Chapter 195 My younger brother won't be coming back this time. Why? Because of him...

An Fusheng worked through the entire night.

After having breakfast and dropping An Shisi and the others off at school, I went back to the hotel to continue my work.

Today, we have scheduled interviews with several chefs. Last night, An Fusheng suddenly had new ideas about the management and development of the restaurant, and he also had new requirements and expectations for the chef team. Therefore, he wants to reset the interview rules with Xu Sannian before the interviews.

An Fusheng had been busy in the office for a while when Xu Sannian finally came in, yawning. "I've seen people leave work at night before, but this is the first time I've seen someone work overtime in the morning. What kind of unconventional new mechanism are we trying to implement?"

"I'm sorry, the situation is special, thank you for your hard work." An Fusheng asked, "Have you had breakfast?"

Xu Sannian: "I got out of bed and came to work. I didn't have time to eat breakfast."

An Fusheng took out a thermos from the drawer. "Porridge, steamed buns, fried dumplings, corn, and sweet potatoes."

"Thanks!"

Xu Sannian plopped down in the chair opposite An Fusheng, pulled the lunchbox into his arms, quickly opened it, and started eating his breakfast. "Didn't you say you wanted to change the interview rules? How?"

An Fusheng: "I would like to add one more interview component."

Xu Sannian: "What content?"

An Fusheng: "Management skills".

Xu Sannian: "We're hiring chefs, not managers. As long as they know the ingredients and can cook well, that's enough. What's the point of having them know management? Do you expect them to manage the restaurant for you while they're cooking?"

"Hmm." An Fusheng handed the proposal he had written overnight to Xu Sannian. It was still warm from being typed out.

Xu Sannian saw the large characters on the cover: "Equity incentive, what does that mean?"

An Fusheng: "Simply put, it's about incentivizing key employees to participate in the restaurant's operations by issuing them shares. Didn't you say before that everyone is driven by profit? Well, I'll give them that profit, but whether they can actually get it depends on their abilities."

“You’re getting shrewd, Master. You’ve even learned to use equity to lure people in,” Xu Sannian said.

An Fusheng: "Take a look at the plan first, I'm not sure if it will work."

“Okay.” Xu Sannian said, looking at the plan while eating.

I finished the last bite of breakfast and also reviewed the plan.

An Fusheng then magically produced a thermos filled with hot soy milk.

Xu Sannian took it, tentatively took a sip, and found the temperature to be just right. He then took a big gulp and exclaimed, "This soy milk smells so good!"

"The soybeans I used were grown in my backyard last year, and I even added jasmine flowers." An Fusheng handed the soy milk cup to Xu Sannian, then took the lunchbox and went to the small sink in the office to wash it.

"No wonder," Xu Sannian said.

After washing and drying the thermos, An Fusheng returned to his seat and asked, "What do you think of the plan?"

Xu Sannian nodded: "I think it's a good idea. Using equity to closely link the interests of employees and the restaurant can, on the one hand, more reliably attract core talents, and on the other hand, it can also motivate employees to consciously reduce costs and increase profits in their daily work. When employees are more self-disciplined, we can also save on management costs."

An Fusheng: "That makes sense. Besides, it will also be beneficial for opening branches in the future."

Xu Sannian: "So you want the chef to be the manager?"

An Fusheng: "Yes, how can you manage a restaurant if you don't know how to cook? Don't people say that the worst thing is for an outsider to manage an expert?"

Xu Sannian: "Is this why you want to add management content to the interview?"

An Fusheng: "Yes, I want the store manager to not only make good food, but also manage daily operations and talent development. I want one manager to generate countless managers, so as to reserve sufficient talent for future expansion."

“The idea is not bad,” Xu Sannian said. “However… I have another concern. Equity is a game of strategy. If we open branches, the total profit will no longer be determined by which branch it is. For example, if we have three branches, plus the main store, that’s four. After a year of operation, two branches are profitable and two are losing money. When we tally up the accounts at the end of the year, we find that we are actually losing money. We can’t share the profits. Wouldn’t that be unfair to the two profitable branches?”

An Fusheng: "No, each branch has its own separate accounting system. If there is a profit, the profits are distributed accordingly."

Xu Sannian: "No, the equity belongs to the head office. You can't distribute dividends when the head office is losing money. Your method of distributing dividends based on the branch's profits is essentially still performance-based, and your equity incentives have lost their meaning."

An Fusheng: "..."

Xu Sannian: "Besides, how can performance be compared to equity? Equity is permanent, it's always tied to the company's development, and the better the company develops, the more autonomous it becomes, deviating from the boss's wishes. Performance, on the other hand, isn't protected by law. The boss can give it away whenever he wants, and if he doesn't want to, there's nothing anyone can do. Who knows if the boss will suddenly change his mind after saying all this? It's like people looking for a job; they'd rather find a low-paying job with a permanent position than a high-paying job without a permanent position. Do you know why? Because it's unstable and they don't feel secure."

An Fusheng: "Then... can the branch stores have equity stakes?"

“No, the law doesn’t allow it, but…” Xu Sannian suddenly became excited: “We can set up virtual equity in the branches!”

An Fusheng suddenly realized: "Oh right, I never thought of that. This way, the rights and interests of the equity owners can be tied to the company without the need for actual equity transfer, and it will not dilute the company's actual equity or affect the decision-making power of the actual shareholders."

Xu Sannian: "Yes, yes, yes!"

The two hit it off immediately, but there was no time for a more detailed discussion. They were about to start work, and chefs would be coming to interview them soon. Their immediate priority was to assess the chefs' management skills.

After discussing for nearly two hours, the two finally determined the key points of the assessment, and then the first interviewee arrived.

