523 The Initial Effects of the Management Trainee System

May 20th, Friday…

At Deposit Fitness…

There were not many people in the gym in the morning, and so it looked quite empty. There were only four female students training on the whole row of treadmills; the other machines were empty.

Things were not much better where the free weights were. There were only six people, and three of them were fitness trainers who were working out.

Guo Licheng had just finished training. He wiped the perspiration from his forehead with a towel and then sat down at the resting area.

He had been quite busy as the branch manager these days.

Preparations for the other branches were in full swing. Of course, Guo Licheng could not manage everything on his own. Thus, he had found a few fitness trainers in Deposit Fitness' flagship store whom he knew very well and made them branch managers of other branches.

He purchased equipment of the same brand and informed Rui Yuchen of Fish-Catching Take-Out as well. Placing the exact same orders at all the nearby Fish-Catching Take-Out outlets would be easy to do. Only recruiting new employees would be quite troublesome.

Guo Licheng had already set recruitment guidelines for the other branches. He followed Boss Pei's instructions strictly: they had to assess every trainer's muscles and body shape first. Even if they could talk extremely well, they would not be hired unless they could train equally well.

That meant that many trainers did not make the cut because of their body shape. Thankfully, Boss Pei was offering a generous remuneration. Thus, despite the strict recruitment standard, a significant number of trainers who matched the criteria jumped ship.

Thus, preparation for the various branches was going quite smoothly.

Deposit Fitness' branches were going to start opening for business over the next two days.

It seemed like the Deposit Fitness outlet at Ming Yun Villas would be the first to open. Since Guo Licheng had been extremely busy, he had not found the time to take a look. He had also had no idea whether the gym would operate well or not once it opened for business.

According to Guo Licheng's preliminary judgment, it would not go well.

One look at the state of the flagship store, and one would be able to tell.

Apart from being occupied by the other branches, Guo Licheng had been following Boss Pei's instructions strictly and training hard. He was afraid that Boss Pei would be able to tell if he slacked for a day or two and that he would end up being criticized.

However, that also meant that Guo Licheng had no time to attract new customers or publicize the gym.

Things had been alright when Coach Yaling was still around. Each day, new customers would register for slots because of her. However, now that Boss Pei had transferred Coach Yaling away, the gym was much more deserted.

"Branch Manager, the fitness meals are here!" The lady at the front desk called out to Guo Licheng.

He looked up and saw two delivery men from Fish-Catching Take-Out carrying insulated delivery boxes on their backs. They placed them down, retrieved the take-out boxes from inside, placed them neatly on the table, and then left in a hurry.

It was almost noon, and the delivery men had other deliveries to make. Since Deposit Fitness was family, they had not felt the need to be polite. That was why they left immediately after completing the delivery.

Guo Licheng called out to the rest of the trainers. "Meal time!"

"Oh…" A few listless replies came from around the gym.

Guo Licheng was helpless, too. He knew why everyone was in low spirits. They had no interest in the fitness meals whatsoever.

Fish-Catching Take-Out's fitness meals were not that different from other fitness meals in the market. They were mainly made up of salad. Although there were other ingredients and the meal was relatively well-balanced, it still tasted bland.

If they were only eating it from time to time, they would probably be alright with it. However, they had eaten it so many times that just smelling cup noodles made them drool now.

The few students in the gym were loyal customers—the extreme minority. They had very strong wills and so had not been turned away by the meals. In fact, they had already been eating them for a long time.

To them, eating fitness meals had become nothing more than a daily task. Each day, no matter what went into the fitness meal, they would wolf it down after training and lie to their stomachs. They did all of that just to complete their tasks.

Of course, they had no interest in eating those meals.

There weren't many people in the gym, and so there was no need to eat in smaller groups. Everyone took their respective seats and opened the lunch boxes in front of them.

After opening his own lunch box, Guo Licheng became stunned.

"Has there been a mistake?"

Half the lunch box was filled with stewed rice with mushroom and chicken breast while the other half was filled with tomato eggs and steamed tofu.

The stewed rice with mushroom and chicken breast had been made with brown rice, and it was topped with chicken breast, diced carrots, corn kernels, shiitake mushrooms, and green peppers. It had been stir-fried with a little oil and then steamed together with the brown rice. The taste of all the ingredients had been infused into the brown rice.

As for the tomato egg and steamed tofu… the tofu had first been fried with a small amount of oil. Then, the fire had been turned up, and the egg mixture poured in. Once the egg was fully-cooked, it had been wrapped evenly around the tofu. Finally, a small amount of green onion had been sprinkled over it.

Both of those dishes were the latest outcomes of Fish-Catching Take-Out's Gourmet Laboratory. The former amounted to 320 kcal, and the latter amounted to 398 kcal per serving. After taking half a serving each and combining them, a well-balanced and nutritious meal was formed.

Rui Yuchen thought that both of those dishes had satisfied his initial wish for a 'more sustainable fitness meal'. Thus, he arranged for them to be delivered to Deposit Fitness' flagship store today for everyone to try, so that they could all give their feedback.

However, he had not emphasized this to the delivery men. Since the latter had been busy, they had forgotten to inform Guo Licheng as well.

Guo Licheng heard someone gulping down their saliva.

They had been eating salad for such a long time. Now, everyone drooled after catching a single whiff of cup noodles. Smelling skewers was all the more torturous. Who could hold themselves back upon seeing the piping hot and fragrant meal in front of them?

