Back To The 80s: President's Doted Wife novel Chapter 64

Chapter 64: Chapter 64 The First Pot of Gold

June 20th, eight o’clock, the almanac stated it was auspicious to open for business, very lucky, Cheng Su placed a Ba Xian table at the entrance of the restaurant, on which she arranged a plate of blanched pork belly, along with several apples, a few cups of rice wine, and in a bowl, she placed a serving of rice with a few sticks of incense inserted into it.

The opening ritual required offerings, a practice that hadn’t changed since ancient times. In her past life, she had experienced hotel openings that were grand affairs with roast suckling pig for offerings, lion dances, ribbon-cutting, and setting off firecrackers.

Now, she was opening a small restaurant and couldn’t put on such a grand display, so she made do with a simple offering to express her sincerity.

Cheng Su held the incense, lit it, and bowed several times with her eyes closed, murmuring her blessings, then inserted the incense, and lit a string of firecrackers signaling prosperity.

The sound of firecrackers drew a crowd of onlookers, Cheng Su smiled and unveiled the restaurant’s name covered in red silk: Joy Soon Loy Small Restaurant fell into everyone’s view.

"Oh, a change of owner, huh? Even the name of the restaurant has been changed."

"It’s still a restaurant; it was before too. Didn’t seem too prosperous, can it be successfully run?"

Cheng Su said brightly with a smile, "Our shop opens today, guaranteeing all ingredients are freshly purchased, and hygiene and quality are assured. Everyone is welcome to supervise and come taste."

The crowd chuckled.

Cheng Su pointed to a box at the door, from which she took a stack of flyers, and said, "Everyone can take a flyer home to look over. If you order dishes during the opening period, by presenting this flyer, you’ll enjoy a 20% discount."

People surged forward, each taking a flyer to inspect.

Long before the opening, Cheng Su had already distributed many flyers; these were extras, all part of the publicity strategy.

After a simple opening ceremony, Cheng Su had no more time to chat, as she had not yet hired any workers, and was all on her own for now; with lunch service imminent, she had to hurry to get the food ready.

On this first day of the new opening, preparations were rushed. Cheng Su decided not to make any particularly troublesome dishes, focusing on fast food. She had prepared two cold dishes, cucumber salad and wood ear mushroom with vinegar, considered vegetarian dishes, along with stir-fried vegetables. The meat dishes included steamed chicken with shiitake mushrooms, spicy beef, sweet and sour spare ribs, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and fish-flavored eggplant.

Chop, chop, chop, Cheng Su, wearing a floral de laine shirt and ankle-length trousers, her neck wrapped with an apron dangling to her knees, her hand gripping a chef’s knife, swiftly chopped ingredients needed for the dishes she was preparing.

The weather was hot, her hair now long and tied in a high ponytail, her cheeks flushed from the heat, and the recent hustle had made her noticeably slimmer, her slightly bowed head making her all the more attractive.

However, there were no admirers to appreciate her beauty, and even if there had been, Cheng Su was too preoccupied with her work to notice whether she was attractive or not.

Her entire focus was on making the small restaurant a success, as it could very well be the first key to her fortune.

Therefore, she hoped to make a big impact right from the start, and all her energy was invested in cooking.

Cheng Su quickly prepared the cold dishes, working as if she were two people, boiling a large pot of rice and a large pot of soup—because soup was to be given for free, today’s soup was egg flower soup.

Once the soup and rice were ready, she stored them in insulated containers to keep them warm; then she began cooking the dishes, starting with those that were simple and could be kept for longer. Each finished dish was placed on a warming cart, inside which there was already some hot water.

On the glass of the warming cart, prices were taped on with red tape, such as, one meat and one vegetarian dish for three banknotes, two meat and one vegetarian for five banknotes, two meat and two vegetarian for six banknotes, available for dine-in or takeout, tea and soup were always free, with prices clearly marked and fair for all ages.

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