Zhang Xuemei hadn't thought about this issue yet, but she really wanted to bring it up with Teacher Chen, although there was a high probability that he wouldn't be willing.

Zhao Chunhua objected upon hearing this, "Boss Zhang, what this young man said makes sense. The school used to collect the meal ticket money, and the monthly settlement was always delayed, taking about two months to be settled. The cafeteria owner could only delay paying wages as well, and we workers were the ones who suffered. It would be great if we could collect the money and sell it ourselves."

“Yes, the school has to go through this procedure and that procedure, it’s too troublesome,” Li Baocheng added, mainly because it delays his monthly salary payment.

Zhang Xuemei was surprised by the extent of everyone's resentment. A surge of joy filled her; this made things much easier. Feigning difficulty, she said, "I don't think the school might agree. After all, we've already signed the contract, and they..."

"Don't worry, Mr. Zhang. If the school doesn't agree, we'll talk to them. Otherwise, we'll pretend to quit. They'll be afraid the cafeteria won't be able to open, so they'll agree." Li Baocheng thought he had come up with a good idea.

"It hasn't come to that yet. I'll talk to the school first." Zhang Xuemei thought she couldn't start that, in case they threatened her like that later.

"Now let's go back to the layout of the cafeteria. I've seen it before. There are only a few tables at the food serving area. It's okay in the summer, but in the winter, the food will probably get cold in less than two minutes. So I'm thinking of customizing cabinets specifically for storing food, with hot water at the bottom and the food plates placed directly on top, so that the food stays warm for a longer time."

Zhang Xuemei was referring to the basic food serving station in a canteen or fast food restaurant in later generations; it's unclear whether it's still possible to replicate that today.

Zhao Chunhua nudged Liu Yuefen's hand and asked, "Hey, Yuefen, I heard you mention before that your uncle's shop has made cabinets like this for people, right? You even said it would be great if our cafeteria had cabinets like this too."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xuemei immediately looked at Liu Yuefen and asked, "Sister Liu, does your uncle's family really make cabinets like this?"

Liu Yuefen glanced at Zhang Xuemei shyly, hesitated for a moment before nodding and saying, "I only heard about it from my uncle, but I haven't seen the actual thing..."

Seeing this, Xu Minghe quickly chimed in, "Why don't you take us to see it later, Sister Liu? If it's feasible, we can have it made at your uncle's shop."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yuefen nodded repeatedly, thinking that if it worked out, it would be a great way to bring business to her uncle's shop.

"Alright, Minghe, you and Yanhong can take care of this matter. As for the cement floor behind the kitchen, I think we should leave it to our eldest brother and the others. They can also lay the kitchen floor while they're at it, so it'll be easier to clean that way."

We also need to buy two large freezers. I saw there's a storage shed in the backyard, right? We can tidy it up and use it to store the freezers, and then buy a refrigerator to put there too. That way, even if it gets hot, the food won't spoil quickly.

Although this will cost more money, it will save a lot of trouble. At least you can buy more frozen food and store it in the freezer instead of buying it every day.

Li Baocheng stood up excitedly, "That's wonderful! With a refrigerator, we can cook some mung bean soup for the students in the summer, and it would be even more refreshing with some ice." Of course, it would also be convenient for them to eat an iced watermelon when it's hot. What a great thing! Boss Zhang is so generous.

Seeing his excitement, Zhang Xuemei immediately reminded him, "But it can't be too cold. They're all children; their stomachs won't be able to handle eating something too cold all at once."

Li Baocheng laughed, "Don't worry, Mr. Zhang, it won't get too cold. It'll just be a little more refreshing than room temperature."

"Okay, that's good. There are still about ten days before school starts. So, you guys can help find people who are willing to work in the cafeteria. This is my home phone number. Just call me if you need anything. There's usually someone home at my house."

After giving them her home phone number, Zhang Xuemei parted ways with them and hurried off to Teacher Chen's house, as the issue of meal tickets was still unresolved.

As luck would have it, just as Zhang Xuemei arrived downstairs from Teacher Chen's building, she saw four or five people gathered around a small table. Zhang Xuemei tiptoed and took a closer look, and lo and behold, the one craning his neck to look inside was Teacher Chen!

So he stepped forward, tugged at his sleeve, and whispered, "Teacher Chen,"

"Who is it? I'm busy!" Teacher Chen said without turning her head. As if remembering something, she suddenly turned to look at Zhang Xuemei. "Oh, I was wondering why that name sounded so familiar. It's Boss Zhang. What's up? You've finished everything?"

"Yes, everything is basically agreed upon, but there are still a few things I need to discuss with you."

Teacher Chen glanced back at the chessboard, estimated the time, and then replied, "Then come with me to the tree over there and we'll talk."

Zhang Xuemei glanced at the spot he was pointing to; it wasn't far, so she wouldn't have to climb the stairs.

"Just tell me if there's anything I can help you with."

Seeing that he was being so direct, Zhang Xuemei stopped beating around the bush. "Teacher Chen, it's like this. I heard that the student meal tickets were previously purchased from the school's finance office. This might make it inconvenient for us to receive payments. There's nothing else to it, but I'm worried about delaying the employees' paychecks."

So I was thinking, could we give this right to ourselves? I've already thought it through: we'll carve out a small, private room in a corner on the first floor of the cafeteria specifically for selling meal tickets. This way, it won't increase the workload of the school's finance department, and it'll be convenient for us too. What do you think?

For a moment, Teacher Chen really didn't know how to answer him. Although she was in charge of the cafeteria contracting, she didn't handle the financial matters. How should she reply to him?

"Teacher Chen, who is in charge of this matter? Could you please take me to him so I can discuss it with him?" Zhang Xuemei said after seeing Teacher Chen's troubled expression.

After thinking for a moment, Teacher Chen replied, "Well, Mr. Zhang, can I get back to you tomorrow or the day after? This isn't something I can decide on my own, since money is a sensitive topic."

"Okay, I'll wait for your news." Zhang Xuemei didn't disturb Teacher Chen's chess game. She said goodbye and took a taxi home. She had been running around all day and deserved a rest.

That evening, everyone agreed to have dinner at Zhang Xuemei's house and discuss how to divide the profits from their partnership.

Xu Minghan knew they were involved in contracting out the canteen, but he didn't know it was done so quickly. Looking at his wife sitting on the sofa writing and drawing, he couldn't help but ask, "Xuemei, you've gone to contract out the canteen, what about Yongqing's shop? Aren't you going to look after it yourself?"