Chapter 51 Opening Ceremony: The Lin Family Restaurant is now open for business!

As Lin Yao walked, she counted the staff for the new store on her fingers: "Brother, the new store will open a delivery window, which will definitely double the workload in the kitchen. We'll need to hire two kitchen helpers. The front of house also needs staff, so we'll hire two more waiters. Although our store is small, we need to take care of everything inside and out."

Lin Cheng nodded, his brows furrowing slightly: "Two kitchen helpers would be suitable, but we need at least two waiters, and Ah Xu too..."

As they were talking, they ran into Liu Xu, who had just bought pork and was heading back to the village. He was carrying a piece of pork and a large piece of pork fat, and sweat was beading on his forehead. When he saw Lin Yao and Lin Cheng, he gave them a simple and honest smile: "Sister Yao, Cheng, where are you going?"

Lin Yao paused, then smiled and said, "With the new shop opening, we're short-staffed. We'll hire some waiters and kitchen helpers from the brokerage firm. Once the new shop is up and running, business will definitely be booming!"

Liu Xu's smile froze, and his fingers unconsciously tightened around the pork.

During this time, he worked as Wang Xiaoyu's assistant, doing everything from chopping vegetables and preparing ingredients to tending the fire, eagerly hoping to find a kitchen helper position at the new store. But now, hearing Lin Yao's arrangements, he realized he wasn't included. He felt a pang of bitterness and resentment, but he forced himself to keep quiet.

Lin Yao was preoccupied with recruiting workers and didn't notice Liu Xu's unusual behavior. She hurriedly said, "Brother Liu Xu, I'll let you know when the new shop opens!" After saying that, she grabbed Lin Cheng and walked towards the brokerage, leaving Liu Xu standing there alone, watching the two figures disappear into the distance, his expression somber.

Liu Xu felt a lump in his throat as he recalled the hard work he had put in over the past few days and Lin Yao's words.

Lin Youfu, hiding behind the locust tree, witnessed the entire scene.

Seeing Liu Xu standing there dejectedly, he walked over and deliberately sighed, "These days, sincerity is wasted! You work hard from dawn till dusk, sincerely helping them with their work, and you can't even get a kitchen helper position?"

Liu Xu suddenly looked up, quickly concealing his disappointed expression, then lowered his eyelids again: "Brother Fu, Sister Yao and the others may have their own plans."

Lin Youfu scoffed, leaning closer and lowering his voice: "What plans? They clearly look down on you! Look at them, they're treating you like an outsider before the shop even opens. Do you think you'll have a good life in the future? Lin Yao would rather hire an outsider as a kitchen helper than you. You're going to work yourself to death with them? Once they've made it big, they'll be the first to kick you out!"

He patted Liu Xu on the shoulder, his eyes full of calculation, "Can you really expect people like that to see their businesses thrive?"

The shadow of the locust tree swayed on the ground. Liu Xu stood there for a long time, then brushed off the shoulder that Lin Youfu had patted him on, and went home.

~

As soon as Lin Yao and Lin Cheng stepped into the brokerage, the matchmaker greeted them with a smile. Upon hearing that they were looking for two waiters and two kitchen helpers, she immediately clapped her hands and called for them.

As the wooden door creaked open, two rows of figures of varying heights filed in. The group included men, women, and children, all dressed in patched coarse cloth, with many still bearing scabs from their journeys on their ankles.

"There's been a severe drought in the north, and these people are all refugees." The matchmaker noticed Lin Yao's frown and deliberately lowered her voice. "The worst thing in the food business is for secret recipes to be leaked. Hiring day laborers is nowhere near as reliable as buying servants. Look at these people, as long as they have food to eat, they're more loyal than your own family."

Lin Yao stared at the women huddled together in the crowd. Most of them had empty eyes, but there was one woman who looked to be about thirty years old. Although her face was sallow and her hair was messy, her faded coarse cloth shirt was washed until it was white, with fine and neat stitches on the patches. The corner of her shirt was carefully tucked into her waist, making her look neater than the others.

