(Minghui.org) I am a 42-year-old chef and restaurant owner. I started practicing Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, in 2005. It was the year I started working as an apprentice at a large restaurant.
Blessed by Dafa and Master Li Hongzhi (the founder of Falun Gong), I was able to open up my own diner in 2009 and then turn it into a big restaurant. I am always honest in my dealings with my customers and always use fresh ingredients. While the restaurant business in general has been slow recently, mine is booming.
Becoming a Dafa Practitioner
As an apprentice, the work was hard and my pay was low. I had a young child to take care of and my wife and I had a hard time making ends meet. We lived with my father-in-law in his house to save money. The financial pressure stressed me out and I developed pharyngitis.
I tried all kinds of Chinese and Western treatments, but nothing worked. My immune system started to deteriorate. Within two months, I'd developed multiple health problems, including arrhythmia, joint swelling and pain, and a persistent, high fever and cough. I also developed polyps with blisters in my throat.
I went to the hospital to have the polyps removed, but they came back a month later. I was in despair and felt I had nowhere to turn.
My mother had practiced Falun Gong for eight years by then. After she started, all her ailments disappeared and she had not taken any medicine since.
She sent me a copy of Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Gong, just in time. She said, “Son, just take up the practice. Only Dafa and Master can save you.”
I knew how much my mother had benefited from Dafa, so I started to read the book.
It was amazing. Only a few days after I started to read Zhuan Falun, my throat stopped hurting. The polyps and blisters in my throat disappeared, and my other health problems also vanished. I recovered my health completely.
Providing My Customers Good Service
I have been in the food business for ten years. I have been diligent about following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and treat my customers well. They have praised me for being honest and providing good service. They not only can enjoy good food at my restaurant, they can also understand the facts about Falun Gong and know that they will have a bright future.
One hot summer day, the owner of a lumber company ate lunch at my diner with several guests. At their table, she showed her guests a block of gold, then left it with the paper napkins on the table and forgot to take it with her. The table had already been cleaned by the time she came back to look for it.
She was very disappointed and left. My wife started to dig through the trash in the container out back under the scorching sun. She finally found it, and we called and told the owner, who was deeply moved. She said, “I will always eat at your restaurant as long as it remains open!”
Another customer could not find his new iPhone after he left my restaurant after dinner one day and was very upset. We asked his friend to tell him that we had his phone. The customer was surprised that we did not keep his valuable phone for ourselves.
We always serve customers fresh food cooked with high quality ingredients. On one occasion, customers asked us to take away one dish they'd ordered but did not touch. The waitress asked me if we could give the dish to another customer, who happened to order this same food at the same time. I told her to make a fresh one.
“I should not have even asked” she said. “I have been here for eight years and never saw you do that kind of thing even once.”
Category: Improving Oneself
