I am a doctor from a university in Xi 'an. After graduation, he entered a well-known foreign company and soon became the deputy of the department, which was a typical "from ivory tower to pyramid". My husband is from Xi. He has been working in several major automobile service companies around the world. After several years' efforts, he is now the head of China District of a foreign company in Xi. To outsiders, my husband and I are both elites in the workplace. I have a house and a car, and there is no loan pressure. My daughter was born less than a year after she got married. Our family holiday is to visit parks, shopping malls, the suburbs and occasionally go out to play.

It's quiet until 20 16, and my husband and I want to open a small restaurant. The cause of the incident was a compliment from a friend. I made a hometown snack to entertain my friends. While eating, she boasted and joked that if she opened such a shop in Xi 'an, it would be a fire. Since then, this sentence has repeatedly scratched my heart like a cat's paw. I have been living a quiet life, which makes me look forward to owning a restaurant. I make my own decisions. There is no leader, no Party A, only friends and laughter. I wear beautiful clothes to shuttle between them, make friends with new friends and greet them. How interesting that would be. This is not a restaurant. This is my little utopia with my husband. That's it. My husband and I hit it off and started preparing separately. The success of my career and the smooth life in the past made my wife and I particularly sure about the small restaurant. After all, one is an urban beauty who loafs around in the workplace and analyzes the international situation all day, and the other is a professional and authoritative executive in a foreign company. Isn't it easy to run a small restaurant How to kill a chicken with an ox knife, let alone two glittering ox knives. During the preparation, my husband and I often smile at each other and dream sweetly and frankly. A packed restaurant with friends from all directions and elegant style seems to be just around the corner.

2. Being cheated before opening a shop

The food the restaurant intends to operate is called "Guilin rice noodles", which is a traditional snack in the south and my favorite snack in my hometown. The production of Guilin rice noodles is complicated, and the taste will change greatly if there is a slight difference.

The first step in opening a restaurant is standardized production, otherwise it will be difficult to continue to operate. In order to develop products, my husband and I started experiments at home. On the one hand, we accurately calculated the cost of each rice noodle, on the other hand, we are also looking for a breakthrough in cooking methods. We think that we should not only open stores, but also promote this hometown food in Xi.

The next step is to choose the site and decorate the store. We chose shops in residential areas. One is close to home and convenient to take care of in his spare time. The two communities are densely populated and there are many young people and foreigners, so they want to have customers. We opened a second-hand shop, which used to be a small restaurant. It is converted from a two-bedroom apartment of more than 90 square meters, and the price is not expensive. We negotiated a transfer fee of 5,000 yuan with each other, including the remaining rent and everything in the store.

Based on simple trust, we didn't sign a contract, so we gave the former boss 3000 yuan on the same day, and the rest 1000 agreed to settle after the water and electricity were found out. On the day of checking the water fee, we failed to check it because the other party was late. He swore that he had paid all the utilities and he couldn't come tomorrow. Give him the remaining 1000 first. My husband and I didn't think much, so we gave it readily. As a result, when I went to check the property, I found that he owed more than 700 yuan for water. When I called again, this person lost contact.

Everything is difficult at the beginning, but we don't take this bumpy point to heart. My husband and I are still proud of the prospect of opening a shop. As everyone knows, the next thing is more difficult.

The new store opened and the business was bleak.

Thick oil stains stick to walls, floors, cooktops, operating tables and chopping boards. Most kitchen utensils are black, and the rags are black and sticky, giving off a bad smell. My husband and I are holding our noses to discuss the transformation plan, thinking of transforming it into a fresh and elegant restaurant that can meet our aesthetic standards.

So the kitchen was changed to Amin's kitchen, with blue and white porcelain as the main style of soft decoration, and wallpaper, tableware and chandeliers were all in a unified style. I was completely fascinated. I decorated this shop like my own child, thinking about how to make it look fresh and literary, and even consulted a designer friend. After half a month's day and night investment, the store finally showed a satisfactory appearance. We named this restaurant "Jiangnan Rice Noodles". On the day of completion, my husband and I stopped in front of the store to appreciate everything in front of us, smirked like children and gave each other a hug tacitly.

The hands are also assembled synchronously. My uncle and aunt used to do small businesses related to catering, mainly steamed buns and steamed buns, but there seems to be no other good choice in their hometown. My cousin, who just graduated from college, was also tricked into being a restaurant manager, and my wife and I could come to help soon after work. This dream restaurant has finally opened.

On the eve of opening, I was too excited to sleep. I imagine all kinds of hot scenes. As a result, on the opening day, except for a few friends, there was a brief "prosperity" scene in the store, and the rest of the time was deserted. My heart began to complain about Xi 'an's policy, why not set off firecrackers? If firecrackers are set off in my hometown, how can it attract a group of viewers?

