Chapter 31: Yuan Zhou’s Nickname
Translator: Xiong Guoqi Editor: DesTheSloth
Yuan Zhou opened the restaurant quite early. It was only 4:40 p.m, when most people were still working. Usually, there would be no customers during this time.
However, once Yuan Zhou opened the door, more than 10 old customers were already waiting. He was stupefied and asked, “Why are you guys so early today?
“It’s not early. It’s already five o’clock. You’re late,” a dozen people rushed into the restaurant all at once while one of them replied Yuan Zhou.
“Don’t change the topic. Boss Yuan, we heard you had launched a new dish?” asked a very cute sister who frequently came while sitting down.
“Hey, you guys who managed to get the seats, hurry up and order your meal please. We are still waiting at the back.”
A dozen or so people came into the restaurant, of which only eight had gotten the seats while 7 others had to stand and wait. A good-looking teenager urged them in a hurry.
“Little kid, who asked you to come so late? I have to ask clearly first before ordering.” The cute girl turned and made a face to the boy. Then she turned her head and looked at Yuan Zhou in a flattering manner. How could one change faces so quickly?
All the other seated customers didn’t order their meal either, instead they were waiting for Yuan Zhou’s reply.
“Yes, that is true. But the new dish is only available in the morning. It’s not for sale at noon or in the evening.” Yuan Zhou returned to his position and put on his snow white apron as he said those words without even raising his head.
“How could it be like that? I wouldn’t mind having Soup Dumplings for dinner.” The cute girl pulled a long face, looking fairly unhappy.
“It seems we won’t be eating the Soup Dumplings tonight. Boss Yuan is still as capricious as ever. Then I’ll have a serving of Egg Fried Rice.” A well-groomed man seated beside the cute girl shook his head and laughed helplessly.
“Egg Fried Rice...”
Orders started to come in one after another.
The customers who had been watching the scene were mostly men while the remaining 6 were aged women. They all looked the intellectual type and were not suitable to act cutely, but the young girl could do that. If Yuan Zhou agreed to the girl’s demand, then everybody have the fortunate to savour the Soup Dumplings. That’s why they just watched the girl persuading Yuan Zhou and kept silent.
“Ok. Please wait a while.” Yuan Zhou rolled up his sleeves and went to the kitchen to prepare the Egg Fried Rice.
In the main hall of the restaurant, all the customers started a discussion.
“Why do you think Boss Yuan has such excellent culinary skills?” The good-looking teenager chose a topic and started to talk when he found he couldn’t eat at the moment.
“Boss Yuan is definitely not an ordinary person.” He answered himself before anyone could respond to him.
The cute girl rolled her eyes gracefully, “Nonsense! Of course he isn’t. There is no way ordinary people can cook such tasty food.”
“Haha. On the contrary, I think Boss Yuan not only has a superb culinary skills, but is also the pioneer of the odd rule of not offering a second serving,” said a customer who couldn’t eat his fill.
“That’s right. Other rules are still acceptable, but why doesn’t he allow us to have a second serving?” After merely several discussions, the topic started to change. Now, there was only one main point, that is, if they had the opportunity to have a second serving.
Then everybody started to illustrate different scenarios. However, the more they exemplified, the more they realised it was completely impossible.
“No wonder Boss Yuan is called Compass. He knows only rules.” The cute girl said Yuan Zhou’s nickname as she tapped the table in irritation.
The old customers gave him the nickname of Compass without his knowledge. This nickname was started by Yin Ya. Of course it also brought more customers to Yuan Zhou’s restaurant. This story had to be told from the day when the Egg Fried Rice Set came out.
At that time, Yin Ya requested another serving of seaweed soup and pickled radish, but was refused by Yuan Zhou. She then left the restaurant angrily. When she got home and thought about it, she still felt unhappy.
After taking a shower, on impulse, she took a photo of herself without makeup and wrote some words with it [Do you think I’m beautiful?], and then uploaded the photo onto her circle of friends on Wechat.
Pretty girls always drew attention, let alone Yin Ya, who had been a beauty ever since she was a little girl. Though without makeup, she was still a beauty with the white skin, almond eyes, slanted eyebrows, rosy cheeks, and the red lips free from lipstick, a 8/10.
Under this status, she received numerous likes from her circle of friends. Having regained some confidence back, Yin Ya continued to post another status [While eating the Egg Fried Rice Set at noon today, I was refused when I requested another serving of seaweed soup and pickled radish, even when I said I would pay.]
Under this status, there were all kinds of replies.
[ Yin Ya, Honey, let me treat you to a meal], from her bestie.
[Be good. I’ll take you there to eat whatever you like], from Pretty Time.
[Next time let me meet that boss, who doesn’t know how to be kind to ladies].
There were also replies that didn’t grasp the main point of her status.
[Beauty, it’s a surprise that you eat Egg Fried Rice. Just like us, the masses], from Happy though Poor.
[I should accompany you there. Then you’ll get the extra serving. After all, you are pretty while I am ugly], from So Ugly that Cosmetic Surgery is Needed.
[Do I have the honor to treat you to a meal? How about eating kebabs?], from Drinking Beer while Eating Fried Chicken.
Many friends sent private messages to inquire what happened. Yin Ya then described in detail the situation at Yuan Zhou’s small restaurant. During the process, she gave a nickname to Yuan Zhou, that is, Compass.
There was a Six Dimensional Theory that said you only need 6 connections to know the President. More and more people knew about Yin Ya’s story after being spread about by her friends.
People are curious by nature, hence, most workers around that area would drop by to have a taste. After tasting, they would become a loyal fan of Yuan Zhou’s restaurant. After all, eating is a major part of one’s life.
The restaurant was small and did not have many seats, thus it was always crowded. The customers had already gotten used to it so they would leave immediately once they finished their meal. Nevertheless, the restaurant still had an endless stream of customers, hence there was no time for rest.
After the first ten or so customers left, other people continued to occupy the seats. Furthermore, those customers that ate the Soup Dumplings in the morning rushed over, filling every corner of the 30 square meters restaurant.
“Young master, please give my wife and I one serving of Soup Dumplings each. I didn’t eat it at noon and have been craving for it,” the old grandpa said spiritedly to Yuan Zhou as he held his wife’s hand while sitting down.
“I’m sorry. The Soup Dumplings are not provided at noon or in the evening.” Yuan Zhou answered patiently when he found it was an old customer from this morning and furthermore, an old man.
The old grandpa was stunned for a moment after hearing Yuan Zhou’s words. He said in a pitiful tone while patting his thigh and pointing to his wife.
“Come on young brother, you can’t do this to me. I specifically brought my wife here twice already.”
“Sorry,” was the same answer, Yuan Zhou refused the request of the old grandpa in a mild tone. On the other side, those customers that rushed over for the Soup Dumplings got antsy and spoke one after another.
“Boss, you really don’t know, I didn’t have lunch today after I ate the Soup Dumplings from this morning. While eating other kinds of meat, I am constantly thinking of your meat. Those other kinds of meat taste flavourless to me now,” the man dressed in sportswear touched his head and said earnestly.
“Don’t say my kind of meat or your kind of meat. It’s really frightening. That’s the meat of pigs.” Yuan Zhou was speechless by his words that did not make sense.
“Absolutely right. The Soup Dumplings you prepared was the most delicious out of all of the ones I have ever eaten. No exaggeration, the best in the world.”
The old grandpa, “...”