Author: Wang Zuhua
Founded in 1913, Wang Xingji Wonton Shop has a history of more than 100 years and is a well-known old shop on the Shanghai-Nanjing Line.
My father, Wang Ting'an, also known as Wang Chunhe (1891-1965), was a native of Guqiao, Tangtou, Wuxi, whose ancestors were farmers, and soon after marriage, due to difficulties in life, borrowed two silver dollars from relatives and friends to make a living in Tin. First borrowed half a façade under the shengquan garden tea house of Chong'an Temple, used a stove, two and a half tables (one against the wall), and began to sell ravioli. At first, due to the small profits, the operation was extremely arduous, the stove was placed outside the door, and the table was used for business during the day and used as a bed at night. However, due to its downtown location, many passers-by, and no other dim sum shops nearby, there is still business. At that time, I sold wontons during the day, and at night, I skinned and cut them into noodles to set up a night noodle stall. Half a year later, the business gradually prospered, and began to feel that there was a shortage of manpower, so he hired a master named Genpei to help push the skin, and hired an apprentice Bai Zengrong to serve ravioli for the guests, and his father stood on the stove himself. Later, the business grew bigger and bigger, and he hired an apprentice Zhu Jubao (who was only 13 years old when he entered the store until his retirement in 1985). The storefront was also expanded from half to one, and his mother was brought from the countryside to the city to help with the shop. At this time, it was already a wonton shop where the couple added 3 workers and two and a half tables, so they hung up the sign of "Wang Xingji" and replaced the hand-pushed ravioli with large meat ravioli.
At the beginning, Wang Xingji's large meat ravioli was mixed soup (that is, wonton water), which was eaten with soy sauce and ginger minced. Later, it was gradually changed to white soup (meat bone soup) and red soup spicy oil, and cold mixed ravioli was added on hot days. In order to meet the different needs of customers, later there are red soup chili oil plus thread powder, some add eggs, put dried shredded incense and egg skin on the wontons; white soup plus kaiyang, seaweed, pepper and other condiments, to the beginning of June, the new garlic leaves are on the market, plus some spices, a bowl of wontons brought to the customer, color, aroma, taste are complete, love. For decades, Wang Xingji wontons have always maintained this characteristic.
During the period of hostility and counterfeiting, Wuxi's economy was depressed, the market was snubbed, pedestrians were sparse, and the business in the shop was also very light. In this way, his father used his brain to increase the variety of business, he hired a steamed bun master Wei Jinkui, specializing in small cage tightly fermented steamed steamed buns, using fresh meat skin to cook and chop, add soy sauce, cooking wine burned, frozen and then chopped into the filling, so that a bite of brine, salty with sweetness, sweet and salty, very suitable for the taste of Wuxi people. A bowl of wontons and a small steamed bun are both economical and affordable, attracting customers from all over the world, and the business is gradually getting better. Before and after the Spring Festival, A master was also hired to make onion oil egg cake (the method is to fry the onion oil cake oil to both sides of the yellow, and then add eggs), this cake is both fragrant and crispy, when the aroma is scattered, so that pedestrians smell more and more want to eat, the more they eat the more they love to eat, invisibly attract customers. The customers of Wang Xingji Wonton Shop have vegetable buyers, squires, and tourists from all over the world in the morning market, and there are guests in the afternoon when the bookstore, theater, and cinema are out. All day long, the river is endless, everyone has to go to Wang Xingji to eat a bowl of wontons, so the business is getting bigger and bigger. At this time, my father planned to expand the scale, and managed to expand from the original one façade to two facades; Increased the number of workers from 5 to 7; Tables were added from two and a half to four. At this time, the apprentice Zhu Jubao had become a master on the stove.
