Chapter 104 - 95: Application Failed

Chapter 104: Chapter 95: Application Failed

For the next two weeks, Ning He experienced what it meant to work her fingers to the bone and count money until her hands went numb.

The moment they left the academy each day, they had to rush straight to the restaurant. After a quick lunch and a short nap, it was back to work.

The task of prepping ingredients fell to Youzhen and her two classmates. They had to process hundreds of pounds of various ingredients, then portion out the main and side components according to the menu Ning He had decided on for the day. They also had to check all the seasonings to make sure there was a sufficient supply.

The restaurant’s soy sauce was a paste made by Connie and her team. Every few days, Ning He would stir-fry a batch of seasoning to be used in her cooking and as a dipping sauce for the flatbreads and spring rolls.

Although they had to buy sugar and salt at retail prices, the cost was still bearable. Only the cost of vinegar remained stubbornly high, so Ning He had no choice but to reduce the number of sweet and sour dishes.

Once Youzhen finished her prep work, she would wake Ning He and the others to start cooking.

She still had to cook all the stir-fried dishes herself, but Connie and Ah Huai had mastered a few recipes. They could work completely independently, especially on the time-consuming soups and deep-fried items.

They timed all the dishes to be ready within half an hour of opening to prevent them from sitting out too long and losing their texture. Some items, like the stir-fried potato slivers, were even saved until the very last minute before being served.

Ning He had no experience running a restaurant, and Connie had never managed a buffet before. They were all learning as they went, making immediate adjustments whenever a problem arose.

But the problems kept coming, one after another.

The main problem was this:

There were too many customers.

Ever since the TV food special aired that first Sunday night, customers drawn by the hype swarmed the restaurant, packing it to the brim every single day.

In addition to various groups of foodies coming to check the place out, there were also many vegetarian organizations. After quietly and meticulously sampling the food, some of them even asked to sign up for a VIP membership on the spot.

It was worth noting that Johnny had also paid a visit, bringing along Uncle Miao, the one who made the braised pork liver.

The old man seemed to have lost a lot of weight since she’d last seen him, but he was in good spirits. Ning He was rushed off her feet at the time and only managed to give them a quick hello.

Johnny later told her that Uncle Miao had been full of praise for her food, just that there wasn’t enough meat.

Obviously, the latter half of the comment was Johnny’s own addition, and Ning He couldn’t be bothered to respond.

The waves of customers sent daily sales figures to new heights, but the restaurant had limited capacity, and the lines were becoming a serious problem.

Ning He had originally assumed that at the buffet’s price point, only residents of the Inner Ring could afford it and that not so many people would make a special trip to eat there. But reality far exceeded her expectations; even Leitel and his friends had to wait in line sometimes. The station for fresh-made pancakes was especially bad—even with Youzhen skillfully juggling two pans at once, there was a near-constant queue.

Coupled with the limited seating and small space, the dining environment became crowded, significantly diminishing the experience for these otherwise discerning customers.

Furthermore, they were clearly short-staffed.

While the buffet format reduced the need for servers, they still needed dedicated staff to maintain order, refill the food, and process payments. As it was, the kitchen was already overwhelmed.

Finally, there were the ingredients.

Thanks to the Black Mud supply, they had a temporary surplus of vegetables, but the demand for soy products and eggs was already outpacing their supply. Not all their customers were vegetarians; for many, a meal lacking protein simply wasn’t worth the price, and the value proposition would be lost.

After another insanely busy weekend, Ning He was drenched in sweat, her heart hammering in her chest, and she felt like she might pass out at any moment.

She made a snap decision. She would take Mr. Rochester’s advice: the restaurant had to switch to a reservation system.

’Otherwise, this is going to kill me!’

After cleaning up the kitchen, Ning He called everyone together for a meeting.

The moment she brought it up, she was met with everyone’s wholehearted approval.

Even Vance, the most energetic of them all, had a look in his eyes that clearly said, ’We’re saved.’

It couldn’t be helped. The workload was so immense that not even double pay was enough to keep them going.

"Since everyone agrees, let’s discuss the details," Ning He said. "Vance, you’ll still be in charge of the malatang during the lunch shift, and also prep the ingredients needed for the evening service. We have too many buffet customers at night, and we’re selling less malatang anyway. We might as well include the malatang in the buffet, which would also free up the seating downstairs. One person is enough to watch the malatang station at night, so the three of you can take turns."

