Xu Zhi's arrival made the house much more lively.

After resting at home for two days, Xu Zhi found some time to invite her parents and younger brother together and took out the scoring plan that Xu Di had written for her.

After carefully reviewing it, Xu Rao pondered for a long time and said, "Xiao Jiu, this matter can make money if done well, but the most difficult part is managing the personnel."

Xu Zhi nodded, thinking of Xu Di's words, and said, "Father, I know. My brother also said that after training people, loyalty is the most important thing. If this can make money, many people will think about how to get the money-making method and how to poach the people I have trained."

Nowadays, there's no concept of intellectual property rights. Once you learn a skill, you learn it. Otherwise, why would many craftsmen have such strict requirements for recruiting apprentices, and why would they like to hold back some skills when teaching their apprentices? It's all so that if they teach their apprentices, they'll starve themselves.

Xu Zhi looked distressed and said, "Of course I understand this principle, otherwise I wouldn't have asked my parents and younger brother for their opinions."

Xu Bai was originally an engineering student and was really not good at doing business. Chen Zhaoci was even worse; she was a surgeon and devoted herself to academic surgeries all day long. In fact, she was not as good as Xu Bai in this respect.

Xu Rao held a large teacup in her hand, gently stroking its smooth surface with her fingers. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Xiao Jiu, this matter is actually quite complicated. Putting aside everything else, just the training of staff, the selection of the store location, and the decoration of the store, there are so many things that will require you to put in a lot of effort."

Xu Zhi naturally understood that nothing is easy, so she nodded and said to Xu Rao, "Father, I know. No matter how many things there are, if we do them one by one, we can always get them done."

Xu Zhi had been thinking about it all the way here, and she was inclined to Xu Di's method of training a general manager.

Once the general manager is properly trained, one general manager will be stationed in each branch location. The general manager will then recruit store employees locally and be responsible for all store affairs. They will submit an account to Xu Zhi every six months or a year.

Most importantly, a supervisory and inspection department should be established to conduct unscheduled inspections of these stores. The inspections should cover all aspects of the store's operations, but the most important thing is the store's accounting books. After all, the purpose of opening a store is to make money, so why bother with so much work if not to make money?

After Xu Zhi shared her thoughts, Xu Rao and Xu Bai discussed them carefully and concluded that, given the current situation, this was the only option.

What Xu Zhi needs to do now is to recruit a group of subordinates who are very loyal to her.

In previous years, the border was not as secure as it is now. Barbarian tribes from beyond the pass frequently raided and ravaged many areas along the border, leaving behind many widows and orphans.

Xu Rao and Xu Zhi both had their eyes on these people, especially the younger ones. With proper training, they might become useful people in the future.

Now that she had a direction, Xu Zhi got busy the next day.

Liaodong Prefecture had orphanages funded by the government, which were generally for the elderly and children who had lost their loved ones.

Xu Zhi led her men and spent several days touring all the orphanages under the jurisdiction of Liaodong Prefecture. They found more than twenty children around ten years old, both boys and girls, and brought them all into a large courtyard rented in Liaodong Prefecture.

Natural disasters and man-made calamities have caused many families to be torn apart and many children to die. The young children, who lack the ability to survive, will be sent by the village head to the orphanage designated by the government if they have no relatives to rely on. They will stay there until they are over ten years old and can support themselves, and then they can leave or return to their original villages, return the land they once owned, and make a living by farming, or find a job to make a living. In short, these orphaned children cannot be left without care.

The orphanage was funded by the government. Some wealthy families would also donate money and goods to the orphanage in order to do good deeds. However, the conditions were limited, and it was just enough to ensure that the children had food to eat and wouldn't starve. As for life inside, it was really not a very pleasant experience.

Every time Xu Zhi visited a family, she would explain to these children, who were around ten years old, that she would teach them how to make a living after taking them out of the orphanage, but they would also have to give her their loyalty. These children had experienced many twists and turns and had seen the coldness of the world at a young age. If a piece of driftwood was extended in front of them, they would naturally grab it tightly.

After Xu Zhi gave a brief explanation, those who had reached the required age naturally signed up enthusiastically. However, since the goal was to cultivate trusted confidants and build a foundation for her career, the candidates still needed to be carefully selected. But seeing those thin children looking at her with such longing, Xu Zhi couldn't bring herself to reject anyone. In the end, she simply set an age limit: if those who reached the required age were willing to follow her, then they could follow her.

The person has been found; the next step is training.

It's not just about training people in making pastries; it's also about training them in management skills and, most importantly, interpersonal skills. In the future, this group will form Xu Zhi's core team. The expansion of her business will require these people to mentor and guide her. Once these people are trained, more talent will emerge.

Xu Zhi felt she had really gone to great lengths to raise these children.

Because of poor nutrition, these children were not in good health. After being brought over, the children were cleaned up and dressed in uniform. Chen Zhaoci then had Bai Wei bring people to examine the children. The results showed that they were all malnourished, and some were even experiencing developmental problems. Several children even received prescriptions on the spot.

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