Chapter 228: Chapter 140: The Most Conscientious Capitalist
Lei Ting, Qi Sheng’s exclusive financial director, would then transfer the money to the dealership’s account.
After the temporary license plate was issued, Chu Qing slid into the Jaguar XJ she had long dreamed of.
Hers was the all-wheel-drive panoramic business edition.
Equipped with a 3.0T V6 engine, its performance was formidable.
It was more than enough for her.
According to the salesperson, the XJ would cease production starting next year.
Owning one before it went out of production was its own kind of happiness.
As Jaguar’s top-of-the-line model, it was even once compared to the 7 Series, the A8, and the S-Class.
The XJ’s interior was, of course, exceptionally luxurious, possessing a refined, quintessentially British feel.
For Chu Qing, who had studied in the United Kingdom, the Jaguar’s gentlemanly charm was irresistibly appealing.
Gently pressing the accelerator, Chu Qing drove to Taikoo Li.
Even after parking her beloved car, she just stood there, unable to resist admiring it from every angle.
After quite some time, Chu Qing finally managed to pull herself away.
Following the location her friends had sent, Chu Qing arrived at the southwest corner of Taikoo Li, where Spicy King was located.
"So many people!"
Chu Qing saw a large crowd already queuing by number at the entrance.
Girls were posing for photos by the hot air balloon and a colorful tumbling panda display near the entrance, a clear sign the place had become an influencer hotspot.
"Hello, ma’am. How many are in your party?"
Seeing Chu Qing approach, the young woman working as a greeter came up enthusiastically and asked politely.
"I’m looking for your manager."
Chu Qing felt a little awkward about revealing who she was.
"Oh, my apologies. Please, come inside then?"
The young woman paused for a second before quickly recovering and extending the invitation.
"Thank you."
Chu Qing nodded her thanks and followed the young woman into the new building, a fusion of historical and modern architecture.
The courtyard featured a giant hot air balloon and a large blue panda.
Greenery with a *Wizard of Oz* theme was everywhere, instantly elevating the restaurant’s ambiance.
Once inside the main restaurant, she saw the staff bustling about in an orderly fashion.
The tables were packed with guests, a testament to how popular the restaurant was.
"Manager, this lady is here to see you."
The young woman led Chu Qing to Yuan Li before returning to her post at the entrance.
"Manager Yuan, hello. I’m Chu Qing. I’m... a friend of Qi Sheng’s."
Chu Qing faltered as she introduced herself.
She’d wanted to say she was Qi Sheng’s girlfriend but inexplicably felt a pang of insecurity.
In the end, she settled on the broader term "friend" to define their relationship.
"Hello, Miss Chu."
’Yuan Li mentally rolled her eyes.’
’This beauty must be another one of the boss’s "special friends."’
"Huahua and the others are too busy, and I’m free, so I thought I’d come help. Is there anything you need me to do?"
Chu Qing was eager to get started.
This was a rare chance to experience what it was like to be the boss’s wife.
"Er..."
Yuan Li felt a headache coming on, unsure how to respond to Chu Qing’s eager expression.
"How about you work the register? I can have one of the front desk staff teach you. You’ll pick it up in no time."
Yuan Li figured that putting Chu Qing at the front desk was the most suitable arrangement.
Compared to the back-breaking work of serving tables or slaving away in the kitchen, working the register was much easier.
"Okay, I’ll do whatever you arrange."
Chu Qing could sense Yuan Li’s predicament and gave a slightly embarrassed smile.
"Xiaozhuo, could you show Miss Chu the ropes?"
Yuan Li handed Chu Qing off to Zhuo Ran, the front desk cashier, and then bustled off to deal with other matters.
"Sister Qing, you’re so beautiful!"
Zhuo Ran was considered the prettiest female employee in the restaurant.
But in front of Chu Qing, even she felt a bit plain in comparison.
"You’re very pretty too," Chu Qing smiled, not at all arrogant. "I bet you have a lot of suitors."
The fact that there were several women in their group chat even more beautiful than her was enough to keep her humble.
"It’s fine, I guess, but I find them too immature. There’s nothing better than earning your own money to spend as you please."
Zhuo Ran gave Chu Qing hands-on training, familiarizing her with the point-of-sale system and her duties.
All in all, it wasn’t difficult.
Compared to the exhausted runners in the front of house and the dishwashers in the back who had to wash an endless supply of plates and fruit, the cashier job was much more relaxing.
Of course, the easier job had its downsides.
For instance, it was very difficult for them to win the "Employee of the Month" award.
"Ranran, is the restaurant always this packed?"
Chu Qing asked during a lull, trying to get some insider information from Zhuo Ran.
"Yep. On opening day, we actually had a chance to break one million in revenue, but the boss felt bad for us and didn’t want us working that late."
