River City Story

The proprietress wants to open a branch of the family restaurant in Yancheng.

She was extremely efficient, and she had already rented a place and selected a manager in charge before Lin Yan's winter vacation, but she lacked someone who knew everything about her to help take care of the follow-up matters.After much deliberation, the proprietress thought that Lin Yan was the most suitable.

"Don't delay your class, just go to the store in your free time." The proprietress said, "I can't be there every day to guard, you are here, I don't worry."

"But I don't know how to operate." Lin Yan said distressedly, and he didn't want to waste too much brain on things other than studies.

The proprietress: "Who made you understand business? There is a special person to do it." She poked Lin Yan's head, "Besides, I never knew how to come here. As long as I work hard, things won't be so manly. I don't have any hope You can make a lot of money in one or two years, we will take it step by step, and there are no investors chasing you to submit financial reports, so what are you afraid of?"

Lin Yan was surprised by the lady boss's easy-going words: "Why does everything come to you as if it's not a problem? This is opening a shop, not eating and drinking water..."

The proprietress pushed his head, frowned and said: "What's the matter with you, half a year of college, and you have become an elm head? There must be a way to get to the front of the mountain. There are two shops here, and I still have some money in my hand." , will never starve to death."

"That's true, as long as you have a way out." Lin Yan straightened her messy hair and nodded, "I'll go back and quit those part-time jobs and focus on your business."

The proprietress rolled her eyes: "I will draw up a contract when the time comes. As one of the start-up employees, you will be regarded as a technical shareholder."

"No, I can only do trivial things. It's unnecessary to have any skills." Lin Yan said embarrassedly.

The proprietress gave him a look of resentment, "You don't want what I gave you for nothing? Is it stupid? But it's not that easy to get the money, it's too early!" She said earnestly, "The situation of your family, My sister knows that you are very sensible and hardworking. There is no way for my sister to give you gold and silver, but you are absolutely indispensable. Although you can’t compare with those big companies for the time being, it is still money. Don’t push this matter, After the new year, you will be 19. You think that my sister doesn't know about it? Doing part-time jobs every day, you can't earn a house."

What the proprietress said made Lin Yan feel a little grateful.He did look at it a few times in the store with a real estate leaflet, and he studied it quite carefully.In the past one or two years, because of the reputation of a tourist city, housing prices in Xicheng have skyrocketed. Not only Lin Yan, but anyone who wants to buy a house is very anxious.

"Why are you in a daze? When you graduate, whether you want to take the postgraduate entrance examination or come back, it's up to you, don't put pressure on yourself." The proprietress stretched out her hand and waved in front of Lin Yan, "But you have to work hard for me these few years in college, I don't worry about anyone else, but you. I helped you rent a room near the restaurant, and both places are not far from your school."

"Renting a house?!" Lin Yan came back to his senses, his eyes widened in surprise, "I always feel like I'm going to be sold at a price at your speed. How expensive is it to rent a house in that area! Don't waste your money, I live in a dormitory. Good……"

"Are you going to use it as a staff dormitory? It's not big, with two bedrooms and one living room. It's my college classmate's house. She's going abroad now, and she wants to make a move as soon as possible. I just took it and it didn't cost much."

Lin Yan sighed and stopped talking.

Because of this, his Spring Festival holiday was very short. On the fifth day of the new year, Lin Yan took two packages of local specialties, and was stuffed into the high-speed rail by the proprietress in a daze, and returned to Yancheng.Soon, Lin Yan started to get busy in the new restaurant of the proprietress as if he was being chased away.

The two old stores in the hands of the proprietress have their own independent operating routines, which do not affect each other.She has always believed that as long as the taste is good, there will be customers. However, the proprietress of the newly opened store hopes to do better. However, she can't spare much energy to plan and operate.Lin Yan has no experience in this field, and can only rely on intuition and information obtained from field surveys to make judgments.

The location of the store is surrounded by many universities, and there are new buildings under construction. He thought, maybe it would be better to be an independent catering brand, and try to be different from the store in Xicheng.Lin Yan's proposal coincides with Cheng Qi, the professional manager invited by the proprietress.The two were very efficient, set the direction, and quickly named the new store.Lin Yan repeatedly invited students from the Academy of Fine Arts to design a sample of the new logo, together with Cheng Qi's preliminary plan, and showed it to the proprietress.

Although the proprietress has the idea of ​​trying, she does not agree with the use of a new store name and logo, thinking that it is too risky.The two sides discussed this issue repeatedly, and no one was willing to make concessions.She had no choice but to fly to Yancheng herself to have a face-to-face interview with them.

