Hanya lima belas menit setelah pembaruan diposting, komentar sudah lebih dari seratus. Xu An segera memposting pesan lain mengumumkan acara telah berakhir. Lalu, ia mengumpulkan nama pengguna dan nomor QQ enam puluh enam orang pertama ke dalam dokumen dan membuat postingan baru.
'Seluruh kuota acara telah terisi, pendaftaran ditutup! Berikut enam puluh enam orang yang berhak ikut. Sabtu pukul 21.00, Restoran Cepat Saji Xu akan menyediakan hidangan rebusan lezat dan minuman es segar menunggu kedatangan kalian. Sampai jumpa di sana!'
Begitu postingan terbit, kolom komentar banjir emoji karakter hancur berkeping-keping. Seiring waktu, jumlah komentar makin banyak, akhirnya jadi postingan paling banyak komentar sejak Restoran Cepat Saji Xu buka—tanpa terkecuali.
'Bos, ini tidak adil! Acara kayak gini, seharusnya dibangun hype beberapa hari sebelum biar kita sempat bersiap merebut kursi. Dari pengumuman sampai tutup cuma lima belas menit, kelewatan! Siapa planner restoranmu? Pecat dia, ganti aku!'
'Hm... suruh aku pecat diri sendiri. Anak ini berani.'
Xu An mikir sebentar lalu balas, 'Sudah aku pecat. Mejanya udah disiapin. Cuma nunggu kamu.'
Tapi komentar itu kasih ide pada Xu An. Begiklan difoto dan jadwal tayang ditetap, dia bisa bangun hype di media sosial beberapa hari sebelumnya. 'Aku cuma mikir pake bantuan luar buat promosi,' pikirnya, 'lupa sama sekali kalau pelanggan langganan di daftar QQ ini aset besar!'
Sisanya komentar kurang lebih sama, keluh jendela pendaftaran terlalu singkat. Xu An bahas ada yang ngeyel soal terlalu rajin kerja sampai lupa ngeyel, jadi kelewatan acara...
Pelanggan Restoran Cepat Saji Xu memang ahli main sistem. Uang hasil kerja keras cuma hak; yang dapet sambil ngeyel baru terasa untung beneran!
Stelah ngobrol di kolom komentar sebentar, dia ngeliat jam dinding di restoran. Sudah pukul 14.25, hampir tutup. 'Jam segini, Bank Kota Hai seharusnya udah buka layanan siang,' pikirnya.
Dia kumpulin semua dokumen yang diminta Zhou Yaodong, masukkan ke tas, cek sekali lagi biar nggak ada yang kelewat, lalu Xu An berangkat naik sepeda. Suhu luar dan terikan matahari setelah pukul 14.00 jauh lebih pedes dari jam 10.00. Belum dua menit keluar, Xu An sudah basah kuyup keringat kayak baru ditarik dari sungai.
'Mending beli mobil murah buat mobilisasi setelah dapet SIM? Sering banget urus bisnis keluar, selalu naik bus, taksi, atau sepeda. Keren nggak sih.'
Tapi setelah hitung cepat pengeluaran mendatang, Xu An cepet gugurkan pikiran itu. Proyek "Budidaya Tambak" kolektif desa kekurangan minimal 300.000 yuan. Toko rebusan baru udah habisin 20.000 lebih. Butuh sisihkan dana buat rumah kaca. Lalu Jalan Zijing dan Jalan Qianjin—kalau ada toko atau rumah cocok dijual, dia mau beli. Dan kalau toko rebusan laku, dia rencanakan buat titik distribusi dekat Universitas Ivy League dan Xiuli Garden...
'Dijumlahin, meski dapat pinjaman penuh 1,2 juta yang disebut Zhou Yaodong, tetap nggak cukup! Lupakan. Cuma bisa nunggu. Sabar lagi!'
