Chapter 266 - 166: 3-Yuan Canteen (2)

Chapter 266: Chapter 166: 3-Yuan Canteen (2)

"Sorry, we’re all out of breakfast. The canteen’s closed for now. If you want to eat, please come back at eleven-thirty." The man mopping the floor didn’t look up as he spoke to the two figures who had just walked in.

"We’re not here to eat. We just wanted to chat with you," Su Chen said softly, looking at the busy man.

Hearing this, the man immediately looked up. He recognized Su Chen’s face and asked with some confusion, "Aren’t you guys tourists? How come you have the free time to chat with me?"

Su Chen didn’t answer right away. Instead, his gaze swept across the canteen and landed on a whiteboard on the wall. It listed people’s names, dates, and the items they had donated.

"The stories here seem much more interesting than sightseeing. Would you be willing to share them with me?"

The man’s eyes rested on Su Chen’s face. After a long moment of silence, he set his mop aside, pointed to a nearby table, and said, "Let’s talk sitting down."

Su Chen didn’t stand on ceremony. He gestured for Jiang Hui to join him, and they both sat down.

As soon as they were seated, the man pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offered it to them. "Smoke?"

"I do!" Su Chen smiled and took one for himself. Jiang Hui didn’t smoke.

After they had been smoking for a moment, the man slowly began his story.

The man’s name was Chen Hao. Years ago, he had gone south to make his fortune but had run into countless setbacks. At his lowest, he was backed into a corner, unable to even afford a meal. Fortunately, he stumbled upon a charitable diner that saved his life and, along with it, his will to fight on.

Later, after making some money from his business ventures down south, he returned to his hometown, Zheng Island.

At first, he opened the restaurant with the idea of helping people in his spare time while still turning a profit. But he gradually realized that most of his customers were lonely elderly folks from the neighborhood, or homeless people.

So, he shifted the canteen’s focus. Instead of making money being the primary goal with charity on the side, charity became the main purpose. Making money... well, that was left up to fate. He even changed the name to San Yuan Canteen.

Seven or eight years passed in the blink of an eye. He had no idea how many people he’d helped. He just knew that because he’d been caught in the rain himself, he understood how to hold an umbrella for others.

In Chen Hao’s own words, "There’s too much suffering in this world. If you can help someone, and it’s within your power, you should."

"Boss, the price of pork dropped today, and vegetables were cheaper too! I bought a lot more than yesterday. Come give us a hand moving it!"

Su Chen was still mulling over Chen Hao’s story when he heard a voice call out from the doorway.

He looked toward the sound and saw two women in their fifties or sixties by the roadside, busy unloading ingredients from a three-wheeled cart.

Seeing this, Chen Hao apologized to Su Chen, then got up and went outside.

A moment later, the three of them came back inside, carrying bags of all sizes. The two women looked a bit surprised to see Su Chen sitting there; after all, they rarely got visitors, let alone a young man like him.

"Sorry about that, I can’t chat any longer. We need to start prepping for lunch!" Chen Hao said, emerging from the back kitchen already wearing his "battle armor"—an apron.

"Alright. You guys get to it, I won’t get in your way." With that, he stood up and led Jiang Hui outside.

Just as they stepped out the door, he faintly overheard the two women talking inside. "Well, I thought he was here to donate supplies. Turns out he was just curious and having a look."

"I know, right? A lot more people have been coming to eat lately. We’ve only got four or five bags of rice and flour left in the storeroom. We’ll have to buy more supplies in a couple of days."

"Hey, don’t talk like that," Chen Hao cut in, interrupting them. "We don’t expect donations from anyone. We just need to focus on doing what we’re doing."

The room fell silent again. Su Chen glanced back; the three of them were already busy at work in the kitchen.

On the walk back to the hotel, Su Chen was lost in thought. He was so preoccupied that he almost walked into traffic against a red light. Fortunately, Jiang Hui grabbed him just in time, preventing an accident.

"Old Jiang, do you think I should do something?" Su Chen asked, turning to look at Jiang Hui beside him.

Jiang Hui knew, of course, that Su Chen had been moved by what he’d seen at the San Yuan Canteen, that it had touched a soft spot in his heart.

He gave Su Chen a meaningful look and said, "Sir, don’t you already have an answer to that question?"

Su Chen froze for a second, then broke into a loud laugh. "You’re right. I already know the answer, don’t I!"

Just as Chen Hao had said, there was too much suffering in the world to help everyone. Su Chen had no intention of acting like some business tycoon, donating tens of millions here or a couple hundred million there.

’Who knows where those donations actually end up, anyway.’

’After all, the public generally has a good idea of what those so-called charitable foundations are really up to behind the scenes. Of course, you can’t paint them all with the same brush; there are surely some that are genuinely dedicated to philanthropy.’

He glanced back in the direction of the San Yuan Canteen. Su Chen had already decided what to do.

.......

"Wow, what a crowd."

When they got back to the hotel, Su Chen saw a huge crowd gathered over at the beach park. Everyone was holding up their phones, leaning over the railings.

"Sir, should we go check it out?" Jiang Hui asked quickly.

"No need. We’ll be able to see the commotion from our room."

Su Chen knew it was Deng Chao and his crew filming their variety show at the beach park.

Sure enough, back in their room, Su Chen could see the activity on the beach clearly from his balcony. Of course, he couldn’t make out any faces.

From Su Chen’s vantage point, he could only see the general scene.