“How about we order a Yin Yang hotpot for our table? For good luck,” Zhou Cuilan suggested, seeing how tense everyone was.

Of all the people present, Lin Jiajun was the most nervous.

“I’m going out for a smoke.”

Jiang Anmin, who was standing at the door, suddenly announced, “Customers are here.”

The others scrambled to look like regular patrons, some pretending to study the menu, others continuing their conversations.

A family of four came in: a man, a woman, and their two children. The older child was about five and the younger was around three. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel•fire.net

“Wow, this place is decorated so nicely,” the woman said. “It looks clean and sanitary.”

The man nodded. “I just wonder how it tastes. I’ve eaten here before, and it wasn’t good at all.”

Lin Jiajun came over to greet them. “We’re under new ownership now, and we’ve adjusted the flavors. We definitely won’t disappoint you.”

He then gestured toward a corner of the restaurant. “These must be your children. We have a kids’ play area right over there.”

He pointed to a large monitor on the wall. “There’s a live feed from the surveillance camera, so you can dine with peace of mind.”

Lin Jiajun’s playful, outgoing nature had its advantages. He was a natural at making people feel at ease, and the couple was both surprised and delighted.

Any parent knows how exhausting it is to dine out with young children. They can’t sit still and love to run around, making it impossible to enjoy a peaceful meal.

When they turned on the screen, they saw their two children had already entered the play area and started to play.

“This is a great setup,” the woman said happily. “Some other restaurants have play areas, but I can never relax if I can’t keep an eye on them. With this monitor, I feel much more reassured.”

The man opened the menu, and Lin Jiajun recommended the Yin Yang hotpot, which was suitable for children.

“Let’s go with this one.”

Lin Jiajun went to the register to place their order.

The business had opened. Things would slowly get better.

Soon, more customers arrived. During the New Year holiday, it was common for large families to dine out together.

Lin Jiajun dashed over to serve them, greeting everyone with a wide smile and a great attitude.

By ten o’clock, five tables were filled.

The couple who had arrived first had already started eating.

“Wow, boss, this fish hotpot is delicious!”

“Mhm, I love it. I’ll definitely be back.”

Lin Jiajun beamed. “We look forward to seeing you again!”

From ten o’clock onward, more and more customers came in. There were even phone calls for reservations. Gradually, Jiang Anmin had to jump in and help serve.

As for the others… well, they might as well keep pretending to be customers. Besides, it was time for lunch, and today, everyone who ate had to pay.

More customers continued to stream in. By twelve-thirty in the afternoon, the place was completely full.

“Eat quickly!” Lin Daan urged their table. “What are we going to do if more customers arrive and there are no seats?”

The third aunt gobbled down the last of her meatballs. After finishing, their group went to pay the bill. Yu Zheng’s table was also finishing up, and seeing more customers waiting, they also got up to settle their bill.

Just like that, six tables were freed up.

“Maybe they can go for a walk?”

“Sure, we’ll come back in an hour to check.”

Everyone left one by one, except for Lin Feng who stayed behind.

The restaurant’s hours were from morning until nine or ten at night; if there were no customers, they would close up.

Customers came in waves, all with unanimous praise for the food.

Around two in the afternoon, they saw off the last of the lunch rush. Lin Jiajun and Jiang Anmin both breathed a sigh of relief. Since the hotpot was self-service, they didn’t require much assistance.

Lin Jiajun pragmatically asked, “Should we calculate our lunch turnover?”

Jiang Anmin glanced at him. “Sure.”

He spent five minutes calculating and then looked at Lin Jiajun with a strange expression.

“Why are you looking at me like that? How much is it?” Lin Jiajun paused, a sense of dread creeping in. “Don’t tell me it’s not even ten thousand yuan. With so many customers today, it has to be at least that much.”

The kitchen staff had been swamped, but luckily Lin Feng was there to hold down the fort.

“Guess,” Jiang Anmin said with a smirk.

“…Stop being so childish and just tell me!”

“Forty-eight thousand.”

Lin Jiajun’s eyes widened. “Forty-eight thousand?” he repeated, then asked, “Is that turnover good or not?”

Jiang Anmin thought for a moment. “It’s hard to say yet. Let’s see what the total for the whole day is.”

Lin Jiajun nodded. “I’ll go check on the kitchen.”

「」

At six o’clock, a new wave of customers arrived, with the peak hitting between seven and eight. Business continued steadily until eleven-thirty at night, when there were still two tables occupied. The kitchen staff had already begun cleaning up, preparing to close.

Lin Jiajun and Jiang Anmin were at the counter, calculating the day’s total turnover.

Half an hour later, Jiang Anmin’s eyes were wide as he handed his phone with the calculator app open to Lin Jiajun.

“What’s this? Units, tens, hundreds, thousands… ten thousand… one hundred thousand? Is this… two hundred and ten thousand?!”

“Holy shit, two hundred and ten thousand!”

“It’s true,” Jiang Anmin confirmed. “That’s just from the QR code payments. For cash, not counting our starting float for change, we took in almost thirty thousand.”

Lin Jiajun ran a hand over his face, his expression a mix of shock and elation. “So, today’s total turnover is two hundred and forty thousand?”

Jiang Anmin nodded, a smile spreading across his face. He tried to contain his excitement, but it was written all over him.

Lin Jiajun let out a low roar. “DAMN!”

“Even though it’s the holiday season with a lot of foot traffic, we’ve started to build our reputation. Everyone seems to approve of the taste,” Jiang Anmin said. “Our business is only going to get better from here.”

Hearing this, Lin Jiajun finally felt that the future was full of promise.

By this point, everyone else had already gone home, leaving only their parents.

“How much did you make today?” the third aunt asked. With so many customers, they must have earned a lot.

Lin Jiajun rushed over and excitedly hugged her. “Mom, we’re going to be rich! Can you believe it? We made two hundred and forty thousand yuan today! From a self-service restaurant!”

The third aunt gasped. “That much?”

Lin Daan smiled. “It’s only going to get better. I heard everyone saying how delicious the food was today. In the food business, it’s all about word of mouth, and taste is what’s most important.”

Jiang Anmin’s parents were still in disbelief.

“Son, are you sure you didn’t miscalculate?”

“I’m sure!”

The third aunt announced, “I’m going to the supermarket next door to buy a bag of tangyuan. It’s the Lantern Festival today, so let’s all eat together.”

“Alright.”

They had never been this happy.

Lin Feng also joined them for tangyuan that evening, mentioning that he had to return to Yangcheng the next day.

The Lantern Festival was over; it was time to get back to normal life.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep