Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 845 - 421: The Broad Road Ahead

Upon hearing Qu Jing mention the word ’unconventional’, Luo Jun’s brows furrowed immediately. You must know, he was the first to propose the methodology of the unconventional, and as a result, was attacked by everyone in unison.

Luo Jun snorted unpleasantly, his gaze at the camera turning sharp, "What kind of unconventional method?"

Qu Jing explained unhurriedly, "It’s like this, haven’t I been chatting with Youyou on WeChat recently?"

"I discovered that Youyou is someone who is easily influenced and driven by her surrounding environment."

Qu Jing’s words instantly piqued Qin Huai’s interest, and he sat up straight, "How so?"

"If we do as Mr. Luo previously suggested and directly give Youyou money and a house, that certainly won’t work. Youyou is inherently like a Three-legged Golden Toad, with a love for money almost ingrained in her bones. Before we know the exact reason for Youyou’s trial failure, giving her money hastily will most likely accelerate her failure. I’ve talked with Youyou about this, and she quite hopes for a windfall, getting rich overnight, and lying flat for the rest of her life."

Qin Huai wanted to retort, oh, who wouldn’t wish for a windfall, getting rich overnight, and lying flat? Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly realized, oh, there are several people in the group who don’t have this aspiration, no, actually, aside from him, no one does.

"She has clear yet somehow unclear goals, she’s willing to work overtime because she wants a promotion and raise. She loves working overtime because at Yunzhong Restaurant, there’s overtime pay. She wants to make enough money to change her apartment, hopefully one day renting a place in Yunzhong District."

"She never goes out on her rest days, staying at home to play on her phone, watch TV dramas, and follow variety shows because this kind of leisure doesn’t cost money. She never buys VIP for apps, only watches pirated content, never orders food delivery because of the markup, only buys clothes from street vendors, drinks only the store-provided free drinks, and charges her electric bike at the canteen instead of home."

"Every time she works, she takes her phone, tablet, power bank, and small electric fan to charge them at the canteen before going home. She downloads TV dramas and variety shows using the canteen’s WiFi because she doesn’t have WiFi at home, and she carries two of the largest water bottles every day, filling them with cold tea before leaving, even though the cold tea is made by Aunt Zhao."

"Youyou even told me she hopes to cancel the 4 days off a month. She has no money to go out during those days anyway, and ends up spending money on food. She hopes every time she gets a call in the morning on her rest days, asking her to go work overtime at the canteen, with double or triple pay."

"She’s milking the canteen like this because she wants to save money for where she really wants to spend it. Like a higher-end district, top-notch transportation facilities, a luxurious meal at a high-end restaurant which she wouldn’t dare splurge on otherwise, or a trip she doesn’t even know where to go at the moment. Youyou told me her current phone, tablet, computer, and rent are all saved from these corners."

Qin Huai: ...

Although An Youyou’s frugality is touching, as An Youyou’s boss, Qin Huai momentarily didn’t know what to say about such extreme milking behavior.

No, Aunt Zhao’s cold tea, An Youyou can drink it down and still carry two bottles home every day.

Should have said earlier, should’ve let her drink the Seven Spice Dampness Removing Tea from last year, not enough for two large water bottles, Qin Luo still had more, ensuring An Youyou could take all of it back home.

Qin Huai interjected in Qu Jing’s speech, "I get what you’re trying to say, but isn’t this An Youyou’s fundamental motivation for working hard and striving? Why did you just say that An Youyou’s goals weren’t actually clear?"

"Because Youyou needs very explicit targets to drive her to do something, like her current most urgent goal is to move into the Yunzhong District, but even the cheapest rent there is 11,000 a month. With Youyou’s current salary, even if she doesn’t eat or drink, works overtime every day, and has no days off, it’s very hard to afford such rent."

"Under normal conditions, Youyou’s goal now should be to improve her cooking skills for a promotion and raise, to transition from a helper role to a position as a chopping chef or pastry chef."

"But Youyou didn’t choose that, she didn’t even think in that direction, because no one told her, or guided her. She enjoys being a leader, now she’s the head of the helpers, and all helpers have to listen to her directions. If she transitions from being a helper to being a pastry chef, she’d be the lowest-ranked pastry chef at Yunzhong Restaurant."

"She’s someone who easily gets derailed by the environment, she, despite loving money so much, could work at her hometown shop for years with just 200 pocket money a month because she’s easily swept up by her current environment. If not for Youyou’s intense love for money, she couldn’t have suddenly decided to leave her hometown and come to Laishan City to work without knowing any details, like a headless fly."

Qin Huai somewhat understood what Qu Jing was trying to express.

"You mean Yunzhong Restaurant provides An Youyou with a good work environment, but my previous decision to promote her and give her a raise, making her the head of helpers, in some way shackled her. All of An Youyou’s related memories are as major tasks, with great difficulty and lengthy timeframes. To facilitate her quick awakening without completing the tasks, she needs to switch to an unrestrictive environment."