"I’ve been working for a few years, and I’ve never seen a boss—a capitalist—so generous and caring toward his employees."
"I feel like I’d be letting him down if I didn’t work my hardest."
Whenever Zhuo Ran mentioned Qi Sheng, her eyes would light up.
"That’s true. A base salary of 5,000, full social insurance and housing fund contributions, a legal eight-hour workday, and two days off a week... The benefits are almost as good as what we get at the bank."
Chu Qing thought about the benefits package Qi Sheng had established for his employees.
She even felt the impulse to quit her job and come work for him.
"Hehe, and our dorms are amazing too! At other places, you have to cram four or five people into one bedroom, but here it’s just two. It’s so comfortable."
Zhuo Ran showed Chu Qing a picture of her dorm room.
She had been lucky enough to get a spot in a beautifully furnished apartment.
Her roommates were also young women, and they all got along wonderfully.
The two of them chatted as they worked. At three in the afternoon, the restaurant closed for its break.
"Sister Qing, come over here! We’re getting milk tea."
Zhuo Ran called Chu Qing over, handing her a HeyTea menu so she could pick a drink.
"Whoa, you guys are so lavish, drinking HeyTea."
"Hehe, it’s a rule the boss made. As long as we hit a table turnover rate of 2.5 during the lunch rush, we get HeyTea."
Zhuo Ran was feeling a bit tired herself.
Even though working the register was a relatively easy job, smiling at people for hours had made her facial muscles stiff.
She was always especially happy when this time came.
She would never bring herself to buy HeyTea on her own dime.
"You guys have really great benefits."
"You know it! You got here too late for the staff meal. I’ll have to show you later."
"We get a 25-yuan meal allowance per person, plus yogurt and fruit! I’m ready to declare our boss the most conscientious capitalist in the world!"
Zhuo Ran’s starstruck fangirl act made Chu Qing burst out laughing.
After they chose their drinks, they each found a spot to take a quick nap.
"Milk tea’s here! Come and get it!"
Yuan Li saw the delivery driver arrive with hundreds of cups of milk tea and began distributing them in an orderly fashion.
Chu Qing roused herself and grabbed a cup of Grape Cheezo.
She found an empty seat with Zhuo Ran, who had gotten a Strawberry Cheezo, and they savored their brief break.
"This is the life!"
’Chu Qing had just done a quick calculation. With 250 staff members, the milk tea bill alone must be 5,000 yuan.’
’A typical boss would never be this generous.’
But then she remembered Qi Sheng’s extravagance—giving each of his girlfriends a car.
This little expense seemed trivial in comparison.
Besides, Spicy King’s revenue was absurdly high.
Since Chu Qing had been working the register, she had paid close attention to the sales figures.
As of midday, Spicy King had already brought in 280,000 in revenue for the day—and this was a weekday.
Chu Qing didn’t even dare to imagine what the numbers would be on a weekend.
’Even assuming a standard hot pot restaurant’s net profit margin of 10%, Qi Sheng’s restaurant made 28,000 in profit in just half a day.’
’But Spicy King is positioned as a high-end hot pot boutique, so its net profit margin should be closer to 25%.’
’By the end of the day, revenue should hit 600,000, meaning a daily profit of 150,000.’
’Factoring in weekends and holidays, breaking 20 million in monthly revenue would be no problem at all.’
’Over a year, that’s fifty to sixty million in net profit.’
’And this is just one location. What if there were a hundred?’
Just the thought of it made Chu Qing’s knees feel weak.
’Of course, the success of the Taikoo Li location is nearly impossible to replicate. But even if other branches only did half the business of this one, countless other hot pot owners would still die of envy.’
A top-tier location, top-tier food, and top-tier service—that was the recipe for such terrifying revenue and profit.
’I really have great foresight. It’s a good thing I was so insistent on showing Qi Sheng my ’gratitude’.’
Now she had a monthly allowance of fifty thousand yuan and a Jaguar XJ that cost nearly a million to drive off the lot.
As Qi Sheng got richer, the perks for the women by his side would naturally improve as well.
Just thinking about it filled her with boundless energy, making her work even more diligently than Zhuo Ran.
Having beautiful women working the registers naturally gave many of the lecherous customers the urge to come back for another meal.
Just a sweet "Please come again!" from the two beauties was enough to leave them utterly captivated.
According to netizens, the chances of running into one of the boss’s incredibly beautiful wives at this restaurant were especially high.
The assumption was that any beautiful woman there was one of the owner’s ladies.
Especially on opening day, when eight or nine stunning women had shown up.
Some were so gorgeous they defied the imagination of ordinary people.
All these beautiful women belonged to Qi Sheng alone.
While other men were dying of thirst, Qi Sheng was drowning in women.
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