Chiba Salted Fish Legend

Chapter 55: Don’t hinder my work.

Finally, at two o'clock in the opening time, Tachibana Aya was rushed to the seat where she sat last time by Natsuki. She turned over the sign hanging on the door of the store, walked back behind the counter, and quietly waited for the arrival of customers.Now open for business.

Two o'clock in the afternoon on Saturday is a good time for Xiazhi, but not for business operators.Two o'clock in the afternoon is the time after people have lunch and rest. People have already eaten what they should eat, and those who want to rest have also rested. They either go to an amusement park or a shopping mall, but those who go to restaurants must definitely There are very few.

Generally speaking, ordinary restaurants do not do much business except for specific noon and evening meals. Stores selling food such as scattered snacks or crepes are not included, but their sales volume is larger. The time is still outside meals, such as before meals, afternoon tea or supper time. At this time, most of the food eaten at meals has been digested, and people are in a state of being able to eat, but not eating more.In such a state, coffee shops and pastry shops will be the choice of quite a few people, and this is the second peak period for shops like coffee shops.

Well, the first peak period is still meal time. After all, shops like coffee shops still serve main meals, although not many, and there are many people who like the food provided by coffee shops, so they don’t stop at meal time. There is no business at this time, and even some well-known stores will greatly increase their sales at this time.

But for ordinary shops that are not well-known, the period before meals is the prime time for business.And this cafe is completely in line with the characteristics of not being famous, so, at least for now, even if it opens, there will be few customers.

There may occasionally be regular customers who come to sit down at this time, but there are definitely not many, and most of them can only be satisfied with a cup of coffee and a piece of cake.The key point is at three o'clock an hour later. From that time onwards, many customers will come one after another. The hour immediately following is the most tiring time.

Because the number of guests will gradually increase, and Mayumi will not come over until an hour later.Although the coffee shop is not that big, if one person takes care of the entire coffee shop, even experienced hands will sometimes be stretched.Not to mention people like Xia Zhi who are not yet familiar with it.He can only say that he is not a stranger.

Of course, for today, the first person to order was undoubtedly Tachibana Aya, who was sitting in the corner and typing up a manuscript on his laptop.

"Xia Zhi, I want milk coffee and matcha cake!"

She ordered directly by shouting. Is she serious?
Xia Zhi took what she ordered and put it on the table.Tachibana Aya stared at the computer screen intently, her eyes moving along with the text that was being entered. It seemed that the blue light glasses used to protect her eyes reflected the light of the bright white screen.She continued banging without turning her head.

"Put it over here."

"Don't order by shouting. Also, which way is this?" Although Xia Zhi said this, she still put everything on her left and picked up the cup that had been filled with juice. .Although no one usually cares about such things, every time he brings something to her or picks up a plate, he always takes something from her left hand side.And Xia Zhi doesn't think that people who are obsessed with their own interests will go out of their way to care about others while working.

After all, people who don't care about anything are more in line with the characteristics of success than people who are indifferent when they are obsessed with interests.And Tachibana Aya, who almost became a son of the plane in Xia Zhi's heart, undoubtedly has such qualifications.

As soon as I put it down, a hand reached out.He held the coffee cup in his left hand and took a sip, then put it down again and continued to focus on the work in front of him.Even while drinking, her hands kept tapping on the keyboard.

There was no response, she just went about her business.For Xia Zhi, this is better. If all Japan has such customers, it would be a great help.

Xia Zhi had no interest in her, nor in what she did.Maybe even if it does, it won't have any impact on him.People who haven't even done their own thing well are not qualified to meddle in other people's business.

Xia Zhi returned to his seat in front of the counter. He was very bored, but the same boring professionalism also prevented him from taking out his mobile phone to play in the end.Although the store manager may not mind it, rather he will take the lead in playing with his mobile phone, but this is not the behavior that a person who works under others should behave.

Just like the idea of ​​"try harder tomorrow", you end up falling into the cycle of "tomorrow after tomorrow", which is what Xia Zhi wants to avoid.After all, a large number of people are like this, right?There are definitely more people who leave their winter and summer vacation homework until the last few days to write it than those who finish their homework in the first few days of the vacation.

Now that you understand it, don't try it. As long as you try it for the first time, the next time will be much easier than you think.

Xia Zhi sat in a chair in a daze, the store door was pushed open amidst the sound of wind chimes, and two high school girls who were regular customers walked in.

