For a moment, Rui Yuchen thought this was another example of Mr. Pei’s brilliant foresight, but thinking more carefully, it seemed too far-fetched.
“Although such a possibility exists, Slackin’ Takeout has been around for so long, and when it was first established, there wasn’t any sign that Handong Province would implement garbage classification.”
“Did Mr. Pei already envision this takeout model with dish recycling and reuse back then? Was his prediction just too early, so we’ve been operating at a loss this whole time?”
“Even so, Mr. Pei endured the losses, separating Slackin’ Takeout from Slackin’ Internet Café, continuously opening branches, and then making a series of subsequent moves…”
“It would have been too late to do all this after hearing the news. Mr. Pei must have made predictions about major future development trends!”
“Or perhaps the environmentally friendly, healthy lifestyle concept that Mr. Pei wanted to convey through Slackin’ Takeout happened to align perfectly with the garbage classification concept! What a beautiful coincidence!”
The more Rui Yuchen thought about it, the more Mr. Pei’s series of operations seemed breathtaking!
How could an ordinary person have imagined that Slackin’ Takeout’s model would benefit under the special conditions of garbage classification? After continuously losing money for so long, most would have given up long ago!
Yet Mr. Pei not only didn’t give up but kept opening branches and expanding the scale until finally persevering through dark times to see the light!
It was foreseeable that as garbage classification was implemented more deeply, Slackin’ Takeout’s market share would continue to climb, and it was uncertain whether the current number of stores could even satisfy all the demand.
Previously confused and lost, Rui Yuchen now felt these emotions completely swept away, replaced by excitement about the opportunity to make his mark!
He immediately took out his laptop, opened the data backend, analyzed and estimated the future situation, and formulated subsequent development strategies.
Mr. Pei had already accurately judged the big picture and bet on the right proposition—only some details in the solution remained.
If he couldn’t even pass this open-book test, what face would he have to continue as the person in charge of Slackin’ Takeout?
Rui Yuchen knew well that he had worked so hard for so long just to wait for this opportunity to turn losses into profits.
Now that the opportunity had arrived, he must seize it!
……
Pei Qian got out of the car at the entrance of Slackin’ Takeout Store No. 1, feeling extremely uneasy.
He feared seeing a repeat of the Slackin’ Internet Café’s unexplained popularity.
But from the current situation, it seemed… acceptable?
There were a few customers in the store, but it wasn’t packed. Rui Yuchen was typing on his laptop, busy with something unknown. The overall state of the store didn’t seem much different from before.
But something still felt off, though he couldn’t quite place it.
It seemed like something was missing.
Suddenly, Pei Qian realized what was missing.
The delivery guys!
Where had all the delivery personnel gone? Their electric scooters were nowhere to be seen!
Previously, to lose more money, Pei Qian had made all of Slackin’ Takeout’s supporting facilities exceed regular demand, including the number of stoves, dishes, and delivery personnel…
With limited daily order demand, the more excessive these resources, the greater the losses.
For instance, whenever he came in the past, many delivery personnel would be idle.
But today, all the delivery guys were gone!
Pei Qian instantly realized there was a major problem!
The previously long-idle Slackin’ Takeout had suddenly started operating at full capacity!
Although Rui Yuchen was focused on his work, he was also watching the front of the store with his peripheral vision, so he immediately noticed Mr. Pei.
“Mr. Pei!”
Rui Yuchen was both surprised and delighted.
Mr. Pei had come to inspect!
As for why he had made a special trip, the reason was simple: Mr. Pei was likely concerned that with the surge in demand for Slackin’ Takeout, it might be difficult to satisfy customer needs, potentially leading to delayed order dispatching, so he came to check!
Thinking of this, Rui Yuchen preemptively said: “Don’t worry, Mr. Pei. Although order demand has surged at all stores, since you’ve always reminded us to be well-prepared, we currently won’t have issues with order overloads or delayed deliveries!”
“Next, I’ll arrange for store managers to prepare more ingredients, urgently recruit new delivery personnel, purchase new dishes, and so on, ensuring that customer needs can be met immediately!”
Pei Qian: “…”
I haven’t even said a word yet!
Seeing Rui Yuchen’s excited expression, Pei Qian also knew that Slackin’ Takeout was likely in a troubling situation!
The existing orders definitely couldn’t be canceled now.
He could only think of solutions urgently. If Slackin’ Takeout turned from loss to profit, with such a large scale…
Where would all that extra money go?
Pei Qian took a deep breath and sat down in a random seat.
“Tell me about the current situation.”
Rui Yuchen nodded; he had just been organizing relevant data on his laptop, so now he could put it to immediate use.
“Mr. Pei, Slackin’ Takeout will turn from loss to profit within the next month!”
“Because after long-term development, Slackin’ Takeout has already built up a customer base and reputation. It’s only been operating at a loss because there’s no particular price advantage, and the resources at each store are excessive, keeping expenses high.”
