The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

The meal lasted until curfew time, and the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves very much. Everyone drank rice wine and got drunk. Yun Ji asked the guests to stay overnight, but was rejected. It was Feng Hao who stepped forward and sent the two friends home.

Yunlin also ate early with his nurse, and now they have gone to bed. He ate cabbage and rice tonight, and only let him eat two mouthfuls of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, because he was afraid that he would not be able to take the tonic.

Although the nurse didn't sit at the table, she ate the same food as the guests, including boiled cabbage, Buddha jumps over the wall, and roast chicken. She knew that Lin'er's two brothers really cared about this little brother, and they treated her, the nurse, with such respect, so she had to be more attentive in the future.

The servants in the house also benefited from it to some extent. Although they didn't have Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, they also had boiled cabbage and braised pork. They also knew that they were really lucky to serve the young master. Although the Tao family didn't treat servants harshly, they would never eat the same dishes as the master. At most, they would eat leftovers. But here, the dishes were separated when they were served in the kitchen. Min Xi took the quantity into consideration when cooking. This respect alone made them feel warm in their hearts.

No one else would have thought of this, but Min Xi had received a socialist education and never felt that anyone was inferior, so he respected every servant in the house to the greatest extent.

Before going to bed, Min Xi said, "These dishes have received very good responses today. Why don't you teach them to the chef of your restaurant and invite Sun Hua to have a meal. This will help build up your reputation and earn you some money."

Yun Ji said, "I think it's OK. Our restaurant was once very famous, but after Zui Xiang Lou and He Ming Lou opened, our restaurant declined."

"It's a blessing in disguise. At least I wasn't targeted by Yunxiao and your clansmen. Otherwise, I would still be sealed up and waiting for the lawsuit."

"That's true! Nowadays, extravagance is the norm in the capital, and many people are willing to spend money on pleasure. Even if Buddha Jumps Over the Wall costs only one ounce of silver per bowl, it will surely sell well."

"Yes, sell it by the cup. Pick a day off, call the shopkeeper and the cook, and I will teach them how to make it." Min Xi said.

"They have no days off, except for the New Year holidays. If there is something, they have to ask for leave," said Yun Ji.

Min Xi glared at him and said, "That's too harsh! I suggest that your shop should be closed for at least two days a month like we did before."

Yun Ji smiled and said, "That's right. I never ran a specific store before, and I never thought about these things. Now that I think about it, it's really too hard. Repeating the same thing day after day, they will inevitably get tired and lazy."

"Now that you are in charge, you should follow the new rules. Give holidays when it is time to take holidays, and pay wages when it is time to pay wages. You are the new boss, so there should be some changes so that the employees feel motivated." Min Xi said.

"Ninth brother is right. I have only been back for a short time and have been busy taking over the store, checking the accounts, and settling accounts with Yunxiao and others. I haven't thought about this yet. Come and help me. You have the final say on how to process the money."

Min Xi shook his head: "I won't make the decision for you, I'll just give you some suggestions, you decide. Each store will be based on its operating conditions. If it makes more money, I'll give it more, and if it makes less money, I'll give it less. Set a profit target for each store so that everyone will be proactive. If there are lazy employees, give them a chance to reform. If they still refuse to correct their mistakes, just send them away. Do you still have to worry about not being able to hire people?"

Yun Ji said: "I have limited energy, it would be great if you could help me. But you can't be nameless or you won't be able to convince others."

Min Xi's eyes widened: "What do you want to do?"

Seeing his reaction, Yun Ji couldn't help but laugh out loud: "From tomorrow on, you will be the general manager of Yun Xiang."

Min Xi breathed a sigh of relief: "That's pretty good."

"What are you thinking about?" Yun Ji asked him with a smile.

Min Xi turned his head away and ignored him: "No!" He was worrying too much. Although the south wind was prevailing in Ming Dynasty, no one brought it up openly.

"Tomorrow I will arrange for someone to call the shop owners to come and meet with you."

Min Xi shook his head: "No, starting tomorrow, you will take me to each store to have a look. If I don't know where the store is and what the specific situation is, how can I manage those stores well?"

Min Xi himself had never been a manager before. He had only opened two shops, both of which he managed together with Yun Ji. But he did not intend to shirk his responsibilities. Yun Ji trusted him, and he did not think that he could not do those things. Even if he had not eaten pork, had he not seen a pig run?

Yunxianghao's business covers all aspects of food, clothing, housing and transportation. However, the most profitable shops, such as the gold shop and the north-south goods store, have been bought by Yunxiao and his family at low prices, and now they have all been closed down by Yunji's lawsuit. There are also many shops in good locations that have been sold and turned into other people's shops. Yunji has a memory of these shops, and he has sued all of them to the government, saying that they illegally bought and sold shops without the owner's consent.

The rest either have their deeds in the hands of my maternal grandfather, or are in industries with very thin profits, or are shops with poor management and bad locations.

So from the next day, Min Xi began to follow Yun Ji to familiarize himself with the addresses of all the stores of Yunxianghao. They did not show up, nor were they in a hurry to get to know the shop owners.

