Chapter 46: Spending Money Like Water
The second update is online, please recommend and collect, also our book review area's deputy editor, Fan Tianyin Dafengge, has taken over, from now on Xiaobai will focus on writing, the book review area's matters will be handed over to him, hehe!
In the following days, Chen Zhiyuan stayed at home and wrote recipes with his head down. During this time, he also called Song Weiqing a few times to ask how he would arrange for him to have surgery on Sunday, but Song Weiqing just said one sentence: You'll know when the time comes! This made Chen Zhiyuan's mind foggy, and he could only continue writing recipes under duress.
The Chen family was busy with the food therapy club, and Li Jian Shu had already rented it out. The contract also included a priority purchase condition. Yujing Mountain is not a tourist attraction, but because of the hot springs, several small hot spring resorts were built. When Li Jian Shu went to find land with hot springs, he found some, but they weren't very good. These hot springs are crucial for Chen Zhiyuan's food therapy and wellness center. The poor quality hot springs couldn't meet Chen Zhiyuan's requirements. Chen Zhiyuan asked Li Jian Shu to negotiate with the resorts to buy one of them. After a few rounds of talks, the prices were not cheap. Li Jian Shu suggested waiting until they had more funds before buying. However, the hot spring water was needed for cooking and making medicine. Chen Zhiyuan gritted his teeth and spent 2 million yuan to directly purchase one of the best hot spring resorts along with some surrounding land. Their funds were reduced by a third, and Chen Yajun and others scolded Chen Zhiyuan for being reckless. The boss had no choice but to silently bear the pain.
This is just the beginning, Li Jian ran several design companies and finally chose one. According to Chen Zhiyuan's requirements, a set of Song Dynasty-style buildings was designed. However, in order to build according to this blueprint, all the original buildings of the hot spring resort that Chen Zhiyuan had bought would have to be demolished and rebuilt. Chen Zhiyuan also wanted the new buildings to be in the style of the Song Dynasty, but many of the necessary materials were not available in Lin City and would have to be imported from elsewhere, greatly increasing the cost. The estimated cost of these materials was 1.8 million yuan, but this was just an estimate, and after accounting for losses, it would likely reach 2 million yuan. This did not include the labor costs of the construction company, which would add another 500,000 yuan to the total, making it 2.5 million yuan in all. Chen Zhiyuan gritted his teeth and paid out again, leaving him with only 1.5 million yuan in funds.
Next, the interior decorations of the guild hall need to be calculated. According to the style of this guild hall, all the furniture and decorations must be antique, which will definitely cost more than buying ordinary ones. Simply calculating this item will take away nearly 10 million. Chen Da Guan looked at the 60 million in his hands, but it was gone, leaving only 5.5 million, and his heart was broken like a dumpling filling.
Li Jian went to Lincheng to recruit waiters, and according to Chen Zhiyuan's requirements, those people in the Lincheng talent market obviously couldn't meet the conditions. Li Jian simply went directly to some universities in Lincheng. Originally, university students looked down on this industry of waiters, but Mr. Chen's money paved the way, and the salary was directly raised to 4,500 per month, not counting bonuses. To know that Lincheng is only a second-tier city, the average salary is around 2,500-3,000. Adding to the severe employment situation for university students now, it took a lot of effort to recruit enough people. In one go, they recruited 50 people and signed a one-year contract. These people's first salary would have to wait until a month after the club opened, which was not a small expense. However, the training fees and uniform costs for these 50 people ended up costing nearly 50,000 yuan.
Then there were a few helpers recruited by Wang Shan, and in total they poached 15 people with a monthly salary of 6,500. The lobby manager also poached one person who had worked at Lincheng Xiangmanlou for over 10 years and was top-notch in terms of experience and connections in Lincheng. He didn't want to jump ship initially, but Chen Zhiyuan's offer was too enticing - a base salary of 15,000, bonuses based on the club's business performance, and provision of five insurances and one fund, which eventually won him over.
