Chapter 198 Little brother, are you lying down properly? Are your little eyes closed? ...

"Please wait a moment, I'll place your order right away, and you'll be able to eat it soon." An Fusheng said and quickly left.

All that was left for the girl was a glimpse of her fluttering, quickly disappearing hem of clothing.

"Sigh..." The girl sighed and started playing with her phone listlessly.

An Fusheng went to the kitchen to cook.

It was lunchtime, and the place was already crowded. The girl's outburst had drawn a lot of onlookers, who, getting hungry, decided to grab a bite before leaving. This added to the waiting area. As the queue grew, curious passersby stopped to watch, and finding the food appealing, decided to try it too. And so, the crowd grew even larger.

Just as An Fusheng was comforting the girl, his phone was already ringing with countless messages asking for help.

An Fusheng first went to the kitchen to hang up the menu, then quickly went next door to change his equipment, and then quickly returned to the kitchen to join the wok-flipping team.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw him arrive.

An Fusheng's arrival improved the kitchen's food preparation speed, and with Zhaolin's orderly management, the restaurant finally returned to normal.

The girl waited for about half an hour before the food finally arrived.

"Where's your boss?" the girl asked the waiter who was serving the food.

She wasn't questioning the owner about why he didn't serve her the food himself; it's just that he ran off too fast and hadn't had a chance to share with his aunt yet...

"Our boss is cooking. We have a lot of customers today, and the kitchen is short-staffed," the waiter honestly replied.

"Your boss is a chef?" the girl asked in surprise.

Waiter: Yes.

Girl: "Wow, I really didn't realize. You look so clean and fresh, you don't look like someone who works with cooking fumes."

The waiter said, "Although our boss doesn't look like a chef, he's actually a very good cook. All the top chefs in our kitchen were trained by him. Many customers come to our restaurant specifically for his cooking skills. However, he's too busy to cook every day. You're really lucky today. He was supposed to be on vacation, but he suddenly came back, and he made your dish. Please try it."

All the girl heard was "our boss," which showed that the boss was highly respected. The girl thought to herself: I earned this good fortune myself.

The waiter served fresh matsutake mushrooms stewed with cured pork. The mushrooms were the first batch after the spring thunder, fresh and crisp. The cured pork, which had been smoked for years, was perfectly smoked and had not yet experienced the rainy season. It was fragrant but had no musty smell, making it the best time of year for cured pork to taste.

The girl smelled the aroma as soon as the waiter brought the dishes in. The dishes were now simmering in front of her over a low flame, the broth bubbling and the steam carrying a rich fragrance.

The girl wanted to start eating right away, but she restrained herself and waited until the waiter left before she put her chopsticks into the pot.

She first ate a dark brown mushroom, and was immediately amazed by its deliciousness. "It's so good!"

Then she never had a chance to stop eating, and when the waiter brought her two more dishes, she didn't even have time to notice.

The girl, who was so full she could barely move while half-lying in the chair, only then noticed that the waiter seemed to have brought out an extra dish, but she was too lazy to think about it.

Seeing the waiter come in, the girl asked, "Could I have a place to rest for a while? I'm a little sleepy."

"Oh? Please wait a moment." The waiter ran off.

A moment later, she came running back: "You can rest on the sofa here. This room is our own dining area, and no other guests will come in. Is that alright with you?"

"Okay, thank you," the girl said.

Waiter: "You're welcome."

The weather has warmed up recently, and the restaurant has stopped turning on the air conditioning, but the indoor temperature is still quite low. The waiter ran off to get a blanket, and when he came back, the girl was already asleep, leaning against the sofa. The waiter gently covered her with the blanket and didn't forget to close the door before leaving.

...

An Fusheng held the spatula for more than two hours. After the mealtime, the kitchen finally quieted down, and Wen Xingmou made a video call.

An Fusheng opened the video and saw Wen Xingmou's big, teary eyes. "What's wrong?"

Wen Xingmou sobbed as she accused, "Big brother, Tianle is bullying us! Come back and beat him up!"

An Fusheng: "How did he bully you?"

"He...he...waaaaaah...he...ahhhhh..."

Before she could finish speaking, she looked up at the sky and burst into tears, clearly feeling truly wronged.

"Don't cry, your brother will be back soon," An Fusheng said as he changed his clothes.

After changing, I went straight home through the back door and through the vegetable garden. From afar, I could hear Wen Xingmou's wailing.

