EFB Chapter 99 Not Tonight
Chapter 99 Not Tonight
Lin Shuyao calculated that there was less than a year left before the female lead returned. With her meager monthly salary, even if she saved every penny for a year without eating or drinking, she would probably only get around 1000 yuan.
This amount of money is enough to live a peaceful life in China, but if you want to run away and live a life of wandering and uncertainty, then it's going to be tough.
Besides, she is delicate and frail, and cannot endure a life of poverty.
But how do we get the money?
Making money is never easy, no matter the era. In the 50s, the ways to make money were either to work a regular job, do business, or engage in shady dealings.
Doing business is too troublesome, and it can't be done all at once. You have to do it little by little. She simply doesn't have the capital or the time to mess around with it.
Needless to say, engaging in shady dealings is risky and can easily backfire, resulting in more harm than good.
Sitting there thinking won't help, so after get off work, Lin Shuyao decided to go for a stroll to see if there were any ways to make money.
Surprisingly, she actually found one!
There were even part-time jobs in the 50s!
She saw a job posting outside the Red House Western Restaurant where she had eaten last time. The restaurant was looking to hire part-time waitresses and someone to play the piano during dinner time.
The waiter/waitress work hours are from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Requirements include a presentable appearance and basic Russian speaking skills. No wonder they're short-staffed! Beautiful women who speak Russian wouldn't be content as waiters/waitresses; they'd be snapped up by reputable companies long ago.
Therefore, the restaurant can only hire part-time staff.
As for playing the piano, the hourly wage is 5 yuan, and the hours are from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm every day. A presentable appearance is also one of the requirements.
Lin Shuyao did the math: the factory closes at 5:30 pm, and there's no curfew in the dormitory at night, so getting back after her part-time job wouldn't be a problem at all.
If it weren't for the conflict between her waitress and piano playing hours, she would have greedily wanted both positions.
After reading the job posting, she immediately went into the restaurant to inquire.
Pushing open the restaurant door, the air was filled with the aroma of coffee and bread. A waiter in a uniform approached politely: "Madam, would you like to dine? How many are in your party?"
Lin Shuyao smiled and said, "I saw the job posting at the door just now, so I've come to apply."
"Oh, okay. Then come with me, I'll take you to the manager." The waiter led Lin Shuyao through the lobby to behind the small bar, and then stopped in front of a middle-aged man who was also wearing a waiter's uniform. He briefly explained Lin Shuyao's purpose to him.
The middle-aged man looked Lin Shuyao up and down, his eyes filled with amazement, but then he said with regret, "You've come at a bad time. We just finalized the selection of a part-time pianist yesterday."
Judging from her appearance and demeanor, the manager had already assumed that she was there to apply for a job playing the piano.
Lin Shuyao also expressed some regret, saying that her first choice would definitely be to play the piano part-time, since waiters have to serve tea and water, while playing the piano only requires sitting there.
But she had no other choice: "I came here to apply for a waitress job."
"A waitress?" The manager looked at her delicate, fair-skinned appearance. "Are you sure? Have you done this kind of work before?"
Lin Shuyao shook her head: "No, I've been working in the factory the whole time."
"Can you speak Russian?" Although she is very good-looking, it would be inconvenient for her to serve customers if she couldn't speak Russian, which is what the manager values most.
Lin Shuyao nodded confidently: "I work as a Russian translator at the factory. You can test me if you don't believe me."
The manager looked at her with surprise and actually started testing her: "Then just say, 'Welcome to the Red House Western Restaurant. This is today's menu. What would you like?'"
The manager came in and immediately uttered a long sentence, not a simple greeting.
Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Shuyao fluently and clearly pronounced the Russian phrases: "Здравствуйте,добропожаловатьвресторан«Красныйдом».Вотменюнасегодня.Чтобывыхотелизаказать?"
Hearing her fluent and clear Russian pronunciation, the manager's surprise and delight deepened. He immediately changed the question, speaking faster: "If a guest asks what today's specialty dish is or which wine they would recommend, how would you answer?"
After thinking for a moment, Lin Shuyao quickly organized her thoughts and said in Russian, "Today's specialty is grilled veal ribs with black pepper sauce. The meat is very tender, and paired with this Crimean dry red wine, which has soft tannins and prominent fruit flavors, the taste will be very well matched."
