At the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Wei Zhengyi was all smiles as he posed for a photo with Yang Hao and posted an update on his social circle to help promote the event.
To someone of Wei Zhengyi’s stature, attending a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a hot pot restaurant seemed somewhat beneath him; if it hadn’t been Yang Hao’s establishment, he would have never considered participating.
And indeed, one of his close friends couldn’t resist teasing him over WeChat: “Wei, are you really scraping the barrel by showing up at a hot pot restaurant’s opening now?”
Wei Zhengyi hit back without a hitch: “You know nothing, Jon Snow. This is our group president’s store!!”
Your journey continues at mvl
And sure enough, with Wei Zhengyi bringing in a crowd, the hot pot restaurant’s popularity indeed soared. At first, it was just the HR department staff, but as lunchtime approached and the commercial street became busier, people noticed the packed new hot pot restaurant and its grand opening deals, and soon there was a waiting line for tables.
Perhaps this was the so-called “herd effect” in action.
Wei Zhengyi, with his sharp eye, noticed the growing queue and promptly signaled for his group to leave, making room for new customers.
Before leaving, Wei Zhengyi even purchased a membership card and topped it up with ten thousand yuan.
At noon, Sun Xinyi and Xu Yali also came to support the event.
The appearance of these two beauties immediately drew the eyes of many patrons, and some of the men even began to stir, thinking about adding them on WeChat or something similar.
But they soon felt disheartened, as the even more attractive woman was seen linking arms affectionately with the owner shortly upon her arrival.
Clearly, she was the hot pot restaurant owner’s lady, but to everyone’s relief, it seemed the other beauty was still unattached…
“Yang, Shasha mentioned she would arrive in Jiangcheng this afternoon; did you know?” Xinyi asked as they found a spot to sit on the second floor. “Shasha” referred to Yang Hao’s sister-in-law.
Xinyi had told Yang Hao about his cousin and cousin’s wife coming to Jiangcheng on Monday.
“Dapeng did send me a WeChat message last night, but I had totally forgotten about it with all this busyness,” he said.
Yang Peng, his cousin, indeed sent a WeChat message to Yang Hao the night before, mentioning they would arrive in Jiangcheng today. However, Yang Hao was so occupied last night dealing with time management and waiting for the Kidney-Strengthening Potion’s effects to wear off that he had completely forgotten about it.
“Yang, you must be very busy today. I can go pick them up,” Xinyi offered.
“Sure, just bring them directly to the hot pot restaurant for dinner. Let me know when you arrive.”
Yang Hao did indeed intend to pick up his cousin personally, but at the moment the potion’s effects were kicking in again, and he needed to deal with it.
He sent a WeChat message to Natasha, a rather robust ‘Foreign Monster,’ to inquire about her address and then left the hot pot restaurant to drive over.
The foreign lady lived in Xinheng Apartment, which was located in a prime location. The flats were 40-to-50 square meter lofts with stylish interiors, making them highly popular among younger residents.
However, these apartments were “commercial water and electricity” usage, classified for business purposes with a property right of forty years, which made them relatively cheap to buy and affordable to rent.
This resulted in Xinheng Apartment housing a large group of “little online celebrities” who leveraged social media to promote and package themselves, subsequently engaging in nameless romances.
Hence, Xinheng Apartment also earned the nickname “Exquisite Ancient City,” with a joke that even delivery drivers had to leave behind four hundred yuan upon entering.
Therefore, the environment here was not considered great and could fittingly be described as a massive flesh trade center.
While waiting for the elevator, Yang Hao encountered a girl wearing a hip-wrapped skirt, heavy makeup, and a butterfly visible near her chest area, standing next to a somewhat balding middle-aged man. The two weren’t talking at all, and it was clear they weren’t familiar with each other.
However, it was highly likely that after heading upstairs, the two strangers would become quite ‘familiar’ with each other.
This type of scenario was all too common in this so-called Exquisite Ancient City.
Ironically, Yang Hao was going to the same floor as the pair, and to the room right next to theirs—the woman and the balding middle-aged man entered room 1607.
