The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Yun Ji also saw the restaurant across the street and said, "So it's right across from their restaurant?"

Min Xi sneered, "This is really a case of enemies meeting on a narrow road. I'd like to rent this store, and it would be best if we could open it as a restaurant, so that the bosses across the street can see the queues of people eating here, and it would piss them off to death."

Yun Ji smiled when he heard this, knowing that Min Xi was just speaking out of anger. Their store had just gained some fame and had repeat customers, so it was impossible for them to spend time and money to renovate a restaurant.

The dealer didn't know about the feud between them and the store across the street, so he said enthusiastically, "This is the one. Take a look. Isn't it smaller than your current store? We'll rent the second floor and the attic to you, too."

I have to say that the location of this store is better than their own restaurant. It is located near a crossroads. Not far ahead is another street. It has a very large flow of customers and some of the most popular stores are also nearby.

If their restaurant opened here, business would probably be better.

Min Xi looked at the store and knew that no matter what kind of store it was, it would have good business. He asked the dealer, "This store was originally a restaurant, right? Why is it closed?"

The veterinarian said, "This shop used to have good business. But the chef's boss got seriously ill last year and couldn't cook anymore, so he hired the chef to do the cooking. But the chef's cooking skills weren't as good as the boss's, so the business plummeted. It has only been able to sustain itself until now, but it can't sustain it any longer, so it had to close down."

"The landlord is not the boss?" Min Xi asked.

"No. The landlord is a viscount. If you really want to rent it, we can negotiate the rent, but it shouldn't be too much less. This shop has a good location and there are many people who want to rent it. If you want it, you must make a decision as soon as possible." said the broker.

Min Xi said, "Let's go to Laurel Street."

The dealer took them to the shop on Yuegui Street. The location of this shop was a little off the beaten track, but there were many people living nearby, so the dim sum shop should not be too bad. It was just too far from their shop, so they couldn't take care of it, and it was inconvenient for them to go to their shop to get dim sum.

This is Min Xi's plan. If he wants to open a dim sum shop, it would be best if it is near a hotel. This way he doesn't have to make dim sum himself, which saves him a lot of trouble. If customers want to take away dim sum, he can also recommend them to go to the dim sum shop to buy it, which can also be regarded as attracting customers.

After looking at the shops on Yuegui Street, Min Xi and Yun Ji had made up their minds. Min Xi asked, "Seventh Brother, which one do you think is better?"

Yun Ji said, "No. 88. It's just that the cost is a bit higher, and the profit may not be that much."

Min Xi said, "Then take your time. I believe it will get better."

"Then let's go to No. 88. It's close and we can take care of you if anything happens." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi said to the agent, "Please help us make an appointment with the landlord. We want to see store No. 88."

The broker was overjoyed. He didn't expect that a decision would be made so quickly. "Okay, I'll make an appointment right away. See you tomorrow, okay?"

Min Xi nodded: "Tomorrow morning or afternoon is fine, don't rush during meal time, we still have to open the store."

"Okay, it's settled." The broker agreed readily.

Min Xi and Yun Ji returned to their own shop. It was still early, so they went up to the attic to rest for a while and discuss something.

Yun Ji said: "I roughly estimated that if I rent store No. 88, I have to sell at least 200 egg tarts a day to break even. Will there be any pressure?"

The egg tarts mentioned here are a unit, which does not mean that you must sell 200 egg tarts.

Min Xi said: "It's not a big problem. In addition to egg tarts, I also plan to bake cakes and bread, and also customize birthday cakes."

Yun Ji asked: "What is a birthday cake?"

"It's a cake for birthdays. Make a large cake, spread a layer of cream on it, and add syrup and fruit for decoration. A birthday cake is priced at dozens or hundreds of reais. Isn't that equivalent to selling dozens of egg tarts?" Min Xi said.

"Will anyone buy it?" Yun Ji asked uncertainly.

Min Xi nodded: "It will happen." For Europeans, this birthday cake is exported and then sold domestically, so its value will naturally increase a lot.

"Then let's try it." Yun Ji said.

The next day, the broker asked the landlord to come. When the landlord heard that the owner of the China Hotel wanted to rent his house, he took the initiative to ask to meet them at the China Hotel, because he was also a frequent customer of the China Hotel.

The landlord's surname was Macaulay, and he was a viscount. He shook hands with Min Xi and Yun Ji enthusiastically and said, "I didn't expect that you would rent my house. Are you planning to open another branch?"

Min Xi said, "Your Excellency, we plan to open another dessert shop, which will specialize in selling desserts such as egg tarts, cakes, and cookies. This way, everyone can buy the desserts they want at any time."

Viscount Macaulay clapped his hands and said, "Great! That's a great idea. My children love the dim sum in your restaurant. Sometimes I want to buy some egg tarts but I may not be able to buy them."

"That's right, because I don't bake egg tarts every day. If there is a special dim sum shop, there will be no shortage of that kind, and I can eat it anytime I go." Min Xi said with a smile.

Macaulay said, "I rented the house to you."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Your Excellency, can the rent be more favorable?"

Macaulay said, "Since you are the ones who want to rent it, I will give you a discount of 5 reais."

Min Xi said, "Would you like to give us a little more discount? The annual rent is 72 reais, 6 reais per month."

