pjbooks Chapter 11: [Street-Style Steak]
Chapter 11: [Street-Style Steak]
"You can make this stuff?! When did you secretly sign up for Lanxiang Technical School?"
Zhuang Zicong and Cai Jiahao stood on either side of Liu Zhuohao behind him, staring dumbfounded at the complex and dizzying design drawing on the computer screen.
The picture shows a food cart, but it's a completely different species from the simple handcart they've been familiar with for the past month.
Two griddle areas, a complex ventilation system, an integrated sink and storage compartments, and even reserved space for lighting fixtures and a signboard...
This doesn't look like a stall; it's more like a miniature, fully-equipped shop!
Liu Zhuohao didn't turn around; his fingers moved quickly between the mouse and keyboard, skillfully operating the CAD software.
Unfortunately, this old computer is really unreliable; every operation is accompanied by the whine of the fan and frustrating lag.
Having graduated with a degree in mold making, he certainly had some experience in operating the equipment.
A few years later, he designed his own food truck.
"I've had some free time recently, and I'm planning to start some new businesses."
Liu Zhuohao finally stopped and turned his chair around.
A month of intense work allowed this young body to adapt, muscle memory began to form, efficiency improved, and daily fatigue was greatly reduced.
With school holidays, the peak breakfast rush has decreased sharply, and I suddenly have extra time.
The surplus time must be immediately transformed into new growth points.
Liu Zhuohao is not really content with just being a breakfast stall owner.
What kind of business?
Without a doubt, it's the night market.
But you definitely can't sell hand-pulled pancakes in a night market; you have to sell barbecue, spicy hot pot, rice noodle rolls, or...
But these things are not "rare" at night market stalls, and if you throw in a scallion pancake stall, it has no chance of winning.
Compared to breakfast stalls, it needs to be more common and the food can be served quickly.
The night market is distinctly different; it's frequented by people who have finished get off work or have nothing to do, who wander around aimlessly and have plenty of time to choose what they want.
They prefer to linger at novel stalls rather than common ones.
For the former, customers' primary need is simply to be full.
The latter, however, is for customers who want to eat well.
"Damn, you haven't even finished what's in your bowl, and you're already eyeing what's in the pot?" Zhuang Zicong's eyes widened as he swallowed the spicy snack in his mouth. "You make pancakes during the day and try to make money at night? Are you made of iron?"
Cai Jiahao licked his fingers, which were covered in chili oil, and muttered, "Are you burning money? You can eat well for thirty or forty yuan a day, and with six or seven thousand a month you could eat like crazy for half a year! Aren't you satisfied?"
Others might not know, but these two did know about 'Boss Liu's' daily income.
All told, that's about six or seven thousand a month!
Six or seven thousand, that's more than their parents earn!
Is that not enough?
If it were the two of them, earning six or seven thousand a month, they'd be ecstatic. They could eat KFC every day and still not be able to spend it all in a month!
"Promising!"
Looking at the genuine shock and satisfaction on his two friends' faces, Liu Zhuohao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. These two brothers were as honest as ever.
However, the term "honest person" has become a derogatory term due to the influence of a group of people with ulterior motives, and they did not have a good life.
But at the same time, Liu Zhuohao felt an even deeper sense of urgency.
The two brothers' reaction is actually the reaction of the vast majority of ordinary people.
Be content and accept the status quo.
Having a job that provides enough to eat and wear, and being healthy is all I need, from nine to late...
When Liu Zhuohao first graduated, he had the same idea.
Cai Jiahao asked, "So what are you planning to do tonight? You're not going to... sell rice noodle rolls, are you?"
Rice noodle roll stalls are very famous in this small coastal city; almost everyone who plans to start a food business has considered it.
"no……"
Liu Zhuohao shook his head. "I plan to sell steaks."
Both of them froze, their mouths agape, before finally uttering, "Beef, steak?!"
They looked at each other in bewilderment.
Cai Jiahao forgot to chew the half-eaten bag of spicy strips in his hand: "Wait... buddy, isn't this a bit too wild? We've gone straight from jianbing guozi (Chinese crepes) to a Western restaurant?"
"No, it's street-side steak."
Liu Zhuohao explained, "I don't have the money to start a shop right now, I have to start with a roadside stall."
Cai Jiahao scratched the back of his head, his brows furrowed in worry:
"Street-side steak? That stuff is ridiculously expensive!"
"When I was in junior high, my whole family gritted our teeth and went to Haoheng Shijia restaurant for my birthday. We ordered the cheapest option, and the three of us still spent over 300 yuan! Your costs must be outrageous!"
Zhuang Zicong pushed up his glasses, which had slipped down to the tip of his nose, and his voice trailed off: "The cost is only a few dozen yuan..."
"How can Hao-ge possibly withstand this? Could it be that he's planning to use that kind of patchwork meat that they mentioned in the news? That's so unhygienic."
His tone and expression were somewhat complicated.
They keep saying "unscrupulous merchants, unscrupulous merchants," but now their own brother is about to become an "unscrupulous merchant," and for a moment, they don't know how to face it.
Should we persuade them to give up, or support them?
"The cost is only a few tens of dollars? And the hygiene is terrible?" Liu Zhuohao laughed, without explaining directly, and instead picked up the action camera on the table.
