Chapter 351: Stocking Up Instant Noodles, Opening a Hot Pot Restaurant

Chapter 351: Stocking Up Instant Noodles, Opening a Hot Pot Restaurant

Kangshifu, this instant noodle brand, Deng Shirong had considered renaming it to Dengshifu, but since Kangshifu's name stands for "healthy," the connotation is quite positive. Therefore, in this life, he decided not to change it and directly adopted the Kangshifu brand.

Speaking of instant noodles, China actually produced its first instant noodle back in 1964 at the Beijing Food Factory.

However, it wasn't widely sold, and the reason for this was quite shocking.

Even by today's standards, its preparation method was a true dark cuisine.

The noodles were fried in duck oil, and the only seasoning was a powder pack. The taste of this instant noodle is now unknown, but one can imagine how peculiar it must have been.

Here's a picture to give you an idea of what dark cuisine looks like:

The People's Daily at the time commented: "It had a strange smell, but it quickly disappeared."

This was China's first instant noodle, which appeared and disappeared just as quickly, leaving no trace behind.

It wasn't until 1970 that the Shanghai Yimin Food Factory produced a true instant noodle. It was called Egg Instant Noodle, and in its first year, it sold a staggering 2 million bags, which was quite impressive.

This million-selling instant noodle later developed its own brand, called "Happy" brand instant noodles.

From then on, instant noodles gradually entered the Chinese market.

However, before Kangshifu was born, all instant noodles only had seasoning packs, and the focus was on improving these seasoning packs. For example, last year, Huafeng launched Sanxian Yimian, which developed a seasoning pack made from chicken broth and seafood. Combined with Huafeng's excellent marketing, this instant noodle became a nationwide sensation.

It wasn't until Kangshifu was born that instant noodles included a sauce pack in addition to the seasoning pack. This sauce pack was the soul of Kangshifu and the key to its success in breaking through the dominance of established brands and becoming the new leader.

In his previous life, Deng Shirong read web novels for years, and he remembered a certain urban novel that wrote about the protagonist starting a business with instant noodles. It was then that he learned how powerful Kangshifu Red-Braised Beef Noodles really were.

Now, under his guidance, Chenshifu successfully developed a taste for the instant noodle that was almost identical to the Kangshifu Red-Braised Beef Noodles from his previous life. Once this product was launched, it was bound to sell like hotcakes, and Deng Shirong was very confident about this.

Therefore, after the successful development of this classic instant noodle, Deng Shirong did not immediately start marketing it. Instead, he instructed the instant noodle factory to stockpile the product. Once they had enough stock, they would invite celebrities to endorse it and then dominate the national instant noodle market.

Everyone agreed with Deng Shirong's instructions and focused on production. The five production lines were running at full capacity, producing 150,000 packs (or cups) of instant noodles every day, which were then packaged and stored in the warehouse.

Fortunately, Deng Shirong had the foresight to build a large enough warehouse for the instant noodle factory, so there was no need to worry about running out of storage space.

As the Kangshifu instant noodle factory officially started production, the demand for wheat, the main ingredient in instant noodles, surged. Wheat from all over the county was transported to the factory through various channels.

At the same time, the factory's raw material procurement staff signed wheat purchase contracts with farmers in various townships, encouraging them to plant more wheat to meet the factory's huge demand.

While the factory workers were busy, Deng Shirong, with nothing else to do, went to Nanning. His youngest daughter's hot pot restaurant, after a long period of preparation, was about to open. As this was her first business, he naturally had to come and support her.

Spicy Girl Hot Pot.

This was the name of Deng Yunzhu's hot pot restaurant.

Before the restaurant opened, Deng Yunzhu used the promotional method her father taught her, distributing discount coupons to customers. She didn't have her employees hand out coupons on the street; instead, she placed a thick stack of coupons at the checkout counters of her brother and sister-in-law's supermarket. When customers paid and left, the cashiers gave them a varying number of coupons based on their spending amount.

This method was quite effective. Customers valued these discount coupons, and even if they couldn't visit the hot pot restaurant for various reasons, they would often pass the coupons on to others who might need them, rather than throwing them in the trash.

This achieved the restaurant's promotional goals.

