Chapter 49: Mint Omelet, Stir-fried Spinach with Fresh Cordyceps Flowers. ...
Only after the staff brought over a dish of mint omelet and stir-fried spinach with fresh cordyceps flowers did the two stop devouring the twice-cooked pork, tangerine peel beef patties, and coconut baked rice.
They even ate a lot of the coconut meat from inside the coconut.
The golden, round fried eggs are interspersed with glimpses of bright green mint leaves, while another plate of tender, green spinach is mixed with long, orange-red cordyceps flowers. Both dishes are quite visually appealing.
Xu Feng said, "We were so busy drinking soup, eating meat and rice that we didn't drink much lemon water."
Just now, while we were chatting before the food was served, the two of them each poured themselves two glasses of lemon water.
However, the cups provided by the restaurant are more like teacups than water cups; they are low-profile glass teacups, and you'll most likely drink no more than 200 milliliters in two cups.
Chen Yusong realized, "Oh yeah, I completely forgot about the lemonade."
After saying that, he picked up the water glass next to the bowl and plate and drank it.
The lemonade was a bit icy cold, with a slightly sweet and sour taste, but mostly it had a refreshing lemon aroma, making it especially refreshing to drink on a summer day.
Xu Feng also drank a glass of lemon water before picking up a piece from the large omelet with his chopsticks.
The fried egg has a slightly charred edge, and the inside is smooth and tender. It has a strong egg flavor without any fishy taste. The spicy aroma of mint gradually spreads with each chew, and its unique coolness and fragrance make up the distinctive flavor of this dish.
Xu Feng could feel that the aroma of eggs and mint blended together when eating the whole mint omelet, and the slight juice from the mint even made the omelet softer and more tender.
Chen Yusong also chose to eat the mint omelet first, so that he could share the taste with his friends later.
He enjoyed the aroma of the eggs and the cool, refreshing scent of the mint. He could clearly feel that some of the mint was chopped so finely that it was almost mixed into the egg mixture before being fried, while some of the slightly larger mint leaves were mixed directly into the egg mixture before being fried. When he bit into it, he could taste the herbal aroma of the mint.
This dish is very refreshing; the coolness of mint permeates almost the entire process of eating the mint omelet.
After finishing his meal, Chen Yusong commented: "This mint omelet is pretty good. It's refreshing to eat in the summer, and it makes me feel great. However, it's the kind of dish that's amazing when you eat it occasionally, but you definitely can't stand eating it often."
"A spot-on comment." Xu Feng gave him a thumbs up.
"This mint omelet is really good. It was quite amazing when I first tasted it. Mint really makes everything taste better in summer. I just drank a glass of lemon water before eating this mint omelet. The coolness of the mint spread in my mouth, and I had the illusion that I was drinking lemon mint water."
"I had that same feeling too! It's hilarious. I already felt cool and refreshing after drinking lemon water, but when I ate the mint omelet, the minty coolness spread and it instantly became even colder, almost to the point of hitting my head," Chen Yusong said exaggeratedly, and then he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Looking at his friend's carefree smile, Xu Feng felt that the trip at noon was worthwhile.
The meat dishes at Gu's Private Kitchen are really delicious. I'll have to reward my younger sister when we get back; she knows how to pick a restaurant.
The two then tried the last vegetable dish.
The spinach is tender and juicy, with a sweet aftertaste and a hint of the fungal aroma of cordyceps flowers.
The cordyceps flowers are mixed in, and when you bite into them, they have a slight chewiness. The rich mushroom aroma and the salty and fresh spinach flavors blend together, creating a rich taste that can be swallowed in just a few bites.
Chen Yusong's family used to receive a lot of cordyceps flowers as gifts from relatives. His family often made cordyceps flower and lean pork soup, cordyceps flower and chicken soup, cordyceps flower and bamboo fungus soup, etc. He was very familiar with the taste of cordyceps flowers.
Cordyceps flowers have a slightly bitter taste, so when stewing soup, some corresponding ingredients are added to neutralize this bitterness.
In this dish, the refreshing spinach perfectly balances the bitterness of the cordyceps flower, and the two flavors blend together. The fungal aroma of the cordyceps flower enhances the flavor of the spinach, and the sweet juice that overflows when the spinach is stir-fried also moistens the cordyceps flower. The overall taste is light and flavorful, with a perfect balance of salty and sweet.
Chen Yusong ate several bites and nodded, saying, "I didn't expect this restaurant to cook even vegetables so well. The spinach is tender and juicy, and the cordyceps flower mushroom has a strong aroma. It tastes refreshing and flavorful."
