Chapter 114: Chapter 114: A Sure Thing
Although Lin Ye was a big man, he was quite considerate. So when the shop rejected him, he didn’t argue and turned to leave.
He went to find somewhere else. Perhaps another shop would lend him a faucet, that’s also possible.
However, the result was, initially, the people in those shops greeted him warmly and with smiles.
They assumed he was there to buy something, but upon hearing he wanted to borrow a faucet to wash lunch boxes, their expressions changed instantly.
Their expressions changed faster than flipping a book.
Just like the previous shop, the subsequent ones all refused him for the same reason.
The reasons given were pretty much the same, that is, if he’s not there to buy something, he should leave immediately and not disrupt their business.
Lin Ye was silent for a moment. He thought of Jiang Xin, who, fearing no shop would lend him a faucet, gave him a dollar specifically as a water fee.
Lin Ye took that dollar out from his pocket and then said to the shop owner in a very pleading tone:
"I won’t use your faucet for free. How about this, I give you money, a dollar, okay? Let me wash lunch boxes in your shop for a month, if that works for you, the money is yours."
Lin Ye spoke sincerely.
His tone was earnest, after all, everything can be discussed.
If possible, he might set up a stall in this market for the next month.
For that month, employee meals would definitely be packed in lunch boxes.
In this way, they would need to find a place to wash lunch boxes every noon. If he could negotiate with this shop to wash them for a dollar a month, it saves him from finding different places every day.
Asking around like this isn’t particularly convenient either.
Moreover, if he had to try his luck from shop to shop, it’s a waste of time, and he wasn’t sure if any shop would lend him a faucet for washing.
If they could settle on one shop, spending a little money is quite reasonable.
And this dollar was given to him by Jiang Xin, perhaps with this intention.
Otherwise, why would anyone give money to cover a water fee for washing a lunch box?
After all, water bills aren’t expensive these days.
If it were him, giving a dollar for apparently no reason to wash a lunch box, he wouldn’t do it; who would do a thing that doesn’t benefit them?
This was also Lin Ye’s speculation, as he didn’t know what Jiang Xin’s real intention was with that dollar.
He guessed it was to offer a dollar to the shop owner to ease the negotiation later when washing the lunch boxes.
After all, who wouldn’t be happy to see money?
Lin Ye thought so too, so he happily handed that dollar to the server, attempting to negotiate when the server, upon seeing the dollar, was obviously taken aback.
After all, the businesses near these markets were small ventures, earning a small profit.
Their shop size was small, with just one server, because hiring more would be financially burdensome for the boss.
So, upon seeing the dollar, the server hesitated instantly.
After all, their shop sold wontons, so they only earned about three or four dimes per bowl.
The profit margin was very low.
This dollar could cover several bowls of wontons, and even half a month’s water bill.
Why not agree!
So, the server was instantly tempted, but there was one thing—he wasn’t the boss of the shop.
To put it bluntly, he was just an employee, without the authority to decide, so the server smiled and said to Lin Ye:
"For this matter, you must wait a moment. It’s not up to me, I have to ask my boss."
"If the boss agrees, then yes. If not, you’ll have to find somewhere else."
As the server spoke, he thought to himself, after all, that was a dollar, knowing their shop was a small business making limited money, with monthly rent and power bills.
And running a business inevitably incurs water and power costs. If they took that man’s dollar,
it could cover half a month’s water bill, which would save the boss an expense.
Even though the dollar didn’t sound like much, this man wanted to use the shop’s faucet to wash lunch boxes for a month for a dollar.
The water used for washing lunch boxes surely wouldn’t cost much, it’s a guaranteed profit, he believed, his boss would agree.
After all, who wouldn’t take advantage?
So, the server confidently went to the back to call the boss, planning to discuss with him.
He even thought it was a sure thing.
Before heading to the back, the server gave Lin Ye a reassuring gesture, and then left.
In their shop, it was just the two of them; he was responsible for serving and clearing tables, while the boss was in the back cooking wontons.
The two worked together seamlessly.
He had worked in the shop for nearly a year, so he was quite familiar with the boss’s character and temper.
So he immediately went to the back kitchen, found the boss, and explained the situation, as Lin Ye was waiting at the front.
"Boss, there’s a man outside who wants to borrow our back kitchen faucet to wash lunch boxes."
Upon hearing this, the boss was visibly annoyed. He was already busy with his business, customers were waiting to eat his wontons.
The wontons were freshly made to order, so when there were more people, it was impossible to manage anything else.
At this time, it was the hottest period of the day, he was sweating profusely.
So, after hearing the server’s words, he instantly became impatient.
The boss said to the server:
"Tell him to go cool off somewhere else. Doesn’t he know this is our busy time?"
"Can’t you see I’m so busy, feet barely touching the ground, and he wants to come to the kitchen to wash lunch boxes? Isn’t this causing trouble?"
"And you have to come to the back for such a minor issue, can’t you just turn him away yourself?"
"Quickly go serve the customers so it doesn’t affect our business. Do you still want your salary this month?"
After saying this, the shop owner then sent the server back to serve customers.