Chapter 121: Very Proper! Very Healthy

Chapter 121: Chapter 121: Very Proper! Very Healthy

When Uncle Lin arrived at Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant, he saw that Store No. 1 was mobbed, with customers packed several layers deep, making it impossible to get through.

After making his delivery, he enthusiastically told Aunt Hong about it. Upon hearing this, Aunt Hong thought for a moment, then walked straight to Second Grandpa’s house.

Although Xu An had already hired a recruiting agency to find employees who met the restaurant’s requirements, several days had passed with no word from them.

Therefore, the people working at the restaurant were still the same old crew.

Orders had surged by nearly seven hundred, and the staff was in a chaotic frenzy, not having had a moment’s rest since their shift began.

For the first time in a long while, Zhou Qi felt the familiar ache in his hands, which had grown weak from constant stir-frying.

The last time this had happened was probably when he first started working at Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant. Back then, the restaurant had four employees at most.

Just as everyone was frantically busy, a huge crowd of people suddenly appeared outside Store No. 2. Everyone inside looked up in unison, and several cries of surprise rang out.

"Second Grandpa?"

"Aunt Hong?"

"Third Granny?"

"Mom?"

"..."

Before Xu An could even come out of the kitchen to greet them, Second Grandpa walked straight into the restaurant. He surveyed the scene, his gaze finally landing on the huge pile of boxed meals waiting to be packed.

"You lot, help wash vegetables. You, go over and help Lili with the packing. You, start crating the boxed meals..."

In just a few words, Second Grandpa had the dozens of people behind him organized and working efficiently.

With these ten people joining in, the cooking and packing speed increased several-fold. The once-spacious Store No. 2 quickly became crowded.

But the atmosphere grew more relaxed, and the sound of laughter and chatter occasionally drifted through the air.

Once the last wok of food was cooked, Xu An finally stepped away from the stove. He sidled up to Second Grandpa and asked curiously, "Second Grandpa, what brings you all here so suddenly?"

Second Grandpa raised his hand to stroke his beard, only to remember halfway that he was wearing a full-coverage mask. With his beard tucked completely inside, there was nothing to stroke, so he awkwardly lowered his hand.

"Aunt Hong heard from Uncle Lin that you were swamped with customers. She figured since the TV station just featured your restaurant yesterday, and the reviews were so good, a ton of people would show up today just to check things out. There’s no way you could handle that with just a handful of staff, so those of us with free time decided to come and lend a hand."

’Xu An had considered countless possibilities, but he’d never imagined their reason would be so simple, so pure.’

’They were simply afraid I wouldn’t be able to manage, so they came to help.’

But that simple reason alone was enough to move Xu An deeply.

In his past life, he had been busy studying, busy working, busy earning money, busy taking care of his family...

He was always busy, constantly busy. His exhausting daily routine had caused him to overlook the kind and lovable villagers of Xu Family Village.

Many small memories, long sealed away, began to bubble up to the surface.

When he returned for the Qingming Festival to pay respects to his ancestors, his family’s graves were always clean, without a single weed. Every time he came back to the village for the New Year, brand-new couplets would be posted on his courtyard gate. Whenever villagers went to the city on business, they would always "happen to be passing by" and bring him some local specialties...

In that instant, Xu An felt like he had missed out on so much in his past life...

When Xu An didn’t reply after a long moment, Second Grandpa turned to look at him and saw his eyes were red. He immediately chuckled. "What’s wrong? A grown man like you, getting all teary-eyed?"

"What are you talking about, Second Grandpa? I just handled some chili peppers and rubbed my eye. It’s just stinging," Xu An said, quickly grabbing an empty meal box and lowering his head to avoid everyone’s gaze.

With the villagers’ help, all the boxed meals were packed and ready by 10:20 AM.

Xu An invited everyone over to Store No. 1 for a meal, but he was stunned when he reached the entrance.

There were at least twenty or thirty electric scooters parked in the shade of the trees outside. A crowd of people was glued to the TV, and inside, the restaurant was packed to the rafters without a single empty seat...

After standing stunned for a few seconds, Xu An decisively pulled out his keys, unlocked the door to Store No. 3, and began ushering the waiting customers inside.

Xu’s Fast Food Store No. 3, originally intended for the new workers, was now officially open for business!

He turned to invite Second Grandpa and the others who had come to help inside for lunch, but when he looked back, he saw they had all mounted their bicycles and electric scooters and were leaving.

Second Grandpa led the way, riding at the very front, spirited and full of vigor, belting out a song at the top of his lungs.

"’The setting sun paints the western hills red, the soldiers return from target practice...’"

As Second Grandpa’s voice rang out, the others joined in one by one, creating a spectacular scene.

’If you swapped Second Grandpa’s white tank top for a black one, gave him a heavy gold chain, stuck a cigar in his mouth, perched a pair of sunglasses on his nose, and tattooed his exposed skin with dragons and phoenixes, the scene would look just like a gang boss parading through the streets with his crew...’

