Chapter 140 I want to open a restaurant, why not do it independently? I don't have the money...

As spring deepens, the schedule for a snow-covered European trip is here as planned.

The departure time is set for this Saturday.

Given Bai Mangmang's personality, she should have started showing off and preparing a week in advance, but instead she remained quiet every day.

On Friday night, An Fusheng was revising his plan in the study room, while Bai Mangmang still came to do her homework as usual.

An Fusheng casually asked, "How's the packing going? Do you need any help?"

Bai Mangmang hesitated before squeezing next to An Fusheng's desk, "Big Brother..."

"What's wrong?" An Fusheng asked. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Do you...do you have money? Could you lend me some?"

"Why are you suddenly asking for money? Didn't your mother give you any?"

“I was given the money, but I was saving up to buy something really heavy. I hadn’t saved enough before, and when Aunt Wen gave me the money, I impulsively put some of it into my piggy bank. My piggy bank is the kind that you have to break to get it out, and I can’t break it because I haven’t saved enough money yet.”

How much will it cost?

Bai Mangmang: "Two hundred yuan, is that okay?"

An Fusheng thought it would be much more, but it turned out to be... a ridiculously small demand? This left An Fusheng completely bewildered.

Seeing that her older brother didn't agree immediately, Bai Mangmang hurriedly added, "I won't spend money recklessly. I'm just worried that I won't have enough money while I'm in a foreign country where I don't know anyone. Aunt Wen has already given all my living expenses to the tour leader. The tour leader will swipe my card for me whenever I need money for meals or shopping. I just keep some cash on me in case of emergencies. If there are no emergencies, I'll pay you back when I get back."

An Fusheng pulled out five hundred yuan from his pocket and gave it all to Bai Mangmang, saying, "You can use it if it's not an emergency."

Bai Mangmang: "Huh?"

An Fusheng: "Going out to play will definitely cost money. Apart from the required food and accommodation, you can buy whatever you want to eat or buy. But you are still young and can't judge the quality of many things. Ask other people's opinions when you buy things."

"Okay, thank you, brother."

"By the way, don't we need to exchange the RMB for foreign currency?"

“Mother Wen said I didn’t have much money and didn’t need to go to the bank to exchange it. She told me to go to the airport tomorrow to exchange it with the tour leader, and the tour leader said that was fine.”

"That's good. Have you packed your luggage? Do you need any help?"

"I can do it myself, I'll go get ready right away!"

An Fusheng originally wanted to ask Bai Mangmang what important thing she wanted to buy with her savings. If it was school supplies or something, he wouldn't mind sponsoring her. But Bai Mangmang disappeared like a gust of wind.

An Fusheng shook his head and continued to revise his plan.

...

Bai Mangmang was going to have a long flight, so An Fusheng got up early in the morning before dawn to make more than a dozen kinds of snacks for Bai Mangmang to take on the plane. However, what he didn't know was that after he handed Bai Mangmang and several large bags of snacks to the team leader in the airport hall, the team leader led Bai Mangmang to meet up with everyone. As soon as they got to the group, those bags of snacks were targeted by someone.

"Wow, what delicious food did the team leader bring? Is it for us?"

Team leader: "No, it's all white."

"What delicious food is this? It smells so good!"

Although they didn't say they would share the food, their eyes said it all.

"We have egg rolls, purple sweet potato cakes, fruit and vegetable crisps, nougat, and many other things. Would you like some?"

Everyone was waiting for those words: "Yes, yes, yes!"

Bai Mangmang generously brought out all the snacks to share with everyone.

"It's so delicious!"

"These fruit and vegetable crisps smell so good! Is the green one spinach flavored? What flavor is the purple one?"

"Some taste like purple sweet potato, and some taste like cabbage. I can't tell them apart."

"Everything looks delicious! Where did you buy it? I want to buy some too!"

Bai Mangmang: "It wasn't bought, my older brother made it."

The tour leader looked at the bags that were still bulging in shape but were actually empty. "Those snacks were brought to her by Brother Mangmang because he was worried she wouldn't like airplane food."