Seeing An Fusheng approaching from afar, Wen Xingmou stumbled and ran towards him, crying, "Big brother! Waaah..."

An Fusheng caught Wen Xingmou with one hand and took out a tissue from his pocket with the other to wipe her snot and tears. "Don't cry, don't cry."

"Big brother, hit him! He's bad!" Wen Xingmou turned her head and pointed at Li Tianle.

"Okay." After wiping Wen Xingmou's face clean, An Fusheng gently put it down and actually picked up a broom and walked towards Li Tianle.

Li Tianle: "..."

immediately:

"Ahhh! Don't hit me without asking why!"

"Aaaaaah! I did nothing wrong! Why are you hitting me?!"

"Aaaaaah! Help!!!"

...

An Fusheng gave Li Tianle a good beating before saying, "Then tell me why you bullied my sister."

"Ptooey! Ptooey!" Li Tianle spat out the mud and grass clippings in his mouth before saying, "I didn't bully her!"

An Fusheng made a move to raise the broom again.

"I really didn't bully her. I was just competing with them. Who knew they couldn't handle losing? They cried when they lost, and not only that, they complained! Humph! I'm not playing with you guys next time, especially you!" Li Tianle glanced at the group of kids and then glared at Wen Xingmou angrily.

Wen Xingmou burst into tears again after being glared at by him.

Li Tianle was innocently subjected to several more broom blows.

“Really, you can ask him if you don’t believe me!” Li Tianle pointed at Ji Fengnian.

After struggling for a long time between helping the right side and helping the family, Ji Fengnian still chose to help the right side: "Yes...yes, the few of them competed with him in running, wrestling and tug-of-war. Whether it was a one-on-one battle or a group battle, they lost and cried their eyes out."

An Fusheng glanced at the row of children standing opposite him, as well as the chickens, dogs, and cats interspersed among them. Each of them had a face full of grief and indignation. Even Lin Wuyang, who usually didn't show much emotion, had tears welling up in his eyes.

It's truly something that people and dogs alike despise.

“You’re all about height but not brains. How old are you? How old are they? Can’t you just give way to them?” An Fusheng said.

Li Tianle stubbornly argued, "How can that be? Competition comes first, friendship second."

An Fusheng really wanted to give him a few more brooms. "Gah gah gah, you're so good at talking, you can't even pronounce words properly."

Li Tianle stated confidently, "That's how I was during puberty."

An Fusheng: "Stop talking, it's rude."

Li Tianle: "..."

...

After Li Tianle got a good beating, the kids finally calmed down and grumbled that they would never play with Li Tianle again. Then, they dragged the cat and dog along and started discussing new ways to play.

The adults chatted upstairs, and An Fusheng took them upstairs to play with their toys before returning to the hotel to continue his work. He also took Ji Fengnian and Li Tianle to his office to do their homework.

Li Tianle expressed his dissatisfaction with a loud "Gagaga!": "I didn't bring my homework, and I don't remember what it was about."

An Fusheng: "Ji Fengnian has."

Li Tianle: "I'm not in the same class as him, so our homework is different. Besides, his class has a lot of homework, so I don't want to do his homework."

An Fusheng: "You have to do it! No dinner until you finish!"

...

The restaurant originally scheduled its employees' meals after closing time in the evening. Back then, there weren't many customers, and having dinner at around 8 PM wasn't considered late. Now, with more and more customers, they're often busy until after 9 PM, making dinner too late. So, dinner time has been moved to around 5 PM. By then, everything is ready, but there aren't many customers, so everyone can eat in shifts.

At dinner time, several waiters brought the food into the dining room and saw someone lying on the sofa. They suddenly remembered that there was a customer who had stayed at the store that morning.

At noon, the waiter who had covered the girl with a blanket went over and gently shook the still-sleeping girl. The girl hadn't opened her eyes yet, but smelled the rich aroma of food and thought she was at home. She jumped up and said, "Time to eat?" Then she naturally sat down at the table.

Everyone: "..."

An Fusheng, who had just entered: "???"

The waiter glanced at An Fusheng and explained, "It's the young lady who said she wanted to rest after lunch. When we were leaving get off work at noon, no one remembered to wake her up, so she slept until now."

At this moment, the girl finally came to her senses and realized that everyone in the room was staring at her. But that wasn't the most embarrassing part. The most embarrassing part was that she didn't even realize when she had picked up her chopsticks, and the chopsticks were already poking into the food bowl.

