Chapter 74 The First Business

A greasy wooden folding table and a plastic stool with missing arms and legs.

This is the standard configuration of a small dirty stall.

“Fried rice with sausage, here we go!”

Zhao Jin was holding a brown enamel bowl covered with a plastic bag, which contained steaming fried rice.

Put it in front of him, and you don't have to get close to it, just raise your nose and smell the strong aroma of the pot.

"The chef is quite good at cooking."

There is a famous chef named Dai Long in Hong Kong Island, who is the one who made Emperor Fried Rice in “The God of Cookery”. He is a famous chef himself, and he is one of the prototypes of the movie “The God of Cookery”.

Dai Long has a dish called God of Cookery Fried Rice, priced at 5000 yuan, and it attracts a constant stream of diners.

But if you really want to ask this guy to cook something at a dirty stall, he may not be able to do it well.

It's like a five-star chef. If you ask him to prepare a big banquet, he will be at a loss.

The key to cooking at a stall is "speed, accuracy and ruthlessness". With a few stirs of the spoon, salt, MSG, chicken essence, soy sauce, pepper... the hands are so quick that it seems as if they have practiced at Bao Zhilin. The food can be served in the wok in just one or two minutes.

Zhang Yuan got up late and missed both breakfast and lunch. He finished the fried rice in front of him in a few big mouthfuls.

Comfortable!

He took out five dollars and slapped it on the table, and Zhao Jin quickly pushed it back.

"You don't need to come to eat. Besides, it won't take that much."

Wow, after not seeing you for a few months, you’ve become a better person now… Zhang Yuan happily took back the money and didn’t act politely with him.

After all, we will discuss cooperation next, so it will be more beneficial to show a familiar attitude.

"Are you filming nearby?"

"I just finished filming my part in The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, so I came here to take a look around today because I have nothing to do."

"You're going too far!" Zhao Jin raised his eyelids and estimated: "Thirty to forty kilometers."

"You know that too." Zhang Yuan gave him an angry look. He had improved, but not much.

"Of course I came here to talk to you about something."

"Do you remember what I said to you on the set of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber?"

"What did you say?"

Damn it... Zhang Yuan suppressed his anger and thought, forget it, he is just an ordinary person, don’t demand so much.

"You said you were planning to open a food stand with your friends while working as an extra. I told you to make it big and strong, remember?"

"That's why I came here today."

It was not yet time for lunch in the afternoon, so business was relatively slow. So the two of them took some time and sat down in front of Zhang Yuan.

"Is this the roommate you mentioned who sneaked into the crew in three days and got a supporting role in a month?"

The cook winked and asked Zhao Jin.

"It's even more amazing now. I've become a major supporting actor. I heard that I can earn hundreds of thousands for one play."

Can you two talk in private but behind my back... Zhang Yuan's face was stiff.

Also, if I make hundreds of thousands of dollars for a movie, was it you two who stole the balance in my bank card?

You can tell at first glance that neither of them is a slick, superficial veteran.

"Let me make it clear first, I don't have that much money."

"Secondly, what I want to talk about today has nothing to do with filming... Well, it does have something to do with it."

When the two men heard him speak, they sat up straight.

"I was in the crew of The Story of a Noble Family before. At its peak, there were more than 300 people in total, including extras and leading actors."

"The crew of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber had more than 500 people at its peak."

"These crews take several months to shoot, and the lunch money alone for the entire show would cost hundreds of thousands, or even millions."

"Even if you don't know how many crews are working in the capital every day, how many actors and extras need to eat, you can probably imagine it."

"Do you want to make this money?"

Zhang Yuan painted the pancake to look fragrant and sweet. After the two of them thought about it for a while, they felt like they had discovered a gold mine!
"what do you mean?"

"Open a shop and make boxed lunches, just for the crew!"

"How can we do this job?" It was a good idea, but when it came to the actual situation, Zhao Jin immediately showed a timid look: "They are all provided by relatives, we can't do it."

What a coward... Zhang Yuan complained in his heart.

However, being timid has its advantages. Such people are easy to control and are less likely to rebel.

"You're talking about too big a deal. We can only run a small stall. We don't have to pay rent, water or electricity, so whatever we earn is ours."