The night before the hot pot restaurant opened, Deng Yunzhu asked her father somewhat anxiously, "Dad, do you think anyone will come to eat at the hot pot restaurant tomorrow?"

Deng Shirong smiled and countered, "How many discount coupons have been distributed over these past days?"

Deng Yunzhu replied, "All 10,000 custom-made discount coupons have been distributed."

Deng Shirong said, "Then what are you worried about? These 10,000 discount coupons have reached at least a few thousand households, and possibly even more. The people who received the coupons might mention the Spicy Girl Hot Pot to their neighbors. So, normally speaking, the Spicy Girl Hot Pot should be known in over 10,000 households. As long as we can attract one percent of these customers, the opening will be considered a success."

Zhang Xiuping added with a smile, "Yunzhu, the key to the hot pot restaurant's success is in repeat customers. Just like the Suifeng Restaurant in Bobai, the business has only gotten better over time. As long as we get customers and spread good word of mouth, the restaurant's business will definitely be good."

Deng Yunzhu nodded, "That makes me feel better. I hope we have a successful opening day."

...

The next day.

Deng Yunzhu got up early and went to Wuyue Square with her older brother, sister-in-law, and numerous supermarket employees and security personnel.

Actually, the hot pot restaurant mainly served lunch and dinner, so getting there so early wasn't very useful. However, this was her first business venture, and she didn't have the patience to wait until 10 a.m. to come.

"Yunzhu, it's still early for customers to start coming. Let's go have breakfast first!"

"Sister-in-law, I don't want to leave the hot pot restaurant for a moment. Just bring me two buns back."

"You, calm down. Everything that needed to be done has been done. Staying in the restaurant won't help. Go have breakfast and don't make yourself so nervous."

"Alright, fine!"

After a quick breakfast, Deng Yunzhu returned to the hot pot restaurant to wait for customers.

Deng Shirong arrived at the hot pot restaurant around 9 a.m. Seeing his youngest daughter's anxious state, he couldn't help but smile, "Yunzhu, remember this feeling. After this, even if you open ten stores at once, you won't feel this mix of tension and anticipation again."

The reason her older brother and sister-in-law, as well as her older sister, were never as nervous as she was, was that when the Suifeng Restaurant opened, it was a family business. By the time Deng Shirong handed over the management to her older brother and sister-in-law, the restaurant's income was already stable.

The same applied to her older sister.

For the youngest daughter, this hot pot restaurant was explicitly her business from the start, which naturally had a different significance.

Now, the moment to test the hot pot restaurant's worth was approaching, and it was understandable for her to feel nervous.

Deng Yunzhu chuckled and said, "Dad, can you guess how much the turnover will be today?"

Deng Shirong countered, "What do you think it will be?"

Deng Yunzhu replied, "I guess it will be between 500 and 800 yuan."

Deng Shirong laughed, "Your guess is a bit conservative. I think today's turnover will be no less than 2,000 yuan."

A hot pot restaurant is different from a supermarket. A supermarket might generate a turnover of 20,000 yuan on its first day, but for a hot pot restaurant, breaking the 2,000 yuan mark on the first day would be very impressive. After all, in this era, hot pot is considered a high-end dining experience, unlike the more affordable hot pots in the future.

Deng Yunzhu was surprised, "Dad, you really think the turnover will be that high?"

Deng Shirong said, "I do. Just wait and see."

Deng Yunzhu smiled, "It doesn't have to be 2,000 yuan. As long as today's turnover reaches 1,000 yuan, it will be considered a success."

...

Globally, achieving a uniform taste in food is one of the most challenging tasks. The saying "a hundred people have a hundred tastes" is not just a figure of speech.

Niu Lijen had a deep understanding of this.

Niu Lijen was a genuine Sichuanese woman who, by chance, married her current husband and moved from her hometown to Guangxi.

She was generally very satisfied with her marriage. First, her husband came from a good background; both his parents were mid-level leaders in state-owned enterprises, and he himself had become the factory manager of a subsidiary of a state-owned enterprise by his early thirties, which meant the family's financial situation was excellent.

Second, her husband was considerate and caring, and marrying such a man was the greatest fortune of her life.

The only thing that was somewhat unsatisfactory was the difference in cuisine.

