Chapter 314 - 178: You’re a Genius Sales Champion

Chapter 314: Chapter 178: You’re a Genius Sales Champion

"Yes." Zhao Tieying nodded, a bit surprised. "Mom, you know her too?"

"Zhou Yan mentioned her to me once," the old woman said casually, reaching out to brush the cat hair off Zhou Momo’s clothes. "This leather is so soft, it must have been expensive. It’s just such a perfect fit, I’m afraid she’ll have outgrown it by next year."

"I guess the wealthy don’t need to worry about things like that," Zhao Tieying said with a smile. "Mom, Zhou Miao and I are planning to treat everyone to dinner at a restaurant this Sunday night. It’ll be a housewarming of sorts, just to have a lively get-together. You should come with Wei Guo and Grand-uncle."

"Sunday evening?" The old woman paused. "I was actually planning to let you all know tomorrow that we’re going to Laoxiaoding on Sunday to sweep Zhou Yi’s grave. If that’s the case, sweeping the grave first and then coming back for dinner would be perfect."

"Sounds good." Zhao Tieying nodded, and just like that, it was settled.

...

"Dad! Guess who we ran into at lunch today." Huang Ying burst into Feiyan Restaurant, rushing to the front counter to tell Huang He.

"Did you run into your uncle?" Huang He asked casually as he sorted the money in the counter drawer.

"Nope, it was Mrs. Qiu," Huang Ying said.

"Who?" Huang He’s hands froze. He looked up at Huang Ying, his voice tinged with anxiety. "You’re talking about Mrs. Qiu?"

"Yes." Huang Ying nodded.

Huang Bing chimed in, "The old lady who came for dinner in a Toyota Crown last time. Her granddaughter is gorgeous."

"What were they doing eating all the way out in Suji?" Huang He lowered his voice. "Did they order the braised dishes?"

"They did," Huang Ying confirmed with a nod. "They ordered the braised beef."

"Damn it..." Huang He slapped a hand to his forehead. His worst fears were realized.

If it were any other customer, he could have brazened it out and claimed their restaurant’s braised beef was their own recipe, just coincidentally similar in taste.

But Mrs. Qiu had been eating the braised beef at their Feiyan Restaurant for decades. She’d been a customer since his father’s time and ordered it almost every single visit.

He couldn’t bear to imagine how disappointed she would be in Feiyan Restaurant after tasting braised beef that was identical to theirs.

Huang Ying leaned in closer, lowering her voice. "Dad, didn’t you say you wanted to buy the Qiu Family’s Old Mansion? At lunch today, we saw Mrs. Qiu eating with Miss Duan and an old gentleman. From what we overheard, he seems to be a friend of hers. Do you think her reluctance to go to Xiangjiang has something to do with him?"

"Oh, really?" Huang He’s ears perked up at the news.

He was definitely interested in the Qiu Family’s Old Mansion. The location was excellent. He’d even had someone make inquiries before and heard that Miss Duan had put out feelers about selling, but the final decision still rested with Mrs. Qiu.

The asking price was around ten thousand yuan.

It wasn’t cheap, but considering the location and the size of the property, it wasn’t overly expensive either.

"Yingying, what makes you think it has something to do with that old gentleman?" Huang He asked.

"A woman’s intuition," Huang Ying said with certainty. "You can’t fake the look in his eyes. He looks at Mrs. Qiu with such adoration. It feels like they’ve known each other for a very long time, but it’s not a sappy, overly sentimental kind of affection."

"Really?" Huang Bing looked completely lost. "I didn’t see any of that."

"You were too busy staring at the granddaughter to notice anything," Huang Ying shot back, rolling her eyes.

"Well... she is really pretty," Huang Bing muttered, scratching his head in embarrassment.

"Get those ideas out of your head! Miss Duan is way out of your league," Huang He glared at him. "The woman goes out with bodyguards, precisely to fend off riff-raff like you."

"Dad, what’s so riff-raff about me?" Huang Bing protested, looking utterly innocent.

Huang He ignored him, turning to Huang Ying with a look of pure admiration. "Yingying, you’re the observant one. I’ll go talk to Miss Duan later and see if I can find an opening to buy the Qiu Family’s Old Mansion. If this works out, I’ll get you whatever you want as a reward."

"I bet she’ll just ask for chocolate or a new doll again," Huang Bing muttered.

With a serious expression, Huang Ying said, "Dad, I want to come work at the restaurant. That way, when you and Mom retire, I can take over the business."

"Huh?" Huang He stared at her in surprise. After a moment of serious thought, he nodded. "Alright, you can come. You’ll learn on the job."

"Wait, Huang Ying, you want to take over the restaurant?" Huang Bing was stunned. ’If I decide to get serious later, what’s left for me to inherit?’

Huang Ying looked at him, a faint, disdainful smile touching her lips.

’Oh, my foolish brother.’

’The battle for succession has always been like this.’

...

Lai Fu lined the wicker basket on the back of Zhou Yan’s bicycle with a thick layer of straw. Then, he carefully placed two slabs of freshly made tofu, still in their wooden frames, inside, padding the sides with more straw.

"Looks like some top-notch shock absorption," Zhou Yan commented with a smiling nod.

His grandaunt had originally wanted Lai Fu to carry the tofu to the shop on his back, but Zhou Yan figured if a donkey cart could handle it, so could his bicycle. This would save Lai Fu a round trip, which would take a whole hour.

He was taking twenty jin of tofu, which probably meant Lai Fu would have to work overtime tonight.

"Zhou Yan, the straw padding isn’t foolproof! Be careful and ride slowly on the bumpy parts. If the tofu breaks, you won’t be able to cook with it," Mrs. Sun’s voice called out from the courtyard.

"Okay! I’ll get off and walk the bike on the bumpy roads," Zhou Yan called back. "Grandaunt, I’m heading off now!"

"Alright, take care on your way," Mrs. Sun replied.

The side path was full of loose gravel and potholes, so Zhou Yan pushed the bicycle along.

Lai Fu walked alongside him until they reached the main road. Only after Zhou Yan mounted the bike and rode away did Lai Fu turn to go back.

Zhou Yan rode with extreme caution, his focus absolute. He dodged every pothole, big or small, and for any he couldn’t get around, he’d dismount and walk the bike.