Chapter 132: No Way I’m Leaving Before 8 AM Tomorrow

Chapter 132: Chapter 132: No Way I’m Leaving Before 8 AM Tomorrow

Zhu Yinghui had joined the team of riders at Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant last weekend, thanks to a recommendation from a friend online.

He was quite satisfied with his job as a rider for Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant. He could earn forty to fifty yuan by working just a little over two hours a day. As he got more familiar with the routes, his earnings today finally broke the fifty-yuan mark, reaching sixty-two yuan.

’If I push myself tomorrow, I might even make seventy yuan. That’s almost two thousand a month—about the same as a regular job, but with fewer hours...’

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

Just as Zhu Yinghui was fantasizing about his future, his phone rang. It was an unfamiliar landline number.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Hello, hello! May I ask if I’m speaking with Mr. Zhu Yinghui?" The voice on the other end was a young woman’s, and it was very gentle.

"Yes, that’s me. What can I do for you?"

"Well, Mr. Zhu," the woman began, quickly explaining the purpose of her call. "Over thirty fast-food restaurants in Hai City have jointly established the Hai City Fast Food Association. We’re launching our delivery service tomorrow, and we understand that you have a great deal of delivery experience. Would you be interested in working with us?"

’The Hai City Fast Food Association? Could this be a scam call?’

Just as Zhu Yinghui was hesitating, wondering if he should hang up, the woman on the other end seemed to sense his doubt and spoke again.

"The Hai City Fast Food Association was established under the leadership of Yipin Xiang Fast Food Restaurant, which has twelve branches in Hai City. The president is Yipin Xiang Fast Food Restaurant’s founder, Ren Peng. The pay for riders in this initiative is quite generous. Would you like to hear the details before you decide?"

’Generous pay?’

Those two words caught Zhu Yinghui’s attention. ’I might as well hear what they’re offering.’

"What kind of pay are we talking about?"

"The delivery fee is also fifty cents per order, but we offer a base salary of twenty yuan."

’A base salary of twenty yuan a day means a guaranteed six hundred a month. That’s not bad. It’s equivalent to two delivery runs of twenty meals each at Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant.’

Although Zhu Yinghui was tempted, his instincts told him something was off. He didn’t agree immediately, instead saying vaguely, "I’ll think about it."

After hanging up, Zhu Yinghui opened QQ and saw that a rider he knew from Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant had sent him a private message with a group chat invitation.

He clicked to join the group, and four messages immediately popped up.

’Did you guys get a call from the Hai City Fast Food Association? Is this for real?’

’I think it’s real. A friend told me they even held a press conference over at the little plaza yesterday.’

’Damn! Twenty-yuan base pay. You guys gonna go?’

’I wonder how their delivery system works. If it’s like Xu’s Fast Food, it’d be worth it. But I’m worried they’ll make us deliver one order at a time. It’d take forever to make the same amount we get for a single run here.’

’Someone should ask if it’s one order at a time.’

’I’ll ask.’

A long silence followed that message. Everyone seemed to be waiting for the results of the inquiry.

’It’s assigned by restaurant. One person is responsible for two or three nearby places. The number of meals per delivery depends on how many the customers order.’

’What are the hours?’

’Ten in the morning to two in the afternoon, and four in the afternoon to eight at night. Eight hours total.’

’...’

’Eight hours? That’s a full workday. Not worth it. Forget it. Nothing beats making sixty yuan in just over two hours at Xu’s Fast Food.’

Zhu Yinghui turned off his phone screen, tucked it into his pocket, and continued cycling home.

「The next morning at eight o’clock」

Xu An exported the backend data and printed it out.

Due to the Hai City Fast Food Association’s interference, orders from the Hai City Library and Red Brick Creative Park had dropped by nearly five hundred. However, the order volume from places like Aisha Clothing Company and Qingya District remained stable.

’With five hundred fewer orders, I won’t need as many riders today. Let’s set the number at twelve!’

Xu An opened QQ and sent a message in the Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant rider group chat.

’Need 12 riders today. Type 1 to sign up.’

