Chapter 503 - Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Chapter 650 of "City's Best Divine Doctor" begins unfolding events: The buffet restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel was also an investment by Zhang Dongliang.... Continue reading!
The buffet restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel was also an investment by Zhang Dongliang. When Zhang Wei was still alive, Li Qiang and his group would eat there almost once a week.
Now, the four of them find it strange. Who could have invited them?
Li Qiang, Wang Ming, Wang Peng, and Zhou Tian walked into the buffet restaurant and realized that it wasnât very crowded, but they did see Ye Qiu, Li Shen, and their group sitting and eating.
Could it be that they were the ones who called them?
Li Qiang and his group didnât want to see Ye Qiu; they felt awkward.
As the four of them turned to leave, Ye Qiu waved at them.
Li Qiang didnât expect that it was indeed Ye Qiu who had called them.
"Go on, I heard they are your classmates. It was they who called you over."
Li Qiang and the other three, as senior waiters of the hotel, were not limited to any specific floor. Wherever a guest needed them, they had to immediately respond.
Now was no exception.
Upon hearing that it was Ye Qiu who called them, Li Qiang and his group had no choice but to brace themselves and head over to Ye Qiuâs side.
The four of them approached the table where Ye Qiu was seated, from a short distance away; Ye Qiu looked them up and down as he sized up their attire.
"Qiu, these guys are the managers here."
Li Shen said.
"Managers? Shouldnât they be in suits and ties?"
Ye Qiu asked in surprise.
"Maybe the managers here are a bit different."
Zhu Zhiming said.
However, even Li Qiang and his group couldnât see themselves as managers. They knew that being referred to as managers was just a nicer way to put it; they were merely senior waiters here, and they didnât have any freedom.
Ye Qiu continued to eat the roast lamb leg in front of him. While Li Qiang and his group used to eat here often and were not particularly impressed, now, watching Li Shen and Zhu Zhiming leisurely savor the delicacies in front of them, they felt both envious and a bit jealous.
They wondered if they had made the wrong choice. If they had followed Ye Qiu back then, would they now be like Li Shen and Zhu Zhiming?
Li Shen sliced the salmon in front of him and said, "This salmon is both fragrant and sweet, Qiu, want to try some?"
The salmon at the buffet was probably the most expensive item, and it was imported from abroad.
Li Qiang and his group used to love eating it the most.
"I donât like eating raw fish."
Ye Qiu, Li Shen, Zhu Zhiming, Liu Lingxiu, and Ye Xue continued to eat and chat on their side, while Li Qiang and his group stood nearby, watching them. Occasionally, Ye Qiu would ask Li Qiang and his group a question.
"What are you doing now?"
Ye Qiu asked.
"Qiu, we usually just accompany the guests and see what they need, trying to meet their needs as much as possible."
Wang Peng said.
Wasnât this essentially being a waiter? There really wasnât much difference from the waiters standing on the sidelines.
This made Ye Qiu curious. Before Zhang Weiâs death, these four had been like bodyguards, lackeys, and nannies. Whatever Zhang Wei wanted to do, they had to assist with.
Unexpectedly, once Zhang Wei died, Zhang Weiâs father arranged for these four to do such work at this hotel, which wasnât much different from hiring four regular waiters.
"How much is your salary?"
Since they had started working here shortly after the college entrance examination ended, it had been about half a month now.
These four knew that even with overtime, their monthly salary was just a bit over five thousand, including three meals a day, so it totaled around six thousand a month.
Meanwhile, ordinary waiters here earned three to four thousand, not much different.
This was completely contrary to Zhang Weiâs will, which stated that they should be well taken care of.
Li Qiang and the others didnât understand why Ye Qiu was asking this.
"Qiu, I guess the waiters here arenât paid very high."
Li Shen said.
Compared to Jiangnan, the wages in Jiangbei were much lower. For example, Liu Lingxiuâs parents together earned only five thousand a month, but in Jiangnan, an ordinary white-collar worker made at least four or five thousand a month. After all, the housing prices and cost of living there were much higher.
When Ye Qiu was about half-full, Liu Lingxiu and Ye Xue had also eaten quite a bit.
However, buffets were like this: you ate slowly, digested, and ate again. Anyway, the time was limited to two hours, and you could eat as much as you wanted within those two hours.
"Are you hungry?"
Ye Qiu looked at Li Qiang and his group and asked.
Having stood there for about twenty minutes, watching Ye Qiu and his group eat while swallowing saliva, and it being lunchtime already, they had only had a light breakfast and were already hungry.
Seeing their expressions, Ye Qiu could tell they were hungry.
Ye Qiu called another waitress over.
"Sir, what can I do for you?"
"These four are my classmates. I want to treat them to a meal. Hereâs the money for their buffet tickets."
Ye Qiu took out eight hundred yuan in cash and handed it to the waitress, asking her to register Li Qiang and his group for buffet tickets.
Li Shen and Zhu Zhiming didnât expect it, and Li Qiang and the others were even more surprised that Ye Qiu wanted to treat them to a buffet.
"Yes, sir."
The waitress gave Li Qiang and his group a curious look, then took the eight hundred yuan to the front desk to register them for buffet tickets, marking the meal time.
After getting the buffet tickets and returning with the change, placing them on Ye Qiuâs table, Ye Qiu said, "Go ahead and eat."
"Qiu, weâre still on duty."
Li Qiang said.
He hadnât expected that just because he greeted Ye Qiu in the morning, Ye Qiu would actually invite them to a meal.
This made Li Qiang and his group feel somewhat embarrassed. After all, they had bullied Ye Qiu many times while following Zhang Wei. Once, Ye Qiu had beaten them severely in the boysâ restroom and even forced Zhang Wei to eat feces. But before that, they had always bullied Ye Qiu.
The four exchanged glances, wanting to go eat the buffet right away.
"Do as you like, the tickets are already bought."
Ye Qiu said.
Under the curious eyes of other guests and the waitress in the buffet restaurant, the four of them washed their hands and then quickly grabbed plates to load them up with their favorite seafood.
Since Zhang Weiâs death, their pocket money had dwindled, and they hadnât had good food since. Coming from ordinary families, they didnât usually have much pocket money.
And working at this hotel, their regular meals were quite ordinary; it had been a long time since they had eaten such a delicious buffet.
The four of them, still wearing hotel uniforms, began to search for good food in the buffet restaurant, grabbing several plates and sitting at a table next to Ye Qiu.
As they ate, Ye Qiuâs expression remained unchanged, but Li Shen and Zhu Zhiming shook their heads inwardly. They couldnât understand why Ye Qiu wanted to treat these four to a meal.
Around one in the afternoon, Ye Qiuâs group finished their buffet meal, but Li Qiangâs group wasnât done yet.
Now that the time was almost up, Ye Qiuâs group, having eaten their fill, was naturally going to leave.