America's Greatest Villain: I Defeat Magic with Magic

At nine o'clock in the morning, Chen Yuan arrived at Rongdingge Restaurant on time.

Although no one would keep track of his attendance as the boss, Rongding Pavilion had just experienced a period of turmoil, and it was essential for the new boss to be present at the store to stabilize morale.

Having just finished an iced Americano, Ms. Liu, the HR manager, walked excitedly into the office, handing over a resume and saying:

"Boss Chen, a local young lady just came for a waitress interview. I think she's quite good-looking. Would you like to come and check her out yourself?"

After Chen Yuan became the owner of Rongding Pavilion, he naturally couldn't continue working as a waiter in the front hall. However, Hu Dan and Su Nian were both international students and would be returning to school in about half a month.

Therefore, Rongding Pavilion urgently needs to recruit a front-of-house staff member who can work full-time.

Unexpectedly, not long after the job posting was published, someone came to apply.

When Sister Liu led the applicant into the office, Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow as he looked at the applicant.

I had assumed that most people looking for work at Chinese restaurants would be new Chinese immigrants.

Unexpectedly, a young white girl with long golden-brown hair appeared.

She was in her early twenties. Although her clothes were somewhat cheap and worn, she was actually quite pretty. She tried to maintain a professional smile during her self-introduction, and you could even see two sweet dimples.

She appears to be a typical Midwestern girl. Although her family background may be quite ordinary, she seems sunny, confident, and outgoing.

The only question is, why would a young girl who should be working at Starbucks or a chain Western restaurant apply for a job at a Chinese restaurant?

Chen Yuan had encountered many such native white girls since childhood. When facing ethnic minorities, they always carried a natural arrogance and defensiveness in their bones.

Of course, having a white girl who speaks fluent English standing in the front hall can greatly reduce the restaurant's "hatred level" and save a lot of unnecessary trouble when dealing with health department inspections, police questioning, or some troublesome white diners.

So Chen Yuan asked directly:

"You're good-looking, but young and pretty girls like you usually go to Hollywood or Beverly Hills to look for waitressing jobs, hoping to be discovered by talent scouts. Why would you want to work as a waitress in a smoky restaurant in the South?"

But before she could finish speaking, a red information panel suddenly popped up above the girl named Emily's head:

[Target: Emily Harper, 20 years old, unemployed.]

[Recent criminal activity: Penniless after being scammed by a Hollywood shell company, he stole a sandwich from the 7-Eleven across the street this morning to eat.]

Chen Yuan suddenly realized that his casual question had actually hit the girl's sore spot.

There are far too many "California drifters" who come to Los Angeles alone in pursuit of their dreams of becoming stars, only to be scammed and lose everything.

Emily still has the energy to look for work and hasn't ended up on the streets, which makes her one of the more resilient ones.

She chose Rongding Pavilion Restaurant probably because she was starving and was attracted by the "three meals a day" employee benefit advertised by the recruiter at the entrance.

Despite the slight hostility that arose from Chen Yuan's casual question, Emily forced a smile and tried her best to remain calm as she spoke:

"I have extensive experience working as a restaurant server back in my hometown, and I also know some basic cooking skills. The reason I chose to come here is partly because it's close to where I live, and partly because this restaurant is doing well; I don't want to end up with a boss who can't pay wages."

As expected, while Miss Emily's reasons were reasonable, her attitude still carried an undisguised local arrogance.

So Chen Yuan said without any politeness:

"I see. I thought you were cheated out of all your money by an unscrupulous entertainment company, and you even had to steal a sandwich from the convenience store across the street to fill your stomach for breakfast. After seeing that our restaurant provides free meals for the staff, you mustered up the courage to come in and beg for a job."

Upon hearing this, Emily's smile instantly froze.

She opened her eyes wide in terror, wanting to explain, but it felt as if her throat was stuffed with cotton, and she couldn't utter a single word.

How did this young Asian business owner find out about these private matters?!

