Chapter 274 - 234: Someone Scamming People in the Name of Xu’s Braised Shop?

Chapter 274: Chapter 234: Someone Scamming People in the Name of Xu’s Braised Shop?

"Director, these five people... should we go and have a talk with them?" The staff member standing by hesitated before asking, seeing Elder Sun staring silently at the five names.

The staff member’s question interrupted the memories swirling in Elder Sun’s mind. The countless images from his past dissolved into a long sigh. Finally, he waved his hand at the staff member. "No need. Let’s leave it at that for now. Organize the groups according to everyone’s wishes and begin preparations for the training."

"Yes, sir!" The staff member said nothing more, simply nodding in acknowledgment before leaving the small auditorium.

The small auditorium, which had just been packed with people and bustling with noise, was now empty and silent, leaving only Elder Sun behind. It felt vast and desolate.

To be honest, before being transferred to the China Disabled People’s Federation, Elder Sun had been full of confidence and brimming with motivation. But once he arrived and saw the situation—no staff, no funding—he realized that getting anything done meant swallowing his pride and begging for help everywhere...

If swallowing his pride was all it took to get things done, it wouldn’t be a problem. The biggest issue was that most members within the Federation itself weren’t optimistic about his plan.

In fact, it wasn’t just them. After carefully reviewing the five-year career trajectories of those who had found jobs through the training program in the past, Elder Sun himself was no longer very optimistic about the plan.

Finding a temporary job wasn’t hard. But finding them real, lifelong careers was difficult. Extremely difficult.

Sigh.

Elder Sun sighed again, carefully folded the list in his hands, and put it in his pocket. He forced a smile as he walked out of the meeting room, got on his small electric scooter, and headed toward Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant.

He arrived right during Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant’s busiest hours. In the back kitchen, Liu Daxi’s team was wielding their spatulas so fast they were practically a blur, making it impossible for them to step away to greet Elder Sun. And so, Xu An, as the manager and the only person in the shop with a free moment, took the initiative to welcome him.

"Master Liu told me about the work Secretary Sun has been busy with recently. It’s truly incredible!" Xu An laid on the flattery as soon as he saw him.

"Hah! I’m just doing the job I’m supposed to do," Elder Sun said, then corrected Xu An’s form of address. "If you’d like, just call me Uncle Sun. No need for the ’Secretary’ title."

"Alright, Uncle Sun." Xu An readily agreed, not insisting on the formal title. He then asked curiously, "I heard this job training program has three tracks. Master Liu and the others are in the culinary training, I assume. What are the other two?"

"One is skills training for factory work—garment factories, food production plants, electronics factories, and so on. The third one..." Elder Sun, who had been speaking animatedly, lowered his voice. "The third one is to help them start their own businesses. After all, it’s better to rely on yourself than on others. Once I retire..."

Although Elder Sun didn’t finish his last sentence, Xu An could guess what he wanted to say. But he was just the owner of a small fast-food restaurant. He couldn’t offer any help or advice on the matter, so he remained silent.

The two then deliberately avoided the topic, making small talk about this and that.

As they were chatting, Xu An’s phone suddenly vibrated. The caller ID showed it was Liu Zhaowen. After murmuring an apology to Elder Sun, Xu An answered the call directly. Because the restaurant was crowded and noisy, he had turned the volume up a bit, causing the voice on the other end to be slightly audible.

"Hey, Brother Liu, what’s up?"

"Boss Xu, I need three hundred jin of braised foods today. Two hundred fifty jin of vegetarian and fifty jin of meat. For the vegetarian, fifty jin each of mushrooms and wakame. For the rest, just give me a mix. Thanks, Boss!"

"Got it. Business has been good lately, huh? Selling out three hundred jin every day."

"Hehe, it’s all thanks to the unique flavor of your family’s braised foods, Boss Xu. Most importantly, the price is cheap, so students are happy to buy some to try. Even for the meat dishes, if three or five people pitch in two yuan each, they can buy half a jin to satisfy their cravings..."

"Alright, got your order down. Remember to come by the shop at 4:30 PM to pick it up!" Liu Zhaowen was starting to ramble, so Xu An cut him off.

After hanging up, Xu An put his phone down. Just as he was about to return to their previous conversation, he looked up and saw Elder Sun looking thoughtful.

Just as Xu An was debating whether to remain silent or break the silence, Elder Sun’s eyes suddenly shifted. His gaze fell upon Xu An, his expression seemingly holding a hint of expectation and urgency, yet at the same time, nothing at all—like a deep, dark pool.

"Boss Xu, who was that you were just talking to?"

Elder Sun’s tone was very calm and steady. Xu An couldn’t discern his thoughts from such a short sentence.

