Reborn in the 80s: Everyone Falls For Me
Chapter 188 - 187: Living Optimistically (3 more)

Chapter 188: Chapter 187: Living Optimistically (3 more)

It’s surprising that some parents would actually name their child Zhao Pang, and Zhao Pang doesn’t seem to mind his weight at all, living life optimistically.

Xu Niannian really admired such optimistic and positive people.

"I’ll just call you Pang Ge from now on."

She really couldn’t bring herself to call him Little Pang, as she was only 17 in virtual age, while Zhao Pang looked to be in his late twenties.

Zhao Pang chuckled happily, "Whatever you like."

That girl who seemed quite rigid should be around the same age as Xu Niannian, with a fair appearance, yet she always had a stern face.

Seeing Xu Niannian and Zhao Pang chatting away cheerfully, she pursed her lips and introduced herself, "My name is Chen Xiaorou, and I will work hard and diligently in this job without slacking off."

Hearing her words, Xu Niannian suddenly felt that she was very good at reading people, indeed quite stern.

She spoke in a rigid and unyielding way; at her age, a girl shouldn’t be so stiff.

However, it was someone else’s personality, and Xu Niannian didn’t interfere.

The woman, noticing that Xu Niannian spoke quite kindly and didn’t look down on her for being fired, timidly said, "My name is Qin Feng."

"Mm, I’ll call you Auntie Qin from now on," Xu Niannian nodded.

This startled Qin Feng, "Boss lady, just calling me Xiao Qin is fine."

In Qin Feng’s eyes, Xu Niannian was the boss’s wife, and she was an employee; being called Auntie Qin felt like overstepping her place.

Xu Niannian was inwardly bewildered, Xiao Qin.

She was old enough to be her mother.

But Xu Niannian didn’t dwell on this, probably thinking calling her ’auntie’ made the boss feel uncomfortable.

Xu Niannian didn’t fuss over this, but there was another important issue that had to be emphasized, as she wasn’t the first one to be addressed that way.

"I’m the owner of this place, not the boss’s wife," she stressed.

At that remark, Zhao Pang and the other two all looked towards Jin Yu.

Jin Yu felt quite hurt by Xu Niannian’s clarification, but hurt or not, he had to keep hanging on.

He coughed and pretended he hadn’t heard.

However, Xu Niannian added, "He’s my fiancé, and currently, we are partners."

So, the three of them started referring to Jin Yu and Xu Niannian as the Big Boss and the Small Boss.

When Xu Niannian heard Zhao Pang call her Small Boss, the corner of her mouth twitched.

Qin Feng went back home to deal with some matters, while Zhao Pang and Chen Xiaorou stayed to help in the shop.

Chen Xiaorou, with a delicate appearance, was solid in her work, although she was not flexible and spoke in a choppy manner. Xu Niannian had her help out in the kitchen.

She was given tasks like washing and chopping vegetables, and washing dishes, while Jin Yu was in charge of plating, and Xu Niannian only had to cook.

Having been schooled up to the elementary level, Xu Niannian had Zhao Pang take orders and serve dishes, writing them down in a little notebook to remember what the customers ordered.

Because it was chaotic on the first day, with mistakes like serving the wrong tables, Xu Niannian used red paper to write numbers and stick them onto the tablecloths.

From table number 1 to 40.

When taking orders, Zhao Pang had to remember not only what dishes the customers ordered but also which table they were at.

Once the work was allocated, Xu Niannian immediately felt much more relaxed, but when it got busy in the afternoon, she was still non-stop with her hands.

However, the efficiency of serving dishes had increased substantially.

Most of the returning customers came for the butter noodles, thinking it was the shop’s specialty.

Seeing other tables enjoying stir-fried dishes, they decided to order a few to try as well.

Once they tried them, they were pleasantly surprised; every dish made their eyes light up with delight.

During the busiest time in the afternoon, Xu Niannian never stopped moving.

It used to be this busy when she had no employees, and now that she had two, it was still just as busy.

Chen Xiaorou was exceptionally quick and efficient with washing and chopping vegetables, and her knife skills weren’t bad either, proving to be more capable than Xu Niannian had imagined.

Washing and chopping vegetables could be done in advance, but washing dishes had to be done frequently.

Due to the large number of customers, the dirty dishes kept piling up and there weren’t enough clean ones to use.

Zhao Pang was in charge of taking orders and serving dishes, and when the customers left, he also had to wipe the tables and collect the dishes.

This made Xu Niannian reflect that having a successful business can suddenly become a burden, wondering if saying such a thing would get her beaten.

After a busy and bustling day, Xu Niannian almost collapsed from exhaustion.

When closing time rolled around in the evening, Xu Niannian cooked up several dishes, and all five people ate together in the restaurant.

Xu Zhiqiang and Jin Yu had already eaten Xu Niannian’s cooking before and were not surprised at all.