Hsu Feng also really enjoyed this vegetable dish: "It's really good. I didn't expect that cordyceps flowers would taste so fresh when stir-fried with spinach. No wonder my sister and her friends kept talking about it after they ate it once. I used to complain that she had never eaten fine rice bran, but now it seems that I was the one who hadn't eaten fine rice bran."
Chen Yusong nodded: "I feel that this restaurant is among the top three of all the restaurants I have ever eaten at. I was narrow-minded before, I never even heard of this place."
“It’s really not your fault. My sister said this store only reopened in mid-April, and then it got some buzz on Xiaohongshu and Weibo. My sister saw it recommended on Xiaohongshu and was attracted to it,” Xu Feng said.
Chen Yusong nodded: "I see. But a restaurant with such delicious meat and dishes is bound to become popular sooner or later."
He fractured his leg at the end of April, and since then he hasn't been able to concentrate on using his phone, let alone looking at food reviews and recommendations. It's understandable that he didn't know about Gu's Private Kitchen, which had just opened.
He suggested, "We can also follow Gu's Private Kitchen's official online account. We can come here often to eat at such a delicious restaurant, and the price won't be too expensive."
Everyone here is a working person who has been to many restaurants that are more expensive than this. For them, the price of Gu's Private Kitchen is incredibly reasonable considering how delicious the meat dishes are.
Xu Feng smiled and agreed.
The two continued eating. The meat and vegetables were savory and rich, the stir-fried spinach with cordyceps flowers was tender and juicy, the coconut baked rice was sweet and soft, and the mint omelet paired with lemon water was surprisingly good. Occasionally, when their mouths got tired of chewing, they would simply have a bowl of sweet and mellow red bean, kudzu root and dace soup. They enjoyed this lunch immensely.
Gu's Private Kitchen serves generous portions of each dish. Even though Chen Yusong and Xu Feng are young and have big appetites, and their appetites are even better when faced with the fragrant and tempting meat dishes, they still left a lot of food uneaten.
Xu Feng leaned back in his chair, rubbing his round belly and shaking his head: "I can't eat anymore, I'm too full."
Chen Yusong also felt full: "Let's finish the vegetables and pack the rest up."
There's still some fresh cordyceps flower stir-fried with spinach left, but the red bean, kudzu root, and dace soup was all gone long ago, not even a dreg of the soup remains.
The coconut baked rice was naturally finished. The rice grains, soaked in coconut water and sweet, were delicious on their own. Paired with savory and rich twice-cooked pork or beef patties with a mellow tangerine peel aroma, it was especially good with rice. Every bite was an ultimate enjoyment.
Xu Feng nodded in agreement. He could still eat a few spinach leaves, since green vegetables don't keep for long, and spending a 1-yuan takeout box to pack them was not cost-effective.
After finishing his spinach, he waved to the staff to bring over two takeout boxes and a bag.
Pack the twice-cooked pork in one box, pack the tangerine peel beef patties in another box, and simply put the remaining half of a mint leaf into the drier tangerine peel beef patty box.
Xu Feng put the two boxes of meat and vegetables into a takeout bag and said, "I'll leave these two boxes with you later. You can heat them up and eat them tonight. We eat hospital food every day, so let's have a complete change of pace today."
"Then I've really improved my meals today. Okay, thanks. Let's go out for a meal together again sometime." Chen Yusong didn't refuse and agreed with a smile.
Having tasted such delicious meat dishes at Gu's Private Kitchen, the boxed meals I've been eating at the hospital lately seem so bland now.
Xu Feng got up, picked up the takeout bag, and went to the cashier to pay. He politely asked the customers sitting near the aisle to help move their chairs a little so that Chen Yusong could pass through in his wheelchair.
As Chen Yusong stepped out of the restaurant, he looked back at Gu's Private Kitchen and felt that it looked familiar. The next second, he picked up the takeout bag in his hand and compared it with the restaurant's facade, and exclaimed in surprise, "Look, the cartoon drawing on the takeout bag is actually the restaurant's facade!"
Chen Yusong hadn't really noticed it before; he just thought the pea-green color of the takeout bag was quite pleasing to the eye. Now, looking up at the takeout bag Xu Feng was holding up, he examined it carefully and then nodded.
"The painting is indeed of the restaurant's facade. The painting on the takeout bag must have been specially designed by the restaurant owner. Now it looks quite trendy and attractive when all the elements on the takeout bag are combined."
