1995: From a small restaurant to a culinary genius

Chapter 32 The Silly Xu Liang, the Comedy Diner

"Boss Zhou, thank you so much. If it weren't for your help, my customers would probably be getting impatient by the time I got back."

Xu Liang thanked Zhou Yan once again in a soothing tone.

After that, Xu Liang and Zhou Yan took out the tables and chairs from his dessert shop.

Then, take a rope and tie the table and chairs together, and bring out two large carts from your backyard.

Each of them had a car, carrying a full set of tables and chairs. The two of them walked together like marathon runners moving side by side, pulling a tire of a giant jewel.

On their way to the small restaurant, Xu Liang and Zhou Yan were not idle either.

They chatted as they walked.

"Boss Zhou, how's your dessert business?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yan simply shook his head and said to Xu Liang, "Don't mention it, things aren't as prosperous as they used to be!"

"How could that be? Boss Zhou is so famous, how could he possibly bankrupt a dessert shop? I just don't believe it."

Zhou Yan continued, "You have to believe it or not, I only had three customers in my shop today. The customer traffic is practically nonexistent. I bet even your newly opened restaurant gets more customers than mine!"

Xu Liang was at a loss about what to do about the current situation of Zhou Yan's dessert shop, but he also remembered what Zhou Yan had told him before: Zhou Yan had run a Sichuan restaurant before opening the dessert shop.

At that time, his Sichuan restaurant was only developing in Leshan, a city on the outskirts of Sichuan, but it went bankrupt due to some personal reasons.

Seeing that his Sichuan restaurant was about to face debt, he had no choice but to change industries. At that time, Zhou Yan went to Chengdu to investigate and found that there were many dessert shops in Chengdu, and each dessert shop had its own signboard.

Most importantly, this dessert shop has an exceptionally high customer traffic. It is said that there is a neighbor who sells brown sugar water, and the production cost is low while the added value of the finished product is high.

Zhou Yan felt that since he could cook Sichuan cuisine, it meant that learning a skill was relatively easy. However, when he actually tried it, he found that making delicious sweet soup was still quite challenging.

Fortunately, he was quick-witted and willing to work hard and do research.

Therefore, he felt that after the transformation, he could definitely return to the peak he had when he opened the Sichuan restaurant, but he never expected that reality would teach him a lesson again.

Running a dessert shop is not easy either.

We can only take it one step at a time.

"Boss Zhou, didn't you used to run a Sichuan restaurant in Leshan? You have enough experience, you shouldn't be this bad."

"Could it be that customers are deliberately avoiding the restaurant?"

Zhou Yan: "??????"

"What do you mean by deliberately not going? There's no such thing in the food service industry. Maybe I need to reflect on myself; maybe there's something wrong with the taste of my dessert..."

As he said this, Xu Liang realized what the reason was.

"Boss Zhou, I know why your dessert shop is doing so poorly."

"Oh, why!"

"Is it possible that the diners in this town don't like overly sweet desserts?"

"Your sweet soups are probably aimed at young children, but parents of young children are often strict and have strong beliefs, so drinking too much of it might cause cavities..."

Xu Liang wanted to continue speaking.

Zhou Yan immediately stopped, seemingly guessing what Xu Liang was going to say next.

Are you going to say that adults who drink this sugary drink are more likely to develop diabetes?

After saying that, Zhou Yan's gaze immediately focused on Xu Liang.

Xu Liang watched as Zhou Yan not only helped him move his things, but also successfully and accurately guessed his next sentence.

He smiled at Zhou Yan and replied, "Boss Zhou, how did you know I was going to say that?"

Zhou Yan coughed strategically, then looked at Xu Liang, preparing to tease him.

"Is it possible that I can read minds?"

Does mind reading really exist?

Xu Liang looked at Zhou Yan with an innocent expression.

Seeing Xu Liang's expression, Zhou Yan could only smile wryly at him.

"Xiao Liang, why are you making that face? Didn't you realize I was just teasing you?"

Seeing Zhou Yan's words, Xu Liang didn't know what to say. He wanted to ask again, but after thinking about it, he decided against it.

He recalled what he had seen in an extracurricular magazine in his previous life, which actually said the same thing.

If the probability of an event occurring is 0, then there is no such thing as chance; if the probability of an event occurring is not 0, then it must be chance.

In fact, Xu Liang was wondering if what Zhou Yan said was just a coincidence, or if he had just happened to encounter a chance encounter.

But soon, Zhou Yan noticed something amiss with Xu Liang. He looked at Xu Liang, who seemed unusually serious at this moment, probably thinking about what had just happened.

So Zhou Yan said something that dispelled some of Xu Liang's concerns.

