Contracted canteen
"Comrade Jian Jianan, on behalf of the organization, I must seriously criticize you. First, the organization is deeply disappointed in you. You previously promised your parents that your purchasing agency business wouldn't affect your school life, yet something like this happened today."
"Secondly, the organization hopes that you will keep up the good work and not be defeated by temporary setbacks. You must continue to maintain this spirit." Jian Jianan was sandwiched between his two parents with his head hung down, and listened obediently to the lecture.
Her little head couldn't understand why her parents were so angry when a new business suddenly appeared in the family. They clearly defended her in front of the teacher.
Jian Yangping knew very well what Jian Jianan was thinking. He had also been through the same age before. Besides, he went to work in a soap factory right after graduation. During the past ten years, he had led countless young men. They also had the same unconvinced reaction when they were criticized.
This silly girl, didn’t she see the stormy expression on her mother’s face? She was looking up at the school gate just now and asking for praise. If I hadn’t been so impatient and quickly called her and said the above words, Su Qinxuan might have severely punished her when she got home.
"Don't try to avoid the important point." Su Qinxuan glanced at Jian Yangping. "Is that what I want to talk about? I want to talk about Jian Jianan, who talked back to the teacher in front of so many people. If we weren't there, if it weren't for the kind-hearted Principal Xue, what do you think would have happened to her? Have you ever thought about it carefully? Even punishment and expulsion are possible. We went through so much trouble just to give these children a chance to go to school. You put the cart before the horse and almost caused a disaster!"
Jian Jianan then realized that she was afraid. As Su Qinxuan said, if she lost her chance to go to school just to earn some meager purchasing fees, it would be a loss.
Only then did Jian Jianan realize her mistake. She held her mother's hand and acted coquettishly, "Mom, mom, please forgive me. I won't dare to do it again. I will study hard in school and focus all my attention on studying."
After hearing this, Su Qinxuan softened her tone. "Nannan, Mom knows you've had a talent for making money since you were a child. It's all thanks to you that our little restaurant has grown to this point. But your most important task now is to study. You need to lay a solid foundation so you don't get cheated in the future. If you fail, you can rely on the new knowledge you've learned to get back on your feet."
She touched Jian Jianan's hair, straightened it, and continued, "Don't blame your mother for being strict and blocking your way to wealth."
Jian Jianan was almost moved to tears by her mother's words, but she burst into laughter when she heard this: "How could I blame my mother? I won't blame her at all! I would rather not get rich but have my family!" The atmosphere between the mother and daughter became normal, and Jian Yangping and his son who were watching nearby also relaxed a little.
Jian Jiabei showed off the text he had just memorized and came to Jian Jianan. "Zhuge Liang wrote, 'The former emperor died halfway through his career.' When I saw this ancient saying, I immediately thought of Nannan. She also died halfway through her career. What a coincidence."
He said this not just to tease his sister, but also to make his mother and Jian Jianan happy and stop having such ugly faces.
When Jian Jiabei didn't mean to irritate people, he was very good at talking. Jian Jianan and his mother Su Qinxuan were amused and laughed. The family set out on their journey home happily.
The two adults had to rush to the restaurant to do some finishing work, so Jian Jiabei took Jian Jianan back home.
After returning home, Jian Jianan immediately abandoned his brother who had just been following him and talking to him about everything, and ran back to his room.
Only Jian Jiabei was left glaring at him from behind, secretly cursing this little traitor in his heart. Who taught you to throw your brother away when he is no longer useful to you?
After a while, Jian Jiabei came down with a large quarto card and said to his brother happily, "Brother, come and help me see if my ideas are feasible."
Jian Jiabei took it and looked at it. The words on the card were a combination of pinyin and Chinese characters. The words that Jian Jianan couldn't write yet were all replaced by pinyin. He deciphered them one by one with great difficulty, and finally realized that this was a plan written by Jian Jianan about the contracting of the small restaurant and canteen at his family.
"How many people do we need to recruit? What kind of people do we need to recruit? Where can we buy the raw materials..." Jian Jiabei just wants to be alone now. Is his sister the God of Wealth who has descended to earth?
No, it’s not the God of Wealth, it’s a money-loving person who has come down to earth.
I had just promised my mother that I would study hard, but now I’m busy with business matters again.
"Didn't you just promise mom that you would stop doing these things and concentrate on studying? It's not even half a day yet and you've broken your promise." Jian Jiabei's mind was confused. He couldn't understand it either. He folded the cardboard first, folded it in half and placed it on the sofa.
