Chapter 39

Chapter 40: Who Helps Whom

When the Lin Family Catering and Entertainment Co., Ltd. held its second meeting, it was already mid-August.

A total of 10 people attended this meeting, three more than the last time.

"Mr. Lin, I would like to hear first about the preparations for the flower tea processing plant from Ding Feng and Yang Guowei," Liu Yingying said.

"Uh... We have contacted a total of five flower cultivation bases. After final confirmation by Mr. Xu, three of them have been approved as raw material suppliers for our flower tea processing plant," Ding Feng, who was attending such a meeting for the first time, was a bit taken aback at being asked to speak first, but he then began to recount his work over the past period.

"In terms of personnel, we have already hired five workers. We estimate that they can produce 800 packets of formula powder in an eight-hour workday. We are just waiting for the contract to start production," Ding Feng said.

"Formula powder? Will the taste be affected?" Liu Yingying frowned.

"Mr. Xu has improved the formula. Under the condition of maximum confidentiality, this powdered form is the best way to maintain secrecy. When making flower tea, use 70-degree warm water to steep the powder, and then sprinkle some fresh petals to preserve the original flavor," Yang Guowei added.

"In terms of location, to ensure the best production time for the flower tea, we have chosen a suburban area near the three flower markets. However, it is a bit far from the city center, which may make delivery more difficult," Ding Feng explained the challenges of the flower tea processing plant.

"That's simple, we can just buy a minivan," Lin Feng decided.

"We have already negotiated with 12 flower tea shop owners and agreed to supply them with a large cup of flower tea for 12 yuan each. By the way, how big is the cup for one packet of formula powder?" Liu Yingying asked.

"A standard one-liter cup," Ding Feng and Yang Guowei said in unison.

"Alright, then there's no problem. The only requirement from these 12 flower tea shop owners is that we cannot sell flower tea outside of these 12 shops in Chushi City." Liu Yingying handed the contract to Lin Feng, "I have already agreed to it. I have surveyed the market, and Chushi City is just a prefecture-level city with limited market potential. The 12 flower tea shops plus the 17 'Killer Club' outlets are sufficient to meet the demand for flower tea in Chushi City. If Mr. Lin has no objections, please sign these 12 contracts later."

"Alright, how is the preparation for the barbecue restaurant going?" Lin Feng put the 12 contracts aside.

"After our investigation, we decided to launch the barbecue restaurant in the form of a large outdoor stall in the Lante District. This way, the initial investment is not too high, and since the barbecue restaurant will adopt a low-price strategy, the interior decoration cannot be too fancy. I have already negotiated with the shop owners for a row of storefronts next to this office, with a monthly rent of 600 yuan for a total of six shops. The staff is also in place, and we just need to wait for the final renovation to be completed before we can officially open for business." Liu Yingying handed another stack of documents to Lin Feng.

"Alright, everyone has worked hard. Ding Feng and Yang Guowei, you will be responsible for the flower tea processing plant. You can start production after the meeting. For the barbecue restaurant, Liu Yingying, you will need to keep a close eye on it. I have two points to remind you: hygiene and good value for money," Lin Feng instructed.

"Uh, according to your plan, the raw materials cost 1 yuan for three skewers, and the meat costs 1 yuan per skewer. Isn't that too cheap?" Liu Yingying frowned.

"Not at all. Even at this price, the profit margin is close to 50%. For the beer, the cost price for Jinlongquan beer is 1.2 yuan per bottle, and we sell it for 2 yuan per bottle. The profit from beer alone is quite significant. People usually don't eat too much when they have barbecues, but they drink a lot of beer. Especially with so many college students nearby, the profit is definitely impressive." Lin Feng himself used to eat barbecues this way, spending little on food but a lot on beer.

"Alright, I understand." Liu Yingying nodded, saying no more.

"Alright, everyone, I have one more piece of good news to announce. Our new office has been renovated and we can move in tomorrow."

