The restaurant is open until ten at night.
The front hall is bustling.
Fu Yu was heading to the dormitory. As he passed through the small corridor leading directly from the front hall to the back kitchen, his gaze was once again drawn to the giant potted plant at the entrance.
It was a uniquely shaped root carving art piece, imitating either a plum tree or a peach tree; in any case, it was a type of flowering plant.
Fu Yu knew very well that he was a simple person, lacking artistic taste and appreciation.
He couldn't see what was so appreciable about those dead branches and bare leaves.
But every time he passed by, he couldn't help but take a second look.
Because the things hanging on those branches were truly alluring.
The branches were laden with pink origami, fashioned to resemble flowers, which were actually brand-new one-hundred-yuan bills.
There were probably 88 of them.
8,800 yuan in total.
Just as Fu Yu was lamenting that four months of his salary was hanging on the tree as decoration and wondering how wealthy the boss must be, he heard a commotion coming from the front hall not far behind him.
Something's happened again!
Fu Yu quickly turned around and walked back.
As soon as he entered the front hall, he saw two groups of customers at the ordering area fiercely confronting each other.
Qianlima uses fresh ingredients and authentic materials as its restaurant's promotional gimmick.
Therefore, the seafood area in the front hall features an on-site ordering process.
Customers can pick the seafood they want, and the order-taker will send it to the back kitchen to be prepared and cooked.
At this moment...
The server responsible for attending to the customers was anxiously trying to persuade the two groups of confronting customers.
On the left was a family of three, with a young mother holding a small child, and a young father trying to reason with the other party.
On the right were four middle-aged women, whose emotions were so intense that one was standing behind, clutching her chest, while the other three were chattering in a heated argument.
Young Father: "We ordered the abalone first, a total of six. If you want to order, you can come earlier next time. We are under no obligation to yield to you."
Middle-aged Woman No. 1: "You ordered it! Did the server record it? Was the abalone taken out? You only ordered six, but we ordered eight! Now there are ten in total. After we order, wouldn't there be two left for you?"
Young Father: "Everything should follow the order of arrival. We can check the surveillance! Even for ordering, there should be a queue and order!"
Middle-aged Woman No. 2: "Whether you check the surveillance or not, we also ordered the abalone, and we want eight! Not one less!!"
The two groups were noisily occupying the ordering area, and although their words were fierce, they showed no intention of starting a physical fight.
The two order-takers were urgently trying to persuade them.
"There are only ten abalones left, how about dividing them equally so that everyone can have a good meal without causing any unpleasantness over such a small matter?"
"Yes, and besides the abalone, all of our seafood is fresh daily, ensuring freshness. Our chefs are also exceptionally skilled. You can try a different dish. We've just introduced a few new items, and I can recommend them to you!"
The customers were too agitated to listen to this sensible advice.
Both sides were red in the face, trying to argue out a one-two-three-four ranking.
The family of three was fashionably dressed in casual parent-child outfits, with only the luxury handbag of the young mother hinting at a trace of wealth.
The four middle-aged women, on the other hand, were flaunting their wealth.
Each wore high-end brand clothing, necklaces of either jade or gemstones adorned their necks, and every possible part of their bodies sparkled with gold at every gesture and motion.
The four were just shy of hanging a sign that said: "I'm a rich woman!"
Both sides clearly had money and weren't in need of those few abalones, but they happened to run into each other, and verbal sparring had escalated their stances.
One side insisted on six abalones, while the other demanded their eight, not giving an inch.
Each side was as sharp and unyielding as a needle against an awl.
The young father clearly had higher social skills. He handled the argument himself, with his wife and child staying out of it behind him.
The four middle-aged women were much more aggressive. One cursed, and the other three backed her up, each voice louder than the last.
The argument attracted a lot of passing customers, some watching from afar, others closer.
The two order-takers repeated their persuasion, their emotions visibly more composed than they had been at the start.
Fu Yu reckoned that if the two groups weren't separated soon, someone might start recording and post it online as a comedy skit later.
"Hey, hey, hey! Let's talk this over. Uh... esteemed guests, let's not argue in the ordering area. You're all people of status and position, and being watched like this isn't good. Let's move to the lounge; after all... someone is already raising a phone!"
One of the middle-aged women turned her head at the sound and, seeing Fu Yu in a chef's outfit, immediately said angrily, "What's this! I'm a customer here to dine. I am the god! I ordered according to the rules, so I'm in the right! Watching? Go ahead, I'm not afraid of being watched!"
Fu Yu noticed that the middle-aged woman's comments were clearly intended to declare to the onlookers who was right and who was wrong in this dispute.
Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, the young father became angry and retorted, "We're not afraid of being watched either. We were obviously first in line to order, so even by order, we should get to choose the ingredients first!"
Seeing the two sides about to start arguing again.
Fu Yu quickly advised, "It's not about being afraid of being watched; it's just that now, with the internet being so developed, if someone secretly films it and posts it online, who knows how it'll be spun. It's really not worth causing such a fuss over a few abalones..."
At this point, the middle-aged woman who had been standing at the back clutching her chest suddenly said to her three companions, "Sister, how much is an abalone anyway? If this really goes online, saying we're arguing over such a small bite, it definitely harms our prestige..."
The other three suddenly realized!
Yeah!
If it really got online, if they were said to be arguing over a few lousy abalones, regardless of the reasons, just that alone was disgraceful.
The middle-aged women were the first to realize this, and their leader immediately shifted her stance, arrogantly instructing the order-taker, "Forget it; it's just an abalone. Let them have it. We'll order lobster! That Australia lobster! There are four of us, so four lobsters it is! We want your restaurant's specialty, butter-baked lobster!"
The young father became angry upon hearing this: "Hmph! We don't want the abalone either!"
Then he turned to his wife and said, "We'll have Australia lobster too, but we're not eating here. This place's lobster can't compare to the Music Restaurant's. Their butter-baked lobster comes from a Michelin Restaurant. If we're having lobster, we have to go to the Music Restaurant!"
The young father reached out to pick up the child: "Come, darling, Dad will take you to the Music Restaurant for dinner."
The middle-aged women who were about to choose lobsters suddenly paused!
The four of them exchanged glances.
They genuinely thought what the young father said made a lot of sense.
Although an egg tastes good regardless of which hen laid it, what the young father said instantly made Qianlima's butter-baked lobster less appealing.
The leading middle-aged woman turned and said: "Ladies, it's just a butter-baked lobster, let's eat the best. Let's go to the Music Restaurant! This time, we definitely won't let them get there first..."
Fu Yu had just breathed a sigh of relief and was about to help the order-takers grab the lobsters when he was suddenly taken aback by their words!
He instinctively wanted to speak out to stop them, but when he looked up, he saw a [?] above the head of the leading middle-aged woman, indicating a new task.