An Fusheng, Xu Sannian, and Zhao Lin served as interviewers. The three first conducted inquiries and communication to understand the interviewee's years of experience, preferred cuisine, core skills, communication skills, management skills, etc., and made a preliminary assessment of the interviewee. If the preliminary assessment was qualified, An Fusheng would then assess the interviewee's practical skills.

One after another, the team interviewed a total of ten people in one day. After the interviews, the three interviewees made a final evaluation of all the interviewees and finally selected two candidates for employment.

After the interview, An Fusheng continued to discuss the stock incentive mechanism for core employees with Xu Sannian. By 7 p.m., the two had finally finalized the general framework of the plan.

With their brains working at high speed all day and on the verge of crashing, Xu San said, "Let's leave it at that for now. I'll take the plan back and have my parents take a look. We can discuss any shortcomings tomorrow. It would take a whole team several months to work on this kind of plan, but the two of us finished it in a day."

An Fusheng: "It's just a framework. It will take a lot of time to fill in the details. I estimate that a lot of research will be needed. It would be good if it could be done in a few months."

Xu Sannian: "Ah—stop talking, I'm going home."

An Fusheng smiled and said, "Okay, let's go home now. You've worked hard today."

An Fusheng also had to go home for a family meeting.

Today is Friday, and Ji Fengnian only needs to train until six o'clock. When An Fusheng got home, everyone was already home.

When the younger children saw An Fusheng return, they all rushed to him, saying, "Big brother, let me give you a massage," but actually they were all leaning on An Fusheng.

"Alright, everyone's here, let's start the meeting," Wen Min said.

The whole family agrees that meetings are serious matters.

As soon as Wen Min gave the order, everyone sat down on their own.

Wen Min counted the heads and said, "Okay, there are 13 people who should be here for today's family meeting, and 14 people are here. Aunt Shengsheng is attending the meeting as a relative."

“Okay, welcome Aunt Shengsheng to our family meeting.” Lou Lan led the applause.

Everyone joined in the applause, "Clap clap clap..."

"Okay." After the applause, Wen Min began her formal speech, "The reason we're having this meeting today is to tell everyone that Xiao Ba's parents will be coming to pick him up tomorrow. Today will be the last day we live with him. He's been with us for a year and a half now. In that time, he's grown taller and his teeth have become straight. We've also developed a deep bond with him. Now he's going to his own home. Let's give him a round of applause and wish him happiness and success in the future, okay?"

"My little brother can say a lot of words now!"

"My younger brother has also learned to run and ride a bike, and Afu can't outrun him!"

Wow, my little brother is amazing!

Everyone applauded Wen Xinglan.

Seeing everyone applauding, Wen Xinglan happily clapped along with them.

Wen Xingmou raised her hand: "Mom Wen, will my little brother come back after his parents took him away?"

Before Wen Min could answer, An Shisi said, "Of course they will. His parents will bring him back when it gets dark."

Although it was a cruel thing, Wen Min didn't want to lie to them, "This time, my brother won't be coming back."

An Shisi didn't believe it: "Why? Where does he sleep at night?"

Wen Min: "He now has his own home, and from now on he will sleep in his own home with his parents."

Wen Xingmou asked, "Isn't the orphanage our home? Why does my brother need to go to another home?"

Wen Min: "The orphanage is everyone's home, but the younger brother is going to his own home."

An Shisi seemed to have understood, or rather, he had always understood, but was unwilling to believe it: "Why don't I have a home of my own?"

After a moment of silence, Wen Min said, "It will happen, but it's not the right time yet."

An Shisi's eyes lit up: "Why? Is it because my mom and dad haven't come to pick us up yet?"

Wen Min: "Mm."

An Shisi: "When are they coming? Why haven't they arrived yet?"

Wen Min said, "Because this is a very important matter, we need to choose a good time, and they haven't chosen a time yet."

Wen Xingmou also got excited: "What about me? Do I also have a mom and dad? Will my mom and dad come to pick me up?"

Wen Min: "They will all."

The two younger ones were innocent and naive, while the older ones remained silent. They knew they would never have a father or mother.

Hearing the voice and noticing the atmosphere growing heavy, he pretended to scold, "You two ungrateful little brats! The whole family lives with you every day, and you don't even think about us. All you think about is your mom and dad. What? You want to stop playing with us after you have a mom and dad?"

Wen Xingmou loudly explained, "No! I have a mom and dad, and I still play with my mom, my mom, my older brother and sister, and I'm also close to Aunt Shengsheng!"

An Shisi also loudly declared, "Me too!"

Hearing the voice, she said, "Really? I don't believe it at all."

Wen Xingmou rushed over to Wen Yusheng in a hurry: "Oh dear, Aunt Shengsheng, you believe me, you believe me."

Hearing the voice, he said, "I don't believe it. I don't believe it at all."

"Auntie, believe us, believe us now, we're not lying to you." An Shisi rushed over and tackled Wen Yusheng to the ground.

Hearing the voice, she cried out "Oh dear, oh dear!" and refused to believe it. An Shisi and Wen Xingmou lay on her body and rubbed her to make her believe it. Wen Xinglan and Wen Xingrui, seeing that it was fun, also ran over to add pressure.

Bai Mangmang and Wen Xinglin saw that Wen Yusheng was in a terrible state, so they rushed over to save her. However, the two of them were no match for the four little devils and ended up rolling around on the ground.

The group of people who were sitting and watching the excitement initially directed Bai Mangmang and Wen Xinglin on how to rescue Wen Yusheng. However, as they continued to direct, someone betrayed them, and they gradually split into two evenly matched factions. The battle intensified, and everyone laughed and joked, finally easing the tension.

...