Tiba-tiba suara angin kencang datang dari belakang. WHOOSH. Dia melirik ke samping, lihat orang tua gagah berani, tangan pegang stang sepeda motor roda tiga listrik, gas dikipas penuh. Angin mengaum, helai rambut halus yang dipakai tutupi kepalanya terbang bebas di angin, kelihatan keren banget.
Ngeliat sepeda motor roda tiga kecil itu menghilang ke jauh, Xu An baru sadar. 'Kenapa aku menyiksa diri naik sepeda? Di restoran ada dua sepeda motor roda tiga listrik! Bahkan udah dipasang kanopi di depan, jadi terlindung hujan dan panas!'
「Bank Kota Hai.」
Sejak kunjungan ke Xu An, Zhou Yaodong delapan puluh persen yakin Xu An bakal ke Bank Kota Hai pinjam, tapi nggak duga begitu cepet. Sejak terima telepon Xu An nanya dokumen apa aja, Zhou Yaodong duduk di atas bara. Dia bolak-balik ke pintu bank ngawur orang lewat, takut kalau lengah sebentar rekan kerja lain comot deal ini—deal tunggal nilainya tiga sampai empat bulan target kinerjanya.
Tapi semua beres sesuai rencana. Di kunjungan keenam ke pintu utama ngintip jalan, dia nemu Xu An, muka merah padam keringat curah seperti hujan, bersepeda kencang. Liat kondisi Xu An yang suram, Zhou Yaodong nggak bisa nahan kagum dalam hati.
'Pantas bos besar! Ramah lingkungan, sehat, olahraga. Teladan!'
Rasa kagum sebentar itu lewat, Zhou Yaodong buru-buru maju sambut. Usai sambut masuk, dia bawa langsung ke ruang VIP. Dia ambil beberapa minuman dingin dari kulkas mini ruangan, taruh satu-satu di depan Xu An, biar dia pilih.
Lapar dan haus, Xu An nggak bertele-tele. Usah bilang terima kasih sebentar, dia ambil botol air mineral es dan GULP, GULP, GULP, minum setengahnya. Lalu ambil soda manis dan habisin sekali teguk, akhirnya panas tertekan hilang dari badan.
Proses selanjutnya lurus: siklus tak berujung cek dokumen, tanda tangan, cap, liat Zhou Yaodong rapiin berkas, lalu tanda tangan dan cap lagi. Setelah nandatangani nama lima puluh sampai enam puluh kali berturut-turut, Xu An mulai kesemutan. Rasanya kayak balik SD, dipaksa guru nulis nama lima puluh kali hukuman tulisan jelek.
Only fifteen minutes after the update went live, there were already over a hundred comments. Xu An quickly posted another message announcing that the event was over. Then, he compiled the usernames and QQ numbers of the first sixty-six people into a document and made a new post.
’All spots for the event have been filled, and registration is now closed! Below are the sixty-six people who have qualified. On Saturday at 9 PM, Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant will have a sumptuous spread of our braised dishes and ice-cold drinks ready to welcome everyone. See you all there!’
As soon as this update was posted, the comments were flooded with emojis of characters getting blown to smithereens. As time went on, the number of comments under this post grew and grew, eventually making it the most-commented-on post since Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant opened—bar none.
’Boss, that’s not cool! For an event like this, shouldn’t you build some hype for a few days beforehand so we can all get ready to grab a spot? Going from announcement to closing in a mere fifteen minutes is just outrageous! Who’s the planner at your restaurant? Fire him and let me take his job!’
’Hmm... telling me to fire myself. This kid’s got guts.’
Xu An thought for a moment and replied, ’Already fired him. Your desk is all set up. We’re just waiting for you.’
However, the comment did give Xu An an idea. Once the commercial was filmed and the airtime was set, he could start building hype on his social media a few days in advance. ’I’ve only been thinking about using outside help for promotion,’ he thought, ’and I completely forgot that all these regular customers in my QQ contacts are a huge asset, too!’
