"Linlin has more and more employees now, it seems like business is doing quite well," Uncle He Xing said.

"It looks like a lot of people are buying, but right now we're only making money on equipment."

Aunt He added, "We haven't even made back the money for the equipment yet, and they asked me for 500 yuan today."

Mr. He: "It would be good if you could earn back 500 yuan before school starts. I work myself to the bone, and all the money I earn goes to snacks and cola."

He Wenlin had no way to refute it, nor would she.

Mr. and Mrs. He said this for He Wenlin's own good, because it's best not to flaunt one's wealth.

"Linlin, we've missed two orders tonight, so we only have thirty-one left: twenty boxed meals and eleven fried noodles. Here's the money." He Qian handed the money to He Wenlin.

He Wenlin counted it; it totaled 72.5 yuan, exactly as advertised.

"Thank you all for your hard work today. Please go over there and have dinner," He Wenlin said.

"There's no more food," said Aunt He. "We've finished eating."

"That was originally meant for the four of you. We've already saved some for ourselves. We can just stir-fry some green peppers and eggs, and the peppers are already chopped."

After saying that, He Wenlin turned on the stove, heated the pan, and added oil.

The four adults had already finished eating, but the other six hadn't eaten yet.

He Wenlin made a big bowl of rice and stir-fried eggs with green peppers.

He Wenlin suddenly realized that she seemed to be eating eggs almost every day, and she had to change it tomorrow! No, she had to change it this afternoon!

The stir-fried green peppers and eggs are ready, and He Shan and Lin Fei are back.

"Linlin, here you go, they're all sold out." Lin Fei said excitedly.

He had calculated that if he sold 150 boxes a day, his commission plus salary would amount to thirty yuan a day. The key point was that it also included food and accommodation, so the income was quite good.

"You've worked hard. Come on, let's go eat."

He Wenlin carried the dishes to the next room.

Just as the group sat down, another person arrived and ordered three boxed meals, also from He Ma's factory.

Without rice, the total was eight yuan and forty cents, but He Wenlin still only charged eight yuan and three cents, avoiding the four.

"The increasing number of bookings is a good sign," He Shan said, genuinely pleased with He Wenlin.

"I hope business gets better and better. Tonight, Shanshan, after you finish selling, buy a watermelon and we'll eat it together. Let's eat first, I'm starving."

After the meal, the group counted their money, and there was a total of 402.7 yuan in their bags.

"It's three yuan and three jiao short."

They had 200 yuan in change in their bag. Today they took out 70 boxed meals, and when they came back, there were no more dishes left, only 20 servings of rice. That means today's revenue was 3×50+2.8×20=206 yuan.

Adding the two hundred in the bag, it should be 406.

But now it's only 402.7 yuan.

Upon hearing this, Lin Fei and He Shan hurriedly said, "We didn't take it."

"I called you here because I trust you. Don't be nervous. It's normal for customers to give the wrong change or skip out on their bill. As I said before, I will accept any difference within two yuan. If it exceeds that, I will deduct my commission. You agreed to that before."

In other words, if the 3.3 yuan doesn't match up today, He Wenlin will bear 2 yuan, and the remaining 1.3 yuan will be deducted from their commission.

Although they have a good relationship, they keep things separate and refuse to take any responsibility for their mistakes. He Wenlin is also worried that they won't be serious enough in the future.

"Little brother, you wash the dishes. Xiao Jian, clean up the trash outside. We run a restaurant, so we have to keep it clean and tidy." He Wenlin began assigning tasks. "The rest of us, the older folks, will tidy things up and nail red, white, and blue waterproof tarpaulin to the whole wall. We can't let this affect our afternoon business, so we need to speed things up."

Without further ado, He Wenlin led them to move the things aside first.

"Linlin, we need to find a ladder, otherwise we won't be able to reach it," He Shan said.

Lin Fei is 1.7 meters tall, while the girls are all under 1.6 meters tall. Even if they stand on the table, they can't reach it, as the table is only one meter high.

"I'll go borrow a ladder from the landlord..."

Before He Wenlin could finish speaking, she heard the landlady's voice: "Little girl."

"Grandma Wang."

"You didn't say you were going to make boxed lunches when you rented the place. This much oil and smoke will ruin the house."

"Grandma Wang, don't worry. Look, I bought red, white and blue waterproof cloth. I will cover this entire wall with double layers of waterproof cloth. I will also paste newspapers around the stove and update them every day. It won't damage your wall with smoke. Don't worry."

Grandma Wang glanced around and found that they had indeed moved the things aside and were preparing to nail the waterproof cloth to the wall.

As a landlord, the biggest fear is that tenants will not take good care of the property.

He Wenlin's actions made the landlady, Grandma Wang, feel very comfortable.

"Grandma Wang, do you have a ladder? Could I borrow it? We're not tall enough."

"Okay, come to my house and get it."

"Thank you, Grandma Wang."

He Wenlin and Lin Fei then went and brought over two stepladders.

The landlady, Grandma Wang, lives in a three-story building not far from here. She also has rooms for rent in her building, but the rent is a little more expensive.

He Wenlin saw some precast concrete slabs piled up in her yard and asked, "Grandma Wang, could you sell me a few precast concrete slabs? You see, I have to wash so many vegetables every day, and the area around my house is all muddy, so it gets wet and dirty every day. If I lay precast concrete slabs on the vegetable washing area, it will be much cleaner."

A precast concrete slab is not light, nor is it worth much. Even if He Wenlin and her family move out in the future and stop renting, they won't take this thing with them. So, by selling a few slabs to He Wenlin, the landlord is actually making a profit.

Grandma Wang understood this as well, and said, "30 yuan a piece."

"Grandma Wang, can you make it cheaper? If I don't rent it out in the future, I won't take it with me. It's still yours. It's 25 yuan a piece, but I want it for 5 yuan. Can you find someone to help me move it? We are a bunch of kids and we can't carry it all."

Grandma Wang hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, Grandma Wang."

He Wenlin and Lin Fei carried the ladder away, and in less than twenty minutes, Grandma Wang found someone to carry the precast concrete slabs back.

He Wenlin washes vegetables on the side of the house because the front is where guests come to pick up their meals, so it has to be clean and tidy.

Five precast slabs were arranged by two people hired by Grandma Wang, who made five trips to place them according to He Wenlin's instructions.

"Thank you, gentlemen. You've worked hard."

After putting the items away, He Wenlin paid Grandma Wang.

He Wenlin quickly went back inside and worked with her friends on the waterproof cloth.

It took an hour of effort to finally nail the waterproof tarpaulin in place.

Then it took another hour to tidy up the room.

The tidied-up house looks much cleaner and more spacious.

The landlady, Grandma Wang, even came to take a look, seemed quite satisfied, and left without saying anything.

He Wenlin only hopes that business will improve and that the landlord won't take the opportunity to raise the rent. Even though she has a contract, it can't stop unscrupulous people from taking advantage of the situation.