While it was still early, He Wenlin held a brief meeting with all of them and assigned tasks.
Everyone has to do the washing and cutting at the front, without specific division of labor. However, He Shan and Lin Fei are mainly responsible for setting up the stall. They depart at 11:50 am every day and at 5:25 pm in the afternoon.
My younger brother and He Jian were mainly responsible for packing and distributing meals to customers based on the receipts.
He Qian assisted by delivering goods to the stall owners along the way. In addition, He Qian was also responsible for taking orders, collecting money, and writing receipts.
"When you go out to set up a stall, you must keep a close eye on your wallet, watch out for pickpockets, and also be careful not to receive counterfeit money." He Wenlin then taught them how to identify counterfeit money on the spot.
I also told them about several tricks scammers use with counterfeit money to warn them to be more vigilant.
People like them, who are quite young, are most likely to be targeted when they go out to set up stalls.
He Wenlin had no choice but to give him a thorough lecture.
"And Sisi, you're in charge of taking reservations. When customers come to pick up their meals, you must loudly proclaim that they should continue to pay for their reservations. We only make a limited number of meals each day, and if they don't pre-order, they might not be able to buy any. Our meals sell out very quickly, and pre-ordering means they don't have to queue up in the scorching sun to buy them. Also, you must tell customers that they need a receipt to pick up their meals; without a receipt, we won't accept them."
"Okay, I understand."
Do you make boxed lunches here?
A meeting was in progress when a girl arrived; she looked even younger than He Wenlin.
He Wenlin greeted her warmly: "Yes, we sell boxed lunches here. Beautiful lady, would you like to buy a boxed lunch? Our boxed lunches are only three yuan a serving, affordable and delicious, with the home-style flavor of Hunan province."
"Huh? Wasn't it 2.8 yuan? The price went up?"
"No price increase, no price increase, beautiful lady. If you cook your own rice and only buy vegetables, it's 2.8 yuan. If you want to buy both vegetables and rice, it's 3 yuan."
"I work in the same factory as your mom, and I'm even in the same group as her. Can you give me a discount?"
Oh, so it's from the Persian Garment Factory.
In this era, it's common for people of this age to drop out of school and start working, so He Wenlin wasn't surprised at all.
"I'm sorry, beautiful lady, this is a small business, and I only make a hard-earned living. I can't offer discounts. You and my mom are in the same group, so you should know that. My neighbors and fellow villagers don't get discounts either."
"Okay then, order five servings for me, no rice."
"It's fourteen yuan in total, thank you." He Wenlin took out her receipt book, wrote down her name, the quantity, indicated that it was Chinese food, and how much it cost, then tore off a receipt for her.
"Miss, just come and pick up your food with this slip later."
"Okay, thank you."
As soon as the pretty girl left, a man came. He had albinism, so he was very recognizable. He Wenlin remembered him; he also worked at the Bosi Garment Factory, doing tailoring.
He also ordered three boxed meals, without rice. The three meals cost a total of eight yuan and forty cents. Since four sounds bad, He Wenlin only charged him eight yuan and forty cents and gave him a receipt.
He Shan said excitedly, "Linlin, if you count that, we've already pre-ordered thirty-three meals today!"
"Yes, so we have a lot of work to do this noon. Including our own meals, we need to make at least 130 servings. Let's get moving!"
He Wenlin was worried that there wouldn't be enough vegetables, so she asked He Qian to wash and chop two more pounds of chili peppers.
If we have extra eggs at home and not enough vegetables, we can make stir-fried eggs with green peppers. This dish cooks quickly.
At 10:20, He Wenlin started cooking.
At 10:40, they started packing up the rice.
At 11 o'clock, they started packing the food.
With Lin Fei joining, efficiency improved rapidly, and everyone was less tired.
At 11:50, He Shan and Lin Fei went out with seventy packed lunch boxes. That was all the food they had for the stall at noon today, so He Qian didn't need to deliver any more.
He Qian, along with her two younger brothers, continued packing; there were still dozens of pre-ordered meals that hadn't been packed yet.
At 12:10, the customers who had made reservations began to arrive one after another.
He Qian distributed the meals to them based on the receipts.
He Wenlin was still stir-frying noodles by the stove.
The whole store was bustling with activity.
Mr. and Mrs. He couldn't even squeeze in.
He Wenlin had anticipated this, so they had placed their food next door in advance.
At 12:15, the last three servings of stir-fried noodles were ready, and today's lunch task was finally completed.
Because He Wenlin doesn't offer dine-in service, everyone takes their meals home to eat. By 12:20, all the meals were taken, and there were no more customers at He Wenlin's place.
He Wenlin was almost exhausted, but felt a great sense of accomplishment.
When He Wenlin's parents saw that she was covered in sweat, they felt sorry for her.
"If you're too tired, do less," said Aunt He with concern.
He Wenlin washed her face: "Making money is never easy."
Money is hard to earn, and life is tough. In her past life, He Wenlin, a rural girl with no education or family background, already deeply understood this.
Right now, it's just physical exhaustion, but she can still manage.
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