“What’s with that expression?” Xing Dai Rong was displeased when she saw the frown on his face. “Miss, the cost of these snacks is not low. The price of brown sugar is still rising. The cost of one jin of snacks could be as high as thirty wen.” Kang Ping answered honestly.
In this era, snacks were considered rare and expensive. The brown sugar needed for snacks was transported from the south, and the price fluctuated widely, ranging from a dozen to twenty-plus wen. In the Capital City, the richest place in the whole country, the average salary for a waiter in a common tavern was only two to three qian of silver, which was two to three hundred wen. How many ordinary people could afford to eat snacks? To ask him to fill the place with snacks that were so expensive to make was tantamount to asking him to go bankrupt!
“What do you know? Who eats only snacks at a buffet!” Xing Dai Rong raised her eyebrows, looking at him with a disdainful air.
The nearby Cheng Yunshuo saw her lively appearance and simply laughed, saying affectionately, “Do what Dai Rong wants.”
Kang Ping stopped talking and nodded, taking note of the task.
On the other side, Xing Dai Rong continued walking inwards, soon arriving at the cold dish section she had requested.
There were twelve large porcelain basins lined up, each labeled with a name.
There was boiled fennel beans, boiled mung beans, boiled peanuts, boiled lentils, cold eggplant, cold bean sprouts, cold tofu, boiled radish, cold lettuce, cold spinach, cold cabbage, and cold winter melon.
There were also various steamed foods, like steamed sweet potatoes, steamed pumpkins, steamed buns, and steamed brown rice.
Xing Dai Rong saw all the cold dishes and staples and nodded in satisfaction. “You said just now that snacks are expensive, but aren’t these cold dishes much cheaper? A buffet is meant to have a bit of everything, you don’t just eat the expensive stuff. You have such a narrow perspective.”
Kang Ping: “…”
His narrow perspective? Not to mention that these cold dishes weren’t exactly cheap either, but even if you let people eat their fill, regardless of meat or vegetables, everyone really just wants to eat the good, expensive stuff. Who would eat the cheap stuff?
How many people in this era could even afford to eat their fill?
Soon, they reached the meat dish section. As per Xing Dai Rong’s request, in addition to the usual red braised pork, knuckle of ham, stir-fried meat, roasted chicken, and roasted duck, there had to be a new and exciting BBQ section.
Pre-marinated mutton and pork were skewered into large skewers and roasted over fire. After being roasted until they were sizzling with oil, they were seasoned with chili sauce and a special, western, less-common spice called cumin, creating an aroma that spread far and wide.
This BBQ was truly eye-opening for Kang Ping. At first, when he heard about the BBQ, he thought that their shop could introduce this dish as a signature dish. They could further modify the flavors, focus on quality, and they could definitely capture the hearts of high-class diners.
But he never expected Xing Dai Rong to ask for a complete overhaul and make BBQ an entire category. This had instantly doubled his costs.
Meat prices were already high, and now they were doing an all-you-can-eat, unlimited buffet. This would undoubtedly make them lose their shirts.
“You have to make sure there’s a steady supply of meat. If it runs out, you need to replenish it immediately, especially the BBQ. That’s the big ticket item.”
Kang Ping looked at Cheng Yunshuo, who was only focused on Xing Dai Rong, and said with a bitter face, “Yes.”
“Right, what about the drinks?”
“Miss Xing, drinks are too expensive. We’re planning to sell them separately as usual, fifteen wen per serving.”
“No! This is a buffet, drinks are included!”
“But the cost of drinks is really too high. We’ll definitely go bankrupt if drinks are unlimited.”
“Yunshuo, look.” Xing Dai Rong pulled on Cheng Yunshuo’s sleeve, acting spoiled.
“Alright, alright, whatever Dai Rong wants. Kang Ping, include drinks as well.”
With that, Xing Dai Rong immediately looked at Kang Ping with her head held high. “Did you hear that!”
“Yes.”
“Don’t give me that bitter face. You people are short-sighted, always focused on trivial gains. Just wait and see how I’ll sweep the capital city and make a fortune once we open. And watermelon juice, fruit juices, all of them, we can’t miss out on any of them. Do you understand!”
“Yes.” Kang Ping lowered his head, no longer daring to say anything more.
He watched as Xing Dai Rong went through the entire tavern, looking at her rough, low-budget version of a buffet with satisfaction. After pointing out a few errors, she finally left.
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