Chapter 141

Qing Mengzhu thought to herself, "Just as I thought," and felt a little indignant for Zhou Yan: "Has their boss lost his mind? Brother Zhou is so capable, how could he marginalize him?"

Ming Chunxi: "Foreign monks are better at chanting scriptures. In the high-end market now, Western and Japanese cuisine do have an advantage and higher profits. Brother Zhou runs a Chinese restaurant and his education level is relatively low, so he may be somewhat marginalized by the boss for this reason."

Qing Mengzhu remembered Zhou Yan mentioning his apprenticeship when he was young, but she still couldn't help but say, "What's the use of a high level of education? A true master is someone like Brother Zhou who has his own culinary philosophy and excellent cooking skills!"

Dr. Ming Chunxi agreed, "Exactly, true masters don't necessarily have to follow the formal academic path."

Qing Mengzhu felt her sweeping range was a bit too wide, and quickly narrowed it. "I meant that a chef doesn't necessarily have to be a formally trained chef."

Ming Chunxi: "I know. Have you figured out how you're going to dig him out?"

Qing Mengzhu: "I'd like to separate the restaurant. It might use our own ingredients, not just the company's, so it'll be easier to manage if it's independent. As for compensation, how about comparing it to He Xi's?"

Qing Mengzhu said seriously, "Brother Zhou is a seasoned chef with administrative experience. He'll probably have a lot to worry about, just like He Xi, both in the early and later stages."

Ming Chunxi: "So, should we basically have him prepare for the new store all over again?"

Qing Mengzhu: "We should. We have no experience or connections, and starting a restaurant from scratch will likely be very difficult. Brother Zhou has experience and connections, so it should be much simpler for us. We should give him 10% of the shares."

Ming Chunxi: "Go talk to him first and see if you can reach an agreement. Ten percent is indeed not much. If he is unwilling, you can appropriately increase his annual salary, but you can't increase the shares. If you don't treat everyone equally, He Xi might develop a grudge."

Qing Mengzhu nodded earnestly. "I know. It's not scarcity that's the problem, but inequality. He Xi is also very capable, and he supported us when our future was uncertain. We can't hurt his feelings."

Ming Chunxi: "Have the firm prepare the contract first, then it'll be better to take it with you when you talk to Brother Zhou."

Qing Mengzhu: "Okay!"

Ming Chunxi: "Do you want me to go talk to Brother Zhou with you?"

Qing Mengzhu smiled and said, "No need. Given our relationship with Brother Zhou, it probably won't be a particularly serious negotiation. If we can reach an agreement, it won't matter whether you're there or not. If Brother Zhou has concerns, your presence or absence won't alleviate them."

Seeing Qing Mengzhu like this Ming Chunxi couldn't help but hug his head and kiss him, whispering, "You're glowing right now."

Qing Mengzhu: "Is your forehead shiny?"

Ming Chunxi: "No, it shines like stars."

Qing Mengzhu smiled broadly and returned the kiss, "To me, you are also someone who shines brightly."

Qing Mengzhu specially invited Zhou Yan to her home for a detailed discussion and even brewed tea to entertain Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan initially thought he just wanted to find out something or get some advice, but seeing this, he stood in front of the table and looked around. "Qing Xiao Zhu, do you have something to say to me today?"

Qing Mengzhu for him to enter and said with a smile, "I'm the only one here; I wouldn't stoop to setting a trap for you."

Zhou Yan nodded. "That's true. If it's a trap, you should at least bring Chunxi and He Xi along."

Qing Mengzhu poured him tea. "Right? So don't be nervous."

Zhou Yan smiled and took a sip of tea, "So? Are you thinking of selling your vegetables to our group? The group has strict control over the quality and price of the vegetables. Your tomatoes are fine, lotus root is fine, strawberries are fine, but the other vegetables are a bit undercooked, so it probably won't work for now."

Qing Mengzhu smiled and said, "We've already used up all the vegetable packages we have, so we don't need to sell any more. I'm here today to ask if you're thinking of changing jobs?"

