349: Manager Qin

“Excellent. In a couple of days, I’ll take over this place, redecorate it, and open a new restaurant. I’ll put you in charge.” Pan Han was very pleased to see Qin Hongbing’s eyes gleaming with confidence.

This way, Qin Hongbing would have a job in the capital, free accommodation, and most importantly, his workplace would be downstairs, allowing him to look after his child.

This was already the most perfect outcome.

Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him how to fish, and Pan Han had achieved that.

Moreover, he did it flawlessly, without being overbearing or making the other party feel like they were receiving charity.

Qin Hongbing looked at Pan Han, who was in his early twenties and still somewhat youthful, and found him unexpectedly formidable!

Pan Han didn’t feel he had done anything remarkable; it was simply that the resources he commanded were too extraordinary.

“Boss Pan, I will definitely work hard to do well.” Qin Hongbing suddenly felt his legs go a little weak, wanting to kneel and kowtow to Pan Han.

Unexpectedly, Pan Han immediately followed up with: “I have two requirements for you! First, don’t aim for profit, and second, staff salaries must be higher than the average wage.”

The knees that were about to drop retracted.

If ensuring all poor people could have a hot meal was just a slogan,

these two requirements were a genuine and substantial concession!

How many bosses exploit their employees to earn a little more money!

Even Qin Hongbing himself, when he was a boss, did this often.

Exaggerated!

Shocking!

It’s just ridiculous!

Qin Hongbing thought about it and decided to save the kneeling for later, when he would lead his employees in doing it together.

So he composed himself, suppressing his excitement, and asked, “Boss Pan, do you have any requirements regarding how many people to hire, how many dishes to offer, or how to price them?”

“For dishes, don’t have too many initially. Offer them as set meals, seven or eight should be enough. Our main goal is to provide high-quality, affordable meals to ordinary people and workers. As for pricing, we’ll calculate the costs and sell at cost!” Pan Han hadn’t thought too much about the details; they could improve as they went along.

Hearing this, Qin Hongbing’s eyes lit up: “Boss Pan, if we price it this way, the small shops around here might be in trouble.”

“We’re talking business here.” Pan Han understood that business competition was a matter of life and death, so he could only express his apologies.

However, Pan Han didn't intend to make the last buck; he certainly wouldn't monopolize the entire market for small eateries.

So, the National Restaurant in his mind would only offer a few basic set meals, perhaps a dozen at most.

Clean, hygienic, affordable, and generous portions.

As for other catering peers, they could focus on high-end, hot pot, or other specialty cuisines.

The National Restaurant would be the safety net, the stabilizing force of the catering industry.

At this moment, Yan Xiaoli and Little Ling returned after ordering. They had spent a long time choosing and ordered five set meals.

Little Ling said her dad had been working too hard recently, so she ordered an extra one for him.

She, on the other hand, very thoughtfully ordered a set meal consisting of pumpkin porridge, a red bean bun, and stir-fried vegetables.

“How did your two conversations go?” Yan Xiaoli probably knew they were discussing the National Restaurant, so she inquired as soon as she sat down.

“Boss Pan is going to make me the store manager.” Qin Hongbing answered somewhat shyly, yet with a hint of pride and anticipation.

In all these years, this was his happiest day.

It was as if all his difficulties were resolved in an instant, and he was even doing the work he was best at.

“Is that so? That’s wonderful! It’s perfect since you’ve done it before.” Only then did Yan Xiaoli understand Pan Han’s true intention.

A perfect closed-loop rescue!

“Yes. I will definitely live up to Boss Pan’s high expectations.”

“Oh? Dad, what kind of store manager are you going to be?” Little Ling was exceptionally excited to hear that her dad had a job.

“Your Uncle Pan is going to take over this entire place and transform it into a new restaurant. Then Dad will be working here.”

“Really?” Little Ling’s eyes sparkled, and she was completely stunned.

She was only ten years old and might not fully grasp what ‘working’ or ‘store manager’ meant.

But her dad being able to work here was very important.

Because she no longer had a home. Last night, lying in her dad’s arms, Little Ling secretly shed tears and said she wanted to live here.

Unexpectedly, her dream came true today!

“Little Ling, from now on, you’ll live upstairs, and Dad will work downstairs. When he has time, Dad will take you to see the doctor and get medicine. How does that sound?” Pan Han gently patted Little Ling’s hand and said with a smile.

“Thank you, Uncle Pan, I’ll be good. When I have nothing to do, I can even come down and help out.” At this moment, a touch of red actually appeared on Little Ling’s pale face, and her spirit improved significantly.

“Little Ling is so well-behaved. From now on, Uncle and Auntie will visit you often and buy you delicious food and fun toys.” Yan Xiaoli was even a little moved. This scene was deeply etched in her mind, and she even thought about finding an opportunity to turn it into a movie later.

Yan Xiaoli came from a decent family background and had never experienced separation, death, or human tragedies since childhood.

Her biggest troubles were previously sleeping with directors and producers, and recently being pulled into bed by Pan Han.

Overall, other things had been relatively smooth sailing.

Little Ling made her realize that hell existed on earth!

“Auntie, you’re so kind! And you’re so beautiful. Uncle Pan must have saved the Milky Way in his previous life to find you.” Little Ling suddenly changed the subject, almost catching Pan Han off guard.

Kids these days, they understand everything!

“Haha, Little Ling, you also think he got the better deal, huh!” Yan Xiaoli was so amused that she giggled, covering her mouth.

“Although Uncle Pan is also very handsome, compared to you, Auntie, he’s still quite inferior. You look like a big star.”

Children’s words are innocent, children’s words are innocent!

Pan Han silently repeated this twice in his mind, but she still made him burst into laughter.

“Come, let’s eat!” With Pan Han’s command, everyone started eating.

The potato and beef brisket set meal in front of Pan Han was clearly made with a pre-packaged meal kit, as he could tell from a single bite.

Of course, all chain restaurants use these nowadays, but the meal kits used by this particular restaurant were definitely not high-cost.

The quality of the beef brisket was questionable; it didn’t taste good and relied entirely on seasonings for flavor.

After eating, one would feel bloated and then thirsty.

“Old Qin, what do you think of the food here?”

“It’s mass-market stuff, neither good nor bad. Most chain restaurants are like this.” Qin Hongbing, who was eating a fish-flavored shredded pork set meal, also gave a low rating.

“You need to figure out a way to make the quality higher and the price lower than this in the future.”

“No problem.” Qin Hongbing nodded, indicating his confidence.

“Xiaoli, you think about how to promote our National Restaurant later.”

“If you ask me, if you know a lot of companies, you could just do set meal sponsorships. Later, when our movie is released, we can also do a set meal sponsorship. The sponsorship fees would subsidize the prices, benefiting the public.” Yan Xiaoli thought for a moment and came up with an idea based on the National Restaurant concept.

“That would require the National Restaurant to have very high visibility and traffic.” Pan Han said thoughtfully.

“Then invite food bloggers and online streamers to check in. Spend money to generate traffic first.” Yan Xiaoli knew how movie promotions worked, and she figured it should be similar for restaurants.

“There’s no rush for this. First, build a solid foundation, and then open a few hundred chain stores. That way, we can demand higher sponsorship fees.” Pan Han said, taking a big mouthful of rice.