Natasha had provided Yang Hao with the address of room 1608.
“Dear, I was just about to come down and pick you up!”
When Yang Hao knocked on the door, Natasha had already put on her high heels and a light makeup, indeed looking like she was ready to head out.
“It’s quite easy to find.”
Yang Hao entered the room, casually closing the door behind him.
Natasha was about to take off her high heels, but Yang Hao stopped her, “Keep them on~”
Yang Hao felt that at this moment, the attire of this ‘Foreign Monster’ was quite attractive, with an exotic charm and a touch of worldly air.
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Natasha chuckled, immediately understanding what this gold sponsor daddy meant.
(Got reported…┭┮﹏┭┮)
One hour later.
Ding!
Congratulations to the host for successfully defeating the wild beast!
Dropped cash prize of two hundred thousand yuan.
One Study Card.
Natasha still had traces of protein on the corners of her mouth.
And Yang Hao, having finished the grind, had already received the rewards from the System.
Feeling good, Yang Hao transferred another hundred thousand yuan to Natasha based on the previous bank transfer record, “Rent a nicer place; the environment here is too poor!”
After transferring the money, Yang Hao casually gave a reminder.
Natasha’s agreement with this gold sponsor daddy was a hundred thousand yuan a month, and he had already transferred that amount last time. She didn’t expect him to send her another hundred thousand so soon.
The excited foreign beauty pecked Yang Hao on the face, her fatigue swept away, “Dear, I think I can go another round!”
Jiangcheng West Station.
Yang Peng and his wife Tian Shasha came out of the exit together.
The couple had come to Jiangcheng to attend Tian Shasha’s cousin’s wedding and to visit the elder brother Yang Hao and sister-in-law Sun Xinyi.
“Sister-in-law!”
Seeing the waiting Sun Xinyi, Tian Shasha waved with a smile.
Since the full moon celebration, Tian Shasha had established contact with Sun Xinyi, her sister-in-law, on Weixun and occasionally chatted, becoming quite familiar.
Sun Xinyi also waved with a smile and when the two approached, she pointed to Xu Yali who came with her, “This is Li, also Yang’s secretary.”
“Nice to meet you, Li.”
Both of them had certainly noticed Xu Yali; they just didn’t expect this beautiful woman who was quite stunning to be their elder brother’s secretary.
Yang Peng glanced at the sister-in-law whose beauty and figure could rival a celebrity’s, and then at the equally stunning secretary, and he couldn’t help but sigh internally: What kind of heavenly life is big brother living!!
That’s right, besides a ten thousand yuan gift from the sister-in-law at the full moon celebration, two “friends” of the big brother had also each given a ten thousand yuan gift.
One was named Wang Xueru, the other Meng Yuyu.
Yang Peng and Tian Shasha came to Jiangcheng this time also hoping to meet the two big brother friends who sent gifts of ten thousand without ever meeting them!
Xinheng Apartment.
Walking out of Natasha’s room, Yang Hao suddenly felt that the name “Exquisite Ancient City” was indeed quite apt; he, a person assisted by a “System,” had a feeling of being at a loss, not to mention ordinary people.
Of course, it was mainly because Natasha, that Combat Nationality “Foreign Monster” could really fight. In one afternoon, this monster blew up five hundred thousand “Gold Coins.”
Just savor that!
That is damn hard-earned money!
“Big Brother, can we add each other on Weixun?”
Yang Hao was walking towards the elevator when the Butterfly tattooed girl he saw on his way up suddenly opened her door and chased after him from her room.
“What’s up?”
Yang Hao casually asked.
“Big Brother, let’s be friends!”
“Come hang out with me when you’re free; it’s on the house.”
The Butterfly girl from next door, who had listened all afternoon, was very eager to befriend Yang Hao. She had already sent off four clients that very afternoon, with each client spending no more than forty minutes in her room, including the time for bathing and both pre- and post-combat preparations.
The balding old man Yang Hao saw was in and out in less than fifteen minutes.
