5: The opposite

Qian Ziyong was very happy and poured tea for Li Lian.

He was quite generous with the tea; it was what Li Lian had previously stored in the office. He couldn't taste what it was, only that it was somewhat refreshing.

Li Lian picked up the teacup, took a sip, organized her thoughts, and then said, "To operate a supermarket, especially a large one, I believe there are three points that must be achieved."

"First, the number of supermarket employees should not be too many. The more employees there are, the higher the supermarket's costs will be, making it more difficult to profit."

Qian Ziyong nodded in agreement. Currently, the total salary for employees alone amounted to nearly five hundred thousand a month, which was indeed very high.

Seeing Qian Ziyong listening attentively, Li Lian was very pleased and continued:

"Second, the prices of supermarket goods must not be low. The supermarket's profit is only two to three tenths of the product price. If the prices are low, even if business is better than before, you won't make money."

"After all, the supermarket's costs are fixed. If the profit isn't enough, it's hard to even recoup the costs. Lowering prices is easy, but raising them again is difficult."

Qian Ziyong agreed wholeheartedly.

Even the bento boxes were sold at a high price. If the prices were too low, and he couldn't make money, wouldn't it all be for nothing?

Li Lian continued, "Third, a supermarket must be willing to spend money on decoration to give customers a good impression and make them willing to come in!"

Qian Ziyong deeply agreed. The Yong-something Supermarket not far away had excellent decor. Although the items inside were ridiculously expensive, this world never lacked wealthy people, and many still liked to go in and spend money.

If he had money, he would also prefer places with better environments.

Hmm... he would definitely not eat bento boxes again!

Just as he was speaking, the bento boxes arrived.

Qian Ziyong quickly took the bento boxes and transferred the money to the employee.

"Boss Zhao, listening to your words is better than ten years of study. I won't say anything else; it's all in the food. Your younger brother will eat first as a sign of respect!" Qian Ziyong picked up the bento box and started devouring it.

How had he spent this past month?

Instant noodles in the morning, and only in the afternoon would he reluctantly eat a fifteen-yuan bento box. Now, a thirty-yuan portion with a large serving of meat, it smelled incredibly delicious.

His stomach had been growling for a while, and the aroma of the bento box made his mouth water.

Watching Qian Ziyong eat with such relish, Li Lian also felt a bit of an appetite. She picked up the rice on the table and took a bite.

"So unappetizing, so greasy!" Li Lian subtly put down her chopsticks. If she guessed correctly, this was a pre-made dish, and most importantly, it wasn't made with good oil.

"Eat! Why aren't you eating? This meat is incredibly fragrant!" Qian Ziyong picked up the tea on the table and drained it in one gulp.

With the tea to cut through the grease, Qian Ziyong was even more invigorated.

Zhu Daqiang, standing nearby, took the teapot and refilled Qian Ziyong's cup.

Li Lian smiled broadly: "This bento box tastes good. I'll take it for your sister-in-law to try. Little brother, I'll be leaving now. This time you treat, next time it's on me!"

"Brother Li, thank you! Manager Zhu, please see Brother Li out!" Qian Ziyong stood up, reluctant for his bento box to get cold, so he didn't personally see Li Lian off.

By the time Zhu Daqiang had seen Li Lian off, Qian Ziyong had finished eating and was comfortably drinking tea while reclining in his chair.

"Boss!" Zhu Daqiang returned and continued to pour tea for Qian Ziyong.

"Manager Zhu, did you hear everything Boss Zhao said just now?" Qian Ziyong asked.

Zhu Daqiang nodded heavily: "I've noted it all down: not too many employees, prices can't be low, and the decor must be good!"

"Not bad." Qian Ziyong was very satisfied. "You remember it clearly. Then we'll do the opposite!"

"Op... opposite?" Zhu Daqiang was stunned, accidentally pouring the tea too full, causing it to overflow.

"That's right, the opposite!" Qian Ziyong nodded, "Boss Li lost money operating his supermarket. If we just do the opposite of his experience, we'll be able to make money. Don't you agree!"

"Do... do I?" Zhu Daqiang was deeply skeptical.

Was Boss Li's decades of operational experience really flawed?

Qian Ziyong asked, "How many employees do we have in our supermarket?"

"Currently, one hundred and three," Zhu Daqiang replied.

"Then let's hire more people!" Qian Ziyong said decisively.

"How many people should we hire?" Zhu Daqiang asked weakly.

He still truly felt that hiring more people would not turn the supermarket's losses into profits.

Instead, it would lose even more.

He felt that Boss Li Lian's method was very good and didn't need to be reversed.

However, Qian Ziyong was the boss, so he couldn't object.

Qian Ziyong said casually, "Hire another three hundred people. That way, the supermarket will have four hundred people!"

"Hire another three hundred people?" Zhu Daqiang's eyes widened. "But... but our supermarket is only five thousand square meters. Four hundred employees, isn't that too many?"

"Wouldn't that mean our supermarket has more employees than customers? Customers entering the supermarket might feel unnerved."

Too many idle employees; when one customer entered, all employees would stare.

With over four hundred pairs of eyes staring, customers would feel very uncomfortable.

Qian Ziyong frowned, thought for a moment, and asked, "Our supermarket opens at nine and stays open until nine in the evening. Employees work twelve hours a day, but their average salary is only three thousand."

"I don't think that's right!"

"Starting today, work six hours a day, five days a week. That way, four hundred people won't seem crowded!"

"Yes." Zhu Daqiang nodded helplessly.

This way, the supermarket's personnel salary costs would triple, making it even harder to make money.

Qian Ziyong was still somewhat dissatisfied: "A common employee's salary of three thousand a month is really too little. Raise their salaries, hmm... raise it by two thousand, to five thousand per month."

"Also, you, as manager, have worked hard. From now on, you'll get fifteen thousand a month."

"Thank you, Boss." Zhu Daqiang forced a smile.

Although his salary was higher, the supermarket would lose even more money.

Qian Ziyong smiled: "Don't worry, even if the supermarket closes down in two months, I will leave enough money to pay you N+1 compensation, and it will be based on your current salaries."

Qian Ziyong's words made Zhu Daqiang feel ashamed: "Boss, it's my fault for not being able to turn the supermarket's losses into profits."

"Don't worry." Qian Ziyong gave Zhu Daqiang a brilliant smile, "I have my own plans, so rest assured!"

"Really? Then I'm relieved!" Zhu Daqiang saw the smile on his boss's face and felt much of his worry dissipate.

It seemed his boss had everything under control and was already confident.

These days, he had been living inside the supermarket, right next to the boss's office.

His boss slept late every night and rarely left his room except for meals.

He must have been toiling away inside, striving for the supermarket's development!

Qian Ziyong was calculating his own plans and was very happy to have convinced Zhu Daqiang.

Zhu Daqiang didn't need to worry at all, because even if the supermarket went bankrupt, he would continue to employ Zhu Daqiang and have him manage other ventures.

Zhu Daqiang was good; he was a bit dull and prioritized the boss's opinions.

Even if he had his own ideas, he would keep them to himself and diligently execute the boss's orders!