Yunding Ranch

Chapter 3
Standing at the door of the dressing room was a man about 30 years old. His short brown hair was covered with hairspray and combed into a neat three to seven points. He wore a standard attire of a white shirt and black suit. The hem of the clothes is even more restrained.

This is the duty manager of the olive garden where Lu Li works, Al.

"Lu, you're late!" Al yelled sharply, but there was no anger between his brows, but a hint of complacency.

Lu Li knew that Al had been trying to grab his pigtails for a long time.In fact, he was very innocent. Al was pursuing Kelly, another waiter in the restaurant, but Kelly didn't have any feelings for him. Instead, she had a good impression of Lu Li.Ever since then, Al has hated Lu Li, and has been trying every means to catch Lu Li's loopholes, and then publicize his personal revenge.

Today is the day Al has been looking forward to for a long time.

"Being late is absolutely forbidden! Do you know how much this behavior has affected our restaurant? Because you are late alone, everyone else's commute time needs to be adjusted, and everyone has to pay for one It completely disrupts our normal commuting system! What's worse, such behavior is a serious blow to the image of our restaurant! Our restaurant absolutely does not allow such behavior!"

Looking at Al, whose mouth was splashing, there was no end to the endless reprimand, and his cheeks even turned red because of being too excited, as if his eyes could emit laser light like Ultraman.

Although Lu Li wanted to laugh, he held back and didn't add fuel to the fire.He quickly put on his suit jacket, and then Lu Li took two steps forward. Al took a half step back and made a defensive posture. His height of 170 [-] cm was half a head shorter in front of Lu Li. Pressing it down, Al realized his timidity, quickly opened his eyes wide, stared at Lu Li, and shouted sharply, "What do you want!"

"Work." Lu Li said calmly and frankly, "In order to avoid causing more chaos, affecting the restaurant's entire quarterly turnover, and even triggering the potential for bankruptcy. I think I'd better go to work as soon as possible, Isn't it?" After finishing speaking, Lu Li showed a polite smile - the kind of smile that is not on the surface.

Al was choked immediately, his hands clenched into fists, and he didn't know how to refute, but the veins in his neck were faintly popping out, and he could feel the turmoil in his chest.

Lu Li stepped forward again, and Al reflexively moved out of the way. Watching Lu Li leave the locker room and walk towards the lobby, the sense of humiliation swept over him, and Al yelled loudly, "Lu! Tonight's tips must be deducted by 30.00%!" As the manager on duty, he directly issued the most severe punishment, but Lu Li's footsteps still did not stop, and disappeared in a blink of an eye, leaving only Al alone standing in the dressing room. The door of the room was chaotic in the wind.

Working in a restaurant in the United States, the basic salary is pitifully low, and the waiters basically rely on the tips of customers to live. Not all the tips received belong to oneself, some of them have to be handed over to the restaurant, and some of them have to be shared among other waiters working at the same time.

Now, Al used "being late" as an excuse to deduct 30.00% of Lu Li's tip income in one go. He was like a vampire.

"David, I'm sorry." Lu Li came to the kitchen and immediately saw David waiting to take over the shift. He gave David a hug and expressed his apology.David waved his hand to show he was fine. Instead, he raised his chin, pointed to the direction behind him, and asked about Al's situation. Lu Li shrugged, "He finally seized the opportunity." A joke made David laugh stand up.

Lu Li poked his head out to check the situation of the restaurant. It was still some time before the official dinner time, and there were not many customers in the restaurant, far from the peak period.Lu Li patted David's arm, "I'll go to the front desk to say hello." Then he left the kitchen and got back to work.

After entering the dinner time, Lu Li quickly became busy, like a spinning top that didn't touch the ground, and didn't have time to think about other things. He is not willing to give up easily.

"Lu!" Al rushed out from the stairs without any warning, blocking Lu Li's way to the kitchen, "What happened to the plate at table No. 11 just now..."

Lu Li was taken aback, and stopped abruptly. The knives and forks in his left hand slid down as soon as they became unsteady. He grasped those knives and forks forcefully by reflex to avoid causing more chaos. The little finger and ring finger of the left hand were cut unexpectedly, and blood dripped down.

It looks rough and scary, but the pain is actually quite good.

