17: Chapter 17 Chief Recall Officer (CRO)

On his first day on the job, Joe encountered a challenge.

The challenge was named: Tell Li Ming stories about the past.

Li Ming squatted in front of him, holding a half-peeled potato in his hand, his eyes bright.

"Uncle Joe, what was the shop like before?"

Joe thought for a moment and said honestly, "Run-down."

Li Ming blinked. "How run-down?"

Joe pointed at the ceiling. "That hole has been there for three years. I never got around to fixing it."

Li Ming looked up—the hole was still there, and Lin Feng hadn't fixed it either.

Joe continued, "The tables were bought from the second-hand market, the chairs were picked up after people threw them away, and the fryer had been used for ten years; the oil had seeped into the bottom of the pot."

Li Ming listened, forgetting to peel the potato in his hand.

"Then... were there many customers?"

Joe shook his head. "Not many. If there were twenty in a day, that was a good day."

Li Ming fell silent.

He couldn't imagine what this shop looked like with "not many customers."

When he first came here, there was already a long line at the door.

Joe looked at the expression on his face and smiled.

"Do you think the shop was miserable before?"

Li Ming nodded.

Joe shook his head. "It wasn't miserable. I was the miserable one."

Li Ming was stunned for a moment.

Joe pointed at the sign by the door. "Do you know what that sign used to say?"

Li Ming shook his head.

Joe said, "Joe's Fried Chicken. Just those words. No 'The boss is more miserable than you,' nothing else."

He paused, then continued,

"I ran it for twenty-two years, and every day was the same. Open the door, fry chicken, collect money, close the door. Customers came and left, and I couldn't remember their faces. They left, and they couldn't remember me either."

Li Ming listened, slowly turning the potato in his hand.

Joe pointed to the two paintings on the wall. "But it's different now. Look at those paintings, those stories, those people—"

He pointed to the old man in the corner, pointed to Maria behind the counter, and pointed to the Mexican Guy in the kitchen.

"They remember me. And I remember them."

Li Ming was silent for three seconds.

Then he asked, "Uncle Joe, do you regret selling the shop?"

Joe thought for a moment and said earnestly,

"No regrets. If I hadn't sold it, this shop would still be that run-down place. If Lin Feng hadn't come, if you hadn't come, I wouldn't have the chance to sit here and tell you all this."

He smiled.

"So, it was a good sale."

After listening, Li Ming stood up, patted his butt, and went back to peeling potatoes.

Joe sat where he was, watching his retreating back, stunned for a moment.

The old man leaned over and said slowly, "Well told."

Joe turned his head to look at him. "You heard that?"

The old man nodded. "I heard it. You told it better than me."

Joe was stunned for a moment. "You told stories too?"

The old man pointed to the painting on the wall. "After my wife passed away, on my first day here, Lin Feng asked me to tell my story to the newcomers."

Joe raised an eyebrow. "What did you tell them?"

The old man thought for a moment and said, "About my wife. About how she's been gone for three years, but I still pour her a cup of coffee every morning."

Joe was silent for a second, then asked, "Is it hard?"

The old man shook his head. "Not hard. After telling it again and again, I got used to it. And—"

He pointed to the people in the shop.

"As they listen, I feel like she's still alive."

In the afternoon, a special guest came to the shop.

It was a girl in her early twenties, carrying a backpack, standing at the door, not daring to come in.

Lin Feng was squatting at the door. He looked up at her.

"Come on in."

The girl shook her head, her voice very small. "I... I don't eat fried chicken."

Lin Feng raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you here?"

The girl was silent for a second, then said, "I've watched your videos."

Lin Feng nodded. "And then?"

The girl's voice was even smaller. "I... I'm also very miserable."

Lin Feng stared at her for three seconds.

Then he stood up, pushed the door open, and shouted inside,

"Joe! We have a customer!"

Joe poked his head out from the corner. "What customer?"

Lin Feng pointed to the girl at the door. "Yours."

Joe led the girl to the corner and had her sit down.

The girl kept her head down, not daring to look at anyone.

Joe sat down opposite her and said slowly, "I'm also a newcomer."

The girl looked up at him.

Joe smiled. "I just arrived yesterday. One day earlier than you."

The girl was stunned for a moment.

Joe continued, "My son had leukemia, but he's cured. I sold the shop, and now I'm back to be the Chief Recall Officer."

The girl blinked. "What is a Chief Recall Officer?"

Joe thought for a moment and said, "It's someone responsible for telling stories about the past to newcomers."

The girl was silent for a second, then asked, "Then what... what story should I listen to?"

Joe pointed to the painting on the wall. "See that painting? It's of the boss. The girl who painted it is named Lily, and she came here the same way."

The girl stared at the painting for a long time.

Then she asked, "Why... why did she come?"

Joe said, "Because she painted well, and the boss saw it."

The girl's eyes turned red.

She lowered her head, her voice very soft.

"I also want to be seen."

Joe didn't speak.

He stood up, walked to the counter, and said a few words to Maria.

Maria nodded, packed an order of fried chicken, and handed it to Joe.

Joe carried the fried chicken back and placed it in front of the girl.

"Eat."

The girl was stunned. "I didn't order—"

Joe interrupted her. "My treat."

The girl stared at the fried chicken for three seconds.

Then she picked up a piece and took a bite.

As she chewed, tears fell down.

Joe sat opposite her, not speaking.

When she finished crying, Joe spoke up.

"Do you know how I was seen?"

The girl shook her head.

Joe pointed to the door. "I squatted there and told the boss I wanted to buy the shop back."

The girl was stunned. "And then?"

Joe smiled. "Then he said, 'Why don't you be the Chief Recall Officer.'"

The girl was stunned for a moment, and the corners of her mouth moved slightly.

Joe continued, "Everyone here came this way. Standing at the door, squatting at the door, coming in crying, coming in laughing, they've all been here. But after coming here—"

He pointed to the people in the shop.

"We're all family."

The girl stayed for a long time that day.

She didn't order a second serving of fried chicken, but she didn't leave either.

She sat in the corner, watching the people in the shop busy about, watching customers come and go, and looking at the two paintings on the wall.

In the evening, she stood up, walked to the counter, and said to Maria,

"Can I... can I come here?"

Maria looked at her and asked, "What can you do?"

The girl thought for a moment and said, "I can... take pictures."

Maria turned her head and glanced at Lin Feng.

Lin Feng was squatting at the door, chewing on a straw, and nodded.

Maria turned back and said to the girl,

"Starting tomorrow. Wear comfortable shoes."

The girl was stunned for a second.

Then she smiled. A smile that rippled from the depths of her eyes.

Lin Feng was squatting at the door, watching this scene, the corners of his mouth curling up, impossible to suppress.

His phone vibrated.

[Ding—Congratulations to the Host for triggering a hidden achievement—]

[Achievement Name: Let those who want to be seen learn to walk in on their own]

[Achievement Reward: None. But—today's fried chicken is quite delicious.]

Lin Feng stared at the "fried chicken is quite delicious" and was stunned for three seconds.

Then he smiled.

He put his phone back in his pocket and continued squatting, looking across the street.

The setting sun dyed the whole street orange-yellow.

Laughter from inside the shop drifted out in waves.

He remembered three months ago, when he was squatting in this same spot, with 500,000 in his pocket, not knowing what to do next.

Now he knew what to do.

Continue squatting.

Continue watching this group of people.

Continue being a lunatic.

And by the way, continue eating fried chicken.

[Chapter 17 End]