As she spoke, Ning He silently reassured herself.

’This world runs on a ten-hour workday. Vance and his team working from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. is a standard shift. It’s not like I’m exploiting them.’

"No problem." Vance had no objections and agreed without hesitation.

Though the daily hours seemed long, natural disasters forced the restaurant to close for at least one or two days a month—sometimes as many as five or six. Since they were still paid for those days, no one ever complained about the system.

"So with this new system, how many customers can we serve each evening?" Connie asked.

Ning He took out a pen and did some calculations. "...On weekdays, evening service runs from five to eight. The average dining time per customer is about an hour and a half. With both floors, we can serve a maximum of fifty people at a time. That means we can accommodate one hundred people for the entire evening."

"That number is definitely lower than what we’ve been doing, but this way the restaurant won’t be so chaotic, and it’ll be easier on everyone," Connie said. "So, should we set up a VIP membership? A lot of customers have been asking."

Ning He scratched her head.

"Let’s do a pre-paid credit system with a discount, then. And we’ll hold twenty priority spots for those members each day. You’re good at this kind of thing, so I’ll leave the details to you."

Connie had always been interested in these kinds of operational tasks and agreed without a second thought.

"One more thing," she said. "Our revenue is far exceeding projections. The taxes will probably be very complicated. It would be best to find an accounting firm to handle it. I don’t know much about it either, but I can ask Uncle Bari to recommend a few reliable ones."

"Alright, that’s settled for now. We’ll have a transition period next week, and then officially implement everything."

After writing the notice on the restaurant’s blackboard and hanging it by the door, everyone finished cleaning up and hurried home to rest.

Back at the cafeteria on Monday, everyone was still a bit listless, wanting only to get their work done quickly so they could go home and catch up on sleep.

The two new trainees were shaping up nicely, which took a lot of pressure off Ning He and her team. They worked until ten, and just as she was getting ready to head home, Uncle Wood suddenly approached and pulled her aside.

"Uncle, what’s wrong? Did something happen?"

Seeing Old Wood hesitating, wringing his hands as if he didn’t know how to begin, Ning He couldn’t help but ask, puzzled.

"Ah, it’s about the stall upgrade," Old Wood sighed.

Only then did Ning He remember that she had submitted the application for the stall upgrade two weeks ago. There should have been a result by now. She’d been so preoccupied with the restaurant that she had completely forgotten about it.

"What is it? Was there a problem with the application?"

Old Wood nodded. "The application was rejected. The supplier said the number of Level 1 Stalls is already saturated, and the company’s production can’t supply another one. The application... it wasn’t approved."

Already exhausted, Ning He felt her temples begin to throb at the news.

"There’s no rule like that in the cafeteria handbook, is there? And I’ve never heard of a limit on the number of Level 1 Stalls in all these years."

"You’re right. It’s a new rule," Old Wood said.

Ning He’s brow furrowed.

"When?"

"The day before you submitted your application. I only just received the notice myself. It seems to be a resolution that was just passed within the food company, effective from the beginning of this month." At this point, Old Wood lowered his voice. "I felt something was off, so I asked an old friend to do some digging. It seems this was a suggestion from their general manager of sales, and this person has a connection to our cafeteria."

"What kind of connection?"

"He’s Wendy’s uncle," Old Wood said.

Ning He’s expression hardened.

’So that’s how it is. No wonder her attitude changed so drastically.’

’She had her next move planned all along.’

"Is there any other way?"

Old Wood shook his head.

"The food company and the academy are partners, but the academy can’t interfere with their business decisions. Unless another stall voluntarily withdraws or gets downgraded to Level 0 to free up a spot, this will be very difficult to resolve."

"I understand. Thank you, Uncle Wood."

Old Wood patted her shoulder comfortingly. "Don’t worry too much about it. Isn’t your restaurant business doing much better than this place? You can just apply again when you get the chance."

Ning He’s face had appeared in Cindy’s interview, so anyone in the cafeteria who saw the news knew she had opened a vegetarian buffet restaurant.

"I’m fine, don’t worry."

Returning to her stall, Ning He prepped the fermented rice for the next day. Just as she was about to leave, she saw Wendy from the neighboring stall step out and give her a small smile.

’Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought they were the best of friends.’

Ning He grinned back and mouthed a few words at her:

"You’ve crossed me."

With that, Ning He turned and walked away without a backward glance, leaving a stunned Wendy in her wake.