The manager nodded repeatedly after listening: "Very good, comrade. Your Russian level is more than enough to handle all situations here. And it's clear you also have a good understanding of Western cuisine."
Lin Shuyao smiled modestly, "Then when can I start work?"
The manager said, "You know the working hours for part-time waiters, right? It's from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM. The hourly wage is one dollar, and you can get paid after the workday ends."
"You'll need to wear the restaurant uniform while working, which we'll provide. Also, for full-time servers, lunch and dinner will be provided, but part-time servers won't get that. So, if you can accept these terms, you can start working anytime."
One yuan per hour, you can earn three yuan a day by doing part-time work, which is 90 yuan a month. This part-time job is incredibly cost-effective!
Lin Shuyao immediately replied, "I can come tomorrow night!"
The restaurant was already short-staffed, and the manager said happily, "That's perfect! Wait here, I'll have someone get you a uniform, and you'll need to fill out an onboarding form while you're at it."
"Do part-time jobs have to be this strict?"
"Of course, the higher-ups are very strict with Western restaurants like ours. All employees must register their identities, and there are people coming to check at any time."
"I see." Lin Shuyao nodded to indicate that she understood. She had been thinking about whether it was possible to sneak out of the factory and go to another city to find a similar restaurant to work in, so as to get rid of the identity of Shen Qing. But now it seems that's not going to happen.
The manager quickly had someone bring over the uniforms and employment registration forms.
Lin Shuyao happened to have her identification documents with her. After the manager checked and confirmed that there were no problems, he allowed her to fill in her identification information on the registration form.
After filling out the form, the manager said, "If you're officially starting work tomorrow night, then come an hour early to familiarize yourself with the environment and the menu."
Lin Shuyao: "Okay, don't worry. But I'll leave this uniform here for now and change into it when I get back."
There are many people and many eyes in the factory. If she changes into her uniform before going to work, she will inevitably be seen. Especially since Su Wan lives across from her, they see each other all the time. What if she reports to Cheng Zheng again?
In short, it's better to avoid trouble.
Having finalized the part-time job deal, Lin Shuyao stopped wandering the streets and went back to her dorm early to rest.
The next afternoon, just as Lin Shuyao was packing up to leave, Cheng Zheng suddenly appeared in the department, his familiar cold expression on his face. He said to her indifferently, "Come to my office."
"Oh." Lin Shuyao wasn't afraid of him at all now. She calmly put her things away before going to his office.
"What's up, Representative Cheng? What do you want to see me about?" She pushed open the door, closed it, walked to the opposite side of his desk, sat down, rested her chin on her hands, and looked at him with a smile.
Although the identity crisis has been temporarily resolved and she no longer needs to pursue Cheng Zheng, she is not a machine. She cannot immediately extricate herself from the ambiguity and become indifferent to him.
And there's really no need to do that.
The current situation is actually in her favor. The more he falls for her, the more lenient he will be with her once his identity is exposed.
Even if what Su Wan said is true, and his current kindness towards her is a trap to extract information from her or to use her, it doesn't matter. After all, her intentions are not pure either, so at most, they'll be even.
...But is it really no big deal?
When this thought crossed her mind, she felt a strange pang of sadness, and the smile in her eyes and on her lips faded slightly.
Cheng Zheng, however, keenly noticed the subtle change in her emotions, his dark eyes locking onto her: "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing..." Lin Shuyao put down her hand that was supporting her chin, sat up straighter, and casually brushed it off, "I was just guessing what you wanted to talk to me about."
Cheng Zheng clearly didn't believe him, but he didn't delve into it. He casually opened a drawer, took out two movie tickets, placed them on the table, and lightly tapped the tickets with his long, slender fingers: "Are you free tonight? These are tickets the company gave to the cadres. Let's go see a movie together."
Lin Shuyao glanced at the ticket; she was supposed to work part-time at a Western restaurant today. "I can't go tonight."
"Are you busy tonight?" Cheng Zheng stared at her fair and rosy face, her petal-like red lips slightly pursed in embarrassment.
Lin Shuyao hadn't decided whether to tell him about her part-time job, so she skipped the topic. Seeing that the movie tickets showed dates for today and tomorrow, and she was busy, she said, "...Why don't you go with Tingting?"
Cheng Zheng didn't speak, he just looked at her.
The office fell silent, and the air seemed to freeze for a moment.
His facial expression didn't change much, but the lines of his jaw seemed a bit taut.