This was the first time Zhao Pang and Chen Xiaorou had tasted Xu Niannian’s food.

Previously, one was responsible for serving dishes while the other worked in the kitchen, and though they had smelled the fragrance of the stir-fry and the scent of butter noodles to their hearts’ content, they hadn’t had the chance to taste it.

To their surprise, the food smelled good, but it tasted even better.

Chen Xiaorou was someone who typically showed little emotion on her face; her reaction was to eat an extra two bowls of rice, and her movements became quite swift.

Zhao Pang was even more exaggerated, eating with contented "mmm" sounds, almost crying with greed as he hugged his bowl and cautiously asked, "Little Boss, can I have two more bowls? Your cooking is just too delicious."

"How much do you usually eat?" Xu Niannian asked with good temper.

Zhao Pang, trembling, held up five fingers: "Five bowls."

Xu Niannian: "...You’ve already eaten seven bowls today, you can’t eat any more, otherwise you’ll get too fat and it’ll slow down your work."

Her main concern was that he might stuff himself to death on the spot.

Since Xu Niannian had put it that way, Zhao Pang, despite wanting more, could only begrudgingly watch others eat.

Seeing his pitiful look, Xu Niannian really wanted to laugh; Zhao Pang was truly a character.

After dinner, Zhao Pang returned to his own home, which was located within the county town.

But Chen Xiaorou still hadn’t left.

After cleaning up, Xu Niannian saw her hesitating at the kitchen door, apparently wanting to say something to her.

Xu Niannian simply asked Jin Yu and Xu Zhiqiang to go outside first and wait for her.

"Do you have something you want to say to me?" Xu Niannian asked Chen Xiaorou.

Chen Xiaorou was clearly taken aback, lifting her head and looking at Xu Niannian with surprise, obviously not expecting that Xu Niannian would know she had something to say.

Xu Niannian felt a peculiar sense of achievement at seeing an expression other than the usual blankness on Chen Xiaorou’s face.

If Chen Xiaorou wasn’t so rigid, she actually looked quite like a Fair Lady.

"Speak up." Xu Niannian was quite easygoing with her employees, as long as they did not go against her principles.

Chen Xiaorou stared blankly at Xu Niannian, struggling in her eyes; seeing that she wasn’t speaking, Xu Niannian didn’t force her.

"If you’re not going to speak, then I’ll be heading back, alright. You just need to be at the restaurant before nine o’clock tomorrow morning. Whenever you want to talk, you can find me."

As Xu Niannian turned to leave, Chen Xiaorou hurriedly called out to her: "Wait a moment."

Xu Niannian stopped in her tracks, turning her head to look at her with a gentle tone but words that hit hard, "I don’t have the patience to wait for your hesitation."

So, Chen Xiaorou decided not to hesitate any longer.

"Boss, may I discuss something with you?"

"Just say it." Xu Niannian fiddled with the keys in her hand.

Chen Xiaorou bit her lip: "Can I live inside the restaurant?"

"Live inside?" Xu Niannian was surprised, not having expected that this was what Chen Xiaorou wanted to discuss.

Chen Xiaorou seemed embarrassed, worried that Xu Niannian would disagree, and hurriedly added, "You can trust me, Boss, I won’t steal anything from the restaurant. I really just need a place to stay until I get my salary this month. Then I’ll move out."

"But there’s no bedding here," Xu Niannian pointed out.

Apparently, she had nowhere to live and probably didn’t have a penny to her name, or she wouldn’t have made such a request.

Seeing that Xu Niannian didn’t immediately refuse, a smile appeared on Chen Xiaorou’s pretty face: "I can sleep on the floor, I don’t need a bed."

"It gets cold at night, aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?" Xu Niannian asked, and from the looks of it, Chen Xiaorou didn’t even have clothes to change into.

"I’m not afraid," Chen Xiaorou’s eyes slowly brightened, thinking Xu Niannian was agreeing.

Xu Niannian chuckled lightly, "Though I sympathize with you, it’s not possible. This is a restaurant, not a place to live. There’s nothing here, and you have to work in the kitchen tomorrow. If you sleep on the floor and get covered in dust, I won’t feel comfortable letting you work in the kitchen."

Upon hearing this, the light in Chen Xiaorou’s eyes slowly faded, her expression became downcast, and a sense of helplessness seeped in, yet she endured the discomfort and said, "Thank you, Boss. I understand."

And with that, she turned to leave.

Watching her dejected figure, Xu Niannian shook her head helplessly: "I didn’t ask you to leave."

Chen Xiaorou stopped in her tracks and turned back with a puzzled look at Xu Niannian, "Then... do you have any other orders, Boss?"

"Come with me. I have plenty of rooms at my place."

Xu Niannian sighed resignedly. She wasn’t the sort of person who would help just anyone, but she also didn’t want to stand by idly, especially since Chen Xiaorou was a new employee she had just hired.