The Gourmet Customizer

Wang Rui was the fastest, and he wasn’t afraid of being late. He could just file a leave request form later.

’The pay in the General Affairs Department might be low, but at least we have this perk!’

The group rushed to the canteen. A few of the bolder ones pushed open the kitchen door to peek inside. Not only was it empty, but there was also no sound of cooking!

"We’re doomed. Boss Su must have overslept today!"

"Yeah... we waited all this time for nothing. Let’s go, let’s go."

"This is so sad! Without a meal from Boss Su, I’ll have no energy to work this morning~"

Zhan Yang and Brother Fang Chang exchanged a glance. "They have to get to work, but we don’t. Why don’t we just wait?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Brother Fang Chang nodded with certainty. "I’ve got people watching my shop. We can wait here for breakfast, then have the stir-fried chicken for lunch, rest a bit, and grab a couple of Lion’s Head meatballs for dinner before heading back."

"Works for me. I’d just be lazing around if I went back, so I might as well hang out here," Zhan Yang said excitedly.

In a normal restaurant, you’d feel awkward just hanging around all day, but Boss Su’s place was different. There were a few extra spots to sit. You could lean back in a lounge chair and take a nap or play games without any trouble. There was no reason to feel embarrassed.

After all, even their own employees did the same thing.

Seeing that no food had been prepared in the canteen, the others dejectedly left the building and headed to work across the street.

Aunt Fang wasn’t in a hurry to wake Boss Su. She first did some light cleaning around the office, then went into the kitchen to start chopping chicken.

Thanks to Xinghui’s "Trio" strategy over the past few days, the twenty-odd boxes of chicken were nearly gone. It would probably be off the menu in a few days.

Liu Ahbao went into the kitchen to pre-portion the seasonings for the stir-fried chicken.

Soon after, Liu Shengnan and the others arrived at the company as well.

By nine-thirty, some of the daily tasks had been taken care of. Just then, Su Chen ambled out of his office.

"Sleep well today, Boss?"

"It was alright." Su Chen stretched. He wasn’t about to admit that just as he’d fallen asleep last night, Ling Shuyu had woken him up again.

She had dragged him over to look at interior design plans for what felt like hours, only letting him go to sleep in the dead of night.

’What a terrifying workaholic!’

Despite her intense work habits, Ling Shuyu was incredibly efficient. In just one night, she had produced a plan that Su Chen was very happy with.

For the new department on the second floor, the first 200 square meters upon entry would be converted into small, partitioned dormitories where staff could take midday naps in groups of four. Since they were only for napping, simple plywood partitions would suffice.

Further in, an open space of nearly 200 square meters would be turned into a cafeteria.

They would purchase those all-in-one table-and-four-chair units. They were durable and would also prevent kids from falling over—killing two birds with one stone.

As for the remaining hundred-plus square meters, it was in the rearmost section of the floor.

Half would be used for the kitchen, and the other half for restrooms.

With around a hundred kids, the restrooms had to be large enough. It would be a huge problem if a child had an accident because they couldn’t hold it.

The design was simple, but every detail had been thoughtfully considered. It was safe to say practicality was the top priority.

By the time they finished, it was already the middle of the night. Ling Shuyu requested the next day off and went home to sleep.

Just as Su Chen was about to go back to sleep, he received a text message that kept him wide awake with excitement until he finally dozed off at dawn.

"Boss, you sleeping in cost us at least three thousand yuan in revenue," Liu Shengnan said with a sigh.

"That doesn’t matter." Su Chen sat down, his face a picture of pure, relaxed satisfaction. He took out his phone, pulled up a message, and showed it to Liu Shengnan. "Take a look. What’s this?"

Liu Shengnan stared at the screen. She had barely read a few words when she suddenly let out a shriek.

"AHHHH! Boss, is this for real? One hundred thousand! It was really deposited?"

Su Chen took his phone back. "Director Li works fast. He was in charge of collecting the first month’s fees from the parents and transferred it all to me in one lump sum."

"Today, run this money through the company’s books and then use it to pay the rent. This needs to be done fast!"

"Yes, yes!" Liu Shengnan excitedly clutched her small ledger. "I’ll do it right now!"

Hearing the conversation, the others all crowded around.

"For real? We’ve paid up the rent?" He Shuting was also thrilled, so much so that she felt like crying.

Bai Xiaobo took a deep breath. "It wasn’t easy. We’ve finally solved a huge problem."

Su Chen clapped his hands to quiet everyone. "Don’t get too excited. You have to remember, we’ve covered this year’s one hundred fifty thousand, but next year it goes up to two hundred thousand! Add in the one hundred fifty thousand for the second floor, and next year’s rent will be three hundred fifty thousand!"

Zhang Li covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled. "Boss, your annual revenue from the second floor alone will be a million. Even after costs, it’ll definitely be more than enough."

Su Chen gave an awkward laugh.

’That’s just the rent,’ he thought. ’The contents of the warehouse are nearly gone and basically worthless now. Besides, the lease on the warehouse is about to expire, and I don’t plan on renewing it.’

’It’s no longer useful to me.’

’On top of that, there’s employee payroll, which is another significant expense.’

’I’ll only know the exact figures once we’re up and running.’

"Alright, I have a formal announcement to make."

This was something Su Chen had decided on during his sleepless night.

"Our immediate priority is to get the cafeteria and dining service on the second floor up and running. From now on, the 19th floor will no longer be responsible for preparing breakfast."

"Breakfast, including the staff meals for the Xinghui employees, will all be handled on the second floor. The 19th floor will focus exclusively on custom Delicious orders."

The new division of labor was crystal clear.

Furthermore, Su Chen planned to temporarily hand over the bulk cooking on the second floor to Liu Ahbao. Of course, he couldn’t just have him work for free forever. After a while, Su Chen would consider discussing a salary with Ah Bao.

’It would be great if I could keep this senior technician on for the long haul.’

As for Su Chen himself, he would step away from that side of the business and focus solely on the custom Delicious orders on the 19th floor.

The reason for this was quite simple...

Liu Shengnan came back, beaming. "Boss, Boss! The rent is all taken care of!"

It was all handled online these days; there was no need to meet with the landlord at all.

As for the reason...

Su Chen took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

A flash of light sparked in his mind.

[Congratulations, you have completed the side quest: Back from the Brink.]

[Reward: Chinese Cuisine Collection (Fragment) x1]