Everything was like in the previous life. Kaden was very excited. Actually, he was asked by a senior staff to clean the restroom. By chance, Jennifer saw him doing it and decided to reward him with a 0.01% share in the restaurant. How could this not make him happy?

Kaden was a young man in his twenties from a rural village with little education. His relatives at home often looked down on him and said he would never succeed. The restaurant’s new policy gave him a chance to make real money, so he was determined to grab it.

Hard work? That was not a problem for him. Compared to working on a construction site, working in a restaurant was much easier.

Jennifer’s restaurant employed over 20 people. It was located in a busy shopping mall and generated about a million dollars in revenue every month.

Using what little math he knew, Kaden figured that if he worked hard for a year, he could earn tens of thousands in bonuses.

The senior staff who had sent him to clean the restroom joked, “Looks like you really hit the jackpot today.”

But Kaden was so happy he did not realize he was being teased.

Just like in my past life, Jennifer kept me back and made empty promises. She promised that if I worked hard, my rewards would be doubled. I smiled and sincerely thanked her, “Thanks, boss! I’ll do my best! I’ll also encourage everyone else to work hard! Together, we’ll make this restaurant a success!”

Jennifer could not hide the mockery in her eyes as she listened to me.

I added, “Since Kaden got a 0.01% share, I’ll get a whiteboard to record the rewards and hang it in the kitchen to keep everyone motivated.”

Jennifer hesitated. “Let’s save money where we can. If you skip buying the whiteboard, I’ll count it as your contribution.”

I gave her an “OK” sign. She probably thought I would drop the idea, but instead, I bought the board out of my own pocket and had it hung up by the next day.

When Jennifer came to check the restaurant the next day, the whiteboard already had the reward details for five staff written on it.

Kaden was at the top of the list, with his shares reaching 0.05%. Jennifer looked confused and asked, “What’s this all about?”

I stood up for Kaden and said, “Kaden’s been working really hard. Yesterday, he stayed late for four extra hours and cleaned every hidden corner in the kitchen. He also helped unload supplies and even stepped in as a food runner when it got busy.”

Jennifer’s expression darkened slightly. If Kaden could earn 0.05% in just one day, that could add up to 15% of the shares in a year.

But the staff had just gotten motivated, so she could not suddenly change the rules.

She cleared her throat and said, “To qualify, you’d need to work like this every single day for a month. Otherwise, if you only do a task once and expect shares, there won’t be enough to go around. Besides, why should you get shares? You need to convince everyone else why you deserve those shares, don’t you?

“And there’s the cost issue. If you’re doing someone else’s job, then I’m wasting money paying them, which ends up costing the restaurant. That’ll need to be deducted at the end of the year.”

Kaden was not happy about this. How could she say his work did not count and even mention deductions?

He was not the type to stay quiet. “Boss, I can handle delivery work from now on. You won’t need to pay the delivery guys. Just count it as money I’m saving for the restaurant. I can also take on food running. I’ll prepare ingredients at night and run food during the day.”

I jumped in to help him out. “Boss, Kaden has clearly worked hard. There was no talk of deductions before, and he’s already done the work. Let’s not discourage everyone. How about letting it slide this time? Later, we can follow your stricter policy. Does that work?”

Kaden and the others waited for Jennifer’s answer. She did not want to let everyone down, so she finally agreed.

“Alright, we’ll let it slide this time. But from now on, we’ll stick to my new rules. Let’s all work hard and succeed together!”

The employees immediately started flattering her, and she looked pleased.

I sneered inwardly and watched Jennifer enjoy the flattery. By the end of the year, when the staff had taken all the shares, she would regret ever making those promises.

Kaden worked overtime every day and stayed up late to prepare the ingredients.

I did not care how hard he worked. I just made sure to leave when my shift ended.

The rest of the staff worked a bit harder too, but they could not keep up with the high demands for 30 days. This worked out just as Jennifer had planned.

Jennifer believed that as long as she encouraged the staff in monthly meetings, they would work a little harder for about a week. This would improve the restaurant’s performance.

At the end of the month, it showed that everyone had been conscious of saving costs.

For example, they saved on utilities, napkins, disposable forks and spoons, and even free drinks. They even managed to save on ingredients, which was a big part of the restaurant’s expenses. Jennifer thought her strategy of making empty promises to the staff was a smart move.

Since the employees had something to look forward to, their attitude improved too. The restaurant got many positive reviews online, and some influencers noticed.

One influencer, “Lindsey Loves Food,” was passing by after finishing a live stream at a restaurant at 2 a.m. She saw that our kitchen staff was still working, so she decided to feature our restaurant in her live stream.

“Wow, guys! This popular restaurant that’s been trending online still has people working in the kitchen at 2 a.m.! Their hours are crazy!

“How about we go inside and interview them? Leave your suggestions in the comments! What do you want to see?”

The viewers were excited and left their comments. When they heard Lindsey was checking out our place, over 3,000 more people joined her livestream in just ten minutes.

[Hahaha, is Lindsey about to stir things up again?]

[Let’s see if the service is really that good and if they’ll serve extra food in the middle of the night!]

[If you ask me, she should check their hygiene. No kitchen can leave Lindsey’s livestream unscathed!]

Lindsey was excited to see her livestream getting so much attention.

She had heard that our steakhouse had amazing flavors. Recently, our restaurant had great reviews online, and people said the service was as good as at a Michelin-star restaurant.

She thought that if she couldn’t find any problems with our restaurant, she could still use the opportunity to promote it and later ask for advertising money.

But if she did find a flaw, she could use it to boost her own reputation.

Hard-working people would always succeed.