Three accountants were recruited in advance, and 15 security guards were recruited. Chen Zhiyuan's health care hall finally took shape, but the money was reduced to less than 400,000 yuan. This amount is not enough for the activity funds of the association, let alone the preparation of food and medicine materials. Chen Zhiyuan again persuaded Chen Yajun to take out 150,000 yuan from his father's savings, and Chen Yalan's family also contributed 100,000 yuan, which was just barely enough.
After several days, Chen Zhiyuan found himself penniless again, with only 200 yuan left in his pocket. He was so depressed that he couldn't even mention it. Fortunately, the matter of the restaurant was settled, and Chen Zhiyuan firmly believed that as long as Wang Shan, Li Jian, and a few others could make the therapeutic dishes they had written down, the restaurant's business would definitely not be bad. These days, when he had nothing to do, he called several people to demonstrate and explain in the kitchen. Wang Shan was steady and had been a chef for many years, so he learned the fastest. His brothers were not much worse, and currently, it seemed that experience was the only problem. With more practice, they could master these dishes in half a month. Li Jian was the worst of the few people who learned. He was young and impatient, and didn't like to hang around in the kitchen. Chen Zhiyuan also considered that when the restaurant's business got on track and the funds were sufficient, he would open a weight loss club and let Li Jian be in charge. However, currently, there was a lack of manpower, so he could only let Li Jian do it first. At least this kid could still handle roasting lamb and processing medicinal materials.
Chen Zhiyuan then discussed with Wang Shan and a few others, asking them to find some apprentices. After observing and feeling that the person's character was not a problem, he first taught them the technique of processing medicinal materials. In this way, when the business of the guild hall is booming, there will be no shortage of medicinal materials. Later, when the guild develops, it will definitely open branches in other cities, which can also ensure that there are enough people to take charge of these stores.
The days passed one by one, and before he knew it, the day of Geng Jianmin's surgery had arrived. On Sunday morning, Chen Zhiyuan got up early, although he now mastered basic medical skills and had accumulated enough fat points in the system to exchange for a basic medical skill set. However, Chen Zhiyuan still felt a bit uneasy in his heart. After all, he had never performed surgery on anyone before in this life. In the past when he was an intern, he had assisted in surgeries, but at that time, he hadn't even mixed with the first assistant. Now, he was going to personally perform the surgery himself, and it was a delicate craniotomy at that. Moreover, it was for his own family member, so it was strange if he could be calm about it.
Chen Yajun had also woken up early and, hearing some noise coming from his son's room, got dressed and came to Chen Zhiyuan's room. Seeing his son pacing back and forth, he asked: "What's wrong, can't you sleep either? Can the specialist we're seeing today really cure your Uncle Ge's illness? And what about that business with giving him Chinese medicine after the surgery - is it reliable or not?"
Chen Zhiyuan couldn't say that he had arrived at the hospital, so he immediately told those rubbish experts to scram as far away as possible. He would personally perform the surgery on Uncle Geng. If not, the old man would have to be sent to a mental hospital. All Chen could do was comfort his father: "Dad, don't worry, that expert in Beijing is famous, and Uncle Geng's surgery will definitely go smoothly. My Chinese medicine is also reliable, so just relax. In another month, you'll be able to drink with Uncle Geng again. You see, our family's restaurant has opened up too, but now we're short-handed. Once Uncle Geng recovers, let them all come and help out. This way, not only will we have more reliable people on hand, but also your two brothers can spend time together every day."
Chen Yajun heard his son's words, and involuntarily thought of the happy scene when Geng Jianmin was recovering from illness and drinking with him at the club. His tense heart relaxed a lot, and he smiled: "Your Uncle Geng will definitely be fine, let's go to the hospital, we'll eat some breakfast on the way, it's about time!"
The two men washed their faces and tidied up quickly before going out. Lin City welcomed another busy day in the morning!
