Chapter 668

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 .

“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 .