"If Director Liu can arrange it, I'll resign and come over as soon as possible!"
"If it's really inconvenient, then forget it..."
After saying this, Li Ya left directly, leaving Zhao Feiyan standing there in a daze.
"What is this rhythm?"
Zhao Feiyan couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Why do I feel like the relationship between these two isn't simple?"
As it happened, less than a quarter of an hour after Li Ya left, Liu Kai Xuan returned, looking travel-worn.
Zhao Feiyan didn't beat around the bush and directly told Liu Kai Xuan about the matter.
"What, Li Ya wants to join my company? Has she gone mad?"
"She's already the Deputy Director of the Engineering Department at Hongxing Steel Mill!"
"A senior technician, with the position of deputy director, her monthly salary is quite substantial!"
"Moreover, a job at Hongxing Steel Mill is a 'iron rice bowl'!"
"Yes!"
Zhao Feiyan asked, puzzled, "I'm also wondering!"
"Liu Kai Xuan, do you think Li Ya might be coming after you?"
"If I admit it now, will you believe me?" Liu Kai Xuan asked her back.
"Alright, alright, let's discuss something important now!"
Zhao Feiyan changed the subject and mentioned another matter: "My brother has also resigned and is now helping out at my sister-in-law's restaurant!"
"But I heard from my sister-in-law that the business of their restaurant isn't very good!"
Liu Kai Xuan shrugged and sighed, "There's nothing I can do about that!"
"Running a business inherently involves risks, and whether the business is good or not is up to oneself!"
Zhao Feiyan replied, "My sister-in-law means she wants to invite you to taste their dishes!"
"If the chef's skills are too poor to retain customers, then replace the chef!"
"Alright, we'll go to her restaurant tomorrow to try their dishes and then talk."
In fact, on the opening day of Yue Liang Restaurant, Liu Kai Xuan had already visited to patronize them once.
At that time, Liu Kai Xuan had already formed his judgment: the taste of the dishes was acceptable, but the portions were too small!
Customers in this era not only cared about taste but also about affordability.
It was common for two people, or even a whole family, to eat from a large plate of food.
If the restaurant served too little food, customers wouldn't be satisfied with one dish and would have to order more.
The cost of a meal with one dish and a meal with two dishes would be completely different.
This was because in most restaurants, when customers ordered stir-fried dishes and rice, they paid for the stir-fried dishes and the rice was free.
Ordering just one dish wouldn't cost much.
Feiyan Restaurant, on the other hand, served very generous portions.
Although Zhao Feiyan complained about low profits every day, she never skimped on the portion sizes.
If Yue Liang Restaurant were to be stingy with their portions, it wouldn't be difficult to understand why business was slow.
Even in Kyoto at this time, the number of transient populations wasn't particularly large.
For a restaurant to do well, it had to rely on repeat customers.
If the reputation was ruined, the business would essentially be over.
...
The next morning, Zhao Feiyan took Liu Kai Xuan with her to Yue Liang Restaurant.
At this time, it was not yet the peak dining hour, so there weren't many customers.
When Chen Yue saw Liu Kai Xuan, she personally served as a waitress to attend to them.
After a brief look at the menu, Liu Kai Xuan ordered four dishes and two soups.
One was twice-cooked pork, one was sour and spicy cabbage, one was Kung Pao chicken, and one was sweet and sour pork tenderloin.
The two soups were pig liver and vermicelli soup, and tomato and egg soup.
There weren't many diners at this time.
Shortly after ordering, Chen Yue brought out the four dishes and two soups.
When the food was served, Zhao Feiyan couldn't help but frown.
"Sister-in-law, the plates your restaurant uses are really small!"
"These plates are about the same size as the ones we use at home!"
"Restaurant plates should be a bit bigger!"
"Hehehe..."
Chen Yue smiled and replied, "We'll talk about this issue later, let's taste the food first, shall we?"
"When customers dine out, aren't they primarily concerned with taste?"
"It's true that Kai Xuan has insight, these dishes he ordered are all tests of a chef's skill!"
"We need Kai Xuan to analyze whether our chef is competent or not!"
Liu Kai Xuan carefully examined the dishes. He found that although the portions on the plates were small, the color and aroma were quite good.
Looking at the presentation of the dishes, it was clear that the chef's skills were quite good.
He nodded, picked up his chopsticks, and tasted a few bites of each dish.
"How is it, are there any problems with the dishes?" Chen Yue asked with wide eyes.
"These dishes... I don't think there are any problems!"
Liu Kai Xuan said in a deep voice, "What Feiyan just said makes a lot of sense!"
"Sister-in-law, the plates you use for serving are too small!"
"The plates look full, but there's actually not much food!"
At this moment, Zhao Dajun walked over.
"The bowls and chopsticks we use in our restaurant are learned from Xueyang Grand Hotel!"
"Xueyang Grand Hotel used to be a large canteen and hosted many important figures!"
"Yes!"
Chen Yue chimed in, "Big hotels also use these kinds of bowls and chopsticks, which look more high-end!"
Zhao Feiyan smiled and said, "Big hotels receive wealthy guests!"
"Wealthy people who dine out will definitely order many dishes!"
"After the dishes are served, they'll just have a few bites to taste."
"Wealthy people have high demands on the taste of food, and exquisite plating is understandable!"
"However, our small restaurant caters to the consumption of wage-earners!"
"The customers who come to eat are ordinary workers, and they eat to fill their stomachs!"
"If I order four dishes and two soups, and Kai Xuan and I haven't done any strenuous physical labor, we can finish them!"
"Those customers who expend a lot of energy will definitely not be full if they only eat one dish!"
Zhao Dajun replied, "This is actually a marketing strategy!"
"If one dish isn't enough, they'll order more!"
Zhao Feiyan immediately became anxious, "Brother, are you kidding me?"
"If you were a customer yourself, and one dish was enough to make you full, would you be willing to spend more money to order more dishes?"
"Customers who come to restaurants want to eat something substantial, and if it's not substantial, they won't come back."
Chen Yue nodded and smiled, "Sister Feiyan makes a good point!"
"Running a business means satisfying the customers!"
"Now that the problem has been identified, we must immediately address it."