Chapter 71: What a Great Benefactor~
Old Han never thought his bragging would actually come true.
Just yesterday, he’d boasted to his roommate that their order volume would double or triple. Today, it had actually doubled.
Three hundred forty-two boxed lunches, six people delivering. That was an average of fifty-seven orders per person!
Old Han had been working at Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant for two days now, so he was quite familiar with the surrounding roads and companies.
He’d practically tricked his roommate into joining, and the guy hadn’t been too happy with the pay yesterday. To keep him from quitting, Old Han decided to take him on his route today to help him get familiar with the area.
With his roommate in tow, the two of them pedaled their bikes so hard they could have struck sparks, delivering a total of one hundred and forty orders!
The orders were mostly from entire companies, ranging from three or four meals to over twenty, which made the deliveries incredibly fast.
Clutching the thirty-five yuan he had just earned, Old Han’s roommate was suddenly filled with wonderful visions of the future.
Yesterday, he’d only made twelve and a half yuan. Today, it was thirty-five. His earnings had multiplied by 2.5 times!
’Old Han was right. Earning over a hundred a day isn’t just a dream!’
「Delicious Restaurant.」
Adding more main dishes to give customers more choices was an excellent strategy.
After adding two more main dishes yesterday, bringing the total to three, foot traffic had seen a significant increase. It finally reached the minimum level Jin Dayong expected for his restaurant.
Yesterday, the dining area had just barely been full. Today, not only was every seat taken, but there was also a line of people waiting outside.
’Ah, I wonder how business is going over at Xu’s Fast Food. Have they felt the huge drop in customers today? Are they furious?’
As soon as the lunch rush was finally over, Jin Dayong eagerly walked over to the front of Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant.
There wasn’t a single customer inside. The outdoor serving counter was already packed up and spotless.
And looking at the little boss and his employees, they were sitting, lying, or leaning in every corner of the shop. They looked even less energetic than the old lady at the cash register.
Jin Dayong could barely contain his glee.
’Looks like business at Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant was terrible at noon today. Every one of them is so listless and drained. Hahahaha!’
Suppressing his delight, Jin Dayong walked into the shop and asked Xu An, "Well now, little boss, how was business today? Were you so busy with customers that everyone’s completely worn out?"
Xu An glanced up at Jin Dayong. From the look on his face and his tone of voice, it wasn’t hard to tell that Delicious Restaurant must have had good foot traffic today. He even had the leisure to come over here and gloat.
But Xu An had been up and working since five-thirty in the morning and was genuinely exhausted. He had no desire to argue with Jin Dayong, so he just played along. "Yeah, business wasn’t as good as yours."
Hearing Xu An’s words, Jin Dayong finally lost control of his expression, his face crinkling into a wide grin.
"What are you saying, little boss? It’s all thanks to you that my restaurant is doing so well. You’re the one with all the great ideas."
As he spoke, Jin Dayong looked around, trying to see if Xu An had added any new tricks to his shop.
After scanning the place, he found no new gimmicks and actually felt a pang of disappointment.
’Can’t even handle a little setback? You’re supposed to fight harder the more you’re challenged!’
’These young people nowadays... so weak!’
After gloating for a few more moments, Jin Dayong sauntered back to his own restaurant, humming a tune.
After Jin Dayong left, bursts of laughter echoed through Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant, filling the shop with a joyous atmosphere.
The owner of Delicious Restaurant was such a good guy. He knew they were tired, so he came over specially to put on a comedy show for them.
After a two-hour break, everyone’s energy and spirits had recovered. Next, it was time to get busy with the evening’s work.
Fortunately, they weren’t preparing a large amount for dinner—only fifty servings. With everyone pitching in, it only took them about an hour.
Zhou Qi had exerted himself so much today that his hands were trembling uncontrollably, so Xu An took over his station and started plating the food.
Seeing how exhausted everyone in the shop looked, Xu An grew thoughtful.
So far, tomorrow’s delivery orders had already reached three hundred. The morning workload alone was already leaving everyone mentally and physically exhausted.
Although the afternoon workload wasn’t heavy, after the intense morning session, they were clearly flagging and not working at their best.
’If this continues, people will only get more and more tired, and they’ll have less and less energy for their work.’
’After closing at seven in the evening, we still have to clean up until eight before going home. Xu Kang and Xu Le don’t get to bed until nine every night. Sleeping so late will affect their development.’
’Maybe we should go back to how it was before and only do morning business?’
’Yes, if... if the delivery orders for the next three days can exceed three hundred and fifty each day, then I’ll change the business hours. We’ll only be open in the mornings!’
「Xu Family Village.」
After showering and washing his clothes, Granny Xu, Xu Kang, and Xu Le were already asleep. Xu An finally had some time to himself.
He grabbed a flashlight, left the courtyard, and headed toward Aunt Hong’s house. She lived right next door, just three or five meters away to her gate.
It was past nine o’clock, but the living room light was still on, perhaps because Xu An had mentioned he would come over tonight to discuss a business partnership with Aunt Hong.
"Fourth Uncle, Aunt Hong, it’s Anzi," Xu An called out from outside the gate.
A sturdy figure soon appeared in the yard and walked straight over to open the gate for Xu An.
"Fourth Uncle," Xu An greeted, then turned off his flashlight and followed him toward the house.
Fourth Uncle smiled and nodded at Xu An, which served as his greeting, before leading him inside.
Xu An was long accustomed to Fourth Uncle’s taciturn nature and didn’t mind it, following him into the living room.
"Anzi, you’re here! Sit, sit," Aunt Hong had stood up when she heard Xu An’s call but hadn’t come out. Now that he was inside, she hurriedly ushered him to a seat and brought him a glass of cooled boiled water.
Xu An took the glass, had a sip, and got straight to the point. "Aunt Hong, we’re all neighbors from the same village, and we’re practically family, so I won’t beat around the bush. For the price, let’s go with what we discussed yesterday: I’ll buy your produce for fifty cents more per unit than the vegetable vendors. What do you think?"
Even Victory Supermarket hadn’t offered terms this good. Naturally, Aunt Hong had no objections and agreed on the spot.
The two then discussed the details of delivery times, methods, and the quality standards for the fruits and vegetables. They drafted a preliminary agreement, and both sides came to a consensus.
After Xu An left, Aunt Hong carefully reviewed the drafted agreement one more time. Once she was certain there were no oversights, she turned off the light and went to bed, satisfied.
When Xu An got home, he also looked over the agreement. After confirming there were no additional clauses needed, he put it away safely. He then adjusted the two boys who were sleeping sprawled all over the bed, moving them back to their proper spots before turning off the light and going to sleep.
By the time ordering closed at eight o’clock, the final tally for delivery orders was three hundred and eighty-six.
’Tomorrow is going to be another tough day of hard work!’