Rebirth 07: Starting with Saving a Bankrupt Restaurant

"How are you feeling?" Zhou Wen asked with concern.

"I was discharged from the hospital the night before last, and I'm basically fine," Shi Ling replied.

Zhou Wen nodded. Shi Ling's mental state was indeed much better than it was yesterday at the hospital.

Her cheeks had regained some color, no longer as pale as they had been in the hospital, and her lips had regained their color.

"The shop will be cleaned up soon, let's have a meal together later."

Zhou Wen didn't say anything about whether he had eaten before, but simply asked Shi Ling to have a meal with him later.

Shi Ling didn't say anything polite, just smiled and nodded slightly, saying, "Then thank you, boss. I'll take care of you at noon."

Zhou Wen waved his hand: "It's just a meal, why be so polite?"

"Sit down for a bit, probably about ten minutes. If you feel a little stuffy, you can walk around."

"Boss, is there anything I can help you with?" Shi Ling offered to help.

"No need, it's not much trouble. Don't think about doing anything right after being discharged from the hospital." Zhou Wen waved his hand and went into the kitchen.

Sitting in her seat, Shi Ling continued to look around at this restaurant, which was very different from the ones she had seen before.

"It seems the restaurant is really different from before," Shi Ling thought to herself.

Shan Wei looked at Shi Ying sitting in her seat with a curious gaze.

Judging from the way she's addressed, this should be Sister Shi Ying's older sister. She calls her own boss "boss" too, so she must be a former employee.

Dan Wei was a little curious. The restaurant offered good pay and the meals weren't just a quick fix; they used leftovers as employee meals.

Whatever we wanted to eat was cooked by the boss afterwards, and there was no excuse for not cooking properly just because it was a staff meal.

I don't know if they are biological sisters or cousins.

After watching for a while, Shi Ling also stood up.

For some reason, Shi Ling entered the kitchen, pointed to a row of somewhat messy ingredients, and asked, "Boss, do all of these need to be tidied up?"

Zhou Wen was washing the dishes when he turned around and said, "You can just sit outside. If you feel a bit bored inside, you can move a chair to the door and tease the rice balls."

Shi Ling was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized that the rice ball must be the name of the little cat at the door.

Shi Ling shook her head slightly and said, "It's okay. It's good to do something and move around. I always feel a bit listless sitting there. The doctor also told me to move around a bit."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Wen didn't say anything more and continued cleaning the sink.

"How does the restaurant compare to before?" Zhou Wen asked.

"It feels like there are many differences compared to before."

As one of the restaurant's earliest employees, Shi Ling naturally knew best what the restaurant was like back then.

While tidying up, Shi Ling said, "I remember in the summers before, the shop was unbearably stuffy. There were only a few fans running all the time, and you had to keep moving around in the shop. After finishing your work, you didn't have much of an appetite."

"I remember back then, everyone would pack a meal and eat it when they got home and got hungry."

Shi Ling's words stirred up some memories of the restaurant in Zhou Wen's mind.

Shi Ling was also thinking about something, and the two of them tacitly stopped talking.

Actually, Shi Ling was quite surprised to receive a call from Zhou Wen after the restaurant reopened, because the restaurant had to reopen after such an incident.

At that time, Shi Ling had already found a job, while Shi Ying was thinking about changing jobs, so in the end, this job was also obtained by Shi Ying.

In hindsight, returning to the restaurant might have been a good choice at the time.

But who could have imagined that the restaurant would actually be able to reopen and make a comeback?

"How's your thinking about what I told you at the hospital last time?" Zhou Wen asked, snapping out of his reverie.

Shi Ling remained silent for a long time before finally replying seriously, "Boss, I need to seriously consider this matter."

Although Shi Ling is now interested, she is still somewhat worried and afraid.

Zhou Wen chuckled and joked, "Then you'd better hurry up and think about it. Right now, there are people who want to work at our restaurant."

Zhou Wen wasn't just making this up; after all, Shan Wei had asked Ren Xuan about it before, and Ren Xuan was still eyeing that position.

Of course, Zhou Wen was mostly joking.

Shi Ling smiled and replied, "Okay, I'll think about it carefully."

After tidying up, Shi Ling looked around the kitchen again to see if there was anything else she could help with.

However, Zhou Wen started to "treat" people: "Alright, there's nothing else to do."

"Let's go outside and sit for a while, and then tell Shi Ying what you want to eat later."

Seeing this, Shi Ling stopped insisting.

Upon arriving at the front hall, Shi Ying also showed the menu to Shi Ling.

"Sis, you should try this shrimp and mushroom noodle soup. I'm telling you, it's really delicious. It's perfect for you right now, as you're not feeling well."

Since it was her younger sister who recommended it, Shi Ling chose the shrimp and mushroom noodles.

I also glanced at the menu a few more times; it only had a few dozen dishes.

Not only were there fewer dishes than before, but they were also dishes I had never heard of before, and some even had strange names.

After ordering, Shi Ling and the other two waited.

Shi Ying was talking to her sister, while Shan Wei couldn't get a word in edgewise and listened to their conversation silently while playing on his phone.

Not long after, Zhou Wen carried the dishes out of the kitchen, and then went back into the kitchen, serving one dish after another.

"Boss, you've ordered so many dishes, I'm a little overwhelmed."

Seeing the lavish spread Zhou Wen had prepared, Shi Ling smiled wryly.

Zhou Wen chuckled and said, "Why should I let you pay for a meal at a restaurant?"

"And I'll have a bowl of this pork tripe and chicken soup later, it'll be good for nourishing my body."

The restaurant's cold dishes had already appeared on the table, and Zhou Wen had even taken out pork knuckle and braised beef and cut them into separate plates.

Dan Wei glanced at Shi Ling again; it was clear that such a lavish spread was prepared entirely for Shi Ling.

If you didn't know better, you'd think it was Chinese New Year!

Because of her illness, Shi Ling has not had much of an appetite these past few days, and has been making do with millet porridge and the like.

I really don't have much interest in other foods.

But just by smelling it, Shi Ling knew that the smell must be good.

However, Shi Ling was somewhat puzzled as to when her boss's cooking skills had become so good.

If I remember correctly, the boss hardly ever cooks; it's always the chef surnamed Cai who does the cooking.

"Have a taste," Zhou Wen urged.