Lin Shuyao sensed the subtle tension in the air and leaned closer, softening her voice, "How about we go see it this weekend? I'll treat you this weekend, okay?"
"Mm." Cheng Zheng finally responded. Lin Shuyao smiled at him, her eyes crinkling, and stood up. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."
She needs to arrive at the restaurant an hour early today to familiarize herself with it.
The door was gently closed.
Cheng Zheng watched her turn and leave without a second glance, his lips pressed tightly together, a deep, unyielding darkness settling in his eyes. After several seconds, he reached out and took the movie tickets from the table, stuffing them back into the drawer.
Lin Shuyao went back to her dormitory to put her things down, and then hurriedly left the factory, heading towards the Western restaurant. Coincidentally, Cheng Zheng also arrived at the factory gate at the same time and immediately saw her hurried figure.
Remembering that she said it wouldn't work tonight, he hesitated for half a second before following her.
Lin Shuyao arrived at the restaurant quickly, went into the staff lounge to change into her uniform. The female staff uniforms at the Western restaurant were black and white formal wear, with a blouse and vest on top, and a slightly fitted suit skirt that reached her knees, paired with flat shoes.
To make it easier to serve, she also pinned her hair up at the back of her head like a flower bud, and then secured it with hair clips provided by the restaurant for its employees.
After changing her clothes, she was busy familiarizing herself with the environment and menu, and she didn't even have time to look in the mirror before leaving.
Upon seeing her emerge, the waiters who were tidying up the tableware and tablecloths all stopped what they were doing and stared at her.
Her figure, with its prominent curves, was tightly wrapped in her uniform. It wasn't the kind of exaggerated or abrupt lines, but rather every curve was perfectly full and smooth. Coupled with her stunningly beautiful face, she didn't look like a waitress at all, but rather like a movie star.
"Is there something wrong with it?" Seeing everyone staring at her, Lin Shuyao looked down at her outfit with some confusion. There was nothing wrong with it.
The stunned waiters then came to their senses:
"It's not that it doesn't suit Comrade Shen, it's that she looks stunning! We've never realized this uniform was so beautiful!"
"Yes, yes! You have such a great figure, everything you wear looks amazing on you... you're just so beautiful! And with your hair up, showing off your neck, you look like a swan, so elegant and graceful!"
"She's even more beautiful than those blond, blue-eyed foreigners! She looks like someone from a movie..."
Lin Shuyao blushed slightly as the waiters showered her with compliments. She smiled modestly and said, "This is my first day at work, and I still have a lot to learn from everyone. Please give me your guidance."
The head waiter said, "You're too kind, Comrade Shen. It's not about giving you pointers, it's about learning from each other. Come on, Comrade Shen, let me show you around the restaurant and explain some things to keep in mind when serving guests."
"Thank you for your help." Lin Shuyao followed the supervisor, carefully taking notes of what the supervisor explained.
Just then, the Western restaurant welcomed its first wave of customers.
The supervisor said, "Comrade Shen, why don't you go and greet them? Don't be nervous, I'll be right next to you."
"Okay." Lin Shuyao smiled and walked towards the guest with a calm step. She was not nervous at all. Although she had never been a waitress, she had seen how waitresses served customers.
She led the customer to a seat, handed them the menu, and began to explain the menu to them.
Seeing how easily she handled the situation, the supervisor was immediately relieved and turned to attend to other tasks.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Cheng Zheng had already followed Lin Shuyao to the Western restaurant. At first, he thought she had made an appointment to eat there, so he didn't go in. He just stood outside the window and looked out. Then he saw her come out wearing the restaurant's uniform. For some reason, the uniform made her show off all her body parts, even though she wasn't showing anything.
Then I saw her standing by the table, smiling and talking to a male customer. The male customer took a long time to order and kept talking to her, but she didn't get annoyed and seemed very patient.
Cheng Zheng couldn't stand it any longer and pushed the door open to go inside.
jingle.
The brass bell on the door made a clear sound as the door was pushed open.
His tall figure, clad in a crisp military uniform, stood out from the surrounding Western style, yet possessed an undeniable, aloof aura.
Lin Shuyao was still explaining the menu to the other table of customers, her back to the door, so she naturally didn't notice. The head waiter, however, spotted her immediately and cautiously approached, offering a warm yet measured smile: "Hello, sir, welcome to the Red House Western Restaurant. Are you alone?"