Chapter 369 - 203: Arrangements
Jiefangbei!
Shufen Hot Pot.
"Ladies, your total for the six of you comes to 278. We’ll just round it down to 270 for you," Su Chen said as he handed over the receipt.
The customer took it and gave it a quick glance. After confirming it was correct, she promptly pulled out her phone to scan the QR code and pay.
"BEEP! Payment of 270 received!"
"Take care, ladies. Please come again." As the last few customers left, Su Chen stood up from his chair to stretch. He had been sitting for five or six hours straight, and his butt was killing him.
"Sigh... I really brought this on myself," Su Chen murmured, a wry smile on his face. ’I feel like slapping myself a couple of times.’
’He had no idea what had gotten into him. To think that staying home was boring, and to actually volunteer to come help out at his mom’s hot pot restaurant.’
What he hadn’t expected was his mom’s reaction. She had just rolled her eyes at him and mocked him for having too much time on his hands. She’d said that if he really tried to help out at the restaurant, she doubted he’d last even a single day.
Su Chen’s pride couldn’t take a hit like that. ’It’s just helping out at a hot pot restaurant,’ he had thought. ’How hard can it be?’
On the spot, Su Chen had puffed out his chest and righteously guaranteed he could definitely stick it out.
And so, Su Chen began his "life experience" at the hot pot restaurant.
Right off the bat, Su Chen chose to be a waiter. He figured it wouldn’t be a very tiring job—just taking a few orders and carrying out some dishes.
But to his great surprise, he didn’t even make it through one day. The evenings were especially brutal. Business was absolutely booming, and he was on his feet for hours without a single break.
He was either taking orders from customers or on his way to the back kitchen to carry out dishes. By a little after nine in the evening, Su Chen really couldn’t go on and just gave up. Of course, Chen Shufen had a good long laugh at his expense.
As the saying goes, it’s all a matter of pride. Su Chen didn’t want to throw in the towel after just one day. In the end, he had to swallow his pride and negotiate with Chen Shufen, taking over his mom’s post as the cashier.
"Well now, is our young master tired already? It’s only your second day and you can’t take it anymore!" Chen Shufen said with a teasing smile as she walked in from outside and saw Su Chen stretching.
"Says who? I was just getting up to see if there were any customers left!" Su Chen immediately changed the subject. "Mom, weren’t you inspecting the other stores? What brings you here?"
Hearing this, Chen Shufen gave her son a knowing look. Of course, she saw right through his little attempt to save face, but she didn’t call him out on it.
She decided to play along. "I was just making my rounds and happened to get to this location."
After speaking, she glanced around the restaurant. Noticing there were no customers left, she saw the staff cleaning up under the manager’s direction.
"If there’s nothing else, let’s pack up and go home."
Those words were like music from the heavens to him. He immediately saved the data on the computer, shut it down, grabbed his phone and keys, and happily emerged from behind the counter.
Meanwhile, Chen Shufen chatted with the store manager about how things went that day. After confirming everything was in order, she left with Su Chen.
While they were waiting at a red light, Su Chen turned his head and asked, "Mom, is everything with the association settled?"
The day after Su Chen had brought it up to them, Yin Zheng had personally come to their door and taken Chen Shufen to the business association to complete the relevant paperwork.
At the mention of this, a smile bloomed on Chen Shufen’s face. Before, she hadn’t understood the point of joining the association, but after becoming a member, she realized it really did come with significant advantages.
"It’s all taken care of. Plus, I heard a rumor... at the end of this month, they’re holding the Wudu Business Awards, and there’s a good chance your mother here might get selected."
Chen Shufen briefly explained the Wudu Business Awards. In essence, it was an award for "star entrepreneurs" who were selected after a joint review by various government departments, industry experts, and the media.
This wasn’t some phony award; it was a legitimate, official event. The results were recognized by all sectors, and if you were successfully chosen, you’d basically become a benchmark figure... a celebrity in the Wudu business world.
After listening, the corners of Su Chen’s lips curled up slightly. The importance of this event was self-evident, but he also understood. ’That "rumor" is likely a gesture from certain people in response to what happened before.’
’Given another year, Chen Shufen would have earned the title of "star entrepreneur" fair and square, but right now, his mom was still a little short of the mark.’
’But... none of that was important. As long as his mom was happy, that was all that mattered. So what if there were some shady dealings behind the scenes?’
"Hahaha! Mom, at this rate, you’re going to be a successful female entrepreneur just like Master He."
Master He was the owner of Hongya Cave. She had played a significant part in the success of the Wudu hot pot scene and was one of the city’s most successful female entrepreneurs.
"How could that be? I’m nowhere near Master He’s level!" Chen Shufen said modestly, but the beaming smile on her face made it clear just how happy she was.
Su Chen naturally saw his mom’s expression, and the corners of his own lips curled up slightly.
"Oh, right. Mom, what are your plans for Dad’s birthday? It’s just a couple of days away. It’s his fiftieth, after all. We should really do something special to celebrate!"
"How are we supposed to do that? We can’t go all the way back to Fuzhou, can we? After all, our relatives are all back in our hometown. Besides, it’s too late to notify them now."