Chapter 80: Donald's Brilliant Strategy

"You over there with the glasses, yes, you! You dared to ruin my plans back then—I've remembered you. We've got a long future ahead of us!"

The supervisor and the crowd followed his gaze. Ma Ma Zhaodi, pretending not to hear, stood quietly to the side, playing the part of a wooden man.

"Ma Ma Zhaodi, was he talking about you?"

"Definitely not me," Ma Ma Zhaodi shook his head decisively. "I've never even seen this person—he must have mistaken me for someone else."

The bound man's eyes immediately bulged: "You f***ing b***ard, look me in the eye and say again that you don't know me! You're dead meat! No one can save you! Did you hear me? You're dead!"

"Fine, fine, just drag him away," the supervisor said, waving his hand dismissively as the man cursed beside him. Several employees immediately stuffed a wad of newspaper into the man's mouth, then grabbed and dragged him away.

Ma Ma Zhaodi wore an awkward yet polite smile, meeting the supervisor's scrutinizing gaze. He tried hard to keep his smile natural, doing his best not to appear stiff.

"Ma Ma Zhaodi, you really know how to cause trouble."

The supervisor sighed and patted his shoulder with the hand not holding the cane: "The restaurant will be closed again tomorrow. It hasn't even been a month since we opened, and you've already caused this kind of problem. I was originally someone who didn't believe in bad luck. What religion do you usually follow? I'd better avoid it."

"I'm a pan-religious person, you know. I believe in whichever one is useful, as long as it's free. I believe in a little bit of everything—"

"Just shut up," the supervisor quickly hopped over on his cane, covering Ma Ma Zhaodi's mouth. "If there's even one religious person in this restaurant, hearing that would make them want to beat you to death."

Ma Ma Zhaodi obediently closed his mouth. He racked his brains, searching for words to comfort the supervisor as compensation. Finally, seeing the chandelier overhead, his eyes lit up with inspiration.

"Supervisor, supervisor, at least the chandelier didn't break this time."

The supervisor's face turned red again. He raised the cane in his hand, looking as if he wanted to strike, but a second later, his face went pale. He put the cane away and leaned on his plaster-cast leg for support.

He steadied his breath, took a deep breath, and his face returned to normal. It was clear that the supervisor's cultivation of patience had made significant progress.

"You are never to mention the word 'chandelier' again! No one is! The restaurant won't be open tomorrow. We've already paid this week's and next week's wages tonight. Stay far away from the restaurant tomorrow, understand? I need my heart to rest for a day!"

"Oh, so that means a day off."

"Forget it, I've changed my mind. Come in tomorrow."

Ma Ma Zhaodi thought for a moment, then shook his head again: "I don't have money to pay for damages, Supervisor."

"Stop wasting words! Get out!"

"Got it."

The next morning, Valentine's Day.

Ma Ma Zhaodi arrived at the Red Dragon Restaurant again. The supervisor had arrived very early and was already waiting inside. When he saw Ma Ma Zhaodi, there was a strange expression on his face, somewhat like someone trying hard to hold back a wicked grin, resulting in a constipated look.

"Ma Ma Zhaodi, come here, come here."

After Ma Ma Zhaodi walked over with a confused expression, the supervisor smiled and put his arm around his shoulder, leading him upstairs like an older brother guiding a younger one. The degree of intimacy made Ma Ma Zhaodi suspect that the previous day's fire and the resulting losses had been so great that the supervisor had become so angry he had damaged his brain.

"Haha, I went to the hospital yesterday and had a chat with Donald."

Ma Ma Zhaodi immediately felt alert in his heart. Could it be that they planned to fire him?

"We two realized that actually, we were the ones who made a mistake. We always saw you as just an ordinary waiter, a fool who couldn't use a gun, an unlucky guy with a bit of courage, a jinx bringing bad luck, someone who didn't understand human affairs—"

"Supervisor, I feel like your words are getting more and more personal."

"Ahem, ahem."

The supervisor, whose thoughts had been exposed, cleared his throat and slightly masked his embarrassment: "In short, we feel that besides being reasonably competent as a waiter, you only have honesty and courage to recommend, but actually, we shouldn't have viewed you that way."

As the supervisor spoke, a kind smile appeared on his face: "There is no trash in the world, only resources placed in the wrong location."

"Why must we confine you to the Red Dragon? Listen to me—Ma Ma Zhaodi, today is the moment of your life's formal qualitative transformation. This choice is very important. If you choose correctly, you will officially become the Falcone family's secret weapon. We will pay you a bi-weekly salary of sixty thousand as compensation for this new job."

"How m-much?"

Ma Ma Zhaodi looked at the supervisor in a daze, his head filled with the number six, his eyes overflowing with golden light.

The light of money.

"Oh my god, sixty thousand?"

"That's right. You just need to change jobs—we've even already contacted someone for you. You must start today. I mean, you can start today."

Hearing this, the rational part of Ma Ma Zhaodi's brain quickly retook the high ground. He shook his head, shaking off the daydream of getting rich, because he knew there was no such thing as a free lunch falling from the sky, and Gotham City certainly couldn't have one either.

"Simple. You may know that Maroni also opened a restaurant in the Burnley District?"

"Then isn't he higher ranking than us?"

"Don't interrupt me—and he isn't higher ranking than us. We have restaurants in the Diamond District and the Burnley District too. It's just that sometimes people come to the Old District and the East Side to work. Having those high-ranking family members running back and forth is really improper."

After the supervisor defended himself with two sentences, he continued with the main topic: "Maroni's restaurant not only makes a profit for him, but is also his base of operations, which is quite important to him. Coincidentally, we haven't been getting along with them recently, so we thought we could slip a knife that can draw blood over there."

Ma Ma Zhaodi looked at the supervisor. At this moment, he understood Donald and the supervisor's intentions.

"You want me to go over there and cause trouble?"

"No, for you, there's no need to deliberately cause any trouble," the supervisor said, shaking his head and smiling as he straightened his tie.

"You just need to perform normally, work as you usually do—your very existence is the greatest threat to that restaurant."

As the supervisor's words fell, the long-awaited system prompt suddenly rang out.

【Ding】

【You have a new gig available, please check and collect】

At this very moment, Ma Ma Zhaodi's mind was filled with a thousand thoughts. Changing jobs once a month, with work experience at three different places, reminded him of the famous "three families not right, but a servant of three surnames" from a certain classic novel he had read before.

【Valentine's Day Milk Chocolate】

Mission Description: Valentine's Day is a romantic day. Some people are sad on this day, while others are happy—of course, none of that has anything to do with you. You are just a heartless chocolate chef.

Note: You certainly wouldn't guess what heavyweight guest you will meet today—remember to use two thousand points of good milk to make this chocolate. One portion is enough.

Status: Pending (0/1)

Reward: Advanced Climbing Mastery】

(End of Chapter)