The eye-catching bean green color scheme, the prominent store name and the large lettering emphasizing the store's mission, and the cartoon illustrations showcasing the storefront while also creating a lively and down-to-earth atmosphere, make people want to come and experience the vibe and try their meat dishes.
Xu Feng smiled and said, "Keep this takeout bag. I think it's of good quality and can keep food warm. If your aunt comes to the hospital to bring you food, you can use this bag to keep it warm."
Chen Yusong smiled and agreed.
The two went out onto Surrey Street, hailed a taxi, and, just like before, got in and put away their wheelchairs, returning to the hospital.
Xu Feng chatted with Chen Yusong in the ward for a while, and they agreed that he would come to see him again when he had time off, or that he would come straight to the hospital after get off work whenever he wanted to eat at Gu's Private Kitchen, and the two of them would go there to eat together.
Finally, he said, "In short, do your best to recover in the hospital, relax, and your foot will definitely heal soon. When you have free time, you can go for a walk downstairs in the hospital and get some fresh air. Don't stay cooped up in your ward all the time."
Chen Yusong smiled and agreed, watching his friend leave the ward with a smile still on his face.
A middle-aged man with a fractured femur chimed in, "Young man, your friend is really nice."
"It's pretty good. He insisted on taking me out for lunch, saying I should go out more and not stay cooped up in the hospital all the time," Chen Yusong said with a smile.
The middle-aged man nodded: "We should go out more. Don't they say that the end of a fracture is mental illness? We're better off in the hospital. Those who live at home stay in their rooms all day, eating, drinking, and relieving themselves there. They'll go crazy sooner or later."
"I think you've been smiling more since you went out, and you seem much more cheerful."
"Really? Then I'll have to learn from you, Uncle." Chen Yusong said with a smile.
This older man was hospitalized earlier than him. Besides his rehabilitation exercises, he liked to walk around with a cane every day, saying he wanted to get some fresh air, and he didn't seem to mind the effort. He also used his hospital room to make phone calls or video chats with family and friends to let them know he was okay and share what he had done that day; he was very optimistic.
During lunch break, Chen Yusong lay down on his hospital bed to sleep. He didn't wake up until his alarm rang around 2 p.m.
The wheelchair was parked next to the bed with the handbrake on. He moved his legs down first, then supported himself on the edge of the bed with one hand and the wheelchair with the other. With a push from his left leg, he moved himself into the wheelchair and sat down.
The middle-aged man in the next bed had already woken up and left.
He picked up his phone and sent a voice message to his mother: "Mom, you don't need to bring me food tonight. Xu Feng and I went out to eat at noon and packed some meat and vegetables here. I'll just heat them up for dinner."
His mother would come over to bring him food every few nights. Yesterday, she sent a voice message saying that she would bring him food tonight and told him not to order food from the hospital.
Without a reply for a while, Chen Yusong went to the restroom. Because of his previous disastrous experience of slipping and falling in the restroom, he was now very careful.
Fortunately, the entrance to the toilet in the rehabilitation ward is large and the space inside is relatively spacious, so the wheelchair can be easily slid in, parked next to the toilet, and then moved over.
After using the restroom, Chen Yusong took his phone, wheeled himself to the elevator, and went down to the rehabilitation department's exercise hall to do his workout.
There were two sessions in the afternoon: occupational therapy and exercise therapy, with a break in between. By the time we finished, it was already five o'clock.
Chen Yusong originally intended to go straight back to his ward, but remembering his friend's words and feeling quite good about going out today, he decided to take the elevator downstairs for a stroll before returning to his ward.
He carried the takeout bag from the bedside table, wheeled his wheelchair to the boiler room, took out two boxes of meat and vegetables, and put them in the microwave to heat them up.
Five minutes later, Chen Yusong wheeled himself back to the ward carrying two boxes of meat and vegetables in takeout bags. It was fortunate they were in takeout bags; otherwise, the meat and vegetables would have been too hot to carry back in one go.
He rummaged through the drawer and found some disposable tableware he had left behind. When he opened the box, a smooth, fragrant aroma wafted out.
Chen Yusong immediately recalled that delicious lunch, his mouth watering uncontrollably. He quickly tore open the plastic wrap, took out his bamboo chopsticks, and picked up a slice of twice-cooked pork to eat.
The reheated twice-cooked pork is still so fragrant, salty, spicy, and full of garlic flavor. The pork slices are oily and juicy, fragrant but not greasy.
The tangerine peel beef patty is infused with the rich aroma of tangerine peel, and the beef is tender, savory, and flavorful, with a hint of meat fat.
