After Shi Ling and her daughter had eaten their noodles, Cheng Su found them a small hotel nearby to stay in. She instructed Shi Ling to come to the restaurant the next day, then she left.
It was past five oâclock, and the dinner rush had started. It hadnât yet reached the peak time when the restaurant would be the busiest, but things were already relatively hectic.
Cheng Su sat behind the cash register, deftly selling tickets and collecting money. Everything was in perfect order.
"Come on in, what would you like to eat? Just tell the waitress what you want. You can order everything on the menu, itâs all good. This is our familyâs restaurant..."
A voice drew Cheng Suâs attention, and she looked up to meet a pair of eyes staring straight at her.
It was her brother-in-law, Zhang Jisheng.
Zhang Jisheng had only gotten halfway through his words when he saw Cheng Su, and abruptly changed his sentence to, "Itâs our younger brotherâs wifeâs restaurant."
Damn it, why was Cheng Su here? Where was Fengping?
For some reason, whenever Zhang Jisheng saw Cheng Su, he felt uneasy, perhaps because of her assertiveness when their son was born, and how decisively she acted, just like his younger brother-in-law.
No, it wasnât a comparison; the two were of the same disposition, both so formidable.
So now, upon seeing her, Zhang Jisheng felt nervous. His heart beat like a drum.
"Elder brother-in-law, have you finished work?" Cheng Su stood up, smiled, and asked, her gaze shifting to the three men beside him.
They were covered in dust, and their faces were not clean, likely workers from a renovation team.
"Yes, yes, Iâve brought a few workmates here to eat." Zhang Jisheng stammered in explanation and then looked around: "Where... where is your elder sister?"
"We got a call from your hometown saying Xiao Bao got caught in the rain and has a high fever that wonât subside. Elder Sister hurried back. Didnât she tell you?" Cheng Su looked at him as she spoke.
Zhang Jishengâs face turned pale: "What, the fever wonât go down?" and he began to panic: "I didnât know, your elder sister didnât tell me, I havenât been home yet!"
Cheng Su frowned, guessing that Elder Sister must have been in such a rush to get back that she hadnât mentioned it, or perhaps she left a note at home.
"Taiguo daughter-in-law, can I use the phone?" Zhang Jisheng asked anxiously, pointing at the phone.
Cheng Su nodded, moved the phone onto the counter, and then said to the men: "Are you Dazhiâs renovation team workmates? Just order whatever youâd like, itâs on me. Xiaoying, make sure to give them plenty!"
"Okay!"
Zhang Jisheng couldnât care less about his workmates at this point. Hearing Cheng Suâs words, he felt a flash of heat on his face.
He had just wanted to bring some workmates over to show off, but who knew Cheng Su would be here.
And the call Zhang Jisheng made was only to a neighborâs house, yet no one answered, which made him break out in a sweat.
His son was his life. Nothing could happen to him!
Seeing this, Cheng Su said, "Elder Sister left this morning; she should have arrived by now. Elder brother-in-law, donât worry; if thereâs no answer now, calling again tonight will be the same."
Zhang Jisheng could only put down the phone and ask, "What did your elder sister say?"
Cheng Su relayed Elder Sisterâs words again, and Zhang Jishengâs face darkened as he pursed his lips.
At home, without a responsible adult, emergencies like this were dreadful.
Would things be better if he hadnât gone out to work and someone had stayed at home?
Zhang Jishengâs face was dark and uncertain, and Cheng Su glanced at him, her brow furrowing then smoothing. She called out to Xiaoying, "Xiaoying, take down the job recruitment sign from the door and put it away!"
"Alright."
Zhang Jisheng was startled. Job recruitment? Why did they suddenly need to recruit workers?