Chapter 298 - Soft Opening Day (16)

"How about us, Miss Sofia? Should we hide here until that man will take his leave?" Derek inquired after Jing Jing left their table to deal with their unexpected visitor.

"I think, it's better to avoid Mr. Jonathan," Danny expressed. He also gave Sofia a gaze with the same wary expression.

Sofia gently massaged the side of her head. "Hiding is not the best solution. There are less than 5 minutes left before we take in our customers. We don't know if sister Jing can have a brief conversation with him."

The kitchen suddenly felt silent for another split second. Even Claire gazed at Sofia with conflicting expressions.

"How about we make him leave?" Claire suggested.

"We should not! It can cause a bad luck if we do it during the first day of the business operation," Stephen quickly disagreed. "Every visitors must be entertained and accepted."

"Ahh... I -- I did not know. S-sorry," Claire mumbled.

Hearing Stephen's words almost made Sofia raised her eyebrow. "I did not know about that too." In her heart, the only reason why she instructed Jing Jing to be friendly with Mr. Jonathan was because she never practiced having prejudices. Especially in business where every opportunity could bring her profits.

"Miss Sofia, we will follow your arrangement," Derek muttered.

"Ahmn... T-That man... maybe he won't recognize the two of you?" Sofia suddenly guessed as if clinging to a small sliver of hope. 

In her mind, she thought that some business owners do not really remember the faces of every people they meet. Perhaps, there might be a possibility that the man could not remember Derek and Danny?

However, Danny was quick to shook his head after listening to Sofia's guess. 

"How I wish that he won't recognize us. But, he had seen us so many times. And... w-with our reputation, I think he really had carved us in his memories," Derek stated.

Indeed! Considering their unfavorable reputation, how could anyone in their district not recognize them?

Sofia slowly closed her eyes. Her index finger continued tapping on the table as she give another consideration of their situation.

Then, a small smile formed on her lips as she looked at them again. "With this matter, I think, our worries are not really necessary."

"Miss?" Danny called. The lines on his forehead quickly appeared as confusion was evident on his face. They had been brainstorming on how to deal with their situation. Who would have expected that in the end, Sofia would tell them that they don't need to worry about it?!

"It's risky. But not today," Sofia stated.

"Miss Sofia, what does it mean?" Derek questioned. All the Chronos members were also puzzled by her response.

"We don't need any adjustment with our previous arrangements. Derek, the front desk is still your responsibility. Danny, you facilitate this kitchen. Today, Clark and Claire will temporarily help you with the food serving. Joey and Stephen will be on the plates and utensils. Sister Jing and I will help clean the tables and monitor the food. As for that man outside, it's fine if he recognizes the two of you," Sofia answered calmly.

Clark took a sharp breath and looked more anxious. "B-but Sof, if that man would recognize the two brothers, he will feel betrayed. If he will confront them, our customers will be disturbed! What if no one will come back and dine here again?"

"Sof, are you sure that they don't need to hide here?" Stephen also whispered on the side.

"Clark, what you said, I was also having the same thought of that. But, that is not the risk. When I said that it's risky but not today, what I mean is... we will take the risks of not changing our arrangement. As for the man, he won't make trouble today. Maybe in the next few days, he will bring trouble. And that is the risk that we would need to face. Let's just focus on what we can do today," Sofia explained.

"What if he will directly confront us today, Miss Sofia?" Derek questioned.

"No, he won't. If Mr. Jonathan sees you working here, even if he wants to make trouble today, he can't. Since he employed you for dirty works, he should be aware that his name would be implicated if he makes a scene. Don't think of problems right now. It's about time that we let our first customers in. Danny, facilitate the food and refill our serving plates if necessary. Customers can eat as many as they can in one hour. So, we need to be alert," Sofia commanded and dismissed them.

They quickly dispersed around and moved towards their assigned posts. 

Not long after, one of the staff opened the entrance and greeted the customers. Sofia could hear the cheerful voice from the door. 

"Welcome! Please fall in line and proceed to the front desk to verify your reservation!"

Derek hastily went to the front desk with another staff going to the cashier area. The two of them stood side by side and smiled at the customers.

Their customers were very diverse. Some wore casual clothes while others were wearing office uniforms. 

Sofia observed them on the side and then scanned the area to look for Jing Jing and Mr. Jonathan. However, she had not seen any of them.

"Welcome! Please provide the confirmation text of your reservation," Derek formally said. 

The first customer quickly pulled out her phone from her shoulder bag and searched the confirmation message in her inbox. She casually have her phone to Derek. 

This customer seemed to not recognize Derek's identity at all. Or perhaps, she was too busy glancing at the tray of food that she did not pay too much attention to the person at the front desk.

Initially, Derek appeared to be very conscious. His hand was even sweating. But, seeing that the woman was not looking at him, he accepted the phone and examined the message. "You reserved a table for four people, please pay this amount to the cashier, and our staff will guide you to your table," Derek stated and handed the phone back to the owner with a piece of order receipt.

"Thank you!" the woman instantly moved her feet. 

After approaching the front desk, she eagerly went to the cashier and handed her order receipt and the payment.

The cashier was also quick to count her money and gave her a payment receipt. Then, another staff approached the woman and guided her to her table, "This way, ma'am. Everything is on the side. You may pick as much food as you want, but please don't be wasteful. As agreed in the reservation, I will remind you that your payment will be doubled for wasteful customers as a penalty."

"Yes, I'm aware! Thanks, I'll go get my food," the customer stated.

The arrangement was very easy. A large portion of food was already placed on the serving table for the customers to pick. 

Customers would just need to grab a plate and go to the serving table to choose their dishes.

But, to avoid wasting food, just in case the customers would not finish their dishes, Sofia also allocated staff in the area. The staff was assigned to assist the customers to put food on their plates for whatever dishes they wished to eat. 

Clark and Claire would be temporarily assisting the staff at the serving table. Of course, for the Chronos members, they really don't need to move. They had employed enough staff to cater to their customers.

But, Sofia insisted that they must assist all workloads in their business today. This way, they would be familiar with the operation of their business. And they would also be able to relate how hard the job of their employees do.

To Sofia, if her members would not understand these things, they may just take for granted the effort of their employees. It was more than just awareness. She believed that only when her members learn and have a personal experience of the overall operation in their business, they would become effective employers to all their employees.

When the first customer approached Claire, she politely gave her the food she kept on pointing.

'Wow! She can finish all of it?' Claire secretly asked in her mind after watching the woman that had just sat at the table. Claire continued to watch as the woman did not waste time and started swallowing her food as if she so starved.

Clark suddenly tapped Claire in her arm. He then reluctantly whispered, "Hmm... Don't stare. It's rude."

"Ahh... yeah, yeah," Claire trailed and finally switched her line of vision towards the other direction. Coincidentally, she saw Sofia at the other corner. 

Sofia made eye contact with Claire and they both exchanged a small smile. In fact, Sofia was also staring at the first customer for a few seconds and was amazed by her manner of eating. 

'She did not even wait for her companions?' Sofia mentally asked.. The woman ordered a table for four people. But, she started eating even though the other three seats were not yet occupied!