Ye Chen stared at Xu Liang, who was busy devouring Hot Pot, utterly dumbstruck.
"Xu Liang, what are you doing here?"
Xu Liang greeted him with a grin. "Ye Chen, that's hardly friendly of you—opening a Hot Pot Restaurant and not breathing a word to me."
"How did you even know I opened a shop?"
Ye Chen's heart sank; a bad premonition stirred.
"It's not just me—everyone in our class knows. We've already agreed: we'll all show up these next few days to give your business a boost."
Ye Chen swept a glance across the room.
Sure enough, more than a dozen classmates were there.
Crap!
The whole class found out—and they all want to "support" my business?
"You're all students; my Hot Pot isn't cheap. Why bother supporting me?"
Xu Liang shook his head. "Can't look at it that way. You tutored us, everyone's grades shot up, and we've been racking our brains over how to thank you. Now that you've opened a Hot Pot place, dropping by to support you is only right—and, man, your broth tastes incredible."
Hearing this, Ye Chen felt his world crumbling.
At last he understood the saying: "Kindness repaid with enmity."
I help you study, and instead of helping me lose money, you all show up to "support" me?
Support my foot!
A pack of ungrateful, two-faced wolves.
By now Xu Liang was still gloating.
"Not only are we coming ourselves, we've roped in relatives, friends—even the class next door. Ye Chen, you're amazing. How can this Hot Pot taste this good?"
Other classmates chimed in cheerfully.
"Ye Chen, don't worry—we'll definitely spread the word for you."
"Yeah, I've already recommended you to all my friends."
Ye Chen's face turned green. Forcing a smile, he said,
"Actually, everyone, there's really no need—"
Xu Liang thumped his chest. "Ye Chen, no need to thank us—it's what we should do."
Ye Chen: "…"
He finally grasped another saying: "Reap what you sow—no mercy."
Watching this bunch of enthusiastic classmates, Ye Chen tasted bitterness he couldn't spit out.
While the restaurant was making money, the profit was a drop in the bucket compared with fleecing the system.
Still, what comforted him was that the contagion hadn't spread far.
Yes, it had swept through the class—but students have limited spending power; they can't eat Hot Pot every day… Xia Yingluo and Li Sitong weaved through the tables, helping wherever needed.
One look at their faces told Ye Chen they were thrilled—money was coming in.
Forget it, he thought. The two girls were trying so hard; if he still let the place lose money, it would crush their enthusiasm.
Ye Chen had basically thrown in the capital and then washed his hands of the place.
The two girls, however, poured their hearts into it—the waitresses' smiles, the little poems on the tables, all their idea.
Much as Ye Chen wanted to fleece the system, he couldn't do it at the cost of Xia Yingluo and Li Sitong's heartbreak.
But… Ye Chen hadn't given up; a new plan was already forming.
After closing, they tallied the day's take.
Xia Yingluo exclaimed, "We cleared a thousand today—double yesterday!"
Li Sitong beamed. "Fantastic—our shop is finally profitable!"
Ye Chen chuckled. "Look how smug you two are."
Li Sitong giggled. "Our place is making money—why wouldn't we be happy?"
"Well, my two landladies sure know how to run things."
Li Sitong: "…"
Xia Yingluo: "…"
"You're asking for it."
The girls' faces flushed; each seized one of Ye Chen's arms and twisted.
Aaaagh!
A howl echoed.
Ye Chen rubbed his reddened arms.
"You two are brutal."
Li Sitong hmphed. "Serves you right for spouting nonsense."
Xia Yingluo added, "Pick on us sisters and you pay the price."
Ye Chen was speechless—since when had these two formed an alliance?
"Ahem, so you're satisfied with this tiny success?"
Ye Chen asked, dead serious.
The girls exchanged glances.
"What do you mean?" they asked, puzzled.
For them, merely turning a profit already felt like a huge achievement.
Ye Chen said, "What's our dream? To plant our Hot Pot flag across all of China."
Xia Yingluo nodded.
He had indeed once spouted that grand claim.
Li Sitong's eyes lit up.
Sounded awfully cool!
Ye Chen kept pitching.
"So after one success we're going to rest on our laurels? This shop is only our first step; we can't stop—branch two, branch three…"
Ye Chen pondered.
If he couldn't lose money, he'd keep persuading Xia Yingluo to open more stores.
Every new branch meant fresh capital—and fresh wool to shear.
Expansion money came even faster than losses.
Best of all, if they actually built a chain like the Xiabu Xiabu of his previous life, it would be epic.
Right now he just had to keep Xia Yingluo confident enough to keep expanding.
After all, every investment had to win her approval before he could earn the Ten-Fold Rebate.
Xia Yingluo hesitated—expansion had never crossed her mind.
Ye Chen swept his arm. "Exactly. Starting here, we'll blanket Jiang Province, then every first-tier city in China, making Chen-Si-Luo the very synonym for Hot Pot."
Watching Ye Chen map out conquest, Xia Yingluo and Li Sitong's eyes sparkled.
Their gaze brimmed with longing.
They'd poured in far more effort than Ye Chen—especially Xia Yingluo, who, aside from studying, devoted almost every ounce of energy to the shop.
Yet hearing Ye Chen's bold vision, both girls felt a surge of admiration.
Xia Yingluo thought, "Yingluo, you made money with one shop and got cocky—look how far ahead Ye Chen sees. I'll work even harder to keep up with him."
Li Sitong mused, "No wonder he's the man I like—so outstanding, so charismatic. I love the way he stands there mapping out the world."
Each girl lost in her own thoughts.
Xia Yingluo suddenly said, "Ye Chen, our first shop has only just taken off—won't opening branches now be rushing it?"
Ye Chen had to admire Xia Yingluo's business acumen.
No wonder she would become president of a future Fortune-500 firm—her insight was sharp even now.
Though his talk had moved her, once she cooled down she spotted the risk.
Seeing her waver, Ye Chen could only keep persuading.
He had to make Xia Yingluo willingly open new stores.
Sure, new branches carried risk—but Ye Chen feared no risk.
Because Ye Chen didn't fear losses.
As long as Xia Yingluo was on board, the Ten-Fold Rebate would keep flowing, endlessly filling any hole.