After eating some meat, a mint omelet is just the right touch. The tender egg mixed with the aroma of mint leaves and the slight coolness spreads in your mouth, instantly making you feel much more refreshed.
Just as he was enjoying his meal, a middle-aged man's voice came from behind him: "Young man, what are you eating that smells so good? I could smell it even before I entered the ward."
Chen Yusong pulled out the eating tray from the bedside table and placed two boxes of meat and vegetables on it. He sat in his wheelchair facing the bedside table and ate the food.
He turned around when he heard the sound and saw the middle-aged man leaning on a cane with one hand and carrying a takeout bag in the other. He knew that the man had just come back from downstairs to pick up the takeout bag.
"Uncle, I'm having twice-cooked pork, tangerine peel beef patties, and mint omelets. I went out with my friends for lunch and brought it back as takeout."
"Oh, I see. I didn't smell anything when you left it out at noon, but it smells so good after heating it up." The middle-aged man laughed, glancing at the two boxes of meat and vegetables on his table. He was tempted by the richly colored pork belly, the seemingly light-colored beef patties, and the mint-fried eggs. He swallowed and walked to the bedside to sit down.
He opened the takeout he had ordered. It was a Northeastern-style boxed meal. The oval-shaped takeout box was topped with green pepper and pork slices, stir-fried potatoes, eggplant, and green peppers, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes. The white rice underneath was almost invisible.
Every dish looked oily and fragrant. He was already craving it from the pictures on the food delivery app before ordering, but now it looked a bit greasy and didn't smell as good as he had imagined.
Chen Yusong continued eating his meat dishes, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the middle-aged man in the next bed sitting on the edge of the bed, eating with a slatted table pulled out from the bedside table. He seemed to be eating without any appetite, and kept glancing in his direction from time to time.
He had eaten a full lunch and wasn't really hungry at the moment. After thinking for a moment, Chen Yusong asked, "Uncle, why don't you try my meat dish?"
The middle-aged man's face lit up with joy, but then he said embarrassedly, "That's not a good idea. There's not enough left for you to eat."
Chen Yusong: "It's okay, I ate too much at noon and I'm not very hungry now. I ate quite a lot before you came back. Could you please try the meat dishes at this restaurant? My friend and I both think they're especially delicious."
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man immediately agreed happily: "Okay, the taste must be amazing. I'm already drooling just from the aroma before I even entered the ward."
He took the lid of the Northeastern-style boxed lunch and walked back three or four steps with his cane.
Chen Yusong placed four slices of twice-cooked pork, two pieces of tangerine peel beef patties, and a corner of mint-fried egg on the lid of his box.
There was nothing he could do; he had just eaten quite a lot, and there was only a little left.
Seeing that he was about to take another bite, the middle-aged man quickly said, "That's enough, that's enough. If you give me all of it, what will you eat? Thank you, young man."
He returned to his hospital bedside, leaning on his cane, and placed the lid and the meat and vegetables on it on the bedside table. He then brought over the boxed lunch: "Here, let's taste each other's food. Don't be disgusted by my Northeastern-style boxed lunch."
"How could I mind? Uncle, you don't need to be so polite. You can keep it for yourself." Chen Yusong quickly waved his hand.
The middle-aged man insisted, "No, you have to share what you've given me with some of your food, otherwise I can't finish it all. Don't be polite with me. Try these meat and vegetable dishes too, and I see you don't have any white rice, so get some for that as well."
Chen Yusong couldn't refuse, so he used his chopsticks to put some food into his own takeout box and added some white rice: "That's enough, uncle. This is enough for me. I really can't eat any more. I'm quite full."
The middle-aged man didn't insist when he saw that the man was serious. He thanked him again before returning to his hospital bed and sitting down. The first thing he did after picking up his chopsticks was to reach for the meat and vegetables the young man had given him.
He first tried a slice of twice-cooked pork. The pork was a perfect balance of lean and fat, with a rich, savory flavor, a hint of spiciness, and a touch of sweetness. The combination of sweet and savory was surprisingly delicious, and it tasted especially good with rice.
After eating two pieces of twice-cooked pork, the middle-aged man finally picked up a piece of tangerine peel beef patty to try.
Unlike the beef patties I've had before, this one has a tender beef flavor. The rich aroma of tangerine peel permeates every inch of the beef, giving it a slightly sweet and savory taste, along with hints of cilantro and celery. It's moist and not dry at all, with a great texture.