Due to the operation of the wonton shop, the cost is light and profitable, the capital turnover is fast, after more than ten years of operation, the economic strength of the store has been quite strong. This caused the envy of some people, and in the next few years, around the time of Wang Xingji, 4 wonton shops were opened successively. In the west of Wang Xingji, the Jiao Ji wonton shop opened by Hubei people at that time sold crepe wontons, and customers were very good in order to taste fresh. At that time, between the 4 facades of Wang Xingji, a new wonton shop opened by Bai Zengrong, a former employee of Wang Xingji, sold the same wontons as Wang Xingji. Next door to the former Golden Gate Hotel, is a Shunyuan wonton shop. There is a tiger stove opposite Wang Xingji, and the owner also opened a Wonton Shop. At this time, my father had little management of the store because of his old age, and everything was controlled by his mother, but he still went to the store twice a day. Seeing that there were so many competitors, Wang Xingji's business gradually decreased, and he did not say anything in his mouth, but his heart was very nervous. In order to outperform his opponents, he made up his mind that he would rather lose money than pull customers over. So there was a fierce competition. My father's main methods of competition were as follows:
First, add freshness to the wonton filling. At first, the chicken was mixed into the filling, and the soup was hung with chicken bones, and later the shrimp were bought, and a round table was placed in front of the store, and people were asked to squeeze the shrimp and mix it now to attract customers. Such ravioli is tender and delicious, and customers eat it, feeling that the other few are not as delicious as Wang Xingji's umami.
Second, the mother according to the taste of each old customer to send different flavors of wontons, as long as the customer stands at the door, the mother has already greeted the stove, Mr. so-and-so, Miss to eat what kind of wontons. In this way, customers feel that Wang Xingji eats snacks, which has both face and affordable food. Another example is that for tourists from Shanghai to Xi to eat wontons in the store, the mother also detailed the route to the scenic spot to them; at the same time, beckoned the stove to cook as soon as possible, do not delay the time of customers, and shouted out "heavy oil" and "heavy incense head" in the mouth, so that the tourists listened comfortably and ate satisfactorily. When they returned, they became a live advertisement for free promotion of Wang Xingji.
Third, pay attention to the environmental layout and façade decoration. In addition to doing everything possible to improve the quality and service quality of wontons, my father also worked environmental layout and façade decoration. He ingeniously installed two nearly 2-meter-high mirrors in the center of the store to attract passers-by, in the words of his father: "Let the new ones take the bait, and the old ones will not go." Although Wang Xingji's competitors also used various means, sometimes letting employees stand at the door and shout, but because of Wang Xingji's strong strength and excellent service, he forced the wonton shops around him to close their doors one after another.
Wang Xingji founder Wang Ting'an
At that time, due to the sole proprietorship, no account books were established, and the income of employees was divided into accounts (small accounts), and the turnover was large, so they were more demolished. During the Spring Festival, Wuxi people have the habit of visiting Chong'an Temple, tourists are crowded, the shop is also crowded, crowded in and out, the business is particularly good. In order not to let customers sit and wait, and do more business, from the first to the fifth day of the New Year, all of our family went out, everyone moved, and wrapped wontons from home and sent them to the store. Although the busy master was red-eyed, the income increased several times than usual when it came to the accounting. Wang Xingji also delivered to old customers, whether they were in theaters, teahouses, parks or at home, as long as they called, they immediately sent someone to send them with hanging baskets. This delivery to the door is very popular with customers.
In 1946, Wang Xingji's storefront was expanded from two to two and a half rooms, with 4 square tables and 8 train seats. Winter, wide lacquer countertops, sparkling; In summer, the glass countertop is covered with a printed tablecloth, which is clean and hygienic; The use of bowls and chopsticks engraved with the words Wang Xingji has become Wang Xingji's unique business style.
Wang Xingji can be famous for the Shanghai-Nanjing line, mainly quality first, exquisite selection of materials, filling heart non-leg heart meat is not used, bone hanging soup is not counted, but also add hardcover brand Bergamot brand MSG, treat customers both warmly and thoughtfully. As my father often said to us: "Quality is the root of life, customers are parents of food and clothing, whether it is quality or service attitude, it is not sloppy at all."
In 1965, Wang Xingji moved into a new building with a five-bay façade on Zhongshan Road. With the efforts of all the staff, the cause has become more prosperous and developed, and the old store has been rejuvenated.