Page 11
“Two more days. Can you manage that?”
“What time do we start?”
“Five. We are going to do every bit of prep tonight and pull out all the stops. We are getting a restock at seven in the morning, when we are busiest.”
“Shit.”
“Yup. So we want to make room for everything and have it ready to go.”
Sunny grinned. “Now I know why you are so fit for a little thing.”
“Yeah, yeah. Are we ready for the last run?”
“How many lunches do you go through a day?”
“One twenty. Fifty morning customers, and sixty afternoon customers.”
“Wow.”
She smiled. “Yup, so when we have a few minutes of downtime, we clean like demons.”
Cloudy headed outside and cleaned up the packages and the boxes on the tables.
“Why do some leave boxes on tables and others put them in the recycling area?”
“Oh. Some are management, and others are workers, and some are just dicks. Of course, there is the fact that we are a little bit further behind than normal. That makes them later and cuts off their breaks.”
“Wait, those are all here on their breaks?”
“Yup, from an import office and a fish processor. That is why the mix is popular. They get what they need without being swamped by it.”
Sunny nodded and looked up. “A few are on the way.”
“Then, grab the boxes and buckle up. These ones have more time and like to take food home. There are sixty customers with an average of three meal packs each.”
“Shit.”
“Yup. They bring their empty packs back in the morning.” She chuckled and went to the grill. Three packs, four packs, and everything was paid for, packed up, and transported away by happy patrons.
“So you lose a lot of containers.”
“About fifteen percent. It’s calculated in the cost of goods sold. Getting ones that have thermal properties is more expensive but worth it. It gives us this end-of-day bump, and we can keep fresher ingredients on hand, knowing that they will be used up.”
They chatted when Sunny didn’t have customers, and he learned about what it took to open a business on Siloven.
“The easiest way is to find a trustworthy partner: work for them until your efforts materially increase their income and then tell them that you have learned what you needed to know and you are now seeking to find your focus elsewhere. They either encourage you to do that, or they panic and offer you a percentage of the business. Either way, you take a few days off.”
He chuckled. “Why find a partner at all?”
“You need citizenship to own a business on Siloven. That is why you find someone you can trust that you don’t mind close quarters with.”
“Like you and Emgoth.”
“Correct.”
She smiled. “Now, let’s keep on top of this stuff so we can go home on time.”
He nodded, and they dealt with the wave of customers and their takeout orders.
