Chapter 659 - Chapter 659: After the Storm
Chapter 659: After the Storm
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
In the Su household, a sumptuous seafood feast was quickly underway. The tantalizing aroma of various seafood dishes was enough to make their neighbor, Xiao Ming, weep with envy. Unfortunately, Xiao Ming was unable to partake in this meal…
In the town, after the rumor storm surrounding Sister Hua’s Gourmet Shop had passed, the shop reopened. From the early morning market, customers flowed in like a mountain spring, creating a sense of joy akin to seeing a rainbow after a storm.
By noon, the shop had quieted down a bit, and Li Hua took the opportunity to check the counter.
Her accounting skills had improved rapidly. After quickly finishing her calculations, she was somewhat surprised. After double-checking several times, she whispered, “Mom, as of now, today’s income has already made up for the losses from the days we closed for adjustments. Gu Zi was right, we shouldn’t be afraid of trouble.”
Mother Lin put down her cloth and glanced at the accounts. She had some basic knowledge and, after days of training, she could now read the accounts quickly.
She quickly realized that what Li Hua said was true. Gu Zi was truly a godsend. It would have been a waste to keep her in the village, but thankfully, the family had moved to the city.
She said to her daughter-in-law, “Yes, she’s back in the city now, which puts my mind at ease. Otherwise, I would still feel guilty.”
“But Xiao Hua, you’ve worked hard these days. When you’re tired, take a good rest for a few days. The shop can survive with your Aunt Yang and me. We can’t exhaust you. If necessary, we can hire someone else. Aren’t you planning to have a baby? I fully support you.”
As life improved, Mother Lin’s long-suppressed sense of elegance gradually emerged, and her tone became gentle yet firm. Li Hua was momentarily stunned before realizing that the woman speaking was not some noble lady, but her mother-in-law.
She indeed wanted a child, and rest was necessary, but not now. She put the accounts back in the drawer, closed it, and walked over to hold her mother-in-law’s arm, saying, “I’ll listen to you, Mom. After the busy period at the beginning of the year, I’ll go home and rest. We can hire someone else to help.”
It wasn’t that they were now making money and wanted to enjoy life, hence considering hiring people. Rather, their food shop was now more popular than many city shops and needed an additional permanent helper to maintain service standards.
Li Hua had considered hiring temporary workers, as they were more cost-effective than permanent ones. However, Gu Zi had raised some concerns. Permanent workers could be carefully selected for long-term use, while temporary workers could not be screened each time.
They were in the catering business and needed to maintain hygiene and service standards. If the quality of temporary workers was inconsistent, or if they had other motives, it would cause trouble for their shop. Li Hua thought about it and agreed that hiring permanent workers was better. They needed a good reputation to grow and strengthen their business.
As the mother and daughter-in-law were chatting happily, someone came in and sat in the spot closest to them. “Congratulations, Aunt An Yun, Boss Li, you’re finally open again. I’ve missed your food so much!”
Mother Lin and Li Hua were about to respond when they looked up and their smiles froze, then disappeared. The synchronicity of their disappearing smiles was quite a sight.
Li Hua stepped forward and said, “I remember you, Aunt Zhou. My mother told me later that on the day of the incident, you said our shop had lost its conscience and you would never eat our food again. Was that you?”
Li Hua didn’t hold a grudge, but she didn’t want this incident to be easily forgotten by these people after a few casual chats.
As Gu Zi said, good service was necessary, but when the opportunity arose, they also needed to show their authority. Otherwise, they would appear too easy to bully, and rumors would not only occur once but repeatedly.
She had already suffered once from such rumors. Although they were successfully handled in the end, thanks to Gu Zi’s clever timing, the rumors had still spread wildly in the town during the days they closed for adjustments.
The impact was quite negative. Even though the guilty party had apologized publicly, it would still take some time to clear the effects.
Not to mention, because of this incident, some people had brought up other issues specifically targeting Gu Zi. The rumors had spread from the village to the town, severely damaging Gu Zi’s reputation.