Chapter Thirty-Five: The First Franchisee

"That’s definitely possible, but I’m just worried you might be too busy to handle everything. Our lamb skewers now have a new recipe, the flavor is even better than before, and we’re also preparing to make lamb soup."

"If you join us, you’ll also be part of the lamb soup business. We have a recipe for that as well. But you can start with the lamb skewers—if you take on too much, I’m afraid it’ll be overwhelming."

Chen Huajiang was actually thinking, what kind of recipe could there be for lamb soup? The previous owner had already said that it was just a matter of boiling bone broth over a high flame. Chen Huajiang was someone who liked to innovate. In his memory, the lamb soup from those days seemed to include medicinal herbs. So, he planned to try adding some herbs in the next few days to see how the flavor turned out.

"There’s lamb soup too? That’s wonderful. But I have one more question. I really want to join your franchise, but I don’t have enough money right now. Do you think I could pay in installments?"

"I could give you two hundred a month. The franchise fee is seven hundred, right? So in about three months, I’ll have paid it off. Does that work for you?"

Dongzi felt a bit embarrassed.

"Since you were introduced by Ermao, you’re actually our first barbecue franchisee. If you’re short on cash, that arrangement is fine with me. But we’ll need to sign an agreement."

Chen Huajiang agreed right away. After all, this was the first franchise, and it was a special concession.

"No problem at all. Brother Jiang, we can sign the agreement whenever you like. I’ve already found a place I want to rent tomorrow."

Dongzi had been looking for a shop for days, and this one was right at the entrance of several residential blocks. The foot traffic was huge, so business should be good.

"Then come by tomorrow to sign the agreement. As you can see, I’m so busy here, I haven’t had time to prepare anything."

"Alright, I’ll come by tomorrow then." With that, Dongzi left, grinning, alongside Ermao.

Over at Wu De and Gou Weidong’s place, their shop space was finally ready, and the two of them were busy tidying up. Seeing how well Chen Huajiang’s business was doing, Wu De scoffed, "It’s just grilled lamb skewers, right? It’s not like anyone can’t do it. Let’s start one too."

"You really want to do lamb skewers? What if ours aren’t as good as theirs, and we lose money? Besides, we haven’t even decided what to do. Do you know any chefs? Can you get someone to help us?"

The two of them were bold, renting a space without settling on a plan. They even signed a three-year lease, just like Chen Huajiang and his friends, at ninety yuan a month.

The security office didn’t dare raise the rent—after all, one was the deputy factory director’s son, the other the logistics director’s son, so they had to show some respect.

"How hard is it to find a chef? Just offer some money and someone will come. Leave it to me."

Wu De thought it would be easy. But the next day, he realized finding a chef was actually quite difficult. He didn’t know any chefs himself; in the end, he managed to hire a man in his forties through his father’s connections—a former employee in the Red Flag Factory cafeteria, now resigned.

By noon the next day, Chen Huajiang’s braised pork was selling better than ever. Everyone agreed the flavor was far superior to before.

"Da Guang, see? A little seasoning makes all the difference, doesn’t it?"

"Brother Jiang, you’re the clever one. I bet even Mei Wei Xian can’t keep up with us now."

Da Guang was proud—outdoing his own father was no small feat.

Over at Wu De’s shop, far fewer people came to eat than at Chen Huajiang’s place. Their chef could only make simple home-style dishes and nothing else. Wu De was dissatisfied, but there was nothing he could do—good chefs were hard to come by. Still, they had a few customers; people get tired of greasy food and want a change.

But by evening, business at Wu De’s had vanished completely. At Chen Huajiang’s place, people could drink and enjoy delicious lamb skewers—mostly young men gathering in groups.

Wu De couldn’t hide his jealousy and started thinking about making lamb skewers himself.

The next day, Dongzi arrived with the money, handed over two hundred yuan to Chen Huajiang, and started learning from him. The training would take at least a week. From marinating the lamb to grilling it, Chen Huajiang taught everything personally.

Wu De was baffled—why was this young man paying Chen Huajiang two hundred yuan to help out? Shouldn’t Chen Huajiang be paying him a salary?

Wu De simply couldn’t wrap his head around such things.

A few days later, business at Wu De’s place was truly dismal. He had tried copying Chen Huajiang’s lamb skewers, but after eating there once, no one came back—the taste was worlds apart.

That night, Chen Huajiang strolled over to Wu De’s snack bar.

"What were you guys thinking? Did you actually think you could compete with me? I have the recipe, you know. Your lamb skewers are a disaster. Let me tell you, not every business can be a goldmine for everyone. Timing, location, and people all matter. Do you have a chef like Da Guang? A mind like mine? My advice: sublet those three rooms to me and at least get some of your money back."

Now it was Chen Huajiang’s turn to be smug.

Wu De and Gou Weidong flushed red with embarrassment, unable to retort. They knew their lamb skewers were inedible and understood what was wrong, but had no way to fix it. That was the most frustrating part. Their chef knew nothing about lamb skewers and was no help at all.

"Chen Huajiang, don’t get too cocky. Worst case, we’ll stop selling lamb skewers. We’ll find something better than what you’re selling, and then you’ll be the one going out of business!"

Wu De’s stubbornness was as strong as ever.

"I just wonder if I’ll have to wait that long. Sure, your families are rich, but you can’t cover for such wasteful spending forever. At this rate, you’ll be moving out in a few days, without me having to say a word."

Chen Huajiang had done the math. With their current sales, Wu De and his partner were losing about ten yuan a day. Rent was cheap, but the chef still needed to be paid. And if their ingredients couldn’t be sold within three days, they’d spoil—a huge loss.

"You don’t need to worry about us. We know what we’re doing. We don’t need you meddling in our business."