Not knowing whether to stand or sit, her mind was blank, but her mouth had already spoken first, "Hehe, how about we eat together?"

Everyone: "..." Who is the host and who is the guest?

An Fusheng: "Let's eat together."

Everyone took their seats.

The girl's eyes lit up when she saw An Fusheng. "Boss, what's your surname?"

Why are you suddenly asking my surname? An Fusheng was puzzled, but he still replied, "My surname is An."

"My name is Xu Leran, hehe." The girl said, "Boss An, you haven't shared your aunt with me yet this morning? I have a little uncle in England..."

“Excuse me, my aunt doesn’t need a boyfriend,” An Fusheng interrupted him.

Xu Leran said, "Don't misunderstand, I didn't know your aunt was single, and I didn't mean to introduce my uncle to her. It's like this, my uncle's fashion sense is really terrible. What he wears every day is simply unbearable to look at. If he stood on the street, he would look no different from a homeless person. My mom is so worried about him. I saw that the clothes your aunt bought for you are very nice, so I wanted to ask her if she could help me buy a few for my uncle. Don't worry, my uncle has money, and the service fee is negotiable."

An Fusheng paused for a moment, "It might be...inconvenient. My aunt doesn't really like shopping, and she's not short of money."

"Oh, is that so?" Xu Leran was clearly disappointed.

However, Xu Leran had a delicious lunch today, and then took a peaceful nap in the afternoon. When she woke up, there was more delicious food in front of her. Her uncle's affairs were none of her business, so she felt that today was the best day in recent times.

Xu Leran has a bit of a social butterfly personality, and since most of the restaurant staff are around the same age, they quickly became acquainted while eating and chatting at the table.

Xu Leran shared with everyone the various unfortunate things and strange people she encountered while looking for a job these past few days without reservation. Everyone was amazed. As she talked, Xu Leran also mentioned the reason why she came to Nancheng to look for a job.

After graduating from university last year, Xu Leran returned to her hometown, a small county, with her boyfriend to prepare for the civil service exam. Unexpectedly, her boyfriend passed but she didn't. The civil service exam is popular and highly competitive now. Xu Leran felt it was normal not to pass on the first try. Her parents encouraged her to try again. However, because she often went to her boyfriend's rented room to study, her boyfriend's mother thought she was being supported by her son because she didn't work. She was very dissatisfied with her and made sarcastic remarks, saying that she was being supported by someone without a job and that she was not good enough for her son because she didn't have a formal job. Xu Leran endured it for a long time, but finally couldn't bear it anymore and ran away to find a job.

"Your boyfriend's mother is going too far," someone said.

Xu Leran: "That's right. Although I did spend some of my boyfriend's money, I also bought him a lot of things. I bought his clothes, shoes, and many things in the rented apartment. I also do all the grocery shopping and cooking for him when he goes to work. I didn't ask him to support me."

"And yet his mother still said those things about you."

"that is."

"Why don't you find a new boyfriend?"

"That's not a good idea. My boyfriend is a really nice person."

"But his mother is no good. After you marry him, you'll have to live with her, and she'll definitely find fault with you every day."

"That's true. I used to be very cheerful, but after living with my boyfriend for half a year, his mother kept making sarcastic remarks about me. To be honest, I almost forgot that I used to be a little ray of sunshine in the past six months."

"You're still not running away? Are you staying for the New Year?"

"They've already run away, and the New Year is over."

Occasionally interspersed throughout:

"Wow, this dish is so delicious!"

"This is delicious too, you should try it."

"My goodness, every dish is so delicious! No wonder there are so many people queuing up in front of your restaurant every day."

"That's right, our boss is a great cook, and the chefs he trains are all very skilled as well."

"Your store is doing so well, with so many people queuing up every day, why don't you open a branch? Are you deliberately creating a scarcity effect?"

"Actually, there aren't that many people queuing every day, it's just that there are more people on weekends. Opening a branch would require rent, utilities, labor, and the purchase of furniture, tableware, kitchenware, etc. There would also be additional expenses in management and operation. The costs would far exceed the profits, and recovering costs would be a long process. Our store hasn't been in operation for very long, and our management is not yet mature. If we don't manage well in the middle, it could end up in a dismal state. It's not that we don't want to open a branch, it's just that the timing isn't right yet."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know the cost of firewood and rice until I was in charge of the household. I was thinking too simply."

