Shanhai Hot Pot Restaurant

An autumn rain fell, and the whole city was shrouded in hazy smog.

The cool breeze is blowing, and the streets in late autumn are full of fallen leaves. Sanitation workers will come to clean up the fallen leaves every once in a while. Pedestrians on the road also put on thick clothes. The cooling seems to happen overnight.

Ming Qian sneezed when he crawled out of the bed. He retracted his neck and stretched his arms to pick up the clothes beside the bed.

In the past few days, the business in the store has been too good, plus there are still shooting tasks, Mingqian's personal time is pitiful, and he even feels that if he doesn't have Youjun, he may have died suddenly.

Every night, You Jun would massage his shoulders and back, after which he would fall into a deep sleep, and wake up alive again.

The difference between mortals and strange beasts is too great. Yiyi and the others have never cried out that they are tired, and Yao is the same except that his snoring is louder every night. Only Mingqian will become sore and backache after a busy day.

"Sleep a little longer." Youjun hugged Mingqian from behind, and put one arm across Mingqian's chest.

You Jun's arms are not thick, but they are very powerful. Ming Qian patted the back of You Jun's hand: "I will sleep well for a few days after this variety show is over."

Ming Qian yawned, finally got out of the warm bed, and mustered up the courage to put on his clothes.

Eat whatever you want in the morning. Mingqian has not improved his cooking skills after so long. Breakfast is soy milk and sandwiches.

Ming Qian thinks a sandwich is really a good thing. Two slices of toast, lettuce and ham, and a fried egg can be eaten. There are meat and vegetables, and the seasoning only needs tomato sauce, which is very convenient.

——In fact, the buns he made himself have already been eaten.

Recently, there is no time to prepare any more, and Ming Qian is tired of eating quick-frozen dumplings again.

"Boss." Yao came out wearing slippers and rubbed his eyes. He couldn't feel the cold, and the strange beast was very slow to changes in temperature.

After sitting down, he took a sip of soy milk and asked curiously, "Have you talked to the boss upstairs?"

Ming Qian was busy working in front of the stove, and his tone was a little tired: "He may think that I have collected the money, but he insisted on renting it. The lion opened his mouth, and I still have to continue to grind with him."

Ming Qian is not angry at all, business is like this, if you can earn more, of course you want to earn more.

The boss upstairs wanted to raise the annual rent to 120 million, of course Ming Qian would not agree, this rent is too outrageous.

Even the rent in the Food City is about 120 million, but can the location on this side be compared to that on the other side?

Can the environment compare?

Yao: "Boss, how about I scare him?"

Ming Qian hurriedly stopped him: "He can raise the price, and I will also lower the price. This is a tug-of-war, let's see who can last till the end."

"Except for me, no one will spend 100 million a year to rent."

"But the space upstairs is really big." Thinking of this, Ming Qian felt that it was nothing to spend time, as long as he could rent it at a suitable price in the end, it would be worth it.

"I've already thought about it." Ming Qian said, "Upstairs, we'll make that kind of mixed type. In addition to hot pot, you can also sell barbecue."

Yao hit the point straight: "You want to eat grilled meat and fish, right?"

Ming Qian coughed: "The main reason is that since I opened the hot pot restaurant, I often eat hot pot for dinner. No matter how delicious it is, I will get tired of eating it. If there are more types, we will have more choices."

"Then you will definitely have to hire another waiter then?" Yao suddenly realized this.

Ming Qian nodded: "But first I have to wait for me to sell the shop upstairs, if I can't sell it, forget it."

In addition to wanting to add a few more categories in the store, another reason is that the profit of hot pot is really low. When the time comes to buy the shop upstairs, it is conservatively estimated that the total expenditure including rent should be around 120 million a year. Don’t say that hot pot is profitable, there is a problem with paying back the capital.

But Ming Qian didn't want to increase the price of hot pot. If he wanted to maintain the price of hot pot, he had to have high-income dishes.

Barbecues are just fine.

