NOVEL NEXT Chapter 144: Entrepreneurship
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"Is that so?" Liu Si frowned.
"Yes!" Li Shan nodded.
"Then we must investigate this thoroughly!" Liu Si spoke earnestly, "Based on what I know about Leopard, he definitely wouldn't make a big move just for someone insignificant. So, Xiao Han must be an important person to Leopard. Yet, Xiao Han is just a high school student, so what could be the connection between him and Leopard?"
"Now that you mention it, I'm actually starting to feel something off too!" As Li Shan heard this, his expression turned grave. He hadn't thought deeply about it before, but now that he considered it, indeed, something seemed amiss.
"Therefore, you must make sure to investigate this matter thoroughly!" Liu Si looked solemnly at Li Shan and said, "Moreover, you need to handle this personally. Don't alert anyone, understand?"
"Yes!" Li Shan immediately nodded.
This matter needed to be kept secret, so Li Shan had to be the one to investigate it personally. Moreover, he couldn't alarm anyone else. If there was any secret involved, once others were alerted, it would become impossible to start the investigation and even harder to conduct it.
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Hanmen Technology was developing towards Hanmen Catering.
Yang Lu had been extremely busy lately, hardly able to catch a break. Her mother was staying in the hospital while she couldn't afford to care for her, having to hire a nursing aide for help instead. To Yang Lu, although the aide was expensive, they were at a critical juncture in the development of Hanmen Catering, and there was no room for neglect.
The person in charge of Hanmen Catering was Zhao Lizhong, 35 years old, with a refined appearance, but he had been in the catering management industry for a full decade. He had a thorough understanding of the development and current state of the industry.
After half a month of research, Zhao Lizhong had selected several locations intending to establish Hanmen Catering outlets. Since Hanmen Technology was investing in catering, they might as well do it big and open five chain restaurants at once. These five chain restaurants were all to be set up in a rural homestay style. The sites chosen by Zhao Lizhong had a few common features.
First, there was ample space at the entrance for parking; second, the geographic location was somewhat remote, at the urban-rural interface, with only one well-situated spot opposite Fuxing Community. He chose a three-story farmhouse and signed a year's lease in one go.
At that moment, in the small property-rights house across from Fuxing Community, the landlord, beaming with joy, had just received half a year's rent.
"Alright, the house is all yours now," the landlord said, his face glowing with excitement. "You can do whatever you like with it!"
Having said that, the landlord turned and left.
Xiao Han stood behind Yang Lu. She surveyed the dilapidated three-story building. Each floor was roughly over 150 square meters. All three floors combined amounted to four or five hundred square meters, which was more than sufficient for a rural homestay. Additionally, there was a large space at the entrance where quite a few cars could park.
Even if this spot couldn't accommodate all the cars, the customers could park in Fuxing Community. Crossing a road wasn't more than seventy or eighty meters distance, so it wouldn't affect the diners' mood.
"This place... can it really work?" Yang Lu looked disappointed.
"Don't worry!" Zhao Lizhong said, brimming with excitement, "The rent here is cheap, just over five thousand a month. Nearly five hundred square meters of space. It's definitely a bargain. We'll strive to get the decoration done this month. Also, I've already got an idea for the decor. I went to Guangzhou a few days ago to look at several distinctive restaurants and learned from their style.
I plan to imitate their style. I believe the business won't be too bad."
"Brother Zhao, what about the chef?" asked Yang Lu.
"I do have a few good chefs here, and their skills are not bad," Zhao Lizhong hurriedly said. "They all work out of town. If you can offer a good salary, I think they would be willing to come back to develop in Linjiang City."
"Salary is open to negotiation!" Xiao Han nodded and said, "As long as their skills are up to par. As long as they can help make our Hanmen Catering brand known, even a higher salary is possible!"
"That's great!" Zhao Lizhong said, nodding immediately. "But, should we set a reasonable range, or... shall we just adopt the big-city approach, a base salary plus a bonus? What do you think?"
"That works!" Xiao Han nodded.
The base salary plus bonus model could give the head chef a greater incentive to work hard. As long as the head chef could manage the kitchen, everything else was open to discussion.
Xiao Han thought this model was workable.
Zhao Lizhong, with ten years of experience in the catering industry, had some expertise and had made many contacts in the catering circle. Hiring a few head chefs shouldn't be a big problem. Xiao Han specifically toured the entire building, then smiled and said, "This should be the first Hanmen Catering store we open, right?"
"Right!" Zhao Lizhong nodded and said, "I've also chosen the other spots, currently in touch with the landlords."
