Good Deeds and Kind People

He counted the cash in the register once more—no mistake, still 535 yuan. With a sigh, Xiao Yao’s face fell, dejection written all over him.

Though a few more customers had come in to eat today, he still hadn’t met his modest goal of breaking even; today alone, he’d lost about 200 yuan. If the losses continued like this, he’d last maybe another half month at most. His first venture into entrepreneurship would end in failure.

Xiao Yao was truly unwilling to accept this, but reality was cruel—what good was frustration? Compared to most people, he was already fortunate enough.

His parents had both been university students in the 1980s, promising young civil servants with bright futures. But his late grandmother was a force to be reckoned with; she insisted that his parents have a second child. She got her wish—they had him, their eldest grandson—but both his parents were dismissed from their government jobs as a result.

Fortunately, in those times, both were rare talents. Though they lost their iron rice bowls, it wasn’t hard to find work that would put food on the table. Now, his father was a mid-level manager at a state-owned enterprise, his mother the chief financial officer at a private firm. Their family wasn’t wealthy by any means, but they lived comfortably.

His elder sister, Banxia, had always been the family’s pride. Throughout her life, she’d come first in nearly every exam. After graduating from Tsinghua University, she’d gone straight to work for a foreign company in the capital, with an enviable salary and benefits.

With such an outstanding sister, Xiao Yao appeared even more ordinary by comparison. Aside from his tall, handsome looks, it was hard to find any other remarkable traits in him.

He’d always been somewhat lazy, and after graduating from a middling university, he had no desire to be bound by too many constraints. Given his unexceptional abilities and average academics, finding an ideal job proved nearly impossible.

After much deliberation and investigation, he finally took over this little restaurant.

The place wasn’t big—just fifteen tables spread over two floors—but it was in a decent location and had just been renovated. The previous owner, anxious to return to his hometown to care for his ailing parents, set a very low transfer fee. Including renovations and all the kitchen equipment, the total came to just 80,000 yuan.

Adding the transfer fee to a year’s rent, Xiao Yao invested 180,000 yuan all at once to take over the restaurant.

The head chef, though young, was highly skilled. After tasting his cooking, Xiao Yao made a point to keep him on. He’d thought that with a new sign out front and the restaurant’s regulars still around, business would soon flourish. He didn’t hope to make a fortune—just to repay the 100,000 yuan his family gave him and the 80,000 from his sister, and have a little left over to cover his needs. That would be enough.

But beautiful dreams met harsh reality. The more desperately you reach for something, the more it slips through your fingers.

The previous owner hadn’t left to look after sick parents at all—he was eager to offload the place because it kept losing money, hoping to recover as much of his investment as possible.

Xiao Yao thought he’d done his due diligence, but he’d been too naïve. The location was decent, but parking was scarce and foot traffic was light. Making money here was truly difficult.

After taking over and renaming the restaurant “Seeking Flavors,” it had been open for half a month and lost money every day. If business didn’t improve, after paying salaries in another fortnight, there’d be little left in his account.

To lose over a hundred thousand yuan in less than a month on his first business venture—Xiao Yao found it hard to accept.

As he pulled down the metal shutter, he suddenly heard a cry behind him. After locking the door, he turned and saw an elderly man with white hair lying flat on his back in the street, sweat beading on his forehead, clutching his chest in obvious pain.

Xiao Yao recognized him—the old man had come to “Seeking Flavors” for meals several times in recent days.

He rushed over, crouched beside him, and asked with concern, “Grandpa Zhao, what’s wrong? Is it your heart again? Do you have your medication with you?”

The old man’s condition was grave; already half-unconscious, his eyes met Xiao Yao’s without focus, unable to answer.

It was the first time Xiao Yao had faced such a life-and-death situation, and he felt a wave of panic, not knowing what to do. Thankfully, he remembered the most basic thing—to call 120.

As he dialed, he didn’t notice the old man’s tightly shut eyes suddenly open, clear and focused in the darkness, fixing on Xiao Yao with a predatory intensity, as chilling as a wolf lying in wait.

After calling for an ambulance, Xiao Yao forced himself to stay calm. He searched the old man’s pockets and found two bottles of medicine: one of quick-acting heart pills, and another of isosorbide dinitrate tablets. He wasn’t sure what the latter was for, but knew that quick-acting heart pills could help in an attack.

After searching online for instructions, he counted out fifteen pills, intending to place them under Grandpa Zhao’s tongue. Lacking experience, he managed only to get them into his mouth.

As he waited anxiously, several kind passersby gathered around. The ambulance arrived quickly. Since the old man didn’t have his phone and his family couldn’t be reached, Xiao Yao had to accompany him to the hospital.

The situation had looked dire, but because the attack was handled promptly, surgery wasn’t needed. Xiao Yao just had to pay the admission fee; there was no need to worry about surgical consent.

Learning that the old man was stable and not in immediate danger, Xiao Yao finally relaxed. He wasn’t concerned about the hospital fee he’d paid on the old man’s behalf; his only worry was that if anything happened, the old man’s family might accuse him of wrongdoing. In his haste, he’d forgotten to take a video as evidence.

Now that he knew the old man would recover, that fear was no longer necessary.

Judging by the man’s expensive clothing, he didn’t seem to lack money; once he was fully awake, Xiao Yao figured he’d get the 3,000 yuan he’d advanced for the hospital stay back.

Since the old man’s family still couldn’t be reached, Xiao Yao stayed at the hospital to keep him company.

The old man slept soundly through the night and didn’t wake until the sky began to lighten.