Jian Jiannan argued convincingly and logically, "I did promise Mom that I wouldn't bother with unnecessary things, but I didn't say I wouldn't help make money. Besides, I'll give advice while also focusing on my studies. If all else fails, I still have Shan Jiqing to help me with my lessons. He's very quick-witted and learns very quickly."
Following his sister's words, Jian Jiabei's thoughts shifted a little to Shan Jiqing. This kid often stayed with his sister and had a low sense of presence. He didn't talk often, and you really didn't tell that he was that good at studying.
"Then..." Looking at Jian Jianan's hopeful eyes, Jian Jiabei's heart softened, and he could only say, "Okay, then wait for mom to come back and tell her yourself."
Jian Jianan got his brother's promise and nodded heavily: "Okay, I'll go talk to Mom myself."
Jian Jianan was really scared by the incident of calling her parents just now. Her parents didn’t want to undermine her confidence, for fear that she would never recover from it.
However, seeing Jian Jianan's lively and energetic appearance immediately restored, Su Qinxuan and Jian Yangping felt relieved and said to Jian Jiabei, "Xiaobei, you must pay more attention to your sister in the future, okay?"
Jian Jiabei: "..."
Weak, innocent, and always taking the blame.
With Jian Jianan's personality, who can expect him to be successful?
After chatting with the two children and watching them fall asleep, Su Qinxuan and Jian Yangping walked out of the room, but did not go to sleep. Instead, they gently closed the door and sat down in the living room.
Today was just twenty-four hours long, but it was full of ups and downs. First, when I was working, I suddenly received the news that my daughter's parents were called to school. After arriving at the school, she had an argument with the teacher. Then, I gained the trust of Principal Xue. It was like pie in the sky. Suddenly, I got the qualification to bid for the contracting business of the Hydrangea Canteen. It was really one thing after another, more exciting than riding a roller coaster.
The two adults are now talking late into the night, precisely to finalize the bidding as soon as possible and start preparations as early as possible.
It's strange to say, it's obvious that the two of them have never been involved in the canteen contracting business, and their only business experience is in small restaurants.
Moreover, they both knew how big the difference was between opening a restaurant and contracting the entire school cafeteria.
But now facing this huge challenge, the two people do not feel scared or frightened. Instead, their eyes are filled with the same ambition and eagerness to try, and they are ready to meet the challenge.
So what if I don’t understand something? So what if I’ve never ventured into a field before?
Is not understanding an excuse and a reason not to try?
If that's the case, then when Su Qinxuan and his team came to Shenzhen from Hainan, hoping to take advantage of the reform and opening-up policy, did they already have experience in opening a business? Isn't it always about taking the first brave step, trying, and then learning from the experience to determine success?
If you don't dare to try from the beginning, then this matter is doomed to failure and there is no possibility of success.
If you don't understand, ask; if you don't know, check. Su Qinxuan didn't believe it. She was a middle-aged woman who didn't know how to do anything except cooking during the Chinese New Year. She had grown the business to this point with the efforts of herself and her family. It was impossible that she couldn't learn a mere canteen contracting business.
Su Qinxuan looked at her lover: "Old Jian, do we have the contract documents?"
Jian Yangping checked off the items on a form one by one. "We have most of them, all the necessary documents, but there are still a few certificates that need to be obtained for the canteen contract. I looked at them and they're not a big deal. I can just go and run errands with the documents."
Su Qinxuan nodded and continued to complete the preliminary preparations with her lover who is also her best partner.
Jian Jianan and his brother felt that the family atmosphere these days had a hint of impending storm, so they had become much more well-behaved these past few days. Knowing that their parents were busy, they stayed away from their parents. Even Jian Jiabei did not go out to play ball with his friends on weekends, but chose to stay at home, anxiously waiting for news from his parents.
Today is Saturday, the day when Su Qinxuan and Jian Yangping go to the bidding fair. The two children waited from morning to night, until Yang Tao came to deliver the key to the closed Nanbei Restaurant, but the two adults still did not come back.
After waiting for a long time until night fell, the two adults finally came back in high spirits.
As soon as he saw the smiles on his parents' faces, Jian Jianan knew that it was done!
Since Su Qinxuan and Jian Yangping obtained the bidding qualification, they have been so busy that they can no longer take care of their two children. They both have a lot of things to do.
The first thing is to find the raw ingredients. After all, it is a school, and every child is the flower of the future and the pillar of the motherland. It is never too careful. The ingredients must be the safest and most harmless ones.
