Chapter 505 - 404: The Store Is Sealed

Chapter 505: Chapter 404: The Store Is Sealed

’Could this be some kind of inspection, or a staged photo op for the company?’

Apprehensively, she asked, "What exactly is going on?"

The store manager’s voice was tinged with fear. "They... there are a lot of them, and they came in aggressively. They’re blowing every minor issue way out of proportion, constantly writing and scribbling on their clipboards, and taking pictures."

"Now they’re saying our sanitation is completely unacceptable. They found three employees without health certificates, said we’re not separating raw and cooked meat, that we’re storing unsold cooked food for multiple days until it smells, and oh, right, our ingredients don’t meet the standards."

"The bureau director himself just ordered us to shut down for rectification!"

After he finished, the store manager swallowed hard. He could already hear the heavy breathing on the other end of the line.

’It’s over. I’m so dead this time.’

’I never should have taken a job at this damn place. I have a feeling I’m going to get dragged into this mess!’

Yang Yixue gasped twice, took a deep breath, and demanded furiously, "How! In the hell! Are you running the store!? So many things are substandard! Did a dog eat your brain?!"

She nearly fainted from anger.

’How could my luck be this bad lately?’

The store manager, deciding he had nothing left to lose, replied helplessly, "President Yang, this has nothing to do with me. Your standard was to cut corners wherever possible. We’re short on cleaning staff, the pay is low, and the purchasing budget is tiny..."

He was truly fed up.

’How is this his fault?’

There were only a handful of people in the store; they could work themselves to death and still not get everything done.

Yang Yixue had told them to clean properly and provide good service.

The problem was, who was supposed to do it? Everyone already had a mountain of work on their plate.

They simply didn’t have a spare moment.

Besides, the pay was low, the benefits were terrible, and even the contracts were completely one-sided.

Something about how employees couldn’t resign—only the employer had the right to terminate the relationship.

The employees had been unhappy for a long time.

As for the ingredients, he wanted to switch to fresh ones, but would Yang Yixue agree?

The daily operating budget was squeezed so tight that if he spent even a little extra, it would be deducted from his own salary.

The store wasn’t his, so he really couldn’t be bothered to care that much.

’He wanted to do more, but he was powerless.’

Yang Yixue flew into a rage. "Enough! It’s all my fault, is that it? I trusted you, I gave you the store manager position, and this is how you repay me? Making excuses isn’t a skill!"

"Starting now, all of you go home and wait! As for wages... everyone in this store! You’re all docked one month’s pay!"

"I’ll figure out how to handle the store’s rectification. You all are just fantastic. I ask you to run a store for me, and not only do you not make any money, but I also have to clean up your mess!"

Although Yang Yixue was usually unreliable, her mind was quite clear when it came to critical matters.

Since the Bureau for Industry and Commerce had shut her down...

...there was no point in thinking about anything else. The only thing to do was to follow their instructions, quickly carry out the rectifications, and fix whatever they were dissatisfied with.

If possible, it would be best to find someone to deliver a bribe. They definitely wouldn’t accept money if she offered it herself; she had to find a middleman to act as a guarantor.

After venting her anger, Yang Yixue was about to hang up the phone.

But the store manager on the other end decided he’d had enough and roared back, "I’m making excuses? I work my ass off for you from morning till night, day in and day out!"

"Have I seen a single cent of my salary yet? There are only seven people in the store with a mountain of things to do! Even I have to sweep the floors! I have to manage this, and I have to manage that! What am I supposed to do?!"

"When something goes wrong, you’re the one most responsible! I told you ages ago to hire more people and to maintain the quality of the ingredients, but you just wouldn’t listen! Lots of customers got diarrhea after eating here and came to raise hell with me! You think my life is easy?"

"And now, here we are! We work like dogs for you, something goes wrong because of your stupidity, and you blame it all on us and dock our pay? Dock my ass! Screw you!!"

The store manager’s face was a mask of fury.

Days of pent-up dissatisfaction erupted like a volcano.

He’d had enough!

The other employees in the store looked vindicated.

’That’s right! Give it to her!’

’Is it easy for us to come out here and work? No room and board provided, and she loves docking our pay. Every day, one person is doing the work of two. In the end, forget about getting any praise, not only does she not pay us on time, she wants to dock a month’s salary! This is too much!!’

Yang Yixue’s face turned black with rage from being yelled at.

Her lips trembled with anger, and the hand holding her phone was shaking too.

The fire in her heart was about to explode.

"You’re cursing at me?! What is this attitude?! You’re the ones who screwed up my store, so what’s wrong with me docking your pay?! Or should I be the one paying for your mistakes?!"

The store manager shouted back, "This is my attitude! So what? Let me make one thing clear! You screwed up the store, not us! If you had listened to even one of my suggestions, we wouldn’t be in this mess today!!"

"So now I’m telling you, Yang Yixue! Either you pay us our wages and listen to my suggestions, or we quit right now! You can find whoever you want to replace us!"

"Xue the Second!!"

Yang Yixue’s voice was shrill with fury:

"The store has a problem! That’s your responsibility as the manager!! If you’re a man, don’t stand there and shift the blame to me!! If the sanitation is substandard, couldn’t you organize the staff to do a big clean-up after hours?"

"Didn’t I hint at it before? After your shift, just take a little time to work some overtime! Do you even understand how the workplace works? You’re in management, and you couldn’t understand what I meant?"

She felt her dignity had been gravely offended.

’As a business-minded boss, what I say goes. Management should just listen and do it!’

’They screw things up, and then they just shift the blame.’

She had said it before: if they were short-staffed, they should just work overtime.

’As employees of the store, is it too much to ask them to think about the store’s well-being?’

Of course, she would never pay for overtime. ’I’m already paying you a salary, what’s there to be difficult about?’

’It’s just a little extra work.’

The store manager’s chest heaved, he was so angry. He felt like he was talking to a brick wall. "I’m not going to argue with you anymore. I gave you two options. They’re on the table. If you don’t agree, then we’re leaving. Think about it yourself!"

Yang Yixue was about to say something else.

But another call came in.

Without a second thought, she unceremoniously hung up on the manager of Store #4.

She answered the call from the manager of Store #5.

"What is it?" Yang Yixue took a deep breath of the stale, sour air in her room.

Takeout boxes had been sitting on her table for days, uncleaned.

The manager of Store #5 said hurriedly:

"President Yang, the store was just inspected by a group of people in white shirts! They said they’re from the Market Supervision Bureau. They’re saying our ingredients are substandard, and they’re fining us five thousand and ordering us to shut down for rectification!"

Store #4 actually got off easy.

Store #5 was even more ridiculous.

A pile of kitchen waste had been left in the kitchen for days, reeking to high heaven.

The smell was strong enough to drift into the dining area.

The staff were so exhausted every day they were like dead dogs. Unless the smell got too overwhelming, they couldn’t be bothered to deal with it.

The manager was also overwhelmed and irritable.

There was a chaotic pile of crap to deal with, and on top of it all, Li Xiaoyan loved to call meetings, making one new rule today and another tomorrow.

Then, a couple of days later, she’d just change the previous rules again.

The manager of Store #5 was about to go crazy.

After listening, Yang Yixue wasn’t just angry; a trace of panic also appeared in her heart.

This time, she didn’t fly off the handle like she just had. "Don’t panic. First, write down everything they said. I’ll head over as soon as I’m done here."

She hung up the phone.

Yang Yixue was panting with rage.