Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

A day later, Wang Dong received a definite reply from Yu Li, who agreed to become the store manager of the fried chicken restaurant's main branch.

Guo Lin's wife, who also accepted Wang Dong's invitation, along with several managers who were interning at the restaurant, agreed to try their luck at the fried chicken restaurant branch and become the store manager themselves.

After half a month of intensive renovations and training, five fried chicken stores, including the main store, opened simultaneously.

For ordinary people in Beijing, fried chicken and hamburgers are very unfamiliar foods.

Although the average wage of ordinary people in Beijing has increased from more than 30 yuan before the reform and opening up to 70 or 80 yuan now, many people still find it hard to afford an old hen that costs three or four yuan.

A live hen costs three or four yuan, and fried chicken would definitely be more expensive after processing.

The money spent on one fried chicken might be enough to buy groceries for the whole family for several days.

So, despite the fried chicken shops being open for business, not many ordinary people patronize them.

In addition, the fried chicken shop looks very luxurious, giving people the first impression that fried chicken is not something that ordinary people can afford.

Seeing the few customers at the fried chicken shop, Yu Li, as the head office manager, was anxious.

We don't live in the information-exploding internet age of later generations. Even televisions are a luxury few can afford, and there are very few forms of advertising.

In this situation, Yu Li racked her brains but couldn't think of a way to break the deadlock. There was no way to force people to come in and spend money, so she could only watch the crowds coming and going outside the store anxiously.

Because today is the opening day of the fried chicken shop, my wife Chen Jun also came to help.

The scene of crowds when Dongjun Restaurant opened is still vivid in my mind. Chen Jun was afraid that the fried chicken shop would be too busy for her husband, so she took a day off from work to come and help Wang Dong.

The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

The imagined bustling scene did not materialize. The huge fried chicken restaurant was nearly empty, with only a handful of people, easily countable on one hand.

He immediately looked at Wang Dong with a worried expression and asked, "Husband..."

"Is something wrong? Why are there no customers?"

Wang Dong seemed to have anticipated this, showing no sign of worry on his face. Instead, he calmly replied, "No problem..."

"It's just that the people in Beijing have never been exposed to fried chicken and hamburgers before, so they subconsciously think that the fried chicken and hamburgers we sell are very expensive and are embarrassed to come in and buy them."

“Once they realize that fried chicken and hamburgers aren’t expensive and they can afford them, people will naturally come in to buy them.”

Chen Jun continued, "How can we let everyone know that the fried chicken shop isn't expensive... We can't just sit here and do nothing, can we..."

Wang Dong smiled confidently and replied, "Don't rush..."

"I've already thought of a plan... Once the goods arrive, we can go out and promote it. I guarantee that the fried chicken shop will be packed with customers during lunchtime, and everyone will be too busy to keep up with the demand..."

"Boom..." Just as Wang Dong was speaking, the sound of a car engine suddenly rang out in front of the fried chicken shop, and then a car from Dongjun Restaurant was seen parked in front of the shop.

The driver jumped out of the cab, hurriedly climbed onto the truck bed, took out a bundle of flyers, and walked up to Wang Dong.

"Boss... these are the flyers I picked up from the printing factory, a total of 20,000..."

Wang Dong's eyes lit up immediately. He quickly pulled out a flyer, and after confirming there were no problems, his smile widened. He immediately replied, "It's printed well..."

"Thanks a lot……"

"You still need to deliver to the other branches of the fried chicken shop. Each branch needs 20,000 flyers; try to distribute them all within the day, and be quick..." "When you get back, ask your team leader for a pack of cigarettes as an extra reward for today..."

The driver was clearly a heavy smoker, and his face lit up with joy when he heard about the cigarette reward.

Although the salary for a driver at Dongjun Hotel is very high, it's all earned through hard work, and he has to support his family. Even when he smokes, he only smokes the cheapest kind.

The cigarettes the restaurant gave out as a reward weren't the best available, but they were mid-range cigarettes that the drivers usually couldn't afford to smoke.

Helping the boss move things during work hours was within his job responsibilities, so Wang Dong's extra reward of a pack of cigarettes was definitely an unexpected bonus.

The moment the driver left, Chen Jun picked up a flyer and started reading it.

This is a colorful flyer; a quick glance tells you the price is extremely expensive.

The price of various items from this fried chicken shop is clearly printed on it, and many of the items also have pictures, making it easy to see at a glance.

To make it easier for everyone to buy, some special packages have been designed with prices at least 20% off the original price, giving people a very strong desire to buy.

Seeing his wife's shocked expression, Wang Dong didn't waste any words and asked directly, "Wife..."

"As a customer, after seeing the flyer, do you feel any urge to buy the fried chicken...?"

"Of course there is..."

The wife blurted out, "A whole hen costs at least four yuan in the market..."

"Buying a fried chicken combo at a fried chicken shop, which includes two hamburgers, a pair of fried chicken wings, a serving of popcorn chicken, a chicken carcass, and two drinks, costs only one dollar and fifty cents in total."

"If you buy a single-person meal, a hamburger, a serving of popcorn chicken, a drink, and a pair of chicken wings only cost one yuan..."

"If you want to eat chicken in a restaurant, you also need a drink and a main dish, so it will cost at least two yuan..."

At this point, a worried expression flashed across Chen Jun's face again, and she continued to ask, "Husband..."

"Can you make money selling fried chicken at such a low price?"

“Of course…” Wang Dong answered confidently.

"The white-feathered chickens used for fried chicken come from Dongjun Breeding Farm. We raise them ourselves, and the price is two yuan per chicken when they leave the farm."

"Once we start using our own feed, the hatchery will be able to hatch white-feathered chickens on its own, and the farm is confident that it can reduce the price to 1.5 yuan per chicken."

"The breast meat from one white-feathered chicken can make four hamburgers, two chicken wings, two chicken legs, four servings of popcorn chicken, and two chicken frames..."

"If sold at the marked price, it can fetch at least five yuan."

"Even if we sell them all as a set meal, we can still get four yuan."

"After deducting all other costs and the store manager's and employees' share of the profits, we can earn one dollar for every white-feathered chicken consumed in a fried chicken shop."

"When the price of white-feathered chickens drops to 1.5 yuan, fried chicken shops can earn 1.5 yuan for every white-feathered chicken they consume."

"The farm produces a thousand broiler chickens a day. Including the farm's profits, the fried chicken shop alone can earn a thousand yuan a day. From any perspective, it's a sure-fire way to make money." (End of Chapter)