The Challenge (16)

Since the interior designer for the location came into Xiu Ling's employment via Lin Kang's contact, he naturally answered to Lin Kang for his assignment. After all, it was Lin Kang who would be paying him for the contract.

Therefore, the designer referred to Lin Kang for any suggestion, and when he needed to have any important decision made. Lin Kang tried to step in on Xiu Ling's behalf because he did not want his wife to overwork herself. He wanted her to finish this challenge with as much ease as possible. He discussed with the designer the general direction of the floor plan and how he wanted the space to be.

The designer went back to draft the blueprint and days later, he came back to show it to Lin Kang. It was an early draft but one could already see how things would be like in reality. The designer perfectly brought Lin Kang's ideas to life.

The kitchen was large and sleek like the executive kitchens that one would see on television restaurants. It was filled to the brim with modern kitchen utensils and appliances. The seating area was large and comfortable. The design ideal Lin Kang had in mind was modern and minimalist, kinda like how he had designed his office. Things were sleek and streamlined.

The decorations were minimal but the decorations that were there were all tasteful and expensive. Tables and chairs in black and white to keep the minimalist approach with crystal chandeliers for that pop of luxury.

Lin Kang was very satisfied, he even praised the interior designer for a job well done. However, he did not give the designer the green light instantly. He still needed to refer to Xiu Ling first. After all, this was her project, not his.

When Xiu Ling accepted the design draft, a frown creased on her face. It was definitely not what she had in mind when she thought about a family restaurant. She felt sorry for wasting Lin Kang and the designer's time because obvious effort had been put into this but this would not work for her. She had a complete vision in mind when it had been decided that the establishment would be an eatery.

Lin Kang did not mind it because his tolerance for Xiu Ling was as deep as the ocean and it was indeed his fault for not consulting with Xiu Ling first before he started with the design for the space. The interior designer had an even less of a reason to be mad, after all, he was getting still paid for the scrapped design. That would be counted as part of his working hour.

Since there were only Mrs. Xiu and Xiu Ling manning the kitchen, they did not need a big kitchen. Furthermore, Mrs. Xiu would not have known how to operate the newfangled equipment anyway. Xiu Ling downsized the kitchen and it only retained one criteria, which was comfort. A kitchen needed not be big but it had to be comfortable and easy to use.

Xiu Ling wanted the space to be welcoming and inviting especially for families with kids. Therefore, gone were the upscale furniture and they were replaced with cushioned chairs and round instead of rectangular tables. Xiu Ling also did not forget special items like booster seats and place mats to accommodate the younger demographic of her potential customers.

There were also private rooms but considering their main clientele, the decoration was more family-friendly and the walls had to be soundproof to prevent the place from being too noisy due to the complaints and cries of children.

There was a smaller kitchen at the top right hand corner of the shop that was connected to the main kitchen at the back. In other words, the kitchen area would show itself in a 'L' shape. The extended part of the kitchen was for Auntie Xiao's benefit. This was where Auntie Xiao could work her magic.

The smaller kitchen also faced outwards to the street and there would be a counter selling Auntie Xiao's delicacies to accommodate those customers who just wanted to take away some dessert and not stop for a full dining experience. They could buy from the outside counter and would not need to purposely walk into the shop. It would make things a lot more convenient.

Xiu Ling also specially sequestered out an area of the shop to make a play pen. Since they were going to be a family restaurant, they needed a place where the children of the customers could play. In the future, they could venture into the possibility of hiring caretakers but for now, they should focus on their menu and food.

The designer took in Xiu Ling's ideas and gave it a little professional edit. Then, he sought out the contractor and started the work.

Then, Lin Kang found Xiu Ling to discuss the issue of workers. Xiu Ling considered handling the entire store with just her mother but she knew that was impossible. Lin Kang suggested having a large work force but Xiu Ling was rather averse to the idea. For one, neither Xiu Ling nor Mrs. Xiu had any experience in training workers and for another, Xiu Ling wanted to keep this within family.

In the end, they settled for a compromise, and hired two workers. One to help with taking the order and serving the food, another to help in the kitchen and stuff.

The number might seem low but in reality, Xiu Ling's shop was a upscale restaurant with a homely veneer. Many of the chores had already been mechanized. For example, there was no need to hire someone to do the dishes because there were more than one dish washing machines and taking orders would be much simpler with an automated accounting system. Many of the processes were streamlined and optimized.

Jia Jia had the look of a traditional eatery but the efficiency and proficiency of the most advanced restaurant. It was truly the best of both worlds.