A little girl, about four years old, clung tightly to her mother's leg. Her sallow face was red from the cold, and her sparse hair was tied haphazardly with two faded red ribbons. Her clear eyes were filled with terror, but she bit her lip tightly and refused to cry. She just held onto her mother's pants tightly.

The matchmaker noticed Lin Yao's gaze lingering on the mother and daughter, and suddenly pulled the woman aside: "This lady used to run a steamed bun shop back home; she was an expert at making pancakes and steamed buns! Her husband died on the road during the famine, and she couldn't find a proper job with a child in tow..."

Before she could finish speaking, the woman suddenly broke free from her hand and shouted in a heavily accented voice, "I'm not going! I want to stay with my daughter!" She staggered and shielded her daughter behind her. The little girl immediately rushed into her mother's arms, her little hands clutching her mother's clothes tightly.

"You fool!" The matchmaker stamped her foot in exasperation. "What family would want a freeloader like this little girl? She's quite pretty. Sending her to a wealthy household as a maid would be better than her begging with you. Miss Lin is kind-hearted; you'll miss this opportunity!" Seeing the woman bury her head even deeper, Lin Yao raised her hand to stop the matchmaker: "Forced relationships are never sweet. Why make things difficult for her?"

Finally, through the matchmaker's introduction, Lin Yao chose two lean young men: thirteen-year-old Azhu, who had bright eyes, and fourteen-year-old Afu, who, though shy, was quick-witted. A sixteen-year-old girl named Su Niang also volunteered, saying that her family used to run a pancake stall at the ferry crossing and that she was skilled at the work around the stove.

But when it was time to pay the bill, Lin Yao turned around as if possessed and saw the woman's shivering back as she hugged her child.

In this era, human life is cheap, and being bought and sold like livestock is commonplace. But how old was that little girl?

The matchmaker's words echoed in Lin Yao's mind: who would want a child who couldn't do any work? If this child was lucky, she might become a maid in a wealthy family; if she was unlucky, she might be sent to be a child bride, or even sold to those filthy places...

Lin Yao clutched the purse at her waist, her palms damp with a light sweat. She had taken over the restaurant, and while she wasn't exactly wealthy, the dividends from next month's crystal noodles and bean curd sheets would be enough to cover the initial operating costs. It was just a matter of adding two more pairs of chopsticks; if it could save two lives, she would consider it an act of charity.

Lin Yao sighed, "Let's buy them, mother and daughter, too."

The woman looked up abruptly, her cloudy eyes filled with shock, her chapped lips trembling but unable to speak. Seeing this, the matchmaker's eyes lit up: "This little girl may be young, but she's very pretty. If you raise her carefully, she'll be a money tree! You see, she's worth at least two taels of silver."

Lin Yao shook her head and began to calculate the accounts with the matchmaker: "No one can predict what will happen to these children in the future. Every day they stay with you will consume more food. If I'm willing to take them away, it will save you trouble." She tapped the loose silver in her palm, making a clinking sound. "Sister-in-law, you'll give me four taels. The children will cost at most one tael, rounding it up. Do you think this deal is acceptable?" She added at the end, "If you agree, we'll only recognize your matchmaker when we hire more people in the shop in the future."

The matchmaker clicked her tongue, deciding to stop while she was ahead. Suddenly, the woman knelt down, grabbed her terrified daughter, and kowtowed heavily, her forehead hitting the ground with a dull thud: "My benefactor! I will serve you like a slave..." The other servants who had been bought also knelt down and kowtowed upon seeing this.

Lin Yao and Lin Cheng hurriedly helped everyone up. Lin Yao patted the woman's trembling shoulder and said loudly, "Don't kneel anymore! From now on, we are family. As long as I have food to eat, you won't go hungry!"

~

On the eighth day of the tenth lunar month, it was auspicious to open a business. At the third quarter of the hour of Yin, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Lin Yao, by candlelight, put a wooden hairpin in her hair and changed into the moon-white dress she had bought last time.

The sound of Lin Cheng catching Lin Song came from outside the door. Lin Song had heard that he could go to town to play today, so he got up early with Lin Cheng and was now jumping around in the yard.

