C17 The First Bucket of Gold

At Happiness Restaurant, Chiang Liguo was perched on his office desk, obsessively wiping his mouth with a tissue. The fiery taste had subsided, but his craving hadn't; he felt the heat wasn't satisfying enough and yearned for another round. The thought of Manager Wang bringing back ten servings soon lifted his spirits. "It's the lingering burn that's the real kick! So delicious! I've got to unlock the secret to this dish!"

Over half an hour had ticked by. Manager Wang should've been back by now. It was just a short walk from east street to west street, after all. Could it really take this long? Chiang Liguo figured Chung Yuan's cooking might be causing the delay, so he curbed his impatience.

Before long, the office door swung open, and in stumbled Manager Wang, looking disheveled with dirt smeared on his buttocks and elbows. "What happened? Where's the food?" Chiang Liguo's eyes darted to Manager Wang's empty hands.

"I didn't get it!"

"How could you not get it?"

"I... I got into a fight with the boss!"

"What did you say?" Chiang Liguo's eyes narrowed, his face clouding over with anger. He stepped out from behind the desk, fixing Manager Wang with a stern gaze. "Who? You?"

Manager Wang gave a sheepish nod.

"You damn..." Chiang Liguo's fury erupted as he slapped Manager Wang. "I sent you to buy something, and you end up brawling?! Is this your idea of handling tasks? Did you forget who bailed you out of the police station last time?"

"It was you..."

"And this is how you repay me?"

Manager Wang didn't see the big deal. It was just ten servings of chicken braised rice. Was it really worth the boss's rage? That's why he had been upfront with Chiang Liguo, assuming the boss would brush it off as trivial.

But to his shock, Chiang Liguo was livid. "Boss, we need ten servings of rice, but does it have to be from Reunion Restaurant? We serve chicken braised rice right here. If you're craving it..."

"Is it even remotely the same?"

Chiang Liguo cut him off with a thunderous shout, jabbing a finger at the man and declaring sternly, "I don't care. You have one day. Tomorrow night at this time... No! By tomorrow noon!"

He had initially planned to give Manager Wang a full twenty-four hours, but the craving for the late spicy chicken braised rice was unbearable for Chiang Liguo!

He would only allow half a day at most!

"If I don't see ten servings of chicken braised rice from Reunion Restaurant on my desk by noon tomorrow, pack your bags and head back to your hometown!"

"Ah? Don't worry, Boss! I'll make sure the rice is on your desk before noon tomorrow!"

...

At eight o'clock in the evening, Chung Yuan bid farewell to the last patron.

He locked the restaurant door, eyeing the hole in the glass, then yanked down the rolling shutter.

Tomorrow, he'd have to visit the glass door supplier and get the owner to assess the damage.

It would likely set him back a few hundred yuan.

Turning around, Chung Tuantuan and Chung Yuanyuan were perched on the counter, peeking out their little heads.

After a three-second gaze with his children, they all erupted into cheers.

"Yay!"

"Yay!"

"Yay!"

Yuanyuan and Tuantuan scampered from behind the counter, arms outstretched to Chung Yuan, who crouched down and scooped them into a hug.

"Dad! We took in a total of 817 yuan today!" Chung Yuanyuan exclaimed with glee.

It was practically like making no sales at all during the day!

All the earnings came from the evening's business!

The pumpkin fried rice and the late spicy chicken braised rice were loss leaders!

They weren't worth much. The pumpkin fried rice could only fetch 100 yuan for a hundred servings!

The chicken braised rice was a mere 100 yuan for twenty servings!

The real money-makers were the drinks and beverages!

Plus, the flavor was incredibly nice! Every customer who visited the restaurant ordered at least two servings!

With a bottle of drink added, the starting price per person was five yuan!

In reality, the average spend per person was around ten yuan.

On average, tonight's earnings were about 15 yuan per person!

Thanks to Liu Lang and Zhang Zhuo's takeout orders, along with their in-restaurant dining, the night's sales hit 800 yuan!

Reunion Restaurant hadn't seen this kind of income in ages!

Since his mother passed away, Chung Yuan hadn't made a dime in two months!

Today's eight hundred yuan was set to be Chung Yuan's first step toward a better life!

Thud, thud, thud...

Just then, someone was pounding on the shutter door outside!

More like battering it, really!

"Open up!"

"Damn it, open the door!"

"Open the door, can you hear me?!"

Angry curses echoed from outside.

It was clear that nothing good was afoot.

Chung Yuan immediately thought of Manager Wang.

It had to be his doing.

"Dad!"

Chung Tuantuan and Chung Yuanyuan looked anxiously at Chung Yuan.

"It's okay, go on up to bed. Tuantuan, is your homework done?"

Chung Yuan offered a reassuring smile, seemingly unfazed, and casually checked on Chung Tuantuan's homework.

"Dad..."

Chung Tuantuan pointed nervously toward the door.

Chung Yuan, with one child in each arm, began ascending the stairs, asking patiently, "Did you finish your homework?"

"Dad, someone's smashing the door!"

"Leave it to me, I'll handle it. You still haven't answered my question."

"It's done."

"Good, now go help your sister with hers."

He settled the kids in their room, flicked on the light, and stood in the doorway.

"Stay put and be good, I'll be back soon."

"Daddy! I want to come too!"

Chung Tuantuan suddenly clung to Chung Yuan's leg, his face a picture of distress, his bright eyes glistening with tears.

"What are you doing? Tuantuan, take care of your sister!"

He locked the children in the room and, with sleeves rolled up and a look of stern resolve, Chung Yuan headed downstairs.

Inside, Chung Yuanyuan cried out, wanting to follow, but Chung Tuantuan held her tight.

"Let me go! Brother, I want Daddy..."

"Daddy's going to be fine! You have to trust Daddy, sis!"

...

Chung Yuan flung open the restaurant's door, only to be met with a stick to the face!

He arched his back and staggered backward!

About seven burly men, their faces twisted with aggression, brandished sticks and advanced step by step into the restaurant, pointing at Chung Yuan!

Trailing behind this intimidating group, Manager Wang followed with a malicious grin plastered on his face.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm, Boss Chung, here we are again!"

Chung Yuan cracked a slight smile and quipped, "Manager Wang, I had a feeling you'd show up!"

"Aren't you the clever one! Should I throw in a couple of compliments as well?" Manager Wang sneered at Chung Yuan, hands clasped behind his back, radiating smug satisfaction.

Chung Yuan's eyes briefly swept over the muscular men before him, then settled back on Manager Wang.

"Manager Wang, what is it that you want?"

With an air of arrogance, Manager Wang chuckled and said, "You should've just cooperated with me from the start! I hear you serve that Late Spicy Chicken Braised Rice here, don't you? Whip up ten servings for me! And while you're at it, jot down that braised rice recipe for me!"