The restaurant was still the same restaurant, with its red walls and brown tiles, even the sign of the old white-bearded man remained unchanged. But compared to the days when it was deserted, now there was a long line of people stretching from inside the restaurant all the way outside the door.
Meanwhile, the parking lot in the commercial area was almost full of cars. Many owners had even parked their cars on the side of Highway 23, seriously affecting traffic flow...
"Carter, is... is this restaurant really doing so well?"
Looking at the bustling scene in front of her, Jenny, after being momentarily stunned, immediately complained to Carter about not telling her that their own business was doing so well...
And Carter...
"Hold on! Let me confirm first..."
Rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things, Carter, just as unethically, parked his car on the road. Then he rushed into the store...
The red 7469 folding chairs were still scattered throughout the restaurant at their peculiar angles. Anna was swiftly handling cash at the white marble counter. Thanks to her experience as a supermarket cashier, Carter didn't find his sister's movements frantic, and she even occasionally shouted out the names of the dishes customers wanted.
Next to Anna were two other girls whose job was to pack the food customers needed... Wait, pack?!
Amidst the hustle and bustle and the joy of wiping tables and mopping floors, Jo Yin and the other girl greeted Carter briefly as he made his way to the kitchen.
The restaurant kitchen at this time had almost become a paradise for muscle men. A group of burly men was kneading dough and frying meat under the command of Trevor. Among them, a group of middle-aged women was swiftly cutting cucumber strips, potato shreds, and other small accessories on the tables. Carter even saw a chubby lady lifting a piece of iron ingot and smashing peanuts into pieces...
"Number 89! Chicken roll, cucumber, tomato, thousand island dressing! Add a slice of cheese!"
"Number 90! Beef roll, pickles, tomato, thousand island dressing, and add a slice of Monterey Jack cheese. Shit, this must be a hot pregnant lady!"
"Potato shreds! I need potato shreds, we're missing potato shreds for number 87!"
Carter, standing in the kitchen, didn't attract anyone's attention, and as he watched the bustling scene, he discreetly retreated, worrying about hygiene issues...
"So, Carter, what do you think?"
"Let's go to another restaurant to eat, looks like it's going to be a while here."
Meeting Jenny outside the store, Carter shrugged helplessly. At the same time, he was puzzled. What on earth was so magical about these corn rolls?!
Besides observing the restaurant's kitchen, as Carter passed through the crowd, he deliberately paid attention to the people queuing. There were some new faces, but not many! Most of them seemed to be citizens of Douglas...
These people drove twenty kilometers just to eat a burrito? Crazy, isn't it?
"Hey, where should we go eat?"
The bustling scene in the restaurant had made Jenny a lot more relaxed. When she heard Carter suggest changing restaurants, she didn't object...
"Ask her, Melissa, what do you want to eat?"
"Pizza!"
Carter:...
"I feel like you really love pizza, is it really that delicious?"
...
...
Over an hour later, after having dinner with his family, Carter returned to the pizza shop...
"Mr. Dawson, another 10 chicken pizzas, please pack them for me, thank you!"
"10? Little Carter, you know my pizzas aren't small, each one is 12 inches. 10 of them would be enough for twenty or thirty people! Are you sure you want that many?"
In Dawson's flavor pizza shop, which didn't have many customers at the moment, Dawson, who was leaning on the counter, kindly reminded Carter.
"Of course, I have about a dozen or more over there, hmm, probably more than twenty employees who haven't eaten yet! I'll take them to them!"
As Carter took out the money and placed it on the counter, he nodded with a smile.
"Ha! You must mean over by Highway 23, they're lucky to have a boss like you!"
Confirming Carter's order, Dawson didn't hesitate to sweep the money into the drawer. As he turned to prepare, he continued to speak:
"But with competitors like you, we're unlucky. Look at the people in my shop, it's dinner time, and everyone in town has gone to your place! It's unbelievable..."
"Haha, maybe it's because we just opened, people like something new."
Carter chuckled awkwardly. He didn't know how to respond to that. But Dawson didn't dwell on it, focusing on making the pizzas Carter ordered...
Ordering ten pizzas in a pizza shop still using old-fashioned charcoal ovens was a test of patience. Despite the inefficient oven, under Dawson's skilled operation, although the pizzas became more delicious and crispy, it still took Carter half an hour.
When Carter carried the ten pizzas out of the car, night had fallen. The restaurant, which still had the KFC sign hanging, was brightly lit.
The customers had all left. At this time, Jo Yin and a few others were still energetically cleaning the hall. As Carter walked in, he immediately saw Trevor leaning against the bar, enjoying a beer.
Trevor, who was wearing only a thin vest on his upper body with a towel around his neck to wipe away sweat, immediately shouted when he saw Carter:
"Hey, what brings you here? Want a burrito? Too bad, all sold out! Hahaha! Carter, do you know how crazy our business was today?!"
"I have a rough idea, I came by this afternoon. Saw you guys were too busy, so I didn't call you... Here, haven't had dinner yet? I brought some pizzas for you guys, don't bother cleaning up, it's almost eight o'clock, hurry up and eat!"
Carter smiled as he placed the pizzas he was holding on a nearby table, temporarily ignoring the question of who those middle-aged women were and what the situation was with those burly men...
"Haha! That's more like it!"
Giving Carter a thumbs up, Trevor was the first to move to the table and sit down.
"Haven't you heard the boss's order? Let's eat first, then clean up! Huh? Dawson's pizzas? That old guy charges quite a bit, you're quite generous!"
"Is it enough to eat? Also, Anna, please go call Hobbs from the gas station over there, and the people from the convenience store too. If they haven't eaten, invite them over for some food!"
Without picking up on Trevor's words, Carter instructed Anna to call people. This dinner was obviously a good opportunity to ease the tension between Trevor and O'Neil's two small groups.
In a small commercial area, there were three forces. Although O'Neil and Trevor hadn't clashed over themselves or money, according to Carter's observation, they rarely interacted with each other, just like the people from the convenience store.
On ordinary days, there wasn't a suitable opportunity, and such conflicts couldn't be resolved in a few words. Carter could only pretend he hadn't seen anything. But now that there was an opportunity, as the largest landlord in the commercial area, Carter felt it was time to do something...
Upon hearing Anna getting ready to leave for the arrangements, Jo Yin hurriedly dashed out and soon returned with news that they had all eaten. Realizing the missed opportunity, Carter then turned to look at Trevor, who was stuffing himself with food:
"Don't you have anything you want to tell me?"