Everyone fell silent for a moment, then began rummaging through their own luggage bags:

"Little sister, if you don't mind, all my snacks are yours."

"I've given you all of mine."

"I have one too."

"Here, have it all. Eat it on the plane, don't go hungry."

...

Within minutes, the empty bags were filled again, even more full than before.

Most people who love instant noodles are young people. If young people can even make a point of eating instant noodles, how could they not know how to choose snacks?

The snacks they gave Bai Mangmang were all carefully selected by them, and Bai Mangmang loved them all.

Everyone's snacks were gathered around Bai Mangmang, and she didn't keep them for herself. Instead, she continued to share with everyone. However, everyone thought they should save them for Bai Mangmang to eat on the plane, so they didn't eat any of hers.

"Little sister, did your brother really make all the food we just ate?"

"Yes."

Is your brother married?

"Not yet. My older brother doesn't have a girlfriend. My grandma said she would introduce him to someone, but she went back to her hometown, so no one is willing to marry him."

"That's great, I'll marry him when I get back to China."

"ah?"

"If I become your sister-in-law, I'll share half of all my snacks with you—no, all of them! I'll just eat what your brother makes, okay?"

Bai Mangmang fell into thought. The chocolate balls that the older sister had given her were so delicious. If she could have them all from now on...

"You didn't even ask how old the other person's brother is before you started getting married. Be careful, you might be charged with child trafficking."

Of the dozen or so people in the team, only the team leader, besides Bai Mangmang, had ever met An Fusheng, but the team leader remained aloof and silent at this moment.

"Can't I raise my husband since he's not grown up yet? Do you understand the concept of raising a child? Hey, little sister, how old is your brother? Let me calculate how many more years I need to raise him. Do I have enough money? If not, I'll go earn more."

Bai Mangmang wasn't quite sure how old her older brother was, so she could only say, "My older brother is quite old."

The other party clearly has no concept of the intelligence and comprehension of a ten-year-old child. They think Bai Mangmang is a child and sees everything as big. In reality, his older brother may still be wearing a smartwatch, but at the age of wearing a smartwatch, he can make so many delicious foods and knows how to be good to his younger sister. What should we do?

"Do you want to add my older brother on WeChat? You two need to date before you get married, right?" Bai Mangmang thought the woman in front of her was very pretty and had lots of delicious food; she could be her sister-in-law.

The girl originally just wanted to joke around and didn't really intend to make a move on the man wearing the smartwatch, but if it was offered up like that... "Add me, add me, show me the QR code."

When An Fusheng got home, he found a friend request on his phone, along with a blank voice message: "Brother, your sister-in-law has added you on WeChat. Remember to accept her request."

An Fusheng racked his brains for a long time but couldn't figure out where Bai Mangmang's sister-in-law came from. He wanted to ask her, but her phone was already switched off.

...

An Fusheng spent three days rewriting the handwritten proposal into an electronic version, and then printing it out. The dozen or so pages of draft became a thick stack.

After finishing the morning's cooking, An Fusheng didn't even eat lunch. He took the printed plan and went to He Zhi's company.

He hadn't made a reservation in advance. He had asked He Zhi several times via WeChat, but He Zhi always said he was busy. So when He Zhi's employees came to pick up their meals, he casually asked, "Is your boss at the company today? If he is, I'll put in extra pickled radishes for you. He loves them, and if there aren't enough, you might not dare to compete with him and end up with nothing."

The employee picking up the food was incredibly touched. The pickled radish was so delicious that everyone in the company loved it. Every time he was still distributing the food, the pickled radish would already be gone. If he was lucky, he could get a couple of pieces of skin at the bottom of the bucket, but if he was unlucky, he wouldn't even get the chili powder that came with the radish. However, the pickled radish was given away for free, and the amount was quite generous, so he felt embarrassed to ask for more.

He felt embarrassed, but since the restaurant owner personally said he would give extra, he would gladly accept. So, the first thing the owner did upon returning to the company was to report to An Fusheng.