Fortunately, various pollutions were not serious at that time. Su Qinxuan and his team found the suppliers of Nanbei Restaurant and asked them to increase the supply. While ensuring the supply, they must also ensure the safety of the food, which is the top priority.
Nanbei Restaurant has been cooperating with this supplier for more than half a year. Su Qinxuan emphasized this point to them, "If something happens to the students while eating, neither of us will be able to atone for it." At that time, terminating the supply contract and providing compensation would be the most insignificant points. The most important thing is to be responsible for the food safety of all teachers and students in the school.
While Su Qinxuan was solving the problem of raw material supply, Jian Yangping was looking for a master.
There are both differences and similarities between the canteen chefs and the restaurant chefs. The difference is that the canteen does not require high skills from the chefs, and does not require you to cook very delicately. After all, you are facing nearly a thousand teachers and students in the school.
The similarity is that they are all chefs, so they still need to know some basic cooking skills.
Jian Yangping asked his store employees for their opinions, interviewed dozens of people they recommended, and finally selected ten people. He added a few handymen, and the two of them managed to staff a canteen.
While their parents were busy with this and that, the two children were also busy. They were responsible for setting the menu.
The menu is not fixed and will change with the season and time. In fact, these tasks should be done by Su Qinxuan, but Jian Jianan and his brother were worried that the adults would be too tired, so they volunteered to take on the job and decided to share some of the salary with their parents.
Jian Jiabei excitedly ordered the dishes: "Monday is braised pork, Tuesday is braised pig's feet, Wednesday is braised..."
Jian Jianan interrupted helplessly, "Brother, this is a publicly available product, not your personal dish. You have to consider several aspects, such as the cost and the combination of meat and vegetables, understand?"
Jian Jiabei put away his arrogance and quickly sat up straight before having a serious discussion with his sister.
A few days later, the brother and sister handed the perfected recipe to Su Qinxuan for inspection. Su Qinxuan put down the work in his hands and met his daughter's bright eyes.
After reading it, she smiled and offered praise, "Nannan, you did a great job. Mom just took a quick look and this recipe is really good."
She changed the subject, "But, there are a few points that need attention."
"Ah? Where?" Jian Jianan became serious and asked quickly.
"French beans, also known as cylinder beans, are a very risky dish. If not cooked properly, it can easily lead to human poisoning. Therefore, if there is a substitute, this dish can be omitted."
"Oh! So that's how it is!" Jian Jianan suddenly realized. She had only cooked a few times and was not as experienced as the chef Su Qinxuan. With her mother's guidance, Jian Jianan crossed out this dish on the menu.
In fact, what Jian Jiabei said is right. There is no need to worry too much about adults. Adults are more capable than children think.
After Su Qinxuan returned from school after signing a probationary contract with the principal, she began preparing to contract the canteen. Although they had never done such work before, the principle of running a canteen was the same as running a small restaurant: providing food to customers, but the target audience was different.
The canteen's target audience is students, a group that commands a high level of public attention. Every child is a treasure in the eyes of their parents, and any mishap would be a major uproar. Contracting a school cafeteria requires extreme caution, and because of this, Su Qinxuan has largely withdrawn from the canteen's operations. Fortunately, it's now on track and operating smoothly without the owner, eliminating the need for her constant oversight.
Su Qinxuan originally wanted to expand the scale of the small restaurant and was already preparing to look for a new location and post notices to recruit staff for the new store. But then this happened and she was suddenly so busy that she couldn't take care of anything else.
Actually, this is a good thing, as she can focus all her attention on the cafeteria.
However, canteens and restaurants also differ. First, restaurants require skilled chefs; the food must be delicious to retain customers. Canteens, on the other hand, have lower expectations for head cooks; skilled workers are sufficient. Second, beyond cooking, there are many other positions they need to fill, such as dishwashers, waiters, and management staff. In short, canteens require a wide variety of staff, and it doesn't matter if you're not highly skilled; you can learn over time.
This terrified Su Qinxuan and Jian Yangping. How could they possibly find so many people in such a short time? Jian Yangping had perhaps drawn inspiration from his resignation from the factory. While factory employment was still the preferred option for most people, the policy had prompted the bold and resourceful to start small businesses. State-owned enterprises, having never encountered competition before, were left helpless.
"Some factories aren't doing well financially right now. Letters from back home say several factories around the soap factory are struggling to pay their employees. If state-owned enterprises are like this, state-owned restaurants might be in the same boat too. Why don't we go talk to the people at the state-owned restaurants?"