Ming Qian has also been to many barbecue restaurants. A portion of beef can cost 200 or [-] yuan, and the two girls ate more than [-] yuan even if they restrained a little.

Moreover, the barbecue does not require much cooking, Ming Qian still does not need to hire a chef, and mainly focuses on the sauce and raw materials.

The raw materials are checked by Yiyi, and he can figure out the sauce by himself.

And the customer flow in the store is already large, so there is no need to advertise.

No matter how you think about it, it's a good deal.

When Youjun came out, Mingqian had already sat at the dining table and chatted with Yao, he said incessantly: "Actually, I had this plan before, but I don't have much money in hand, and the shop is not big. For barbecue, the first floor can’t be opened at all.”

"If there is a second floor, the hot pot on the second floor can be a separate small pot, and there is a place for charcoal fire in the middle of the table."

"I've been thinking about it for the past few days, and I think it's feasible." Ming Qian asked Yao, "What do you think?"

Yao stuffed the rest of the sandwich into his mouth in two bites, nodded frantically, and quickly turned into his original shape and squatted on the corner of the table: "I think it's okay too."

You Jun pulled away the chair opposite Ming Qian, Ming Qian lowered his head and typed in the memo on the phone while eating the sandwich: "Check to see if the soy milk is sweet, if you think it's bland, add two spoonfuls of sugar."

Ming Qian never used stone water when mixing soybean milk powder. He tried it once before. After using stone water, the taste of soybeans was very strong, and he couldn't drink it anymore. The food will not use stone water.

"How long will it take?" You Jun asked.

Ming Qian: "It's only been filming for five days, and there will be more than 20 more days of filming."

You Jun couldn't understand that those people would stay in the store for more than 20 days.

Ming Qian comforted: "They are very quick to give money."

Before the shooting started, he gave Mingqian a one-third deposit, and the full amount would be paid after the shooting.

This is to prevent Mingqian from not cooperating with them during the filming.

"We feel tired, and they must be even more tired." Ming Qian said, "Is it balanced if you think so?"

"For making money, who can not be tired?"

·

"I'm going crazy from exhaustion." He Qin was lying on the table in the store. She got up at 05:30 and came to the store with edema on her face. The makeup artist applied her makeup directly in the store. I need to apply a mask and use a rolling ball to remove edema, and the shooting will start at seven o'clock.

After recording the show for five days, her arms no longer looked like her own.

Every day when I go back to the hotel, I feel sore all over my body.

I didn't get enough sleep, and I didn't have enough rest. The only advantage was that I wouldn't be called out by the director or scolded by the director during the filming.

Zheng Xu also felt concerned: "My leg is about to break. I thought the store is only this big, and we still have so many people. I can't go anywhere if I'm tired. Being a waiter is really tiring."

But Lin Sui felt good, she drank yogurt, stood aside and said, "I think it's okay."

Are you superman? !

Lin Sui said happily: "I went back to watch short videos at night. Someone took a video in the waiting area of ​​the store, and it was even featured on local hot spots."

The waiting area carefully "dressed up" by Lin Sui really attracted the attention. The things used are not expensive, but they are beautiful.

When the diners waited in line, they stopped going out and took pictures in the waiting area.

The old neighborhood also has the charm of the old neighborhood. With the scene of the waiting area, the photos taken are really beautiful.

So in the past two days, many local Internet celebrities have come to check in.

Internet celebrities have driven more people to open it.

Everyone is here, and the line is also lined up. Wouldn't it be reasonable not to come in and have a hot pot meal?

There are many people who are cheeky and take pictures, but there are more people who are not thick-skinned.

resulting in greater passenger flow.

But Lin Sui didn't feel tired, and changed the waiting area every day, such as tablecloths, sun umbrellas with different patterns, and table decorations.

"I'm going to rent props, and the photography shop over there can rent them, and it's cheap." Lin Sui regretted talking about this, "Why didn't I think of it before?"

"Today I'm going to rent some bamboo baskets and put some cheap flowers in them."

