Upon being woken from his nice nap, the young man raised his head and sent an angry glare to the people around him.
When he noticed that it was an extremely young-looking madam with a couple of equally young maidservants, his expression turned timid for a moment. However, once he took a closer look and realised that they weren’t dressed very richly, he regained his bravado.
The waiter stood up and tossed a sideways look at Wenqing before brushing off the non-existent dust on his clothes.
“What are you doing! Didn’t you see that I was sleeping!”
Wenqing frowned and stuck her hands on her hips before ranting back, “What was I doing?! Aren’t you running a restaurant here?! We’re here to eat, what else could we be doing here?”
The young man grimaced, baring his teeth. He sent a sideways glance towards Chu Lian and her maidservants as he said, “Sorry, our restaurant isn’t open today. The manager isn’t around. Find somewhere else to eat at!”
Ah? Not open?
Wenqing sniffed the air and could clearly smell something cooking in the kitchen at the back of the restaurant. Their doors were wide open too; how could the restaurant be closed?
Chu Lian stood to one side and remained silent. Her bright eyes looked over the waiter, and then inspected the main hall behind him.
Wenqing secretly observed Chu Lian’s expression. Seeing as her mistress had no other orders, she continued with her own line of questioning.
“What kind of business are you running here? Your doors are wide open, but you’re chasing customers away? If you don’t want to run this business, then why leave the entrance open? Just close your doors and restaurant altogether!”
The waiter was infuriated by Wenqing’s words. He was the nephew of the manager here. Because of that connection, those working in Guilin Restaurant all gave way to him. He had never suffered the brunt of a young girl’s temper before, not like he was now. Thus, his temper flared up.
“Who are you to be criticising the way we do business? Go and find out who owns this business, then you’ll know better than to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong! Scram!”
The young waiter was not only treating his customers with disrespect, but even throwing an even bigger tantrum back at them. Chu Lian wandered into the main hall without bothering to deal with him, one corner of her lips curled up in amusement.
The noise in the main hall had drawn the attention of the people further inside the restaurant.
A moment later, a middle-aged voice resounded from the back, “It’s almost time to eat. Ah Cai, who are you talking to outside?”
Chu Lian heard the voice first before she saw someone push aside the curtains leading to the back, revealing a middle-aged woman wearing a flowery indigo dress.
The middle-aged woman had a long face and was slightly plump. Her eyes were so small that, when she smiled, they formed a single line.
When she reached the main hall and spotted Chu Lian and her servants standing there, the middle-aged woman showed an expression of surprise. She stepped forward and put on a friendly smile. “May I ask what business this madam has with us?”
Wenqing almost laughed despite her anger. This was a restaurant; why would anyone ask their customers what they were here for? Was this woman trying to make a joke?
Chu Lian was too lazy to speak. She shot a look at Wenqing. Understanding her mistress’ order, Wenqing turned around and walked two steps towards the entrance, pointing her slender finger at the signboard above their heads.
“Isn’t ‘Guilin Restaurant’ written up there? You have the word ‘restaurant’ written so boldly on the banners next to the door, too. Our madam is here to have a meal. Don’t tell me that’s not possible?”
The middle-aged woman felt embarrassed after getting talked to by Wenqing. She wanted to reject these guests, since they hadn’t bought much from the west market today. They had only prepared enough for the restaurant staff to eat. However, the few sturdy-looking manservants caught her attention. When she saw them respectfully bow to Chu Lian as they made their reports, her words caught in her throat.
She pulled out another smile and politely said, “Our restaurant has been remiss in welcoming our guests. Ah Cai just started working here not long ago and he’s not familiar with the rules. Please forgive him, madam. Please, come in!”
