Cheng Su did not expect the young master to do much, so she had him grab a rag to wipe down the tables and chairs, and then he boiled water to prepare a large bucket of tea for the guests to drink at midday.
Cheng Su and Li Qiulan were both in charge of the kitchen, working efficiently. Furthermore, today’s menu included braised duck, which saved time on one hot dish procedure, allowing for even more time.
By a little past eleven in the morning, Cheng Su had all the dishes ready, and gradually, customers began to come in for their meals.
With Ning Ge around, Cheng Su was able to focus on the kitchen, and sometimes on clearing the plates, while selling Meal Coupons and greeting guests became Ning Ge’s duties.
Li Qiulan, wearing an apron behind the food cart, was in charge of collecting tickets and serving the food, all in a well-organized fashion.
Qiulan’s cleverness had long been discovered, and over the past few days, Cheng Su was very satisfied with her performance.
She didn’t mind teaching new people, as long as they were not slow-witted and unable to adapt. Li Qiulan did not disappoint her.
As noon approached, the number of customers at the small restaurant grew, making Cheng Su and her team busier.
The restaurant’s business, though primarily fast food, also included à la carte orders. Whenever an à la carte order came in, Cheng Su handed the fast food cart entirely to Li Qiulan and dove into the kitchen herself.
With Ning Ge handling ticket sales and the cash register, and Qiulan taking care of serving the food, Cheng Su oversaw the cooking. But they were still short-handed. After customers finished eating and left, the tables needed clearing. If it got too busy, they would not have enough hands, but since they had not yet hired more people, the team had to join forces and get to work themselves.
Despite being overwhelmed with work, Cheng Su adamantly refused to let Qiulan clear tables. Her reason was that Qiulan was serving food, and if she were to start clearing as well, she would have to wash her hands again before returning to her duties at the food cart, which would waste time. If she didn’t wash her hands and went straight back to serving food, it would be unsanitary.
Cheng Su said this aloud, and those present gave her an internal thumbs-up. They noticed that in this small restaurant, aside from the cashier, everyone who touched the food wore masks and aprons—ensuring hygiene and peace of mind for the diners.
A man in slacks and a white shirt, holding a black leather bag, lingered after his meal and asked Ning Ge, "Does Joy Soon Loy take advance orders for takeout lunch boxes?"
Ning Ge paused, then smiled apologetically and called for Cheng Su. "She’s the boss who makes the decisions. If she says we can take the order, then we can," he said.
Upon hearing the man’s request, Cheng Su’s eyes lit up. "Of course we take advance orders," she said with a smile. She glanced at her restaurant and added apologetically, "But you’ll have to come in person to make the reservation, as we haven’t installed a telephone yet."
The man nodded and left without indicating whether he would make a reservation. Cheng Su personally escorted him out before returning inside.
Ning Ge approached and asked, "Do you think he’ll come to place an order? It sounds like a big order, doesn’t it? People don’t usually talk about reservations unless they want a lot."
Cheng Su smiled confidently. "Whether he comes or not, I will always be waiting for customers like him."
"Fine wine needs no bush." As long as the reputation spread, she had no worries about attracting large customers. Look, wasn’t the restaurant starting to take orders now? In the beginning, they were still fumbling their way through.
As long as they persevered and maintained quality, she had no fear of a lack of business.