"Cong-ge, Jia-hao, I have a question for you, what is this thing on my head?"
Before they could answer, he opened his account on Bilibili and showed them every comment in his comment section. "Many of these 500 or so followers are my customers. They support me because I make sure they feel safe eating here."
"I wouldn't stoop so low as to use some substandard frozen meat and ruin my reputation. I would definitely find a partner with compliant inspection and quarantine standards."
Liu Zhuohao took out his accounting notebook, handed it to them, and replied:
"Although we're not exactly wealthy and don't eat Western food all the time, we've probably all heard of things like premium cut beef, Wagyu beef, and Australian beef."
Cai Jiahao nodded, took the notebook, and began to read it.
Zhuang Zicong took a closer look, but was immediately deterred by the dense array of numbers.
The two put down their notebooks and chose to listen directly to their own explanations.
"Actually, the quality of steak depends mainly on the ingredients. For example, if the beef is pieced together, it's made from ground beef, scraps, brisket, etc., and then mixed with starch."
Liu Zhuohao said, "Or rather, it's a whole piece of beef, cut without any processing, or some other cut..."
"Western restaurant brands that you often hear about, such as Pizza Hut, Hao Heng Lai, and Hao Heng Shi Jia, definitely use high-quality, original-cut beef to justify their prices, but I'm different."
He paused, then continued, "Actually, these days, street-side steaks aren't unusual in other big cities, but in our small coastal city, steak is a luxury item, reserved for Western restaurants!"
"I'm certain that if I were to open a street-side steakhouse now, it would be the first of its kind in the entire city!"
"The premise is that the steak can be cheap, but not cheap; it can be from a street vendor, but it can't look unhygienic. I have experience with this, cough, I'm quite confident..."
In fact, in the next few years, the "quality" of Western restaurants will gradually become more "affordable" as people's living standards improve.
Like he mentioned in his words, things like Haoheng Lai, Pizza Hut, Haoheng Shijia...
In the coming years, the quality of raw materials will decline rapidly as prices rise.
A steak that currently costs at least 69 yuan, and a set meal might cost over 100 yuan, will in the future be available for just a few dozen yuan, and there might even be buffets available.
Some of the brands listed are already of similar quality to street-side steaks, or even inferior to some street-side steaks with stable cold chain supply.
After all, street-side steaks don't have the high brand premiums and store rents. If customers need them and make reservations in advance, the stall owners can get high-end original cut beef such as grass-fed sirloin and grain-fed ribeye.
This fact is not only known to Liu Zhuohao as an insider.
Even a layman can clearly tell from the taste that the steak in the 25-year-old brand store is significantly different from the steak he ate in 14.
The two men were stunned. They didn't know what to pay attention to when doing business, let alone the types and quality of steaks.
"So this time, I really need to borrow some from you guys."
Liu Zhuohao looked at them. He had said he wanted to borrow money, but in reality, setting up his breakfast stall was easier than he had expected.
In fact, thanks to his precise marketing and superb skills, he barely touched the reserve fund and established himself on that street, even gaining a reputation that rivaled that of an old rice noodle roll stall that had been operating for over a decade.
But this time is different; there's a big difference between running a night market stall and a hand-pulled pancake stall.
One is a low-cost business; if you don't count the food truck and rent, the actual investment might only be a few hundred dollars.
What about the other one?
You need to invest at least several thousand or tens of thousands of dollars just to get started. If the profits don't keep up in the first month, you have to shut down immediately!
When money was mentioned, Cai Jiahao remained generous, patting his chest loudly: "No problem! I still have my New Year's money!"
Zhuang Zicong, who was standing next to him, became unusually quiet, and all his previous joking and laughing mood disappeared.
"that……"
He scratched his head, his voice a little weak, "Brother Hao, are you really sure? Pancakes and steak are both food, but the difference... isn't it a bit too big?"
"How about we think about it some more?"
"Actually, a rice noodle roll stall would be quite good, or you could get a barbecue grill; the initial investment shouldn't be that much..."
Liu Zhuohao paused for a moment, pondering in his mind how to further persuade this brother to believe in him and invest.
"Grilled rice noodle rolls?"
Liu Zhuohao shook his head, "It's possible, but it's like making scallion pancakes—it's a cutthroat business, you earn hard-earned money, the profits are thin, and it's slow to get ahead."
He turned his head, his eyes burning with unwavering determination: "If you're going to do it, be the first to try something new. Street-side steaks require a high investment and carry risks, but once you get it going, it becomes a signature dish."
"If all goes well, I can turn my stall into a proper shop in six months."
He lowered his voice, but it carried more weight. "More importantly, the title of 'the first in the city' itself is a source of traffic. People will be curious, they will discuss it, they will take out their phones to take pictures... This can gather popularity and fans ten or a hundred times faster than selling rice noodle rolls in an orderly manner."
Cai Jiahao stood to the side, glancing at himself from left to right, then at Zhuang Zicong, scratching his head, unsure of what to say.
Zhuang Zicong adjusted his glasses, his Adam's apple bobbing, before he spoke with some difficulty: "Um... Zhuo Hao, I told you before that I could lend you a thousand, but it seems I can't lend you a thousand."
As soon as he said it, his face turned a little red, as if he had done something wrong.