Meng Huai also looked towards Sister Ting upon hearing this, his gaze fixed on her as if asking her a question.
"Ten thousand star coins?"
Sister Ting couldn't help but chuckle, saying to Meng Huai, "Yes, you heard correctly. Ten thousand star coins. That noblewoman looked incredibly distinguished. She thought these ten thousand star coins could poach me. Her expression was just too smug."
After Sister Ting finished speaking, Master Bao also chimed in, "See, shop owner! Didn't I say someone would try to poach us when we opened?"
Meng Huai smiled and asked, "What? Did someone try to poach you too, Master Bao?"
Master Bao put on a proud demeanor, "Does that even need saying! Old Bao here is naturally sought after, and they were even more willing to spare no expense to poach me than Sister Ting! Fifteen thousand star coins a month!"
As soon as Master Bao finished speaking, those gathered around the counter burst into laughter. They were clearly amused by Master Bao's tone and the smugness of someone who thought they had secured a bargain.
The person who made the offer had initially thought this was just a 'small, humble restaurant.' Ordinary restaurant servers earned only two to three thousand star coins a month. While chefs were paid a bit more, a restaurant of this scale would likely only pay five to six thousand.
After all, it wasn't a high-class hotel or anything similar, so how expensive could the staff be?
The noblewoman Sister Ting mentioned was someone hired by Qi Nan. That person was Qi Nan's sister, Qi Yue.
Qi Nan had two younger sisters. The second sister was Qi Wei, the mother of Shang Pingying. The third sister was this Qi Yue.
Unlike her two older sisters, who were shrewd and adept at manipulating people, Qi Yue was rather foolish.
Qi Nan had originally intended to entrust such a task to someone she could trust implicitly. Her sister was her most trusted person, but Qi Wei had married well. Those in high positions often found it inconvenient to act directly.
However, Qi Yue was thirty-six years old and still unmarried, living a life of leisure. Consequently, she didn't attract much attention from others. After some consideration, Qi Nan assigned the task to her.
Qi Nan was well aware that her youngest sister lacked the sharpness of her second sister, was sometimes guileless, and occasionally acted foolishly.
Therefore, she specifically instructed her, "Making that medicinal cuisine restaurant unable to continue operating is quite easy. Just poach the staff. Those lower-level employees are all people without much foresight; a bit of profit is enough to lure them away."
Qi Yue patted her chest, her confidence overflowing, "Eldest Sister, you can rest assured!"
Qi Yue thought to herself that it was rare for her eldest sister to ask for her 'help' with something, so she had to handle this task flawlessly.
Qi Nan naturally didn't anticipate Qi Yue being so reluctant to spend money, especially since Qi Yue typically spent money like water. Such a person wouldn't be stingy, so Qi Nan hadn't specifically reminded her.
Who would have thought that Qi Yue would miscalculate so badly?
When Qi Yue saw that the restaurant was located in such a corner, not on any bustling street, she assumed it wasn't a major establishment.
However, she failed to notice how incredibly popular the place was. Indeed, because all the slots were booked in advance, there were no people waiting, leading those unaware of the situation to believe the restaurant's business was just average.
But upon closer inspection, one could see that the seats were almost all occupied, forcing her to survey the area for a place to sit!
She had invited several of the key employees of the restaurant.
Sister Ting, to prevent further sabotage and catch Qi Yue off guard, decided to stall her and kept the matter pending.
Sister Ting told Meng Huai, "I was afraid she'd try to cause more trouble, catching us off guard. So, I'm stalling her. I just told her I needed to discuss it with my family. The woman believed me, and she's been asking when I'll resign these past few days!"
As Sister Ting spoke, she opened her holo-computer to show Meng Huai the messages.
Meng Huai looked at Sister Ting's messages, "She's even offered you a raise!"
The message read: "Girl, the restaurant said they desperately need someone as meticulous as you! How about twelve thousand star coins a month?"
Sister Ting, however, said, "Twelve thousand star coins is still not as much as the salary you give me, shop owner! Besides, even if she threw more money at me, I couldn't leave!"
Just as everyone thought Sister Ting was about to pledge her loyalty in a dramatic fashion, she suddenly added, "After all, I can't do without the employee meals here! Especially the ones you cook personally, shop owner!"
To avoid making Master Bao feel uncomfortable, Sister Ting specifically said, "Master Bao, I'm not saying your cooking isn't delicious. It's just that the shop owner's cooking is too exquisite!"
Master Bao waved his hand, "Not at all, not at all. I'm also very impressed with the shop owner's culinary skills!"
Listening to Sister Ting and Master Bao, the crowd erupted in laughter again.
Just then, a customer arrived at the counter to pay. Seeing the group gathered there, they said, "I could hear your laughter from afar! Is there something happy going on?"
Upon hearing a customer, the group dispersed, clearing the counter space for them to pay.
The customer, seeing Meng Huai seated behind the counter, exclaimed in surprise, "Huh! Aren't you that military academy student who's become famous recently? Are you alright? I heard you were buried!"
At this point, the customer was unaware of Meng Huai's connection to the medicinal cuisine restaurant. However, the recent news of military academy students being buried in the earthquake had garnered significant attention. As a result, the customer immediately recognized Meng Huai, as Meng Huai's photos were strikingly different from those of other military academy students.
Many people who weren't familiar with the situation would comment upon seeing the news, "Is that a military academy student? If you didn't know, you'd think they were a celebrity! They're really good-looking."
Meng Huai nodded in response to the customer's question, "Mm-hmm, the rescue team pulled us out."
The person clearly hadn't followed the follow-up news and asked curiously, "Really? That's wonderful. But they said you were buried for over ten days, and you seem perfectly fine."
Meng Huai explained carefully, "I was quite lucky. There was a mine shaft below."
"Then you really did have good luck!" After saying that, she turned to Sister Ting and said, "Please charge me."
Seeing Meng Huai step aside, Sister Ting moved behind the counter to process the customer's payment.
The customer whispered to Sister Ting, "Is this really the military academy student who was buried? Why is she here and not at the academy?"
Sister Ting explained with a helpless smile, "This is our shop owner. She came to let us know she's safe!"
The customer's mouth gaped open upon hearing this, "The medicinal cuisine restaurant's owner is a military academy student! I must tell everyone when I get back that I ate at a restaurant run by a military academy student!"