Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 124 A Bumper Shot

Xiao Wei was taken aback, and after a long pause, he asked, "Then why don't you go out and find work? What are you doing here earning this little bit of money?"

Sister Shang said, "I have a family and a career, and my children are all grown up. Where else can I go? Besides, it's a secure job. Who would dare to give it up in today's society?"

Sister Zhang nodded and said, "Yes, it's safe and sound. The child is already so big, there's no use thinking too much. If she were as old as Xiao Liwen, I would have already gone out into the world. Not to mention anything else, I could earn seven or eight hundred a month at the Jinzhou Hotel, which is more than this."

Xie Na, arm in arm with Sister Zhang, chimed in, "Little boss, why don't you just give us a little more? We'll earn more and won't have to go out to work. Isn't that great?"

Xiao Wei said, "There's nothing I can do here. You're employees, and I can't give you too much. Otherwise, what if everyone wants to come? What if I don't want you anymore? Besides, it depends on you. If business is good, everything is fine. If business is bad, we'll have to close down again, and you can go back and collect your half wages."

Sister Zhang said, "What's the point of talking about this now? Let's just wait and see. Isn't this better than staying at home and getting half a salary? Besides, there's a bonus too. Cheer up, everyone. We're going to a big meal, not to the execution ground. Xiao Hongliang, give everyone a smile. Why aren't you showing off?"

Suddenly, Liu Hongliang, who had been walking alone with his head drooping, raised his head, grinned at Sister Zhang, and said, "I really want to go out, but my dad won't let me. He left me with my uncle and said he'd break my legs if I dared to run away without going to work. My money, my precious money, is all waiting for me outside, but I can't leave Longcheng. God, please help me! I don't want to wash dishes or clean drains!"

A group of women burst into laughter, leaving Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng both amused and exasperated by this clown.

When they arrived at the bone shop, An Laowu was sitting alone inside by the entrance smoking, while the young man was busy at the counter and didn't see his wife.

Seeing them enter, An Laowu immediately put on a smiling face and stood up to greet them: "You're here. Quite a few people today, what brings you here?"

Xiao Wei looked around the room and asked, "Did you get the money from yesterday?"

An Laowu shook his head and said, "It won't be that quick to become an official, but it's not going to fall through either. Let's just wait and see. What should we eat today?"

Xia Maosheng said, "Let these ladies order today. Do you still have dumplings? If so, cook some; if not, hurry up and make some more, they want to eat."

"Old Wu, you own this restaurant? It's doing well now." Shang Liwei said to An Laowu from the side.

An Laowu turned his head and looked over, surprised, and said, "Second Sister? What brings you here? What's going on?"

Xia Maosheng glanced at the two of them and asked, "You two know each other?"

Sister Shang said, "Fifth brother is my younger brother's classmate. He used to come to our house and cause trouble all the time. He's all grown up now. Haven't seen him in a few years, huh? Is he married yet?"

Old An smiled and said, "The kids are all grown up now, and what about... Shangwen? What's he up to now?"

Sister Shang said, "He's married now, in Fengtian. He's always going up and down the mountain, never really doing anything serious. But you're doing well. You can open a restaurant; it's a safe and stable job without any trouble."

The fifth brother smiled bitterly, pointed at Xiao Wei and said, "What's so stable about him? Ask him, he got vandalized yesterday. It's too damn humiliating for him to make a living now."

Xia Maosheng said, "Sit down, sit down, let's order. We'll chat later. Fifth Brother, bring me two bottles of Bai Nian Lai liquor, and some dumplings. If you don't have any, hurry up and make some."

Everyone sat down with a clatter, and the versatile young man brought over the menu. Xia Maosheng asked the young man, "Young man, what's your name?"

The young man was a bit shy. He smiled and said, "Brother, you can just call me Bozi."

Xia Maosheng pointed at Bozi and said to Liu Hongliang, "Ask this young man, ask him what he does all day? He can do it, but you can't?"

Liu Hongliang had just sat down and was taking off his leather jacket when he looked at Bozi and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Bozi scratched his head and said, "I do everything: chopping vegetables, carrying vegetables, serving food, running errands, taking out the trash, and shoveling ashes. Sometimes when there are a lot of people, I even have to climb up and down the stove to measure things out. What's wrong with that?"

Liu Hongliang stopped what he was doing, blinked at Bozi, and turned to ask Xia Maosheng, "Boss, you're not planning to train me to be a jack-of-all-trades, are you? Are we that short-staffed?"

Xia Maosheng said, "Every store needs someone who can do everything. Look at Sister Zhang and the others, they all have a skill, so they definitely need to be in charge of that area. But you're the only one who's suitable. You can definitely do it. I have faith in you. You're a jack-of-all-trades."

Liu Hongliang turned to look at Xiaowei, who nodded and said, "It's really good."

Liu Hongliang said, "Boss, my job title is maintenance, can I do my assigned job?"

Xiao Wei looked at him and said, "Sure, repairs and odd jobs are pretty much the same thing, there's nothing wrong with that, right?"

Xia Maosheng said, "That's right. Sweeping the floor means cleaning the floor, washing dishes means cleaning the dishes, and unclogging the drain means repairing it, right? Why is it clogged? Because it's broken."

Liu Hongliang said, "What about carrying things? Carrying things doesn't count as repairing, does it?"

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "Carrying things isn't repairing them, but it's taking them back to carefully check if they need repair."

The women huddled together, laughing and jostling each other, finding the two bosses hilarious.

Old Man An brought over two bottles of century-old liquor, placed them on the table, and asked, "Have you ordered anything to eat?"

Sister Shang handed him the menu she had written and asked, "How's your business?"

An Laowu took the order, glanced at it, and said, "This stuff is unpredictable, one day it's a cat's day, the next it's a dog's day. Wait a minute, I'll go cook the dishes for you. My wife isn't here today." He then took the order and went to the kitchen.

Xia Maosheng said, "A fight broke out here yesterday. They ran away from one table and smashed another. They were all gangsters. His wife is angry with him."

Shang Liwei nodded and said, "That's what you're afraid of when you run a restaurant. It wasn't like this back then. These scoundrels, not a single one of them is any good. They have no money, so they're picky and complaining. They always want to run up credit, and then they run up credit until it's all gone. And then they have the nerve to come back in a couple of days. If you ask for the money, they turn on you, saying you're insulting them, and they just won't pay."

Xiao Wei asked, "You're a government agency, right? Nobody cares?"

Sister Zhang said, "It's only in government units that nobody cares. Who cares? What can we employees do? They disappear as soon as the boss makes a move."

Xiao Wei asked Liu Hongliang, "Aren't you pretty capable? All high and mighty, why aren't you doing anything about it?"

Liu Hongliang scratched his head and said with a bitter face, "There's no reason for it. I'm a working person, and my boss didn't tell me to get involved. If a fight really breaks out, I'll have to pay for the hospital bills myself. How can I get involved? Am I some kind of Good Samaritan?"

Xiao Wei pointed his finger at Liu Hongliang's nose and said to him, "Fine, I'm telling you this today: from now on, if anyone causes trouble in the store, as long as no one dies, I'll take the blame for you. You dare?"