Itās rare for Father Qi to visit Qing City for the first time, and he hasnāt seen his own business yet. Cheng Su thought about not cooking at home, and when Qi Fenglian finishes her shift at the fast food place and goes on holiday, she plans to take them to the restaurant for dinner, as a sort of welcome banquet.
"My factory is on holiday too, itās not operating now. Itās quite far, and the weather isnāt great, so itās best Dad doesnāt go there right now," Cheng Su said with a smile. "Once the new year starts, Iāll take you to visit some parks!"
"Fenglian is on holiday too, no need for you to bring her. If you need to rest, just rest!" Father Qi said with a cheerful smile.
The group arrived at the Joy Soon Loy Restaurant. Father Qi saw the establishment and immediately felt out of place; this looked too upscale. In his lifetime, heād never been to such a high-class place.
Mother Qi, visiting for the first time since the restaurantās renovation, was momentarily stunned and asked, "Has it become this big?"
"Itās not that big yet, thereāll be even bigger ones. Once the business grows, the storefront will only get larger!" Cheng Su said confidently.
Mother Qi glanced at her without saying a word.
"President Cheng, what brings you here?" The receptionist at the door noticed Cheng Su and quickly came over, nodding and bowing to her.
"My father-in-law and mother-in-law are visiting, so Iām bringing them to the restaurant for a nice meal. If thereās space, could you get us a room?" Cheng Su said with a smile.
"Certainly. Letās go to the Winter Solstice Room!"
The group, big and small, passed through the first floor and then the second. Even though itās near the end of the year, business is much quieter than usual, but they had taken many group orders in the past days.
Once they were seated in the room, Mother Qi began to ask, "Is this entire restaurant yours?"
"Not entirely, there are a few shareholders, itās not all mine," Cheng Su replied with a slight smile, seeing Qiulan come in, she ordered a few dishes.
Mother Qi frowned and said, "Are there shares for others? How could there be outsiders, shouldnāt shareholders be family?"
After Qiulan left with the order, Cheng Su explained, "Mom, such a large restaurant requires investments from others; who in the family has the money to invest? For such scale, it involves a lot of capital, who could afford it?"
Mother Qi felt embarrassed and awkwardly quieted down.
"If you donāt understand, donāt speak!" Father Qi gently reprimanded, then turned to Cheng Su, "It doesnāt seem like there are many diners right now?"
"Dad, itās New Yearās. In Qing City right now, many people who usually work here have gone home on holiday; otherwise, the restaurant is always full. Theyāll return after the holidays, and business will pick up again! The fast food joint near the train station is also closing temporarily due to the lack of people," Cheng Su explained with a smile.
"Itās just as well itās the holidays; it means I can celebrate New Year with you all, otherwise Iād have to work!" Qi Fenglian said.
Cheng Su sipped her warm water slowly.
"That Qiulan from earlier, sheās the girl from upstairs, right? Is she in charge now?" Mother Qi asked.
"Sheās our floor manager!"
Mother Qi immediately felt envious, glancing at Qi Fengping beside her, "Look at you, still thinking about college? Youāre just wasting time. Why not manage the restaurant with your sister-in-law as a manager? Itās a respectable job."
Cheng Su was slightly taken aback and said nothing.
Qi Fengping replied, "Big sister-in-law has her own career, and I have my aspirations. I want to go to university!"
Originally, she didnāt have much confidence, but seeing how the employees respected Cheng Su at the restaurant profoundly motivated her.
She also wanted to be someone like Cheng Su, confident and commanding respect. She wanted others to respect her, not dare to look down on her, to make those who underestimated her be shocked, and to make Zhou Qiang regret it.