Because she was in this line of work, her threshold for excitement had become increasingly high, making it difficult for her to find joy in it anymore.
Although she appeared to be excited every time, in reality, she was just acting to wrap things up quickly.
But it was Yang Hao who had given her a glimpse of hope. She, too, wanted to experience the joy that the foreign girl next door had.
“Big Brother, I can even pay you if that works.”
Seeing that Yang Hao did not respond, the Butterfly girl spoke up again.
Yang Hao laughed. He really hadn’t expected that at 35, he could still make money with this.
For a man, that could be considered the highest form of flattery!
But clearly, the Butterfly girl was thinking too much.
Would the president of Jiangcheng Newspaper Group earn money like that?
Yang Hao originally intended to outright refuse, but seeing the Butterfly girl’s sincere look, he gave her Liu Zifeng’s phone number instead.
His own brother was indeed not picky about his pleasures and had been quite the conqueror in the Foot Bath City!
Whether there would be a one-day connection was up to the Butterfly girl and Brother Feng themselves.
It was after five when he left the Exquisite Ancient City.
Yang Hao drove back to the hot pot restaurant.
The business there was still booming.
He also met his cousin Yang Peng and his wife Tian Shasha in a private room upstairs.
They had just arrived not long ago and not all the dishes had been served yet.
“Big Brother, did you open this restaurant?”
When Yang Peng and Tian Shasha arrived at the restaurant, they were personally received by Xu Meizhu, who had reserved the best private room for them, which was really impressive.
Sun Xinyi had already mentioned that Yang Hao owned the restaurant, but upon seeing Big Brother, Yang Peng couldn’t help asking again.
“Yeah, just getting back to the old business,” Yang Hao nodded and then sat down next to Sun Xinyi.
“The business is really good! I see that the tables outside are all full,” Yang Peng remarked.
“There must be an opening promotion,” Yang Hao replied offhand. He wasn’t concerned about the hot pot restaurant’s business at all. Opening this place was more about nostalgia and fulfilling tasks for the “System.”
“Didn’t you bring the kids?”
Yang Peng shook his head: “No, the kids are too small and it’s troublesome to go out. Anyway, we’re going back tomorrow afternoon.”
“I was hoping you could stay and play in Jiangcheng for a few days.”
“I’d love to, but I still have to work!” Yang Peng sighed and then lamented earnestly, “You’re living the good life, Big Brother.”
“If you don’t want to stay in your hometown, you and Shasha could come to Jiangcheng,” Yang Hao suggested. “I can arrange jobs for you!”
This wasn’t just politeness on Yang Hao’s part—fighting alongside brothers and battling with father and son, after all! His uncle had always taken good care of him, and he trusted his cousin Yang Peng’s character. As his own businesses would keep growing, arranging a job for his cousin would be a breeze.
“Big Brother, you’re not joking, are you?”
Before Yang Peng could respond, his sister-in-law Tian Shasha’s eyes lit up. She had always had a yearning for life in a big city.
She was envious of her mother’s family living in Jiangcheng. After all, a big city like Jiangcheng was much more prosperous and lively than Yicheng, not to mention having superior public resources such as education and healthcare.
But, the in-laws’ network was all in Yicheng, and neither she nor her husband Yang Peng were particularly high-profile professionals. They had stable jobs in Yicheng and starting over in Jiangcheng would mean beginning from scratch.
Now, however, things could be different, especially if Yang Hao, the CEO Big Brother, was willing to help.
“We’re family. I don’t speak in roundabouts,” Yang Hao said seriously. “If you want to come, work won’t be a problem. But this is a big decision, so consider it carefully.”
Yang Hao spoke earnestly.
“Yeah, it does need careful thought.”
“But, thanks anyway, Big Brother!” Yang Peng said, picking up the cup in front of him, “Big Brother, this one’s on the house—cheers to you!”
“And to sister-in-law and Li, let’s do this together!”
“Yeah, cheers!”
Everyone raised their glasses and then began to drink and swap stories.