Fiction: Group 3
New Tale of the Pearl River Delta
TWGHs S C Gaw Memorial College, Hau, Kwan Kwan - 15, Fiction: Group 3
I am Edwin, a nineteen-year-old university student living in a city in the Pearl River Delta, Guangzhou.
But my life has suddenly and dramatically changed after two strange men brought me to an unfamiliar
building.
A day has passed, and now it seems I am the manager of a haunted house? No, a restaurant seems to be a
haunted house. How has a restaurant been transformed into a haunted house? I cannot recall what
happened.
Yesterday, I……
‘What? I have to manage the whole restaurant for two months? Why? I am not familiar with management!’
I am confused by this sudden change in my personal circumstances.
‘Do not question your new found status. You are ordered to save this restaurant and restore it to its former
glory,’ said the owner with serious intent.
However, a few days later, she flew to Canada on vacation.
Therefore, I am bound to be here for at least two months as the manager of ‘Sparkle Restaurant’. I walked
to the quiet of my office to absorb the change in my life’s direction. However, the next second, a beauty
stopped right in front of me.
‘Good afternoon, I am your secretary, Amanda. This restaurant may close as the customer volume has
declined and we need you to help us.
I will give the information for you to understand this restaurant’s situation. If you have any questions, please
ask me. I will be by your side,’ she assured me as removing a suit from her bag and handed me with a stack
of documents. It included debt-creating flows and workers’ information etc. I examined it for three hours
and I found that the restaurant was riddled with problems the most critical being the lack of customers. The
restaurant looked shabby and unkempt, its workers were idle and the kitchen was dirty. I told my secretary
to assemble all six workers and I announced:
‘I can't just stay observing anymore. Why is the restaurant so rundown? Why can’t we attract more guests?
It seems that you haven’t been making a big enough effort to attract more customers.’
The staff complained in whispered tones.
Undeterred, I attempted to placate them by saying: ‘I know that you dislike me but if you want me to quit
this job, that decision is out of your hands. Follow my orders because I will perform a miracle very soon.
Today this restaurant will be closed and all we have to do is renovate it, otherwise, you will receive a harsh
punishment. Orders will be posted on the walls. My word is final.’
The staff had nothing to say as they absorbed the announcement. It was reasonable. Dan, a staff member, ran
quickly to intercept me with his refutation.
‘Why do we have to temporarily close the restaurant? We have never closed it so suddenly and we will lose
our integrity and our customers! Don’t you realize that?’ Dan remonstrated.
‘Yes, that’s right, but my resolve is to return the restaurant to its former glory. If we only close for a day, it
will have little effect, Dan,’ I responded.
The next day when I returned, I smiled with satisfaction at the work I’d done the day before. The scene
before me was perfect. No haunted house, no dust but a restaurant with attractive decorations. All staff
members wore uniforms and were serving guests at ten in the morning.
Time had passed quickly but I remembered most of the staff’s names and could identify them.
I recognised the tall girl, who was a waitress, as Helen. Everyone seems to like her because of her
professionalism. She works faster than most of us but she has an irrational fear of men. If she sees a man she