Zhou Yan: "Who wants to poach me? Did your friend ask you to inquire about me? Let me make this clear first, I'm not taking any jobs that pay less than 800,000 yuan a year."

Qing Mengzhu: "You have no friends; we want to poach you."

Zhou Yan sat up straight immediately. "Huh? You guys?! You want to open a restaurant?"

Before Qing Mengzhu could answer, Zhou Yan nodded. "With the quality of your ingredients and your current reputation, you shouldn't lose money if you want to open a restaurant."

After waiting for him to finish his shock, Qing Mengzhu said seriously, "Yes, we just felt that it would be a waste to sell all the ingredients given their current quality, so we came up with the idea of opening a restaurant. We have no experience, so we especially need an experienced partner."

Zhou Yan: "I understand."

Seeing his serious expression, Qing Mengzhu took out the prepared documents. "Brother Zhou, take a look at the benefits first. An annual salary of 800,000 is too little. He Xi earned nearly 800,000 in just six months last year. We're aiming for an annual salary of one million, plus equity. Take a look."

Chapter 141

The conditions offered by Qing Mengzhu were very generous. Zhou Yan carefully reviewed them and couldn't help but admire them.

If these terms weren't mentioned, it would seem as if he had proposed them, rather than Qing Mengzhu, the boss.

"Qing Mengzhu is indeed kind-hearted," Zhou Yan thought. "If it were someone else, they would have wanted to take advantage of their partner. How could there be a win-win situation?"

Qing Mengzhu had already offered such good terms, Zhou Yan didn't hesitate much and decided to work with him.

After carefully reviewing the terms, the two put away their signed contracts and then discussed the details together.

Zhou Yan said, "It will take about a month for me to go through the resignation process. This month, we'll look at the restaurant's location and decoration style, and handle some preliminary miscellaneous matters."

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "No problem, there are a lot of procedures to complete, which will take some time. But, are you able to manage?"

Seeing the concern in Qing Mengzhu's eyes, Zhou Yan felt a warmth in his heart. "I'm not too busy. I've already resigned, what else is there to be busy about?"

Qing Mengzhu: "That's good."

Zhou Yan: "Let's poach people to build a new team first. I wonder what you Chunxi think about poaching? Do you have any target candidates?"

Qing Mengzhu spoke frankly, "I haven't had time to consider this yet. I was thinking of handing it over to you. You've been in the industry for many years, and your network should be wider than ours."

Zhou Yan was surprised. "You're leaving everything to me?"

Qing Mengzhu tapped the contract with her finger. "You own 10% of the shares, you're the boss too, who else should I give it to if not you?"

Zhou Yan said jokingly, half-seriously, "If that's the case, it'll be easy for me to take him away the day we break up."

Qing Mengzhu laughed, "No, Brother Zhou, we trust your character, and we are confident in the quality of our own vegetables. Our core competitiveness lies with us. It's no use for you to take people away, Brother Zhou."

Zhou Yan gave him a deep look, then extended his hand. "It's a pleasure doing business with you."

Qing Mengzhu also extended her hand. "It's a pleasure to cooperate with you."

Two strong hands clasped together, both with solemn expressions.

After shaking hands, they smiled at each other, their hearts filled with the same surge of pride.

Zhou Yan went back and immediately began resigning and recruiting people.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi were very generous with their money, giving Zhou Yan sufficient authority and paying the newly recruited staff 120% of their salaries.

Their restaurant is located in the countryside, which doesn't offer much of an advantage. Paying them higher wages would help maintain morale.

Furthermore, Qing Mengzhu has always believed in the power of money. Everyone is here to work, and you get what you pay for. If the salary is too low, don't expect any career advancement.

Instead of focusing too much on management, it would be better to pay them more; that way, employees would naturally cherish their jobs.

Zhou Yan was mainly in charge of the personnel, while Qing Mengzhu and the others were more concerned with matters such as restaurant registration and site selection.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi discussed it and decided to use the company name, and the restaurant would also be called "Zhuxi". The registered name would be "Zhuxi Catering Group". They had some ambitions in the catering industry.

As for the restaurant's location, the two were hesitant about whether to choose a village or a town.