"Don't get the wrong idea. You just said that children are prone to tooth decay if they drink sugary drinks, and it suddenly occurred to me that countless adults get diabetes if they drink sugary drinks."

"So I guessed you were going to talk about diabetes."

Upon hearing Zhou Yan's explanation, Xu Liang dispelled all his concerns.

He kept praising Zhou Yan.

"As expected of Boss Zhou, you're incredibly smart. Compared to you, I'm still far behind."

Zhou Yan waved his hand and said to Xu Liang, "It's just a businessman's instinct."

"Moreover, a qualified businessman must understand the psychology of consumers."

"This way you will have the opportunity to earn greater profits. Every consumer has different requirements, but some are like newborn crying babies who are completely impossible to soothe and are very frustrating."

Upon hearing Zhou Yan's question, Xu Liang asked, "How should we deal with this kind of consumer?"

"First, you need to be patient and cater to the individual needs of these consumers so that you can have a better conversation. If you turn hostile to someone right away, it shows a lack of professionalism."

"After all, everyone has different ideas and their own preferences. One-on-one service only meets the personalized needs of customers, while one-to-many service needs to meet the needs of the general public."

Xu Liang understood. Zhou Yan had told him a lot along the way, but he also learned a lot himself.

We were almost at the small restaurant.

"Thank you so much, Boss Zhou! Not only did you help me transport the goods, but you also gave me so much advice on how to conduct myself. I'm truly grateful!"

"These are no big deal for me."

After a while, two large carts stopped in front of Xu Liang's small restaurant.

Xu Liang noticed that some diners were loitering inside the shop, while others were wandering outside, but very few were giving up because they couldn't wait any longer.

However, some diners were quite nice; seeing that the first group of diners had finished eating, they immediately sat down, just like when they were having a large feast in the countryside.

The traffic remains strong, and the food fans are highly engaged, which is a very positive sign.

When Zhou Yan approached the small restaurant, he witnessed this scene, and he was also incredulous.

I couldn't help but feel a little envious.

Undoubtedly, this was also achieved through Xu Liang's own abilities.

No wonder Xu Liang wanted to borrow a few tables from me.

It turns out that this small restaurant didn't have enough tables; it was already full of customers.

Zhou Yan helped Xu Liang again by unloading the tables and chairs from the car.

It was placed in front of his shop, aligned with his table, one on the left and one on the right.

After helping him, he immediately exchanged a few words with Xu Liang.

Before leaving, Zhou Yan left the two large carts in front of Xu Liang's shop so that he could return the tables after he finished tidying up at noon.

Xu Liang watched as Zhou Yan's figure gradually disappeared into the distance.

Then he turned to serving the diners.

When he arrived, some diners made a great commotion.

Someone even shouted, "Boss! You're finally back!"

"If you don't come back soon, I'll be standing at the door like a guardian spirit. If you're any later, I'll have to go into the kitchen and cook myself!"

At this moment, a customer came up and urged Xu Liang to hurry up. The customer wore black half-rimmed glasses and was thin and frail, like a piece of paper, as if he could be blown over by the wind.

He was fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan, his face was covered in sweat, and there was a cloth bag at his feet. He had obviously been passing by the market and attracted by the aroma of the shop.

However, since they're in such a hurry, they probably just arrived, and their stomachs must have been growling with hunger for a while.

Xu Liang could only express his deepest apologies, turning to everyone and saying, "I'm so sorry to have kept you all waiting. I'm going there to solve the problem of not having enough tables and chairs!"

Everyone heard what Xu Liang said.

They also expressed their understanding of Xu Liang.

At this moment, Xu Liang felt a sense of being understood and cared for by everyone, which was completely different from what he had experienced in the factory. Everyone's hearts had always been with Director Feng.

Besides, it wasn't Xu Liang's fault to begin with; it was Director Feng who deliberately framed him.

"It's alright, we'll all wait, there's no rush."

Sure enough, once Xu Liang's dishes became good, the factory's employees became very loyal.

Therefore, small restaurants have a high customer retention rate, which naturally allows them to achieve their best.

Immediately afterwards, Xu Liang smiled apologetically at the tall, thin man with glasses: "Brother, I'm sorry, I had to borrow some tables and chairs. There's really no room in the shop."

The bespectacled man understood, "Oh, it's nothing. Everyone's waiting for you!"

"Even if there's not enough room to sit, it's fine. I can stand and eat!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Liang wondered what he meant.

There's no reason to make guests eat standing up.

Xu Liang quickly replied, "That won't do, that won't do! There's no way in the world to let guests eat standing up!"

"Brother, I'm telling you, today you're getting to sit down and eat in peace!"

Xu Liang added, "If I make you eat standing up, then it's my fault for not taking good care of you!"

