He passed through the small bamboo grove in the backyard and reached the kitchen door.
Lin Zhe saw Lin Xiaomeng and the three older women cleaning the kitchen, chatting and laughing as they worked.
"You're back, Zhe!"
Sensing someone watching her from the doorway, Lin Xiaomeng looked up, saw Lin Zhe, and greeted him with a sweet smile.
"The boss is back!"
"You've been out most of the day, boss. Thanks for your hard work. Come in and have some water."
"Come in and sit down, boss!"
The women greeted Lin Zhe enthusiastically, pouring him tea and bringing him a stool.
Although this was only their first day on the job, they had already grown fond of the relaxed, cheerful atmosphere in the kitchen.
Besides, the kitchen work wasn't particularly dirty or exhausting. They could handle it easily.
Of course, the biggest draw was the generous pay, good benefits, and even insurance coverage!
They must have done something good in their past lives to be blessed with such a wonderful boss.
"Thanks for all your hard work, too. Hu Ting told me business at the Good Fortune Canteen was pretty good this afternoon."
Lin Zhe smiled and greeted Lin Xiaomeng and the women before stepping into the kitchen.
"Mm-hmm! Around four this afternoon, a Taoist priest from the Three Pure Ones Palace came over. He said he was entertaining guests and ordered thirty portions of egg fried rice at once."
"Around five, Ms. Zhang and the others from the management committee ordered twenty-three portions. Those two orders alone totaled over fifty."
"Then there were orders from the inn's guests, thirty-three portions in all. We finally used up all the eggs and called it a day."
Lin Xiaomeng cheerfully reported the afternoon's business to Lin Zhe. She was tired, but more than anything, she was happy!
They had made 2,580 yuan in sales that afternoon alone.
Combined with the nineteen hundred-plus yuan from lunch, their total revenue had reached over four thousand yuan!
This was only the Good Fortune Canteen's second official day of business, and its revenue had already broken the four-thousand-yuan mark.
That was quite an achievement!
Lin Zhe was very pleased with the results, too.
Each serving of egg fried rice cost roughly three yuan to make, only about a tenth of its selling price.
In other words, of that four thousand-plus yuan in revenue, only around four hundred yuan had gone toward costs.
That left over 3,600 yuan in profit!
Even after deducting the wages of Lin Xiaomeng and the women, the Good Fortune Canteen could still generate more than two thousand yuan in profit for him each day.
That would be sixty thousand yuan a month!
And that was extra income, without even counting the inn's profits.
With the inn's profits added in, earning a hundred thousand yuan a month didn't seem all that difficult. Making enough for next year's rent before the end of this year shouldn't be a problem!
"Great work, everyone. Thanks for all your effort. Once you're done cleaning, go ahead and leave early. No need to stick around."
Lin Zhe was in a good mood today, too. Seeing that the kitchen had already been cleaned and there was nothing else to do, he told the women to clock out early.
As a new-generation boss born in the 2000s, Lin Zhe had a very different approach to running a business from traditional bosses.
A traditional boss would make you stay until your shift ended, even if you had already exceeded your quota for the day. You could stand around slacking off with a rag in your hand, but you still had to wait until quitting time to clock out.
Clock out even a second early, and it counted as leaving early. They would dock your perfect-attendance bonus or even your wages, strictly enforcing company policy.
Lin Zhe thought very differently.
Today's sales had far exceeded expectations, and there were no eggs left to make any more egg fried rice.
The kitchen had been cleaned, too. There was nothing to do if they stayed, so they might as well go home early.
Work happily and earn happily. His focus was on keeping the workplace relaxed and pleasant.
It was only a little past eight in the evening, with another hour or so left before the end of their shifts.
The women got to leave early on their very first day of work.
Seeing some leftover rice and side ingredients, Lin Zhe also let the women divide them up and take them home.
At 29.9 yuan a serving, the Soul-Stirring Egg Fried Rice wasn't cheap. The ingredients had to be fresh and sanitary.
Any ingredients left unused that day had to be cleared out, not kept for use the next day.
Even if he did keep the rice until the next day, there really wouldn't be much of a problem.
Once it was made into egg fried rice, customers wouldn't be able to taste any difference between the old rice and rice cooked that day.
But this was one of Lin Zhe's bottom lines, both as a person and as a businessman. He wouldn't earn a single cent against his conscience.
After the women left, Lin Xiaomeng took off her apron as well, revealing the clothes underneath.
It was the blazing heat of July.
Although the temperature in the mountains was several degrees lower than outside, her clothes had long since been soaked through with sweat after a day of working in the kitchen.
Her slightly oversized white T-shirt clung to her upper body, making the color and outline of her underwear clearly visible.
She wore a pair of light gray compression leggings, the kind that was very popular that year. They made her legs look long and slender, leaving only a stretch of snowy-white ankle exposed.
The outfit suited Lin Xiaomeng's figure perfectly, and Lin Zhe couldn't help taking a couple of extra looks.
"Zhe, I'm heading out, too."
"Sure, go ahead."
"See you tomorrow, Zhe."
"See you tomorrow."
After saying goodbye to Lin Zhe, Lin Xiaomeng headed home in a cheerful mood.
Once he had sent the kitchen staff home, Lin Zhe returned to the front desk.
Hu Ting couldn't leave early from her post at the front desk. She had to stay until her shift ended.
After a brief chat, Lin Zhe pushed open the door to his office on the first floor.
He switched on the monitor on his desk and checked the surveillance feeds. Everything looked normal.
With the cameras checked, Lin Zhe had nothing else to do. He was just about to find a movie to watch when someone knocked on his office door.
"Come in."
The office door creaked open, and Hu Ting appeared in the doorway.
"Boss, a guest with a reservation just called. She said she's gotten off at the bus station outside the scenic area."
"But her suitcase is a little heavy, so she'd like us to come and pick her up."
"Sure, no problem. I'll go."
Lin Zhe rose from his chair. Picking up guests was part of running the inn, too.
"Her name is Jiang Yining. She's wearing a white short-sleeved athletic outfit and carrying a pink suitcase."
Hu Ting gave Lin Zhe the guest's distinguishing details.
"Okay, got it."
Lin Zhe nodded, then went outside and hopped on his little electric scooter to pick her up.
After riding for about five minutes, Lin Zhe left the scenic area and reached the parking plaza outside.
He spotted the guest Hu Ting had described from quite a distance away.
The girl was tall and slim, well over 170 centimeters, and stood out in the parking lot in her white short-sleeved Adidas athletic outfit.
Even more conspicuous was the enormous pink suitcase beside her!
The suitcase stood at least 1.2 meters tall, reaching even higher than her long legs.
A giant Peppa Pig sticker covered one side of it.
The moment Lin Zhe saw that enormous suitcase, he couldn't help feeling a little rattled.
This was the first time he had ever seen someone travel with a suitcase that big!
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