Al was still talking non-stop, but Lu Li didn't have the energy to talk to him anymore, "What did you just say?" That terrifying aura stunned Al, who couldn't say what he said afterwards. Lu Li stared, "Please step aside, I still have work to do." He was already so busy tonight that he had no time to pay attention to Er's chattering like a little girl.

Al subconsciously took half a step back, but Lu Li ignored him and quickly walked into the kitchen.

Putting all the tableware in his hand into the sink, he raised his left hand and looked at it. The bright red blood had already flowed to the base of the finger, and the tail ring on the little finger was covered with blood, which looked a bit shocking.

He was about to clean the wound and put a bandage on it, and then he saw the tail ring emitting a slight halo, as if... as if it was swallowing blood, which was really surprising, even a little bit Horror, like a ring that has been given life in "Lord of the Rings".

This tail ring was a gift from his grandmother, and it was the only accessory on his body.

Lu Li hurriedly wiped his eyes, but soon realized that the faint halo had completely disappeared again, and there was no movement at all, as if the moment of surprise just now had never happened, "Lu! Your service area is now here again. Two tables of guests!" Ai Er's voice like a death talisman sounded again.

Lu Li didn't have time to continue talking. He looked at his little finger, and even the entire palm, and checked again and again. There was still nothing unusual, but the bleeding from the wound seemed to have stopped. The skin was scratched, but other than that, everything was normal.

So, either he read too many novels, or he was so exhausted that his eyes were dazzled, he washed the wound in a hurry, and because he couldn't find a bandage, he could only find a napkin to wrap it up, and then again Get busy.

After ten o'clock, Lu Li managed to gain some time to breathe. Lu Li ran to the stairs leading to the warehouse on the second floor to hide. Although he was used to it, his calf was still slightly swollen after standing for three hours. , sit on the steps and let your legs relax a little bit.

In less than a minute, Fred's figure also appeared at the stairs, "Tonight is really crazy, but it's only Thursday, what's wrong with people?" Lu Li kicked Lu Li's calf, and Lu Li made an empty seat , and then Fred also sat down. He took out a cigarette case from his pocket and handed it to Lu Li.

Lu Li shook his head and refused, "Because the weather is rare today, everyone can't wait to come out to get some air, and the weather forecast says there will be light rain again tomorrow."

"Jesus Christ," Fred lit his cigarette, took a deep drag, and complained irritably, "It's going to rain again? How long is it going to last this time? I'm really fed up with the weather in New York. The last time I lost water and electricity for a week because of a hurricane, I felt like a wild man, and now it's raining and snowing, and it's never ending."

Lu Li was amused by Fred's complaining tone, "Then you can go to the west coast, if you don't mind earthquakes; or go to the central part, especially the one close to Mexico, where the sun shines all year round and you're guaranteed a good mood .”

"If there is a job for me there." Fred raised his eyebrows and said solemnly, making Lu Li chuckle.Fred is also a college student. He is a junior this year. He is studying art. He stayed in a big city like New York to look for opportunities.

Seeing Lu Li's smile, Fred put away his joking attitude and said seriously, "I'm serious. Everyone wants to stay in a big city, not so much because there are more opportunities here, but because It’s because the future here is clearer, even if you don’t know what you should do, just follow in the footsteps of others, that’s enough, that’s what I am.” Fred’s words contained a hint of embarrassment and self-mockery, “But if I really have a chance to go back to a small town, guard a small wooden house, grow vegetables by myself, raise some livestock, and be self-sufficient. I work at sunrise and rest at sunset, feeling the fresh air and warm sunshine, enjoying Wouldn't it be happier to be truly alive than wandering around in a big city with a moment of leisure and comfort in life?"

Fred's words outlined a vivid scene in Lu Li's mind, a cup of tea, a piece of cake, a touch of the setting sun, a gust of breeze, and the sound of the woods fluttering in the wind, occasionally mixed with the neighing of horses and The crowing of the rooster, as if you can clearly feel the touch of time sliding down your fingertips, steals half a day's leisure.

"Fourteen?" His thoughts were interrupted by the call, and Lu Li turned his head to look at Fred. "I mean, what about you? How would you choose?" Fred repeated his question.

Yes, if it was him, how would he choose?
(End of this chapter)