Chapter 83: Li Shen Still Has a Trump Card Up His Sleeve

Watching those employees sprinting over like madmen, Chen Mo was completely dumbfounded.

What were these people doing? Did they want to tear down his cafeteria?

Li Shen, at the service window, saw the approaching crowd and hurriedly turned to look at Wang Maonian.

"Uncle Wang, are the lunch boxes ready? They're here."

"They're ready, all in the cardboard boxes. There are 31 meal portions and 36 portions of rice in total."

Wang Maonian replied hurriedly. As he spoke, he placed the lunch boxes onto the windowsill.

Meanwhile, someone had already rushed up to the window.

It was a young man, who immediately slapped his money onto the windowsill and shouted loudly.

"Brother Shen, give me ten portions."

"Don't you want to see what's on the menu today?"

Li Shen picked up the money from the windowsill and counted it—exactly 150—before pointing to the menu newly posted on the window.

"No need. There isn't a single thing in your cafeteria that isn't delicious."

Li Shen smiled, and together with Wang Maonian, took out 10 meal portions and 10 portions of rice, placing them into the bag the man had brought.

However, before the young man had even finished his purchase, many others rushed up behind him, thrusting money toward the window and shouting.

"Give me two portions."

"I want one."

"I was here first, I want three."

"Don't f*cking push me! Brother Shen, it's me, give me five."

"…"

About five or six minutes later, Li Shen tossed the empty boxes aside, looked at the crowd surrounding the window, and shouted.

"That's it! If you want to eat, come back this evening."

After saying that, he shut the window.

Chen Mo stood in the back, watching the scene, dumbfounded.

Was his cafeteria's lunch box really this popular?

Li Shen tidied up the money he had just collected from selling the lunches, then walked up to Chen Mo and said nervously,

"Boss Chen, I've used all the money from the lunch box sales for the cafeteria's procurement. I guarantee I didn't keep a single cent."

Watching Li Shen try to prove his innocence, Chen Mo's mouth twitched, and he waved his hand powerlessly.

"It's fine!"

What else could he do? This sly fox was truly thinking of the company wholeheartedly.

At the speed they were selling just now, it was a good thing they were only selling leftovers. If they actually turned this into a restaurant and started selling lunch boxes, who knows how much money they would make!

Chen Mo thought to himself, feeling a bit relieved.

He found a dining table and sat down.

Wang Maonian also arrived right on cue, carrying the meal he had set aside and placing it on the table.

It was neatly arranged, with a total of six dishes.

"You all sit down, too."

Chen Mo glanced at the people standing nearby and gestured for them to sit.

Once they were seated, he looked at Li Shen, who was sitting across from him, and spoke calmly.

"Did you come up with this cafeteria retail plan?"

"Yes, Boss Chen. Actually, Uncle Wang deserves a lot of the credit for this, too."

Li Shen said loyally. They shared good times and bad; how could he forget Wang Maonian, who had been assisting him, when there was such a good opportunity to impress Boss Chen?

"Oh."

Chen Mo nodded faintly, his gaze lingering on Li Shen and Wang Maonian for a moment.

Neither of these two guys ever let him rest easy.

Just as he was about to say something, Li Shen spoke up first.

"Boss Chen, I've been tracking the foot traffic these past few days. Selling 200 lunch boxes a day would absolutely be no problem."

"I've been thinking, why not have Uncle Wang and the others make some more? We could easily produce an extra 200 lunch boxes a day."

"If we sell all 200 of those, that's 3,000 yuan. We could sell twice a day, so that's nearly 6,000 yuan in daily sales."

"Right now, the cafeteria's daily expenses are around 3,000. That way, we'd still be bringing in a profit of 3,000 yuan a day."

"In a month, our employee cafeteria wouldn't just be cost-free; it would generate nearly 100,000 yuan in income."

Li Shen finished speaking and looked at Boss Chen with anticipation.

This was the biggest business opportunity he had discovered while selling the lunch boxes.

But the main reason was that their food was delicious, and because they were located inside the Industrial Park, it saved those looking for fast food a long walk.

That's why, over the past few days, it had become very popular with the workers in the park, who often complained that thirty-something portions a day was too few.

Listening to Li Shen, Chen Mo's hand paused in the middle of picking up a piece of food.

Finally, he simply gave up on eating and set his chopsticks down on the table.

He hadn't expected that Li Shen, this sly fox, was still hiding such a big trump card.

Not only would it save the cafeteria's expenses for the month, but it would also earn nearly 100,000 yuan. When you calculate the difference, that would be an extra 200,000 in System Funds!

It was a good thing he had come today and discovered this in time.

Otherwise, this sly fox would have started a side business for him.

He took a deep breath, looked at Li Shen, and said slowly,

"Li Shen, I understand that you want to make money for the company. But you also need to consider the others. Think about it—if you make an extra 200 lunch boxes, doesn't that just pile all the extra workload onto the cafeteria chefs?"

"The company might be making money, but is that fair to the people in the cafeteria?"

"Boss Chen, it's no problem for us in the cafeteria to be a little busier."

Hearing Boss Chen say this, Wang Maonian spoke up at the right moment.

Li Shen had mentioned this to him yesterday, and he had already discussed it with the cafeteria chefs; no one had any objections.

After all, the work here in the cafeteria was much lighter than working in a hotel.

Back when they worked in hotel kitchens, they worked from morning until night, and the pay wasn't even as high as it was here in the cafeteria. So, what was the problem with having them work a little harder now?

Hearing Wang Maonian suddenly chime in, Chen Mo narrowed his eyes and turned to look at him.

It seemed the morning runs hadn't tired him out enough if he still had the energy to make 200 lunch boxes.

"This is a matter of principle. The cafeteria is just a cafeteria; your only job is to cook for the company's employees. So, forget about the 200 lunch boxes."

"As for the leftovers, it's a waste to throw them away, so I won't interfere if you sell them."

"However, selling lunch boxes isn't really part of your job."

"So, starting this month, each of the cafeteria's head chefs will get a 1,000-yuan raise, and the rest of the kitchen staff will get a 500-yuan raise. And Li Shen, give him a 1,000-yuan raise as well."

"Consider this a service fee for the extra work you've been doing."

"Shen Rou, make a note of this and inform the finance department when we get back."

Chen Mo said, turning to glance at Shen Rou.

He thought to himself, if you all can earn money, why can't I spend it?

Right now, the cafeteria had a total of 5 head chefs and 6 kitchen staff. There were also two cleaners now; one was Jiang Cheng's wife, and the other was the wife of the shuttle bus driver Lu Pengtao had just hired, who had joined just a few days ago.

Adding in Li Shen, that was over 10,000 yuan more in wages per month.

That was still less than what they were making from selling the lunch boxes!

That just wouldn't do.