But both Liu Zhaowen and he himself were running legitimate businesses, so Xu An didn’t try to over-analyze Elder Sun’s thoughts and simply answered his question directly.

"His name is Liu Zhaowen. He basically buys goods from our shop to resell. It’s been over a week now, and his business is doing pretty well."

"Could you tell me more about it?"

"This Liu Zhaowen, he came to me on the third day Xu’s Braised Shop was open, wanting to partner up. He gets his stock from me..." Xu An explained the entire process of his cooperation with Liu Zhaowen from beginning to end. At the end, he couldn’t help but add with a bit of emotion, "At the time, I thought it was just a whim, but I didn’t expect him to actually stick with it until now..."

"Inspired by Liu Zhaowen’s sales method, we’re planning to turn this sales model into the business model for Xu’s Braised Shop. We’re already preparing for a seminar..." As he spoke, Xu An found himself revealing what Liu Tong had been busy with recently.

This plan had already been set in motion when Liu Tong first approached him with the proposal, but it was forced to a halt midway when someone filed a complaint. Now that the rumors have been cleared up, the project is back on the table and preparations are nearly complete.

"How does one attend this seminar? Are there any restrictions?" Elder Sun asked another question after hearing Xu An’s explanation.

"No restrictions. You just need to contact Liu Tong and register with him." Xu An enthusiastically gave Liu Tong’s contact information to Elder Sun.

Just then, Liu Daxi emerged from the kitchen, drenched in sweat. He rubbed his hands together sheepishly and said with an apologetic smile, "Sorry, sorry. You’ve been waiting long."

Since the main person he was waiting for had appeared, Xu An, who was just keeping him company, had perfectly completed his task. He immediately stood up, said his goodbyes, and left, leaving the table to the two of them.

「China Disabled People’s Federation」

Brother Hua was the unofficial leader of their group of five. Five years ago, the five of them had gone through training together and started working at a factory together.

At the very beginning, while the other workers didn’t fully accept them, they were at least treated with polite respect. But starting from the second month, more and more people started making fun of their disabilities. They were given nasty nicknames, like "Cyclops," "One-Arm," and "One-Leg Li"...

There were also some young troublemakers who would not only imitate their somewhat awkward movements but also deliberately run up to them to show off, asking if their impression was accurate...

All of the above wasn’t the main reason. After so many years, they had long grown accustomed to casual, non-malicious mockery from others.

The last straw that broke the camel’s back was the manager who had hired them with a beaming smile and had them sign their contracts. When he was handing out their first month’s wages, he specifically sought them out to say:

"You all have some physical problems and your speed can’t match that of normal people. If your wages were the same as theirs, they’d feel it’s unfair. So, I’m docking your pay by three hundred yuan..."

What did a three-hundred-yuan deduction mean?

In 2008, their monthly salary was only eight hundred yuan. A three-hundred-yuan deduction meant losing more than a third of their wages for no reason at all!

Besides, the manager was spouting pure nonsense!

If they had actually been lazy or their output was less than that of the regular workers, they would have accepted it. But that wasn’t the case!

It was precisely because they knew they had physical disabilities that they worked almost constantly at their stations—pausing only to eat and sleep—just to keep up with everyone else’s output. They averaged fifteen and a half hours of work per day! Their total output was greater than, not less than, that of the other workers!

How could they accept that?

But they had no way to argue, no one to plead their case to. In the end, they indignantly took that month’s wages and left.

After leaving, they tried many other jobs, but all of them ended in failure.

"Brother Hua, are we really not going to participate? If we go back and talk to Sister Ling now, she could probably change it for us..." one of them said, growing more and more anxious as they waited. He couldn’t help but try to persuade him in a low voice.

"No. None of those options are a suitable way for us to work." Brother Hua shook his head firmly. He pulled a flyer from his jacket and handed it to the others. "Take a look at this. I think this has some potential."

The one who had spoken took the flyer, and the other three all leaned in, huddling together to read its contents.

[Xu’s Braised Shop Recruitment Seminar]

’...Inviting Mr. Liu Zhaowen, who has successful sales experience, to share his secrets to success... No deposit, no entrance fee, no requirements... All profits earned belong entirely to the individual, no commission paid to our shop... Sales support experts available to answer questions...’

"Is this for real? It’s not a scam, is it? Is someone just using the name of Xu’s Braised Shop to trick people?"

"Yeah, the braised dishes from that shop have been super popular lately. The lines are super long every day, and if you go late, they’re already sold out. How could they have extra to sell to us?"

"But the venue is the second floor of Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant! Everyone knows where that is. That can’t be fake, can it?"

"..."

The five of them, deep in their heated discussion, didn’t notice a slightly stooped figure appear behind them. The person held their hands behind their back, and in their right hand, they clutched a flyer identical to the one they were passing around...