"The tablecloth will also be changed, and it will be replaced with light-colored small florals, which will give it a particularly rural feeling."

He Qin praised: "You are so energetic, it really is good to be young."

Lin Sui is indeed the youngest among them all, she has not yet graduated from university.

"My last film was a suspense film. I had to run all the time, and I had to run with a sense of urgency." Lin Sui, "And I had to run seven or eight times for each segment. The director said that the last few times were the best, because I was so tired, I couldn't breathe, I was sweating and my legs were shaking."

Lin Sui said seriously: "Maybe it's because I run a lot and my physical fitness has improved."

He Qin: "Director Yang's play?"

Lin Sui nodded.

He Qin: "...Director Yang is so strict."

Director Han smiled at the side: "Only by being strict can a good show come out. I remember that this show hasn't been screened in China yet, but it has won many awards abroad. Maybe Lin Sui can make his way to the top of the screen with this play."

Lin Sui was not too polite: "I thought so too. I ran for two months just to run. I grinded a scene several times, and rarely passed a shot. The seniors who acted are also very good. Brother Feng In order to perform this drama well, I lost more than ten catties in a month."

"However, it doesn't matter whether I win the best actress or not, it's important for Brother Feng to win the best actor. He has worked harder than me."

Director Han didn't speak, he didn't want to pour cold water on Lin Sui.

Sometimes hard work is not directly related to performance. For the judges, it is better to let Lin Sui, a young "gifted girl", win Best Actor, or let Feng Ge, a middle-aged man who has been in the entertainment industry for more than 20 years, win Best Actor. There is no need to think about it at all.

Since they are almost the same, we must choose the most topical one.

What's more, in Director Han's opinion, Lin Sui will go further than Brother Feng in the future. She is still young, and being young means infinite possibilities.

She can play a lot of roles, and she can find the right role in any kind of genre.

As for Feng Ge, because of his age and appearance, there will be fewer and fewer suitable scenes for filming.

Director Han suddenly asked, "Has your manager not come yet?"

Lin Sui patted his forehead: "She should have come a long time ago, but something happened temporarily."

Director Han asked strangely, "Didn't your manager only take you?"

Lin Sui hesitated: "It should be? Maybe the company has any plans recently?"

"It's not important, it's not important, Director Han, look at this."

Lin Sui took out his mobile phone and showed Director Han a video.

Director Han is a bit short-sighted, and he had to get close to see clearly without glasses.

In the video, there is a male Internet celebrity, the filter is turned on very large, and the face of the Internet celebrity is distorted. The Internet celebrity said to the camera: "I heard from fans that there is a waiter in this store who looks like Lin Sui. Recently, I have been sending private messages to let me take a look, and I am here."

Internet celebrities don't seem to be interested in hot pot restaurants, and keep talking about Lin Sui.

"I like Lin Sui, I'm her fan."

But he said openly and secretly: "Actresses are more privileged than men in the entertainment industry. Actresses act like a baby, find more people, and get any resources."

"I'm not saying that Lin Sui will be coquettish or something, I just sigh."

He pointed the camera of his mobile phone at the storefront, and sure enough, he caught Lin Sui standing at the door greeting customers.

Lin Sui wore a white overalls and tied his hair into a ponytail. He smiled at everyone and was enthusiastic anytime and anywhere.

"Wow, it really looks like it!" The voice of the male Internet celebrity came.

He added: "Looking carefully, it still looks a little different. Lin Sui has a straighter nose and bigger eyes than her, and her face is not so square."

"It would be interesting if Lin Suizhen came to work in a hotpot restaurant."

"I'll go find her to take a picture later."

"I'm also the one who took a photo with Lin Sui."

"However, male fans who want to date Lin Sui are blessed. Girls in this kind of place have never seen the world. Give more gifts and tease them. Maybe you can get them."

"It will be a great honor to take it out at that time."

"But don't think about this when you get married. You can't marry a waiter."

