The boss shook his head, reciting, "Compared to similar large restaurants in this business district, it's absolutely cheap. We can't lower it further. If we do, the costs won't even be covered, let alone paying the employees."
Zhao Yuman tasted a few more dishes. "If you have no other issues, call the head chef over. We'll sign the contract together!"
"Certainly!"
The head chef's first words upon entering were, "I'll sign the contract, but only if you keep my wife here too."
Xiao Xun looked at the bald, chubby man before him. "And your wife is?"
"The lobby manager of this restaurant."
Zhao Yuman said without hesitation, "Alright, you sign it!"
After all, her first impression of this lobby manager was quite good. She was friendly and welcoming, perhaps due to professional service industry training.
After handling the restaurant's affairs, they began a thorough renovation and improvement process, from interior decoration and advertising design to menu pricing.
During this period, the head chef and the lobby manager were sent to Fengming Tower for observation and learning.
Xiao Xun sensibly placed the card in front of Zhao Yuman. "This is the money we agreed on for our investment."
Leaving Zhao Yuman, Xiao Xun returned directly home.
"As soon as I entered, I smelled Yun Mei's cooking. I've been starving these past few days."
Mu Jiahe smiled and said, "I doubt that! You seem even fatter than before."
Xiao Xun washed his hands and sat beside Mu Jiahe.
Mu Jiahe frowned. "Your clothes smell like smoke and alcohol. How much did you drink?"
Xiao Xun picked up his chopsticks. "It's unavoidable when going out on business."
"Your mother is urging me to have children with you! Don't you have any thoughts on that?"
"Yun Mei's fried chicken legs are good."
Mu Jiahe pressed Xiao Xun's hand. "Stop the nonsense. I'm asking you seriously."
Xiao Xun's face flushed. "My mother too! We're not even married yet, and she's already rushing us to have children. What does she want?!"
Mu Jiahe looked him up and down. "If that's how you feel, you can explain it to your mother yourself tomorrow!"
Xiao Xun was taken aback. "Tomorrow? Is my mother coming?"
"No, your parents called. They said something came up back home and asked us to go back."
Mu Jiahe nodded. "Alright then..."
Xiao Xun's hometown was Xiao Village.
Xiao Xun's father called his elder brother in advance, as there was also the issue of lunch, and there were no restaurants nearby.
Xiao Xun's paternal uncle was an honest and dutiful farmer. He had saved diligently to provide his father with money to open a restaurant, even postponing his own marriage for several years.
Therefore, his father and his uncle had a very good relationship, and he always bought a lot of things whenever they returned.
The next morning, Xiao Xun drove Mu Jiahe back to his hometown.
They first visited the small restaurant opened by Xiao Xun's parents. With Xiao Xun's investment, the small restaurant had been transformed into a small restaurant and eatery, catering to daily diners as well as banquets for joyous and somber occasions.
After a round of greetings, Xiao Xun's father drove off with Xiao Xun's mother. He asked Xiao Xun to take Mu Jiahe and return to Xiao Village.
His uncle and his uncle's son were already waiting at the village entrance.
The uncle, along with his son, got into the car. Looking at the luxurious interior, he exclaimed, "Wow! Xiao, your car is quite big. Must be over a hundred thousand, right?"
"More or less, more or less. Is it comfortable?"
"Extremely comfortable, more comfortable than a bed."
Xiao Sheng, the uncle's son and Xiao Xun's older cousin, said to his father, "It's not common nowadays for people like Xiao to go to the city and still be willing to come back."
Xiao Sheng then asked Xiao Xun, "Xiao, what do you do in the city now?"
"I run a small business."
"A big business, right? You must be making a lot of money."
Xiao Xun waved his hands humbly. "Where is there a lot of money? Eldest brother, what are you busy with now?"
Xiao Sheng pointed to himself in surprise. "Me? I work for people in the city. I was even thinking of joining you later."
After offering sacrifices to their ancestors in the morning, they had lunch at the uncle's house.
A crowd had gathered, asking all sorts of questions. In particular, both men and women kept their gaze fixed on Mu Jiahe, as if she were a big celebrity on television.