"It's okay. It's normal to be unfamiliar with areas you're not involved in."

"Mmm, oh...it's so delicious, I can't stop eating it!"

"Let me tell you, our restaurant's culture is 'eat heartily every day, because life will not let down anyone who eats heartily.'"

When did we develop this kind of culture?

"Don't you have any?"

Yes, yes, yes!

"..."

The group of people chatted for a while, and then the conversation returned to their work.

"It's so hard to find a job these days. All those high-paying jobs online are scams."

"Yes."

"There are some jobs that have all sorts of requirements, but when you ask about them, there are no benefits and the salary is less than the minimum wage."

"Yes."

"Some are even more outrageous, requiring recent graduates. This year's new batch hasn't even graduated yet, and they're already saying I'm not a recent graduate. It makes me so angry."

"That's really outrageous."

“Let me tell you, it’s really ridiculous, one thing after another. Some companies ask me if I have a partner. I said yes, and they said they were worried that if I got married and had children, it would affect my work. I said I was about to break up and I didn’t plan to find someone else. Then they said it’s hard to be stable if I don’t get married. I just want to ask them if they allow people to get married or not.”

"What did he say?"

"I didn't dare ask..."

"Sigh..." (Disappointed onlookers: :()

"Sigh... if I can't find a job soon, I'll be eating dirt..."

"Sigh..." (Sympathetic look on the face of onlookers: :-I)

"Hey? Are you guys hiring? How about I come work here? At least I can earn a decent living every day," Xu Leran chuckled.

Everyone turned to look at An Fusheng.

An Fusheng was eating while looking at Xu Sannian's revised equity incentive plan and listening to gossip. Suddenly, the world went quiet. An Fusheng looked up, puzzled, and found that everyone was staring at him. An Fusheng calmly put away his phone; it was indeed not a good idea to look at your phone while eating.

"Is that okay?" Xu Leran asked.

An Fusheng: "What?"

"Do you need any waiters/waitresses? What do you think of me?" Xu Leran said, "Although I've never worked as a waiter/waitress, I can do housework and I'm very quick and efficient."

An Fusheng remembered that Xu Leran was going to take the civil service exam. "You, you're not planning to take the civil service exam anymore?"

An Fusheng would be happy to have college students come to the restaurant if they could stay long-term, since the restaurant would need a lot of talent for future expansion.

"I... I'll still take the exam. Putting my boyfriend aside, my parents also hope I can have a stable job," Xu Leran said hesitantly. "I can work as a waitress for a while, and then quit to study when the exam is closer. Otherwise, studying every day will make me numb."

An Fusheng thought for a moment and said, "If you're just looking for a temporary job, would you be willing to tutor students with their homework?"

Xu Leran: "Doing homework?"

"Hmm," An Fusheng said, "There are several children in my family whose grades aren't very good. They struggle with their homework every day, and the adults in the family are all too busy to tutor them. I wonder if you would be willing to tutor them?"

Xu Leran became interested. "Tell me in detail, especially about the compensation."

An Fusheng said, “We have four children in our family: one in third grade, one in fifth grade, and two in the second year of junior high school. One of the junior high school students lives on campus, and the other needs tutoring during the week and only needs tutoring on weekends. The two elementary school students need tutoring every day. If you are willing, you can tutor the two elementary school students with their homework for about two to three hours during the week, and if you include the two junior high school students on the weekend, it will be about four to five hours. The tutoring fee is 100 yuan per hour. Do you think that’s okay?”

Xu Leran silently did the math: 300 yuan for three hours a day during the week, 1,500 yuan for five days; 400 yuan for four hours a day on weekends, 800 yuan for two days, 2,300 yuan a week; and 9,200 yuan for four weeks a month. Besides, a month is four weeks and two days, so wouldn't that be more than 10,000 yuan a month? And he only needed to work two to four hours a day.

"Sure!" Xu Leran immediately agreed. "I was wondering if meals are included during mealtimes?"

“Of course,” An Fusheng said, “but I might not be able to buy social security. Do you mind?”

Xu Leran: "I don't mind. I don't need to buy social insurance. Buying social insurance would affect my status as a recent graduate."

An Fusheng: "When can you start teaching? I'll go home and let my child know."

Xu Leran: "Tomorrow will do."

An Fusheng was very pleased that they agreed on the terms.

