第四章 培训三天

The next morning, Lucas put on his uniform and stood inside the milk tea shop.

“This is Ajie,” Sister Wang introduced. “He has been working here for over a year, and you will learn from him. Starting today, you have three days of training, and he will teach you.”

Ajie was a tall, thin boy, also a college student. He smiled at Lucas and said, “Just call me Ajie. Come on, let's first get familiar with the menu.”

Ajie pointed to the menu on the wall and read them one by one for him:

“Pearl milk tea, lemonade, mango pomelo sago, cheese green tea...”

“Mango pomelo sago,” Lucas interrupted. “I know this one, it's made with mango.”

“Oh, you've done your homework in advance?” Ajie laughed. “Not bad.”

“Making milk tea isn't hard; the hard part is remembering what goes in each cup,” Ajie said. “For example, how much pearls, how much sugar, how much ice—there's a standard for all.”

Lucas looked at the ingredient list, his eyes were dizzy.

“Pearl, coconut jelly, pudding, grass jelly...” he recited in a low voice. “Pearls are black, coconut jelly is white, pudding is yellow...”

“Don't memorize colors,” Ajie laughed at him. “Memorize names and amounts. You look first, I'll go out to help for a while, and I'll test you later.”

In the afternoon, Ajie had Lucas try to make a cup of pearl milk tea.

Lucas was very nervous. He scooped a spoonful of pearls, his hand trembled, and the pearls rolled onto the floor.

“I'm sorry! I'm sorry!” He quickly squatted down to pick them up.

“It's okay,” Ajie stopped him. “The ones that fell on the floor are no good. Try again.”

Lucas silently thought through the order. Pearls, add tea, add milk, add sugar, seal.

The sealing machine went “clack,” and a cup of milk tea was made.

Ajie picked it up and looked at it. “For the first time, making it like this is acceptable.”

Lucas was so happy he wanted to jump up.

This was the first cup of milk tea he had made himself!

The next day, Ajie taught him how to welcome customers.

“When a customer comes in, you should say 'Welcome.' When a customer orders, you should ask 'What would you like?' When they finish ordering, you should ask 'With ice? Large or small? For here or take away?'”

“So much?” Lucas was stunned.

“Not much, just these few sentences,” Ajie said. “Come on, repeat after me.”

“Welcome... come in.” Lucas's voice was like a mosquito's buzz.

“Louder,” Ajie said. “You're at work, not whispering.”

“Welcome!” Lucas shouted at the top of his lungs.

All the customers in the shop turned around to look at him.

Lucas's face suddenly turned red.

On the third day, Lucas could already memorize most of the menu.

In the afternoon, Ajie went to deliver orders, and Sister Wang let him watch the counter alone.

A girl came and ordered a cup of mango pomelo sago.

Lucas worked while silently reciting the steps in his mind: add mango, add coconut milk, add sago, add ice...

After it was done, he handed it to the girl and said in a low voice, “Your mango pomelo sago.”

The girl took a sip, winked at him and said, “It's quite tasty.”

“She saw that I'm a beginner,” Lucas thought, his face red like an autumn apple.

This was the first time that he, alone from start to finish, made a cup of milk tea that satisfied a customer.

After work in the evening, Ajie asked him, “How was it? Is the three-day training tiring?”

“Tiring,” Lucas said, “but it gives me a great sense of achievement.”

“Starting tomorrow, you'll be officially on duty,” Ajie said. “You'll cover a shift alone, so don't be nervous.”

Lucas nodded.

Nervous? Of course he was nervous.

But he had already been able to make his first cup of milk tea.

Tomorrow, it will surely be no problem.