Chapter 163 Seafood Gourmet City

After observing outside the store for a while, Li Ran took his parents inside to take a tour. The overall decor of the restaurant is quite nice, and it should only require minor adjustments to be ready for opening.
Zhao Jun tugged at Li Ran's clothes and said, "With such a big store, what are you planning to run?"
"What did you sell before?" Li Ran asked with a smile.
"Small seafood, of course! Do I even need to ask?" Zhao Jun thought for a moment and said.
Li Ran snapped his fingers and smiled, saying, "This time we'll open a seafood gourmet city."
Zhao Jun asked with some worry, "Is that feasible? I remember when we sold small seafood, those were quite delicate, and if we weren't careful, quite a few would die. Won't the larger seafood be even harder to take care of?"
“You can rest assured, we'll create conditions suitable for storing seafood to ensure its freshness. When selling, we'll do it both online and offline. As long as the taste is good, I'm confident the business will thrive. If the seafood sells quickly, it won't spoil.”
“Moreover, seafood pickup and delivery can be handled by LeXiang KuaiSong, which ensures the freshness of the seafood and allows the prepared dishes to be delivered to consumers as quickly as possible.”
“We have quite a few catering companies collaborating with us. We can spend some money to share the procurement channels with Jicheng's partners, which will allow us to gain certain discounts on procurement prices. Everything is ready, just waiting for the right opportunity. Thinking about opening a seafood gourmet city really is a genius idea,” Li Ran said somewhat smugly.
Li Zhiwei smiled faintly and nodded in agreement with his thoughts. Li Ran had already thought of everything he could possibly think of and had basically come up with solutions to the potential problems they might encounter.
Instead, Zhao Jun gently tapped Li Ran on the forehead and said, "Stop showing off to your mom; look at you, all smug." Although her tone was rather blunt, her eyes were full of smiles.
As Li Ran stepped out the door, he looked back one more time. With this shop, his parents would have something to do in the future, but the staffing must be arranged properly. The original intention of opening a restaurant was to let his parents pass the time, not to wear them out.
Otherwise, given my parents' character, they would definitely try to save money, and if they can do it themselves, they will do it themselves, unwilling to spend money to hire others. Therefore, it is essential to arrange for some outstanding individuals, especially in management, to help my parents share the burden.
In the future, when the restaurant is up and running, and my parents have a villa and their own business, I consider this a little bit of filial piety from Liran. While I have the ability now, I want to make my parents happier and more comfortable, which can be seen as compensating for the regrets of the previous life.
After taking a stroll, Zhao Jun and Li Zhiwei felt quite satisfied, free from any worries. The restaurant matters could be considered settled for the time being. Taking advantage of the festive season, the old couple went for a walk in the cultural square.
```htmlBecause the villa area is not very close to the city, it's not easy to come out, and this time it’s a rare opportunity to come, so I might as well take this chance to stroll around.
After her parents walked away, Li Ran finally had the chance to have a good conversation with Zhou Jie about the restaurant.```
Li Ran glanced at Zhou Jie; perhaps it was due to the lack of makeup that she appeared somewhat haggard, with dark circles under her eyes.
“You've worked hard these past few days,” Li Ran said apologetically.
“It's a small matter, but seeing Uncle and Aunt happy makes me quite happy as well. It's not easy for elderly people to have the chance to do something they enjoy in their lifetime. You're doing great, keep it up,” Zhou Jie said, giving a thumbs up.
“Go back and have a good rest. I can see that you’re getting dark circles from staying up late.”
Zhou Jie quickly rubbed her eyes and said, “I rushed over without any makeup when I came here, and at my age, it’s not unusual for a woman to have some dark circles without makeup.”
```htmlLi Ran didn't respond to her words. He looked at his parents in the distance and said something that seemed disconnected: "A lifetime isn't too long or too short; cherish the present moment."
Zhou Jie glanced at him sideways and said, "What are you rambling about at such a young age? While you're here musing, I'm going back to catch up on some sleep."```
```htmlLi Ran finally came back to his senses and said, "Let Zhao Qianjun take you back. You can’t be going back by public transport, can you?"
Zhou Jie stood still, fuming as she said, "I say, General Li, you’re being way too realistic, aren’t you? After using me, you just want to get rid of me? I don’t need to worry about the hiring situation at the restaurant anymore?"```
Li Ran slapped his forehead and said, "I misspoke; I wasn't thinking straight just now. Let's have Zhao Qianjun take you back to the hotel."
Zhou Jie gave him a white glance and said, "Forget it, since they are going to send me back anyway, I don't dare to take the car they provide."
```html“Of course not, you are a meritorious official, I will arrange a car to take you back to the hotel right away.”
“Alright, no need to bother him, the hotel is not far, I can just take a taxi back myself.”```
“Oh, by the way, there's something else. I think both you and your uncle should get a driver's license. It's a bit inconvenient to go out of the villa every day. Driving yourself allows you to go wherever you want, giving you more freedom. Waiting for others to give you a ride every day can be quite a hassle, don't you think?”
“Well, that's what I think too. Let my old man take the test first; I haven't had much time lately. I'll wait until I'm done with this busy period.”
Zhou Jie nodded and ultimately didn't let Zhao Qianjun see her off; she took a taxi and left on her own.
After Zhou Jie left, Li Ran had Zhao Qianjun watch over his parents and planned to send them back later.
He wandered aimlessly on the road by himself, considering suitable candidates for managing the restaurant. Although his parents had run a small eatery, managing such a large restaurant posed certain challenges, so the choice of a manager was particularly important.
The restaurant needs a suitable manager, that is, a store manager, to help his parents manage everything in the restaurant. After searching through his mind, he seems unable to find a suitable candidate.
It's also my fault for being too self-centered and coming across as somewhat out of sync with others. I don't have many friends. Although I have started to change my behavior, some things still require time to accumulate.
Every restaurant has its own business tricks. Many restaurants are profitable when managed by the owners, but once handed over to professional managers, most of them start losing money. This is also a kind of law.
Running a restaurant is really stressful; you need to pay attention to everything, from the front of the house to the kitchen, and if you can't oversee it all, you're likely to incur losses.
So when just starting out, it's better to rely on yourself; at least you can treat running the restaurant as your own family's livelihood.
When talking about her family, Li Ran suddenly thought of a name: "Shi Xiuli," who happens to be Li Ran's aunt.
Li Ran thought carefully and realized that Shi Xiuli is quite a suitable choice. Although her family wasn't wealthy when she was young, at least it was a moderately prosperous family.
Although she never attended college, it was quite a challenge to get to a vocational high school in her era, but she did graduate from high school properly, and her education level is certainly not a problem.
Before getting married, she was also working at the Timber Sales Department in Yongtai City. Later, in order to make room for Zhao De, she changed jobs to work as an accountant through family arrangements.
Having experience in sales and being good with numbers, and also being a relative, this should be the most suitable candidate. Moreover, Shi Xiuli is a smart person who knows what choices are most beneficial for her.
Zhao De had mentioned before that after the New Year, he wanted to do something together with Li Ran. This way, both husband and wife would work at Li Ran's place, which counts as valuing talent without avoiding family. After all, Li Ran wouldn't mistreat them, and this could be considered a way to achieve wealth together.
However, this matter needs to first seek the opinions of the parents, and then work on Zhao De and Shi Xiuli. If both of them agree, it would be like gathering two people at once, making the troubling issue for Li Ran easily solvable, truly a double blessing.