By March 17th, things at the restaurant were gradually stabilizing, but the disappearance case continued to unfold.
"Have you heard? The third young lady of the Wang family went missing again last night!"
"What? They just lost their eldest daughter, and now their third daughter has also fallen?"
"Oh dear, when will this missing persons case ever end? It's causing widespread panic. I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going home and nailing all the doors and windows shut."
The man sat around the table with his friends, discussing something. After downing a glass of wine, he got up and quickly walked out of the Hefang Restaurant.
A friend behind him chuckled and shouted, "Your family has no money, your daughter won't disappear!"
Then everyone burst into laughter.
After serving the dishes, Xiao Tang rubbed her apron and came to the counter, her eyes smiling and her lips pursed as she made a request to the counter.
"Third Manager, according to the rules, tomorrow is my day off?"
Tian Sangui, who was intently working on the abacus, glanced at him indifferently before returning to his usual demeanor.
He said calmly, "Do you all understand the rules? Hand over your work properly and don't let anything go wrong at the restaurant!"
"Hehe, I understand, I understand, Third Manager, don't worry!"
Tian Sangui joked with him, "Go ahead!"
"Oh, Third Manager, you're busy, see you later!"
Xiao Tang was overjoyed and skipped off to the backyard to get busy.
Tian Sangui tallied up the sales figures for the past few days. The daily income reached 3,000 taels in the first three days of business. Since the dishes were sold at half price, he had to pay for the drinks himself.
After making up for these losses, the total profit over three days was 516 taels, which is quite good as it broke even and made a profit.
The daily income is now stable at around 700 to 800 taels, and after deducting employee salaries, the net profit is 210,000 taels per month.
Tian Sangui was finally overjoyed, as his career had finally yielded a decent return.
Tian Sangui plans to work hard to unlock all the vegetable seeds in the store, and in a few days he will go home to find his aunt Zhang in Zhangjia Village and help her farm, striving to develop Zhangjia Village as well.
She was planning to become a commercial empire, expand Hefang Restaurant overseas, and create a chain of hotels. At the same time, she was starting to develop the "Luquan Rouge" business, which, if done well, would be incredibly profitable!
The more I thought about it, the more excited I became. Fortunately, I managed to control my wandering mind. I couldn't be impatient right now. If I wanted to last, I had to be steady and solid. Only by taking each step firmly could I stand firm and climb upwards.
The next morning, a man stumbled in the dark alley. He was thin and his steps were unsteady. He was anxiously watching the movements behind him, and his skinny face was beaming with joy.
A smile played on his lips as he laughed, "Haha...hahaha...the money...it's all mine, hahaha..."
Two mysterious figures lurked in the shadows behind him, watching as the man staggered into the back door of the Hefang Restaurant.
Both men wore triumphant smiles and vanished silently into the darkness.
The morning light bathed the earth in an orange hue, and early risers, wearing thick cotton-padded coats, greeted each other outside, their breath rising from their nostrils as they spoke.
The children found it especially fun, and together with their friends, they opened their mouths wide and exhaled hot air, the puffs of white smoke making them laugh and their cheeks turn red.
An old woman with a floral cloth wrapped around her head and wearing coarse cloth with many patches was pushing a wheelbarrow piled high with vegetables that blocked her view. She had to tilt her head left and right to observe the road ahead in order to avoid bumping into someone important.
"Vegetables for sale! Fresh cabbage!"
Every time I passed a restaurant, I would go up and ask, "Boss, how many pounds of fresh vegetables would you like?"
Some restaurants have their own dedicated suppliers and dare not use unfamiliar suppliers easily. As the saying goes, "You should not have the heart to harm others, but you must have the heart to guard against others. Only by being careful can you ensure a safe journey."
The "boss," who was idly leaning against the doorframe, glanced at his wife and then said in an annoyed tone, "No, no, get out of here! Don't bring your poverty and bad luck to our building and ruin our livelihood!"
The old woman, far from being annoyed after being kicked out, politely introduced herself to the shop owner: "My home is at the foot of that mountain. I'll be here every day from now on. If you need anything next time, just call me. My vegetables are cheap and fresh!"
"Aren't you going to leave yet?" The "boss" raised his hand to scare her when he saw her rambling on.
The old woman wasn't afraid and went to the next house with a smile.
As the sun rose high in the sky, Hefang Restaurant opened for business at its usual time, and the employees, yawning, began another day of routine cleaning.
The cooks began preparing the ingredients and heating the oil, while the assistant cooks prepared the dishes for their respective chefs.
Everything proceeded smoothly and without delay. Tian Sangui stood behind the counter as usual, using a feather duster to sweep the bottles and drinks on the counter.
"Vegetables for sale! Fresh cabbage!"
Lanjuan was promoted to manager of the restaurant. After arranging things, she stood outside and leaned against the door frame, just like other people, waiting for guests to come in.
The old woman, with her sharp eyes, spotted her coming out and hurried over, smiling, "Young lady, look how beautiful you are! You're just like my daughter, it's a pity..."
