I Really Didn't Mean to Make Money

“Which barista doesn’t dream of owning their own coffee shop?”

Su Dan’s eyes sparkled with longing. Her dream was to run a coffee shop—not a chain store, but a true specialty coffee shop.

One where every cup of coffee could be customized to the customer’s taste.

When Song Xia heard Teacher Su’s answer, she felt like this was a real opportunity.

President Chen had sent her to learn coffee-making skills so that she could go back and run a coffee shop.

But after several days of training, she realized that if the training only lasted for one month, all she’d learn would be the basics. That would be enough to run an average shop, but it was nowhere near good enough for the kind of specialty coffee shop President Chen envisioned.

Becoming a seasoned barista required constant hands-on practice and training.

And she was supposed to go straight to work after a month of training, with no time to really hone her craft.

So after thinking it over again and again, she finally came up with a solution.

If she couldn’t become a seasoned barista in a short time, why not just hire one?

And this Teacher Su was her target.

“Teacher Su, I have an opportunity for you to run a coffee shop. Would you be interested in giving it a try?”

“If it’s just one of those fast-paced chain stores, then forget it. I’m not interested.”

Su Dan shook her head at Song Xia. If she had really wanted to run a chain store, it would’ve been easy—just pay the franchise fee and renovate the space. Done.

“Teacher Su, it’s definitely not that kind of commercial coffee. It’s specialty coffee.”

“Oh? So you’re looking to bring me on as the store manager?”

“Kind of. Right now, I’m the store manager, but if you come on board, everything in the shop will follow your lead. I’ll just be your student. And our boss plans to open more stores in the future—by then, I can recommend you to be the store manager of a branch.”

“Also, we haven’t purchased any equipment yet. I don’t know much about what machines are needed for a specialty shop. If you come, we can purchase the equipment entirely based on your recommendations.”

“The only downside is, before you officially become a branch manager, you won’t get the salary of a store manager.”

Song Xia briefly explained the situation with the coffee shop.

President Chen had already assigned her the task of preparing a list of equipment to purchase before the renovations were complete.

But since she didn’t know much about coffee equipment, she wanted to wait until she had a better understanding before deciding what to buy.

If Teacher Su agreed to join, she could hand the task over to her—someone who actually knew the field—which would make everything more professional.

Su Dan fell silent at those words.

She had originally planned to work a few more years as a coffee training instructor and save up enough money to open a shop of her own.

But opening her own place came with a lot of risks.

If there really was an investor willing to open a specialty coffee shop and let her manage it, that would clearly be the best outcome.

After all, her passion for running a coffee shop wasn’t about entrepreneurship or making tons of money. She just really loved drinking coffee, experimenting with different beans to create unique flavors. She enjoyed the atmosphere and slower pace of specialty shops.

Over the years, she had approached a few specialty coffee shops, but the owners were always the ones managing things themselves—they didn’t need a separate manager.

So Song Xia’s proposal stirred her heart.

Even though she wouldn’t have the title of store manager, if she could buy the machines she wanted and run the place her own way, it would basically be the same—just without the salary.

This might be the best chance to realize her dream.

Su Dan thought for a long time before finally looking up at Song Xia.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Alright.”

Song Xia nodded. She didn’t expect to convince her on the spot. There was still time—no need to rush.

............

Time passed quickly, And soon it was the end of October.

Inside the garment factory’s office, Chen Mo had just signed a few documents and was now lounging around with nothing much to do.

Thanks to all the hard work lately, everything was proceeding just as he had planned.

The renovation work was nearly complete.

With three separate renovation teams working simultaneously, all three locations were progressing quickly.

“President Chen, the workshop renovation is done. Want to go take a look?”

Shen Rou walked over and spoke.

“Oh, the workshop’s done? Let’s go check it out.”

Arriving at the workshop, From a distance, he could already see Jiang Cheng and Li Shen standing by the entrance. Li Shen had his phone out, apparently filming the workshop interior.

What’s there to film in a workshop?

Chen Mo didn’t get it but still walked over with Shen Rou.

“President Chen, hello!”

“President Chen, hello!”

Hearing the footsteps, Li Shen and Jiang Cheng immediately noticed him and quickly greeted him.

“How’s the renovation inside?”

Chen Mo nodded slightly and looked inside from the doorway.

What met his eyes was a gleaming green epoxy floor—smooth and flat. Overhead were bright ceiling lights and central air conditioning.

“President Chen, I already had people inspect it. I also came by regularly during the renovation. Everything looks great.”

“I’ve contacted the machinery supplier—tomorrow, they’ll deliver the ordered equipment. Once we install everything, the new workshop can be put into operation.”

Jiang Cheng hurried to reply, unable to stop smiling at the thought that the new workshop would be up and running tomorrow.

“Good.”

Chen Mo nodded and stepped into the workshop, taking a good look around.

His gaze landed on the smooth, white walls, and a sudden thought came to him—this was the perfect way to lower employee enthusiasm.

He recalled the banners from the company sports day and realized he could use a similar idea here.

Once the employees saw those subtly negative slogans, they’d surely get the message.

After walking a lap around the workshop, he turned and headed back.

“Li Shen, come with me to the office—I’ve got something for you to do.”

“Got it, President Chen.”

Li Shen beamed as he followed behind. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Back in the office, At President Chen’s instruction, he sat down at the desk.

Chen Mo pulled out a sheet of paper and quickly started writing on it.

After a while, Chen Mo looked over the list of slogans he had written and nodded in satisfaction—these should be subtle enough.

He handed the paper to Li Shen.

“Turn these sentences into banner boards and hang them up on the workshop walls. The banners need to be big—ideally covering the whole wall—so the workers can see them every time they look up.”

“Understood, President Chen.”

Li Shen took the sheet and glanced curiously at the sentences on it.