After closing the store at night, my wife called a summary meeting and reported the turnover of the day-100 yuan. Everyone is a little depressed, but not discouraged, with a smile on their faces. Before that, I heard that the first half of a restaurant needs popularity.

That night, we also re-emphasized everyone's division of labor and further optimized the next service process. My husband can't wait to standardize every movement. He said that only standardization can achieve the highest efficiency. He regarded this as team management of the company and constantly emphasized his big ideas. Most of the time, only I can understand what he is saying. My uncle, aunt and cousin often listen and just smile.

4. It is not good to open a shop. Quarrel with my husband for the first time.

Soon we realized that choosing this place might be a big mistake. Hunan rice noodles, as a snack in the south, are difficult to spread quickly in our populous community in the north.

Based on this, my husband put forward two diversion schemes, one is to do free promotional activities, and the other is to distribute leaflets in the residential area and surrounding office buildings, but both of them have little effect. For a few moments, my pride was hurt.

When handing out leaflets, I was like a thief, afraid of being found out. By contrast, my cousin is much more agile. She rolled the leaflet into the shape of ice cream and quickly inserted it into the door handle. I always can't roll out the size of this "ice cream" shape, and the leaflets inserted in the handle often can't get stuck and slide down and fall to the ground.

Once, just as I was picking up a flyer on the ground, I was caught by the owner who just got off the elevator. The scene is so embarrassing that I can't wait to dig a hole. At this moment, I realized that the so-called elite background is not only useless, but also creates obstacles.

After more than a month's hard work, the turnover is still pitiful, a few hundred dollars a day, barely enough for rent. My wife and I were depressed and began to worry. This kind of anxiety is not that we can't afford the economic loss, but that the pride and self-confidence in our bones have faded and we can't convince us to accept the present reality.

Business differences led to the first quarrel between my husband and me after marriage, which was very fierce. I accused him of standardizing the small restaurant into a company, which was too idealistic. He wouldn't listen either. On the second day of the quarrel, my uncle and aunt took the opportunity to ask to go back to their hometown. I didn't stay. After I set the capital, I invited them to see a movie, have a big meal and buy a plane ticket to let them go home.

5. Decide on restaurant transformation

The restaurant suddenly left two core members, and Guilin rice noodles could not be made. My husband and I calmed down and decided to change our strategy and turn the restaurant into a chain store. We still don't doubt our management ability, and think that objective conditions must have caused the development dilemma. As long as we give full play to our subjective initiative and our two talents, we will certainly be able to open the chain stores after the transformation.

Through online recruitment, we recruited new chef Lao Liu and assistant Xiao Wang.

Lao Liu is a middle-aged man with ideas, courage and ability. I have worked in a chain store for several years, with solid skills and rich experience. In order to improve Lao Liu's enthusiasm and sense of responsibility, we put forward the method of basic salary plus commission, which is based on monthly net income. Lao Liu thinks that this method can be regarded as semi-self-employed, with little risk and good income, so the two sides quickly reached a cooperation agreement.

String strings are not strange to me at all. I usually like to eat, especially Sichuan skewers. But it's a little mysterious to me. That string of ingredients is particularly delicate. Later, I saw Lao Liu's operation with my own eyes and had a sense of enlightenment. Wow, this kidney flower is twisted like this, and this dish is cut like this.

According to Liu's suggestion, we bought a dozen shabu-shabu and alcohol stoves. A few days ago, Lao Liu was full of energy. He and his husband pondered over the menu and introduced some packages such as "98 yuan, 198 yuan". The contents of the package are calculated in detail by him and her husband, such as what configuration is included in 98 yuan's package, how much each kind of meat costs, and so on.

I really didn't know that the weight of a string of rinse meat was usually between 3 and 5. It turned out to be a plate full, which is why it is so small. All this is very new to me, and I suddenly feel like an expert in catering, at least in the financial circle. I am very proud of this.

The arrival of Lao Liu made my husband and I see hope. We think, Guilin rice noodles can't be sold, we admit it. This time it's a head office.

But more than a week later in the morning, Lao Liu suddenly didn't come to work. I'm afraid something will happen to him. I kept calling him, but no one answered. I called him more than ten times and heard his lazy voice. I asked him where he was, and he said he was in the house he rented and asked him why he didn't come to work. He said, sister, I'm sorry. I think your business is too bad. I quit.

After listening to Liu's words, the feeling of being cheated, completely denied and declared a failure made me fly into a rage. I shouted at the phone: "Lao Liu, you are too dishonest. Are you kidding?" I just bought the equipment, so you just left the booth. Can it be reliable? " . After I cursed, there was a silence on the other end of the phone, and then a faint "I'm sorry."

