Bi Shenghua covered the telescope with a light shield, then a dust cover, glanced up one last time, and went downstairs.
She went up to the second floor first. The bar was downstairs, and the newly renovated bar had excellent soundproofing, so the noise no longer carried far like before. The corridor on the second floor was quiet and empty. The old chairs still lay on the side of the corridor, but no one had sat in them for a long time.
The door to Qingmu Studio was closed, with two couplets pasted on either side. One of them read:
Only Qingmu
Auspicious Crows
This was put up when the studio opened; it served as an advertising slogan. The other one is:
A withered tree comes back to life, and flowers bloom unseen in a humble alley.
A caged bird longs for its nest; it sweeps and cleans the old nest, awaiting its beloved's return.
This was written by Bi Shenghua before the Spring Festival last year and was pasted up as a couplet. At that time, I was hoping that they could come back for the New Year. Later, I waited for him to come back for the Lantern Festival. Then I thought that he should come back by Qingming Festival. When he comes back, he will see this calligraphy. The Crow will also see the braised pork knuckle with painted eyebrows and eyes on the door. They will know that even when they are not here, someone will remember them.
It's been almost a year already, and the once vibrant red paper has faded, but the person still hasn't returned.
Bi Shenghua placed her hand on the doorknob, turned it halfway, then stopped. She remembered that she had cleaned the house today; there was no one inside, and no dust. It couldn't possibly be that she would suddenly find Qingmu and the Boss Coal back as soon as she opened the door, could it?
Almost every morning, she would get up early and clean Qingmu's studio and room spotlessly. It had become a habit for her, a habit that had become second nature.
She released her hand from the doorknob, gently smoothed the upturned corner of the elbow painting on the door, and then quietly turned and left.
The bar was bustling late at night, and Xiao Qi and Mo Yu were extremely busy. The bar had been operating for over a year since its expansion, and business was booming. They had almost recouped their investment and even made a small profit. If Bi Shenghua hadn't insisted on quality and refused to raise prices to accommodate the neighborhood and regular customers, this year's profits would have been even higher.
However, the employees all respected this boss lady who had a bit of a temper but could handle everything. Bi Shenghua said to stick to quality, so they stuck to quality. Although their dividends and bonuses might be less, the chances of being scolded or even beaten were also lower. Besides, one should always think long-term. If the bar's prospects improved, their jobs would be more secure.
Bi Shenghua often said, "Don't be too shallow-minded; stand tall and see far. When you have free time at night, look at the stars more often."
The employees went to look at the stars. They didn't know how to identify other stars, only the Big Dipper and the Niulang Zhinü. Then, some talkative people started pointing at the Niulang and saying that was the boss, and pointing at the Zhinü Star and saying that was the boss's wife. Everyone laughed. The newcomer asked, "Who's the boss? I've never seen him before."
Xiao Qi, relying on his seniority, lectured them. "Nonsense! Who are you to talk about the boss and his wife's private affairs? Go do what you're supposed to do!"
Xiao Qi is no longer the young apprentice he was last year; he's got the air of a manager now. Whether dealing with customers, employees, or officials from the industry and commerce bureau, urban management bureau, or street offices, he handles everything with ease. The only people he truly respects are two women: the boss's wife and Mo Yu.
Mo Yu manages the bar's band and all performances. In addition, she is also responsible for the bar's image design and official promotion activities. Ruhua Bar is becoming more and more popular in Liuying Lane, and she deserves a lot of credit for that. The employees all say with a smile that Xiao Qi manages the internal affairs and Mo Yu manages the external affairs. They are a perfect match, like a wife leading the way and a husband following the lead.
Bi Shenghua has basically stopped interfering in things, unless there are things that Xiao Qi and Mo Yu can't handle, such as some clueless thugs or competitors causing trouble, or some official matters.
