For the next week, Lin Li and Lin Laosan trained the service staff according to plan, improving the chefs' cooking processes and various skills.
The information about the managers that she had been longing for was also delivered by Xiao Chen from the labor service company!
"Boss Lin, it took a lot of effort to find the skilled workers you requested! This one is the lobby manager from the Guangzhou Overseas Chinese Building, this one used to manage the kitchen purchasing, and this one is an old accountant from the supply and marketing cooperative..."
He expertly opened his briefcase and took out three forms.
Lin Li took the documents and saw the first one.
Wang Jianguo, 45 years old, was formerly the front desk supervisor of a state-owned hotel.
The resume had frayed edges and a black-and-white photo attached. The man in the photo was wearing a Zhongshan suit with a pen clipped to his collar, and his eyes exuded the composure characteristic of someone from a state-owned enterprise.
"Great, can you arrange for them to come for interviews tomorrow?"
Lin Li quickly flipped through the last two documents and nodded in satisfaction.
"Can!"
The next day, in the makeshift shed, Lin Li turned the fan to its maximum and, amidst the buzzing sound of the wind, the first interviewee walked in.
"Hello, my name is Liu Yulan." She was wearing a navy blue shirt and neatly placed the supply and marketing cooperative's award certificate on the table. "Boss Lin, I used to manage a canteen for thirty people. I was very good at distributing food tickets and taking inventory."
Will you use Hong Kong dollars for payment?
Liu Yulan paused for a moment after hearing this, then pulled out a crumpled copy of "Foreign Trade Accounting Handbook" from her bag, with a five-dollar Hong Kong dollar note tucked into the title page: "I'm studying it!"
Lin Li nodded in satisfaction at her!
The last one to come in was Zhang Jianjun, who was younger and had worked as a supervisor at the Shenzhen Hotel.
After Lin Li inquired about his previous work, she was satisfied and hired him!
The arrival of the three managers immediately made things much easier for Lin Li and Lin Laosan.
Another week has passed, and the weather in Shenzhen has become even hotter and more humid. On the scaffolding of the Nanhai Pavilion Hotel, workers are racing against time to dismantle the iron frame.
Lin Li stared at the last beige tile on the glass curtain wall and shouted to the bricklayer, "Round the edges a bit more!"
Lin Laosan ran around coordinating things, his face covered in sweat from the heat.
In the kitchen area, Liu Yulan, wearing a newly issued navy blue apron, was wiping down an aluminum steamer that had been brought in from Guangzhou with her helpers.
The brass stove was polished to a shine, and in the corner stood a dark green double-door refrigerator made in Hong Kong, with a red note on the door that read "Do Not Touch Without Permission"—Lin Li had specially bought it from the store just to store imported beer.
Holding a homemade wooden ruler, Zhang Jianjun directed the waiters to lay the tablecloth with peony patterns perfectly, ensuring that each table corner was aligned with the wall at a 45-degree angle.
Late the night before the opening, Wang Jianguo, wearing white gloves, inspected the lobby.
Under the crystal chandelier, he repeatedly adjusted the spacing between each imitation mahogany chair. Suddenly, he noticed the fire extinguisher in the corner and immediately called the electrician: "The red paint isn't applied evenly. It'll look shabby to the guests tomorrow!"
Lin Li rushed over in her plastic sandals, clutching a menu sample in her hand, the ink still warm: "Quickly change the price of the baked lobster to Hong Kong dollars, and use the exchange rate the Labor Service Company gave us today!"
On the morning of its opening day, the area in front of Nanhai Pavilion was packed with onlookers.
Lin Li and Lin Laosan stood in front of the revolving glass door to greet the guests.
At eight o'clock sharp, as the deafening sound of firecrackers exploded and red paper scraps flew everywhere, Wang Jianguo quickly stepped forward and opened the door, the brass door knocker making a crisp sound.
The first group of guests filed in. Young people in bell-bottoms stared wide-eyed at the lotus-shaped glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Several Hong Kong businessmen whispered in Cantonese, "This crystal chandelier is more impressive than some teahouses in Kowloon."
Waiters carried blue-and-white porcelain plates with the words "Nanhai Pavilion" printed on them, and the fresh lychee leaves garnishing the plates were taken out of Lin Li's space that morning and delivered to the restaurant by Lin Laosan.
A fragrant aroma wafted from the kitchen; the moment the steam lifted the aluminum pot lid, the fresh scent of seafood mixed with the aroma of scallions and ginger filled the nostrils.
Suddenly, the sound of shattering porcelain came from the corner. The trainee waitress turned pale as she spilled the customer's soup.
Lin Li quickly stepped forward, took out a handkerchief to wipe the table clean, and said, "I'm so sorry! This soup is on the house! And bring me a serving of chilled water chestnut cake to cool me down!" Turning to her younger sister, she gently comforted her, "Don't worry, take your time!"
As night falls, the neon sign for "Nanhai Pavilion Restaurant" lights up, with small light bulbs flickering between the strokes of the traditional Chinese characters.
In a private room on the second floor, several foreign businessmen were cutting open a golden baked lobster with knives and forks. Lin Li stood outside the door listening to the constant exclamations of "delicious!" Her back was already soaked with sweat.
She pulled out a crumpled restaurant management manual from her pocket and wrote the first line in the "Customer Feedback" section: "We need to purchase more anti-slip mats to prevent plates from falling again."
The lights of Nanhai Pavilion illuminated the unfinished streets of Shekou, while cranes still roared in the distance.
After seeing off the last customer, Lin Li, Lin Laosan, Liu Yulan, and Wang Jianguo sat around the cashier, with a yellowed ledger and a clattering abacus spread out on the table.
"27 tables of cold dishes, and 89 servings of char siu from the roast meat stall!" Liu Yulan pushed up her reading glasses, her voice filled with excitement.
She moved the abacus beads very quickly, the crackling sound like oil popping in a frying pan.
Lin Laosan chewed on his pen, recording every income on the paper. The pen tip made a scratching sound as it glided across the paper. When the bill was settled in Hong Kong dollars, he would take out his worn-out little notebook for currency conversion to carefully check the amount.
Wang Jianguo was counting the cash in the metal cash register.
The large denomination bill, the steelworker's five-yuan note, the brand-new foreign exchange certificates, and the loose Hong Kong dollar coins were neatly stacked in his hands.
"I'll have to go to the bank to exchange the Hong Kong dollars tomorrow," he said, pushing up his glasses. "But I got more foreign exchange certificates than I expected today, enough to exchange for a lot of imported seasonings."
As the abacus clicked its last note and Liu Yulan announced the total, all four of them were stunned.
Lin Li checked the information twice, her throat tightening slightly: "It's 20% more than the budget..."
Lin Laosan took out half a pack of Double Happiness cigarettes from his Zhongshan suit pocket and handed one to Wang Jianguo. The flame illuminated the smile lines at the corners of his eyes: "We need to add more dishes to the kitchen tomorrow. Old Zhang, who is in charge of cooking, is so tired today that his wrists are swollen."
"If the profits continue to be this good, everyone can get a bigger bonus this month!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Yulan and Wang Jianguo smiled and their faces lit up with joy!
Working under a generous boss makes them more motivated to work!
After the four finished calculating the bill, they each went home!
After Lin Li and Lin Laosan returned home, Lin Li also took out an account book, which contained their true costs.
Many of the ingredients in the kitchen were taken out of Lin Li's spatial storage and delivered by Lin Laosan, so they actually earned much more than the net income recorded in the hotel's books!
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