On its first day of opening, which happened to coincide with New Year's Day, the pedestrian street in the provincial capital was crowded with people.
Feng Haidong's new store is located some distance from the pedestrian street and is also obscured by a construction site at the street entrance.
Even so, it still couldn't stop Feng Haidong's store from attracting customers.
Especially after Feng Haidong had people distribute flyers all afternoon, many people who were tired from playing on the pedestrian street came to the store in the evening, wanting to try some novel things like grilled fish and spicy crab.
So from evening onwards, customers flocked to Feng Haidong's new store.
Even during the evening rush hour, queues appeared.
The landlord next door came out and looked at the line of people waiting at the door, feeling quite incredulous.
"This Feng Haidong is truly amazing! How can he attract so many people to eat here like this? Is his cooking really that good?"
Just as the landlord was wondering what was going on, he saw people coming out of Feng Haidong's restaurant after they had finished eating.
The young people walked along, praising it endlessly.
"The grilled fish at this place is really delicious."
"Yes, this is the first time I've ever known that fish can be cooked like that."
"It's mainly his soup; the longer it's cooked, the better it tastes."
"And those grilled skewers were also very delicious."
"Yes, yes, I really love his roasted eggplant. I never knew eggplant could be roasted."
...
I overheard the customers who had finished eating and left chatting as they walked away.
This made the landlord and the people queuing outside even more curious.
After listening carefully to the diners' discussion, the landlord couldn't help but understand what was going on.
"It turns out that Feng Haidong has some novel ideas, such as grilled fish, barbecue, and even grilled eggplant. I've never heard of such ways of eating before. He's really a very interesting person."
On the first day, Feng Haidong, his older cousin, and her husband were busy until after 10 p.m.
There were hardly any customers left, and hardly any pedestrians on the street outside.
Feng Haidong clapped his hands and said, "Alright, sister, brother-in-law, and everyone, that's it for today's business. Ma Ming, hang up the 'Closed for Business' sign, then close the door, and everyone, let's clean up together."
Upon hearing Feng Haidong's words, Liu Fenzhen said, "Haidong, it's only a little past ten o'clock. Isn't it a bit early to close for business at this time?"
Ma Bangcheng also said, "Yes, there are still people having fun on the pedestrian street. The night market usually lasts until one or two in the morning."
Upon hearing Liu Fenzhen and Ma Bangcheng's words, the waiters in the store clearly looked embarrassed.
Soon a girl stepped forward and said, "Boss, if we're going to stay open that late, can I leave now? If it gets any later, there might not be any buses to my home, and my parents will be worried."
One person stood up and said that naturally, all the female waitresses in the store expressed that they did not want to stay until the early hours of the morning.
Feng Haidong said with a smile, "Alright, everyone, don't worry. Didn't I say that our business ends at this time today? Let's all clean up quickly and then we can go home."
Following this, Feng Haidong earnestly said, "Thank you all for your hard work today. We didn't expect so many customers on our first day of business, but this also means we've had a great start. I hope everyone will continue to work hard. If our business remains stable until the end of the month, I'll give everyone bonuses so you can all go home and have a good New Year."
Hearing Feng Haidong say that, the waiters in the store were immediately very happy.
Seeing that the waiters had already started tidying up and cleaning, Liu Fenzhen and Ma Bangcheng exchanged a glance, and the couple pulled Feng Haidong into the kitchen together.
Liu Fenzhen said, "Haidong, you can't do business like this. Today is New Year's Day, and there will be a fireworks display on the pedestrian street tonight. There will definitely be a lot of people coming to watch. We are losing out by closing up so early."
Ma Bangcheng said, "Yes, Haidong. The provincial capital is different from your place. There are more people here at night."
Given the current situation, Feng Haidong smiled and said to his older cousin and her husband, "I know, I understand, but do we only do business? Today is New Year's Day, and we should go see the fireworks display on the pedestrian street. We can't just do business; we also need to have our own lives."
Feng Haidong's words surprised Liu Fenzhen and Ma Bangcheng.
Seeing his older cousin and her husband stunned, Feng Haidong said, "Sister, brother-in-law, today is New Year's Day. It's the first time I've spent New Year's Day in the provincial capital in many years. My family is all here, and I want to spend time with them. I also hope that you and your husband can come with us to the pedestrian street to watch the fireworks display."
Liu Fenzhen and Ma Bangcheng finally understood Feng Haidong's intentions.
It's not that he doesn't want to continue making money, but that he doesn't want people to only have making money on their minds.
Since it's New Year's Day, there's also a fireworks display on the pedestrian street.
Moreover, Feng Haidong's family is all here, so he naturally hopes to spend New Year's Day with them.
Liu Fenzhen and Ma Bangcheng looked at each other again.
Then Liu Fenzhen said with a smile, "You're right. Our lives can't just be about doing business. Okay, let's quickly clean up, close our shop, and go watch the fireworks show together."
Ma Bangcheng nodded in agreement: "Okay."
In the following time, Feng Haidong, his older cousin, her husband, and everyone in the shop quickly cleaned the shop inside and out.
Some people who came to eat there could only leave with some regret when they saw that the business had been temporarily closed.
After the cleaning was finished, Feng Haidong asked the waiters to leave.
He said to his eldest sister's family, "Okay, there's a fireworks display tonight. Ma Ling, Ma Ming, let's all go see it together. My family should all be coming over later."
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