txolops Chapter 143 Procurement List
Chapter 143 Procurement List
10:00 AM, in the urban village.
A used bread cart is parked downstairs at the rental house.
The car door opened, and Lin Chen and Wang Hai got out, walked to the back of the car, and opened the trunk.
"Brother Chen, I'll carry this bag of rice. You take the eggs and vegetables."
Wang Hai rolled up his sleeves, grabbed the two corners of the 50-pound rice bag with both hands, and with a little effort, hoisted it onto his shoulder.
Lin Chen nodded.
He reached out and picked up the free-range eggs, while carrying a plastic bag containing an old hen and white radishes in his other hand, following behind Wang Hai.
The two made two trips back and forth, carrying all the ingredients into the kitchen of the rented room on the second floor.
Without a moment's rest, the two immediately got into the rhythm of preparing the dishes.
Lin Chen put the two old hens into the water tank, turned on the tap, and washed away the blood remaining inside the chickens' bellies.
After washing, put the vegetables directly into a pot of cold water, add a few slices of ginger and a knot of scallions, and blanch them over high heat.
On the other side, Wang Hai moved a small plastic stool and sat in front of the cutting board.
He peeled the white radish, and the knife made a crisp "thump, thump, thump" sound on the cutting board. The evenly sized radish cubes quickly filled the spare bowl next to him.
The only sounds in the kitchen were running water, chopping vegetables, and the slight rumble of the gas stove.
"Didi didi"
The phone on the coffee table in the living room suddenly started ringing incessantly, the notification sounds as frequent as a string of firecrackers.
Wang Hai poured a bowl of diced radish into a food storage container, straightened up, and shook his slightly sore wrists.
"Brother Chen, it's probably those customers chatting in the group again. I'll go take a look."
Wang Hai wiped his hands on his apron.
"Um."
Lin Chen took a strainer and skimmed off the grayish-white foam floating in the iron pot, responding without looking up.
Wang Hai walked into the living room and picked up his phone from the coffee table.
As soon as I unlocked the screen, the number of unread messages on the WeChat icon jumped to "99+".
Opening the customer group, the messages are scrolling up at an extremely fast pace.
Wang Hai picked up a bottle of mineral water, took a couple of sips, and scrolled through the chat history.
Initially, it was just a few regular customers complaining in the group that they were not energetic at work on Monday and wanted to eat some fried rice after get off work to satisfy their cravings.
But within minutes, the conversation turned to the food festival this Friday.
"Guys, we'd better get there early to queue up for the food festival this Friday."
I posted a picture of the minced meat rice in the company group chat today, and several colleagues said they wanted to go try it with me after get off work on Friday.
A customer with the online name "Bald Programmer" sent a message.
A row of replies immediately followed.
"I also called my college roommate. He took the subway over on the weekend and said he really wanted to see Mr. Lin's cooking skills."
"I plan to take half a day off Friday afternoon and go to the square at four o'clock. I refuse to believe I won't get to eat the first pot!"
"Where's Boss Wang? @Wang Hai, how much stock are you preparing for Friday?"
Please don't sell out and close up shop before 8 p.m. like you usually do!
We're definitely bringing people to support us!
As Wang Hai read these messages, the smile on his face gradually faded, and his brows furrowed slightly.
He opened the group member list and glanced at it.
Of this 500-person group, at least 200 to 300 are usually active.
If these regular customers really bring one or two friends each on Friday, plus the huge customer flow brought by the Yintai Plaza Food Festival itself... Wang Hai did the math in his mind and suddenly felt a little alarmed.
He put down the water bottle, grabbed his phone, and quickly walked back to the kitchen.
"Brother Chen, stop for a moment."
Wang Hai walked to the stove, his tone somewhat serious.
Lin Chen took the blanched old hen out of the water and put it into the hot bucket next to him.
He turned to look at Wang Hai: "What's wrong?"
"Brother Chen, our expected customer traffic this Friday might have to increase several times over."
Wang Hai handed over his phone screen and said, "These customers in the group usually bring friends or colleagues over on Fridays."
Just the people brought by these regular customers alone, conservatively estimated, number in the hundreds.
Add to that the existing customers of the food festival, and the visitor volume is terrifying.
Lin Chen glanced at the chat history on the screen, said nothing, and simply turned down the gas stove.
He took a dry towel and wiped his hands, his gaze falling on the two rice cookers in the corner of the kitchen, and the stainless steel thermal container next to them.
"We can double the amount of ingredients we order, but the infrastructure can't keep up."
Lin Chen pointed out the most fatal shortcoming: "Even if these two rice cookers cook at the same time and run at full capacity, the amount of rice produced is only enough to fill one thermal container, which can at most serve seventy or eighty servings of fried rice."
If customer traffic triples, we simply can't keep up with the demand for food.
Upon hearing this, Wang Hai immediately realized what was happening and slapped his thigh hard.
"Yeah! I was so focused on wrapping half a pig that I forgot the pot wasn't big enough!"
Wang Hai followed Lin Chen's gaze to the insulated container that had contained the minced meat the day before yesterday, "And this container too!"
Yesterday, the meat sauce that held eight pounds of meat was almost half full; on Friday, with dozens of pounds of meat sauce, this bucket couldn't even hold a third of it!
If the meat sauce is ready and customers are lining up in front of the stall, but the stall runs out of rice because the pot isn't big enough, that would be ruining its reputation.
Lin Chen remained calm and took out a notepad he usually used for keeping accounts and a ballpoint pen.
"If we're going to do it, let's get all the equipment ready at once."
As Lin Chen wrote, he made arrangements, "The rice cooker at home will no longer be needed for the stall."
Go to the kitchenware wholesale market and buy two large-capacity commercial-grade gas rice cookers, the kind that can cook 30 kilograms of rice at a time.
"Yes! We must buy commercial-grade ones!"
Wang Hai nodded vigorously from the side.
"The insulated container for the minced meat has been replaced with a 50-liter commercial stainless steel insulated container with a wide opening, making it convenient for you to directly scoop out the broth and serve the food quickly."
Lin Chen's pen didn't stop; the handwriting was strong and clear.
"In addition, the insulated containers for white rice should be replaced with two extra-large ones."
The rice for fried rice and the rice for minced meat rice must be packaged separately.
The rice for fried rice should be slightly firm to develop its wok-fried aroma, while the rice for minced meat rice should be soft and sticky to absorb the sauce. The two should never be used interchangeably.
Lin Chen added the details.
Wang Hai nodded repeatedly as he listened.
"Order five times the usual amount of packaging boxes, packaging bags, and disposable spoons."
Lin Chen tore off a note and handed it to Wang Hai, "Also, folding tables and chairs, add three more sets."
Guests can eat standing up, but if there's not even a place to put their food containers, the experience is terrible.
Wang Hai took the note and looked at the purchase list on it.
"Brother Chen, you're so professional! You spotted the problem right away!"
Wang Hai folded the note and carefully put it in his pocket, saying, "We're not going to fight an unprepared battle."
It's only Monday, there's plenty of time.
After I close up shop tonight, I'll drive my van to the kitchenware wholesale market in the south of the city tomorrow morning and bring all these large items back!
"Okay, I'll go with you tomorrow."
Lin Chen glanced at the broth on the stove and added, "Commercial cookware is not only heavy, but you also need to choose one with a good inner coating."
The placement of items on the tricycles also needs to be reorganized.
"No problem! We'll upgrade all the hardware tomorrow!"
Wang Hai rubbed his hands together and said happily.
"With the new equipment, Friday's food festival should be no problem!"