Seeing everyone come to greet him, Feng Haidong smiled and greeted each of them.

"It seems like everyone is running our restaurant quite well?"

Duan's skills have definitely improved, right?

Xiao Song needs to work hard and stop being so ambitious but lacking in practical skills. When it's time to learn humbly, he should be more so.

How is Dayong and Yanzi's relationship going? Uncle, I thought I could finally attend your wedding this time I came back!

Has Liu Fang found a boyfriend yet? Actually, I think Xiao Duan and Xiao Song are both quite nice.

Xiao Yang and Xiao Dong, you two have really worked hard.

And to our new employees, Zhang, Chen, and Wang, have you all settled in yet? Are you finding it tough?

Feng Haidong, with a big smile on his face, chatted with everyone.

His words did not offend anyone; on the contrary, they immediately eased the tense atmosphere that had arisen from the argument between Duan Jian and Song Rui, and everyone laughed heartily.

Yang Chengjian said, "Brother Feng, you're finally back! We've all been waiting for you to come back."

Feng Haidong understood that Yang Chengjian probably had a lot to say to him, so he smiled, patted Yang Chengjian on the shoulder, and said, "Xiao Yang, there's no need to rush to say anything. I'm back now, and we'll face any problems together."

Upon hearing Feng Haidong's words, Yang Chengjian immediately swallowed back the words he was about to say.

He understood that Feng Haidong meant something clear: Feng Haidong didn't want to expose many issues related to the restaurant's operation to everyone in the restaurant.

Dong Xia smiled and said, "It's nothing serious. Now that the boss is back, everything will be fine."

Hearing his wife's words, Yang Chengjian chuckled and said, "That's right, there won't be any problems as long as Brother Feng is back."

Next, Feng Haidong told everyone to get busy and assigned tasks to each person. He then went into the restaurant's kitchen and personally cooked a lunch for everyone.

At lunchtime, Feng Haidong even opened a bottle of fine wine.

He poured a glass of wine for almost everyone.

Feng Haidong raised his glass and said, "Let me first toast everyone. You've all worked so hard while I was away for almost a month."

Everyone was somewhat surprised to see Feng Haidong take the initiative to toast them.

Yang Chengjian couldn't help but say, "Brother Feng, it's not hard work. You don't need to do this. You're already paying us."

Feng Haidong smiled and said, "Although I pay you wages, I am well aware that you are all under considerable pressure while I am not in the restaurant."

Before Yang Chengjian could speak, Feng Haidong continued, "Everyone, please drink the first glass of wine. I am truly grateful to everyone."

Hearing Feng Haidong say this, everyone naturally fell silent and drank the first cup of wine together.

After drinking the first cup, Feng Haidong asked everyone to pour more wine.

"The second cup is for good news: I've decided to give everyone a raise."

Upon hearing about the pay raise, everyone was overjoyed.

Amidst the joyful atmosphere, everyone drank a second glass of wine together.

Then Feng Haidong asked everyone to pour a third cup.

Although the drinks were served in very small cups, three cups in a row still left everyone feeling a little tipsy.

Feng Haidong raised his glass again and said, "I'm back now. Our restaurant will be undergoing a series of changes. We'll not only be selling crayfish, but we'll also be introducing some new items. So I'm giving everyone a raise. I hope you can continue to work with me to run the restaurant well."

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Everyone present was naturally very happy to have received a raise.

When they heard that Feng Haidong was going to introduce new dishes, they were naturally very excited and willing to work with him.

After finishing three glasses of wine, Feng Haidong sat down and invited everyone to eat more food.

After Feng Haidong and everyone had eaten a round of dishes together.

Duan Jian stood up, holding a wine glass: "Brother Feng, let me toast you."

Feng Haidong smiled, raised his glass, and stared at Duan Jian, waiting for him to finish his sentence.

Duan Jian hesitated for a moment, then tilted his head back and drank the wine in his cup, before refilling it.

This time he finally spoke, saying, "Brother Feng, I may have to go."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen, the waitress who had been hired by the restaurant after Duan Jian, asked, "What? Duan Jian, you're leaving? Aren't you going to work here anymore?"

Duan Jian looked at Xiao Chen and said somewhat embarrassedly, "I wasn't originally hired by Brother Feng. I came here to learn a skill from him. Moreover, after I learned the skill, I promised Brother Feng that I would help him keep the crayfish restaurant running until he came back. Now I have fulfilled my promise."

After hearing these words, Xiao Chen couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

Song Rui bluntly replied, "So now that your skills are good enough, you want to leave and start your own business?"

Upon hearing Song Rui's words, Duan Jian replied without hesitation, "When I agreed to stay, I had already told Brother Feng that I might have to leave when he came back, and Brother Feng agreed to that."

Upon hearing Duan Jian's words, Song Rui tilted his head back and drank the wine in his cup.

Then he stood up and said, "But don't forget who you learned your skills from. Don't you think it's ungrateful of you to just leave like this?"

Seeing Song Rui's excited expression, Feng Haidong reached out and pressed down on him, saying, "Little Song, sit down. Little Duan, sit down too."

Once they were both seated, Feng Haidong said calmly, "Xiao Duan is right. He made an agreement with me beforehand, and I did agree that he could leave after I returned to the restaurant. I won't stop him from leaving just because he learned my skills."

These words surprised everyone present, including Yang Chengjian and Dong Xia.

At the same time, Yang Chengjian couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable, because he had been having Duan Jian cook crayfish all this time.

Looking back now, Yang Chengjian feels that if he had known it would be like this, he should have done more work himself and shouldn't have let Duan Jian use this time to hone his skills even better.

Feng Haidong then looked at Duan Jian and asked bluntly, "Duan Jian, if I'm not mistaken, someone must have offered you a high price to poach you, right?"

Duan Jian panicked upon hearing this, not expecting that Feng Haidong knew he had been poached.

Seeing Duan Jian's flustered appearance, Feng Haidong said before he even got home, "If I'm not mistaken, the person who poached you probably promised to invest in you, let you cook crayfish and run the new restaurant, and then they'll only take a share of the profits, right?"

Duan Jian was completely stunned. He wondered if Feng Haidong had been sending people to eavesdrop and watch him while he was negotiating with others.

Seeing Duan Jian's stunned expression, Feng Haidong smiled and said, "This kind of thing is not hard to guess. I'm not in the restaurant, and you're in the kitchen. The crayfish you cook taste just as good as mine, so it's natural that people would be eyeing you, and it's also natural that people would want to poach you."

Duan Jian stood there, completely speechless.

Feng Haidong reached out and gently patted Duan Jian, saying, "It's alright, you can go if you want. I wish you a safe journey."