After the final exams, the vast majority of students went home, a small number of those with money went on trips, and a very small number of those from poor families went to work as students.

"Wei Deng, I heard that buffet restaurant is quite upscale and it's already full. How did you get in?"

"Of course, my mom used her connections to get me in. My family said they wanted to give me some experience, and I figured I had nothing else to do, so I figured I might as well give it a try."

His roommate was impatient with his bragging, but he was quite envious that he got a job at that buffet restaurant: "When you get there, you can eat whatever you want, right?"

"I am an employee, that's for sure."

"How about we go eat there before we go home?" a classmate suggested. "Wei Deng, you can bring us some good seafood and meat."

“But by the end of the semester, all we’ll have left is travel expenses, which is 398 yuan per person! Why don’t we go back to school earlier next year? We’ll have more money after the New Year, and Wei Deng will know more about their restaurant’s internal situation, so we can eat better.”

"That works too."

Hearing their plan, Wei Deng breathed a sigh of relief. He was only reporting for duty tonight; if they went to eat there tomorrow, what would he know? After the New Year, he would be more familiar with the restaurant and it would be easier to handle.

"I will personally serve you then."

Wei Deng never expected that his mother could find him such a good job. Not only was the workplace quite upscale, but the salary and benefits were also very good. He only had to work during the winter break, and if he didn't break the rules, he could earn 4,000 yuan a month, plus room and board! Just like his roommates said, could he eat whatever he wanted in the restaurant?

He had wanted to bring Mo Ru to this buffet restaurant for a long time. The online reviews were very good. Although 398 yuan was not cheap, it offered a lot of high-end seafood and beef. Now that he was an employee, was it possible to bring Mo Ru in to eat for free?

Carrying his luggage, Wei Deng went to report for duty with great enthusiasm, without mentioning visiting his mother Song Xia and sister Wei Zhu.

Upon arrival, Zhao Yun thanked Song Xia for the meal. She had already informed the manager to receive him. Since it was a holiday, the restaurant was doing very well, so after Wei Deng took his things to his dormitory, he immediately began training.

A typical buffet restaurant doesn't need many servers, but this is a mid-to-high-end buffet restaurant. Some high-end seafood and beef are available in limited quantities, so servers need to take orders and pick them up for customers. In addition, servers also need to grill meat themselves if customers request it.

Therefore, Weiden needed to master these things in a very short time. However, the manager told him that these were not the most important things. The most important thing was that in the service industry, service attitude was the most important, so he must never have a conflict with customers.

"The store has a rule that if a waiter and a customer have a conflict, 500 yuan will be deducted from the waiter's salary. If a customer is dissatisfied with your service, you can say that you will send someone else to serve the customer. Don't argue. Got it?"

After the training, Wei Deng realized that waiters like him couldn't just let people in to eat for free. Not only could he not let Mo Ru eat for free, but he also couldn't eat whenever he wanted; he had to have regular meals.

But looking at the salary of four thousand yuan, Wei Deng endured it. If he worked a full month, he would have an extra four thousand yuan for living expenses next year, and he wouldn't have to be so hesitant to take Mo Ru out to play.

Although Wei Deng's character is questionable, he has a good appearance, and because Song Xia has been controlling his living expenses for the past two months, he has lost some weight. Wearing his work clothes, he can be considered the store's image representative.

"On the first day, you will stand guard at the door. After you are familiar with the work process, you can then go and serve the guests in the private rooms."

"Yes, manager."

"Smile at every guest who walks in; don't roll your eyes or give them a hard time."

Wei Deng forced himself to nod patiently. He had said it so many times before: "Understood, Manager."

The manager had seen a lot of ups and downs, and he could tell at a glance that Wei Deng had a bad temper. But since this was someone the boss had brought in, he could only patiently teach him. If he really caused trouble, he would just throw him into the kitchen to do cleaning work.

When Wei Deng first started working, he was mostly curious, and the meals were good. Plus, his colleagues were all quite friendly, so everything went relatively smoothly.

Wei Zhu finally felt relieved. They didn't have any relatives in their hometown county, so it was better not to go back. Because of her father's passing, many of her father's relatives had stopped contacting her, and her mother's side only had her uncle's family left.

Speaking of her uncle's family, Wei Zhu had a lot to say. Her maternal grandparents were extremely sexist, even more so than her mother. It's likely that her mother was heavily influenced by her maternal grandparents.

Every year when Wei Deng visits his uncle's house, he is fine, but he is always assigned all sorts of tasks. When his father was still alive, he was also made to do everything. If a light bulb at his uncle's house was broken, his father would be made to change it.

After my father passed away, it seemed that he was afraid of borrowing money from my family, so he never took the initiative to ask my family to come over. Only my mother would buy my uncle a lot of cigarettes and alcohol during the New Year and other holidays.

"Mom, are we really not going back for Chinese New Year this year?"

“No, but you and your brother can go back to burn some paper money for your father on the first day of the Lunar New Year.”

Aren't you going to your uncle's house?

"No, Mom has worked so hard to earn some money, and I have to save it for your brother's wedding." Song Xia sighed as she spoke. "Before, when Mom didn't earn much money, I didn't feel this much. Now that I earn more, I'm not as willing to spend as before. Your aunt is so stingy. We bring so many valuable cigarettes and alcohol over, but every time she comes, she only brings a big gift bag and a carton of milk. It's really not worth it."

Wei Zhu breathed a sigh of relief. Had his mother finally started to realize something? Although it was for his younger brother's sake, at least there had been some change.

In most big cities, business gets worse as the Lunar New Year approaches because most migrant workers go home for the holidays. However, Song Xia's stall is popular with local residents because of its delicious food, so even with fewer migrant workers, her income hasn't decreased.

As for Weiden's buffet restaurant, it is located in the most bustling downtown shopping mall. Even in the off-season, it is still quite popular. Moreover, many employees take leave to go home for the Chinese New Year. This is actually a good thing for Weiden, as it provides him with a lot more overtime pay for the holiday.

Before he knew it, he had been working here for more than half a month. So far, apart from being asked to be replaced by customers for not grilling the meat properly, nothing else had happened.

He had three days off for the Lunar New Year: New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and the second day of the Lunar New Year. So on New Year's Eve, he finally got to taste Song Xia's cooking and was full of surprise.

Wei Zhu shrugged at him: "I've already told you that Mom's cooking is really good now. She wouldn't come even when I asked her to before."

Wei Deng felt wronged. How could someone's skills improve to such a high level by middle age?

What a loss, what a loss! If I had just used Mom's cooking to please Mo Ru, wouldn't it have been a piece of cake?