Niu Lijen had grown up loving spicy food, but her in-laws didn't eat spicy dishes at all.

For someone who couldn't go a meal without something spicy, not eating spicy food made her feel uncomfortable all over. If she went too long without it, it felt as if she was never really full, more accurately, she never got to eat what she truly wanted, leaving her feeling restless.

Although her mother-in-law did take care of her and often cooked dishes with chili peppers for her, it had to be said that her mother-in-law's cooking skills were average at best. She simply couldn't recreate the flavor of Sichuan cuisine. Moreover, without the essential ingredient known as doubanjiang (fermented broad bean and chili paste), the dishes were barely edible.

Niu Lijen often regretted not learning how to cook properly from her mother when she was still at her parents' home.

Now, having been married and living in Guangxi for several years, what Niu Lijen looked forward to most was visiting her parents. During those visits, she could indulge in the hometown dishes that she couldn't get in Guangxi, and those times were the happiest for her.

At the beginning of this year, her husband had accompanied her back to her parents' home. The next time she would visit would likely be at the end of the year or early next year.

She had thought that for such a long time, she wouldn't be able to enjoy her favorite dishes. But unexpectedly, a few days ago, when she went shopping at the newly opened Yongjia Supermarket in Wuyue Square, she received several discount coupons for the Spicy Girl Hot Pot. The coupons clearly stated that it was a Sichuan-style spicy hot pot restaurant.

Heaven only knew how excited Niu Lijen was when she saw the text on the coupons. She couldn't wait to try the authentic spicy hot pot that was so popular in her hometown.

Unfortunately, the Spicy Girl Hot Pot wasn't opening until a few days later, and Niu Lijen had to suppress her eagerness and wait patiently.

After several days of what felt like torture, the day finally arrived when the Spicy Girl Hot Pot opened.

Early in the morning, Niu Lijen said to her husband, who was getting ready to go to work, "Husband, there's a hot pot restaurant opening at Wuyue Square today. It's the flavor of our hometown, mainly serving spicy hot pot. I want to try it out at lunchtime. Do you want to come with me?"

Her husband replied, "I can handle a little bit of spiciness, but your hometown's spicy hot pot is too spicy for me. You can go and try it yourself."

Niu Lijen said, "The coupon says that this hot pot restaurant offers a yuan yang guo, or a split pot, which means one side is spicy and the other is not. Even if you can't handle the spiciness, you can still come and eat the non-spicy side."

Her husband was surprised, "There's such a thing as a split pot?"

Although the split pot had been invented a few years ago, it hadn't become widely known yet, so it was normal that he didn't know about it.

Niu Lijen nodded and asked, "Do you want to come and eat with me?"

Her husband said, "Sure, I'll join you after I finish work at noon."

Niu Lijen replied, "Okay, I'll ask my in-laws if they want to come too, and we can bring the kids along."

Her husband said, "Alright, you decide. I'm off to work now!"

"Okay."

...

"Mom, you don't need to cook lunch today."

"If I don't cook, are you going to cook?"

"I've earned some money, so I'm taking you out for a nice lunch."

"Don't waste money. The food at restaurants is always so bland, and it's not as good as what I cook myself!"

"This time it's different. Just trust me, don't cook lunch today. We'll go out together."

"What's so different about it?"

"I'll keep it a secret for now. You'll see at lunchtime. I promise you won't be disappointed."

"Alright, I'll see what you have in mind."

...

"Husband, the Spicy Girl Hot Pot is opening today, right?"

"Yes, it's opening today."

"Then let's go and try it out at lunchtime to see how it tastes."

"Sure, we should go and try it. The coupon gives us a 20% discount, so it would be a waste not to use it."

...

As the Spicy Girl Hot Pot officially opened for business, the customers who had received discount coupons from Yongjia Supermarket started to get excited.

By around 11 a.m., customers began to arrive at Wuyue Square, eagerly making their way to the second floor to try the Spicy Girl Hot Pot.

...

PS: The author has been writing while sick for the past three days, feeling very uncomfortable. It's been difficult to avoid the hospital, but the worst is over. Starting tomorrow, the updates will return to 6000 words. Thank you for your support, everyone!

(End of Chapter)

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