Still, nobody touched their cutlery. Instead, all of them looked at Guo Licheng, stunned.

Guo Licheng gulped his saliva as well. He cleared his throat and said, "I think it was a mistake. I guess there's no other choice. We shouldn't waste food. Let's eat; we'll train after this."

"Alright!"

Everyone immediately grinned as they grabbed their lunch boxes and stuffed themselves with food.

Guo Licheng knocked on the table. "Slow down! Chewing slowly helps with digestion and prevents you from getting fat."

It was only then that everyone slowed down.

Two of the girls held their spoons and swallowed mouth after mouth of stewed rice and tofu. Their eyes welled up with tears.

They were moved!

Finally, they did not have to eat grass anymore. Finally, they could eat food meant for humans!

Guo Licheng looked like he was enjoying himself, too. He had to admit that food of this temperature and taste was much, much better than salad.

While eating, Guo Licheng felt increasingly confused. Although it felt like the delivery had been a mistake, the food was actually quite healthy.

It looked like less oil had been used. What's more, brown rice, carrots, green peppers, corn kernels, chicken breasts, eggs, and tofu were all relatively healthy ingredients.

Yet, on second thought, Fish-Catching Take-Out's food leaned towards the healthy side. Their daily menu contained small amounts of oil and salt as well; it was not as intense as other take-out brands.

Thus, Guo Licheng remained silent. In his heart, he made a note to ask Rui Yuchen about it when he got the chance in the future.

…

…

May 21st, Saturday…

The Management Trainees had their meeting as usual.

One by one, the Management Trainees of various departments gave their respective updates. Every time they mentioned something interesting, Pei Qian would ask one or two questions. However, after confirming that nothing was out of the ordinary, he would let them pass.

"…a few more of Deposit Fitness's branches have opened for business, but they're equally empty and deserted.

"On Friday—which was yesterday, Fish-Catching Take-Out seemed to have delivered the wrong meals to Deposit Fitness' flagship store. However, Coach Guo led everyone to train more after that, and the effect was cancelled out," reported the Management Trainee of Deposit Fitness.

Delivered the wrong meals?

Pei Qian detected that something was amiss.

Would Fish-Catching Take-Out make such a low-class mistake? They wouldn't, right?

Rui Yuchen and his subordinates were not useless. If they had committed such a low-class mistake, they would have informed me about it. Why am I only finding out now?

Pei Qian turned to look at Fish-Catching Take-Out's Management Trainee.

Indeed, the Management Trainee—who was also a waiter at the Gourmet Laboratory—raised his hand. "That wasn't a mistake. It was the new fitness meal that the Gourmet Laboratory developed."

Pei Qian: "?"

An important revelation!

"Tell me about it in detail." Pei Qian felt like he was facing a formidable enemy.

Fish-Catching Take-Out's Management Trainee explained himself. "Boss Rui thought that the fitness meals were awful before and were not suited to the locals' taste. Thus, after some research, he decided that he had to strike a balance between the meal's taste and health benefits.

"This version of the fitness meal contains more calories than the previous one, but it's healthier as well. Er… of course, it also costs more."

Pei Qian's expression had darkened at first, but after hearing that it contained more calories and cost more, he felt much better.

Since it contained more calories, the fitness meals would be less effective. Since it cost more, it would have a stronger dissuading effect on customers who were still on the fence.

It did not seem like such a bad thing after all.

"How much more does it cost?"

The Management Trainee answered, "Every fitness meal costs about three yuan more. That amounts to about seven yuan more per day."

Pei Qian quickly calculated in his head. If the meals cost seven more yuan per day and one trained three times per week, that would be close to a thousand yuan per year!

Er… Deposit Fitness' prices would balloon.

Deposit Fitness had already dissuaded a large group of potential customers because of its prices. Now that prices were going to increase further, wouldn't fewer customers sign up?

That was not bad.

Pei Qian asked, "How is Rui Yuchen solving the price problem?"

Fish-Catching Take-Out's Management Trainee answered, "Boss Rui plans to let the students choose whether to eat salad or the new fitness meals. Each would be priced differently."

Pei Qian immediately shook his head. "That wouldn't do!"

If students wanted to save money, they would eat the salad. Once they got sick of it, they would spend several more yuan to lead a better life. Students wouldn't be dissuaded at all—that would achieve the opposite effect, wouldn't it?

The shared gym was already proving that the current pricing strategy was working. Customers were turning away. Of course, they had to keep increasing prices.

"Our gym is called Deposit Fitness, with emphasis on the deposit! If customers get to choose what to eat, how are they depositing their bodies with us?

"Get the Gourmet Laboratory to continue spending money to develop new fitness meals. I don't care about the cost; just bundle the cost together with the gym's prices!"

Fish-Catching Take-Out and Deposit Fitness' Management Trainees exchanged a look and then said, "Alright, Boss Pei."

"Hold on." Pei Qian seemed to notice a problem. He raised his hand and said, "Neither of you should do anything. I'll inform the respective heads myself."

He could not let the heads know about the Management Trainees. They were meant to be transparent in their departments. He could not allow the heads to become suspicious.

"Alright, next." Pei Qian gestured for the meeting to continue.

Thriller Hostel's Management Trainee reported, "Boss Pei, for Thriller Hostel… Boss Li and the other investors just signed a contract with Boss Chen. The investors have agreed to pour money into building a huge shopping mall within Thriller Hostel, and they will share half of the profits with us."

Pei Qian remained silent as question marks filled his mind.

?