While eating a bite of rice, the middle-aged man suddenly realized that it wasn't only the savory and heavily seasoned meat dishes that were good with rice; a light and refreshing tangerine peel beef patty was also a great accompaniment to rice.
The first two meat dishes were surprisingly delicious, which made the middle-aged man even more eager to try the slightly strange-looking mint omelet. He picked up the only piece of mint omelet and ate it.
The eggs tasted crispy and tender, with a richer egg flavor than usual. You could also taste the herbal aroma of mint leaves. Just as the middle-aged man was about to give the dish a mediocre rating in his mind, a cool minty sensation suddenly spread through his mouth, instantly making him feel much more refreshed.
He paused for a moment, then suddenly realized that the essence of this dish lay in its refreshing taste, and the coolness of the mint was key.
The aroma of eggs and the fragrance of mint blend together, making it very refreshing to eat. The coolness of the mint instantly refreshes the slightly greasy mouth after eating a lot of meat.
Okay, he changed his opinion. This mint omelet does have its merits. After tasting the coolness of the mint and the refreshing taste of the whole dish, it's quite good.
At least it goes well with twice-cooked pork and tangerine peel beef patties.
After finishing the mint-flavored fried egg, the middle-aged man gave a thumbs up: "Young man, your meat dishes are really delicious, so much better than my boxed lunch. Which restaurant did you eat at for lunch?"
Chen Yusong ate the twice-cooked pork with his rice and thought it was indeed a great dish to eat with rice, and it was even more fragrant than eating twice-cooked pork on its own. The tangerine peel beef pancake was also good with rice, and the mint omelet was long gone.
He also ate some meat dishes shared by the uncle, which were quite good and better than the food in the hospital canteen, but there was a noticeable difference compared to Gu's Private Kitchen.
Hearing the uncle's praise, Chen Yusong laughed and said, "It's not that exaggerated, but the taste is indeed better. Many people online say that this restaurant tastes good and it is highly recommended. It is called Gu's Private Kitchen and is located on Suli Street in Yunjiang District."
He knew that the uncle was also a local from Jiang City.
At noon, my friend and I were in the hospital room. We both opened Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) and searched for Gu's Private Kitchen, then followed the restaurant's official account. It took us a while to realize that the restaurant was at least somewhat popular, if not super popular.
The official account's daily menu posts not only receive many likes, saves, and comments from netizens, but also feature photos of the food shared by customers who dine in the restaurant, prompting many netizens who couldn't go to eat there to frantically express their cravings on the Die Lou Zhong Lou forum.
In addition, there are many food reviews and restaurant visits shared by netizens themselves.
Many of those notes were posted by casual users, and there was no trace of paid advertising. What's amazing is that even though these casual users didn't have many followers, the data for their notes about Gu's Private Kitchen was quite good, with at least dozens of likes and comments, and hundreds or even thousands were common.
It's impossible for Xiaohongshu to favor Gu's Private Kitchen so much, giving it traffic recommendations whenever a post mentions it. It can only mean that there is a group of regular users who follow Gu's Private Kitchen every day, read related posts, and are very active.
In other words, Gu's Private Kitchen has a fixed group of online viewers; the name itself generates its own traffic.
Just like him and Xu Feng, didn't they also go to the restaurant once and then search for and follow Gu's Private Kitchen's official account on Xiaohongshu?
If they had first come across Gu's Private Kitchen on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), seeing those tempting food photos and the genuine, enthusiastic comments, they would definitely have wanted to go to the restaurant to try it out.
The middle-aged man nodded: "Gu's Private Kitchen, okay, I'll remember that. I've never been to Suli Street in Yunjiang District before. It sounds like an old street. I'll go check it out when I'm feeling better."
After saying that, he slapped his forehead and said, "Wait a minute, I can order takeout instead of going to the restaurant."
Chen Yusong ruthlessly shattered his expectations: "Uncle, this restaurant doesn't offer online delivery. If you really want to eat here, you have to place an order and have a delivery person buy it from the store and bring it over. The delivery fee is quite expensive."
"Oh, it's quite rare that they haven't opened delivery services yet." The middle-aged man's joy vanished instantly upon hearing this.
Chen Yusong nodded: "That's right, the restaurant is doing very well. There wasn't a single empty table during our entire meal. It was always packed, and there were even quite a few people queuing outside."
"The restaurant is not short of business, so there is no need to open a delivery service to expand business on online platforms. She only has one chef, and the meat dishes she makes for lunch and dinner each day are limited. Once they are sold out, she will temporarily close for business."
The middle-aged man nodded: "I see. The meat and dishes we just ate smelled so good. The restaurant must be doing good business. I'll just have to wait until it's convenient for me to go there to eat."