Three days later, Lin Feng's first barbecue restaurant officially opened. The business was as booming as expected. From the time the sun set in the evening until around 3 a.m. the next morning, the barbecue restaurant was always bustling with customers, the noise level reaching a fever pitch. The net profit on the first day of opening was 2200 yuan.

The business of the flower tea processing plant was also thriving. The 800 cups of flower tea produced each day were almost all sold out. With large-scale production, the cost per cup of flower tea had been reduced to 3.5 yuan, but including the fresh flowers used, the cost per cup remained at 4 yuan. For delivery, Lin Feng spent 50,000 yuan to buy a 12-seat Jinbei minivan, which could be used for both delivery and transportation.

Lin Feng originally planned to hire a driver, but unexpectedly, Guizi suggested he drive himself. He said that with only seven people in the entire flower tea processing plant, including himself and Maozi, hiring a driver would be a waste of money.

As the business of the flower tea processing plant and the barbecue restaurant flourished, Lin Feng naturally did not forget his Taobao website. With the daily promotion by two employees on various forums, the number of registered individual merchants had exceeded 50, and the number of buyers had reached 100, with daily page views exceeding 2,000.

This level of traffic and membership, compared to the booming Yiyou website, was like comparing a stream to the sea, far from being in the same league. However, Lin Feng had a long-term vision. He was waiting for the banks to introduce online banking services. From the beginning, Lin Feng had established a credit rating system for both buyers and sellers and required both to verify their identities with ID cards. Although many people would resist this system at first, it would be beneficial for the long-term stable development of the trading platform.

Before his rebirth, Taobao had verified the identities of sellers but had no restrictions on buyers, which directly led to many scammers exploiting this loophole to commit fraud. Especially when registering member accounts, scammers often registered several accounts with similar names. For example, gogo_001, gogo_001., if you missed the dot, you would be scammed.

Time passed quickly, and with his business thriving, August soon came to an end.

"Mr. Lin, I'm leaving tomorrow. I have to report back to Peking University the day after tomorrow," Liu Yingying invited Lin Feng to the 'Dream Paris' bar where they had met before.

"Alright, thank you for your help over the past two months. Without you, my company would not have developed so quickly," Lin Feng said sincerely.

Liu Yingying just smiled and silently drank her lemon tea, putting down the cup after a long while.

"Actually, I am Liu Yishan's daughter," Liu Yingying suddenly said.

"Ah?" Lin Feng was taken aback, "So you joined the company...?"

"Ha ha, at first, I joined your company to get back at my father. I planned to sabotage you at a critical moment and make you apologize to my father by serving him tea..."

"Why?" Lin Feng suddenly understood why Liu Yingying had been so confrontational with him at first. He never thought that his acquisition of the internet cafe to seek his own development would lead to this. But it was also a blessing in disguise; without the acquisition of Liu Yishan's internet cafe, how would he have met Liu Yingying, this talented and beautiful woman?

"Ha ha, the reason I chose to take revenge this way was that I believed my education would allow me to fully handle the work in your company and help your company," Liu Yingying said with a touch of nostalgia.

"At first, I thought I was helping you, but as your company developed, I realized that you were actually helping yourself. You played a key role in every decision made by the company. In the end, I realized that you were helping me. Here, I learned many things that are not in books, and I applied what I learned from books in practice," Liu Yingying shook her head.

"Ha ha, mutual help," Lin Feng smiled.

"By the way, here are some suggestions for your company. Take a look when you get back," Liu Yingying handed Lin Feng a stack of documents.

"Uh, is there any possibility of staying?" Lin Feng tried to persuade Liu Yingying to stay after putting away the documents.

"Impossible," Liu Yingying said firmly.

"If in a year, when I graduate, your company has assets worth tens of millions, perhaps I will consider it!" Liu Yingying joked.

"Ha ha, alright, I'll wait and see!" Lin Feng raised his glass, "Wishing you success in your final year of studies!"

"And wishing you success in your business!"