The first to respond, as usual, were Old Han, his roommates, and his classmates, who immediately flooded the chat with eight ’1’s. It took another two minutes to get all twelve spots filled.

’Usually, the spots fill up instantly, with people to spare. Are that many people busy today?’

But since the number of riders met his needs, Xu An didn’t dwell on the reason. He sent a message to the group—’The twelve people above, please arrive on time’—and put his phone away.

Zhu Yinghui had planned to work at Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant again, but he’d forgotten his keys when he went out for breakfast that morning. To make matters worse, he had also forgotten to charge his phone the night before, and it had automatically shut down at 7:57 AM.

By the time the locksmith arrived to open the door and he got back to his room to plug in his phone, it was already 8:21 AM. The rider slots for Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant were already full!

Just then, Zhu Yinghui thought of the Hai City Delivery Association. The hours were long, but at least it had a twenty-yuan base salary. That was better than earning nothing at all for the day.

He dialed the landline number that had called him the day before. The same young woman answered. She readily agreed to Zhu Yinghui’s request and told him the meeting spot: the Yipin Xiang Fast Food Restaurant, just across the street from the Hai City Library.

Since Zhu Yinghui’s delivery route for Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant had covered the Hai City Library area, the Hai City Fast Food Association assigned him the three fast-food joints near the library. He would be responsible for delivering orders from those three locations.

Working a familiar job in a familiar area, Zhu Yinghui’s confidence soared. He rubbed his hands together, eager to get started.

’Maybe I can earn even more with the Hai City Fast Food Association than at Xu’s. After all, it’s a full eight-hour day! With the base salary, making a hundred yuan or so shouldn’t be too much to ask, right?’

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

’Wangwang Fast Food Restaurant, Moore Studio, two meals.’

’Yipin Xiang Fast Food Restaurant, Sunshine District, Building 2, Apt 304, one meal.’

’Happy Fast Food Restaurant...’

’...’

In just a moment, five or six order notifications popped up on Zhu Yinghui’s phone.

’Hey, this order volume isn’t bad! It’s no worse than at Xu’s Fast Food!’

Zhu Yinghui hopped on his bicycle and headed to Wangwang Fast Food Restaurant to pick up the order.

The first delivery went smoothly; he finished it in just over six minutes.

The second order was inside a residential complex, so it took him a while to find the address, costing him eight minutes.

The third order... five minutes.

...

In the end, it took him thirty minutes to deliver five orders, earning him three yuan and fifty cents.

’Three-fifty in half an hour... that’s seven yuan an hour. Over eight hours, that’s fifty-six yuan. Plus the twenty-yuan base salary... that makes seventy-six yuan...’

Zhu Yinghui had barely caught his breath, his mental calculation still unfinished, when he saw three new messages on his phone. Three more orders had come in.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Zhu Yinghui got on his bicycle and set off for the next fast-food restaurant to pick up an order.

On his way to pick up the next order, he happened to see Old Han and his roommate cycling ahead of him. The two were laughing and chatting, looking completely relaxed as they headed toward the foreign trade company.

Zhu Yinghui remembered that order. The foreign trade company, plus the one next door, totaled thirty-eight meals. That one trip would earn Old Han and his roommate nineteen yuan, or eight-fifty each, and it would only take them about thirteen minutes!

When he did the math, Zhu Yinghui suddenly found the orders he was working on to be completely meaningless.

But he had to work the full eight hours to get that twenty-yuan base salary. If he quit now, he’d be taking a huge loss!

For the first time, he felt how hard it was to earn money and that being a rider wasn’t so easy after all.

Gritting his teeth, he pedaled under the scorching sun, weaving through the streets and alleys around the Hai City Library. With every order he delivered, Zhu Yinghui cursed himself.

’This is what you get for leaving without your keys! For not charging your phone before bed! For just having to go out for breakfast at eight o’clock...’

’Tomorrow morning at 7:50, I’m camping out at home. I’m not going anywhere, just staring at my phone!’

’I have to get one of the rider spots at Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant!’