"Out of Xicheng, ask who still remembers your two stores?" Lin Yan said, "There is no need to dwell on this issue for too long. After finishing the previous preparations, we will apply for a trademark, build a website, and do publicity. , the follow-up team recruitment must start as soon as possible. Also, sister, considering the cost here, I suggest that you increase the price of the dishes by 20%."

"Isn't this very energetic? I was hesitant at the beginning." The proprietress smiled and said, "Lin Yan, you look like you now, let alone a philistine, you look like someone who crows in the middle of the night."

Lin Yan drank a mouthful of white water, leaned back in the chair, and spread his hands, "Anyway, the restaurant is not mine, nor Lao Cheng's. You don't listen to his words, and you don't listen to mine. You can continue to run a family restaurant." .But this is Yancheng, and [-] to [-]% of the diners around your store are college students. Young people’s thoughts are very hard to figure out.” He bumped Cheng Qi with his elbow as he spoke, and Cheng Qi immediately Follow along.

"Yes, although it is safe to make money by making cheap North-South dishes, there are too many such restaurants in the surrounding area, and there are few opportunities to stand out. Some of them have even been here for more than ten years. If we want to gain a foothold, I am afraid that we will have to suffer." After he finished speaking, he turned back to Lin Yan, "Don't call me Lao Cheng, call me Brother Cheng."

Lin Yan nodded in agreement: "Old Cheng is right. He understands better than us. Although we both look like criminals who persuaded you to join the MLM gang, we are both telling the truth without any falsehood."

Cheng Qi: "...so can you call me Brother Cheng?"

Lin Yan poured tea for the two of them: "In the future, when we come out to talk about things, it's better not to drink tea. I always feel that there is a string of Buddhist beads in my hand, which is weird."

Cheng Qi took a sip of tea angrily, and roared angrily: "I hate drinking high-end Puerto Rico the most!! Isn't there a more cost-effective one? It's 20 yuan a catty!"

"What a returnee who knows how to live." Lin Yan poured him another cup of Wen Baikai, "Although I have no research on tea, did Shengpu provoke you?" This tea was brought by the proprietress from Xicheng , It is said that it is tens of thousands of yuan a catty, and Lin Yan drinks it as golden soup.

Cheng Qi: "Can we talk about business? It's been a long time for just a name!"

Lin Yan said: "You have to let her smooth it out by herself, otherwise it's useless for us to talk dry. Besides, it takes several months to think about a name for a child, and it's only a few days."

"Weren't you in a hurry just now?"

"There's no rush now."

Cheng Qi decisively closed her mouth.Obviously, in terms of thick skin and communicating with people, he is far less old-fashioned than the 19-year-old young boy in front of him.Cheng Qi has 5 years of experience as a professional manager in a foreign country. The time is not too long, but he has done a good job. It's just that he has to adapt here.

"Let me think about it again. This is equivalent to starting from scratch. I don't know." The proprietress pressed her forehead tightly, showing embarrassment.

"Who said that she didn't know how to run a business at the beginning, and she mainly relied on her conscience?" Lin Yan smiled and changed her a new cup of tea, "Everyone can calm down, your decision to open a store is too hasty, think carefully It’s a good thing to think slowly, let’s not be in a hurry, let’s figure it out before we talk about it.”

"Shut up, you stinky kid who fell into the eyes of money! You say one thing with your mouth, think another thing in your heart, and you still have another thing in your hand!"

"If you don't make money, you'd rather die." Lin Yan said romantically.

Before the proprietress changed her mind, Lin Yan and Cheng Qi started the follow-up work in private.Although their personalities are different, they have surprisingly the same philosophy in doing things, and there is a tacit understanding.The two of them have a part of the working capital paid in advance, and they plan to make all the physical materials directly. Although it is risky, if it stagnates, it will be more difficult to advance things later.

However, Lin Yan has been dealing with the proprietress for more than three years, and he has figured out the other party's thoughts very clearly, so he is not worried.

The student from the Academy of Fine Arts who designed the logo was recommended by Song Rui, and he still needs to do a whole set of visuals, which is not a small project. Cheng Qi worried that he would be unhappy if he was dragged out to work during the holidays, so he suggested adding 20% ​​to the advance payment.

In most matters, Lin Yan chooses to follow Cheng Qi's advice, but when it comes to money, he will be particularly persistent.

