Chapter 162 The boss is so young! Yes!

“I think Yueyue’s method is feasible. Increasing the number of guests each day in stages gives us time to adapt and ensures that guests have a good dining experience. Although some problems may not be exposed without extreme testing, as we operate for longer, our problem-solving ability will continue to improve. I believe that we will handle the same problem better if we discover it now than later,” Xu Sannian said.

Everyone agreed that this made a lot of sense.

“Okay, let’s do it this way. We can adjust it if there are any problems later,” An Fusheng said.

...

On July 28th, Little Star Cafeteria announced its trial operation through its social media accounts and extended an invitation to its customers.

Of course, spots are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

After sending out the invitations, Wen Yue busied herself cooking. When she took a break and checked again, the limited spots were already fully booked, and many other diners were sending messages and making phone calls saying they would have to wait in line for the next few days.

"Why don't we just use these people for the remaining spots?" Zhaolin said. "I've been on the phone all morning, turning down hopeful customers. I just can't bear to do it!"

Zhaolin can't cook, and Ayao and the other two are more skilled at washing and preparing vegetables than him, so he's not needed anywhere. It's only because there have been a lot of inquiries these past few days that Anfusheng put him in charge of the consultations.

An Fusheng asked, "How many people need to make an appointment?"

Zhaolin: "This morning, including by phone and private messages on various platforms, 83 people have asked me if they could book for the following days because they couldn't book the first day."

An Fusheng thought for a moment and said, "It can be arranged, but the meal times may need to be coordinated. We will include this group of people in the daily increase, while the fixed number will still be recruited through registration. There are many people waiting to register, and we cannot take up the registration quota."

"Okay."

Zhaolin called back one by one to confirm the appointments, and finally fifty-seven people confirmed their appointments.

“Actually, not everyone who signs up will necessarily come, so we need to be mentally prepared,” Xu Sannian said.

An Fusheng: "I know, but customers can break their appointments, but we can't not reserve seats for them."

...

On Friday, August 1st, the doors of Little Star Cafeteria finally opened.

Compared to other restaurants that open with grand festivities and hire various lion dance troupes and song and dance teams to create an atmosphere, Little Star Cafeteria's opening ceremony was remarkably low-key. Around 10 a.m., everyone simply cut a ribbon together, and that was the entire ceremony.

Recently, Xiaoxingchen has become quite popular online. Director Zhang is afraid of public opinion and dares not be too high-profile. An Fusheng is afraid that too much noise will attract too many customers and he will be too busy. It's not that he is proud and thinks his restaurant is so attractive, but he has no experience in serving customers and is afraid of neglecting them. A few days ago, 70% of the customers had already made reservations. The restaurant can only accept up to 30% of the customers, about 60 people, without reservations.

To An Fusheng's surprise, by lunchtime, less than 30% of the customers were dining in. The kitchen had been busy with takeout orders all morning, and they even reduced takeout orders to avoid being overwhelmed with dine-in customers. The people in the kitchen seemed to be falling asleep.

"Are we being too low-key?" Xu Sannian leaned against the left side of the gate.

An Fusheng leaned to the right and said, "So far, only two tables of those who signed up have arrived."

Xu Sannian: "It's past twelve o'clock. Everyone who's supposed to eat has probably eaten."

"Um."

An Fusheng stared at the pedestrians coming and going on the street ahead, feeling a little sad. The reservation slots were quickly snapped up, so why didn't so many people who registered show up?

"How about we go up ahead and try to attract some customers?" Xu Sannian asked.

An Fusheng: "Has the reservation period ended?"

He wasn't unaware of the time limit for reserving his position; he just didn't want to think about it right now.

"The reservation is being held until 12:30, so there are thirteen minutes left," Xu Sannian said.

"Oh, then wait another thirteen minutes."

"OK."

Zhao Lin was the lobby manager today, but he didn't serve many tables of people all morning. When he saw An Fusheng and Xu Sannian chatting by the door, he went over to them.

"Did we choose a bad date for our opening today?"

Before he could finish speaking, Xu Sannian punched him, saying, "Don't jinx it. This day was chosen by an expert at Lou Mama's expense, costing 188 yuan."

Zhaolin: "What kind of expert can you hire for 188? When our company opened, the price for hiring a fortune teller to calculate the auspicious date was never less than 180,000."

An Fusheng's first reaction: "Is this a scam?"

In Fushan Village, hiring someone to calculate auspicious dates for major events like weddings, funerals, and house-raising ceremonies only requires a rooster and two jin of liquor, which translates to a maximum of two hundred yuan. An Fusheng thought that it was a fair price for Lou Mama to spend 188 yuan to have someone calculate auspicious dates, but he never expected that someone would spend over ten thousand yuan to have someone calculate auspicious dates.

"How is your company doing?" An Fusheng asked.

Zhaolin: "Overall, it's pretty good."

Xu Sannian: "Then not every one will work."

"Is it the same in your family?" An Fusheng asked Xu Sannian.

Xu Sannian: "I don't know. I haven't asked my dad, but he's stingy in business, so he probably wouldn't do something like this."

The wronged Zhong Zhaolin: "..."

"What kind of scoundrel?" a strong voice rang out. "You can't be listless when receiving guests."

An Fusheng and Xu Sannian stood up straight instantly.

Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom, Uncle, Aunt!

An Fusheng and Xu Sannian looked at the newcomer in shock, then at Zhaolin.

Zhaolin: "Hehe, it's my grandparents, dad, mom, uncle, and aunt."

An Fusheng and Xu Sannian quickly bowed and said, "Hello, Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom, Uncle, and Aunt."

"Hahaha! Good, good, good!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Zhaolin glanced quickly at Xu Sannian, her face flushed with excitement. Just now, she had called her grandparents, father, mother, uncle, and aunt!

