Chapter 668: Chinese New Year’s Take-out

The weather got colder and colder, and the Chinese New Year got nearer and nearer. Yuan Zhou’s restaurant was still open for business.

That was why not long after the customers found that Zhou Jia and Mu Xiaoyun weren’t here for work, Yuan Zhou’s restaurant was opened.

With a “Hua La” sound, Yuan Zhou pulled the shutter door up.

“Morning, Boss Yuan.” Ma Zhida was the first person to greet him.

“Morning.” Yuan Zhou nodded and moved sideways to allow the customers to enter.

“Why are you personally opening the door today?” Wu Hai asked while entering.

“I sent them on holiday,” Yuan Zhou answered without turning his head.

“Woah,” Wu Hai mumbled, but did not say much.

“Are you going on leave as well, Boss Yuan?” Ma Zhida was the first to ask the question everyone wanted to know.

“I will go back to accompany my family on New Year’s Eve and on the first day of the Chinese New Year. There won’t be any customers at that time anyway,” Yuan Zhou said after a slight thought, not giving a direct answer.

“There might not necessarily be no customers. From how you are saying it, you’re still unsure of whether you will be on leave?” Ma Zhida continued asking.

“Um.” Yuan Zhou nodded his head.

“Well, it’s not New Year’s Eve yet. Looks like I can eat a couple of meals here before then,” said a customer while smiling with his eyes narrowed.

“Yeah. The moment I think about the possibility of not having to eat the food here for a while, I get anxious,” said another customer.

“I will still be around on both the New Year’s Eve and on the first day of Chinese New Year,” Wu Hai quickly said to Yuan Zhou.

He had to let Yuan Zhou know that he wasn’t going back for the Chinese New Year. Otherwise, he wouldn’t feel good when he came but had nothing to eat.

“Zheng Jiawei will look for you,” Yuan Zhou indifferently replied.

“That’s a different story.” Wu Hai waved his hand, trying to make it clear that this had nothing to do with the topic they were talking about.

“Your sister will kidnap you,” Yuan Zhou added.

Wu Hai was instantly at a loss for words.

The 10 customers that had entered had their breakfast while discussing about the coming Chinese New Year holiday. On the other hand, the customers lining up outside were talking about something else.

“This feels so comfortable. The moment Boss Yuan opens his restaurant, this street feels lively and not as desolate anymore,” said a customer with his brows relaxed in comfort.

“Yeah. Even lining up feels better,” answered a different customer behind.

“I wonder what air conditioner Boss Yuan is using. It feels so warm,” said a customer while loosening up his shoulders in satisfaction.

Just as everyone was talking about the air conditioning at Yuan Zhou’s restaurant, a voice sounded, speaking in astonishment.

“Huh? Why are you here as well?” asked Zhao Yingjun.

Zhao Yingjun was asking a man in a blue cotton outfit in astonishment.

“Who are you?” The man looked young, his eyes were bright and piercing. His skin wasn’t very pale, looking like a person that spent quite a lot of time outdoors.

“I’m the programmer at that place, there, upstairs of that building,” Zhao Yingjun said while pointing at the tall building in front of them.

“Hello.” The young man seemed like he still had no idea who this person was, but he still greeted out of politeness.

After all, he would frequently go to that building for work. Therefore, it was possible that he had indeed met this guy before.

“You’re here for a take-out delivery?” Zhao Yingjun probed.

This young man worked as a take-out delivery guy. This was also how Zhao Yingjun knew who he was.

This guy might be in charge of delivering the take-outs of this area. After all, Zhao Yingjun frequently saw him here delivering take-outs to his office. He had even greeted him a couple of times before.

“Oh, you’re from that digital company?” the young man said in realization, finally recalling who this guy was.

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“Yeah. Who ordered a take-out delivery here? You’re here delivering food this early?” Zhao Yingjun nodded and asked doubtfully.

“It sure is tiring working in your field, having to travel everywhere early in the morning,” Zhao Yingjun lamented without waiting for an answer.

“It is tiring. But nobody ordered take-out today. I’m here to eat,” answered the young man with a smile while shaking his head.

“Huh? You’re here to eat?” Zhao Yingjun was confused.