In the end, the male Internet celebrity really took a photo with Lin Sui, and after taking the photo, he slipped away and ate a lot of free snacks in the waiting area.

This video is also popular in this city, and has a lot of viewers.

It may be because of the platform, there is no scolding him in the comments, they are just teasing, and a few people who left comments vowed to give it a try and see if they can get "Lin Sui".

Director Han has seen all kinds of strange people, and he was not angry, so he asked Lin Sui, "What do you mean by showing me this?"

Lin Sui: "My manager asked the program team if we could cooperate with us to speculate. It just so happens that my film is finished and this variety show is about to go on."

Director Han: "Use this as a material?"

Lin Sui nodded: "Anyway, it must have a positive effect on my side."

Director Han waved his hand: "I don't want to get involved in your affairs, as long as you don't violate the contract, your team is amazing, and maybe the show will try to catch your heat."

Lin Sui smiled: "Okay."

It was 07:30 in the morning when Mingqian arrived at the store, and the guests were already working in full swing.

"Morning, everyone." Ming Qian walked into the back kitchen to greet the guests.

The guests were immersed in their work, and when they saw Ming Qian coming over, they just nodded slightly as a greeting—they were running out of energy.

The better the business in the store, the more tired the employees will be.

Now that Brother Jiang is proficient at making hot pot bottom ingredients, Dong Han will no longer wait for several orders in a row to serve dishes. In general, the guests are no longer dragging their feet, but instead become "free" in the store. labor force.

It took a long time to shoot, and sometimes Ming Qian couldn't feel the existence of the camera.

He walked around the back kitchen and found that there was nothing that needed his help. Brother Jiang may have done better in the show, and he took care of Mingqian's work, no matter how tired he was, he persisted.

So Mingqian finally started to do nothing.

He was so happy that he almost cried. This was the first time he experienced the joy of being a boss.

"When the shop upstairs is sold, let's check the income first. If the income is enough, I will hire more people." Mingqian now doesn't have to work in the back kitchen, but sits next to You Jun, chatting and playing games for two days, very relaxed .

But because he didn't get enough sleep in the morning, Mingqian's eyelids couldn't support anymore, and he began to fight with his upper and lower eyelids.

He forced himself to say, "It feels good to not have to do anything."

After finishing speaking, his eyelids finally broke through the barrier of "worldliness", and they came together for an intimate "kiss". Ming Qian tilted his head and fell asleep leaning on You Jun's shoulder.

Youjun didn't move, he put his arms around Mingqian's shoulders to prevent Mingqian from slipping down.

He didn't wake Ming Qian up either.

Occasionally, someone passed by, but You Jun didn't seem to notice it.

He is like a patron saint, quietly guarding Ming Qian, only guarding Ming Qian alone.

"Are they brothers?" Lin Sui asked Chen Yan.

Chen Yan shook his head.

Lin Sui enviously said: "Their relationship is really good. If I sleep on my manager's shoulder like this, my manager will definitely push me away, thinking that my head is heavy."

Maybe only Lin Sui, a slow-witted person like Lin Sui, can't see the problem.

The other guests have felt something these past few days, for example, Youjun never pays attention to them, and doesn't say hello to anyone when he comes or leaves every day, and it's not only like this for them, but also for the original employees in the store.

He only chats with Mingqian and smiles at Mingqian.

When the two of them were together, there seemed to be a barrier around them, keeping everyone else out.

Mingqian is different from other people when facing Youjun.

When facing each other, he always has a smile on his face, and he looks calm and mature that doesn't match his age.

But when he was with You Jun, his smile was no longer that polite smile, and sometimes he would lose his temper, but it was a kind of flirting-like losing his temper.

It's just that everyone saw it and pretended they didn't see it.

Hey, there are people who abuse dogs when they come to film a variety show.

Now the only guests in the store are Brother Jiang who has a wife and children. He is at that age, and he is not following the traffic and idol route, and getting married doesn't affect anything.

But other people in the store dare not fall in love and get married because of their careers.