"You must sit down. I'll get you a chair right now. Only when you sit down to eat your food will you feel at ease."

After saying that, Xu Liang took an empty chair and invited him to sit down.

"Come, sit down!"

"By the way, everyone, don't just stand there, come to the table! I promise I won't let anyone go hungry."

Soon, all the seats were filled.

Xu Liang was working overtime in the kitchen again.

A little while later, another batch of Mapo Tofu was ready.

The colors remain vibrant, and the presentation is still excellent.

Xu Liang carried the plate with remarkable speed and arrived at a table just in time. A diner waved his hand and shouted.

"Boss, let's not beat around the bush. How about we bring out your spiciest Mapo Tofu, plus a few other main dishes?"

Others chimed in, saying that the young man who was talking to Xu Liang was a glutton who used to boast that he could eat a factory's canteen into bankruptcy.

Some people scoffed inwardly, clearly disdainful of his boasting.

"Boss, don't listen to this kid. He's just bragging. He even said last time that he was so hungry he could swallow a whole cow without any problem."

Upon hearing this, the people at the next table said, "To claim you can swallow a cow is a bit of an exaggeration. Even if I were incredibly powerful, I wouldn't do something like that!"

"That young man is just talking nonsense!" an older man complained.

The diners to his left were laughing.

"The boss just got back; you have to give him a break!"

Suddenly, Xu Liang heard different voices.

"I'm so hungry my stomach is practically sticking to my back!"

That guy wasn't ashamed at all; he rubbed his belly and yelled at them.

The fact that a few diners had already made such a scene before they even started eating was something Xu Liang found quite amusing.

He then smiled slightly.

"Okay, I will definitely improve it for everyone in the future and try my best to meet your individual needs."

After delivering all the dishes, Xu Liang strolled around the small restaurant.

I also chatted with the diners.

The other table started doing it.

One customer said, "Let me tell you, I smelled the aroma from the factory and followed it all the way here. I've been waiting for almost forty minutes, and my legs are aching from standing. If I don't get my food soon, I'm not going to leave!"

When Xu Liang heard this, he was truly astonished.

Normally, after such a long period without food, all the diners would have left long ago. But Xu Liang's diners are different. Not only do they not leave, they stay and insist on eating his food.

This shows that Xu Liang's dishes are very popular.

Xu Liang listened intently the whole time, thoroughly enjoying himself.

In that instant, the neighborhood around the small restaurant was filled with the aroma of spicy food.

At the table outside, the bespectacled man who had been sniffling earlier immediately sat up straight, his eyes fixed on the reddish-white Mapo Tofu.

"My goodness, this smells amazing! Boss, did you secretly add some kind of secret recipe? My mouth is watering!"

Before long, the aroma of Mapo Beans filled the diners' minds.

The older man sitting next to him picked up his chopsticks and started eating, his eyes wide open at the same time.

He chewed with relish, yet shouted indistinctly.

"Amazing! This tastes amazing! Even better than the big restaurants in town!"

While they were eating, the older man suddenly slapped his thigh and shouted at Xu Liang.

It wasn't a shout, but rather a suggestion given to Xu Liang.

"Boss! Your food is so delicious, why don't you put up a poster for your signature dishes?"

"Next time I'll bring my drinking buddies over for a meal, and if they're not satisfied with what they've eaten..."

"I changed my name on my ID card, and now I call it backwards!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Liang smiled and replied.

"Then next time you bring people, I'll give you a 50% discount."

The older brother simply said "Eh?" and then said to Xu Liang, "Actually, it doesn't matter whether there's a discount or not. The main thing is that good things should be shared!"

Xu Liang nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.

The small restaurant was already bustling with people chatting happily.

The man, his mouth glistening with oil from eating, suddenly remembered something and spoke to Xu Liang in a loud voice.

"Boss, let me tell you something. Just now, your friend Xiao Zhou opened a dessert shop in town. His desserts are so sweet that we all want to go home to our mothers!"

"The last time I took a sip, damn it, it was so sweet it almost made my teeth fall out."

"But your Sichuan cuisine is still the most satisfying!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Liang smiled.

However, everyone heard what he said.

The diners followed suit and laughed.

So this is why the famous owner, Mr. Zhou, has so few customers.

But Xu Liang had also tasted it, and it wasn't that sweet.

Perhaps everyone has a different opinion.

Xu Liang kept his eyes fixed on the teapots on each table, watching to see if anyone's tea was empty.

He also continued in a timely manner.

Seeing the older brother's words make everyone in the room burst into laughter, Xu Liang felt that the small restaurant was more like a large family celebrating a happy occasion than a place filled with the sounds of everyday life.