I Really Didn't Mean to Make Money

Nanhe Coffee.

Tang Qiu murmured the name to herself. Subconsciously, she thought it actually sounded pretty good.

But soon enough, something felt off—why did “Nanhe” sound so much like “hard to drink” in Chinese?

Must just be a coincidence.

Why would Chen Mo curse his own brand?

The group stayed in the store for a while longer, discussing the details of the opening. After that, Chen Mo left.

The café hadn’t even gotten its business license yet. He wasn’t in much of a rush, so he left the task to Tang Qiu and Song Xia for now.

Once all the paperwork was done, he’d get involved in the coffee shop arrangements. There was still time.

“Mr. Chen, I’ll give you a ride.”

Outside the café, Tang Qiu walked Chen Mo over to her parking spot.

Back at the Old Town residential area, He greeted Yang Dahai and his family briefly, then returned to his own apartment.

...

The Next Morning

Chen Mo arrived early at the clothing factory.

“Good morning, Mr. Chen.”

Shen Rou pushed open the door and greeted him with a smile when she saw him already seated in his office chair.

“Morning.”

Chen Mo nodded and immediately sank into thought.

There was a lot that needed to be done next, and he had to figure out where to start.

The first task quickly became clear—salary increases for the staff.

Now that the holiday was over, the finance department would be processing payroll at the bank. If he didn’t notify them in time, the pay raise might not be applied this month.

Most of the employees had worked for a full month already.

So, everyone was eligible for a raise.

But just giving everyone an increase of five hundred or a thousand? With over 80 employees, that only added up to less than a hundred thousand yuan.

Still not enough.

He needed more ways to spend. Maybe he could do something on the benefits front.

“Mr. Chen, here’s your coffee.”

Shen Rou brought over a cup and placed it on the desk.

Chen Mo took it, took a small sip, then looked at her and spoke.

“I’m planning to make some adjustments to staff salaries and benefits. Take notes and notify finance.”

“Yes, Mr. Chen.”

Shen Rou quickly grabbed her notebook, ready to record.

“This time, all employees who’ve worked over a month will get a raise of 500 yuan. Those who’ve been here three months or more will get a 1000 yuan raise. Also, for those from Cangxue Games who worked on the Tianlong project, because the project was a success, they’ll get an extra 500 on top of the raise.”

“Next, changes to company benefits. Count all employees who’ve worked for three months. Their monthly shopping stipend will increase from 500 to 1000 yuan.”

“I also noticed many employees still don’t have housing. Renting outside costs money, so from now on, employees renting on their own will receive 1000 yuan in monthly housing subsidies.”

“And then, transportation for housed employees. Although there’s a daily shuttle, the driver also takes time off during holidays, which leaves employees stuck. Taxis are expensive, so from now on, housed employees will get a monthly 1000 yuan travel stipend as well.”

“That’s it for now.”

Chen Mo thought it over one last time and confirmed the final list of benefits.

“Mr. Chen, what about Sister Tang Qiu? She’s on an annual salary.”

Shen Rou asked.

Chen Mo considered it, then replied:

“Her benefits can be issued monthly like everyone else’s. As for the raise, just issue it all at once for the year. Based on the raise rules, Tang Qiu gets a 500-yuan raise—multiplied by 13 months, that’s 6500 yuan, plus 1000 for housing and 500 in shopping cards.”

“Got it, Mr. Chen.”

Shen Rou returned to her desk, her notebook filled with dense notes, her heart far from calm.

She remembered her last raise was just a little over a month ago.

Back then, her salary had already been raised once.

Now, based on this new rule, she was getting another 1000 yuan. Which meant...

But that wasn’t even all—she was getting 1000 for housing and 1000 in shopping cards.

All together, that was a lot.

But she had only been with the company for barely four months.

And most importantly, the orphanage that had troubled her for so long had finally overcome its crisis.

Shen Rou sat at her desk in a daze. Everything felt like a dream.

After a while, she gradually came back to herself, suppressed her emotions, and got back to work.

All of this was thanks to Mr. Chen. She was determined to complete every task he gave her and live up to his expectations.

...

Now that the raise situation was settled, it was time to address the most important issue: reforming the clothing factory.

First up: the sales department.

He made a call and had Wu Yu and the others brought in.

“Mr. Chen, do you have any instructions?”

Wu Yu entered the office, visibly excited at the sight of Chen Mo.

After a month of training and nine days of vacation, it had been 40 days since he last saw him.

“Have a seat.”

Chen Mo looked at the eager expression on Wu Yu’s face and felt a little helpless. In the end, he still had to face this slightly rebellious guy.

But fortunately, he’d thought of a solution.

“I called you here to talk about the clothing factory reform. Luo Yuan is aware of it, and I’m sure he’s mentioned it to you.”

“From now on, the factory will be making branded clothing and going the self-produced, self-sold route. That means your department’s work will change.”

“You’ll shift from taking small orders to recruiting agents for our clothing brand.”

“Of course, I know we just started and don’t have much reputation. Early-stage business will be hard to come by.”

“So the company is making up for that. For the next year, you’ll receive the highest commission rate from before, even if you make zero sales. Of course, if your performance exceeds the old commission, we’ll go with the higher amount.”

“Any issues?”

Chen Mo looked up at the three of them, increasingly satisfied with his own arrangement.

The factory was mid-transition, and they didn’t even have clothing samples yet. He doubted Wu Yu could land any agents with just his sales pitch.

And if they didn’t find agents, their clothes wouldn’t sell—meaning losses.

Meanwhile, he’d still be paying them high commissions.

A perfect plan for controlled losses.

“No problem.”

All three nodded in unison. They’d already discussed the transition during the break, so this wasn’t a surprise.

The only unexpected part was the commission arrangement.

With that setup, they’d receive top commission even with zero sales this year.

Mr. Chen was sacrificing his own profits to support them.

As he watched the trio leave, Chen Mo leaned back comfortably in his chair.

The sales department was settled. For a long while, he wouldn’t have to worry about unexpected orders.

The factory was officially in a no-inflow phase.

He turned to Shen Rou.

“Shen Rou, did Cangxue Games send over the Tianlong Holiday report?”

“Yes, Mr. Chen. It came earlier, but you were still talking to Wu Yu and the others, so I didn’t interrupt.”

She got up and handed over the report.