Chapter 84 Free Lunch and Dinner Provided

Gui A County.

Lately, Lu Kun had been busy.

He had just completed an inspection of the new supermarket branches that had recently opened in the urban area of Fengyang City.

On the whole, Sun Bowen was still coordinating the company’s overall operations quite well, and nothing major had gone wrong.

“General Manager, here is the internal company survey report regarding the trial early and late shift system you previously proposed.”

Sun Bowen braced himself, handed the document to Lu Kun, and spoke with caution.

“Yes, I know.”

Lu Kun lifted his eyelids, withdrew his long legs from the desk, straightened his body, and picked up the document to read.

“Hm? What’s this about?” Lu Kun quickly browsed through it and then spoke.

He was puzzled; the working hours for Huakun Supermarket’s frontline staff were still rather long.

They started at six thirty in the morning and didn’t finish until nine thirty at night. By any measure, this job was not easy.

So why was there so much opposition to the company’s new early and late shift system? And why was the opposition mainly coming from the rank-and-file employees?

Lu Kun took a cigarette from his suit pocket, lit it, and began to smoke.

“Tell me, why don’t the frontline employees agree with the early and late shift system?”

He exhaled smoke, which drifted into the shape of the Olympic rings.

Sun Bowen stared in amazement for a moment before realizing his boss was waiting for an answer. When he looked up, he found Lu Kun’s gaze as sharp as if he meant to kill.

“Well… well, boss, our frontline employees aren’t paid much, so everyone wants to earn more.

Once we implement the early and late shift system, their wages are bound to drop.”

Sun Bowen wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and hurried to reply.

“But don’t we have a supplementary policy allowing employees to voluntarily apply for overtime? If anyone truly needs the money, they can apply for extra hours, can’t they?”

Lu Kun raised an eyebrow, still full of doubt.

“Boss, that system basically renders the early and late shifts pointless!

Almost every employee is applying for overtime, and the team leaders in charge of scheduling don’t even know whom to assign. Some even…”

Sun Bowen began to stammer.

“Spit it out! Don’t clam up at the crucial point. And why do your legs always shake when I question you? Are you about to wet yourself?”

Lu Kun’s words were like daggers, and his tone was impatient.

“Boss, I heard some frontline employees are actually giving gifts to the overtime managers to secure extra shifts.”

Sun Bowen replied with a pained expression.

“What? People are actually bribing for overtime?”

Lu Kun was so shocked he dropped his cigarette.

“Yes,” Sun Bowen nodded.

Lu Kun snuffed out the cigarette with his toe and turned to Sun Bowen, “Don’t concern yourself with this. I’ll have the disciplinary team handle it.”

The disciplinary team, information department, and public relations were always under Lu Kun’s direct control; Sun Bowen’s reach did not extend into those departments.

Lu Kun toyed with a fake antique walnut in his left hand, thinking for a moment. “That won’t do either.

Just a few days ago, during my inspections, I noticed some employees were nodding off during their shifts.

This can’t go on. The working hours for our frontline staff are simply too long. In the short term, it might not cause big problems, but over time, various conflicts will erupt, badly affecting the company’s stability and growth.

Have everyone brainstorm ways to give our frontline staff better rest without significantly increasing company expenses or reducing their income.”

Sun Bowen looked troubled; his boss was truly difficult to please.

This was the classic case of wanting the horse to run but not let it eat grass.

Sun Bowen lowered his head and thought deeply.

A long time passed.

“Hey?”

“Boss, what if we increase employee benefits?”

Lu Kun: “…”

“No more pay raises!” Lu Kun’s face darkened.

Currently, the base wage for Huakun Supermarket’s frontline staff was already two yuan higher than the competition.

Two yuan didn’t seem like much, but in the future, that would be the difference between a monthly salary of three thousand and three thousand three hundred.

It wasn’t that Lu Kun was stingy; it was just that if Huakun Supermarket raised wages any further, it would immediately become a thorn in the side of its rivals.

“No, no,” Sun Bowen quickly waved his hands. “I’m not talking about a pay raise.

Boss, what if we provide free lunch and dinner for the staff?”

Lu Kun was baffled. Pointing at Sun Bowen, he said, “Isn’t that a huge increase in spending? I suppose you don’t care because the company’s money isn’t coming out of your own pocket!”

Sun Bowen rolled his eyes inwardly. As expected, his boss always acted generous in public, but afterwards would inevitably get depressed over the expense.

“So, what’s your idea?” Lu Kun asked, not really expecting much from Sun Bowen.

“Boss, I was thinking like this.

If we provide free lunch and dinner, we can deduct the meal time from their working hours.

If they’re eating and resting, that time doesn’t count as paid work, and we have a reasonable explanation for it.”

Sun Bowen’s smile turned sly.

“Oh?”

Lu Kun straightened up and grinned. “That’s a good idea! We can even price the meals a bit high, so the employees feel they’re getting a bargain by eating lunch and dinner here. Heh.”

Providing free lunch and dinner sounded like a major expense, but in truth, it wasn’t at all.

The money saved by deducting meal breaks from paid hours was enough to keep the staff canteens running.

With this approach, Huakun Supermarket could also clear out some slow-moving fresh food inventory—a win-win situation.

“By the way, should we offer breakfast too?” Lu Kun asked after a moment’s thought.

Sun Bowen: “…”

“Boss, in the morning, the staff are still energetic. It’s in the afternoon and evening when they start to flag.”

“Forget breakfast. If their eating habits turn unsightly and they find their wages down at the end of the month, they’ll curse us,” Lu Kun laughed.

“Remember, we provide lunch and dinner only. And our canteens in each branch must not operate for profit.

All supplies for the canteens must be sourced internally from Huakun Supermarket,” Lu Kun instructed.

“Understood. Keep the benefits within the family.

Boss, shall I go announce the good news about free lunch and dinner to everyone?” Sun Bowen said with a smile as he prepared to leave.

“Get out,” Lu Kun replied, laughing and cursing at the same time.