Chapter 167 - 130: This Kid, Making Big Moves Behind Our Backs
As it turned out, once they were in the shop and the tea was brewed, the negotiations went surprisingly smoothly.
There was no haggling, no putting on airs.
Zhou Yan’s mother sat behind the counter, holding his sleeping little sister. Aside from a greeting when they first came in, she didn’t interject a single word during the entire process.
Zhou Yan settled the matter all by himself.
It was clear this wasn’t a rash or impetuous decision on his part; he was as composed as a seasoned businessman.
"Besides the braised pork head, when will you have braised beef? Have you perfected the craft yet?" Huang He asked, a little impatient.
Back in the day, Feiyan Restaurant’s bestseller was actually their braised beef. They could sell over thirty jin a day, and even more during the holidays. Feiyan Restaurant had secured the exclusive rights for braised beef in Jiazhou from Mrs. Zhang. For this, they paid Mrs. Zhang an additional annual fee, just for that exclusivity.
"The braised beef isn’t quite there yet. Because the ingredients are so expensive, I haven’t had much practice with it. It might be a while longer," Zhou Yan admitted frankly. "But I’ll definitely be adding it to the menu later on."
Huang He was a little disappointed to hear that, but looking at Zhou Yan, he still remarked with admiration, "To be able to make braised pork this good at your age is already quite incredible."
"You flatter me," Zhou Yan said modestly.
"Then once you’ve perfected your braised beef, could Feiyan Restaurant sign an exclusive supply contract with you for the Jiazhou City area?" Huang He asked.
"Exclusive supply?" Zhou Yan was puzzled.
Huang He said, "I’m sure that, just like Mrs. Zhang back in the day, you plan to sell your braised meats to all the restaurants in Jiazhou. But for the braised beef specifically, could you supply it only to our Feiyan Restaurant?
I’ll pay you an additional exclusivity fee every year to compensate for the money you’d lose from not selling the braised beef to others. That’s how Feiyan Restaurant used to work with Mrs. Zhang.
As long as we can rebuild our reputation, the demand for braised beef will be quite large. We’ll be able to sell dozens of jin a day, which is much faster than you selling two or three jin to each of those small restaurants."
Zhao Shulan was also looking at Zhou Yan, her expression slightly tense.
On their trip today, aside from negotiating the price, securing the exclusive supply of braised beef was also a very important objective.
Without that differentiation, once Zhou Yan’s braised meats were available all over Jiazhou, they wouldn’t be able to use the braised beef as a selling point to justify a higher price.
Zhou Yan thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I’m sorry, but I can’t sign this agreement."
"Why not? We had a partnership like this for over twenty years," Huang He said, confused.
Zhou Yan smiled and explained, "Right now, you can’t guarantee me an order quantity for the beef. Projections can’t be used for negotiations. The market in Jiazhou is huge. I can’t give you an exclusive contract based on you just saying you’ll order dozens of jin.
In any case, the braised beef hasn’t been launched yet, so there’s no need for you to be anxious. Why not focus on building a reputation with the braised pork head first? Once your volume increases, you’ll have a better idea of how much braised beef you can sell. It won’t be too late to talk about an exclusive deal then.
Otherwise, what if I ask you for an exclusivity fee of a thousand a year right now, but you end up not even making a thousand in profit from the braised beef all year? Wouldn’t that be a pure loss for you?"
Huang He looked thoughtful.
Zhao Shulan was already nodding. "Boss Zhou is right. You’ve thought about this more thoroughly than we have. Let’s do as you say. We’ll start by selling the braised pork head and open up the market before we discuss anything else. When you launch the braised beef, we can have a proper discussion then."
Zhou Yan smiled and nodded. "No problem. As long as the terms are right, I’ll definitely give priority to old and major clients."
The two parties shook hands, their business concluded happily. Zhou Yan took out a pen and paper and directly drafted a braised meat partnership agreement.
They agreed on the price and the daily pickup time, stipulating that the braised meat would be paid for upon delivery each day, with absolutely no credit extended.
"Your handwriting is really nice. It even has calligraphic flair," Zhao Shulan couldn’t help but praise as she watched Zhou Yan write the agreement.
"You can say that again. Huang Bing’s writing is like chicken scratch. A shrimp crawling on the page would leave a prettier trail," Huang He added with a nod, a look of frustration for his son’s lack of talent on his face.
Zhou Yan just smiled and didn’t join in, lest he fan the flames and cause Huang Bing to suffer an undeserved verbal lashing.
’After all, that kid is a VIP customer who’s basically got a long-term meal ticket here.’
The agreement was made in duplicate, and both parties signed it.
Huang He and Zhao Shulan left, clutching the agreement, completely satisfied.
Zhou Yan held the agreement, a smile also appearing on his face.
’First big client in Jiazhou, secured!’
Compared to all the small, scattered customers, a major client like this was worth ten of them.
Zhou Yan hadn’t rushed to agree to the beef exclusivity deal. Besides the reason he gave them, there was another very important point: he might want to open his own restaurant in Jiazhou in the future.
’Can’t block my own path just for a small exclusivity fee.’
Businesspeople always try to create the most favorable conditions for themselves. Huang He wasn’t wrong in that regard; that’s exactly how the old lady had worked with them back in the day.
But the biggest difference between Zhou Yan and his grandmother was that he had no intention of staying in Suji for the rest of his life.
Once the fundamental premise changes, past experience is no longer valid.
Zhao Tieying carried the sleeping Zhou Momo upstairs, only speaking after she came back down. "Landing your first partnership so smoothly... you’re really something, you know."
"Well, I had Mrs. Zhao’s excellent guidance," Zhou Yan said with a smile.
"Not bad, not bad at all. Keep it up." Mrs. Zhao’s smile grew even brighter. She then asked casually, "So, are you still planning to approach other restaurants?"
Zhou Yan smiled. "I plan to hold off for a bit and give them some time to build up a reputation." He shook his head. "They have a point. Small restaurants only go through three or four jin a day. Finding ten of them is less efficient than this one restaurant.
If they can successfully build a reputation for the braised dishes and their orders reach dozens of jin a day, then I won’t sell to any of the restaurants in the area around Feiyan Restaurant. I’m not going to backstab a major client."