Chapter 588 Opening

Two more days passed, and after multiple adjustments and formula selections, the workshop finally began its first relatively large-scale production trial.

Before dawn, a circle of illuminating braziers near the mill were already lit, and people of varying skin tones, both dark and fair, had already begun their work.

The purchased boneless meat chunks were poured from wooden barrels into metal troughs. The windmill rotated the mincing blades, and after a while, the baffle was removed. The initially minced fine pieces were collected below, then poured back in until they were minced into usable ground meat.

Then came the addition of various 'auxiliary ingredients': inexpensive ham to enhance flavor, selected flour to promote cohesion, and finally, the chef's secret seasoned water was poured in. The red and white mixture became a relatively uniform pink, which was then caught in batches by square steaming trays. Once full, a large lid was pressed on, and the trays slid out of the mill along a chute.

The end of the chute was in the 'workshop' next to the mill, where the queuing steaming trays were individually lifted by a customized trolley, arranged in a row, then lifted, pushed, and pulled into the large tin steaming cabinet, where they took their places for steaming over a high flame.

While the luncheon meat steamed here, the mill resumed mincing meat. This time, it didn't need to be ground into a paste; after initial seasoning, it was packed into wooden basins, becoming the semi-finished hamburger patties for the restaurant.

Once the luncheon meat was steamed, iron tongs pulled it out. The steaming trays, with their lids, were flipped and placed into heat-resistant wooden frames. These items, along with 'Wayne-sterilized' bottled sauces and pre-prepared, thinly sliced processed cheese, were all loaded onto a truck and driven away.

The restaurant, of course, was 'newly opened,' with a brightly colored facade and a glass display window that allowed a clear view of the interior.

Next to the main door stood a large promotional stand. The upper part depicted hamburgers, sandwiches, fries, and drinks, while the lower part featured a particularly eye-catching cluster of red characters: 'Today's Special, Prices 1/2 to Free.'

Wayne just didn't want the place to look too expensive, otherwise he would have definitely held a ribbon-cutting ceremony, complete with two rows of flower baskets and so on.

For Mr. Russell, the other shareholder of the restaurant, this was just a small business, not worth too much attention. So, his previous letter response was to let Wayne do whatever he wanted for the opening.

However, Mr. Russell still came to take a look. When he arrived, the restaurant was already bustling. Not only was the inside packed, but several circles of people also surrounded the small stall at the entrance, so much so that he didn't even get out of his carriage, simply having his butler go inside to announce his presence.

Fortunately, when Wayne chatted with him in the carriage, he felt that Mr. Russell was quite surprised by the changes in the restaurant. From the storefront decoration to the on-site marketing and even the business prospects, he seemed to be full of praise.

Mr. Russell probably just thought 'do whatever' and might not have held very high hopes for Wayne's other ventures.

The restaurant's liveliness today was partly due to 'marketing.'

The gimmick of a half-pound patty in the hamburger was already quite attractive. The restaurant's temporary manager and the freckled girl were also old residents of this neighborhood, so even if it was just the first day for people to show support, the minimum crowd wouldn't be too sparse.

And Wayne, seeing how well lotteries sold in Virginia, felt that Southerners also had a considerable gambling streak for entertainment. He even had the temporary manager buy back a ball-drawing machine from a used goods store that used to belong to a bar.

Anyway, everyone could shake it once for free. The guaranteed prize was a 50% off coupon, and above that were exchange coupons or vouchers for various food items. There was about a one in twenty chance of getting a free meal combo exchange coupon.

These coupons could only be used today. Some people just wanted to try their luck, and after getting a discount or exchange coupon, they felt that at least they saved half the money, so they were lured inside to buy other things. If they won a prize, some might even brag to their friends and family, which also served as promotion.

It didn't matter if they didn't spend anything. The freebies were mostly things like luncheon meat sandwiches, which didn't cost as much as they seemed. In a sense, it was also a real-world test of public acceptance of luncheon meat.

Anyway, for someone like Wayne, who had experienced the baptism of modern commerce, he felt it was more cost-effective than spending a lot of money on advertising.

And drawing prizes was indeed eye-catching; just watching was quite interesting.

Lina and Emma were not originally supposed to be working, but they both volunteered to be the 'poster girls' for the ball-drawing machine, pushing the original stall attendant back into the restaurant to help.

What made Wayne want to complain a bit was that he didn't expect people of this era to be so accepting of 'food wrapped in newspapers.'

Wayne originally thought it wasn't very hygienic, but from the temporary manager to the customers, no one had any objections. At first, when the restaurant didn't plan to offer takeout service, customers would buy things and just wrap them in newspaper to take away—never mind the free items, but even those who paid did this, so they truly didn't mind...

Paper bags and such required extra purchase and were more expensive than old newspapers, so there was no need for them for now. Wayne could only give up on the idea.

Not encouraged, but respected.

Due to the lack of refrigerators, the restaurant's fresh meat stock on the first day was not particularly large. The half-pound patty hamburgers were sold out by the afternoon, turning into cheese luncheon meat hamburgers.

Customers who drew exchange coupons either exchanged them for something else or had the staff modify the coupon to pick it up the next day.

Cheese was also more popular than expected. Some customers didn't mind spending a little extra to have a serving poured over their fries or added to their hamburgers and sandwiches.

Luncheon meat, not needing to worry about spoiling in a day, had plenty of stock. It wasn't overwhelmingly popular, but no customers gave negative reviews.

Inessa didn't stay in the shop for too long today. After confirming that everything was normal, she went to Willie's to investigate the case.

When she returned after dusk, the restaurant was already closed—the outer walls were all glass, and it looked bad when blocked by wooden boards. If not blocked, lighting the interior consumed too much fuel, so currently, they closed when the sun set—not to mention the staff, even Emma, who was the poster girl at the door, was sprawled out like a salted fish, imitating everyone else.

"How was the restaurant today?" Inessa's voice appeared above the 'salted fish' Wayne.

Wayne lay across a booth, "It went smoothly enough, but the shop only has bread and luncheon meat left now. If I want to add a fried egg, I'd have to go to a store to buy it."

"I'm not hungry. But come upstairs for a moment, and Lina too."

Huh?

Besides the still lively Lina, Doug was also called upstairs.

After entering the room and closing the door, Doug began to speak at Inessa's signal:

"According to the message Connal sent back earlier by pigeon, he was supposed to return today at noon with a few old friends from Kankakee. The estimated total number of people is over ten, but the first batch, who rushed ahead with him, only had five people. However, I waited at the station from morning until evening and didn't see them—the train he mentioned in his letter had already arrived."

Wayne thought for a moment, "Could they have been delayed on the way and chosen another train?"

Doug wasn't too sure: "I considered that possibility. However, Connal's original intention in contacting me was because they had encountered Liam and his group on the way and heard from them that the Detective Agency had moved from the restaurant to the workshop. The workshop is some distance from the city, and he's not familiar with the route, so he hoped the Detective Agency could arrange a carriage to pick them up."

"Judging from the content of the message, he probably released the pigeon yesterday evening or night. At that time, they shouldn't have been too far from Richmond. And according to Connal's usual style, the time he tells others to wait is usually later than his actual arrival time."

Holy crap,

Connal is in the first tier in the Detective Agency Arena. Not only is his combat style slippery, but he also has people with him.

If something could still happen to him, what kind of situation must he have encountered?