After dinner, An Fusheng went to the office to watch Ji Fengnian and Li Tianle do their homework. Seeing their scribbles, the homework didn't seem so bad after all. It was nothing serious; they were just minor issues. They were teachable, and with a little guidance, they might improve.

...

When An Fusheng got home from get off work that evening, he announced the news. None of the people involved were happy, but those who weren't involved were all very happy.

...

After a busy day, An Fusheng still couldn't ignore the fact that Wen Xinglan wasn't in his room when he returned.

An Shisi was used to putting her younger brother to sleep, but she wasn't used to it.

It was quite late when An Fusheng returned to his room after finishing his work, and An Shisi was still waiting for him with his eyes wide open.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?" An Fusheng asked.

An Shisi sat up, clutching his blanket: "Big brother, is your little brother really not coming back to sleep?"

"Hmm." An Fusheng got into bed and pressed An Shisi down as well.

An Shisi turned to look at An Fusheng and asked, "Where does your younger brother sleep?"

"Didn't you help pack his seashell bed into his suitcase for his parents to take with them? He should still be sleeping in the seashell bed, right?"

"But what if he's scared if none of us stay with him?"

His parents will be with him.

"But……"

"No buts, go to sleep. It's already past midnight. Kids won't grow tall if they stay up late."

"oh."

Just as An Shisi turned over to go to sleep, An Fusheng's phone rang.

An Fusheng picked up his phone and saw that it was He Chen calling. He quickly answered and saw a magnified image of Wen Xinglan's pouting, watery lips on the screen. "Xiao Ba."

"Brother~"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Wen Xinglan began to sob.

Upon hearing his younger brother's voice, An Shisi immediately crawled over, calling out, "Brother, brother."

Wen Xinglan: "Brother Xi~ Waaah~"

An Fusheng quickly turned on the room lights so that Wen Xinglan could see them. He Chen also adjusted Wen Xinglan's phone so that An Fusheng and An Shisi could see Wen Xinglan's full face.

"I'm sorry to bother you so late. Xiao Ba wouldn't go to sleep and insisted on coming to you," He Chen said.

An Fusheng said, "It's alright, we can be with him anytime. Is he making a big fuss?"

He Chen said, "No, he was fine during the day, but he got upset when it was time for bed. I gave him his milk and put his little car diapers on him, but he was still unhappy. Then he wanted me to carry him and do push-ups. I carried him and did push-ups for more than half an hour until he finally fell asleep from exhaustion. But when we went to take a shower, he woke up, grabbed his little pillow, and came out of the room. When he got to the steps, he probably realized it was dark downstairs and was too scared to go any further, so he sat on the steps and quietly wiped away his tears."

An Fusheng: "He doesn't feel safe in unfamiliar environments, so it's best not to leave him alone."

"This was our oversight, it won't happen again," He Chen said.

An Fusheng said, "Didn't you let him sleep on his seashell bed?"

He Chen: "No, we thought that since he just arrived, we wanted him to sleep with us so he could get to know us better."

"You could try inflating his seashell bed and letting him sleep on it. He's been sleeping alone on it lately, so he might be more familiar with it."

"Okay, I'll go get it done now."

After saying that, He Chen and Ming Yue coaxed Wen Xinglan back to his room. Then, Ming Yue hugged Wen Xinglan and snuggled up in the single sofa to keep him company while he played video games, while He Chen helped him make the bed.

An Fusheng and An Shisi chatted with Wen Xinglan for a while, and then He Chen tidied up his bed.

The two then began to coax Wen Xinglan to sleep.

Although Wen Xinglan is young, he is actually very independent. When he first came to the orphanage at the age of one and a half, he was able to adapt to the completely unfamiliar environment. He can also adapt to the current environment. It's just that his older brothers have been with him for too long, and he doesn't want to give them up.

But he was obedient; when his brothers told him to go to sleep, he would hug his little pillow and go to sleep obediently.

When the older brother was working overtime, it was An Shisi who would coax the younger brother to sleep. An Shisi was very experienced in coaxing his younger brother, saying, "Little brother, are you lying down? Are your little eyes closed? Big brother is going to sing a lullaby now."

"My little brother has closed his eyes," Wen Xinglan said softly with her eyes closed.

"Moonlight shines on the ground, little shrimp, you better go to bed..."

After An Shisi finished singing a song, Wen Xinglan finally fell asleep.

...