"We have paid him 30.00% in advance according to the contract. Even if the work cycle is long, for a sophomore, this part of the money can give him half a year's pocket money. Of course, his design is really excellent. , working during holidays is also very hard, but this is not a reason to increase the advance payment.” After Lin Yan finished speaking, he was worried that Cheng Qi would be unhappy, so he patted Cheng Qi on the shoulder and said, “Aren’t you a professional manager? You are too kind, you should be a profiteer. When it comes to money, there is no need to follow some inexplicable rules, just follow your principles when you are abroad."

Cheng Qi looked at the 19-year-old handsome guy who encouraged him to become a profiteer in puzzlement, "I just hope he can be more careful. I'm overdoing it? However, I really haven't touched the design industry."

Lin Yan: "Almost every designer complains about clients, but they rarely bring their emotions into the final work. Do you know why?"

Cheng Qi shook her head, "Teacher Lin please enlighten me."

Lin Yan: "That sounds like sarcasm."

Cheng Qi said angrily, "Say it!"

Lin Yan sighed: "Of course it's aesthetics! I'm also afraid of being abused... Everyone has their own aesthetic bottom line, especially designers. When they meet young customers, they will actually be happier, at least in some elements, Young people will be more accepting, and the frequency of revisions will be less, if you don’t believe me, take a look.” He pointed to the sample draft uploaded from the computer, “Neither of us has put forward any opinions on his aesthetics, you said he will be happy Do it, or do it with annoyance?"

"Although your words are a bit absolute, you don't deny them. They are quite reasonable. I'm almost convinced by you." Cheng Qi laughed, "Compared with your age and appearance, Lin Yan in your brain is completely different. individual.

"I don't want to preach at all, and many words are very childish, so don't worry about it." Lin Yan looked down at the decoration materials manual on the table, "It's just that I worked as a part-time general post in a real estate company for a period of time. Life is really hard. But I haven’t really seen the life of a great designer, but I have a friend who is an architectural designer. The above experience is basically deceiving, you just listen to half of it.”

Cheng Qi frowned and asked, "Have you done a lot of work?"

Lin Yan stretched out his fingers on the table and counted them one by one: "Let's think about it, if you counted selling breakfast for the neighbor's uncle in elementary school, there are quite a lot, but the types are single. Tutors, restaurants, bookstores, Various promotional activities and so on, oh, I have been to the construction site, but people don’t want me, and I have basically never had any serious contact with it.”

"Working part-time in primary school?" Cheng Qi was quite shocked.

Lin Yan raised his eyebrows, "I was a tutor in junior high school! Awesome."

Cheng Qi: "Are you short of money? The proprietress keeps saying that you are falling for money."

Lin Yan Chuan Chuan Liu Hai nodded helplessly: "Yes, it is lacking, it is too lacking, and I can't live without a part-time job."

Cheng Qi immediately felt that maybe he shouldn't ask. He stretched out his hand and rubbed Lin Yan's hair affectionately, and said comfortingly, "No wonder you seem to have richer social experience than me."

"Don't touch me like a dog." Lin Yan took Cheng Qi's hand down, "Your experience is very systematic, but it's just a process of getting used to it when you're new here, so I'll let it go, you won't be able to hold it on stage of."

Cheng Qi smiled: "You are very good at complimenting others. Although I am in my third year, I don't feel that I am much more mature than you."

"Haha!" Lin Yan buried his head in his arms and arched twice, and said in a muffled voice, "So you don't like me calling you Lao Cheng?"

"Call me Brother Cheng."

"Old Brother Cheng?"

"You're so uncute!"

Lin Yan put a lot of energy into opening the store, and when he received a call from He Zhengxi again, he took the initiative to look through the calendar—it turned out that the first month is NO.14.He told He Zhengxi about the store on the phone, and He Zhengxi insisted on visiting, Lin Yan readily agreed.He has learned to behave well now, in short, as long as he is happy with He Zhengxi and the two of them stop arguing, everything is easy to talk about.

"The two of you are the only ones busy in the store?" He Zhengxi walked around twice seriously, as if a prince was inspecting, "Your proprietress is too oppressive and exploitative."

Lin Yan kicked him with a smile, "Boy, at the beginning of the project, you don't even know how fast the process of implementing this idea is. I just got home a few years ago, and the proprietress directly said that the house is already rented!"

"Then you don't have other part-time jobs, do you?" He Zhengxi asked.

"If you don't do it, this is the only one left, and it should be a serious business."

He Zhengxi bit his cup and said along the way: "This is actually pretty good, no more fussing, just focus on doing one thing, just worry about it, are you okay in class?"