He chuckled sheepishly, "Maybe one day I'll just have to spend money to have a delivery person buy it and bring it over."
Chen Yusong laughed and said, "Okay, Uncle, remember to call me when you want to order Gu's Private Kitchen food."
"Okay, I'll definitely call you then," the middle-aged man replied with a smile.
He lowered his head and continued eating the savory twice-cooked pork, savoring each slice, since there were only a few. After finishing the tangerine peel beef patty, a faint tangerine peel aroma lingered in his mouth. The mint-flavored fried egg was the first thing he finished.
After finishing his meal, the middle-aged man started eating the Northeastern-style boxed lunch he had ordered. At first, he was extremely disgusted with it, feeling that it couldn't compare to the Gu Family Private Kitchen he had just eaten. But as he ate, he gradually began to appreciate the flavor.
After all, I had been looking forward to eating here all afternoon.
After a while, several patients from the rooms in front, behind, and across from Chen Yusong's ward came to ask him what he had for dinner that looked so delicious.
"Hello, could you tell me which restaurant you had meat dishes for tonight? We were so engrossed in the aroma from next door that we couldn't tear ourselves away."
"Yes, yes, if I wasn't afraid of disturbing your meal, I would have come over and asked you earlier."
“My child smelled the aroma coming from your place and kept complaining that the food in the hospital cafeteria was terrible. He insisted that I come over and ask him if we could eat there today, but he insisted on eating it tomorrow.”
"Yeah, handsome, tell us which restaurant this meat dish comes from."
Chen Yusong told the patients and their families about Gu's Private Kitchen, including the restaurant's name and address, the fact that they only offer in-store dining or delivery services, the fact that the restaurant is very popular and you have to go early to avoid running out of ingredients, and that they can follow Gu's Private Kitchen on Xiaohongshu or Weibo to see the daily menu.
Because these patients didn't all come at once, but rather one after another, he repeated these words several times.
However, Chen Yusong was not impatient at all. He was happy to share the treasure shops he had discovered with others.
Whether it was going out to breathe fresh air or enjoying delicious meat dishes at Gu's Private Kitchen, he was in a good mood today. It was as if he had suddenly found an opportunity to break free from the mental predicament he had been trapped in since his fracture.
He hopes that more patients can enjoy Gu's delicious private dishes; if it can improve their mood, that would be an unexpected bonus.
On the evening of May 31, Gu's Private Kitchen on Suli Street closed for business at 8 p.m. sharp. The wooden door was closed, and only the light shining through the window suggested that people were still busy inside.
Sister Zhou washes dishes, chopsticks, plates, and various pots at the kitchen sink. After washing, she wipes the tableware clean and puts it in the sterilizer to disinfect it.
Gu Qingqiu was at the cashier's counter in the store, using a computer to summarize the month's turnover and calculate profits.
Seeing the six-figure profit automatically calculated by the spreadsheet, she smiled with satisfaction, feeling that her hard work this month had not been in vain.
After I finish organizing the store's accounts for May, I will send the profit-inclusive account to my phone for safekeeping, and save the simple transaction record to the computer at the cashier.
Gu Qingqiu then pulled up the employee payslips. Currently, only Sister Zhou's payslip was available. She converted it into a single payslip using an Excel spreadsheet and sent it to her phone.
Then go upstairs to the second floor and print it out.
I bought this printer in mid-May. This machine is quite convenient; it can be connected to a computer for printing, or you can directly transfer files and photos via WeChat on your mobile phone for printing. The price isn't too expensive either.
It's convenient to print pay slips now, and it will also be useful for organizing and printing out the restaurant's cash flow records for future reference.
Gu Qingqiu looked at the printed pay slip, confirmed there were no errors, and then took it downstairs.
Sister Zhou had finished her work in the kitchen and was mopping the floor in the dining area. She greeted Gu Qingqiu with a smile when she saw her come down.
Gu Qingqiu nodded in agreement, casually found a chair to sit down, and started playing on her phone for a while.
The Xiaohongshu account is the restaurant's official account, and clicking on it reveals countless likes, favorites, and comments.
There are also many @ tags, mostly from netizens who post notes related to Gu's Private Kitchen and incidentally tag their own restaurant's official account.
Sometimes when Gu Qingqiu had nothing to do, she would click on it to check the restaurant's reputation on Xiaohongshu.
