Chapter 202 - 178: Notice

Chapter 202: Chapter 178: Notice

「On the bus.」

Lu Ziyue kept glancing at Wang Fulong, who was sitting beside him, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn’t bring himself to. Wang Fulong knew what he was worried about and cut straight to the point. "Do you think the supervisor would even listen to you if you went back now and said you weren’t quitting?"

The scene from that afternoon, after they returned to the hotel from packing up the stall, replayed in Lu Ziyue’s mind: the aggressive new supervisor, the higher-ups who just watched from the sidelines, the timid colleagues, and the two of them at the center of the storm. It was the kind of scene you only wanted to experience once in a lifetime. Going back was definitely not an option.

Lu Ziyue shook his head.

"Then is the compensation at Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant that much worse than at Brocade Hotel?"

After a moment’s hesitation, Lu Ziyue shook his head again. ’Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant might be a bit small, the office area a bit crude, and there isn’t even an air conditioner, but when it comes to compensation, the boss is genuinely generous. The pay is a few hundred yuan lower than at Brocade Hotel, but the way this boss speaks and handles things just feels right. Besides, he promised to get a bigger office, install a big air conditioner, and even give raises in the future...’

"What do you think of the boss as a person?"

"He’s great."

"Well, there you have it. The pay is decent, the boss is good, so let’s just give it a try for now. If it doesn’t work out, it’s just a matter of finding another hotel. Why make it so complicated?" Wang Fulong laid the matter to rest. Lu Ziyue thought what his master said made a lot of sense and stopped agonizing over it.

’Whatever my master decides must be right. I just have to follow him!’

"Oh, right. I just heard the boss say that most of the kitchen staff are deaf and mute. When we get back, find some videos for a crash course. We should try to learn how to have basic conversations with them as soon as possible," Wang Fulong instructed.

"Yes, Master."

「A residential complex in Hai City.」

Tang Wen pushed open the door, quickly snatched the air conditioner remote, and set the living room temperature to 18 degrees. As she walked under the vent to bathe in the cool air that felt like a holy light descending upon her, she called out weakly, "Mom, I’m home."

"So you’re back. What’s with all the shouting? You broke my train of thought." The next second, the sound of wheels scraping against the floor filled the air, and Mrs. Tang poked her head out of the bedroom. "Wait, it’s not even five o’clock. How are you off work already? Are you not feeling well?"

"I’m not off work. I quit. I just finished the paperwork this morning," Tang Wen said nonchalantly. "I found a new job this afternoon. I start tomorrow. The hours are eight to five, with a two-hour lunch break, and lunch is included."

"Oh, that sounds pretty good." Mrs. Tang kicked off the floor, and her office chair wheeled back to her desk in an instant. "Which company is it?"

"Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant."

"That’s not bad..." Before she could finish her sentence, Mrs. Tang processed what she’d heard. She stomped over to Tang Wen, her eyes wide as she fired off a string of questions. "Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant? That little shop on Zijing Road? What are you going to do there? Sweep the floors? Mop? Wait tables?..."

"That’s right, the Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant on Zijing Road. The one that was featured on the local Hai City TV station. What can I do? I can do plenty! You just wait and see how I use my promotional planning to make that place a massive success." The 18-degree air was doing its job. The summer heat finally dissipated from Tang Wen’s body. She turned and plopped down on the sofa, casually grabbing an apple from the coffee table, wiping it on her clothes, and taking a big CRUNCH out of it.

"Suit yourself. I wouldn’t stop you even if you decided to go sleep under a bridge," Mrs. Tang teased, then added a reminder. "If you’re really going to work at that fast-food place, help me out by observing things and gathering some data. I’ve been teaching an entrepreneurship class recently, and all my students think these successful companies just got lucky by catching a trend. I need to show them what it means to start from scratch, with nothing, and what a business in an unremarkable industry, one that isn’t riding any trends, can do to make big money."

Muttering to herself, Mrs. Tang returned to her room and sat down in her office chair. She put her gold-rimmed glasses back on and began typing away, completely focused on her computer. On the screen, in huge, eye-catching letters, were four words: Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant.

「Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant.」

’Just yesterday, I was worrying about the shop’s lack of management talent, and today I bumped into Wang Fulong, who seemed interested in a new job, so I put out a feeler. I was originally planning to play the long game, using a combination of emotional appeals and financial incentives to slowly poach him. I never expected that before I even had a chance to act, Wang Fulong would show up at my door with his young apprentice in tow.’