"Yo, I already know the word 'worry', and I've grown up a lot." Lin Yan joked, "No problem, it's nothing compared to high school, as you said, the key is not to go back and forth between several The place is tossing."

"Mm." He Zhengxi replied deeply.He seemed to be calmer again, and he acted more and more like an adult, "Then you must have a night shift in the restaurant, how will you go back to the dormitory then?"

After hearing this, Lin Yan suddenly realized, "I'd forget about it if you didn't mention it. There's still something I need to tell you."

He Zhengxi: "?"

Lin Yan: "The proprietress helped to rent a house nearby. You can come and live with me when you have a rest day in the future."

"Really?!" He Zhengxi put away his mature appearance, patted the table and shouted.In front of Lin Yan, he has never been able to successfully conceal his emotions, happiness is happiness.But soon, he asked with a bitter face, "Aren't you afraid that I'll be a demon again?"

"No matter what you do, aren't you still my brother? Am I going to break up with you?" Lin Yan got up to get the key, "I'm not too busy right now, with Lao Cheng watching over me, let's go to the house together to have a look?"

"Okay." He Zhengxi agreed, but turned around and walked towards Cheng Qi.

"What are you going to do?" Lin Yan asked vigilantly, he was really afraid of what happened to Zheng Qifeng before.

He Zhengxi shouted behind his back: "Don't worry, I'm talking about business."

"It's amazing, you're just a high school student, and you're still talking about business..."

Lin Yan muttered and walked to the door to push the cart and wait for someone. After a few minutes, He Zhengxi came out with a happy face.

"What dirty deal did you make?" Lin Yan stepped into the car, "Are you in a good mood?"

He Zhengxi squatted down on the back seat, and stretched his arms around Lin Yan's waist familiarly, "He is a normal person. If you two want to start a business together in the future, I will definitely not trouble him."

"Hey!" Lin Yan straightened his toes and played with the pedals, and said in surprise: "Did you take the wrong medicine during this period? Generally speaking, you haven't changed so quickly, have you? Are you sure you haven't reshaped your character?"

"Take your time, I'll try my best to become a stable, down-to-earth, trustworthy man before I go to college."

While He Zhengxi was talking, his hands were not idle. He began to touch Lin Yan's butt... the seat spring underneath.

"Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with you, as long as you control your temper, you'll be fine."

Lin Yan whistled, waved to Cheng Qi who was standing at the door, and drove He Zhengxi straight to his new home.Counting the time spent waiting at the red light, the two of them only spent more than ten minutes on the road, and He Zhengxi was satisfied with the distance.

"The best thing about this neighborhood is that there is no elevator. I'm not used to that." Lin Yan opened the door and walked in. The house is on the fourth floor, and the surrounding area is quite quiet. There is a small farmers' market outside, which is very suitable for living.

"It's quite expensive." He Zhengxi stood on the balcony and looked down, "Your proprietress is really generous." It seemed that it was another person who said the oppression and exploitation just now.

Lin Yan thought about it carefully, and there was really no jealousy in these words, so he said with a smile: "Yes, it is very expensive. I asked someone to inquire about it, so I plan to give her a supplementary scholarship depending on the scholarship distribution after the semester starts. Previous part."

"Do you know how long you've been waiting?"

"I don't know, but it's almost the same. I have confidence in myself."

Lin Yan walked over to stand with him on the balcony to watch the scenery. Both of them were silent. In the cold north wind of Yancheng, they each thought about life for a few minutes.

Then, He Zhengxi turned around suddenly, squatted down, grabbed Lin Yan's thigh with both hands, picked him up and bumped him twice, and quickly put him back on the ground before Lin Yan swung his fist and raised his foot. .

"Old He is awesome, but you are my lighthouse." He Zhengxi turned his head and said with a blushing face.

Lin Yan coughed twice in embarrassment: "It's sour and numb."

I don't know whether it's because the words about the lighthouse are disgusting, or the way He Zhengxi hugs him is disgusting.

Although he has a new residence, Lin Yan has no plan to stay out at night.From Monday to Friday, he would definitely study in school at night and sleep in the dormitory in a peaceful manner. In his free time, he would concentrate on working in the restaurant. He would occasionally exchange brotherhood with He Zhengxi and run for half an hour at night every day.

By the end of April, when the streets and alleys of Yancheng were filled with the scent of Sophora japonica, their new store was finally ready to end its trial operation.

