(Ecns.cn) sordid starlets.-- Wang Shujian, the boss of a noodle restaurant in Shijiazhuang, capital of North China's Hebei Province, has hired a worker who will never ask to be paid more or go on holiday – a robot.
Wang has been in the noodle business for more than 20 years. He says it keeps getting harder and more expensive to hire noodle slicers. That's why he spent 18,000 yuan ($2,795) on the noodle-slicing robot.
The robot was designed by Cui Runquan, a farmer in Hebei's Zhangjiakou, to look like the animated Japanese character Ultraman.
The robot has become a new selling point for Wang's shop. "Sales have increased 30%, because more customers are interested in having a bowl of noodles sliced by a robot," he said.
It only took him 2-3 months to recoup the cost of the robot, he added.
In a contract with a Beijing-based technology company, Cui has built more than 100 robots so far, which have all been sold.
