NOVEL NEXT Chapter 15: Hired
"Good job everyone. You all did well today."
"Boss!"
Everyone stood up to greet him.
"Come now, settle down. You all must be tired."
"We didn't know when you'll be back to lock up the restaurant," said Lu Yu.
"You didn't have to wait for me. But thank you for doing that. You can go home now."
Old man Shen wore a kind smile as he spoke. Given his temper, one could mistake his outburst for being unkind to his employees. However, was only like that when he reprimanded them.
"Given how well you all performed today, work starts by 10 am tomorrow. So, you can have enough time to rest."
"Thank you so much, Boss!"
The employees were happy to hear they could sleep in tomorrow, and bobbed their heads like chickens, thanking the old man.
John wanted to share old man Shen's announcement with Zhi Luan but was stopped by the old man.
"It's alright. I have an announcement for him too. You all can get going."
"Yes, boss."
The employees left.
Old man Shen pulled out a chair and sat comfortably while smoking from his smoke pipe. Zhi Luan had just concluded his cleaning when he heard his name.
"Zhi Luan, come here for a bit."
Old man Shen called out.
Zhi Luan frowned, reluctant to answer, but decided to. He walked into the restaurant where the old man sat comfortably, with his smoke pipe in one hand and a can of beer in the other. He then signaled Zhi Luan to sit, opened a new can of beer for Zhi Luan, and passed it to him.
Zhi Luan didn't move to drink immediately and instead looked at it intensely.
"It's just beer… it won't bite you."
Old man Shen chuckled.
"Zhi Luan… I just heard your name for the first time today. That was when I realized I hadn't been the least bit civil to you. I apologize for my manners."
The old man's words surprised Zhi Luan a lot. He hadn't expected the stubborn, short-tempered old man to apologize.
"But in my defense, I was only looking out for my business. I mean, you just showed up abruptly and asked to cook when you knew nothing about cooking. Nonetheless, I'll have to admit that you shut me up this time…"
The old man exhaled a puff of smoke before he continued,
"I'll only ask this once… will you work for me?"
There was a little silence when he asked this.
"If you will accept, there's something you have to do first… you'll tell me a little more about yourself. Everyone is allowed to have secrets and I have no problem with it, as long as it doesn't threaten my business. I can have strangers work for me, I can't let one sleep under my roof, as heartless as that sounds."
Zhi Luan remained silent while the old man puffed the smoke from his smoke pipe. His request was reasonable for the security of his business. But Zhi Luan didn't know how to construct the truth properly to avoid sounding like a liar. In any case, he had to say something, and it would be unwise to lie about anything he said. He gulped a mouthful of beer and began,
"My parents died when I was little, so it was just me and my little brother. Two years after my parents passed, my brother died from a terminal illness, and I've been alone ever since. A family once took me in at some point… I felt so relieved that I wasn't alone anymore, but I was unlucky again. The family turned out to be slave drivers and made me do all sorts of jobs for money. I couldn't bear it and ran away, and I've been doing that for years. I am now what you call a nomad, roaming from place to place, seeking where I fit in this vast world. But it appears there might not be such a place for me. This is the real reason I left my village for somewhere else… because anywhere would be better than it."
Old man Shen listened quietly until Zhi Luan was done. Then he asked,
"You said you've been roaming around since you left. You must have done some things to survive till now…"
"If you're asking if I got involved with criminals… I didn't. I did some bad things, but I didn't leave any loose ends."
"Loose ends? What are you… the mafia? Are you trying to scare me more than I should be?"
Zhi Luan shrugged,
"You said not to lie to you… I'm just doing that. I didn't kill anyone if that's what you're worried about."
Old man Shen took a deep breath before speaking up,
"Will you threaten my restaurant?"
This was most important to old man Shen.
"I will not."
"That's all I needed to know. I was going to have you investigated, but I'll take your word for everything you said... for now."
Old man Shen puffed from his smoke pipe before he continued,
"Since you granted my request, I'll take it that you've accepted my invitation?"
Zhi Luan nodded.
"That's good then,"
The old man laughed.
"I could use your help around here, and you can stay here until you want to leave."
"Thank you,"
And like this, the two drank in silence until every can of beer was finished. The old man was already drunk and could barely stand. Zhi Luan helped him to his room before retiring for the night.
Old man Shen gave his employees permission to start work late, but still opened the restaurant at the usual time. He wanted Zhi Luan to rest as well, but the latter paid it no heed and went into the kitchen. He was feeling slightly irritated lately. He had tried countless times to awaken his dormant energy but failed every time. Being confused about what to do next, he wanted to distract himself with work in the restaurant.
Old man Shen took customer orders while Zhi Luan handled the cooking. The old man became more confident in Zhi Luan with each meal he made. The customers sang praises about the food, making the old man smile from ear to ear.