Returning to '97, creating a new life

The "garage video parlor" has been shut down.

It wasn't that they couldn't tighten their belts; it was that Song Jun's ambitions were too great. The low-key money-making model that Xu Kai had previously followed became uncontrollable after Song Jun was fined for a fire inspection and heard that Xu Kai's arcade was making a lot of money. He rented the adjacent garage, carved a door in the wall, and exaggerated his business, which made him a thorn in the side of his peers and a target of the management.

All the equipment and discs were confiscated.

Heavy penalties.

Xu Kai learned about this from Wang Jianshe. Xu Dalong was unable to resolve the matter; his best he could do was to minimize the punishment. He then approached Wang Jianshe, who had been promoted to deputy director of the institute. After inquiring about the situation, Wang Jianshe advised Xu Dalong to give up this lucrative opportunity.

Xu Dalong also contacted Yun Sheng, who was even simpler to deal with. He chuckled, maintained the friendly demeanor of a partner, and earnestly said, "I'll ask around for you." After that, nothing more was said.

He gave his partner a dignified warning: "Our direct partnership is linked to Xu Kai, but that video arcade has nothing to do with Xu Kai, and according to the relationship after the sale, it shouldn't have anything to do with you, Xu Dalong, either."

With Xu Kai around, you're like Uncle Long. But what if Xu Kai isn't there?

This support stems from confidence, because Yunshang, if I don't stand with Xu Kai, why would I stand with you? Xu Dalong's decision to go back to his ex is perfectly reasonable, and no one can find fault with it. However, even within this reasonableness, there are degrees of closeness and distance. It's impossible for Xu Dalong not to understand such a simple principle.

Ultimately, it's because you didn't take Xu Kai seriously.

To outsiders, what kind of situation is this? Three people partnered in a business, but ultimately broke up for their own reasons, and now you've joined in. Doesn't this mean that the two of you have kicked Xu Kai out of the game?

Ke Zai Lai Roasted Lamb Restaurant.

The rain shelter has now been converted into a simple sunroom, built in the style of a plastic sheeting shed used for insulated houses in rural areas. The thick plastic seals the rain shelter, isolating it from the outside. Although the temperature is low, the ovens emit heat every day, which is enough to ensure that the temperature here is not too cold.

In the spacious courtyard, there were some cars driven by guests. In this era, those who could afford to eat a whole roasted lamb at a restaurant were not poor. Most of them were either invited or had to pay out of their own pockets. This kind of trend was very popular in this era, which also enabled many restaurants to really thrive.

Sun Mingyi, his wife Xu Meilan, and Xu Dalong took a taxi to their destination. As soon as they got out of the car, they saw Xu Kai seeing off a guest.

"Auntie, why are you being so polite with me? I haven't even thanked you for always coming to support me..."

Xu Kai was supporting a middle-aged woman, Sun Ping, Fang Jinyao's mother who worked in the finance system. Today was a company dinner, and all the colleagues were enjoying the food and drinks.

Since opening, Xu Kai has been welcoming and seeing off guests. Taking advantage of his young age and sweet talk, he always manages to make guests feel honored by giving them gifts. Many guests who don't pay for their own meals will get a discount when they see him, and he will also proactively fill in the actual amount on the invoice. Everyone knows what's going on and just pays in cash.

Of course, running a restaurant inevitably involves bills owed to businesses, and Xu Kai couldn't do anything about it. He could only try his best to avoid it. How many restaurants have ultimately been dragged down by bills that he couldn't collect?

For some of the pending orders, which he couldn't afford to offend the company, Xu Kai would privately cultivate relationships with the leaders to gain some tangible benefits in exchange for fewer pending orders or the ability to settle accounts at the end of the month.

For a very small number of people in the underworld whom Xu Kai couldn't afford to offend, he would rather not pay than keep their bills. When they met, he would treat them as if it were his brother's treat. But anyone with a bit of status or face would either not come or feel embarrassed to keep their bills. He wouldn't let them keep their bills even if they didn't want the money. It would be shameful to be seen as someone who was eating and drinking for free.

For those who don't have that much ability, even if it offends customers, Xu Kai won't allow them to put up their bills. He'd rather have customers say he doesn't know how to do business and won't come back, losing customers, than let the idea of ​​putting up bills start in his restaurant.

After filtering out a few scattered accounts, Xu Kai had no choice but to accept it. This was a characteristic of the times, and he couldn't afford to offend anyone, especially since some were even from government departments. There was nothing he could do but try to recover as much as he could from the larger number of accounts. As for the ones he couldn't recover, he could only accept them as part of the immense pain that running a restaurant in this era required.

People like Sun Ping are much easier to deal with because Xu Kai is young and has a sweet tongue. He addresses them with respectful titles, calling them uncle and aunt in a very warm and welcoming manner. He gives them all sorts of gifts and discounts, making them feel very welcome. Since they came with the intention of supporting him, they ended up thinking that this place was a good place to entertain them.

While lacking luxurious decor, the food is undeniably excellent. In the dead of winter, you can enjoy fresh lamb slaughtered no more than 48 hours prior and not frozen. There's no elaborate plating or a multitude of plates and bowls, but as a meal, few guests are dissatisfied with the food on the table. The loose white liquor, made with high-end nutritional supplements using a recipe provided by an old gentleman through Xu Kai's consultation, is also very popular, leaving diners with a wonderful feeling after drinking it.

"Auntie, I've booked two rooms upstairs. It's still early, want to play cards?"

