Once the internet café’s premises were secured, everything else became easier.
After a phone call, the counter-shop owner from the computer mall immediately brought a group to the internet café. They installed the system and all the software Xu Honglei needed for free, then debugged the wiring for the local area network.
This was an added benefit of purchasing the computers in bulk.
The telecommunications company also sent specialists to install and debug the dedicated broadband connection for the internet café.
Fiber-optic broadband did not yet exist in this era. Most ordinary users still accessed the Internet through dial-up, while ADSL broadband was beginning to emerge.
Xu Honglei had paid an agency company, which had also obtained the internet café Network Culture Operation License required for opening an internet café.
The business license and Tax registration were even easier to obtain. Naturally, he had hired someone to handle them as well.
During this period, Xu Honglei hired two female Cashiers to handle the internet café’s daily operations. He temporarily served as the Internet Café Manager himself.
In the early stages of Entrepreneurship, the Entrepreneur still had to handle some matters personally. He could not be a Hands-Off Boss.
The Internet Café Manager did not have much to do, either. Most tasks were trivial, while genuine problems required professionals whom the manager could not replace.
Usually, restarting the computer solved more than half the problems. Otherwise, they replaced the computer, and the Internet Café Owner paid someone from outside to repair and maintain it.
One of the two female Cashiers was the Campus Beauty-level Childhood Sweetheart whom the older cousin from Uncle’s family had pursued for years. Her name was Annie. Like Su Wanying, she had graduated from University and was twenty-two that year.
Annie was beautiful as well. Her Facial attractiveness and figure were on par with Su Wanying’s, but Annie had an inverted-triangle body shape.
What was an inverted-triangle body shape?
Broad shoulders, a large chest, a slim waist, and small hips.
Of course, this only meant that their proportions emphasized different areas. If Annie’s upper body reached a D cup, her hips could also reach a C, so they were not that small.
Annie seemed to have the makings of a sophisticated young woman. Her clothing and styling were more refined and fashionable than Su Wanying’s.
Although Uncle and Xu Honglei had fallen out before, Xu Hongtao, the older cousin, had thick skin. When he learned that Xu Honglei wanted to open an internet café, he volunteered to work there. Xu Honglei rejected him outright.
With Xu Hongtao’s shiftless character, would he not treat the internet café as his own and turn its Cashier Counter into his personal vault?
After all, he was Xu Honglei’s older cousin. If Xu Honglei sent him to jail over money, or even made him Go to Prison, it would reflect badly on Xu Honglei too.
Thus, Xu Hongtao shamelessly forced his girlfriend Annie on him.
Xu Honglei had no choice but to agree.
His Cousin’s wife was different. Under traditional family values, she counted as an outsider. If she stole money from Xu Honglei, pursuing the matter would be more justified. Besides, she was only the older cousin’s girlfriend at that point.
He was also willing to hire Uncle’s girlfriend because Cashier Work involved handling money, and using someone familiar was more reliable.
If the accounts did not add up, he could at least find the person responsible instead of letting someone run off with his money.
A cashier had to be a local. That was the principle of doing business.
However, people used principles to break them.
The other cashier Xu Honglei hired was a migrant worker from out of town. Her name was Zhou Xiaowen, and she was the same age as Xu Honglei. They were both eighteen and had completed high school graduation.
When she came to apply, she looked disheveled and carried a large Woven Plastic Sack.
Xu Honglei had not intended to hire someone from out of town.
But Zhou Xiaowen was too beautiful to ignore. Her Facial attractiveness surpassed both Su Wanying’s and Annie’s, and Xu Honglei thought she was prettier than those film and television stars.
What made Xu Honglei swallow repeatedly was that the girl possessed a rare hourglass figure. She could be called a woman with a devilishly attractive figure, a top-tier beauty among women, and her figure was even better than Su Wanying’s.
What was an hourglass figure?
Broad shoulders, a large chest, a slim waist, and wide hips. In short, both the top and bottom were full. From the side, it formed a perfect standard S-shape.
The key to this body type’s rarity was its slim waist. If the waist were thick as well, it would become a barrel-shaped figure, turning her into one of those sturdy-looking Older Women from the northern plains.
Although Zhou Xiaowen’s face was smeared with sweat and dust, and her clothes were the cheapest street-market goods, they could not conceal her outstanding beauty.
How could one describe it? Even in a school uniform, she had the presence to stand out from a crowd.
She was also tall—at least 1.7 meters by eye. With that physique, she would be excellent at farm work in the countryside, and even ordinary street punks might not match her.
Although Xu Honglei had swallowed several times, it was not because lust had overcome him or because he coveted her body.
The internet café’s beautiful female Cashier might attract some Migrant Workers. Combined with her pitiful gaze, that made Xu Honglei keep her on.
All right, there was no point lying to himself.
Xu Honglei had been overcome by lust and coveted her body. His intentions were improper: he hoped to use Having the Advantage of Proximity to see whether he could make a move on her.
Do not laugh. If you were in his place, how would you choose?
He was already the boss, and he had already abandoned his principles. What was wrong with arranging a little benefit for himself?
Xu Honglei coughed, steadied himself, and said seriously, “Since you want this job, I need to explain the conditions first, so you will not change your mind later.
“Although this job is easy, the hours are long. You have to work twelve hours a day, with no days off each month.
“You and another girl named Annie will work in two shifts. The Day Shift runs from eight in the morning to eight at night, and the Night Shift runs from eight at night to eight the next morning. You will take turns to Work the Night Shift.
“However, I do not have too many requirements for your daily work. As long as you do not cause any delays, it will be fine. There is a small single wooden bed in the bar counter area. When there is nothing to do during your shift, you can lie down on it for a while.
“In addition, our salary is 1,500 yuan per month, plus five social insurances and one housing fund.”
“Huh?! The salary is 1,500, and there are also five social insurances and one housing fund?” Zhou Xiaowen’s eyes lit up.
She clearly understood the migrant worker market in Huhai City. She was not a newcomer.
At the time, Huhai City’s minimum wage was around five hundred yuan, while the average employee salary was around 1,500 yuan.
Paying employees the minimum wage was too little, but the average employee salary was an average in name only. Most people did not earn that much.
At the time, ordinary Migrant Workers in Huhai City earned around 1,000 yuan, generally no more than 1,200. Their hours were long, and some jobs even required them to stand throughout the shift.
At Xu Honglei’s place, they could at least lie down for a while, which was more comfortable than sitting the entire time.
Even Twenty Years Later, few Bosses of small Industry and Commerce Sole Proprietorships such as internet cafés would pay their employees the Five social insurances and one housing fund.
Xu Honglei explained with a smile, “The main reason is that the hours here are long, and you also have to Work the Night Shift. Besides, I hope my employees will not quit at the drop of a hat, so I raised the benefits a little.”