Chapter 278: Chapter 278: Li Xiaoyan Panics, Yang Yixue Continues to Open Stores
"Okay, it’s ready."
Jiang Liu fiddled with it for a few minutes, and a clear image appeared on the wall.
Tongtong quickly burrowed under the covers. Seeing Jiang Liu get into bed, she asked expectantly.
"Mommy, Daddy, can you both hug me at the same time?"
"You’re such a clingy little thing."
"Hehe, so is Daddy going to hug his little cutie or not?"
"Hug you! Of course I’ll hug you!"
"Daddy, I love you so, so much!"
Tongtong happily placed Jiang Liu’s arm under her neck and Jun Qingmeng’s arm behind her head.
’This is so comfy!’
While the two were engrossed in watching *Boonie Bears*...
Jiang Liu glanced at the new restaurant’s revenue. It was a little over 120,000 today. After deducting costs, the profit was about 100,000.
Adding the income from the old restaurant, Jiang Liu’s total savings had now reached four million.
There was still no word from Wang Cheng; he didn’t know how the talk with Landlord Zhang was going.
As soon as they reached an agreement, paid the deposit, and signed the contract, he could go and handle the commercial rezoning procedures.
Jiang Liu scrolled through his phone for a bit, then turned it off, set it aside, and watched TV with his girlfriend and daughter, laughing along with them.
"Ooh, Daddy, look! Such a big apple! In this episode, the bald bad guy found a huge seed..."
Tongtong thoughtfully brought Jiang Liu up to speed.
Her two little legs weren’t still either; one rested on Jiang Liu’s stomach, while the other kicked at Jun Qingmeng’s leg.
...
「Meanwhile.」
Yang’s Restaurant, Branch No. 3.
Under the neon lights, cars streamed back and forth. The sounds of horns, storefront advertisements, and music tangled together in a chaotic mess.
Li Xiaoyan sat at a table by the entrance, smoking a cigarette with a long face.
She was in a terrible mood!
Today’s revenue figures were out.
Branch No. 3 had made less than seven thousand yuan.
That was over a thousand less than she had expected.
After deducting nearly seven thousand in costs, she had angrily earned six hundred yuan today.
Keep in mind, she had invested nearly two million in this restaurant during its initial opening.
Such a large space, such luxurious decor, and the rent had to be paid a year in advance.
The renovation transfer fee was 400,000, and the monthly rent was over 100,000.
And that wasn’t even counting the miscellaneous expenses.
Li Xiaoyan stubbed out her cigarette, a growing sense of anxiety and panic welling up inside her.
Her expression grim, she sent Yang Yixue a WeChat message: "Honey, how much did Branches One, Two, and Four make today?"
At that moment, Yang Yixue was still running around, searching for suitable storefronts.
She had signed contracts for three more locations today.
Money was flowing out like water. Most of the eight-million-plus on her bank card was gone.
Now, she only had a little over two million left on the card.
The money from selling their most profitable old restaurant was almost completely spent.
Fortunately, however, she had already mortgaged her three beauty salons.
She received a total of thirteen million, which was about what she had expected.
Yang Yixue wasn’t too concerned about the high interest rates.
’As a businessperson, where there’s no risk, is there any reward?’
Yang Yixue saw the message and replied: "It’s fine. Branch One’s net profit was over ten thousand, a little less than yesterday. Branch Two’s was eight thousand, and Branch Four’s was over twenty thousand."
Branch One had Old Xiang holding down the fort, so it was doing much better than Two and Three.
But compared to when Branch One first opened, its net income was down by nearly twenty thousand.
Yang Yixue wasn’t too concerned.
’It’s normal for business to be up one day and down the next,’ she thought. ’The restaurants just opened. Once they’ve been operating longer, revenue will naturally increase.’
After receiving the reply, Li Xiaoyan immediately and anxiously typed back: "Then why is my Branch Three’s profit down to just six hundred? Something’s not right, is it? I can accept it dropping a little each day, but a nosedive like this isn’t normal!?"
