novelraw Chapter 472 - 394: Rabbit Heads Meet Their Waterloo
Chapter 472 - 394: Rabbit Heads Meet Their Waterloo
Of course, Bao Shuai just saw the surface, only knowing to fry the rabbit heads until golden brown outside and tender inside, but not understanding why this was done.
He didn’t ask, and Chen Mo was too lazy to explain further.
The fried rabbit heads were neatly arranged on the chopping board. Chen Mo used the back of the Black Blade to pound on the rabbit skulls, opening a slit in each one.
The filtered red oil was then placed in the pot with green onions and ginger to sauté until fragrant before adding Chen Mo’s usual braised meat spices, a mix of over a dozen spices.
This mixture, once prepared, can be directly used for any braised dishes, so Chen Mo archived the spice pack when preparing for big meals, finding it very convenient to use.
As the red oil and spices continued to sauté, the originally spicy aroma of the red oil gradually turned complex and smelled more mellow. Even Liu Rong and Zhang Peng, peeling eggs outside, couldn’t help but look over.
"Smells good, will this make the rabbit heads less spicy?"
"I don’t think so! With the lethal amount of pepper and Sichuan peppercorns, this thing is definitely a taste bud bomb!"
Not only were the braised meat packs archived, but during large meal preparations, Chen Mo also archived the top-level Clear Soup from Lu Cuisine!
However, retrieving it requires a lot of ingredients, with various meats thrown into the inlet seemingly recklessly, then adding clear water to obtain a small amount of Clear Soup.
Chen Mo scooped two big ladles of Clear Soup into the sizzling red oil, adding a large amount of refined salt and rock sugar. Then he poured all the slit-open rabbit heads into the pot.
After the water boiled, he switched to a low heat, maintaining a state where the broth in the pot kept simmering.
"Phew, that’s it." Chen Mo covered the pot, "Simmer for half an hour, then soak for another half an hour, and it’s done."
"Okay." Bao Shuai continued to record.
Chen Mo found it amusing. Bao Shuai, being much older, was expected to have many questions, but now he was just following instructions to the letter. Chen Mo was even ready to give him a detailed lesson.
But this was also good, not understanding the deep reasons, as long as he followed Chen Mo’s method, the taste and texture wouldn’t be far off.
"To eat it, you’ll have to cook it again. For the stall, the previous steps are just preparations; the cooking must be done on-site."
Chen Mo told him the last point, then sat on a stool to rest.
"Boss Chen, what about the tofu pudding?"
"Tofu pudding can’t be done now, there’s not enough time." Chen Mo lit up his phone screen, "It’s already five o’clock, we have to start business soon."
He casually glanced at the logistics information on his phone. Perhaps due to the large order, the logistics was particularly fast, showing it would arrive at the specified address in an hour.
Bao Shuai nodded and jumped off the stool, having stood for so long, his feet were a bit sore. He sat beside Zhang Peng and Liu Rong, looking at his colleagues with schadenfreude.
...
Chen Mo took a nap on the dining car’s stool, being awakened by a phone call.
Under the dumbfounded gazes of Bao Shuai and others, several workers continuously unloaded as many as ten boxes of frozen rabbit heads from the truck!
Judging from the box’s appearance, each box contained fifty pieces, leaving Bao Shuai and the others looking at each other in shock.
"Can we sell five hundred rabbit heads?"
Zhang Peng also felt that Boss Chen was a bit overconfident, "By the way, how are we pricing these rabbit heads?"
To promote and train others for our company’s snack project, the profit margins must be clear to the clients.
Bao Shuai, based on his work experience, analyzed simply, "If rabbit heads are priced by the market wholesale price, better quality ones are at least six Yuan each."
Chen Mo said, "My wholesale price is seven Yuan since I chose larger ones."
In the wholesale market, a box of rabbit heads has different quantities but the same price, naturally fewer in number means larger in size.
Larger ones have more meat. Chen Mo has always not skimped on ingredients, as it doesn’t eke out much profit.
"Okay, let’s calculate one rabbit head at seven Yuan, and the spice mix should average out at least two Yuan, right?"
"Your calculation isn’t far off." Chen Mo looked at Bao Shuai with some newfound respect, "But you overlooked the fact that the braising sauce can be reused but not overnight, meaning the higher the sales, the lower the cost. When a certain level is reached, even the cost of spices can be negligible."
Bao Shuai nodded, "That’s true, so at ten Yuan, including stall fees, it should be about right?"
"Pretty much, so I’ve priced my rabbit heads at eighteen Yuan each, leaving an eight Yuan profit margin for the vendors, which is already quite substantial."
Moreover, for a catering company like Cheng Xiuli’s, it’s impossible to allow vendors such high-profit margins; perhaps later they might also control the procurement channels for ingredients and spices.
This issue, everyone understood without saying it aloud.
Bao Shuai wrote the budget in his notebook, feeling that the eight Yuan unit profit margin was indeed quite operable, but... they still had to sell them.
"I’ll just prep the five hundred rabbit heads in advance here, and then take them over to do the final step."
He continued to heat up the pot for oil and water, and with the first experience, the subsequent preparations were much more skilled. After more than an hour, Chen Mo moved three large barrels of rabbit heads soaking in braising sauce to the back of the dining car.