sbdcsierra Chapter 95 Paying Salaries
Chapter 95 Paying Salaries
"Auntie, Second Aunt, Aunt Li, your wages are 1000 yuan, but I'm going to give you a raise later!"
Lu Yuan handed the brown paper envelope to the old woman, but she immediately pushed it back.
"Kid, you need to keep your accounts straight when you're doing business. The three of us started as waiters, and we've only been in the kitchen of the mala tang restaurant for a few days in total. We can't afford to pay so much."
Lu Yuan ignored the old woman and directly shoved the envelope into their hands, saying:
"Auntie, please accept this! You are my pillars of strength; I can only feel at ease with you here!"
Without giving the old lady and the others a chance to object, Lu Yuan handed them the brown paper envelopes containing the names of his five apprentices.
The five young men wore expressions of joy, showing no sign of disappointment at having their apprenticeship wages cut in half.
Seeing their pathetic state, Lu Yuan leaped up and delivered five consecutive kicks to their buttocks:
"Look at your pathetic self, satisfied with 700 yuan? Let me tell you, if any of you can produce a single dish, I'll pay you 1500 yuan, the salary of a head chef!"
Although Lu Yuan is a junior, two years younger than his apprentice Lu Jie, he has already established his authority in everyone's eyes after a month.
Even if he beats her own son in front of the old lady, she will still clap and cheer.
Then Lu Yuan took out two brown paper envelopes and handed them to Zhenzhen and Pingping, saying gently:
"Zhenzhen, Pingping, these are for you two. Don't blame me for being harsh on you, but it's better for me to criticize you than for those bosses to criticize you."
During this period, the people Lu Yuan treated most strictly were actually the Zhenzhen and Pingping sisters.
After all, they were facing Lu Yuan's core business in the future—private banquets.
The customers of these private banquets are these bosses, some of whom are nouveau riche, and others are scions of wealthy families.
These people aren't short of money; what they lack is quality service.
If their needs are met, there will be a steady stream of customers in the future, and vice versa.
Zhenzhen and Pingping accepted the envelope with trembling hands, clutching it tightly to their chests, nodding repeatedly, their eyes welling up with tears.
Although they were both very beautiful, as rural girls, they were likely destined to marry farmers and live a life of hard labor in the fields.
These days, they've heard too much about the lives of the wealthy in the private room.
The daily lives of those wealthy people were so luxurious that they could never have imagined them, leaving them deeply shocked.
A crack was pushed open in their lives; after peeking through the crack in the door, they knew the past was gone forever.
But they were also lucky; Lu Yuan gave them the opportunity to push open that door.
Lu Yuan finally took out two envelopes and handed one to Lu Wen, but his older cousin resolutely refused.
Lu Wen reacted strongly: "Xiao Yuan, I'm just going to pass on a few words, it's not worth that much money. If you dare give it to me, then go talk to someone else next time!"
"Brother, you really have to accept this, and every month. I'm officially hiring you." Lu Yuan pushed it towards him again.
"If it weren't for your help in arranging staff, I wouldn't have been able to open these restaurants so quickly."
Lu Wen was different from the others. He had always been relaying messages for the old man, and he never considered himself Lu Yuan's employee, so he refused to accept money no matter what.
Having no other choice, Lu Yuan handed Lu Hua's share to him first: "Brother Hua, you should set an example and accept your salary promptly."
Unexpectedly, Lu Hua also pushed the money back:
"Xiao Yuan, I didn't complete all the tasks this month, consider it a learning experience. But don't worry, I'll take every penny of my salary next month!"
Lu Yuan knew his older brother's personality; although he liked to joke, he would stick to what he believed in.
So he stopped insisting and turned back to Lu Wendao:
"Brother Wen, then you'll be the same as Brother Hua. I'm officially hiring you now, and you'll receive a salary every month. I really need your help in this area; no one else can replace you."
This time, Lu Wen did not explicitly refuse, but pondered for a moment before saying:
"I'll think about it when I get back. Xiao Yuan, it's not easy for the Lu family to do business. Save your money. Don't think that we're relatives and you're afraid of being shortchanged. Nobody would dare to say that to you."
Lu Wen said this in front of everyone because he was worried that some people might feel uncomfortable since Lu Yuan was now making money, so he preemptively shut them up.
After saying that, Lu Wen left first, and Lu Yuan had no choice but to put Lu Wen and Lu Hua's salaries on hold for the time being.
. . .
The plan to go to the provincial capital wasn't exactly a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Lu Yuan had originally planned to make a trip there sometime, since some things can only be bought in the provincial capital.
Just in time for the critical moment when we needed to attract customers to the new store, the aunties were very helpful and could keep the business going even without him.
Lu Yuan decided to take advantage of this time to go to the provincial capital and buy everything he needed.
The bus to the provincial capital had to be taken in the county town, and the bus to the county town had to be taken in the town. So, Lu Hua had to drive the tractor to take them to the town first.
The northern part of the country is not large; it only takes a little over an hour to travel from the county seat to the provincial capital.
The old-fashioned bus smelled strongly of gasoline, and the road surface often had potholes, so it often bounced when it ran.
Lu Yuan found a comfortable position and just closed his eyes to fall asleep.
The bus suddenly jolted, hitting Lu Yuan's head directly onto the overhead luggage rack, instantly waking him up.
After arriving in the provincial capital, Lu Yuan was so shaken that he almost fell apart, and the jolting made him want to buy a car.
After getting off the bus, Lu Yuan stretched his body, took a deep breath, and immediately smelled the various snacks at the station entrance.
Roasted sweet potatoes, fried sugar cakes, cold noodles, roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), spicy skewers...
Lu Yuan's nose twitched slightly, and he instantly distinguished the smells clearly.
After Lu Yuan met up with his parents, they left the station together. At the station entrance was a small square, surrounded by vendors pushing tricycles.
Lu Yuan had little memory of the provincial capital, whether it was the current provincial capital or the provincial capital of his future life; he had never been there much.
For him, the provincial capital was more like a transit point, a necessary stop on his journey from Luwangtan Village to Beijing.
"Son, where are we going?" Wei Yinghong felt a little uneasy after arriving in the provincial capital, a feeling of inferiority ingrained in rural women.
She didn't feel much when she met city people in Luwangtan Village, since it was her home turf.
But if she were placed in the provincial capital, it would be a bit awkward. She always felt like people were watching her, and she felt very uncomfortable.
Lu Yuan glanced around and waved at a red Xiali car parked at the station entrance.
The driver of the Xiali was leaning against the hood smoking when he saw a plain-looking young man waving at him.
He hadn't intended to pay any attention, but since there hadn't been any customers for a long time, he reluctantly walked over with a cigarette in his mouth.
"Where to?" The driver of the Xiali exhaled a puff of smoke before asking indistinctly.
"Pedestrian street." Seeing the driver's arrogant attitude, Lu Yuan's tone was also harsh.
"20!"
"5 cents!"
The driver glared at him and said, "Are you kidding me? This is a Xiali!"
Lu Yuandao: "Oh, I thought it was a Mercedes-Benz! Charging 20 yuan for a 2-kilometer journey!"