Chapter 4

"Sure," I said.

A big order like this couldn't have come at a better time.

My father went on.

"Do you have enough cooks at your place? Want me to send a batch of people over?"

"Honestly, the few cooks you've got are pretty ordinary. Last time I heard several of your own staff complaining that if it weren't for your sake, they wouldn't even want to eat that food if you handed it to them for free."

I paused for a second.

So that was it. No wonder the place did booming business every single day and yet there was always so much left over. Clark Finch and the rest just couldn't cook.

And these were the people who wanted to strike out on their own and open a bigger restaurant?

I laughed.

"Sure. I happen to be short on people right now."

"Dad, I'm planning to expand the place. I'll need quite a few more hands when that happens. Just arrange it all for me at once."

My father agreed at once.

"Sure. Oh, and my company's starting its annual holiday break today. We're back to work on the seventh. If you're expanding, it's best to have everything ready before the seventh."

I gave a quick reply, hung up, and told Aunt Erica to go home and rest first, that she could just come in to work on the seventh.

The days that followed, I threw myself into the expansion.

I leased two shops on each side of my restaurant.

Four storefronts in all, and just like that the total floor space multiplied several times over.

The renovation crew was one my father's company had worked with for years, fast and good at what they did.

I had them push day and night, two shifts around the clock, people resting but the machines never stopping.

I was on-site every day, hands on everything from the overall layout right down to the placement of a single light.

Finch wasn't idle either.

Word was the four of them had emptied their savings just to lease the shop across the street, then scraped together loans and borrowed money from every direction to fund their own renovation.

When he saw me take on four shops all at once, Finch burst out laughing and jeered at me.

"Denise Simmons, has your brain gone soft?"

"Your staff have all walked out, your customers are about to come over to me, and you still dare to expand?"

"You really think you'll have that many customers?"

I gave a faint smile.

"Don't trouble yourself over it."

The other cooks stared at me like I was an idiot, and the servers just sighed and shook their heads.

"He's clearly cracked under the pressure. Putting on a brave face when he can't back it up."

"Right? Expanding to four shops all at once, even the old customer flow couldn't fill a place that size."

"Good thing I quit and came over with the chef. Otherwise I'd really be going hungry."

I explained nothing. I only pushed the renovations faster.

The four shops were knocked into one, the inner walls torn out and rebuilt into new partitions, the kitchen tripled in size, all-new stoves and equipment brought in.

The main hall held close to sixty tables, and the second floor was all private rooms.

My father moved fast too. On the fifth he sent over a few dozen new employees.

On the sixth day of the new year, Aunt Erica came in early, saying she wanted to wash all the bowls and chopsticks to get ready for opening the next day.

She walked in, took one look at the restaurant that had grown several times over, and froze.

"Boss, this... is this still our place? How did it get so big?"

I smiled and poured her a glass of water.

"We've expanded, Aunt Erica. From now on you're the manager here. Your job is to keep an eye on the staff and make sure nobody slacks off."

"Your pay is eighteen thousand a month."

Aunt Erica stared at me, stunned, her eyes full of gratitude.

On the seventh, the new restaurant officially opened.

Finch had chosen today to open his too.

My place was called "Sichuan Skillet."

His was called "Authentic Sichuan Skillet."

And not only that, he'd hung a banner across his storefront that was impossible to miss.

"The original team from the Sichuan Skillet across the street! New location now open, more authentic than ever!"

Aunt Erica read it and was instantly livid.

"Boss, Finch is flat-out using our name to pull in customers."

"How is that any different from robbery?"

I smiled easily. "Relax. My people, he can't take."

The words had barely left me when a commotion rose from the top of the street.

Everyone turned to look. Around the corner came a huge crowd, streaming in.

They packed the street from end to end, more than the eye could take in.

At the sight of that vast, surging line, Finch lit up with excitement.

"They're here, they're here!"

"Our customers, all of them!"

The cooks and servers beside him were beside themselves.

"My God, this many?"

"All those flyers and promotion we did these past few days really paid off."

"Of course. Our cooking's got a solid reputation. The regulars all remember us!"

"We're rich, we're rich, this time we're really going to be rich!"

Watching their thrilled faces, I smiled too.

The real show was finally about to begin.