"Seasonal restrictions must be done well, so that the chef will continue to work hard on the styling, not only must it be delicious, but also photogenic, you know? After finishing, try to take a photo to see how it looks." Lin Yan replied. , while instructing the little assistant beside him, "By the way, remember to take a test shot with your mobile phone. Now everyone is slowly starting to like to take pictures with your mobile phone. After the final promotional photos, you will change to a SLR. I have a photographer here, so you don't need to hire another one."

"Understood." The little assistant took the order neatly and went straight to the back kitchen.

"Wait!" Lin Yan stopped him again, "Forget it, I will tell you in person, you follow Lao Cheng, there will be fewer people on the purchase side."

"Okay!" The little assistant changed direction and continued running.

After communicating with the back kitchen, he contacted the former designer of the Academy of Fine Arts. Now all the materials for the opening of the store are handed over to that little brother. Even the packaging of the sub-line products has been prepared in advance. no use.The plan of Lin Yan and Cheng Qi is that maybe after a few months, the things that are popular outside will have to be changed, and after a year, they will be useful sooner or later.

"Are you planning to make this store into a holy place for tourists?" The proprietress said worriedly, "This is completely different from the store I expected."

"It's hard to say what's guaranteed, but at least young people will like it. We did various investigations during the trial operation, and it should be good." Lin Yan handed the proprietress a cup of the drink he tried.

"I don't drink, I want to lose weight!" The proprietress tried her best to recover her belly.

"This is your loss." Lin Yan raised his head and drank it all, and wiped the corners of his mouth with a tissue, "I'll go to the back, you help sit here first."

"You two can toss about as you like." The proprietress looked around with her chin on her hands, and finally her eyes focused on Lin Yan, "Don't drink that stuff all the time, you have to eat too."

"I know." Lin Yan had already walked away.

Although there is a market near the location of the store, some high-end and fresh ingredients still need to get up in the early morning and go to the suburbs to grab them.Both Lin Yan and Cheng Qi are young people who are newcomers, and every time they make a purchase, they feel very apprehensive, worried that no one will take them seriously.Later, they simply stopped wearing shirts and trousers. Lin Yan got two gold-plated chains from nowhere, one for each person, and hung them around his neck.Cheng Qi knows how to smoke, and she doesn't smoke unless it's a good cigarette. The gold chain matches the Yellow Crane Tower, which is appropriate and stylish.Such an image has been swaying among the vendors for a few days, not only becoming a familiar face, but also making some friends.

"When you come to our store, quickly remove the gold chain, it's too funny, and it's so stupid."

"Didn't you give it to me? It's disgusting now!" Cheng Qi had a cigarette pinned behind her ear, and her hair was shaved into a brand new size.He grabbed a bag of onions and threw it on the cart, and said, "I like the current outfit very much. It's very trendy. It's very handsome when it's photographed as a poster." He took out a towel and wiped his sweat, and said, "There are still people today. To introduce someone to me, I’m still a kid.”

"Don't pretend, I'm actually quite happy, a 30-year-old kid." Lin Yan took out a cabbage and weighed it, "It's quite solid."

"30 years old is still young, okay! I chose this dish myself, of course it is solid! I don't plan to wear this chain tomorrow. I will go to the mall to choose a real gold chain in the afternoon. Let me tell you, clothes make a person. This style Ah, really, you can't accept it..."

"Wait, what did you just say?" Lin Yan interrupted him suddenly, "It's just... before the age of 30."

"Can you stop emphasizing the age of 30!" Cheng Qi said angrily, carrying potatoes.

Lin Yan clapped his hands together, "I have an idea, although it's not new."

Cheng Qi was discouraged: "Say it."

"Take a few big photos of the employees in our store! The working status of the front desk, back kitchen, and administrative posts can be used in publicity." Lin Yan grabbed Cheng Qi excitedly, "As you said, it's quite It’s trendy, and the back chef is the most trendy, right? You have to show your sense of presence. The so-called handsomeness of a person is definitely more than one face. Everyone knows it. I think the brothers and sisters in our store all It’s pretty good. It’s really not hot, so let’s be funny.”

"...Oh...oh!" Cheng Qi applauded approvingly, "You are in a good mood recently, and your smile is very bright."

"I was in a bad mood before?" Lin Yan calmed down and asked.

"kind of."

"It is clear?"

Cheng Qi looked at him suspiciously: "It's obvious, but it's all right now, what's wrong? Have you encountered a problem?"

Lin Yan immediately denied: "No, no."

"That's fine." Cheng Qi smiled and took out her mobile phone. "I have a supplier here that I have to talk to. You just go back to school after unloading the goods."

Lin Yan: "Okay, busy with you."