“But with this opportunity of garbage classification, our accumulated reputation has instantly exploded. Old customers are abandoning other takeout services and making Slackin’ Takeout their primary choice, while also bringing in a large batch of new customers. Plus, all the resources at each store can be fully utilized…”
“Mr. Pei, you were right—the market potential of the entire Handong Province hasn’t been fully tapped yet. From now on, Slackin’ Takeout won’t need your additional funding. We just need to invest all net profits into new stores and keep expanding!”
Pei Qian’s lips twitched slightly.
No need for additional funding?
This was truly devastating news!
Pei Qian fell silent, knowing he needed to do something.
Allowing Rui Yuchen to invest all net profits into new stores, which would instantly become popular and start making money, creating an endless cycle—this was unacceptable!
However, asking Rui Yuchen to turn over this money wasn’t appropriate either!
Because Pei Qian currently had no idea where to spend this money, it would be a hot potato in his hands.
He still needed to uphold the principle that whoever makes money should spend it. However, with projects already turning a profit, opening more branches would only increase earnings. Unless necessary, he shouldn’t repeat the Slackin’ Internet Café model.
Pei Qian thought for a moment: since Slackin’ Takeout was already turning from loss to profit…
He should find ways to increase costs and keep each store continuing to operate at a loss!
If he couldn’t increase the cost per store, then no matter how many branches opened, it would be like adding fuel to the fire or trying to stop boiling water with more boiling water—unable to solve the fundamental problem.
But how could he increase the cost of each store?
Pei Qian couldn’t think of anything.
Because Slackin’ Takeout’s various supporting facilities were already high-spec, even the delivery personnel’s electric scooters were top-notch.
However, Pei Qian had another method.
Reverse-utilizing the employees’ tendency to overthink.
Since his employees were all prone to overthinking, if he couldn’t come up with ideas himself, he could let his employees think of something.
Pei Qian coughed lightly: “Regarding opening new branches, there’s no rush, because the current Slackin’ Takeout model hasn’t achieved perfection.”
“Think carefully, what is Slackin’ Takeout still missing?”
Rui Yuchen was stunned: “Missing? It doesn’t seem to be missing anything… right?”
The two stared at each other.
Pei Qian felt very insecure but firmly believed that as long as his expression was serious enough, his subordinate would surely overthink and come up with something.
Seeing Mr. Pei’s very confident gaze, Rui Yuchen began to doubt himself and carefully reconsidered from a different angle.
Previously, all of Slackin’ Takeout’s configurations had been overseen by Mr. Pei, so there shouldn’t be any deficiencies.
So the key should be… the difference between Slackin’ Takeout’s past and present?
What Mr. Pei meant must be something that wasn’t necessary before but is needed now?
Previously, there was no garbage classification, but now with it, the pressure on Slackin’ Takeout to process garbage would increase significantly.
So… Mr. Pei must be referring to the issue of kitchen waste processing?
Rui Yuchen thought for a moment: “Perhaps… each store is missing a microbial garbage processor?”
Pei Qian listened with some confusion.
Microbial garbage processor… what was that?
He had no idea but couldn’t ask directly.
Pei Qian continued smiling: “So, why do we need such a thing?”
Rui Yuchen thought for a moment: “Because… previously, garbage was directly thrown away, but now Slackin’ Takeout stores must also follow the principles of garbage classification. Kitchen waste is more troublesome to dispose of. If we had microbial garbage processors, they could digest the kitchen waste produced by each store and decompose it into fertilizer. Is that right, Mr. Pei?”
Pei Qian nodded: “So, what’s the price of this thing?”
Rui Yuchen quickly grabbed his laptop: “One moment, Mr. Pei, let me search.”
“Um, prices vary, also depending on size. For a machine suitable for our stores… approximately 50,000 to 130,000 yuan each…”
Pei Qian nodded: “Good, that’s exactly what we’re missing!”
“Equip every store with one, and buy the 130,000 yuan model.”
If it was cheap, he wouldn’t bother, but hearing the 130,000 yuan figure, Pei Qian immediately decided—this was it!
Spending 130,000 yuan per store would greatly increase costs!
If they opened 100 new stores in the future, the money spent on these microbial garbage processors alone would amount to over 13 million yuan.
How long would it take to recoup that?
As long as all Slackin’ Takeout stores were equipped with this thing, he could rest easy for at least this settlement period, right?
Since money could be spent, let’s quickly implement it!
Indeed, employee overthinking was a double-edged sword.
Sometimes it caught him off guard, but other times it could help him find new approaches!
When faced with a problem, just ask your employees: “What do you think I’m thinking?” And the problem would be solved!
Pei Qian couldn’t help feeling a bit smug.
This was called learning from mistakes; what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!
Rui Yuchen quickly nodded: “Yes, Mr. Pei. I’ll immediately arrange for store managers to take care of it!”