As July gradually came to an end, Cheng Su’s small restaurant celebrated its one-month anniversary since opening. Business was better day by day, so much so that she had no choice but to hire another waitress named He Yue, who was around twenty-five or twenty-six and had just gotten married.
With more hands on deck, work became much more efficient. But because the business was doing well, even with the extra help, they were just able to cope with the rush.
Cheng Su’s restaurant was known for its quality, and she was generous. In addition to serving free soup or sweet dessert soup with the fast food, she occasionally offered refreshing side dishes. Sometimes it was a few slices of pickled papaya, other times a small spoonful of fried peanuts or soybeans, giving customers the feeling of getting a bargain.
If you’re looking to buy food from a place with good cooking skills, fair prices, sufficient portions, and extra treats, whereas another place does the opposite, everyone knows which to choose, right?
So, business gradually improved.
Not to mention, Cheng Su was a good conversationalist, and most importantly, her dishes were fresh and delicious. So basically, from eleven in the morning till two in the afternoon, Joy Soon Loy Small Restaurant was packed, and if you couldn’t find a place to sit, you’d have to take a lunchbox to go.
Cheng Su had originally intended her small restaurant to focus on fast food, but her skills brought in regular customers, and the a la carte orders grew in number. Sometimes, a whole table of customers would show up, ordering several dishes and drinks. The profit from one of those orders could equal that of more than twenty lunchboxes.
Among the a la carte customers was a young lady named Ying Xiaoya. Well-dressed and trendy, she introduced herself as a recent college graduate, interning at the thermos factory. Dissatisfied with the factory canteen meals, she sought food nearby and upon discovering Cheng Su’s place, she instantly favored the taste. Therefore, she arrived punctually every day at noon. Sometimes she would have fast food, but most of the time, she ordered a la carte.
Ying Xiaoya was lively and beautiful. Cheng Su herself was eloquent. In just a few days, they became quite familiar. And then there was Ning Ge. The group of them had a sense of likemindedness.
To Ying Xiaoya, everything about the small restaurant was great except for one thing, Cheng Su was only twenty years old and already a boss, while she, at twenty-two, had just graduated and was earning a monthly salary of about thirty yuan.
"How can I compare to you? You’re a college graduate, and I’m just an uneducated village woman who can’t show her face in public," Cheng Su said with a laugh. "I couldn’t catch up to you even if I tried."
"Susu, you obviously have a sharp mind, so why didn’t you finish high school and go to college?" Ying Xiaoya was genuinely puzzled.
"We were poor at home." Cheng Su poured her a cup of tea and explained, "I’m different from you. I’m an only daughter, and I have a younger brother at home. All our hopes are pinned on him."
"That’s really a pity. If you’d completed college, I bet you’d be even more remarkable," Ying Xiaoya said while feeling sorry.
Cheng Su smiled faintly, "I’m doing quite well now, but what you said is also true. Going to college would be the icing on the cake. When I have some free time, maybe I’ll see if I can continue my education?"
"That would be great. You’re so smart, with continuing education, you’ll definitely get a college diploma!" Ying Xiaoya clapped her hands, excited.
Cheng Su was just speaking hypothetically; she never believed that one couldn’t make something of themselves without a college diploma. However, education is a good thing; there is indeed a significant difference between those who have been educated and those who haven’t. If she had the chance, she thought, she might go for it.
But she never expected that the opportunity would come so soon.