Yang Yixue frowned after reading it.
Her dissatisfaction with Li Xiaoyan rose yet again.
"Are you having management problems? For example, employee morale, the cleanliness of the restaurant, are you following the standard procedures?"
Being questioned by her own daughter made Li Xiaoyan’s mood even worse. "My management is fine! I supervise them closely during work hours. We have a cleaner, so sanitation shouldn’t be an issue. And I make the staff recite the standards every single day."
Yang Yixue: "Mom, you need to reflect on your own issues. I can let it slide that you never clean up at home, but in business, you have to use your head and put in some effort."
Li Xiaoyan: "You child. Your mother has more experience than you. Don’t I know more about the world than you’ve seen? How about this, I’ll find some people to hand out flyers nearby and post ads in the office buildings."
Yang Yixue: "Fine, do what you think is best. Just don’t do anything crazy. We need to think about the customers. Make sure the service is top-notch."
After finishing her chat with her daughter, Li Xiaoyan felt a weight lift from her shoulders.
’As long as my daughter is here and has money, I have nothing to fear.’
She thought for a moment.
A flash of inspiration struck Li Xiaoyan.
’That’s it! That Xiaotong’s Restaurant makes a profit by being cheap. I can run a promotion too!’
Putting her thoughts into action, she composed a message in the work group chat: "Starting tomorrow, any customer who spends 50 yuan or more will get a 3 yuan discount and a free steamed bun!"
"Roger!"
"Roger, President Li!"
Li Xiaoyan: "Xiao Wang, go print this promotion out. Make red stickers and put them on the door. Also, is the cleaner here? From now on, the floor gets mopped every hour, and tables must be cleared within one minute of a customer leaving! Strictly enforce the standards!"
The cleaner replied unhappily, "Yeah, got it."
’Two thousand a month, and so much to do.’
’And she’s always threatening to dock our pay.’
「At the same time.」
The employees’ private group chat lit up.
"Fucking hell, she’s making me run errands again. She still hasn’t reimbursed me for the broom I bought last time. This is disgusting."
"Yeah, she gives us so much crap to do every day. Forget about getting a bonus, she’s always making us pay for things out of pocket."
Cleaner: "After these two months are up and I get my pay, I’m out of here. I can’t stand this place. I heard from a friend who works at a Xiaotong’s Restaurant. The pay is over three thousand, the boss hands out bonuses all the time, the food is amazing, and you work five days a week with two off. They’re hiring right now."
"Son of a bitch, a place that good really exists?"
"Hook me up with a referral."
"Count me in, Auntie! This Yang’s place could go bankrupt any day now. I know that Xiaotong’s place; their business is great. If we work for them, the benefits have got to be good."
...The messages in the group chat flew one after another.
Unaware of all this, Li Xiaoyan closed up the restaurant.
She drove to Xiaotong’s Restaurant, parked out front, and rolled down her window.
Li Xiaoyan squinted, trying to peer inside.
Inside, Hu Yongfa and Yue Longfan were sitting and holding a meeting with everyone.
"You’ve all worked hard these past few days. The boss said we’re preparing to hire more people. If you have any suitable friends, you can recommend them. If the person you recommend is a good-looking college student with a good service attitude, and they stay for at least three months, you and the person you recommend will each get a four-thousand-yuan bonus."
Hearing that they’d each get four thousand, the five employees below them became breathless.
What benefits!
Working here is too damn good!!
High salary, great benefits, they even cover the five insurances and one housing fund. Most importantly, the work is low-pressure. You work five days and get two off, just do your job during the day, and nobody bothers you.
"Don’t worry, manager, I’ll ask around when I get back. I’ll definitely find you a gorgeous girl."
"I have a friend who’s a resident singer, he’s really handsome. Does our restaurant need a performer?"
Yue Longfan replied honestly, "We’ll have to ask our master about that. If he agrees, we’ll figure out a way to set up a space for it."
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