Chapter 653: Chapter 359: Year-End Bonus
The next day, the courtyard house.
"Xiao Cheng, after business ends tonight, Wanbao Hall will be closed."
Xiao Meier sat in front of the dressing table, drawing her eyebrows, "How long do you think until we reopen?"
Chen Cheng walked up behind her, "We’ll open after the New Year."
Xiao Meier turned her head, slightly furrowing her brows, and the eyebrow pencil in her hand paused.
"Closing that long? Aren’t we doing business anymore? I see those restaurants don’t close during Chinese New Year. If Wanbao Hall closes for this long, won’t all our customers leave?"
Chen Cheng smiled, "Sister Er, it’s the New Year, everyone wants to take a break, we should give ourselves a holiday too. Besides, our customers are regulars, they know Wanbao Hall’s rules, they won’t leave just because we close for a few days."
Xiao Meier’s brows relaxed slightly after hearing this, but she was still a bit worried: "But... with us closing, at least half a month’s business will be lost, and that’s no small sum."
Chen Cheng patted her shoulder and chuckled, "You can’t earn all the money, but if the New Year passes, it’s gone. You’ve worked hard these past two months, it’s time for a good rest. Plus, with Wanbao Hall’s reputation, we’ll have even more customers when we reopen after the New Year."
He continued, "Sister Er, did you forget that we agreed to go out and have fun for a few days?"
Xiao Meier was reminded, put down her eyebrow pencil completely, and smiled. "I almost forgot!"
"Where do you want to go?"
"Well..." Xiao Meier propped her chin, "Let me think... See the sea, is that okay?"
Chen Cheng nodded, "Sure, it’s warm in Hainan, we can go there for ten days to half a month and enjoy ourselves."
Nourished by the light in her eyes from never having seen the sea, Xiao Meier asked, "Really? Xiao Cheng?"
"Of course, it’s true."
"And I can fly on a plane as well?"
"From Beijing to Hainan, I don’t want to drive," Chen Cheng said with a smile.
Xiao Meier was so delighted she almost jumped up, "That’s fantastic! I’ve never been on a plane before!"
Seeing her expectant smile, Chen Cheng tapped her nose, "What’s there to be excited about."
"You don’t understand~" Xiao Meier, amidst her excitement, immediately thought of a series of questions, "Before we go, we have to visit our godfather. It’s New Year, we should pay our respects."
"Alright, let’s go early on the first day of the New Year."
"What about treating everyone to a meal? You mentioned it last time." She asked again.
"Tomorrow, on New Year’s Eve, let’s invite everyone home for a lively gathering," Chen Cheng replied.
"Who should we invite?"
Xiao Meier counted on her fingers, "Li Dinger and his wife, Shu Biao and the two of them, Xia Bao, they must be invited."
"Sister Lin and Li Ya, I want to invite them too," she continued tallying, "and Mei Xiang, she’s come all this way, it’ll be lively during the New Year."
Chen Cheng pursed his lips; although he originally had difficulties finding an excuse, Xiao Meier brought it up herself.
"Also my little sister, but she’s participating in the New Year’s Gala, and her show is after midnight." Xiao Meier paused, "But that’s okay, I’ll make dumplings for her then."
"And..."
She pondered, "Should we invite Director Xia and Manager Tong? They’ve helped you a lot usually, give them a call and check if they’re available."
"Wow, inviting so many people?" Chen Cheng chuckled.
Xiao Meier laughed along, "And your business friends, Lao Chen and others, do you think we should invite them?"
"Let’s not, everyone worked hard all year, on New Year’s Eve, they’ll definitely want to stay home," Chen Cheng decided.
Xiao Meier nodded, agreeing that he made a good point.
She counted on her fingers again, ensuring no one was left out, and then clapped her hands in satisfaction, "Alright then! Tomorrow, on New Year’s Eve, let’s host the gathering at our place and have a blast together."
Chen Cheng nodded with a smile, "Alright, I’ll call them later to inform them. But with so many people, we’ve got to prepare in advance, can’t fall short on food."
Hearing this, Xiao Meier immediately perked up, "After Wanbao Hall closes today, there will definitely be leftover ingredients, let’s bring them all back."
"Oh, and we need to buy some drinks and alcohol, it’s New Year, after all; we ought to drink something," she added.
"Okay, I’ll handle the drinks."
Xiao Meier thought for a moment longer, "What should we eat?"
"How about hotpot? It’s the warmest in winter, and convenient for a crowd, everyone can eat whatever they like in the hotpot."
"That’s a good idea, hotpot is lively, and it saves us from bustling around all day. Let’s prepare some beef, mutton, shrimp balls, fish balls, and some vegetables and mushrooms, that should be enough."
Chen Cheng smiled and added, "We’ll also need to prepare some dipping sauces, sesame paste, chive flower, chili oil, can’t skip any. Oh, and I need to buy flour, to make some dumplings tomorrow, for the custom of ’Gengsui Jiaozi’ for good fortune."
"Wanbao Hall has that," Xiao Meier said, typing away quickly on her phone, "Don’t worry about these things, leave it to me."
"Alright, I’ll go call them," Chen Cheng took out his phone as well, "You can inform Li Dinger and the others in the group."
"OK~"
No sooner had Chen Cheng finished speaking, Xiao Meier thought of something, "Hey? What about Camellia? It can’t be on holiday too?"
"Triple pay, with compensatory leave later," Chen Cheng replied, "I’ll have Shu Biao arrange for someone to be on duty at the warehouse."
"Hmm! The business is getting bigger, and our days are getting better!"
Chen Cheng looked at Xiao Meier’s radiant smile, "Sister Er, the days ahead will only be better."