Xiao Xun asked his uncle beside him, "Uncle, I want to contract a piece of land in our village. A piece with good terrain, preferably around a hundred mu."
"Xiao, you're doing well in the city, why do you need land?"
Upon hearing that Xiao Xun wanted to contract land, Xiao Sheng immediately interjected before Xiao Xun's uncle could speak, asking anxiously.
Xiao Xun smiled and said, "Eldest brother, don't worry, I have my own plans!"
Xiao Xun's uncle looked at Xiao Xun. Although he didn't know Xiao Xun's intentions, Xiao Xun was the only university student in their family, so his uncle had some expectations of him.
Xiao Xun's uncle asked very seriously and solemnly, "Xiao, do you really want to contract our village's land? Can you tell your uncle what you plan to do with this land?"
"Uncle, I also plan to open a pharmaceutical factory in our village."
Xiao Xun's uncle became excited. If Xiao Xun wasn't joking, then Xiao Village would be facing an unprecedented opportunity.
Xiao Xun took out a card. "I'll invest twenty million to establish a Chinese herbal medicine cultivation company in our village. Let's call it Hongsheng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd."
"Twenty million? To establish a company? Xiao, you're not planning to return to G City to develop?"
Xiao Sheng was surprised at first, then looked at Xiao Xun with joy. If Xiao Xun wasn't returning to G City, then the two brothers could join hands to create a venture.
"No, I will still return to G City. This company will be managed by you, Eldest Brother!"
"Me... I'll be the general manager?" Xiao Sheng's eyes widened abruptly.
"Yes!" Xiao Xun nodded with great certainty.
Xiao Sheng said nervously, "I only go to school for a few days a year. I don't know how to be a general manager!"
Xiao Xun said very casually, "If you don't know how to be a general manager, you can learn. No one is born a general manager. I believe in your ability, Eldest Brother! Moreover, you can hire people to help you. We can hire professional managers with high salaries. Actually, as long as we cultivate Chinese herbal medicine well, nothing else matters."
Xiao Sheng nodded. "After you put it that way, I feel much more relaxed!"
At this point, Xiao Xun changed the topic. "Uncle! Since the company is mainly focused on cultivation, land is essential. This requires your help. I will prepare the land transfer contracts. I want all seven to eight hundred mu of idle land in our village, and preferably all other land in the village to sign contracts with the company. In addition, Chinese herbal medicine also needs people to cultivate it. We will prioritize hiring people from our village, with wages higher than the average level in G City. You can decide the specific figures. As for bonuses, attendance bonuses, overtime pay, and year-end bonuses, they will all be provided...!"
Xiao Xun's uncle slapped his thigh. "Good, good, good! You're truly my good nephew! Xiao, rest assured, I'll take care of the land matters! I'll also be responsible for calling back those working outside. We villagers, we don't have many other skills, but we're naturally good at farming, so you can confidently leave the farming work to the villagers. Oh, and this is considered an investment, so I'll help you apply for preferential policies from the city."
Xiao Sheng hadn't expected to suddenly become the manager of a company with an investment of twenty million. Xiao Xun's uncle hadn't expected that his long-held wish to help Xiao Village prosper could finally be realized today, and that Xiao Village would no longer be a village of left-behind residents.
This also resolved a concern for Xiao Xun's father, who nodded in satisfaction at his son.
After lunch, as Xiao Xun drove the Range Rover out of Xiao Village, Xiao Sheng, sitting in the passenger seat, kept watching Xiao Xun's driving. After a while, he suddenly said to Xiao Xun, "Xiao, can I try driving this car too?"
"Eldest Brother, do you know how to drive?" Xiao Xun asked in surprise.
Xiao Xun learned to drive during college. In his memory, his elder brother didn't know how to drive, and he had even planned to have his elder brother go to driving school in the coming days.
"Not really. I learned a little before, but at that time, I always felt driving was very difficult. But for some reason today, watching you drive, I suddenly feel that driving seems very simple." Xiao Sheng said excitedly.
"Alright, I'll find an empty space ahead for you to try."