Most of the posts are from customers who have dined at the restaurant, sharing their dining experiences with photos. The majority are positive reviews, and many strongly recommend the restaurant to other netizens. There are also many netizens who follow Gu's Private Kitchen who spontaneously leave various "food, hungry" emojis under the posts, creating a joyful atmosphere.
Gu Qingqiu clicked on the latest note from @Gu's Private Kitchen, which was a post sharing how her acne scars had decreased. It said that after eating Gu's Private Kitchen dishes, she could really see a significant reduction in acne scars and strongly recommended that netizens with acne problems give it a try.
In the comments section, some people who were clearly acquainted were saying that they all came from the group and that this was indeed true, and that those who had been through it really recommended that you have to go to Gu's Private Kitchen; some people who were obviously having acne problems left comments asking if this was true; and some people who just happened to be passing by typed three question marks in a row, saying that restaurant advertisements are now like this?
Gu Qingqiu chuckled and shook his head after reading it. If he weren't the restaurant owner himself, and the only one who knew that the meat dishes produced in the restaurant contained tiny specks of spiritual energy, he would also find this unbelievable.
She first saw netizens linking their restaurant to the acne problem in a post that questioned or even gave the restaurant a bad review.
I didn't take it seriously at the time, but about a week ago I started seeing some notes about the changing opinions, all saying that eating Gu's Private Kitchen dishes could help reduce and fade acne scars.
After reading a few posts, she roughly figured out what was going on. Two members from the original group claimed that their acne improved after eating at Gu's Private Kitchen and even shared before-and-after photos. This made most of the people in the group who didn't believe it before start to believe it, and they even apologized and thanked the member who initially shared the photos.
Out of curiosity, she searched for the negative review she had seen earlier that mentioned her restaurant and acne, and found that the title and text of the review had been modified.
The blogger sincerely apologized to the group member who initially shared the information and to Gu's Private Kitchen, saying that he shouldn't have made subjective assumptions and used excessive language, and asked for forgiveness for the negative impact.
She also shared photos of the changes in her face after eating Gu's Private Kitchen for a while, sincerely recommending that anyone with this problem try Gu's Private Kitchen in Jiang City.
Gu Qingqiu couldn't help but think back. Her restaurant served a fair number of customers every day, but not too many either. Although she was busy in the kitchen, she would sometimes glance at the dining area when she brought dishes to the glass window. She hadn't really noticed which customers had noticeable acne and came specifically to eat meat dishes.
Looking back at this note, the reversal is even a bit of a slap in the face, and netizens in the comments section are discussing it intensely, with more people believing that eating Gu's Private Kitchen dishes can really fade acne scars.
Some netizens have asked why the meat dishes at Gu's Private Kitchen have such outrageous effects. Could it be that they added some kind of medicine?
Immediately, a netizen who was clearly a loyal fan of the restaurant shared a picture in the comments below, saying that it was hilarious how this unexpected turn of events became evidence that the meat and vegetables at Gu's Private Kitchen could not be cleaner and fresher.
Gu Qingqiu clicked on the picture and saw that it was a screenshot of the report she had received from the Food and Drug Administration confirming that the meat and vegetables at her restaurant were healthy, hygienic, and that all data were up to standard.
Previously, staff from the Food and Drug Administration announced the test results on the spot, stating that the meat and vegetables in her restaurant were perfectly fine and even of high quality. She had also made a statement on Xiaohongshu. After receiving the test report, she reposted a note to completely clear herself of the suspicion that the meat and vegetables were falsely accused of being problematic.
Just as this netizen said, by sheer coincidence, this screenshot of the report can now be used to address the claim by some netizens that their restaurant's meat dishes might contain additives to fade acne scars.
This comment received many replies, mostly from people who supported Gu's Private Kitchen after seeing the report screenshots and were interested in the restaurant and wanted to come and eat there when they had time.
Gu Qingqiu read several notes from the @RestaurantOfficial account and then stopped reading them, as well as the comments.
It's so late and all the restaurants are closed, so she doesn't want to continue working on Xiaohongshu.
So I simply switched to my personal Xiaohongshu account, first read the notes posted by the bloggers I follow, and then browsed the recommended notes or videos.
After browsing for a while, she remembered something, exited Xiaohongshu, and then opened the shopping app to check if the items she ordered yesterday had been shipped.
Just as Sister Zhou finished mopping the floor and wiping the table and sat down to rest, Gu Qingqiu instructed, "Sister Zhou, the barrier-free ramp I ordered the day before yesterday has been shipped. Please keep an eye on the package and let me know when it arrives."
