested?"
Master Pang laughed when he heard this, and then asked again, "Does that mean both 'wagging' (fish) and 'wanlao' (shrimp)? Or just 'high-calling' (chicken), ' Biankou' (duck)?"
Well, just with these few words of insider knowledge, the two of them connected like secret agents on the secret code.
Since we are all from the same family, it will be easy to talk about it later. The two of them talked in detail, one, two, three, four, and the matter was settled.
The final price calculated by Li Fu and Master Pang was 600 yuan for 30 tables of seafood banquets of the highest standard. They paid a deposit of 200 yuan on the spot according to the old rules.
Speaking of which, Hong Yanwu has two questions to ask.
First, since Master Pang has great faith, how could he agree to this?
Secondly, the price is really not expensive. Moreover, Master Pang also promised that if there is an increase in the number of seats, he will add three or five more seats at no additional charge.
Is his job hard? You won't be able to save face and end up working in vain, and you won't be able to earn much, right?
Unexpectedly, Li Fu kept laughing when he heard him ask such a question. He first said, "How about I say that Master Pang is an expert." Then Hong Yanwu explained everything one by one.
On certain days, it is obvious that there is no shortage of business. The people who work for you will come to ask for help in advance, and both the employer and the master master know what they are doing.
Although we are careful in our words, we will not increase prices indiscriminately according to the market trends. But there are still jobs big and small, rich and frugal.
So experienced "kouzi masters" will first excuse others to accept the job. In addition to being able to see if there are any big jobs or sweet jobs in the future, I can also prepare people with real friendships to come to me.
When it comes to this price, Master Pang will definitely not lose money.
Because "Kouzi Kitchen" saves money, the bigger the job, the better the money.
Master Pang is now the chief cook of the canteen, so he has many ideas for raw materials. When it comes time to do it, at least half of the six hundred yuan will fall into his hands.
As for temporarily adding seats, "Kouzi" also has its own methods.
To put it bluntly, it’s nothing more than piecing together things here and there. Originally, the portion of "Kouzi" noodles was enough, so it was not difficult to make it even.
Even, it doesn’t matter if it’s a whole main dish like “Braised Pork Elbow” or “Braised Chicken”.
The person responsible for serving only needs to show the dishes to the guests first, and then say, "I will bring it down to you to open it up before serving it." That's it.
If you wait until it is served and then cut it, you can get half the amount of food. Just like preparing twenty full elbows, thirty tables of people are enough to handle it. What additional fees are there for this?
At this point, Hong Yanwu suddenly understood and became completely enlightened. It’s true that every walk of life has its own way of doing things. It may seem difficult to outsiders, but there are actually tricks.