Macaulay looked at Min Xi and said, "Okay, 75 reais is already my lowest price, but considering that I can always buy egg tarts in the future, I will give you a discount of 3 reais."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Thank you very much, then let's sign the contract."

This went better than expected, and they rented the house. Diego almost cried when he heard that they were going to open a snack shop in the rented house, which meant that he would leave his employer soon.

But when he heard that the new store was on this street, less than 200 meters away, his anxiety was alleviated a little. But no matter what, he had to go out and start his own business.

He didn't want to go, but Gail and Jasper were extremely envious. They wished such a good thing could happen to them.

After signing the contract, it was time to decorate the new store. The decoration of a dim sum shop is much simpler than that of a restaurant. Just repaint the walls, build a few rows of shelves on the first floor to place the dim sum, and then customize a series of wooden boxes for the dim sum. All the wooden boxes have glass lids. This costs a lot more, but customers can see at a glance what dim sum is in the box.

Use boxes to pack snacks. This is both clean and hygienic and can prevent the snacks from getting damp.

The walls of the second floor are painted light yellow and have several sets of sofas and coffee tables to make it cozier and provide a place for guests to drink tea and eat snacks and relax.

The attic is used as a staff dormitory. Diego can live there, and new employees can also live there.

Min Xi put a lot of thought into the kitchen of the dim sum shop. In addition to the steamer and fryer, the most important thing is the oven, because most of the dim sum are baked.

With previous experience, Min Xi customized several ovens in the backyard for the new store to facilitate baking cakes and snacks of different sizes. Even the snack molds are all customized, including large cakes, egg tarts, small cakes, small breads, etc.

The snack shop uses paper and wooden boxes for packaging. If you spend more than 40 riels, you can get a wooden box for free. If you spend less than this price and want a wooden box, you have to pay an additional 1 riel for packaging. Paper packaging is free.

The dim sum shop was named "Oriental Delicacies". It was not called Chinese Dim Sum out of Min Xi's selfishness, because the cakes and egg tarts were exported and then sold domestically, and it was not appropriate to name them China. Naming it Oriental Delicacies meant that they were brought by himself, an Oriental.

Min Xi asked Lord Mello to write the advertising slogan for the new store again, and Yun Ji engraved a new advertising seal and stamped the advertising slogan on every piece of wrapping paper and every wooden box.

Min Xi originally planned to staff the dim sum shop with only two people, but considering that there was a leisure space upstairs that needed someone to make tea, and Min Xi also planned to make milk tea, which required a dedicated person to serve, he hired two more employees.

The three employees here still eat in the restaurant. It’s not far away anyway, so they can just send someone over to get the food.

Before opening the dim sum shop, Min Xi recruited two young men to work in his restaurant for a few days so that they could learn service methods and attitudes.

The decoration style of the dim sum shop is different from that of the restaurant. The restaurant focuses on Chinese style, while the dim sum shop prefers a more modern and simple Nordic style, focusing on warmth and comfort.

Before the dim sum shop opened, Baron Fernando and Lord Merlot were invited to take a look at the overall decoration and ask for their opinions.

When they saw the first floor, they thought it was very special because the overall space was very large. In addition to the shelves against the wall, there was only one double-sided shelf in the middle of the store, and there was a cashier counter at the door. The remaining space was very large, unlike ordinary stores that were filled with items for fear of wasting space and appearing crowded. This store was very open and breathable.

Min Xi also asked the carpenter to make two sets of tables and chairs and placed them in the back half of the hall on the first floor. The tables were rectangular, with one side against the wall and only one round leg. Each table was equipped with three chairs, which could seat three or five people. If the children were small, six or seven could be squeezed in.

Fernando said, "Are these two tables for guests?"

"Yes, some customers are tired from shopping and want to take a break in the store. They can sit down, rest and have some snacks," said Min Xi.

Fernando said: "This is a great idea. It should attract tired customers to come in and rest, and buy snacks."

Lord Melo looked at the stairs and asked, "Have you rented the second floor as well?"

Min Xi nodded: "Yes, the second floor is a tea room where you can rest. Please follow me upstairs to take a look."

Min Xi and Yun Ji led the two people to the second floor. The space on the second floor was not small, with four sets of sofas placed there, two large sets and two small sets on the diagonals. There was also a fireplace near the corner so they could make a fire in the winter.

There are several watercolor flower and bird sketches hanging on the wall, which were painted by Yunji during the renovation period. There are also several pots of flowers and plants planted indoors. With the plants, the room looks lively.

When Fernando came up and took a look, he exclaimed: "Oh my God! Is this a salon? It has such a great atmosphere!"

Min Xi thought for a moment and said, "To be precise, this is a tea room. It provides tea, milk tea, and snacks. Ladies or gentlemen who want to find a place to chat with friends or discuss business can come here. Over tea and snacks, they can get things done."

Fernando threw himself into the sofa, lay on it, opened his arms and said, "This idea is really great! Imagine a warm and comfortable sofa, fragrant hot tea, and freshly baked egg tarts and snacks. Here, I can spend an afternoon. Your place will definitely become a holy place in Lisbon, more fascinating than those salons. Is there a consumption standard for this place?"

Min Xi said: "Of course there are. The price of a pot of tea varies depending on the grade of the tea. The cheapest is 50 reais a pot." Add in snacks, two people here would have to spend at least or reais.