After another half month, Xiao Wang, who was originally an assistant to Lao Liu, resigned and left, leaving only his cousin in the shop.

6. Understand the "inside story" of being a restaurant

Shortly after Liu left, our store welcomed a third master, surnamed Zheng, a Sichuanese with a strong local accent. He is good at cooking and cooking strings, so our shop has been reformed again and turned into a Sichuan restaurant, with all kinds of strings and cooking.

After the chef resigned twice before, I was a little tired and began to have no illusions about the distant utopia. The house has been signed for three years, and it hasn't arrived in March yet. It's a loss. As long as you can continue to operate, you can open any museum. As long as I am the boss's wife, it doesn't matter so much whether I wear beautiful clothes or not.

Master Zheng is honest and diligent, and his cooking is acceptable. He used to be a chef in Nana Ogawa Pavilion, and the characteristics of cooking can be summarized in four words: more oil. Maybe Sichuan food is like this, but Master Zheng's food quantity is really unusual. He's obsessed with it. One 1: 1.2 pot rice, the food quantity is basically the same as that of ordinary dishes. He said that guests must have enough to eat.

There are more dishes and things are too affordable, so the number of customers in the store is gradually increasing. At lunch time, sometimes there are not enough seats, so we add takeout. At that time, Meituan, Baidu and other platforms had just emerged, and we had not joined, so we all sent them ourselves, only in the community, and we couldn't manage it anymore.

In order to save costs, the only employees in the store are Master Zheng and my cousin. My husband and I help during the break, and everyone has several jobs to wash vegetables and dishes. Every weekend, we drive our family car to Balizhuang wholesale market to purchase materials.

When I first entered the grain and oil wholesale market, I asked my boss if there was any edible oil for Arowana, because we often ate this brand. The boss brought us a bucket. I said we want more than a dozen barrels. Can you make it cheaper? The boss casually asked, why do you need so much oil? I said we run a restaurant. Hearing this sentence, the boss smiled and said, sister, how advanced is your restaurant? Can you still make money with arowana? After listening to this sentence, my wife and I looked at each other and asked the boss what oil I should use.

The boss picked up an oversized oil pan. At first glance, it can hold at least 10 kg. There is no label outside. He pointed to it and said, restaurants buy this. I've never seen such a big oil drum. Weak asked about the price and found that Arowana was less than half. The boss said that this oil is not bad, and the people who bought it are cheaper.

My first reaction was that it was cheap, not gutter oil. Immediately shook his head and bought the boss's recommendation. In addition to oil, all kinds of flavored drinks that are cheaper than I expected have opened my eyes. On the one hand, I blame myself for not being grounded, on the other hand, I am happy that I have gained a lot of knowledge. At the same time, I feel confused and lost because I have become a two-faced person. Our car, which used to be a high-end car, has now become a van. The trunk is full of meat, vegetables, rice flour and spices. This car smells of fish. I have to go to work for a week before I can wash the car after pulling the goods.

Not only the car, but also I became a "greasy" person. Hair and body smell of oil smoke, and hands are getting rougher and rougher. You can't look straight at your hand when you are typing on the keyboard. Mentally, I feel a little split. Sitting in a bright office in a suit during the day, writing a high report, but wearing an apron at night, I became a waiter, dishwasher and takeaway, and I was busy until twelve o'clock.

Husband is funnier. One minute, he had just finished reporting his work to a foreign boss in English, and the next, he was taking a notebook to order food for his guests.

My husband and I are paying more and more for restaurants. By the end of the month, except for rent, wages, utilities and raw materials, there was still nothing left.

The business in the store is busy, and the daily flow has increased to 1 0,000 yuan. But the amount of food given by Master Zheng is too large. Selling a plate full is not only unsightly, but also not exquisite at all. On the other hand, it is often wasted and many guests can't finish it. Master Zheng is very stubborn. Whatever we say, we still cook in our own way. He said things must be affordable. It is the guest's business that the guest can't finish eating. We can't eat less

7. Enthusiasm wanes and you return to work.

The restaurant struggled for a year, until that day, several people who claimed to be street offices suddenly came and told us that this was a residential building and we couldn't do business with naked flames. Let's rectify it. Later, when we came again, we realized that this restaurant could not be opened. Forget it. Give it up. I'm so tired. My husband and I are completely depressed. Our so-called superiority has been exhausted in this small restaurant.

Looking at this flying Sichuan restaurant, the thick oil layer in the blue and white porcelain bowl seems to have melted. The first adventure ended in a chicken feather. Looking back on this whole year's suffering, I am a little glad that it is over.