Ye Chen glanced around; most of the customers who came in were just browsing, only one in ten actually ordered.
Whoosh!
Ye Chen exhaled a long breath.
Looks like his plan wasn't too bad.
He'd actually thought the shop might really turn a profit.
If things kept going like this, it would definitely lose money.
After all, the Hot Pot Restaurant's rent was sky-high, plus utilities, wages, and other Ingredient Costs.
With the current traffic, losing fifty thousand a month would be easy.
Lose fifty thousand a month, earn five hundred thousand—this deal was anything but a loss.
Even though he was already a multimillionaire, Ye Chen never thought money was enough.
Ye Chen felt he'd found the road to riches… "Yo, your place opened so fast."
While Ye Chen was calculating how to lose money, Wang Chao walked in.
He looked around at the décor and froze. "Ye Chen, you and those two girls really did this? Nice."
The shop's décor was artsy, perfectly matching Old Wang's refined taste.
"Teacher Wang, what brings you here?" Ye Chen greeted with a smile.
"Heard you opened a shop, couldn't rest easy, so I came to check."
Ye Chen was thankful he hadn't gone with the sexy-uniform gimmick, or Old Wang would've skinned him alive.
"Teacher, try a Hot Pot, give us some pointers." Ye Chen said, pulling Old Wang to sit at a pot.
Back when they were preparing the Hot Pot Restaurant, Teacher Wang had helped a lot.
The head chef in the back, for instance, was found by Teacher Wang.
"I'm not hungry, I already ate."
But the moment the words left his mouth, Teacher Wang's stomach growled in protest.
"Teacher Wang, you've got to taste it and tell us what needs fixing." Ye Chen added with a grin.
Only then did Old Wang sit down at the pot.
Xia Yingluo hurried over personally to serve him a Mushroom Broth base.
Ye Chen chuckled. "Teacher Wang, knowing you need these, I got you two Kidney especially."
Teacher Wang eyed the Kidney and nodded approvingly. "Hmm, not bad."
Wait, what do you mean "I need these"!
Ye Chen watched Teacher Wang start on the Hot Pot.
He picked up a slice of lamb from the tray and slipped it into the pot.
Soon the boiling broth cooked the lamb; Teacher Wang dipped it in Sesame Sauce and popped it into his mouth.
Instantly, an explosion of fragrance burst across his tongue.
Teacher Wang's eyes lit up.
This tastes great!
Though he praised it inwardly, he kept a straight face.
After a pause he said, "Hmm, flavor's okay, just a bit greasy."
With that, he picked up another fatty slice of lamb and swirled it in the pot.
Ye Chen: "…"
Munching, Old Wang said, "I'm telling you, I hate greasy food—fatty liver risk."
As he spoke he chewed the freshly cooked lamb with relish.
Ye Chen: "…"
"Teacher, we've got side dishes; if it's too rich, add some veggies."
Ye Chen knew better than to expect compliments from Old Wang.
When he finished, Old Wang felt stuffed.
Knowing it was opening day and the place was swamped, Teacher Wang didn't linger.
"How much?" Old Wang asked.
"Teacher, it's on me." Ye Chen said.
"That won't do; I can't take advantage of a student."
Though Ye Chen refused, Old Wang insisted on paying.
With Old Wang's stubborn temper, Ye Chen could only give in.
What Ye Chen didn't know was that back at Jiangzhou Middle School Old Wang praised the place to everyone he met.
"A new Hot Pot Restaurant opened on our Commercial Street—out-of-this-world flavor."
"One pot per person, clean and hygienic; most important, the meat's fragrant and veggies fresh—go try it."
Thanks to Old Wang's hype, many teachers were tempted.
Fifty–sixty yuan wasn't cheap, but they could afford an occasional splurge.
After day one, the Hot Pot Restaurant looked like a battlefield.
Han Jiaqi led Song Yuyu and the other staff in cleaning up the mess.
Ye Chen, Li Sitong, and Xia Yingluo punched numbers into a calculator to tally the day's sales… Soon the total was in.
Seeing the figure, Xia Yingluo's face fell.
Day one—loss.
Opening day had lost over two thousand yuan.
After slaving away all day only to lose money, Xia Yingluo burst into tears.
Li Sitong didn't mind.
She'd invested to support Ye Chen; even losing money didn't hurt.
"Yingluo, it's fine, it's only day one. Once word spreads we'll be fine."
Xia Yingluo cried even harder.
After all, she'd poured the most effort into this shop.
Even the older kids from the Orphanage had been trained by her.
The recipes were tweaked over and over by her and Ye Chen.
So much work, yet they were losing money.
How could she not feel wronged?
"At two thousand a day, we'll lose fifty–sixty thousand a month," she sobbed, heart aching for Ye Chen.
She didn't know Ye Chen was secretly delighted.
"Losing money is great—the more we lose, the more we earn."
Though inwardly gleeful, Ye Chen knew comfort was needed now.
Just then Han Jiaqi, clearing tables, saw Xia Yingluo's tears and moved to console her.
But Song Yuyu held her back.
"Don't go, someone will comfort her for us."
Sure enough, Ye Chen handed Xia Yingluo a handkerchief and wiped her tears.
"Don't cry, every beginning is tough. Trust me, our shop will boom."
Ye Chen was indeed skilled at cheering girls up.
Soon Xia Yingluo smiled through her tears.
Song Yuyu looked like an old hand: "See? Consoling Yingluo is never our job."
…Han Jiaqi could only smile wryly.
She'd realized it too.
This new job was actually pretty good.
The boss was easy-going.
The coworkers were warm.
The work environment was excellent.
The pay was the highest she'd ever earned.
The only downside: daily helpings of PDA from boss and landlady.
And it came in double scoops… They worked late into the night.
Xia Yingluo and Song Yuyu didn't get the kids back to the Orphanage until after eleven.
After her shower, Song Yuyu trudged out of the bathroom exhausted and saw Xia Yingluo still bent over her desk, scribbling.
"Yingluo, it's almost midnight, aren't you sleeping?"
Xia Yingluo glanced at her. "Can't sleep. Is the light bothering you?"
"Nah. Still studying?"
Song Yuyu leaned over to see the scratch paper covered in dense numbers.
"I'm calculating today's Ingredient Costs. Our sesame paste is too thick—can add more water—and these veggies didn't sell, next time we order less…"
Xia Yingluo calculated meticulously while Song Yuyu's eyelids drooped.
Already sleepy, the string of numbers made her drowsier.
"So?"
"So tomorrow I'll tweak our purchasing to waste less and cut the losses."
Song Yuyu understood—Yingluo was still fretting over the red ink.
"Yingluo, why push yourself so hard?"
Song Yuyu was puzzled.
Xia Yingluo drew a deep breath. "Because I don't want Ye Chen to lose money. He's always giving for me; I want to do something for him."
??Morning's so cold, didn't want to get up, but crawled out so you can read sooner. Thanks to Shenjing Wa 300 book coins, Meng Chenxi 100, and Jiumeng 100 for tipping!
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