「Qingya District.」

Nanny He had been up early, sitting on her balcony and trimming her plants. After snipping off the last stray leaf, she glanced up at the wall clock in the living room. It was 10:10 AM—about time to head to Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant.

She gathered the trimmed leaves and branches into a trash bag. Just as Nanny He was changing into her outdoor shoes and about to leave, the doorbell suddenly rang.

’Who could be looking for me at this hour? I didn’t make plans with anyone!’

Puzzled, she walked to the door and looked through the peephole. Standing outside were the six women who had come looking for her at the fast-food restaurant yesterday.

"What brings you all here?" Nanny He said with a smile as she opened the door. "I was just about to head out. A few minutes later and you would have missed me." She didn’t, however, invite them in.

The women exchanged hesitant glances for a moment before one of them finally spoke up.

"Sister He, is that fast-food restaurant where you work hiring? Do you think we’d be a good fit?"

Although Nanny He was a bit older, she was quick-witted. She immediately made the connection to the *Visiting Fast Food Restaurant* documentary that had aired on the local Hai City channel the previous night.

’I even saw them in the documentary last night, sitting right in the middle of the restaurant...’

"That’s not up to me; the manager has the final say," Nanny He said after a moment’s thought. "I think they’re only hiring cooks and kitchen hands right now, and it’s all full-time."

Hearing it was only full-time, the six women’s faces fell in disappointment. They had been hoping to do what Nanny He did: work for a few hours around noon, earn some spending money, and get a free lunch out of it.

"How long are the shifts for full-time?" one of them asked curiously.

"Six in the morning to two in the afternoon. Exactly eight hours," Nanny He answered truthfully.

’Six in the morning? Factoring in the commute, we’d have to get up at five-thirty and leave by five-forty just to make it there by six.’

’We might be getting older and sleeping less, but it’s not like we’re waking up at five-something every single day!’

"Forget it," one of them sighed. "We’ll go with you anyway. You can go to work, and we’ll just grab a bite to eat."

The women followed Nanny He out, muttering among themselves—after all, the local Hai City channel had rated Xu’s Fast Food as a top-quality establishment. They’d even seen the kitchen on TV, and the restaurant was totally transparent about its suppliers. It was all above board and very healthy!

They never expected what they saw next. From a distance, they could see that Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant was packed with people, both inside and out. They were shocked.

’The last time we came, this place wasn’t busy at all. It was practically empty!’

Liang Dani was at the entrance, greeting customers and leading them over to Store No. 3. But there were too many people; the moment she led one group away, another would arrive. She was completely overwhelmed.

The women stood at the entrance watching for a while until they finally saw an opening. They exchanged a look, then suddenly turned in unison and headed for Store No. 2.

"Boss Xu, your business is booming today! Not an empty seat in the house!" one of the women said when they found Xu An. After the initial praise, she began pointing out the restaurant’s problems. "But it looks like you’re severely understaffed. A lot of customers have finished eating and left, but no one has cleared their trays. There’s only one person dishing out food, there’s a long line outside, and you can’t keep up with washing the dishes over here..."

"Boss, you’re really short-handed here! So, how about us?" she said, finally revealing their true intentions.

Xu An recognized the women. They were Nanny He’s friends and had come to the restaurant looking for her just a few days prior.

He glanced down at their hands. Their knuckles were thick and prominent, suggesting they had done a lot of manual labor in their youth. But from the condition of their skin, it seemed they hadn’t done any hard labor in years.

’Six people... The restaurant is definitely short-staffed, but I don’t need six new hires.’

’Besides, I need full-time staff who can come in and help in the mornings. The whole point of hiring is to solve the bottleneck in the kitchen.’

When Xu An remained silent, the women recalled what Nanny He had said about the restaurant needing full-time employees, and they figured out what he was thinking.

"Boss Xu, how about this?" the woman proposed. "There are six of us. We can split into two groups. Each group works a four-hour shift, and we rotate. That’s the same as having three full-time employees, right?" She glanced at Nanny He. "We’re all friends and family of Sister He, so you don’t have to worry about us causing any trouble. We’re just looking to earn a little extra cash."

’That actually sounds pretty reasonable. Three people could handle the kitchen during the first half of the shift, and then take over dishing out food and clearing trays in the dining area for the second half. The division of labor would be clear.’

"Alright!" Xu An nodded in agreement.

"Boss, so are we officially on the clock today? And this lunch, is it on the house, or are we paying?" one of them asked.

"Today’s meal is on the house. Go get some food, and you can start your shift right after you’re done eating!"

The six women joyfully got their meals from Store No. 1, ate in Store No. 3, and then immediately threw themselves into their work.

Two of them took over Zhou Qi’s station dishing out food. Two others took charge of clearing trays, one in Store No. 1 and one in Store No. 3. The remaining two went to help in the kitchen.

With the arrival of the six women, the severe staffing shortage was finally alleviated.

Xu An couldn’t help but mutter to himself, ’The two recruiting agencies I hired are pretty unreliable. It’s been days and they haven’t found a single person.’

’Or have I not cast my net wide enough? Should I cast a few more? Hire a few more agencies?’