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Maji Hot Pot.
It was Monday, and this hot pot restaurant located on Star Cloud Commercial Street was quiet.
Waiter Gao Xiaoliang stood by the bar, seemingly ready to greet customers, but in fact he was flirting with the female cashier.
Just then a customer walked in, and Gao Xiaoliang said, “Welcome,” then he was slightly stunned, “Meizhu, what a coincidence.”
The one who entered the restaurant was none other than Xu Meizhu, and Gao Xiaoliang had also been a waiter at Yang’s Hot Pot, working under her.
“It’s Xiaoliang.”
“What are you doing here?”
Xu Meizhu recognized Gao Xiaoliang too, but seeing him here was not a surprise; waiters often moved a lot, working a few months at one place and then switching to another.
“I’ve been working here for over half a year.”
“Meizhu, how many are in your party?”
Gao Xiaoliang greeted her warmly; he had once fantasized about this beautiful female restaurant manager when he worked under her, but it was just a fantasy. After all, he was just a greenhorn, and naturally, she paid him no attention.
“Fifteen to eighteen people.”
In the Weixin group of Yang’s Hot Pot, there were a total of eighteen people, fifteen of whom had confirmed their attendance, with three as maybes.
“So many people, is it a team-building event?” Gao Xiaoliang asked curiously.
“Just a gathering of old colleagues from Yang’s Hot Pot. Is your private room big enough?” Xu Meizhu asked as she walked towards the bar.
“The biggest private room upstairs can accommodate 20 people, that should be enough,” Gao Xiaoliang replied.
Xu Meizhu nodded, then scanned the QR code laid out on the bar, “Prepay 3000, refund the difference if it’s less, or I’ll top it up if more is needed!”
“Alright.”
“Meizhu, I’ll take you upstairs.”
Gao Xiaoliang led the way ahead, taking Xu Meizhu to the second-floor private room. Maji Hot Pot served individual pots for each person and positioned itself in the mid to high-end market, with an average consumption of around 150 yuan per person.
These past two years were very competitive for the restaurant industry. Mid to high-end hot pot places like Maji Hot Pot were mostly running at a loss. The downgrade in consumption wasn’t just talk; many hot pot restaurants now offer 69, 79 yuan deals for two-person sets, reducing the average consumption to dozens of yuan. Even Haidilao had lowered its average consumption below 100 yuan last year.
“Meizhu, will there be anyone I know coming later?”
Gao Xiaoliang had worked at Yang’s Hot Pot for more than half a year, but by the time he joined, it was already the period of masks, and later the stores closed down.
“You must know Yang. As for the others, I’m not sure…”
Xu Meizhu answered offhand. Yang’s Hot Pot had five stores, and the attendees were scattered across different locations; naturally, she couldn’t remember who knew Gao Xiaoliang.
“Yang is also coming, huh.”
Gao Xiaoliang was somewhat surprised. He had heard from a former colleague at Yang’s Hot Pot that their former boss had gone to do food deliveries.
If it were him, with such a fall from grace, he likely wouldn’t have the face to show up at such gatherings.
Xu Meizhu didn’t have much to talk about with Gao Xiaoliang, whom she wasn’t very familiar with, so after exchanging a few words, she started inquiring about the others in the group…
After serving tea and some snacks, Gao Xiaoliang returned to the first floor.
“Brother Liang, do you know that beautiful woman just now?”
The female cashier asked curiously.
“My former manager at the hot pot restaurant where I worked.”
“Right, do you remember the boss I told you about?”
“The one whose hot pot store went under and started delivering food?”
“Yeah, that’s him. He’s also coming later!”
“When he shows up, point him out to me. A boss turned into a delivery guy, I’m quite curious to see what he looks like.”
“What else can he look like, just an old man, far from measuring up to me. You know how impressive I am…” Gao Xiaoliang bragged with a wink and a smug face.
