I Really Didn't Mean to Make Money

Li Maode thought for a moment, then looked up at Jiang Cheng.

“Manager Jiang, please hold on a moment. I can’t make the call on tearing down and rebuilding the workshop. I need to check with upper management first.”

“Please bear with me.”

“Of course.”

Jiang Cheng nodded and sat down in the office to wait.

Li Maode pulled out his phone and made a call.

After a while, He hung up and turned to Jiang Cheng with a smile on his face.

“Manager Jiang, headquarters has agreed to allow the workshop to be torn down and rebuilt, but on the condition that we sign a long-term cooperation contract.”

“I hope you understand—if you rebuild and then only rent for two years before pulling out, it would be hard for me to find another tenant.”

“But rest assured, the long-term contract won’t require your Clothing Factory to pay all the rent upfront. You’ll just need to pay the annual rent at the start of each year.”

Jiang Cheng nodded without hesitation.

“A long-term cooperation contract is fine.”

He had already consulted President Chen on this point, and President Chen had made it clear that if the rebuild was approved, a long-term partnership was acceptable.

Hearing this, Li Maode let out a hearty laugh.

“Manager Jiang, then here’s to a successful partnership. I’ll spread the word as soon as possible.”

“But about the contract—I hope we can finalize it quickly.”

“I’ll go prepare everything. We can sign it as early as tomorrow.”

Jiang Cheng smiled in response. With the expansion issue of the Clothing Factory now tentatively resolved, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders.

Next up, He needed to focus on clothing sales and distribution.

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

Next to the Mingri Group office building, On a pedestrian street— 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Mingri Cafeteria.

“Sorry, this is an employee cafeteria, not a public restaurant.”

“Sorry, only Mingri Group employees are allowed inside.”

“Sorry, even if you want to pay, you still can’t eat here.”

“......”

At the entrance of the cafeteria, A janitor stood firmly, repeatedly stopping passersby from trying to enter and eat.

Wang Maonian watched the scene at the door and sighed.

He thought naming it “Mingri Cafeteria” would make it obvious to people that it was a company cafeteria. But to his surprise, the sign had no effect at all.

Every passerby seemed to think it was just the name of a restaurant.

Looks like they’d need to install an access system—only employees with a badge should be able to enter.

He glanced at the time. It was already lunchtime.

“All of you, go help watch the entrance. Only people with a Mingri Group ID badge are allowed in.”

Wang Maonian turned and instructed several cafeteria staff.

Soon, a wave of employees poured out from the office building, heading straight toward Mingri Cafeteria.

“Back when we had team-building events, folks from the Clothing Factory kept raving about how good the food was at the employee cafeteria. I finally tried it yesterday—turns out they were right!”

“Totally! With food like that, I don’t even want to eat anywhere else. I could eat here every day and never get tired of it.”

“I’m so jealous of the Clothing Factory crew. They’ve been eating here for ages.”

“And the best part? It’s all free. Even the drinks. Unbelievable.”

“......”

A group of Clothing Factory employees walked together toward Mingri Cafeteria, chatting excitedly about it.

Just yesterday, their first day on the job, they had tried the cafeteria food.

When they saw the spread, most of them were stunned—it was hands down the best cafeteria food they’d ever seen.

Some passersby watched the badge-wearing employees walk in unimpeded, their eyes filled with curiosity.

Some of them had just been turned away moments ago.

“What’s the deal with this Mingri Group? Never heard of them before.”

“I actually know a bit. Mingri Group leased the top ten floors of that building next door. Looks like the boss has serious money.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of them too. I work in that building. But those top ten floors? Terrible feng shui. Every company that’s tried to operate up there has gone under—losses, bankruptcies, you name it. None of them lasted more than six months.”

“Oh! I’ve heard that rumor too. Pretty spooky. Wonder if Mingri Group can break the curse and last longer than six months.”

“Well, they definitely have cash. I peeked through the window—the cafeteria layout and decor are super luxurious.”

“It’s not just the decor. When the cafeteria first opened yesterday, no one was guarding the door, so I went in. I thought it was a regular restaurant and figured I’d grab lunch. The food was incredible—six dishes: roast duck, jumbo shrimp, lamb chops... all premium stuff. But unfortunately, when I was ordering, they realized I wasn’t an employee and kicked me out.”

“Man, the food’s that good? Now I’m really jealous.”

“......”

A crowd of passersby stood watching as more and more Mingri Group employees entered the cafeteria, whispering among themselves.

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

Linshui City.

“Yaoyao! We passed the review! The short video platform approved us for live streaming! The rate is 100 yuan per hour, and we can stream 2 to 4 hours a day!”

Liu Weiwei, eyes glued to her phone, ran excitedly over to Yang Yaoyao.

She had been anxiously waiting for the approval these past two days. With no news, she thought their application had probably been rejected.

But just now, the live streaming platform sent a message saying their submission had been approved—they could start streaming immediately.

“Let me see.”

Yang Yaoyao’s face lit up as she looked at Liu Weiwei’s phone. Sure enough, the message confirmed that their application had passed.

That meant they could start making money from live streaming today.

At 100 yuan an hour, with a maximum of four hours a day, that was 400 yuan a day—over 10,000 yuan a month.

That was more than she made as a tutor.

“Then let’s go live right now and give it a try!”

Liu Weiwei held up her phone, eyes sparkling with excitement. “Alright, let’s do this!”

Yang Yaoyao nodded eagerly. She was also curious about live streaming—plus, it could actually make them money. She couldn’t wait to give it a try.

They grabbed the phone stand they had prepared earlier and set it up on the table.

Given their current situation, using a phone for live streaming was their only option for now. Whether they could actually earn money from it was still uncertain—they’d only know for sure after they saw some income come in.

Their platform offered both daily and monthly payout options. With daily payouts, they’d get paid based on the time they streamed.

For monthly payouts, if they streamed at least two hours a day for a full month, they’d receive a 200 yuan Full Attendance Bonus. If they managed four hours a day, the bonus would go up to 400 yuan.

After some discussion, they decided to go with daily payouts for the first month. If everything went smoothly, they could switch to monthly later on.

Before long, the two of them had their live streaming setup ready and entered the streaming interface.