Yang Ping's tone was icy, and she smiled dismissively at his health, which had been ruined by alcoholism.

He left the scene side by side with the lawyer, and there was no longer anyone on his body that Yang Ping would even glance at.

——

After the short holiday, the warm food stall has finally reopened, and customers at the door are eager to get back in business.

"Finally open! I've missed you so much!"

"Isn't that right? I haven't been able to eat much lately, and I've lost a lot of weight."

"Yeah, without the boss's cooking, eating diet meals is so painful!"

Tao Zhizhi walked out of the kitchen, a bright smile on her face:

"Warm Food Shop has been upgraded, welcome to visit us again!"

"Oh, boss, you're too kind! We've missed you so much! Hurry up and cook for us!"

As soon as she opened the door, she heard customers urging her to hurry. Tao Zhizhi nodded helplessly, leaving Su Bai and the part-time waiter she had just hired the day before.

Su Bai was also promoted, officially becoming the lobby manager. He made a point of wearing a more formal outfit, and his excited little expression was impossible to hide.

A customer happened to notice a voting notice posted on the table and, thinking it was some kind of shady advertisement, called over Su Bai:

"Su Bai, did you forget to clean your house?"

Su Bai quickly waved his hand and replied with a smile:

"Of course not, this is a vote by the boss on the returning dishes. You can vote by scanning the QR code. The dishes with the most votes have a high chance of reappearing on the shop's menu!"

The customer exclaimed with delight: "The boss really listened to what we said, so I'll have to choose carefully!"

Upon hearing this, nearby customers also took out their phones to scan the QR code and vote. Tao Zhizhi also shared the QR code in the group chat today.

"Son, hurry up and get the camphor tea duck! I want to eat duck!!"

Zheng Dayong wanted to snatch Chuan Nan's phone and choose for him, but Chuan Nan preferred braised prawns and refused his father's suggestion, choosing on his own.

Seeing that he hadn't chosen the camphor tea duck, Zheng Dayong snorted and stared at him with a look that said, "You're unfilial." Chuan Nan looked away, refusing to look at his father.

Zheng Dayong wanted to see his wife's, but she had already made her choice.

Tao Zhizhi started her live stream as usual. She didn't take down the braised noodles, after all, this bowl of noodles carries the taste of many people's memories.

Moreover, she only needs to prepare the preliminary work, and with her quick soup-making skills, the rest can be done by Fu Jue or Yang Ping, which is much easier than her doing everything herself.

On the first day of reopening, customers were overjoyed. The shop was bustling with people, and delivery drivers were coming and going. It's definitely good to have an expanded area.

With twice as many guests as usual, Su Bai, along with two part-time college students, was barely managing to keep up. The kitchen was even worse; Yang Ping couldn't even peel garlic fast enough to keep up with the demand. She felt like she could be doing a live stream.

Thinking this way, I asked Tao Zhizhi and started a live stream of peeling garlic and washing vegetables. Surprisingly, some people actually enjoyed watching it.

Fu Linyue kept calling Fu Jue, but he was busy and didn't answer any of them until Tao Zhizhi noticed his phone screen was constantly lighting up and reminded him:

"Fu Jue, it's Uncle Fu on the phone!"

Seeing that the dishes were almost finished, she stepped forward and took over his work, whispering in his ear:

"I'll handle things here. You go and return the call; it might be something urgent."

Hearing Tao Zhizhi's words, he walked over, picked up his phone, and went into the small cubicle to answer it.

"You're such a busy person! Look how many times I've called and you haven't answered!"

"Speak if you have something to say, I still have work to do."

Fu Jue rubbed his temples, offering no response to Chairman Fu's question.

Fu Linyue rolled his eyes where Fu Jue couldn't see, his tone serious:

"Come back now, the company is having an emergency meeting."

"No--"

Fu Linyue knew what he was going to say and interrupted him first: "No, you have to come back. All the shareholders are here. What kind of person are you if you don't come back?"

Fu Jue sighed helplessly, "Okay, wait a bit."

Seeing Fu Jue return, Tao Zhizhi noticed his displeased expression and asked softly:

"What's the matter?"

Fu Jue raised his hand and touched her head, his voice filled with apology:

"Zhizhi, I'm sorry, I have a meeting that I need to attend, so I might not be able to stay with you until tonight."

Tao Zhizhi frowned, glanced at the menu above, felt confident she could manage, and looked up:

"It's okay, you go ahead and do your work, I can manage here."

Fu Jue hugged her reluctantly, but Tao Zhizhi quickly pushed him away.

"Don't hug me anymore, your apron is dirty and covered in cooking fumes."

"It's okay, I don't mind."

"I find it disgusting!"

"Oh--"

Upon hearing this, Fu Jue couldn't help but smile and affectionately patted her head:

"I'm off then. Remember to call Su Bai if you get too busy."

"Uh-huh."

Tao Zhizhi turned around and took the new order, nodding perfunctorily.

Fortunately, there were fewer customers in the afternoon, and with Su Bai's help, she was able to finish her business for the day smoothly.

Su Bai handed the compiled encore menu requests to Tao Zhizhi:

"Zhizhi, the customers really love the 'Prosperity Pig Trotters,' they're actually number one!"

"Well, it's probably because it's my first time meeting everyone, so it's different."

Tao Zhizhi took the results sheet, scanned it, and nodded thoughtfully:

"Prosperous pig's trotters and fresh meat soup dumplings—"

"Let's bring back these two for now, starting tomorrow, for about a week."

As usual, Liu Hai rode his electric scooter past the food stall. Seeing that the shop was still open, he patted his stomach, which was still empty, and went straight in.

Tao Zhizhi looked at him with a puzzled expression:

"Are you here for a meal? We've already closed all takeout orders."

A simple, honest smile appeared on his tanned face with bangs.

"Um, are you still open? I'd like to have a meal."

"I don't think I'll be delivering food in Qingshui anymore. I often smell the aroma from your store, so I thought I'd give it a try before I leave."

Su Bai stepped forward:

"Take a look at the menu, what would you like to eat?"

Liu Hai, looking embarrassed by his empty pockets, pointed to the braised noodles:

"Just give me a bowl of braised noodles, and please pack up the rest of the dishes for me."

Su Bai was a little confused and asked him to confirm again:

"Do you just want the noodles and take everything else to go? The food might taste bad if it gets cold."

"Yes, that's right, I know, I'll take it home to eat."

Liu Hai took out his phone; the phone case was yellowed and hardened. The clothes he was wearing looked like they had been worn for a long time, with the collar drooping.

He smiled and sent a message to the family group chat:

[Nini, get well soon: Nini, Daddy has a surprise for you when he gets back soon!]

[Nini, get well soon: Want to guess what it is?]

[Nini, get well soon: @God bless you, honey, don't cook, I'll bring it back later.]

Su Bai served the noodles and left quietly without disturbing him.

Seeing the delicious-looking braised noodles in front of him, Liu Hai took two photos and sent them out.