And at that moment, an imposing SUV suddenly pulled up at the shop front; both of them naturally turned their gaze…
“Holy shit, isn’t that the Look Up U8 from BYD?”
“Rich people, wow!!”
Gao Xiaoliang couldn’t help but exclaim.
Men are generally interested in cars, and Gao Xiaoliang was no different. The seventh-hand Buick Excelle in the parking space outside belonged to him, purchased for twenty thousand yuan.
Though it didn’t really stand out, it was still quite the hit among the waiters.
“Is that car expensive?”
The female cashier, who didn’t recognize cars, asked curiously.
“Over a million!”
“It’s much more expensive than our boss’s Audi A6!”
“And let me tell you, that car even has a wading mode, very impressive…” Gao Xiaoliang was the sort that could leaf through ‘Illegal Car Empires’ for an hour or two without any issue.
Don’t let his own seventh-hand Excelle fool you, when it came to online arguments, he was slick, spouting car specs like a pro, reducing luxury brands like Mercedes C, BMW 3, and Audi A4L to poor man’s choices in his keyboard battles…
After all, on Kuaiyin the average was a Ferrari.
“This must be one of the owners from Star Cloud Bay!”
The cashier looked on in awe. Their store was situated on the commercial street built together with Star Cloud Bay, so occasionally some of the owners from Star Cloud Bay would dine there—those folks were definitely rich, with purses worth a whole year of her salary.
“Probably.”
Gao Xiaoliang nodded, his eyes still on the Look Up U8, it was the first time he saw the actual car up close, only having seen it in videos and pictures online before.
Just as he admired the million-yuan luxury car with envy on his face, the driver’s door opened, and a very familiar figure stepped out.
Gao Xiaoliang’s brain spun rapidly, feeling very familiar with the man.
Suddenly, he slapped his forehead: “Holy shit! Isn’t that Yang?!”
“Yes, that’s Yang!”
Gao Xiaoliang’s face was full of shock, as he silently cursed that former colleague in his heart: “Fuckin’ idiot Zhang Wei, didn’t you say Yang had gone off to do deliveries?”
You ever seen someone delivering food driving a million-dollar car?!
While he silently cursed the one named “Zhang Wei,” Yang Hao had already pulled open the shop door and entered.
“Yang!”
“Long time no see!”
Gao Xiaoliang adjusted his demeanor, greeting him with a broad smile.
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“Who are you?”
Yang Hao looked carefully at the man who had taken the initiative to greet him, and it took him a while to remember that the other party was a waiter from one of his branches.
The store was managed by Xu Meizhu, and he seldom visited, so he didn’t have a strong impression of Gao Xiaoliang.
“Yang, I’m Gao Xiaoliang, I used to work at the fifth Yang’s Hot Pot.”
Gao Xiaoliang introduced himself somewhat awkwardly.
“Oh, I remember now!”
Yang Hao nodded, chatted casually with his former employee for a moment, and then went upstairs.
“Brother Liang, isn’t this the takeaway delivery boss you talked about?”
After Yang Hao left, the female cashier asked.
“Uh, there was a bit of misinformation.” Gao Xiaoliang rubbed his hands awkwardly.
“Brother Liang, this isn’t just a little misinformation, it’s totally outrageous!”
“Where is he delivering takeaways? He clearly drives a luxury car worth millions, and he’s quite handsome too!”
Gao Xiaoliang pouted and cursed frustration, “It’s all that idiot Zhang Wei’s fault for spreading rumors!”
In the private room.
Xu Meizhu was holding her phone, chatting idly with a few former colleagues who were on their way, in the group. Hearing footsteps, she instinctively looked up and saw Yang Hao walk in with a smile.
“Meizhu, you got here quite early!”
Yang Hao greeted cheerily. Seeing his former employee of ten years, who had been with him even longer than his ex-wife Li Manshu, Yang Hao felt a warm familiarity.
“Hao!”
