Xu An couldn't remember how many names he signed in total, only that there were a huge, countless ones. By the end, Xu An felt like he had become a ruthless signature machine, meticulously signing his name stroke by stroke in the designated place on every document and stamping it with the company seal.
Normally, Xu An's loan application would take 1-30 business days to be approved. However, Zhou Yaodong learned that Xu An urgently needed the money, so he gritted his teeth and promised to expedite the process, hoping to complete all procedures within a week.
Xu An's only complaint was that after the bank's formal approval, the loan amount he could obtain was only 960,000 yuan, 40,000 yuan less than expected. Compared to 960,000 yuan, 40,000 yuan was indeed not much, but if he managed to scrape together the money, he could buy a new insulated food truck.
After all the contracts were signed and all the important clauses were explained, Xu An, accompanied by Zhou Yaodong, left the VIP room, walked out of the Haishi Bank gate, and headed towards...
As he slowly retracted his foot and landed, Xu An rubbed his eyes in disbelief, turning blankly to Zhou Yaodong beside him, hoping for an explanation. At that moment, Xu An's thin frame was securely strapped to the back seat of the vehicle with three 10-pound bags of Wuchang rice, four 5-liter containers of peanut oil, a beautifully packaged tea set, and two boxes of Da Hong Pao tea. The front basket hadn't been overlooked either, filled with noodles, eggs, and other small items.
"It's just a small token, a small token, hehe." Zhou Yaodong chuckled ingratiatingly, rubbing his hands together, but his expression was unusually proud. Indeed, to be able to secure so many things firmly to the back seat of a bicycle with a single rope was truly an impressive skill. Xu An even wondered if Zhou Yaodong could have filled the small truck to the brim if he had driven there today.
On his way back, Xu An felt more dashing than ever before in his two lives. Passersby, speeding vehicles, and even sparrows resting on telephone poles couldn't help but glance at him a few more times.
With only two days left until the Shanghai Machinery Expo officially begins, the shop is busier than ever with work. Xu An has no plans for the next two days, spending all his time in the shop making final preparations for the six-day expo, ensuring nothing goes wrong. Even if something does happen, he can use PNB to resolve it promptly.
Over six days, 42,000 sets of boxed meals were packaged and produced, and Xu An needed to count and put them into the warehouse. Xu An found suppliers and placed orders for all the ingredients needed for the menu over the next six days, including rice, flour, cooking oil, fruits, vegetables, meat, and frozen products. After two whole days of work, he finally got everything arranged.
At 6:00 AM on August 1st, the roller shutters of all three Xu's Fast Food restaurants opened simultaneously, and the lights inside turned on at the same time. All employees were in place, all ingredients were ready, and all machines were cleaned. Let's get started!
Following Xu An's instructions, everyone took their assigned posts. Liang Dani and others were responsible for unpacking boxes of fruits and vegetables and handing them to Aunt He and the others; Aunt He and the others oversaw the three machines, feeding, washing, peeling, and finally transforming the fruits and vegetables into the forms needed for cooking; Liu Daxi led his team to cut meat, chop bones for soup, and wash rice for cooking; everyone was like a cog in the machine of Xu's Fast Food Restaurant, driving everything to operate rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, freshly picked fruits and vegetables, still covered in dew and soil, were transformed into bowls of delicious dishes.
Liang Dani and her team, responsible for moving the ingredients, along with Aunt He and others responsible for processing them, washed their hands, put on rubber gloves, and joined the assembly line of packing boxed meals. Xu Kang and Xu Le sat at the front of the table, solemnly arranging the boxed meals and soup containers one by one; Aunt He and Liang Dani each led a team to serve the food, put on lids, label the meals, and pack them by category.
With over twenty people working together, they finally prepared 6,837 boxed meals for the two transfer stations, three construction site booths, and the expo before 10:30. The tense atmosphere in Xu's Fast Food Restaurant vanished, the sense of urgency disappeared, and adrenaline levels returned to normal. Only after the task was completed and everyone relaxed did they belatedly realize that their backs were drenched in cold sweat and their hands were trembling slightly.
Xu An, who was in charge of the supervision and on-site coordination, felt quite weak after relaxing. It was like running a marathon that challenged himself to the limit—exhilarating yet incredibly exhausting. Seeing everyone's tired expressions, Xu An didn't mince words and simply waved his hand, declaring that everyone in the store would have their wages doubled for the six days of the expo!
Upon hearing this, everyone's cold sweat stopped, their hands stopped trembling, their weakness subsided, and their spirits lifted. Indeed, money is the best medicine for all ailments! See how effective it is!
After lunch, Uncle Guosheng was in charge of delivering boxed meals to two transfer stations and three stalls, while Xu An and Wang Datou drove a refrigerated truck to the Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Center.
After a satisfying meal, people tend to feel sleepy. To avoid any unexpected situations, Xu An tried to keep Wang Datou occupied with various topics of conversation. Perhaps due to the significant age gap, Wang Datou wasn't very interested in the topics Xu An brought up, only offering "uh-huhs" and "ohs" to show he was listening attentively without actually participating in the discussion. However, when the conversation turned to his previous job at the slaughterhouse, Wang Datou's eyes shone brighter than car headlights in the night.
"I started working at the slaughterhouse when I was twenty-five. Back then, it was a job that many people dreamed of. Other families were considered well-off if they could afford meat once a month, but the butchers at the slaughterhouse could have meat every week. Oh, all those scraps, fried up at home, the aroma would waft for miles, enough to make the whole village swoon. Back then, anyone over twenty-five who wasn't married was considered a serious problem, practically destined to never get married. But once I started working at the slaughterhouse, the aroma of that meat every week was so enticing that matchmakers practically wore down my doorstep! Don't let my current appearance fool you; I wasn't exactly handsome when I was young either, but my wife is one in a million!"
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