The day before yesterday, Sister Zhou told her that a customer in a wheelchair came to the store. There were steps at the entrance of the restaurant, and she and the customer accompanying her helped lift the wheelchair up.
Zhou Jie made a casual remark, but Gu Qingqiu took it to heart and realized that there were still some things her restaurant hadn't done well.
There's a step at the entrance of the restaurant, and it's been there since before the renovation many years ago. It's for two reasons: one, it's aesthetically pleasing and symbolizes good fortune; two, it prevents water from getting in on rainy days.
It wouldn't be appropriate to install a ramp on the storefront now, but in the future there might be similar wheelchair customers, or elderly people or adults pushing strollers. A small step might not be a big deal, and someone could help lift it. But Gu Qingqiu still felt that she should do her best to be considerate.
She searched online and found a recommended merchant on a shopping app, and customized an aluminum ramp with excellent load-bearing capacity according to the height of the steps in front of her restaurant.
Once placed next to the cashier, this ramp can be put up when customers need it, making it convenient for wheelchair users or strollers to push directly up the ramp into the restaurant.
Sister Zhou nodded happily, "Okay, boss. I'll let you know when I receive the package."
She just mentioned it casually, but she didn't expect the boss to take it to heart and even order a ramp that was supposedly very lightweight and practical.
Sister Zhou really likes this kind of boss. Rather than saying he's kind-hearted, it's more accurate to say he keeps the customers' needs in mind and does his best to improve the restaurant's service, even if the customers are just a small group.
After explaining the matter, Gu Qingqiu handed her the printed payslip: "Sister Zhou, this is your May payslip. Please check if there are any problems. If there are no problems, please sign it and I will transfer your salary to you."
"Okay, thank you, boss."
Sister Zhou took the payslip and looked at it, then looked up in surprise: "Boss, this seems a bit too much..."
The first few columns of the pay details are all fine. The salary is 5,500 yuan. This month, I also received an extra 300 yuan for full attendance bonus. After deducting the amount I paid for social security, there is an additional column for bonuses totaling 2,115 yuan.
Sister Zhou didn't understand where this reward came from, and how it was so much, almost equivalent to half a month's salary.
Gu Qingqiu smiled and said, "Weren't you very busy during the May Day holiday? I calculated your salary as three times the normal rate for working on statutory holidays. Your original monthly salary is there, and I calculated it as double the daily wage and the number of days as a bonus."
Sister Zhou was both surprised and delighted. At this moment, her liking for the boss reached its peak. What restaurant pays triple wages for working on holidays? No matter how busy it is, it's only right!
She thanked the boss repeatedly, then hesitated and said, "Boss, even if it's triple pay, it's still not that much."
Gu Qingqiu explained, "You probably calculated it based on 30 days a month, but I calculated it based on 26 working days a month. I can't include your four days off in the average daily wage calculation, can I?"
Although most companies or individual business owners currently use the former calculation method, Gu Qingqiu felt that Sister Zhou had done a very good job at the store during this period. She was conscientious, responsible, enthusiastic and hardworking, so she was happy to calculate it according to the method of higher daily wage. Since there was a reward, the reward should be generous.
After hearing this, Sister Zhou silently calculated in her mind that if she worked 26 days a month, she could earn more than 2,000 yuan a day, plus double the salary for five days.
This money came as if by accident; it was because the boss was kind enough to give her three times her salary, and the calculation was based on the method of paying more.
Sister Zhou was so excited that tears welled up in her eyes: "Thank you, boss. It's an honor to work at Gu's Private Kitchen!"
"It's nothing, don't mention it. Keep up the good work next month," Gu Qingqiu said with a smile.
Sister Zhou nodded: "Okay, boss, I will definitely work hard and live up to your kindness."
Gu Qingqiu smiled and agreed, "Okay, sign it quickly, I'll transfer my salary to you."
Sister Zhou smiled and agreed, then picked up the black pen the boss had prepared and signed her name at the end of the payslip.
A short while later, her phone beeped with a new message notification. When Ms. Zhou took it out to look, it showed that she had received a transfer of more than 7,000 yuan in her bank account with the note "salary".
When Sister Zhou received such a large salary for the first time, she was overjoyed, and even seemed to straighten her back a little.
She was initially worried about how to support her daughter and herself after the divorce. Various worries, such as renting a place, daily expenses, and wanting to provide her daughter with a slightly better life and companionship, were intertwined in her mind.
These worries seemed to be resolved the day she applied for a job at Gu's Private Kitchen in the middle of the day, just to give it a try. After communicating with the boss, she was hired.
Her life suddenly became brighter.
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