Zhao Yingjun was not sure of the salary of others, but he was sure the salary of a delivery guy would definitely be lower than his. Even he wouldn’t be able to afford eating here too frequently. His heart would hurt each time he came. After all, Yuan Zhou’s restaurant was definitely not cheap.

“Yeah. The food made by Boss Yuan is especially tasty.” The young man nodded seriously.

“Young man, are you delivery guys not on holiday yet?” asked a customer that overheard their conversation.

“Of course not. Someone needs to be on standby and I’m the one on standby today.” The young man nodded.

“This is way too tiring.” Zhao Yingjun frowned while sending the young man a gaze of sympathy.

“It’s not that terrible.” The young man shrugged, seemingly already used to this.

“How is this not terrible? People in your field have to weather the elements and even have to work overtime late into the night. Moreover, the weather is getting cold.” A girl in the line couldn’t help herself but say this.

“Err.” The young man was at a loss of words, not knowing what to reply.

On the other hand, the other customers in the line were feeling for him. After all, most customers of Yuan Zhou’s restaurant were either elites or white collar workers. People like them were frequent users of take-out delivery services.

And thus, everyone started chiming in about the take-out delivery industry. After all, the recent news had covered the hardships of delivery workers. Therefore, everyone started talking about this as well.

Everyone gave their own opinion, making the young man who was personally in the industry felt somewhat awkward.

“The weather is getting way too cold recently. When I ordered take-out the other day, it was near 11:00 pm, yet this brother still had to deliver it to me.” Zhao Yingjun further added.

“It’s really not that bad. It’s just a job.” The young man scratched his head.

“How is that not bad? Working in the delivery industry nowadays is really very difficult,” countered the girl from earlier.

“Yeah. Now I will feel too embarrassed to keep ordering take-outs.”

“But he will lose his job if you stop ordering take-outs.”

Everyone talked, sympathy apparent in their voice.

“No, that’s not the case.” The young man couldn’t help himself.

“What is the case then?” Since the young man was speaking quite loudly, everyone looked at him and one of them asked.

“That 11:00 pm delivery was sent by me.” The young man paused anxiously before speaking to Zhao Yingjun.

“Yeah, right, it’s you.” Zhao Yingjun nodded in agreement.

“That was my final delivery of the day. After that delivery, I went back home to rest. As for you, after eating the take-out, you must have spent quite a while continuing your work in the office, right? After all, you were too busy to even lift your head when I left,” said the young man.

“Yeah. There’s a lot of overtime when Chinese New Year is near. I worked until 3:00 am that day and ended up staying the night at the office.” Zhao Yingjun nodded.

“That’s right. You guys are working, we are working as well. It’s just that our scope of work is different. My job involves me delivering take-outs to you all, but I will only be busy when it’s mealtime. At other hours, I’m quite free. But I can see that you guys work overtime very frequently. Therefore, it’s not like any of us are worse off than the other.” Finally, the young man voiced his thoughts.

“For example, after finishing your work for the day and coming here for a meal, will you feel like Boss Yuan is pitiful?” the young man asked.

At this, the customers were all hit by a realization. Although they hadn’t directly mentioned that delivery guys were very pitiful, they had indeed implied that. The young man had merely made it obvious what they were hinting at.

The customers looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

“Therefore, it’s just a job. Weathering the elements is part of the job. I personally think that it’s hard being a waiter or waitress. Every single day, they have to face their customers with a smile on the face. Earning money is never easy. There’s no need to pity me. I don’t feel like I deserve any pity anyway.”

The moment the young man said this, nobody could say anything. True, earning money was never easy.

“The food made by Boss Yuan is very tasty, but they’re quite expensive. But since we work so hard to make money, of course we need to reward ourselves at times. That’s why I am here for breakfast.” Finally, the young man answered Zhao Yingjun’s original question.

Since Zhao Yingjun was the first to talk to this young man, he was also the first to react to the young man’s words.

Indeed, even though this young man might not have made as much money as him, the premise of respect was to treat others equally. Thus, there was no need to pity those in the delivery industry. After all, they were the same as everyone else — merely doing their job.