Chapter 6

Once life becomes regular, time seems to fly by particularly fast.

Qin Feng had a 6 AM to 5 PM schedule every day, and before he knew it, October had passed. Manager Wang kept his word and didn't pay Qin Feng a single cent at the end of the month. While cursing the bourgeoisie for being as ruthless as Zhou Bapi, Qin Feng could only vent his frustration on the potatoes.

As Xiao Zhao had said, the skill of knife work was something that required a lot of time to master. Under Master Tang's strict requirements, Qin Feng now spent his days slicing potatoes into strips and shreds. Although his progress wasn't lightning-fast, it was still quite impressive. After half a month of slicing potatoes, Qin Feng could now cut a whole basket without his hands getting tired.

After getting used to the hotel life, Qin Feng was quite satisfied with his current days.

Now, he had three meals a day. For breakfast, he ate steamed buns and flower rolls that came out of the same pot as the buffet, or other various delicate pastries. Not only were they filling, but they also tasted great. For lunch and dinner, he mostly ate leftovers that guests hadn't touched or had only taken a couple of bites from. Although Qin Feng occasionally worried about some guests having hepatitis, at least these dishes were put back into the steamer for a reheat. Whether this method was effective for disinfection was something he could only hope for.

However, according to Xiao Zhao, Qin Feng hadn't fully experienced the fun of working in a hotel yet. The real party time was during the hotel's late-night snack sessions. But Qin Feng wasn't so low as to change his work hours to the night shift just for a late-night snack, so Xiao Zhao's words were in vain.

Qin Feng didn't have any days off. Today, he took a two-hour leave in the afternoon to pick up his ID card from the police station.

In his memory, the first-generation ID cards wouldn't be in use for long before being replaced by the second-generation ones. However, getting an ID card was undoubtedly beneficial for both Qin Feng and the hotel. After all, Qingqing Tower was a legitimate hotel. If Qin Feng were found without an ID card, regardless of whether both parties were willing, the news of employing child labor would severely damage the hotel's reputation.

So, without a doubt, Master Guo had taken a certain risk by agreeing to do a favor for a friend of Qin Jianguo.

Fortunately, in the past half month, there hadn't been any surprise inspections, and the hotel's business was so slow that it could be described as deserted. This allowed both Qin Feng and Master Guo to safely pass through this critical period in a peaceful state.

When he returned from the police station, Qin Feng noticed that the atmosphere in the hotel was different from usual. Everyone seemed very busy, but the reason was unknown.

He leisurely walked through the front hall toward the kitchen. Just halfway there, someone suddenly shouted from behind, "Qin Feng!"

Qin Feng turned around and saw Manager Wang. Although his face was unfriendly, Qin Feng still greeted him with a smile, "Hello, Manager Wang."

"What's there to be good about? Where were you all afternoon?" Manager Wang said irritably.

Usually, after finishing the lunch rush, Qin Feng had nothing much to do in the afternoon except for washing dishes. That's why he chose to take leave in the afternoon today, but he didn't expect to run into trouble so coincidentally.

Qin Feng felt a bit unlucky, put away his smile, and said seriously, "I went to the police station to pick up my ID card, and I did take leave before I went."

"Leave? From whom? The team leader?" Manager Wang asked three questions in a row, then, as if he had just realized something, he asked in surprise, "Wait, what did you go to pick up? An ID card? You're not an adult yet?"

Qin Feng calmly replied, "I turned 16 today, so I'm not considered a child laborer anymore."

Manager Wang seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, shook his head, and started criticizing Master Guo, "That old Guo, what if he got caught?" As he muttered to himself, he naturally brought the topic back, "By the way, who did you take leave from?"

Qin Feng answered, "From Zhao Yun in our group. He said he would tell the team leader for me."

"Bullshit!" Manager Wang suddenly roared, scaring a passing female server. However, he didn't stop to apologize to her and continued shouting, "If anyone can just say something and run around, do we even need to work? Are you the boss here? Do you even understand what rules are?"

Manager Wang's roar was so fierce that the female server standing nearby didn't dare to move.

Manager Wang glanced at her and said irritably, "What are you standing there for? Don't you have work to do?"

The female server came to her senses and hurriedly ran off.

Taking advantage of this moment, Qin Feng had already figured out the whole situation. Either Xiao Zhao had been negligent, or he had done it on purpose. Regardless, this "unauthorized absence" was something Qin Feng hadn't considered carefully enough. How could he let a colleague help with taking leave? As someone who had reached the deputy supervisor position, he knew that if his subordinates did the same, he would also be furious.

"Manager Wang, you're right. I was wrong this time, and I promise it won't happen again. But I was only absent for two hours today. If possible, I hope you will only deduct half a day's salary from me," Qin Feng said seriously.

Manager Wang was taken aback. The fire he had been about to unleash was suddenly blocked in his throat.

He really didn't expect that Qin Feng, despite his young age, could remain so calm in the face of an angry superior.

Manager Wang was stunned for a moment, then cleared his throat and reluctantly backed down, "It's good that you know you were wrong. Since it's your first time, I won't punish you this time. The hotel has a big order, and the kitchen is busy. Go help out quickly."

Qin Feng apologized again and walked past Manager Wang.

Manager Wang watched Qin Feng's back and couldn't help but shake his head, "These post-80s, I wonder what's in their heads..."

Qin Feng hurried to the kitchen, where it was indeed bustling with activity.

When Master Tang saw Qin Feng return, he didn't have time to ask where he had been and immediately instructed, "Qin Feng, go cut the beef ribs!" Then, as if he remembered something, he added, "Cut them carefully; they're for a wedding banquet tomorrow!"

Qin Feng suddenly understood.

The hotel's wedding banquet had been booked a long time ago. However, to ensure the food was fresh, the ingredients for the banquet were prepared the day before. Xiao Zhao must have known about this but deliberately didn't tell Qin Feng. When Qin Feng wanted to take leave from the team leader at noon, Xiao Zhao took on the task.

"Is this guy serious? Even a new employee can be tricked. The kitchen helpers are scarier than office workers..."

As Qin Feng was thinking this, Xiao Zhao came up with a smug look on his face, carrying a large stack of plates that almost covered his face.

"Xiao Feng, I'm really sorry. I forgot about your leave when I got busy today," Xiao Zhao said apologetically, but with a smile in his eyes, his acting was terrible, "I heard Manager Wang scolded you. You're not mad at me, right?"

"Manager Wang didn't scold me at all," Qin Feng replied sincerely.

Xiao Zhao was instantly stunned and exclaimed, "That's impossible! I heard you were scolded!"

Qin Feng smiled faintly and said, "Why would he scold me?"

"Because... because you were absent without leave!"

"No, I asked the team leader for leave before I left."

"I... I said I would help you with that, didn't I?"

"Ha ha, I was afraid you might forget, so I went to the team leader myself. See, you did forget, didn't you, Brother Zhao?"

Xiao Zhao looked at Qin Feng's calm and composed demeanor, which didn't seem fake, but the server who had informed him couldn't have lied.

For a moment, Xiao Zhao was in a daze.

What was going on?

As he was thinking, the stack of plates in his arms suddenly slipped forward. There was a loud clatter, and the next second, the floor was covered with broken plates.

Everyone who was busy stopped.

Under the intense gazes of the chefs, Xiao Zhao turned pale. These plates—were very expensive!