This matter was settled. Su Qinxuan and Jian Yangping had been doing business here for a few months and had met some people. They mobilized their friends and also took action themselves. In just over a week, they found so many people and basically formed a team for a small canteen.
The most important thing was the people who made the food. They had gone to great lengths to find a chef with decades of experience to be the head chef, responsible for managing all the chefs. This head chef had rejected Su Qinxuan's requests to become a branch manager several times, but when the canteen project came up, he became interested. He had never worked at a school before, and he figured that since he wasn't old enough to retire yet, spending more time with students might make him younger.
Jian Yangping was in charge of the manpower, while Su Qinxuan was in charge of finding a contractor for the ingredients. This went smoothly. She was known for her generosity and righteousness, and the owners of the nearby vegetable markets all knew her. After hearing her request, they readily gave her a good wholesale price.
The owners of each vegetable stall make small profits but sell in large quantities, and have a stable customer base. Jian Yangping and his wife are kind and honest, so the owners are happy to give him this price.
The couple each did their own thing and had their own division of labor, and soon a team of canteen contractors was basically completed.
During the busiest period for his parents, Jian Jianan and his brother would often visit the restaurant to check if anything had gone wrong. Whenever Jian Jianan looked up from his busy schedule, he suddenly felt as if he had returned to the time when the restaurant was first opened. The family of four was also very busy, but the difference was that the business was getting better and better. Although it was tiring, Jian Jianan was extremely happy.
Thanks to the hard work of a family-led team, the Hydrangea Canteen finally opened. Without the purchasing agent business, Jian Jianan became even busier. He always rushed to the canteen after class, calling it "inspection."
Two weeks later, at noon, the bell for the end of get out of class rang on time. The cafeteria was crowded with students rushing out of the door and walking quickly to the window to line up for food.
The staff behind the glass window could actually see Jian Jianan walking back and forth in front with his hands behind his back, carefully looking at everything inside through the transparent window.
Someone familiar with Jian Jianan's identity knew him, and the lunch lady jokingly said to the colleague next to her, "Look, this is our young boss coming to inspect our work."
When the colleague beside her heard this, she knew Jian Jianan's identity. The metaphor of a small boss inspecting the work was really great. Look at how she held her head high and chest out. She is definitely a small boss. It vividly described Jian Jianan's current behavior.
After inspecting the work, Boss Jane got her meal and sat down with her friends. In addition to having breakfast at home, she also eats lunch in the cafeteria with her classmates. In her words, this is to make customers feel more at ease. If she, the daughter of the cafeteria contractor, does not eat in the cafeteria, then others will be even more afraid to eat in the cafeteria.
"Why do you take so long? Everyone who has eaten in the cafeteria says it's good. Many parents feel comfortable leaving their children in the cafeteria for breakfast and lunch, and don't ask their children to go to school specially to be picked up. Is there anything else you are not satisfied with?" Duan Duan saw that Jian Jianan had been making an inspection every day before meals this week, and he was very curious.
Jian Jianan nodded with satisfaction after hearing this: "Yes, the work this week was very good."
She turned her head and glanced at her surroundings, as if she was constantly worried that someone might suddenly appear and cause trouble. "I'm just worried that someone might deliberately sabotage us. I'm not saying anything bad about the teacher behind her back, but think about it, wasn't Liang Kang's expression different that day? I always feel like he's been targeting the cafeteria contractor. I'm always worried that he'll deliberately find a way to sabotage this evaluation period. If the evaluation fails, then we won't be able to contract the cafeteria in the future, and the business will naturally fail."
Shan Jiqing: "Don't worry, he won't stay for long."
"Well, do you have any gossip? Tell me quickly. Why didn't you tell me? How could you bear to watch your friends worry about this news?" When Jian Jianan heard Shan Jiqing say this, he knew that he must have known something in advance and couldn't help but want to find out the news from him.
Jian Jianan had also read the contract. Although he didn't recognize many of the words, he gave it to his brother for help. It took him quite some time to understand it.
The contract stipulates that the monthly fees will be settled once at the end of each month. If Party B, the Jian family, makes a major mistake, the school can unilaterally terminate the contract.
One month's profit is a huge number. If he loses this money, Jian Jianan will be heartbroken.
Shan Jiqing smiled slightly: "Director Liang Kang, he resigned!"
Jian Jianan was shocked: "What!"
Could it be that he also quit his job and went into business like his father?
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