“Hehehe, I’m heading to the kitchen now!”

The cameraman followed Lindsey into our restaurant.

There were no customers at night, and the lights in the main hall were off.

The camera showed the overall view of the restaurant.

“Guys, the head chef’s already off work. Not just anyone can cook at a steakhouse. Looks like it’ll be hard to get a meal tonight.”

The camera caught someone climbing a ladder in a dark corner.

The comments started flooding in.

[Someone’s there! Could it be a thief?]

[Are you serious? Why would a thief climb a ladder?]

[What’s that person doing in the dark?]

The cameraman shouted, “Hey, what are you doing?!”

Hearing the noise, Kaden looked over. When he saw customers, he was a bit confused. Holding a cloth in his hand, he climbed down and looked at the two people who had come in the middle of the night.

To earn shares by the end of the year, he always wore a smile.

The comments were full of praise.

[Still smiling at 2 a.m. This restaurant is really living up to its reputation.]

[If I were the owner of this restaurant, I’d wake up laughing in my sleep.]

[This restaurant is going places.]

After Lindsey explained why she came, she started asking Kaden questions.

“Are you on the night shift? Is anyone else working now?”

Kaden shook his head. “No, it’s just me. I’m not on the night shift. I’m working overtime because I want to.”

“What were you doing on the ladder earlier?”

Kaden said, “I saw some dust on the lightbulb, so I climbed up to clean it.”

“Is this your restaurant?”

Kaden quickly denied it. “Oh no, not at all. At least not yet. Our boss said if we work hard, we’ll get shares at the end of the year. I’m trying to earn more to get married.”

“Your boss sounds amazing! I’m sure you’ll get there.”

Seeing how friendly they were, Kaden began to open up more. He led them to the kitchen and proudly showed them the whiteboard tracking employee shares. His name was at the top.

Kaden proudly turned to the camera and said, “I’ve already earned 1.05% of the shares. I’m the hardest worker here. I unload shipments, serve food, clean, prep ingredients, and even clean the restrooms.

“I work six extra hours every day and even agreed to take 2,000 dollars less in salary. A little sacrifice now is nothing compared to the shares I’ll earn at the end of the year. I might be young, but I think about the future.”

Lindsey listened with a look of admiration, though inside, she was thrilled at what she was hearing.

She could not believe that there was still someone naive enough to believe in their boss’s empty promises in this day and age.

As they were about to leave, Kaden asked if they wanted to order some food. He was not the head chef but assured them he could cook.

“Why not help me out and order 1,000 dollars’ worth of food? Any money we make outside regular hours counts as extra revenue. I’ll remember your kindness at the end of the year.”

Lindsey laughed and said she was already full but promised to support the restaurant next time. Kaden reluctantly saw them off.

Lindsey felt happy to stumble onto a big story. She had been so caught up listening to Kaden that she forgot to inspect the kitchen thoroughly. Only after stepping outside did she realize it.

“Guys, it’s a restaurant where the staff cleans its light bulbs. What flaws could I possibly find in their kitchen? I’ll save it for next time and keep you all curious.”

The next day, Jennifer’s steakhouse went viral because of how hardworking Kaden was. During the morning meeting, Jennifer praised Kaden for his hard work.

I jumped in and said, “Boss, we should reward him with more shares. If he didn’t work overtime every day, the restaurant wouldn’t have gotten so popular so quickly. I think we should give him 10%!”

Hearing my suggestion, Kaden’s eyes lit up, and the other staff cheered, “Give him 10%! He deserves it! We’d fully support that!”

Jennifer was stuck. The restaurant was getting great publicity, and upsetting the staff could lead to bad reviews online. But she did not want to give Kaden even a single share, let alone ten.

She quickly changed the subject to avoid the situation.

“Kaden’s efforts have both good and bad sides. Lindsey, the influencer who promoted our restaurant, contacted me today asking for over 10,000 dollars in advertising fees. This counts as an expense for the restaurant. Technically, this should come out of Kaden’s shares, but since he meant well, I won’t hold him responsible for it.”

Kaden’s heart sank. He thought he was about to be punished, but Jennifer quickly changed her tone.

“Kaden, didn’t you say you wanted to go home after the new year to get married? I can’t let a great employee like you leave. I’m counting on you to manage one of my branches someday. By then, you’ll laugh at the idea of just 10% shares!

“Alright, back to work, everyone. Kaden has a bright future ahead. If I had a son-in-law like him, I’d be smiling in my sleep. You all should learn from him.”

It was obvious to everyone that Jennifer was making empty promises, and we all treated it as a joke.

After she left, we joked that Kaden was the future boss. Behind his back, we did not use his name anymore, just “little boss”.

Kaden turned bright red but went along with it, almost like he really believed he might marry Jennifer’s beautiful daughter.

Jennifer’s daughter was only seventeen. She was still a minor. Everyone at the restaurant knew Jennifer was just making excuses to avoid giving Kaden the 10% in shares, but Kaden believed every word.

A coworker tried to warn him. “No boss is really going to give you shares. Don’t let them take advantage of you and still make you feel grateful.”

Kaden did not listen. He was already dreaming of being one of the bosses. “If you’re not willing to work hard, don’t try to bring me down. When I become one of the bosses, don’t get jealous.”

Hearing that, the coworker gave up trying to convince him.

Kaden worked even harder. He was determined to make his dream come true.

One day, I overheard him on the phone with his mom in the kitchen. She mentioned setting him up with someone, but he refused.

“Mom, I’m doing great in the city. Don’t waste time introducing me to some plain girl. I’ll handle my own relationships.”

I had to hold back a laugh.

This was going to be fun to watch.