A few days later, a government worker came to the office to meet the boss and tour the facilities.
He informed her that new rooms would have to be constructed as each type of microgreen had to be grown separately. Also that the production workers would have to change coveralls for each room they enter.
The garbage was to be separated into three separate bins. One for organics, one for recyclables, and another for general waste.
No longer was everything to be thrown in to the same dumpster out back. And this specialized service would cost a lot more.
The cost of the renovations and the training would be around $60,000, and the certificate to be renewed yearly for $1000 per year. The boss begrudgingly accepted and agreed to proceed. They agreed on an installment plan for the training and testing fees.
Luckily the fat man had just the right contractors for the renovation job.
A week later, the fat man arrived with his contractors, but the boss rejected them due to their tattoos and reeking of alcohol.
She hired a Chinese crew instead.
After a few weeks, with the construction complete and the staff all passing their training, the certificate was granted.
Before long, orders increased as the fat man was true to his word and the big chains were ordering their products.
Profit margins were thinner, though, as the big chain stores quickly demanded lower prices and have already started to scale back their orders.
But being HAACP certified, the possibilities were endless, so the boss would help the new sales rep for a few days calling stores big and small and even getting some meetings with some big franchise representatives.
One day, however, the boss received quite an unexpected guest.
It was an officer from the Ministry of the Environment, and he wanted a word with her.
"There is an obscene amount of plastic packaging with the label Organic Sprouts on them that have clogged the river and caused flooding."
"Do you know anything about this?" asked the officer.
In disbelief, the boss wanted to see for herself, so she went with the officer to the nearby river.
Sure enough, there were countless plastic packages with their label on them, as well as empty organic soil sacks and empty olive oil tins that they use.
She apologized to the officer and agreed to pay the fine.
An excavator had begun extracting the debris from the river, and a large bin was nearby waiting to be filled.
Upon returning to the office, she called the greys immediately.
They told her that in order to reduce overhead, they would regularly dump their excess garbage into the river rather than renting another bin.
She told them they owed her the money she had to pay in fines, but they told her they couldn't afford to pay her because they spend all their money on rent for their 400 sq ft condo.
The boss had an idea.
To recover some of the HAACP costs, she would fire her current employees and hire the greys to work for free until their debts were paid.
The greys agreed on one condition, that they be allowed to live above the office and warehouse.
The boss agreed and soon fired her replacement workers, who thanked her for the opportunity.
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