After becoming familiar with the addresses, Min Xi began to understand the basic situation of each store.

After Yunji came back, apart from suing Yunxiao, he checked the accounts of each store. He told Minxi what he knew about the accounts, and after Minxi was familiar with the accounts, the two discussed where the problems might lie.

Tao Xing then accompanied Min Xi to visit each store one by one for on-site inspections. To put it bluntly, they secretly investigated the business conditions of each store and the basic conditions of the store owners and shop assistants in terms of how they treated people.

Record all the advantages and disadvantages, find out the problems, and then solve them together with Yunji when the time comes.

In addition to the shops that were sealed off and those that were sold at a low price, there were still 22 shops left in the capital city of Yunxiang. It took Min Xi more than ten days to secretly visit all the shops.

Only after the undercover investigation is over can the problem be officially solved.

The first restaurant they went to was Yunxiang Restaurant on Qianmen Street. Min Xi knew the most about restaurants, so he spent the most time in Yunxiang Restaurant, spending the whole day there, having lunch and dinner.

When they arrived, it was not yet noon, and there were no customers in the store. The waiter was wiping the table intermittently with a rag, and the shopkeeper was dozing with his head propped up.

The two walked into the door, and the waiter came up quickly: "Sir, you are here really early, but would you like to have dinner? Two of you?"

The shopkeeper was awakened, opened his eyes, and was so scared that he almost knocked over the abacus on the table: "Boss! You're here!" and ran out quickly to greet him.

When the waiter heard that it was the boss, he quickly stepped aside, shrinking his neck and not daring to breathe.

Yun Ji glanced at the shopkeeper and said to Min Xi, "This is Shopkeeper Fang. He has worked at Yunxiang Restaurant for more than 20 years and is an old man in our family."

Min Xi bowed respectfully to the other party: "Hello, Manager Fang!"

Shopkeeper Fang looked at him puzzledly: "Boss, who is this?"

Yun Ji introduced him: "This is my sworn brother Min Xi. He is now the general manager of Yunxianghao. He has the same power to supervise all the stores of Yunxianghao as I do. His opinion is my opinion. You must obey his arrangements for any request he makes."

Shopkeeper Fang was stunned for a moment, then he reacted immediately and said in return, "Greetings, Manager Min. Please let me know if you have any instructions."

Min Xi glanced at the shop and said, "Yunxiang Restaurant has been open for quite a while, right?"

"Yes, it was opened by my grandfather. It is an old store that is almost forty years old." Yun Ji said.

Shopkeeper Fang also said: "My father was also the shopkeeper here. I started as a waiter and worked my way up step by step."

Min Xi nodded. No wonder the store looked old. It must be quite old. He asked, "When was the last time it was renovated? When were the tables, chairs and benches replaced?"

Shopkeeper Fang was stunned for a moment: "It's been more than ten years. It was changed when the old boss was here."

Yun Ji looked at Min Xi, meaning that he wanted to change the decoration?

Min Xi didn't say anything: "Let's go to the kitchen and take a look."

The waiter was about to run to the kitchen, but Min Xi stopped him: "No need to say hello, let's go straight over there."

The last time Min Xi came to inspect, he did not go to the kitchen to check, after all, his guests were not allowed to enter the kitchen. As a result, when he entered this time, his brows knitted together. The countertops and stoves were all greasy and looked very dirty. This was probably a common problem in old shops. No matter how clean they were, it was inevitable that the equipment would be outdated. If they were not careful, the kitchen would be a place full of filth and dirt, and it would not stand up to scrutiny.

Yun Ji and Min Xi have run the restaurant for more than two years. When they saw the state of the kitchen, they frowned.

When the chef saw someone coming into the kitchen, he almost yelled to drive them away, but he saw Shopkeeper Fang behind Min Xi and Yun Ji, so he didn't get angry. He put down the spoon and came over: "Shopkeeper, what is this?"

Shopkeeper Fang said, "This is the boss and Steward Min. They came to the store today to check on the situation. He is Chef Liu, the head chef of Yunxiang."

Chef Liu looked a little nervous: "Hello, boss, Manager Min!"

Min Xi nodded, walked to the stove, and saw meatballs being fried in the pot. Some of them were already out of the pot. Min Xi found chopsticks, picked up one and tasted it, and said, "It's too salty, too much starch, the fire is too big, and the oil temperature is too high."

Chef Liu's face suddenly looked a little ugly, but after listening to what Min Xi said, he knew that the other party should understand, so he said: "Butler Min also knows how to cook?"

"I have run a restaurant with your boss for several years." Min Xi said, "How about this, I have also eaten twice at Yunxiang Restaurant, and today I went into the kitchen to check it out, and I know where the problem lies. If you don't have any banquets booked tomorrow, then you can close the restaurant for a day and don't buy food. Let's discuss some things together and see how the restaurant should be rectified."

Shopkeeper Fang and Chef Liu looked at each other in bewilderment. A new emperor chooses new ministers. The restaurant really needs to make some changes to change the price.

Yun Ji said calmly, "Just do as Manager Min said. We won't open tomorrow, but everyone must come to the store and have a meeting together."