On the other side, Xu Sannian and An Fusheng, who had called the wrong person due to their excitement, both blushed and quickly corrected themselves after realizing what they had said, "Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle, Aunt, please come in and sit down."

Zhao's mother: "Niannian is here too?"

Xu Sannian: "Hello, Auntie."

Grandpa Zhao said, "Let Zhaolin entertain us, you all go about your business."

An Fusheng and Xu Sannian gave Zhaolin's family to Zhaolin.

Zhaolin led his family inside.

Why didn't Grandpa and Grandma come?

Zhao's mother: "They're still on vacation, didn't you know that?"

Zhaolin: "I almost forgot, hehe!"

Grandma Zhao asked, "What position does my eldest grandson hold?"

Zhaolin proudly said, "The only lobby manager in the entire hotel, isn't that cool? Today I will personally serve you. Come, sit here. Here is the menu. Take a look and see what you want to eat. If you don't know what to eat, you can also ask me for recommendations."

Zhao's father laughed and said, "You're quite the expert, aren't you? Give us some recommendations."

"Alright!" Zhaolin opened the menu, picked out four or five expensive items, and then, afraid of being discovered, ordered a few more that suited Grandma Zhao's taste.

Sure enough, none of the people at the table realized his scheme.

"Okay, that's all for now," Grandpa Zhao said. "Ordering too much would be a waste."

"Okay!" Zhaolin happily placed the order.

If he had walked a little slower, he might have heard his parents say:

"The restaurant looks pretty nice."

"Yes, and the vegetables are especially cheap."

"That's right, a sauerkraut fish weighing over three pounds is only 158 yuan, and it's the most expensive in the store."

"I wonder what it tastes like?"

"You'll know once you try it."

...

After being reminded, An Fusheng and Xu San stood respectfully at the door to greet the guests, even though there were no guests.

Who said there were no customers? An Fusheng was just about to ask Xu Sannian if he had arrived by 12:30 when he saw someone walking towards their restaurant in the distance. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was someone he knew.

"Teacher Liang! Teacher Li!" An Fusheng excitedly stepped forward to greet them, "What brings you here?"

"What are you saying? Are you saying we can't come to your restaurant when it's open?" Teacher Li said.

An Fusheng said awkwardly, "No, no, I'm just a little surprised how you knew our restaurant was opening."

An Fusheng had met Teacher Liang and Teacher Li once before when he helped Bai Mangmang redeem her bastards, but they hadn't been in contact since. When An Fusheng sent out invitations to people he knew for the restaurant's opening, he didn't think of them. It wasn't that he didn't remember them, but he was afraid of being too forward since they weren't familiar with each other. He didn't expect them to come and support him. An Fusheng's heart, which had just been a little sad, was suddenly filled with gratitude.

"Please come in. Tell me what you'd like to eat, and I'll cook it for you myself."

Teacher Liang said, "If you're busy, then go ahead and do your thing. It's the same for the other chefs."

An Fusheng said, "It's not busy. As you can see, there aren't many people around."

Teacher Li said, "You didn't even put on a good show for your opening? It's so quiet that no one wants to come in."

An Fusheng didn't know how to answer, so he could only smile and invite them to sit down.

After placing the order, Manager Zhao returned to find another table of guests and very warmly brought over tea to serve them.

The Zhao family next door were stunned.

An Fusheng asked Xu Sannian to greet them outside, saying he had to go to the kitchen to work.

Xu Sannian: "We're not going to solicit customers anymore? Not that I'm narcissistic, but with our looks, we should be able to attract some customers, right?"

An Fusheng: "I won't take on any more jobs. I'll sell my art, not my body. I'll just make sure to entertain the guests who come."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Bai Mangmang's panting voice rang out, "Big Brother!"

"Mangmang? How did you get in from outside under the bright sun?"

Bai Mangmang led a few people, saying, "I brought you all here to eat."

The person following behind said:

"So this is where it is."

"Why is that map inaccurate? I've been looking for it for ages and can't find it."

"Why didn't you make any noise about your restaurant opening? Otherwise, we could have followed the sound and come here."

ah? ? ?

An Fusheng and Xu Sannian looked puzzled. Why did they take the wrong turn?

In a flash of inspiration, An Fusheng realized that the restaurant's new address was not registered on the navigation software!

No wonder!

Will the guests come and then go back because they can't find their way?

"Besides these guests, has anyone else come?" An Fusheng asked.

Bai Mangmang shook his head, "We've been playing in the elevated area the whole time, and we haven't seen anyone else."

That's good! That's good!

An Fusheng quickly ushered the guests inside.

The air conditioning in the restaurant was on full blast, and a cool breeze greeted you as soon as you entered. Combined with the restaurant's natural wood-style decor, it gradually calmed your restless heart.

Ah Yao and the others quickly set out the tea set. An Fusheng went to the kitchen and brought over a pot of ice-cold lemon tea, while Zhaolin brought over a pot of warm tea. Guests who wanted cold tea were immediately served it, and those who couldn't drink it cold were served only slightly warm tea. After a cup of tea, the anxiety in their hearts was completely driven away by comfort.

After the guests had enjoyed their tea, An Fusheng apologized to them for not having a registered address. The guests, who were all regular customers, said they understood.

After personally helping the guests take their orders, An Fusheng asked them to wait a moment while he went to prepare the dishes.

After An Fusheng walked away, the guests seemed to suddenly realize what had happened and asked Awen, who was setting the tableware nearby, "Was that the chef?"

Awen said, "Yes, he's also our boss."

"The boss is so young!"

Awen said, "Yes."

-----------------------

Author's Note: I noticed that the opening date was incorrectly written as July 6th in the previous chapter. It's now corrected to August 6th. [Let me see...]