Chapter 27: Chapter 27 Hiring High-Paid Employees
Zhang Jingdong followed Li Yiran inside and looked around briefly.
The restaurant wasn't very big, just about thirty square meters, with two rows of seven or eight tables each.
Although the tables and chairs were somewhat old, there were only three tables unoccupied at the moment.
Considering it was past mealtime, the people here were clearly here for the food.
The two headed to an empty table in the middle of the left side, and due to Li Yiran's appearance, they attracted the attention of nearly everyone along the way.
It couldn't be helped; a beauty like Li Yiran abruptly appearing in everyday life was no different from a fairy descending to earth.
After they were seated, a male waiter quickly came over.
He glanced at Zhang Jingdong, then handed the menu to Li Yiran: "It's been a long while since you came, have a look at what you'd like today?"
Zhang Jingdong noticed a hint of jealousy and admiration in the waiter's eyes, but far from minding it, he actually enjoyed it a bit.
What shocked the waiter next was when Li Yiran took the menu and immediately passed it to Zhang Jingdong.
"Every dish here is good, take a look and see what you'd like to try?"
Zhang Jingdong smiled, taking the menu and quickly scanning it.
Unexpectedly, although the restaurant was small, the menu nearly encompassed all the signature Xiangnan dishes, like Spicy Chicken and Double-Flavored Braised Seafood.
Trying to contain his excitement, Zhang Jingdong ordered routinely: "Let's have Mao's Braised Pork, and a Spicy Chopped Fish Head."
Then he passed the menu back to Li Yiran: "You pick a few of your favorites too."
Li Yiran couldn't refuse and then said: "Let's also have a Steamed Assorted Cured Meat."
She looked at Zhang Jingdong: "I already had lunch, so let's just order this one."
Zhang Jingdong nodded: "Alright then."
Ten minutes later, the Steamed Assorted Cured Meat was served first.
Li Yiran excitedly said: "This is my favorite dish here, want to try?"
Zhang Jingdong replied cheerfully: "Sure."
He then picked up a piece of cured meat with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth.
After chewing vigorously a couple of times, he felt the meat was tender but not greasy, and a rich cured flavor burst forth.
As he chewed slowly, Zhang Jingdong quickly decided this was the best Steamed Assorted Cured Meat he had ever had.
It could score 9.5 out of 10!
Seeing Zhang Jingdong's satisfaction, Li Yiran still wanted to confirm and asked: "How do you like it?"
Zhang Jingdong promptly gave a thumbs up: "Delicious!"
Li Yiran immediately showed a proud and joyful smile.
Soon after, Mao's Braised Pork was served.
After tasting just one piece, Zhang Jingdong decided there was no need to go anywhere else later.
If he could recruit this restaurant's chef, his own restaurant was practically halfway there.
Lastly, the Spicy Chopped Fish Head was served.
After tasting, Zhang Jingdong secretly decided he could offer the chef a salary up to 50,000 a month!
Firstly, judging by the menu prices and assuming a turnover of eight times per table, this restaurant's monthly net profit should be around thirty to forty thousand.
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Secondly, he thought by offering an absolutely high salary, he must secure the chef, so that he could enjoy such delicious food every day in the future.
Then, Zhang Jingdong deliberately ate slowly, so by the time he finished, it was already past 3 o'clock.
The restaurant was finally almost empty, and hardly anyone else came in.
At this time, Zhang Jingdong asked Li Yiran, "Do you know that waiter from earlier?"
Li Yiran nodded: "Yeah, because I used to come here often with my grandma, and he has always been working here, so we became acquainted."
"Do you know if the owner and the chef here are the same person?"
Though unsure why Zhang Jingdong was asking this, Li Yiran still replied: "Yes, this restaurant is run by Uncle Chen, he is both the chef and the owner."
Zhang Jingdong thought as expected, then continued, "You call him Uncle Chen, so you know him too?"
Li Yiran nodded, "Uncle Chen is also from Changsha, and he is a distant relative of my grandmother. According to our family tree, he should call my grandmother 'great aunt'."
"Great aunt?" Zhang Jingdong was momentarily confused: "How does that relation work?"
"Forget it, since you know him, could you introduce me?"
Li Yiran hesitated for a moment, then said, "Of course I can. He's not busy at this time, come with me."
Zhang Jingdong stood up and followed Li Yiran to the kitchen door.
Li Yiran spoke briefly with an auntie, who then entered the kitchen.
Soon a middle-aged uncle came out.
As soon as he saw Li Yiran, his face instantly filled with affection: "Ranran, it's been a long time since you've visited. How is my great aunt doing?"
"My grandmother is doing much better, and in another week, she'll be able to come here with me!"
"Good to hear. If you need any help, just let me know, don't be shy!"
"I know, thank you!"
At this point, he finally glanced at Zhang Jingdong standing behind Li Yiran and hesitated, "And this is?"
Li Yiran quickly introduced them, "This is my friend, Zhang Jingdong!"
"This is Uncle Chen, the owner here."
Zhang Jingdong immediately took the initiative, "Boss Chen, hello, can we chat for a bit?"
Hearing Zhang Jingdong address him as "Boss Chen" instead of "Uncle Chen," his eyes instantly flashed with curiosity.
He glanced at Li Yiran again, then said, "Alright."
He then led them to a nearby lounge.
Although the lounge was small, it was delicately decorated, with a mahjong table placed right in the center.
It's said that people from Jiangdu love playing mahjong, but people from Xiangnan enjoy it just as much and have a lot of different ways to play.
Once seated, Zhang Jingdong said, "Boss Chen, I just tried your cooking, and honestly, it's much better than many high-end restaurants I've been to. I really admire your skill!"
Chen Dalong waved his hand, "You don't have to say all that, I know my own skill, there's no need for such lavish praise, it makes me a bit uneasy. What do you want to say?"
Zhang Jingdong thought to himself, true to the brash reputation of Changsha people.
So he said, "Alright, since you're straightforward, I won't beat around the bush. I just opened a new restaurant specializing in Xiang cuisine, and I currently need a chef team."
"I would like to invite you to be the head chef at my restaurant, where you would manage all kitchen operations."
"As for the salary, I will offer you 50,000 a month. What do you think?"
Chen Dalong didn't react much to the first two sentences, but was a bit shocked by the last one!
Of course, he knew chefs well enough; even top chefs in the mainland earn only around four to five hundred thousand a year.
And here Zhang Jingdong was offering him 600,000, which was really strange!
Not to mention, it would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted.
Li Yiran, on the other hand, was quite surprised herself!
She originally thought Zhang Jingdong just owned a handbag store. Although she could tell from his spending that he was quite wealthy, she had no idea he was this wealthy.
To be able to offer a yearly salary of 600,000.
At this point, Chen Dalong turned to look at Li Yiran, "Ranran, is he your... boyfriend?"
Li Yiran shook her head with a slight blush, "No... not at all, we are just friends."
After answering, Li Yiran suddenly realized what Chen Dalong actually meant to ask, and quickly added, "But I can assure you he is a good person, and he... has a lot of money!"
Chen Dalong then turned to Zhang Jingdong, sighed and said, "Since Ranran thinks you are a good person, I'll be straight with you."
"If this was 10 years ago, I probably would have agreed, but now... I apologize, I don't have that kind of drive anymore. I just want to run my small店 and live a peaceful life with what's left of it."
Zhang Jingdong felt his heart sink upon hearing this.
But then he heard Chen Dalong continue, "However, I can recommend someone to you."
Zhang Jingdong's interest was piqued instantly, "Who?"