Even if they want to talk about it, they dare not talk about it, lest the fans and popularity they have accumulated so hard will leave them. They can't take such a risk, and they can't afford it.

The guests could see it, and Director Han could see it too.

He sees it deeper than them. For example, Ming Qian and You Jun must have not confessed their love and are not really together.

But it is this kind of vague, vague and ambiguous atmosphere, which is more interesting when edited.

Not only can it attract the attention of the audience - after all, who doesn't like to see two beauties or two handsome guys staying together?

It's easy to deny, we didn't say this is homosexuality, this is friendship, haven't you seen it?Is it because you are ignorant and have little social experience, so men can't be more intimate?Girls can still go to the bathroom hand in hand, why can't men make eye contact lawsuits and hug each other?

In this way, the ratings of the show will be guaranteed again, and the image of Mingqian and Youjun will not be affected, which is beneficial to both parties.

·

Ming Qian had a dream. He dreamed that the hotpot restaurant's business was very good, his income was getting higher and higher, and the days passed faster and faster. He soon had a lot of assets, a big house and a luxury car. .

Then he entered middle age, when he stood with Youjun, people asked him if Youjun was his nephew.

When he has gray hair, people will ask You Jun if he is his grandson.

In the end, he lay dying on the bed, and Youjun changed back to his original form, and returned to the place where he should have been.

Ming Qian was startled awake, his whole body was shaken and he almost fell down.

You Jun seemed to have been prepared for a long time, and pulled Ming Qian into his arms with force.

Ming Qian pressed his face against You Jun's chest.

Maybe it was because of the shock that this dream brought to Ming Qian, he suddenly said softly: "You are immortal, but my lifespan is limited."

Ming Qian doesn't feel inferior to himself as a mortal, he even feels very proud. A mortal's life is very short, but also because of this, everyone is trying their best to survive and hope that their short life can also have bright moments.

But when he thought of the scene in his dream, he felt uncomfortable, with an unspeakable sadness.

Because for him, the young and handsome Youjun will always be by his side.

And Youjun wants to watch him grow old with his own eyes, and watch his life go by.

You Jun didn't take it seriously: "Have you been worrying about this all this time?"

Mingqian: "..."

Youjun sneered and said: "This deity is a divine beast, not a monster, and has countless magic weapons, so what's the difficulty in making you immortal?"

Youjun pinched Mingqian's earlobe, and said softly: "Mediocrity."

Ming Qian looked awkwardly at the cabinet next to him.

You Jun: "Or are you afraid that the deity will change his mind?"

Ming Qian didn't react for a while: "Huh?"

You Jun felt that he had seen through Ming Qian, so he said in a conniving and proud tone: "You are the destined partner of this deity, if you are here, this deity will only have you, if you are not here, this deity will not look for you again." .”

Ming Qian suddenly became curious: "What if your destined partner is someone else?"

Ming Qian has always wanted to ask this question, but he always felt that asking it was a bit hypocritical, and finally couldn't hold back today.

Youjun snorted softly: "Do you think anyone can do this deity?"

"Before going down to earth, the deity already..."

He suddenly paused, but Ming Qian guessed it. He widened his eyes and asked in disbelief: "You liked me before you came down to earth?"

Youjun became angry from embarrassment: "Don't be sentimental, this deity was just...just..."

He finally found a suitable word: "Just curious!"

Ming Qian's mood suddenly improved, because the emotion brought out by that dream disappeared without a trace: "What are you curious about?"

"Then why did you treat me so badly at first?"

Youjun frowned: "This deity has a bad attitude towards you? You have offended me several times, but this deity didn't bother with you."

Ming Qian: "Really?"

You Jun: "Of course it is true..."

Ming Qian smiled and said, "I don't believe it."

You Jun turned his head, but Ming Qian suddenly hugged You Jun.

Youjun stopped with his hands in the air, his expression was frozen, he didn't know how to react.

Ming Qian finally realized clearly that Youjun came for himself.

There is no other reason.