The employees who picked up their meals happily transported them to the company, while An Fusheng also headed towards their company.

There were still no security guards at the company, and the main gate was still ajar and could be pushed open easily. An Fusheng knew the way well and pushed the gate open. There was no one on the first floor, so An Fusheng took the elevator directly to the third floor.

Sure enough, everyone was eating, still in the same conference room as before, with twenty or thirty people crammed together... fighting for food?

"Stop fighting over the food! There's plenty of food, why are you still fighting over it every day?" the employee serving the food shouted.

"You're too slow, I'll starve by the time you get yours."

"Let us do it ourselves. We'll take only what we need and there will be absolutely no waste."

"No way! If you all come here, you'll snatch all the good food. How are the people who come after you supposed to eat?"

"Then hurry up and distribute it."

"Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and distribute the food."

"Give me an extra spoonful of braised chicken with loofah! Hey, why are you so stingy? Or at least add a spoonful of broth!"

...

The company has at least three floors; how could they not put together a restaurant? The scene was too chaotic, and An Fusheng didn't even dare to knock on the meeting room door, for fear of affecting their performance.

Lin Yuantang emerged from the crowd, carrying a stainless steel rice bowl. The bowl was filled with food, and An Fusheng estimated that it was at least 20 centimeters in diameter.

As soon as Lin Yuantang squeezed out of the human wall, he eagerly shoveled several mouthfuls of food into his mouth, exclaiming, "Ah, it smells so good!"

"Huh? Fu-zai? What brings you here?" Lin Yuantang finally saw An Fu-sheng standing hesitantly at the door.

An Fusheng: "I...I'm here to see Boss He."

No sooner had she finished speaking than He Zhi emerged from the crowd, carrying a stainless steel bowl full of rice just like Lin Yuantang's. "Who's looking for me? What's up?"

An Fusheng looked at He Zhi, who was dressed in a sharp suit and carrying a stainless steel rice bowl, and said, "If you're busy, I can wait."

"Go to my office."

He not only carried the rice bowl but also brought An Fusheng to the office.

An Fusheng: "Is the amount of food we provide enough? If not, you can tell us and we will provide more."

He Zhi first picked up a piece of spare rib and ate it before saying, "That's enough. You always like to snatch things. You always end up so full that you're drowsy and not motivated to work."

An Fusheng: "..."

After finishing the ribs, He Zhi took another bite of rice soaked in chicken broth, the delicious flavor making his eyes squint. "Have you eaten? What do you want?"

I didn't eat any, but I felt bad taking it from you.

"I've eaten." An Fusheng said humbly with a hint of apology, "I'm sorry to bother you. I came to ask for your help, but you're usually quite busy, so I could only try my luck at this time."

Not only was her mood soothed by the delicious food, but her tone was also very gentle: "What can I do for you?"

An Fusheng handed the proposal to He Zhi, saying, "I'd like you to take a look at the proposal for me."

He looked at An Fusheng with utter confusion.

An Fusheng said, "This is a plan I made for the future development of Xingchen Hotel, but my knowledge is limited and I don't know enough. The plan is not very good. I would like you to take a look and give me some suggestions if possible. Don't worry, I won't take up your time for nothing. If you are willing, I can give you a 20% discount on your staff meals in the future."

He Zhi glanced at An Fusheng with an ambiguous expression, took the proposal, and glanced at it briefly. "You want to run the restaurant yourself as a limited partnership?"

An Fusheng: "Right? Do you think it will work?"

More than that: "The management of the welfare home, or more accurately, the restaurant, agreed to partner with you?"

An Fusheng paused for a moment and then said, "Not yet."

More than that: "Then why are you asking if it will work?"

An Fusheng: "..."

More than that: "If you want to open a restaurant, why not do it independently?"

An Fusheng: "I have no money."

More than that: "If you don't have money, why would anyone partner with you?"

An Fusheng: "I have cooking skills."

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Author's Note: I'll update another chapter later to make up for yesterday's, but it won't be until after midnight. [pat on the head]