My domineering ex-husband is living off his wife in ancient times.

Chapter 142 Fast Food Restaurant

Cheng Ruoan didn't ask for much, offering five taels of silver a month for five guards.

The main problem is that neither Zhao Dongjia nor Madam Guo have more than ten in their own shops. What kind of person does she have to dare to ask for more than ten?

After having her fill of tea, Madam Luo strolled around the shops on either side of the Cheng family's residence.

The pastry shop next door, owned by Cheng Ruotong, is not big. Inside, there are shelves against the walls on both sides, and a row of counters directly opposite.

The counter was also made by Cheng Ruoan. Now it looks like a square wooden cabinet, but the wooden boards on the outward side are all removable.

Cheng Ruoan plans to replace the wooden boards with large glass panels once they have glass, making it similar to a modern cake display case.

The shelves on both sides of the wall are custom-made wooden frames based on modern supermarket shelves. Each layer of the wooden frame is decorated with frilled wood trim made of scraps of fabric.

It looks playful and heartwarming.

The walls of the entire shop were painted a light yellow color by Cheng Ruoan adding a little bit of turmeric to the whitewash.

As soon as Luo Niangzi entered, her eyes lit up: "Wow, your eldest sister's pastry shop is so uniquely decorated..."

Cheng Ruoan simply smiled faintly: "It's just some unrefined ingenuity from us country folk."

She wasn't being overly modest; this decorating style is truly a modern take on country style.

Off-white, natural wood, floral fabric.

The key words for "rustic style" are well-captured.

"The decor is beautiful, but... does your older sister have enough pastries to fill the shelves?"

Madam Luo knew that Cheng Ruotong only supplied one type of milk-flavored chicken cake to the outside world. Even with the two packs of new snacks that Cheng Ruoan had just given to her husband Luo, it was still not enough to support the shop.

"It's alright. Good things are valued for their quality, not quantity. Just focus on selling the steamed egg cakes and pork jerky first." Cheng Ruoan can make many kinds of pastries and snacks, but considering sustainable development, she must teach her older sister to make them using the current materials and tools.

Making pork jerky is very simple; you should be able to learn it in no time.

Secondly, you can think of it as pudding and bread.

Cheng Ruotong is now very skilled at using the oven, and these things are all made in the oven, so they are quite suitable.

After visiting the pastry shop, Madam Luo returned to the large three-room shop. Looking at the tables, chairs, benches, and a row of wooden counters with large round holes, she was filled with questions.

"Ruo'an, these pieces of furniture... um... you designed them all yourself?"

Cheng Ruoan smiled and nodded.

Madam Luo asked the question in a very tactful way, but Cheng Ruoan didn't keep her in suspense at all and introduced, "I plan to do 'fast food' business with this shop."

The main purpose is to provide convenient and quick dining, so these rectangular tables and benches, arranged in a row, can seat more people.

Luo Niangzi estimated the size of the shop. It could fit four long wooden tables, and each table could seat about five people. If they squeezed in, six people could also sit there.

It can accommodate at least forty people for dining at the same time.

However, if a regular eight-immortal table were used, only four tables could be set up at most, accommodating a maximum of thirty-two people for dining.

Cheng Ruoan walked to the wooden cabinet with a large round hole and continued to explain: "This is used to put pots. Once the food is cooked inside, you can take it out directly from the pot and put it on this without it shaking."

Then, customers who come for "fast food" can line up, choose their dishes as they go, and finally go to the area where the rice is served in wooden buckets, serve themselves, and then sit down at the long table to eat.

Cheng Ruoan went to other restaurants and found that they basically used large wooden basins to serve large dishes.

Honestly, without dish soap these days, it's very difficult to completely clean the grease stains off a wooden basin.

After a while, the bowl started to look disgusting.

Ceramic basins can also be customized.

Not only are custom orders for fewer than a hundred items very expensive, but if the food gets cold and needs to be reheated, it has to be poured back into the iron pot for reheating.

After calculating, Cheng Ruoan decided it would be better to just buy a few more large iron pots.

After all, in ancient times, an iron pot could be used for several generations; the pot would still be there even after the person left.

After hearing this, Madam Luo couldn't help but give her a thumbs up: "No wonder you're so good at business, Ruo'an! You think long-term!"

Cheng Ruoan smiled and waved his hand: "I just visited a few more small restaurants to summarize my experience and make improvements."

There are other fast food restaurants in Huangyang Town, but you can't choose your own dishes. They are more like selling "boxed meals" or rice bowls with a fixed menu.

A menu is posted at the door every day, showing what kind of meat and vegetables are served that day. The only options are white rice, whole grain rice, white flour steamed buns, or mixed grain steamed buns.

Then the price was fixed, ranging from fifteen to thirty coins per serving.

The main idea is to eat according to the restaurant owner's mood.

Cheng Ruoan felt that this was the prototype of modern "fast food".

That's why she wasn't afraid of being too ahead of her time and decided to create a fast food restaurant where customers could choose their own meals.

When running a fast food business, the menu doesn't need to be as eye-catching and unique as that of a restaurant or inn. Just focus on nutritional balance and delicious taste.

Cheng Ruoan plans to take some time to grow a batch of broad beans in her space, make some fermented soybean paste, and then use the fermented soybean paste to cook a few dishes to serve in fast food restaurants. She guarantees that the taste will be far superior.

In addition, the ability to choose your own ingredients earns you two points; the clean appearance of the iron pot earns you two points; and the convenience of heating it anytime earns you another two points.

All things considered, even Lady Luo could have predicted that Cheng Ruoan would win big in the fast food restaurant business.

The more Luo Niangzi thought about it, the more her heart burned with desire.

There was no way she and Manager Luo could get involved in the hand cream business. The profits were too high, and without Madam Guo and Master Zhao's connections, it would be snatched away by other high-ranking officials and nobles sooner or later.

What are her and Lao Luo's identities that allow them to dine at the same table with those two female patriarchs?

Cheng Ruo'an had already made it clear that Cheng Ruotong's pastry shop would only do wholesale, and would not offer shares or buyouts.

Cheng's mother's tofu business... wasn't particularly profitable, and it was easy to get into trouble with the Yang family's tofu shop.

This fast food restaurant is the best opportunity for her and Lao Luo.

Seize the opportunity to make money with Cheng Ruoan!

So before Cheng Ruoan could even speak, Luo Niangzi took the initiative and said, "Ruoan, have you found a chef for your fast food restaurant? I'm here..."

"Sigh, I haven't found one yet. I have some special requirements for the head chef. If I can't find one soon, I'll have to consider hiring someone."

Cheng Ruoan sighed.

A skilled cook is much more expensive than an ordinary maid or servant.

Madam Luo's eyes lit up. "What are your requirements? Tell me."

"First, it has to be a woman; second, it has to be strong. After all, this is cooking in a large pot, and mistakes are easy to make. A female cook is always more careful than a male cook."

But because of the large-scale cooking, those with too little strength couldn't even lift the ladle.

Thirdly, I want to be clean. Even if I'm surrounded by cooking fumes and soup every day, I still want to be clean and tidy.

Overjoyed, Madam Luo grabbed Cheng Ruoan's hands and exclaimed, "My cook is just what you need, Ruoan!"

Cheng Ruoan was taken aback.

Ok?

Is there such a good thing? !

When I felt sleepy, someone handed me a pillow.