Lin Song's face was flushed from running. His newly made jacket, embroidered with a chubby baby holding a carp, was made from a slightly worn satin fabric that Lin Yao had found for the shop owner. Standing there, he looked just like a lucky baby who had stepped out of a New Year's painting.

The three of them stepped out the door, their feet wet with dew. Lin Song held Lin Yao's finger and sang a nursery rhyme in a childish voice, the one he had learned from who-knows-where.

As they turned the corner, the red lanterns of the eatery were already faintly visible in the morning mist. Wang Xiaoyu and Liu Xu were leaning against one of the door frames talking, while on the other side stood Su Niang, Sister Zhao, Xiao Man, A Zhu, and A Fu, whom they had bought yesterday.

"Master!" Wang Xiaoyu stepped forward quickly, glanced at Lin Song's chubby appearance, and pinched his cheek with a smile. The little boy immediately twisted his body and hid in Lin Yao's arms.

Liu Xu stood to the side, rubbing his hands, about to speak to Lin Yao. Lin Song suddenly pointed at the patch on his sleeve and laughed, "Brother Xu's clothes are all ripped!" The air froze instantly. Lin Yao was about to scold him, but Liu Xu laughed first. He squatted down to Lin Song's eye level and pulled a straw butterfly from his pocket: "Ripped clothes can hide treasures. Look what this is!" The little boy's eyes lit up, and he reached for the butterfly. Liu Xu seized the opportunity to hoist him onto his shoulder, making Lin Song giggle.

Looking at the two distinct groups of people in front of her, Lin Yao clapped her hands to attract everyone's attention and said with a smile, "From today onwards, we are all family. Let me introduce you to everyone." She raised her hand and pointed to Lin Cheng first, "This is my older brother, Lin Cheng. He is currently in charge of the shops at the dock and is not often in the shop."

Then she pulled over Lin Song, who was playing with butterflies, and said, "This is my little brother Lin Song. He's very mischievous, so please bear with him."

Lin Song clutched the straw butterfly and mimicked the parrot's words, "Please bear with us!" This made Su Niang and the others chuckle softly.

Lin Yao pulled Wang Xiaoyu to her side, "This is Wang Xiaoyu, my apprentice." Then she turned to Liu Xu, "This is my elder brother from the same village. Azhu and Afu will follow Brother Xu from now on."

After the group introduced themselves to each other, the morning mist gradually dissipated, and Lin Cheng took out his key and opened the door.

Upon entering the restaurant, everyone took on their respective tasks. Wang Xiaoyu followed Lin Yao into the kitchen to light the stove. Thick smoke billowed up the chimney as Lin Yao began simmering bone broth in front of the stove. Milky white steam, carrying the aroma of meat, rose into the air.

Freshly ground crystal noodles soak in a copper basin, their translucent strands swaying in the clear water. On the cutting board, freshly baked roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) sandwiches are laid out, their crispy crusts cracked with golden lines, revealing the marbled braised pork inside.

As the auspicious hour arrived, Lin Yao pulled the red silk aside, revealing the gilded plaque of "Lin Family Restaurant" in the morning light. The red lacquered border reflected the joy on everyone's faces. Lin Cheng lit firecrackers and threw them to the street corner. The crackling sound startled the sparrows under the eaves, scattering red paper scraps all over the ground. For several days, Lin Yao and Lin Cheng had been advertising the opening of Lin Family Restaurant at their respective stalls, and many regular customers had been waiting outside early in the morning.

"Lin Family Eatery is now open for business! Every customer who makes a purchase today will receive two free fried skewers! The more you buy, the more you get!" Ah Zhu shouted at the entrance, waving a wooden sign with pictures of roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) and hot and sour noodles. Wang Xiaoyu had specially set up a deep fryer in the kitchen, and Su Niang dropped the first batch of meat skewers into the boiling oil. The golden oil sizzled, and the aroma wafted far on the wind.

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A note from the author: I was preparing for my graduation defense a while ago, and because so many people had to defend theirs a second time, I was very anxious and couldn't concentrate on anything else. I apologize to everyone. I passed my defense yesterday and am back to updating now!!!