’Even though Wang Fulong wasn’t even a logistics supervisor at Brocade Hotel—he was just an acting supervisor before—his work experience is incredibly extensive. He’s done everything: back kitchen, main hall, entryway, private rooms, cashier, scheduling, and hiring. His apprentice, Lu Ziyue, isn’t as experienced, but by watching and learning from his master, he’s picked up about half of his skills.’

’Lu Ziyue’s personality, though... to put it nicely, he’s honest and reliable. To put it bluntly, he’s passive and lacks initiative. He doesn’t know what to do unless he’s told. If I were looking for a manager, Lu Ziyue would obviously be a poor fit. But if I want an obedient and dependable employee, he’s perfect.’

’The biggest surprise for me was Tang Wen, who came looking for a job because of a joke I made. This woman is a real talent. I’m not being sarcastic, I’m not mocking her, and I’m not being passive-aggressive—I mean she is literally a talent.’

’After signing the contract with Tang Wen, I started thinking about what tasks I could assign her. After some thought, the only suitable job for her right now is the grand opening promotion for Xu’s Braised Shop. I’ve already set the general direction, so all that’s left is to fill in the minor details. It’s the perfect job for her.’

’This will also be a good opportunity to see how we work together and to test how viable her plans would be for Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant. If Tang Wen can take a social media account for Xu’s Fast Food that has nothing and build it to even half the level of ’Hai City Food Studio,’ I’ll have hit the jackpot.’

After seeing the three of them off, Xu An went to a building materials market to buy raw materials, hire workers, and purchase office desks and chairs. He was busy until after nine at night getting the office set up. As for the computers, some parts had just sold out today, and no other stores had compatible ones. He would have to wait for a new shipment to arrive tomorrow before they could be installed, so that would have to wait until tomorrow afternoon.

’Tomorrow, Wang Fulong and his apprentice can come with me to set up the stall at the convention center. As for Tang Wen, I’ll have her first look over the plans I drafted for Xu’s Braised Shop, then have her coordinate with Wei about placing an ad on the local Hai City TV station. That should keep her busy for the day. I’ll decide on the rest of the work after the computers are installed tomorrow.’

It was already ten o’clock at night when he got home.

Ever since he started preparing for the expo, Xu An had usually been getting home between eight and nine o’clock. Xu Kang and Xu Le had grown used to it. They no longer forced themselves to stay awake to wait for him like they did the first time.

Even so, whenever Xu An came home at night, he would see their little faces all scrunched up, their lips pouting, looking thoroughly unhappy. Just from their expressions, he could guess that they must have made a fuss about wanting their big brother before bed, gotten a scolding from their grandmother, and then reluctantly gone to sleep.

’In another two days, once Wang Fulong and Lu Ziyue get the hang of things, it’ll be better. When they’re up to speed, I can hand over most of the work to them and get back to a normal schedule. Speaking of which, I think the kindergarten teacher added me to a group chat yesterday, but I was too busy to look at it.’

Xu An pulled out his phone to check the messages in the group. Besides a long string of "Received" replies, there was a notice from the teacher.

"September is the start of the school year. We ask all parents to prepare the necessary items for their children in advance. A small, cute backpack, big enough to hold a change of clothes or two; a spare set of clothes and a small towel inside the backpack; for new students, you can pack one or two of their favorite toys to help them feel more secure; parents should also prepare 7-8 individual photos of their child, with their face clearly visible. Finally, I wish you all a happy summer vacation!"

’Whew, that’s quite a lot of stuff to prepare. Looks like I’ll have to find time to take the two little ones shopping before school starts. Speaking of which, I’ve been so busy lately that I broke my promise to take them out for a trip this week. I can make it up to them at the same time.’

’Where should I take them?’ Xu An put his phone down, lay back on the bed, and stared at the thick wooden beams on the ceiling, thinking hard.

At some point, Xu Le had shuffled over, his small face pressed tightly against Xu An’s arm. His previously scrunched-up expression had completely relaxed, and the corners of his mouth were turned up in a slight smile. Suddenly, Xu Le’s lips moved a few times, as if he were talking in his sleep. Xu An leaned in close, and with some effort, he finally made out what Xu Le was saying.

"Lions... tigers... big, big elephants..."

’Alright then, no more thinking required. We’re going to the zoo.’

’Before we go to the zoo, I should get a new phone with a better camera. That way, I can take more pictures of them whenever we go out. When they’re older, they’ll be able to see what they looked like as kids and all the places we went...’

As his thoughts drifted, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Before he knew it, Xu An had also drifted off to sleep.

On the bed, the breathing of the three of them slowly synchronized as they all slept soundly.