The cook also responded and looked at Zhao Jin beside him, thinking that your friend has a big heart and a big appetite, we are a small businessman, we can't reach an agreement with him.

Zhang Yuan saw what the two were thinking, adjusted his mood, and spoke again. "Well, let me ask you a question."

"How long do you think you can run this business? One year, ten years, or a lifetime?"

"As long as we don't get sick and as long as we can work, we can keep doing this!" The chef's words are filled with the simplicity and stubbornness of ordinary people.

"What about after you get married? Will you let your wife set up a stall with you?"

"Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog. It's enough for the young couple to have a skill and be able to make a living." The person's answer was very affirmative.

"Okay!" Zhang Yuan clapped his hands, and then his eyes gradually became sharper, staring at the two of them: "What if you have children one day?"

"Twenty years from now, when your children grow up, do you also want them to sleep in the open air every day, sweat all over, and be chased around by urban management officers like stray dogs?"

"I..." This time, the cook was silent.

Ordinary people are like this. No matter how hard or tired they are, they still hope that their children can do better than themselves.

Who doesn’t want their children to work in an air-conditioned office instead of hawking goods on the streets?
Why do those men working outside work so hard? Isn't it because they want to send more money to their wives and children at home?

Why do those men who have worked all their lives and sent money back home go crazy and turn into murderers after finding out that the child is not their own?

The most sincere hope of the Chinese people is that each generation will be stronger than the previous one.

Zhang Yuan touched their soft spot and they lowered their heads in silence.

"Do you want your children to work as hard as you do, or do you want to have enough money to buy them a car and a house in 20 years so they don't have to worry about money anymore?"

Obviously, they want the latter.

"Then opening a store, rent, water, electricity, gas, these alone will cost a lot of money, what if I lose money..."

Most people are good at talking, but once they really have to do something, they start looking for excuses to back off.

Zhang Yuan was naturally forced to take action.

"It's not just about renting a store, water, electricity and gas, but also about taxes, fire protection, market supervision, the urban management department needs to make preparations, and there are many people to take care of."

"Even delivering lunch boxes to the set requires a car, and you haven't even taken all this into account."

"so……"

"So I will pay for all these initial expenses!" Zhang Yuan roughly calculated that after receiving the salary for "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber", he would have a savings of about 18 yuan.

It’s enough to open a store.

"When you make money, deduct this from the profit and return it to me."

"Then, then... where does the business come from?" Seeing that his retreat was blocked, Zhao Jin chuckled and spoke again.

"In less than a year, I have not saved any gold or silver, but I have saved some reputation. I will look for business."

"That is to say, you two will just do the work as you do now. I will take care of the cost, management, and sales."

"I will register the store as a company. I will own 60% and you two will each own 20%. We will settle the accounts through dividends every month."

At this point, he laid out his plan in full.

His main job now is actor, after all, this industry pays a lot of money.

That's why he wanted to make money from the derivative industries of the film and television industry. With him around, he has connections and business.

The box lunch business is almost the film and television industry with the lowest entry threshold. If you do it well, you can easily make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

But he couldn't do it himself if he wanted to act, so he had to find a few honest ordinary people to cooperate with him, give them some benefits, and ask them to help him do the work.

Zhao Jin is a talkative person, but he is not a bad person.

He may not be able to make decisions, but he can still do the work.

"That's it. Find a shop tomorrow. I'll contact the fire department, the market, the urban management department, and the sanitation department, and we'll have a meal together."

"So as to avoid a minor inspection every three days and a major inspection every five days in the future."

The two of them were still confused by what they heard, but they understood everything clearly according to Zhang Yuan's arrangement.

The next day, dinner time.

Led by Zhang Yuan, the two came to a private room in a restaurant.

Open the door and take a look.

Zhang Yuan really didn't lie to them, the table was filled with people from relevant departments.

He asked Zhao Decai to help him contact this person.

His friend used to be a developer, and he was familiar with people in this industry and the leaders on the ground, otherwise it would be difficult to get anywhere.

However, he didn't look for any big shots. The county magistrate was not as good as the current one. Those who came were all section-level cadres, the kind he would meet often in the future.

The two were dumbfounded. They had never seen such a big scene before.

The cook was named Cao Jianjun, and he looked at Zhao Jin blankly.

"Who on earth is this friend of yours?"

(End of this chapter)