During the Spring Festival, 99 Noodles was busy as usual, but Server Luck Zhang saw past the crowds and noticed an elderly man sitting alone. He had ordered many different dishes, but had barely touched his food. His chopsticks sat unused beside his bowl.

Luck felt pity for the elderly guest and visited his table. “Sir, are the dishes not to your liking?” The old man answered anxiously: “My teeth are not good, so it is hard to chew.”

Luck returned the food to the kitchen and asked them to cook the dishes again to make them softer. The kitchen obliged, and Luck also helped the old man cut the pieces of meat into more manageable slices. The guest was grateful and visibly cheered up. He opened up to Luck, saying he wished his grandson was there, too. “Those dishes are his favourite foods, but he can’t return from America to celebrate Spring Festival with me this year. He would be very happy if he was here.”

Luck realized that the real reason for the guest’s sorrow was not difficulty eating, but his absent grandson. Noticing the man’s smartphone, Luck had an idea. With the guest’s blessing, he showed him how to connect to the internet through his smartphone, then he found the grandson’s account and dialled a video call. “When the man saw his grandson on the screen, a smile lit up his whole face,” Luck remembers. “It was so joyful to see.”

Before leaving 99 Noodles, the guest grasped Luck’s hands and thanked him for his help. “No matter how busy we are, I give my attention to each and every guest. I am thrilled that I helped our guest see the person he missed most during Spring Festival, and I found joy in his happiness.”