Was he an accomplice of that fraudulent company? Or did the convenience store across the street film her stealing the sandwich?

What should she do? Should she escape from here immediately? But if things continue like this, forget about next month's rent, she'll starve to death under the overpass tonight.

Just as Emily was lost in thought, even preparing to storm out, she heard Chen Yuan say calmly:

"$20 per hour, three meals included, monthly salary paid at the end of the month."

The main reason I was willing to hire the girl in front of me was that, according to the system feedback, she didn't have any major flaws.

He has a clean background, and even if he steals, it's out of necessity to survive. Moreover, in dire straits, his first thought is to find a job and support himself.

Aside from a bit of naiveté and the ridiculous arrogance of native white people, such young people are already considered a valuable asset in America today.

Emily was clearly in a state of great shock and hesitation.

She couldn't understand why Chen Yuan knew so much about her, and instinctively feared falling into some terrible trap again.

But $20 an hour is definitely a high wage in the service industry in the South District! Moreover, she had passed by this restaurant several times before, and the snack window was incredibly popular.

This means that in addition to a substantial base salary, she also receives a very considerable tip every day!

In addition, the landlord has issued an ultimatum. In order to avoid being evicted and becoming homeless, she needs to get some money to get through the current difficulties.

Finally, Emily bit her lip and nodded, then asked somewhat hesitantly:

"Can...can I start work today?"

Since she wasn't going to work, she would have to continue going hungry today.

Looking at the girl who was completely under his control, Chen Yuan smiled with satisfaction:

"No problem. The other two waitresses will be here soon, and they'll tell you exactly what you need to do. I think with your past experience working back home, you'll get the hang of it quickly."

Emily's arrival did indeed relieve a lot of the pressure on Hu Dan and Su Nian, who were already overwhelmed with work.

Moreover, she quickly divided the work with Hu Dan: Hu Dan would handle the Chinese diners, while Emily would take full responsibility for the difficult local white and black customers.

In the end, it turned out that Emily was not lying when she claimed that she had worked as a waitress in her hometown.

From taking notes on the menu to serving the food, to smoothly handling the customers' teasing, and finally settling the bill and collecting tips, the whole process seemed effortless and orderly.

At the end of the day, she received just as many tips as Hu Dan.

This is also because Hu Dan needs to go to the window to help Su Nian during the midday and evening peak hours.

The only downside was that Emily seemed to have some plans for the evening, so she left the restaurant before closing time.

"How's the new white girl feeling?"

When Chen Yuan asked her questions while reviewing the accounts, Hu Dan thought for a moment and answered truthfully:

"She's very familiar with the work of a waitress; she's definitely a veteran. But..."

"Is there a problem?"

"She said she has to go to an evening acting training class, so she absolutely cannot work the night shift. And judging from her desperate way of making money, she probably only came to our shop because she's short of cash, and she'll probably leave soon."

Clearly, Hu Dan, with his extensive social experience, could see that Emily had come to Los Angeles to pursue the Hollywood dream that every pretty white girl has, and that she couldn't possibly stay in this small Chinese restaurant for long.

"It's alright." Chen Yuan waved his hand with a smile. "Waitresses are a job with high turnover anyway. As long as she can generate profits for us now, we can hire someone else later."

Although the security situation in the South District has improved considerably during this period, Rongding Pavilion still closes promptly at 8 p.m. without fail, considering the safety of Hu Dan and Su Nian, and Chen Yuan is the last to leave.

As he turned a corner of the street, as usual.

In the dim light, a blinding red light suddenly flashed without warning:

[Target: Julio, 32 years old. Occupation: Chief Sennaro gang cleaner.]

[Recent criminal acts: Yesterday afternoon, a gang member suspected of being a police informant was brutally executed using a steel wire noose. Tonight, under orders from gang leader Black Snake, I am to assassinate the owner of a Chinese restaurant.]

The sudden system notification immediately alerted Chen Yuan.

Is this because they've been targeted by the Sinaloa Gang's top assassins?