“You’ve gotten thinner and handsomer!”
Xu Meizhu stood up from her seat, her face full of smiles.
Her memory of Yang Hao was still from their last accidental encounter at the barbecue restaurant, when Yang Hao was wearing a kangaroo delivery service uniform.
And Xu Meizhu, who had harbored a crush on Yang Hao for many years, truly wished the best for him, so when she saw his down-and-out state last time, she felt both sad and distressed, almost to the point of tears.
But this time, Yang Hao’s state was worlds apart from the last.
She felt as if the energetic and ambitious boss, Hao, had returned, so she laughed genuinely from the bottom of her heart, happy for Yang Hao.
“Meizhu, you’ve gotten prettier too!”
Yang Hao said with a smile. Xu Meizhu herself was not bad-looking. Although she wasn’t stunning, she was definitely among the prettier ones in a crowd and had the kind of looks that grew on you.
Now Xu Meizhu had taken off her coat; she wore a white turtleneck sweater with tight jeans – a simple outfit, but it suited her well.
Xu Meizhu had long hair and a nice figure, to the point that the locks of hair draping in front created an effect that framed her breasts, which was quite charming.
“Xiaoshuai, Meiling and the others are on their way too…”
Xu Meizhu, a bit embarrassed by the compliment, changed the subject.
“Yeah, I saw the messages in the group.”
Yang Hao pulled up a chair and sat down casually.
Xu Meizhu poured him a cup of tea: “How’s Xixi doing?”
“She’s great, bouncing around!”
“She’s been led astray by a little chubby kid lately, always memorizing strange and quirky poems.”
Yang Hao picked up his tea cup, shaking his head helplessly.
“What kind of quirky poems?” Xu Meizhu was quite curious.
“For example, ‘goose goose goose, stew the goose in an iron pot…'”
“This…”
“Little devil!”
Xu Meizhu laughed: “But it’s quite fun. Are there more?”
“There was another one yesterday, see for yourself!”
Yang Hao took out his phone and opened the chat with Li Manni. Xixi had been with Li Manni all Sunday, and at lunch, the little girl had showed her aunt the ancient poems she had learned at kindergarten.
Li Manni had recorded a video and sent it to Yang Hao.
Now Yang Hao was going to show that video to Xu Meizhu.
Xixi was seen sitting in a high chair, gesticulating with her hands and reciting, “Before my bed, the moon is shining bright, add more soup to the hot pot, make sure the mutton’s cooked right, so eating it is more delightful…”
After watching the video, Xu Meizhu couldn’t help laughing again: “Xixi is still so adorable!”
“She’s getting sensible now, already knows how to beautify herself…”
Speaking of his precious daughter, Yang Hao, the doting father, had a look full of tender love in his eyes.
The two chatted for a while, and the veterans of Yang’s Hot Pot arrived one after the other.
Xu Meizhu had thought that some people might not show up, but to her surprise, everyone came.
Not a single person was missing from the eighteen in the group!
They were all old acquaintances who hadn’t seen each other for a long time, so naturally, the private room was very lively.
As they chatted and laughed, steam began to rise from each little pot…
“Hao, say a few words!”
“Yeah, it’s not easy for everyone to get together.”
“Come on, let’s give our boss a round of applause…”
The food was almost served, and Hao Xiaoshuai and He Wei, who had followed Yang Hao for six or seven years, started to stir up the crowd.
Yang Hao was actually about to speak about the business, so he gestured with his hand to quiet the clamor, and the room immediately fell silent.
“I actually called everyone here today for a serious matter.”
“I plan to reopen Yang’s Hot Pot!!”
Yang Hao didn’t beat around the bush and said directly the purpose of gathering everyone together.
He still had ten million in his account dedicated to starting the business, and after the restaurant opened, there would be a double cashback on the revenue of the hot pot restaurant!
This was a welfare mission given by the System, and he wasn’t going to let such an opportunity slip away!
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