Hearing Li Xiao’s question, Zhou Yu shook his head:
"I just feel sorry for those kids."
"It’s something so simple, yet they have to try over and over again just to barely get it right."
"If it were me, I probably would have given up long ago."
At this, his tone grew clipped and much more solemn:
"Brother Li, I can’t donate a lot of money to help those kids like you can, but I also want to do what little I can."
"I’ve thought it over. I can’t accept your salary. If possible, I’d like to use my wages to help more of the kids."
Hearing Zhou Yu say this with such a heavy heart, Li Xiao was both exasperated and amused. Of course, he also felt a little gratified.
He reached out and patted Zhou Yu’s shoulder.
"Alright, I know what you’re trying to do. But have you forgotten? Your Brother Li here gives away millions in gifts in a single stream. You think I need your couple hundred bucks?"
"I also said today that I never let people help me for nothing."
"This is the salary you’ve earned, so just take it."
"As for the kids, I already have a plan."
"Once this milk tea shop is operating smoothly and turning a profit, I’ll immediately start expanding."
"At that point, even more kids will be able to get help and find salvation."
"If you really want to use your own strength to help them, then just work hard."
"And don’t you forget, you still owe me a few thousand bucks. If you work for free, where are you going to get the money to pay me back?"
"Plus, taking your girlfriend out on dates is going to cost a lot of money..."
Li Xiao’s earnest and patient persuasion finally put Zhou Yu’s idea of working for free to rest.
Early the next morning, Li Xiao went to the milk tea shop as usual to help the kids continue getting familiar with the new recipes and equipment.
For the next few days, whenever his classes weren’t too busy, he would make time to visit the Xihuan’Er Milk Tea Shop.
’He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but it felt like the kids’ learning speed had picked up just a little bit since the beginning.’
’The change wasn’t very noticeable, but any improvement was a good thing.’
After another five days, Li Xiao confirmed that most of the kids had basically mastered the new recipes and equipment.
So, without hesitation, Li Xiao had Huang Cuilian reopen the shop.
There was no ribbon-cutting, no grand ceremony. The Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop simply reopened on an unremarkable weekday.
Given the kids’ special circumstances, Li Xiao decided not to do any extra promotion.
After some time, his Douyin account had grown from a few hundred followers to over 100,000, and the number was still increasing rapidly every day.
Plus, since he had just single-handedly gotten Chi Niao shut down, he was still generating a lot of buzz online.
If he promoted it on his account, he wouldn’t even need to pay for traffic. The popularity of his account, combined with the unique nature of the Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop itself, would be more than enough to attract a large number of customers with very little effort.
But he didn’t do that. The kids in the shop had only just learned how to make the drinks and hadn’t yet reached a level of proficiency.
If he rashly caused a huge spike in sales, a massive number of orders would come in at once, and the kids in the shop definitely wouldn’t be able to handle it.
So, he decided to wait and see for the time being. In the meantime, he had been tasting every drink the kids made.
While the drinks weren’t up to his personal standards, they were already better than those from most other drink shops on the market.
He was confident that with this level of quality, it wouldn’t be difficult at all to attract repeat customers.
Wen Churen looked at the reopened Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop, her eyes filled with delight.
She cared a great deal about the Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop.
However, she had just received a new assignment from her superiors a few days ago and had been busy ever since.
She had finally managed to carve out some time today and hurried over to take a look, surprised to find that the milk tea shop, which had been temporarily closed for a few days, was already open for business again.
Seeing the brand-new sign didn’t surprise her; a new owner was bound to bring some new changes.
She expertly pushed open the shop’s glass door, and the crisp sound of a wind chime instantly rang out.
She greeted everyone, but her brow furrowed slightly as she took in how empty the shop was.
She walked over to Huang Cuilian’s side with some concern and asked in a low voice:
"Sister Huang, how are things going?"
Huang Cuilian’s expression was a little unnatural. She had been so excited before they opened. In her mind, with new equipment and recipes, the drinks were much tastier than before, so business would naturally be better.
However, the first half of the day had been a huge blow to her confidence.
In the past, even though the Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop couldn’t turn a profit, they still had a fair number of customers every day.
Yet, maybe because they’d been closed for a week,
they hadn’t had a single customer in the several hours since reopening.
After listening to Huang Cuilian’s explanation, a flash of anxiety crossed Wen Churen’s eyes.
But she knew that Sister Huang must be even more anxious than she was, so she smiled and changed the subject.
"Oh, that’s right! The kids learned new recipes, and I haven’t even tried them yet. Why don’t I be your first customer?"
"My colleagues happen to be nearby. I’ll order some for them as an afternoon tea treat."
Hearing this, Sister Huang quickly replied:
"Miss Wen, just tell me what you want to drink!"
"You all help us so much, let me treat you to the drinks!"
Wen Churen grinned and waved her hands dismissively.
"You can treat me next time I’m off work and craving a drink, Sister Huang."
"We community workers are always out in the field, rain or shine. We get to expense some of our afternoon tea and lunch fees every month."
"Just give me a receipt, and I’ll take it back to my office for reimbursement."
With that, she picked up her phone and scanned the QR code to order.
Her eyes lit up when she saw the exquisite and cute menu interface.
Almost every milk tea shop had an ordering mini-program, but she had never seen one this well-designed.
Wen Churen casually selected eight different drinks and easily completed the order.
Seeing the printer spit out the order ticket, Sister Huang hesitated for a moment but didn’t refuse any further.
After all, this was their first order since reopening; it would be bad luck to turn it away.
Beside them, Zhou Xiaoyue was already cheerfully grabbing a few disposable cups and sticking the order labels onto them one by one.
"Sister Huang, this is a classic case of ’use it or lose it.’"
"Besides, if Sister Wen doesn’t use her expense budget, someone else will. It’s much better for her to spend it at our shop."
Huang Cuilian poked Zhou Xiaoyue on the forehead, feigning annoyance.
"I don’t know where a young girl like you hears all this nonsense. Now hurry up and have everyone make the drinks."