Under normal circumstances, Bi Shenghua could resolve any issue with a single move. Back when she chased troublemakers into the police station with a knife, her reputation had already spread throughout Liuying Lane. Although the Jiang Brothers ' scandal had long since passed, and only a small circle knew a little of the truth, secrets don't stay hidden forever. Coupled with Huang Ziqiang Wuzhong's frequent visits to Ruhua Bar to curry favor, others couldn't help but speculate that the bar owner probably had powerful connections.
Bi Shenghua went to the bar, found an empty seat, and said to Xiao Qi, who was mixing drinks inside, "Give me the drink you're mixing, that one."
She was very satisfied with the bar's operation, her only regret being that Xiao Qi Qi's cocktails were still far inferior to hers.
Xiao Qi said awkwardly, "Boss lady, my cup isn't ready yet; it's only half-mixed."
Bi Shenghua said, "It's better if you only adjust it halfway. I want to see if you've mastered this half."
Helpless, Xiao Qi moved the still-unmixed Tequila Sunrise to in front of Bi Shenghua, then nervously turned around to remix a drink for the customer who had ordered.
Bi Shenghua took a sip and found it tasted pretty good. Although she hadn't had time to add the pomegranate juice yet, as a bartending expert, she could already predict the final flavor.
A young man dressed in a black and white skull shirt with a half-shaved head moved over and sat down next to Bi Shenghua. He tossed half of his long hair at her, reeking of alcohol, and whispered in her ear, "I saw it just now, the bartender gave you the drink he had only mixed halfway."
Bi Shenghua laughed and said, "I love drinking cocktails that are half-mixed."
"Hey, that's something!" the young man whistled. "Bartender, give me the same drink as this guy!"
Xiao Qi doesn't like people calling him a bartender. A bartender is a bartender, and a bartender is a bartender. A bartender is an artist in the bar, while a bartender is responsible for serving drinks and keeping watch.
The regulars at the bar all call him Xiao Qi, while those who don't know his name will call him bartender or handsome guy. Of course, some will call him waiter or bartender, and there's nothing he can do about it, since the customer is God!
He slowly turned around and saw the young man's half-shaved head, with a Sun tattooed on the bald side of his temple.
He suddenly laughed. He saw that Bi Shenghua was laughing too. He wanted to say "sun," but of course he wouldn't say it aloud, because the customer is God.
But then, he actually said "Damn," because he saw the kid put his hand on Bi Shenghua's shoulder.
"New here?" Xiao Qi tried his best to control himself. "Let go of my hand. You can't just casually put your arm around Sister Hua's shoulder like that!"
" Sister Hua?" The man with the shaved head finally realized, "So it's a woman!" He simply moved his hand from Bi Shenghua's shoulder to her other shoulder, "She's not your lover, what's it to you!"
In the past, Bi Shenghua would have smashed that kid's head open with her wine glass. She hadn't smashed a bottle in a long time. Back then, the bar was small, and the customers were mostly locals. She didn't welcome these clueless thugs. But now the bar was bigger, business was booming, and the customers were naturally more diverse. She knew how to control the situation.
She needed to see if this person was truly incompetent or if a colleague had deliberately sent him to cause trouble. She also wanted to see how Xiao Qi would handle the situation, because this kind of thing could happen to her, and it could happen to other girls too. While she was away, she would have to rely on Xiao Qi.
She didn't want any girl to be bullied at Ruhua Bar, and she certainly didn't want to hear about his bar's bad reputation when that damned absentee owner came back. With him gone, she had to protect this home for him.
But this time, it wasn't Xiao Qi's turn to demonstrate his abilities as a bar manager, because someone else made a move before Xiao Qi.
A thick arm reached out, grabbed the young man's wrist, and pulled it off Bi Shenghua's shoulder. The young man cursed and tried to resist, but felt as if his wrist was being held in an iron clamp. He turned his head and saw a bald head even balder than his own shaved half.
Then, he heard a crisp cracking sound and felt a piercing pain in his wrist.