"Good!" Xiao Han nodded and said, "Sister Yang, I'll leave this matter to you."
"Rest assured!" Yang Lu smiled and said, "You pay us a salary; we work hard for you. That's only natural."
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"Don't say that!" Xiao Han quickly shook his head and said, "Have you forgotten that you own five percent of Hanmen Technology? So, everything you're doing now is also partly for yourself. Plus, you're a millionaire now!"
"That's all thanks to you," Yang Lu said with a giggle.
A smile appeared at the corner of Xiao Han's mouth as he said, "This place isn't bad. The location is good, too. I believe it will definitely be a success!"
"I hope so," Yang Lu nodded. Her desire for success was no less than anyone else's. Or rather, everyone yearns for success, but the road to it is paved with thousands of troops and obstacles, making it extremely difficult.
After finalizing the house, the next day Yang Lu started to contact the construction team. Construction began according to Zhao Lizhong's plan. Meanwhile, Zhao Lizhong started to reach out to the head chef. The position of head chef is critical, having a decisive impact on the restaurant's business.
Within a week, the construction team had the three-story building partially completed; they worked quickly. With five or six people working simultaneously, they renovated at lightning speed.
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At Linjiang No.1 Middle School, another mock exam session had begun.
These students, on the verge of entering the gauntlet of college entrance examinations, seemed to have grown accustomed to such tests. At first, each exam would make them sweat nervously. But as time passed, they gradually became desensitized.
"Xiao Han, are you confident?" Chen Zihan looked at Xiao Han and asked, "The official college entrance exams are only two and a half months away."
"Yes," Xiao Han nodded, saying, "Time flies, two months have passed in the blink of an eye."
"Looking forward to the exams, but also scared of them!" A trace of nervousness flickered through Chen Zihan's eyes, but it swept away as quickly as it came, leaving no trace behind.
"Why be afraid?" Xiao Han pinched her nose and said with a smile, "With your grades, you can pick any university in the country, can't you?"
"People make mistakes, and so do horses," Chen Zihan said with a smile. "I'm really worried I'll slip up. If I do, it's something that'll affect me for life!"
"Relax a bit!" Xiao Han told Chen Zihan, "Just think of the college entrance exams as a very ordinary test, and everything will fall into place."
"I wish I could!" Chen Zihan said with a helpless smile, "But sometimes, I just can't help but lose control of my emotions."
The mock exam still employed a reshuffling approach. Those with good grades were transferred to take the test in a large classroom upstairs, leaving behind those with average or poor performance. For the first time, Xiao Han, as a top student, was moved to take the exam in a large classroom upstairs. There, he encountered Jiang Xiaoliang.
"You're qualified to take the exam here?" Jiang Xiaoliang taunted mockingly.
"My grades are better than yours," Xiao Han retorted unexpectedly.
"You!" Jiang Xiaoliang was furious upon hearing this, almost exploding with anger, but knowing Xiao Han's capabilities, he had to suppress his rage. He glared at Xiao Han coldly before saying, "A bad student is a bad student, no matter how hard you try, you're still a bad student. That's something that cannot change."
"Then let's wait and see!" Xiao Han said calmly with a smile.
"Plagiarism is shameful!" Jiang Xiaoliang sneered.
Whether one is a bad student or not, let the grades speak for themselves. In the classroom, many looked at Xiao Han. They were the top students of Linjiang No.1 Middle School, and they had heard about Xiao Han's sudden rise. However, these proud individuals simply didn't believe in the so-called prodigies.
In their view, Xiao Han had almost always ranked last in his class throughout high school; how could he suddenly burst into the top five of his grade?
They naturally assumed that Xiao Han's grades were achieved through cheating. Thus, they were convinced that Xiao Han must have cheated.
Jiang Xiaoliang deliberately smeared Xiao Han's name with a few other male students nearby, claiming Xiao Han's grades were the result of cheating. This made others look down on Xiao Han even more. However, Xiao Han didn't care. As far as he was concerned, as long as they didn't disturb him or cause him trouble, they could say whatever they liked.
Chen Zihan looked at Xiao Han worriedly and said, "Xiao Han, don't get angry. Watch your emotions and don't let others distract you."
"Sure," Xiao Han nodded.
Soon, the exam began. The few students sitting next to Xiao Han watched him warily, covering their papers while they worked, afraid the cheater would try to copy from them.
Seeing their nervousness, Xiao Han regarded them with disdain and lowered his head to start on his own exam paper.