"Feel free to look around!" A rather enthusiastic greeting was heard.
Lin Fan looked to the right and saw a wooden counter placed against the wall next to the right door.
The counter is quite tall and I don’t know what kind of wood it is made of. It is dark yellow with some small black textures on it.
Judging from the material, it seems to be quite hard.
Although the color and style of the entire counter are old, the surface has a warm and reflective touch, like an object that has been used for many years and is covered with glaze.
Inside the counter, there is a very conspicuous cash register.
It’s not that there’s anything special about this cash register, it’s just that it’s placed on an old counter that has been used for who knows how many years, with an electronic display screen standing high above it, which looks awkward no matter how you look at it.
Inside the counter, there's another table against the wall on the right corner. On it sits a large monitor, and from the paused screen, it's clear the user is watching a TV show.
Lin Fan was not familiar with these electronic products, but with such a large screen size, he estimated that the price should be very expensive.
In front of the monitor, the girl sitting on the leather chair was casually turning her chair and looking up.
When he saw Lin Fan, he gave a professional fake smile. When he saw John Woo, his smile became genuine. "It's you!"
"It's me." Wu Yusen still smiled and greeted politely, "Sun Mo, long time no see. I brought a friend with me this time."
Sun Mo also smiled, and suddenly she became energetic and stood up from her comfortable boss chair. "I saw it a long time ago."
She looked at Lin Fan, her smile no longer perfunctory. She nodded cheerfully, "Hello, my name is Sun Mo, and I work the night shift at this grocery store."
Lin Fan smiled back, "Hello, my name is Lin Fan, and I'm John Woo's friend and colleague."
Sun Mo is shorter than Lin Fan, neither fat nor thin, with short hair, and not very pretty, at least not the eye-catching face like Lin Fan's now.
Ordinary, generous, and comfortable. This was Lin Fan's first impression of Sun Mo when he first met her.
Oh, cross out the word "ordinary". It is impossible for people who work here to be associated with ordinary.
"Come, come, have some tea." Sun Mo walked away from the counter, turned to the long table next to her, picked up the kettle, and rushed into a small room inside.
Lin Fan watched the hem of her floral shirt disappear through the door before he began to take in his surroundings.
This store has a long and narrow structure, not too wide from side to side but not too short in depth.
There was a row of wooden shelves against the wall on the left side of the door, more than a meter high, with a lot of things scattered on them.
Opposite the main door was a large white wall with a square window. Judging by the grille above, it was probably a decorative window. Below the window was a long altar. In the center was a metal incense burner, though I couldn't tell if it was lit.
Following the stained glass window to the right is the right wall. There is a small door at the corner with a half curtain on it.
Sun Mo came out and put the kettle next to the counter. She started boiling water on the long table in the middle of the shop, which was about two meters long. She sat down on the armchair behind the table and said, "Come on, come on, sit down, don't stand."
John Woo glanced at Lin Fan, walked to the long table, and took out two round stools from under the table with familiarity.
There were shell-like decorations on the stool that Lin Fan was sitting on. It looked quite delicate and seemed very expensive. He sat down in a daze.
Behind Sun Mo, that is, the wall on the far right of the store, from the small door she had just come out of to the table where the monitor was placed, the entire wall was covered with shelves.
The only difference is that there's an extra row of cabinets below the shelf on the left. The doors on the cabinets are even carved with flowers...
Based on Lin Fan's limited knowledge, it should not be cheap.
Sun Mo happily fiddled with the teacup on the table. "I haven't had any guests in a long time. Oh my! I'm so worried."
Lin Fan glanced quietly at the room full of expensive-looking wooden furniture and felt that she was crying poor.
"Are you still worried now?" John Woo and Sun Mo must have met each other more than once or twice, and the familiarity in their conversation was extraordinary.
"Yes!" Sun Mo lowered her head to make tea and replied firmly, "I used to feel socially anxious and didn't want to see people. But now, I feel very uncomfortable when I don't see people often."
So this is what she was talking about. Lin Fan thought to himself and listened to her continue.
"Besides, I'm still just an employee. If I don't sell anything every day, I always feel like I'll be out of a job at any moment." Sun Mo brewed a pot of Gongfu tea, placed it on a tray along with two small cups, and pushed it in front of Wu Yusen. "Help yourselves."
Lin Fan was stunned. He had never seen such a way of treating guests.
Wu Yusen took it calmly, placed a small cup in front of Lin Fan, filled it for her, and then poured it for himself. "I know you don't like trouble, but it's just as well if we do it ourselves."
Lin Fan watched Sun Mo stand up, and on the armchair, a brightly colored sunflower pillow came into view.
She took a mug from the monitor and sat back down, adjusting the position of her pillow and leaning back on the armchair.
The cartoon pattern on the mug was out of tune with the furnishings of the entire room, and the hot cocoa inside was slowly emitting a sweet aroma across the table, entwining with the faint tea fragrance in front of Lin Fan, forming an indescribable fragrance.
It smells quite nice.
Lin Fan picked up the teacup and drank it all in one gulp... Mm, delicious!
Wu Yusen filled her glass again, and Sun Mo spoke again.
"See! I just think it's too much trouble to drink it all at once. How about I drink this cup slowly?" She held the cup forward. "If it was a new customer, I would have to suppress my temper and act politely, but with an acquaintance, there's no need to do that."
After saying that, he took a sip of hot cocoa and let out a sigh of satisfaction.
To be honest, Lin Fan also found it troublesome to drink tea in small sips.
When she was a child, her family would drink tea by putting a handful of tea leaves in a glass and then pouring boiling water over it.
Not to mention the taste, she couldn't accept the fact that her mouth was covered in leaves after taking a sip.
Later, I learned that there was Gongfu tea in the south, and I realized that tea was not drunk that way, but I lost interest in exploring it.
For her, water quenches thirst.
Either it's plain water, which is refreshing to drink, or cola or milk tea, which is enjoyable to drink.
Drink tea...
According to their original way of drinking, it is obviously like a cow drinking water, which does not have that meaning.
But she always felt that this slow drinking of tea, one small cup at a time, was too much trouble for the tea maker - the tea maker was always busy and had no time to rest, so he suffered a lot.
So I simply declined the invitation. Forgive her for being uneducated and I won't drink tea.
It is rare to meet someone who shares the same views nowadays. I am so happy that I can speak out what is in my heart.
"I like big cups too. I can't bear to use small cups like this."
"Right, right!" Sun Mo's eyes lit up when she got recognition, and she looked at Lin Fan more enthusiastically.
John Woo looked at the two girls and started a round of meaningless complaints about the size of their cups, then drank by himself in silence.
"By the way, what do you want to buy this time?" Sun Mo's face was flushed and she was in a very good mood. Only then did she remember the important matter.
Everyone who enters the store has a purchasing need.
For a newcomer, it might just be a coincidence, as they don't know the situation, but for an old customer like John Woo, it's obvious that he has a purpose.
It's not easy to come to her small shop, so how could you possibly come here just to chat?
"Hey, could you please help me check if the stock is available?" John Woo handed her Zhao He's receipt.
"This..." Sun Mo took it and looked at it, then asked curiously, "Isn't this something you've bought before?"
"Well, this time I'm helping someone, and I'm also taking a look to see if there's anything suitable." After Wu Yusen finished speaking, a question suddenly occurred to him, "Can I buy two things at the same time? There won't be any restrictions, right?"
If only one person could buy one at a time...
Then one of him and Lin Fan would definitely return empty-handed...
Just finished editing at 4:52. Oh my, it's so urgent.