"Let me take a look first."
After saying that, Li Jinyuan took the document and began to read it. He wrote and drew on the table with his fingers while muttering to himself. Seeing this, his assistant took out a pen and paper and handed them to Li Jinyuan.
As he examined each ingredient, Li Jinyuan's expression grew increasingly strange.
According to the ingredient list provided by Xu's Catering, each boxed meal would cost five or six yuan just for the ingredients. After deducting expenses such as labor, water, electricity, and rent, wouldn't the profit per boxed meal only be a few yuan? Is Mr. Xu opening this shop just to do charity?
Or, all the ingredients on the list are...
This reminded Li Jinyuan of the shameless practices of a food factory that had previously asked him to adjust its formula but ultimately did not use it. However, the factory used his name prominently in its advertising, but due to the terms of the contract, he could not come forward and tell everyone that the food factory had not used his formula at all.
Could it be that Xu's Catering is also harboring this kind of intention? To use its name to swindle and deceive?
Cough cough ————
Li Jinyuan's mind raced, and he finally came up with a suitable reason. After clearing his throat twice, he said, "Making a menu based on the ingredients on this list shouldn't be a problem. However, I'd like to go to the store to check out the specifics. Is that convenient for you?"
"Hmm," Xu An checked the time on his phone. "Xu's Fast Food Restaurant closes at 2 PM, and it's already 3:15. The shop is all packed up, both the ingredients and the equipment. Besides, Teacher Li, you have something to do at 4 PM, and it's at least a half-hour drive from here."
Listening to Xu An's series of flimsy reasons, Li Jinyuan became even more certain that Xu An wanted to use his name to swindle and deceive. Just as he was about to find an excuse to leave, Lu Shengnan handed a tablet to Li Jinyuan.
"Teacher Li, this is our shop's ordering website. The daily processes of purchasing, cleaning, processing, cooking, and packaging are recorded, edited, and uploaded to the website."
Lu Shengnan lightly tapped the video marked with the date 'October 11th', and the video automatically enlarged to fill the entire screen and began to play.
Although the recording time may reach three or four hours, after post-production editing, the videos uploaded to the website are all about five minutes long, so one video finishes playing quickly and the next video plays automatically.
Li Jinyuan randomly clicked on several videos and, seeing that the ingredients in most of them were different, finally felt relieved and smiled, "Mr. Xu, besides making appropriate meals according to age groups, do you have any other requirements? For example, do the ingredients need to be changed according to the season?"
Upon hearing Li Jinyuan's words, Xu An knew that the cooperation was secure.
After nearly half an hour of discussion about what to base the menu on, the two finally reached a preliminary agreement.
Lu Shengnan added or subtracted clauses from the contract based on the conversation between the two. By the time the two finished talking, a brand new contract had been drafted.
Among them, Xu's Catering's most pressing task is to provide the autumn menu for middle-aged and elderly people, which is scheduled to be delivered by November 15th, which is next Monday. This will allow them to start trying out the menu in the market starting next Monday.
——————
"The application report for the road from the town to Hezibao meets the construction standards and has been submitted to wait in line for construction!"
"When will I be able to get a turn?"
"It's hard to say. If things go smoothly, it might be approved after the New Year. If things go slowly, it might take until the end of next year, or even the year after next." The leader of the Hongshan City Poverty Alleviation Office glanced at Li Sixin and continued, "After all, some road repair applications from last year still haven't been approved and are still in the queue. It's hard to say, really hard to say."
"It'll take so long!" Li Si sighed and started playing the victim.
"Xu's Catering business is getting better and better, and the scope of acquisitions has expanded from Hezibao to the surrounding villages. The number of orders sent out every day is also increasing. What used to be a trip every two days by truck now requires a trip every day."
"But you know the road conditions from Hezibao to the city. Truck drivers are reluctant to make that trip; you have to beg them three or five times, offering extra pay and gifts like cigarettes and alcohol, before they'll agree to run it."
"This is already a big problem, but the even bigger problem is that the agricultural products are packed so tightly that they don't breathe! They'll spoil easily if left out for too long! Imagine if they all arrive spoiled and end up in the hands of consumers—that would not only ruin business, but also damage the reputation of Hongshan Town."
“.”
Li Sixin's words were so eloquent and grand that no one could find any way to refute them.
"You, you still have such a sharp tongue!"
Upon hearing this, the leader from the poverty alleviation office revealed a helpless smile, pointed his finger in the air at Li Sixin, and said with a wry smile.
"I know all that you're saying, but you know, it's nearly 200 kilometers from the town to Hezibao. If we calculate the cost of building a road at 10,000 yuan per kilometer, that's 2 million yuan! Not to mention how many mountains there are along the way. If we dig them up and level them, it'll easily cost at least 3 million yuan!"
"We'll repair as much as we can, and if all else fails, we can repair it all the way to Shitouzhuang first," Li Sixin said, undeterred, as he began to bargain.
"Hey!" The poverty alleviation office leader slapped his right hand in the air, interrupting Li Sixin's last sentence, and lowered his voice to say, "As long as Xu's Catering can operate steadily, once your greenhouses are built and the ghost peppers are harvested, road repairs won't be a problem!"
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