Zhang Dezhen returned to his residence in a daze, and spent the afternoon feeling restless and uneasy.
One moment he felt that getting the 20,000 yuan buyout was already pretty good; the next he was fantasizing that if Xu's Fast Food's braised food shop became a huge success and sold tens of thousands of items, wouldn't he have lost a lot if he had chosen to buy out the business?
After pacing around his cramped apartment 108 times, Zhang Dezhen finally took out his phone and called his wife.
"Hey, Meng, yes, there's something I can't figure out, can you help me take a look?"
As Zhang Dezhen recounted the entire story in detail, the breathing on the other end of the phone became heavy and rapid: "Is what you're saying true?"
“Yes, I say this recipe is a family heirloom, but everyone here processes it pretty much the same way. It’s already quite remarkable that such a recipe can sell for 20,000 yuan.” Then Zhang Dezhen changed the subject: “But the boss has a good eye. He set up the fast food restaurant in just two or three months. Now he wants to open a braised food shop, maybe because he thinks there’s a market for it.”
After he finished speaking, his wife, who was on the other end of the line, fell silent, seemingly weighing the pros and cons of the two options.
But at that moment, a young male voice came from the other end of the microphone.
"Brother-in-law, since the boss opened an independent braised food shop because he thinks there's a market for it, why don't you go out and start your own business? You can keep whatever you earn, whether it's a lot or a little. Isn't that better than working for someone else?"
"What nonsense are you spouting!"
Immediately afterwards, I heard my wife scolding me and my brother-in-law retorting from the other end of the phone.
"I'm not right. Working for the boss is the same as working for yourself, so why give up this money-making opportunity to someone else?"
The following words became increasingly indistinct, and Zhang Dezhen did not hear them clearly, but there was no denying that his brother-in-law's words opened up new avenues of thought for him.
Indeed, whether you work for yourself or for a boss, it's all the same; if you work for yourself, you earn a thousand, that's a thousand; if you work for a boss, you only get fifty out of a thousand.
"Dezhen, don't listen to his nonsense. Our family can't afford to do this."
His wife's voice came through the microphone, waking Zhang Dezhen from his reverie.
“I didn’t tell you about your work troubles before. At the beginning of the month, our youngest son was hospitalized again. The doctors are urging us to have surgery as soon as possible, otherwise it will be dangerous. Mom, your foot has started hurting again recently. The medicine you got last time isn’t working, so you have to go to the hospital.”
His wife talked on and on, each word like a heavy hammer hitting Zhang Dezhen's heart, not only smashing the newly lit flames but also shattering the pile of firewood.
The question has returned to its original point: which one should we choose?
The couple fell silent.
They wanted both the 20,000 yuan buyout fee and the subsequent profit sharing.
In silence, Zhang Dezhen began pacing again in his cramped living room, circling around and around.
The 20,000 yuan is a buyout fee. Once you take this money, the sales will have nothing to do with you, regardless of whether they are good or bad.
Revenue sharing is a continuous source of income. If sales are good in the future, you can practically make money while lying down; but if sales are bad, you might not even be able to earn back the 20,000 yuan buyout fee.
Zhang Dezhen recalled when he first came to Xu's Fast Food Restaurant as a delivery rider. At that time, there was only one store, and the daily sales were only about 600 meals.
But now, in just over half a month, they have already rented a second and a third store; and their daily sales have increased from about 600 to more than 2,600.
The braised food shop will be located in the Yinxing office building. Zhang Dezhen knows this place; the rent there is exceptionally high.
Xu An must have confidence in his braised food, which is why he chose to open an independent braised food shop in this prime location.
Today, the boss even went out in a suit and tie to try and secure new orders. If they can get this new order, the daily sales of boxed meals will be four or five thousand.
If they can run a boxed lunch business so well, their braised food business must be doing just as well, right?
Zhang Dezhen bit his lip again and again until blood seeped from his lower lip. The blood slowly slid down his lip to his chin and dripped onto his chest, startling him from his thoughts.
Since opening my own shop seems hopeless, I might as well take a gamble and see if I can turn a bicycle into a motorcycle!
Near the Silver Star Office Building.
Xu An rode his electric tricycle aimlessly through the streets and alleys, searching for a shop with a suitable rent, size, and location.
From three o'clock to four o'clock, he looked at three or five shops, but none of them really met Xu An's needs.
Either the price is too high, or it's too big or too small, or the location is too remote.
If this is just a transit point for selling boxed meals, then being a little out of the way doesn't matter.
However, this shop will also be used to sell braised food after 2 pm, so it won't work if it's too out of the way.
After spending another twenty minutes wandering around two residential areas, Xu An finally gave up on the idea of finding a suitable shop today. Thirsty and tired, he found a convenience store, bought a bottle of water, and sat down to rest on a stone bench under the shade of a tree in front of the store.
Just then, two elderly men wearing white vests, flip-flops, and carrying palm-leaf fans walked towards the convenience store, arguing with each other as they went.
“I told you to just keep that room as a storage room. It’s small, not to mention the previous three or four shop owners all went out of business in less than three months. The feng shui of that room is bad, it’s not suitable for doing business.”
"Why is it unsuitable? I think the location is excellent. It's just that the previous shop owners had no luck, which brought bad luck to my prosperous house." The old man smacked his lips twice as he spoke: "I'll bring the radio over later and play the Great Compassion Mantra for a couple of days to drive away this bad luck."
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