As she spoke, she spread her sleeves and wiped away tears from the corners of her eyes.
Lanjuan deeply understood this feeling and gently comforted the old woman: "Life is in the hands of fate. Let bygones be bygones. Auntie, try to think positively. Only by living a good life can you comfort your daughter who is watching over you from heaven!"
Lanjuan's words made him start to sob: "You're so kind, thank you!"
"You're welcome!"
After Lanjuan persuaded the old woman to leave, she felt relieved. Just as she turned to go into the house, the old woman suddenly grabbed her wrist from behind.
Lanjuan turned around and met a kind, smiling face.
"Young lady, are you buying groceries? Such a big restaurant must need to buy groceries, right? Look at all these vegetables I have, they're all very fresh, I grew them myself. Please buy some, considering I have no children."
Although Lan Juan is simple-minded, she would never act on her own when it comes to new things, which is why Tian Sangui appointed her as the manager.
"Auntie, my restaurant doesn't need to buy any vegetables. You should ask somewhere else. It's getting cold, so you should sell out quickly so you can go home and warm up sooner!"
After Lanjuan finished speaking, she tried to pull her wrist away and leave.
Unfortunately, the old woman had a very strong grip, and Lanjuan couldn't succeed despite using all her strength.
The old woman pretended not to see or hear, determined to convince her to buy it.
It's as if they won't let you go until you buy it.
Lanjuan's face turned red with anxiety. She felt sorry for the old woman, who was also an elderly woman. She was worried that it would affect the restaurant's business if she got into a conflict with her in front of the restaurant.
Just as she was about to call her younger brother over to help, she caught sight of Tian Sangui behind the counter. Quick-thinking, she smiled and said, "Auntie, I'm just a dishwasher in the kitchen. This kind of thing requires the manager's approval. How about I ask her for you?"
Lanjuan pointed to Tian Sangui inside the room. The old woman looked over and saw that after all this time of treatment, Tian Sangui had grown quite a bit taller and had begun to lose the baby fat on his face, transforming into an oval face.
Her features began to become more defined, and the heroic spirit between her brows became more and more obvious. She was no longer just a child at first glance, but a young lady who was in charge of the household.
The old woman took one look and realized that the so-called manager was just a young girl who hadn't grown up yet. Compared to those old foxes, Tian Sangui was much easier to fool.
"Alright, your aunt will wait outside. My dear daughter, you must help your aunt persuade your husband!"
Lanjuan began to feel disgusted with this old woman, but smiled brightly on her face: "Don't worry, Auntie, I don't have a mother either, so I can understand your hardships and struggles. Don't worry!"
After releasing Lanjuan, the old woman kept a close eye on Lanjuan as she walked away, afraid that she would go back on her word.
If that happens, she'll sit at her doorstep and make a scene, preventing them from doing business.
Tian Sangui followed Lanjuan out, and the old woman immediately beamed with joy: "Good day, shopkeeper! Look at my cart of vegetables, they're all fresh. Please take pity on this old woman and buy them!"
His eyes longed for Tian Sangui, and his lips were chapped from the dry weather.
Tian Sangui walked past the old woman and went to look inside her cart. There were cabbages underneath, two bundles of green onions on top, and a small basket of red peppers. They looked tired and must have been picked several days ago.
Seeing that Tian Sangui was unmoved by her words, the old woman was momentarily at a loss for how to handle this naive young girl.
"At your age, you're full of lies. The 'fresh' you're talking about means it was picked four or five days ago, wasn't it?"
"You think you can fool customers just because it's cold and they won't notice anything new? You're just going to keep trying to fool them with your words?"
The old woman was truly surprised when the sharp-eyed Tian Sangui hit her sore spot; she had really underestimated the girl's abilities.
Seeing that the old woman was about to speak, Tian Sangui cut her off with a single sentence.
"Considering your age and the cold weather, I'll give you ten copper coins as a donation!"
After saying that, Tian Sangui gave Lanjuan a look, then turned around and lifted his skirt. Just as his foot touched the step, his skirt was tightly grabbed by the old woman behind him.
"You...you, as the shopkeeper, earn so much money every day, yet you only want to accept my whole cart of vegetables for ten coins? How can you be so cruel? Aren't you afraid of divine punishment?"
Seeing that Tian Sangui was not easily fooled, she started rolling on the ground and throwing a tantrum. Restaurants have always been wary of people like her causing trouble.
They wanted to use this method to force Tian Sangui to pay them the full amount of money.
But she muttered about Tian Sangui's temper.
She steadied herself and glanced down coldly: "I earn money through my own abilities, so God won't punish me. As for you, that's another story. You've certainly done your fair share of swindling, haven't you?"
The old woman was clearly startled by Tian Sangui's words. Seeing that this wouldn't work, she decided to make a scene and ruin her business.
Unexpectedly, a chill ran through him, which frightened him.
Tian Sangui said in a cold tone, his eyes filled with disgust, "Do you think my huge restaurant doesn't have any strong and capable workers?"
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