Chapter 246: Business
The pan-fried potato cakes were fried to perfection, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. A single bite left a fragrant, lingering taste.
The braised beef with potatoes was perfect for meat lovers. A piece of potato, a piece of beef—it was so satisfying, it left one speechless.
Each dish had its own unique taste. To use the same ingredient to create such a vast and varied array of flavors… this was a level of skill that the chefs at the Diner Inn simply couldn’t match.
“Miss Bai, why don’t you stay here at our Diner Inn? I’ll hire you as our head chef. You can name your own monthly salary. What do you say?”
Bai Zhi shook her head. “I’m afraid that’s not possible. I enjoy cooking, but not for strangers. You’re a friend of Brother Meng, which makes you my friend, and that’s why I was willing to cook for you. I came today mainly to discuss business. I was hoping that after tasting these dishes, you would be willing to purchase my potatoes. As for the recipes for these four dishes, I can teach them to the chefs at your Diner Inn for free.”
Boss Chen looked to Meng Nan, who nodded at him. “Zhi enjoys cooking, but she doesn’t want to be a professional chef. You should just go along with her plan.”
Boss Chen was still delighted. It had been a long time since the restaurant had a new specialty to capture the customers’ attention. Based on his years of experience as a foodie, he knew these four dishes would be wildly popular the moment they were introduced. He could almost see it now—the restaurant’s business booming like never before.
Boss Chen asked, “How much for these potatoes per jin?”
Bai Zhi replied, “To be honest, I have no idea what the price should be. I’ve never sold them before; we only grow them for our own family. Why don’t you set the price, Boss Chen? The market rate is fine. There’s no need to give me a high price just because I’m friends with Brother Meng. Friendship is friendship, and business is business.”
Boss Chen nodded enthusiastically. “Excellent! Miss Bai, you’re truly straightforward. It’s a deal, then. I’ll send my people to Huangtuo Village to pick up potatoes every three days—one hundred jin at a time. How does that sound?”
Bai Zhi thought back to the restaurant’s layout she’d noticed on her way up. ‘Even if this place is packed with customers every day, would they really go through that many potatoes?’
“Isn’t one hundred jin at a time a little too much? These potatoes can’t be stored in a kitchen for too long, or they’ll sprout and turn green. Once that happens, they’re no longer safe to eat.”
Boss Chen said, “Don’t you worry. We’ll be able to use all of it.”
Meng Nan chimed in, “Zhi, you don’t need to worry about that. Boss Chen doesn’t just own this one restaurant in Qingyuan Town. He runs more than half the restaurants here.”
Bai Zhi’s eyes lit up. “Does that mean I don’t have to look for another buyer?”
Boss Chen chuckled. “Of course not. We aren’t ordering a huge amount right now because the new dishes haven’t been officially launched yet. I can’t say for sure how much we’ll use in a day. But if business is good and we use a lot, we’ll definitely increase the order. I’m afraid your one mu of potatoes might not even be enough.”
Bai Zhi beamed, her eyes crinkling with joy. ‘This is perfect! It saves me so much trouble.’ She smiled and said, “Boss Chen, once these four dishes become famous in Qingyuan Town, you can start selling them in limited quantities. Scarcity creates value. The harder something is to get, the more people will chase after it. When that happens, won’t the money just come rolling in?”
Boss Chen grinned from ear to ear. “That’s a good point! A brilliant idea! We’ll do exactly that.”
After chatting for a while longer, Bai Zhi went to the kitchen and meticulously taught the recipes for the four dishes to the Diner Inn’s head chef. Only after the chef had used the potatoes she brought to recreate a nearly identical taste did she finally take her leave from Boss Chen.