At the guesthouse, Xu Kai set up several mahjong machines and bought a few sets of relatively convenient tea sets.

His suggestion was exactly what I was thinking. We're all colleagues, so going out to sing karaoke is fine once in a while, but otherwise we'll just have a few drinks and then it's over.

Sun Ping's eyes lit up as she looked at her colleagues. Sure enough, there were two groups of people who had gathered to play mahjong and weren't in a hurry to go home.

"Lei Zi."

Xu Kai shouted, and his best friend from junior high school, Wang Lei, ran over from the gate of the courtyard. Behind him were several taxis.

After starting vocational school, he spent his days playing around. When he got an early winter break, he discussed with Xu Kai about coming over to do some part-time work. He was also quick-witted and good at welcoming and seeing off customers. Xu Kai accepted him as a waiter.

Xu Kai would give money to Wang Lei for his capable and well-connected regular customers. Wang Lei would then arrange for each customer to get into the car, politely inquire about their destination, and give the taxi driver the appropriate fare. The fare was exactly the same, and there was no need for a meter. The regular drivers all knew the rules, and some even started waiting for fares on this street.

Paying for a taxi is no big deal.

Sun Ping, who brought the customers, felt very proud and happy. She even felt a little embarrassed, wondering if she was doing this to support Xiao Kai and that he hadn't made any money.

The staff at the guesthouse get a free lunch. Occasionally, they can have a bowl of lamb offal soup made in-house in the middle of the night if there are leftover scraps of lamb. As soon as they see a guest arrive, they immediately bring over hot water. They also bring over the tea set that Xu Kai left in the storeroom. They don't use any fancy teas, just common jasmine tea.

Despite the extra workload, they didn't complain. They believed that if you eat someone's food, you're obliged. The delicious mutton soup with big chunks of mutton was a good choice for those working the night shift, as it would keep them warm all night.

After eating mutton and drinking wine, a sip of hot tea to cleanse the palate and relieve the greasiness, and the transition from hand-held mahjong to a mahjong machine, Sun Ping herself felt completely refreshed, let alone the guests.

With everything arranged, Xu Kai even placed two packs of Yuxi cigarettes in one of the rooms.

It's fair to say that he didn't earn a single penny from the expenses of Sun Ping's table of guests today, and he even had to pay for the new "hourly room" he negotiated with the guesthouse.

does it worth?

A few days later, Sun Ping had Fang Jinyao, who had temporarily returned home, deliver two packs of Chinese liquor to Xu Kai, so that her husband's winery could offer further discounts on the price of the liquor and improve its quality.

And what about the guests that Sun Ping brought?

Xu Kai's memory is average, but he has an excellent memory for recognizing people. He can call this uncle or that aunt, and sometimes when he meets younger colleagues, he calls them brother or sister. People who come here feel comfortable inside and out. In the future, if he has any kind of invitation to dinner, he can just make a phone call and they will arrange everything perfectly, so that he, as the host, can get the most satisfactory face for his guests.

Xu Kai realized that his uncle wasn't cut out for this job, so he chose Wang Lei to do the welcoming and seeing-off work since Wang Lei was coming to work during the winter break.

Although he wasn't particularly good-looking, Wang Lei was outgoing and thick-skinned, which made him very suitable for the job. He also had a sweet tongue, and the gifts he gave were all favors from the restaurant staff. Tipping wasn't common or a concept, but his sweet talk always earned him a pack or two of cigarettes.

Sun Mingcheng and his wife Yang Ying couldn't understand Xu Kai's "generosity," and they couldn't comprehend it either. They wondered how their nephew could make money like this, until the increasing number of repeat customers, the daily turnover starting from noon, and the fact that the place he appeared in just over a month was not enough to establish a precedent.

As Xu Kai descended the stairs of the guesthouse, he breathed a sigh of relief. In truth, these kinds of welcoming and seeing off people were exhausting, but there was no other way; that's how business is. Compared to pushing a tricycle outside in the freezing cold, this was much better.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, one is greeted by a constant flow of people. The private rooms, without any ceilings, create a cacophony of noise, serving as a constant reminder to passing customers of the restaurant's popularity.

Xu Kai waved to his second uncle and aunt and Xu Dalong, who were sitting at a table near the bar, picked up their teacups and gulped down a cup of tea. He then took out cigarettes from his pocket and handed one to his second uncle and the other to Xu Dalong: "It's getting cold. We're all family, so I won't stand on ceremony. Eat whatever you have. Bring a pot of mutton offal soup. We still have some lamb chops that were cooked this afternoon. And some fresh chive blossoms that were just delivered from the grasslands. Everyone, have a taste."

Before they could refuse, Xu Kai had already instructed the waiter to make the arrangements.

Xu Kai's enthusiasm made Xu Dalong feel like he had something stuck in his throat. Facing such a little guy, he actually felt ashamed of himself. Damn it, he's been working for ten years and all his experience is gone.

If Xu Kai wasn't enthusiastic, or if he made sarcastic remarks about the video arcade and showed the slightest dissatisfaction, Xu Dalong really wouldn't tolerate him. But from the moment they met, Xu Kai didn't sit still at all, pouring tea, lighting cigarettes, and running around doing everything he could for him.

Thinking of Wang Jianshe's advice, Yun Sheng's chuckle and subsequent silence, and then thinking of the meager earnings he made each month from Song Jun...

With the arcade partnership business right there, how could Xu Dalong not blush with shame for his greed?