The rest of the comments were pretty much the same, all complaining that the sign-up window for the event was too short. Xu An even saw one person lamenting that they had been working too diligently and forgot to slack off, which made them miss the event...
The customers of Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant were all experts at gaming the system. Money earned by working hard was just what you were owed; only money earned while slacking off felt like a true profit!
After interacting with everyone in the comments for a bit, he looked up at the wall clock in the restaurant. It was already 2:25 PM, almost closing time for Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant. ’At this hour, Hai City Bank should have started its afternoon service,’ he thought.
He gathered all the documents Zhou Yaodong required, packed them into his bag, and after a final check to ensure nothing was missing, Xu An set off on his bicycle. The outdoor temperature and the blistering sun were far more intense after 2 PM than they had been at 10 AM. Not even two minutes after he left, Xu An was so drenched in sweat he looked like he’d just been pulled out of a river.
’Maybe I should buy a cheap car to get around in after I get my license? I have to go out on business errands so often these days, and it’s always by bus, taxi, or bicycle. It sounds so lame.’
But after a quick mental calculation of his upcoming expenses, Xu An quickly dismissed the thought. The village collective’s "Tidal Flat Aquaculture" project had a shortfall of at least 300,000 yuan. The new braised food shop had already cost him over 20,000. He also needed to set aside some money for the greenhouses. Then there was Zijing Road and Qianjin Street—if a suitable shop or residence went up for sale, he’d want to buy it. And if the braised food shop did well, he was planning to set up distribution points near Ivy League University and Xiuli Garden...
’When I add it all up, even if I get my hands on the full 1.2 million loan Zhou Yaodong mentioned, it still won’t be enough! Forget it. I’ll just have to wait. A little longer!’
Suddenly, the sound of rushing wind came from behind him. WHOOSH. He glanced to the side and saw a spirited old man, hands gripping the handlebars of an electric tricycle, twisting the throttle to the max. The wind howled, and the fine strands of hair he used to cover his bald spot danced freely in the breeze, making him look incredibly suave.
Watching the little tricycle disappear into the distance, it belatedly dawned on Xu An. ’Why am I torturing myself on this bicycle? There are two electric tricycles parked at the restaurant! They even have canopies installed over the front, so you’re protected from the rain and the sun!’
「Hai City Bank.」
Ever since visiting Xu An, Zhou Yaodong had been eighty percent certain that Xu An would come to Hai City Bank for a loan, but he hadn’t expected it to be this soon. From the moment he received Xu An’s call asking what documents were needed, Zhou Yaodong had been on pins and needles. He kept running to the bank entrance to watch the pedestrians, terrified that if he let his guard down for a second, another colleague would poach this deal—a single deal worth three to four months of his performance quota.
But everything went according to plan. On his sixth trip to the main entrance to scan the street, he saw Xu An, face flushed red and sweat pouring down like rain, pedaling furiously on his bicycle. Looking at Xu An’s miserable state, Zhou Yaodong couldn’t help but marvel internally.
’As expected of a big boss! Green-friendly travel, good for the environment, and he gets some exercise at the same time. He’s a true role model!’
His brief moment of admiration over, Zhou Yaodong hurried forward to greet him. After welcoming Xu An inside, he led him directly into a VIP room. He took several chilled drinks from the room’s mini-fridge and placed them one by one in front of Xu An, letting him take his pick.
Hot and thirsty, Xu An didn’t stand on ceremony. After a quick word of thanks, he grabbed an ice-cold bottle of mineral water and GULP, GULP, GULP, downed half of it. He then picked up a sugary soda and finished it in one go, finally dispelling the oppressive heat from his body.
The rest of the process was straightforward: an endless cycle of reviewing documents, signing, stamping, watching Zhou Yaodong organize files, then more signing and stamping. After signing his name fifty or sixty times in a row, Xu An started to feel numb. It felt like he was back in elementary school, being forced by his teacher to write his name fifty times as punishment for poor handwriting.
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