"Good afternoon, Senior Xia Zhi."

"Good afternoon. Would you like something to drink?"

"Ah, just give us two glasses of juice, and two pieces of matcha cake."

One of them looked around the store.

"Is Natsuchi-senpai alone today? Where is the store manager?"

"As he said, he went to the zoo with Sister Sayuri and Xiaoyao."

"Ah. It's been a hard day today then."

They found a seat with better lighting and sat down. Xia Zhi started to prepare what they ordered, and then brought it to them.Another, quieter child thanked Xia Zhizhi.

"But if the store manager and the others go to the zoo, won't Natsuki-senpai go?"

"Although I was invited. But if I go, the cafe will be closed today."

"Really, that's really lucky. It's not in vain that we made a special trip from the station."

"Thank you for your patronage."

The two high school girls had their own things to talk about. After Xia Zhi finished what he should do, he returned behind the counter.I was bored, so I took out a file and coffee beans and ground coffee powder by hand in front of the counter.Although Xia Zhi didn't know whether coffee beans could be ground with a file, the store manager taught him this, so it shouldn't be a big problem.

For now, Xia Zhi ground a cup of water for himself and boiled another pot of water.Then brew the coffee step by step according to the method taught by the store manager.A fragrance different from instant coffee wafted out, and Xia Zhi liked this taste.Then he was touching the fish and grinding the coffee beans.

It turns out that the reputation of the coffee shop is indeed not very good.More than 10 minutes have passed since [-] o'clock. Leaving aside the psychotic writer who came over for a drink before business hours, the only customers currently in the store are the two high school girls who are probably in their first year of high school. , and they are still regular customers.

It’s truly a miracle that this store didn’t close down.Xia Zhi often thinks about it.

There were no clocks or anything like that hanging in the coffee shop, so Xia Zhi still had a vague sense of the passage of time.Occasionally I take out my phone and take a look. Most of the time it has only been a few minutes.And the feeling that every second seems like a year probably happened in this extremely boring situation.

When you are immersed in something you find interesting, time seems to have flown by without a trace in the next second.If you are surrounded by the feeling of boredom, the passage of time will become slower and slower, and then you will feel bored unknowingly.

If possible, Xia Zhi would like to run out of the cafe and go to the cold drink shop next door to get an ice cream.The price is affordable, the portions are large, and the taste is so good that the sundaes and the like in the store often fail to sell out.However, it is not as delicious as the cold drink shop next to it. Although the store manager is very distressed that he has been robbed of his business, every time Xia Zhi sees him pushing in from outside the store with a large ice cream. I just thought, "This boss is really embarrassing."

Because there were two female high school students communicating, the store, which was originally a little too quiet, became a little lively.The sound of Tachibana Aya tapping the keyboard in the corner was still coming. Looking up, Xia Zhi found that she had almost maintained the same posture for more than half an hour.

With nothing to do, Xia Zhi still felt a little bored while grinding coffee beans.I've already ground half a bottle of coffee powder. If I try harder, I might be able to take a bottle back with me.Compared to blended coffee, specially ground coffee powder has a stronger flavor.

As he was grinding something, a shadow gradually fell over him. He thought it was a guest coming, but when he looked up, he found that Tachibana Aya was observing Natsuki with interest.Judging from the paper and pen in her hand, it was easy to tell that she was being taken advantage of again.Although it’s almost time to take these things lightly, the people who are actually being photographed will always feel a little uneasy.

"what are you doing?"

"Me? Grinding coffee beans. Isn't that obvious?"

Xia Zhi replied.

"Do you grind coffee beans with a file?" She looked a little surprised.

"Who knows... Anyway, that's what the store manager taught me, and the files are washed every day, so I don't have to worry about any hygiene problems."

"Don't you have a coffee grinder? You are a coffee shop."

"Yes. It's just that the coffee powder is enough now, so there's no need to use it."

She was writing and drawing in a small notebook with a pen. If there was another person carrying a camera behind her, Xia Zhi felt that she might be more like a reporter than a light novel writer.But with her personality, there is a high possibility that she will become the kind of reporter who fights in and out of a city full of zombies.

"Go and sit over there by yourself, don't interfere with my work."

"Will there be no guests here?"

"Stop talking nonsense. We'll get it later."

As for how long he stayed, Xia Zhi was not sure.When the next customer came to the store, it was already past three in the afternoon.

(End of this chapter)