If all else fails, I'll just marry someone who asks for a small dowry.

The first thing Song Yunxi did upon arriving at work the next day was to call Chairman Li's secretary at ST Group.

When she persuaded Chi Li to agree to the co-branded product, she consulted Chairman Li through Secretary Wu. Chairman Li promised that ST Group would provide the greatest support and assistance when Chi Group entered the Korean market.

Now that Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea has officially opened, the Chi Group's first restaurant in South Korea has encountered obstacles.

Two months ago, the Chi Group spent a large sum of money to rent an entire commercial property in Seoul, and had investigated the permitted use for catering when signing the lease. However, when the Chi Group submitted its application to the Seoul Commerce Department for a business license, it has yet to receive approval.

Providing assistance to the Chi Group in South Korea was a promise she made, and even more so, a promise made by Chairman Lee. Although Song Yoon-hee now knows that Chairman Lee doesn't genuinely want to help, she cannot break her word.

Song Yunxi said politely, "Secretary Wu, please ask Chairman Li for instructions to provide assistance to the Chi Group as agreed, so that they can obtain the approval to open for business as soon as possible."

Given ST Group's influence and connections in Seoul and even in South Korea, even if it cannot influence the commerce department's decision, it is certainly capable of getting the commerce department to grant approval as soon as possible, provided that all the necessary documents and qualifications are in order.

After all, the five-story building that the Chi Group rented in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, was quite expensive, and every day the opening was delayed meant another day of cost loss.

Secretary Wu politely agreed to convey Song Yunxi's request to Chairman Li.

Before hanging up the phone, Song Yunxi said gently, "By the way, Mr. Li Shenghuan got engaged last month. I didn't have time to congratulate him in person. Please ask Secretary Wu to apologize to Mr. Li Shenghuan on my behalf."

Secretary Wu on the other end spoke coldly: "Please rest assured, I will convey Miss Song's message to the chairman truthfully."

Song Yunxi put down her phone and sighed deeply. She had no choice; time was of the essence, and she couldn't think of a better way without resorting to threats.

She can still control Chairman Li to some extent now, but once things are settled between Li Shenghuan and the Zheng family's daughter, she will no longer have that leverage.

Lin Xiaoran handed the clothes she had just picked up from the afternoon tea restaurant to Song Yunxi. "Unnie, here's the waitress uniform you wanted."

"Thank you." Song Yunxi took the clothes and got up to go to the staff lounge to change.

"Shall I go work as a waiter in the restaurant with you?"

"No need, you and Tang Qingcheng just need to keep an eye on public opinion."

Song Yunxi started as a waitress in various positions at ST, so she is very knowledgeable about serving customers.

But Lin Xiaoran is different. She is a girl who was pampered by her parents. Even though she is willing to work as a waitress, she doesn't know anything.

If anything goes wrong, guests won't care that she came to experience the work; they'll just blame the Platinum Hotel and think that the five-star hotel's service is inadequate. In that case, not only will she not achieve the desired effect of humbly participating, but she may also end up losing more than she gains.

Since that's the case, why not let Lin Xiaoran do something she's better at?

Song Yunxi had just changed her clothes and stepped out of the house when she ran into Fu Meilin in the hallway. Fu Meilin crossed her arms and looked her up and down.

"Song Yunxi, what kind of trouble are you up to now?"

Song Yunxi laughed, "I think these waiter uniforms are quite nice, so I specially asked for one to try on. You know what uniform fetish is, right? Mr. Fu, would you like one too?"

Fu Meilin rolled her eyes at her, thinking, "I don't believe you." She then ignored Song Yunxi's nonsense and turned to walk towards her office.

Song Yunxi followed, walking alongside Fu Meilin as she asked, "President Fu, what's the HR department's reaction to my suggestion last time to increase the proportion of interns in the Tourism College?"

Dai Shuo has already replied to Song Yunxi. Under the multiple conditions that Song Yunxi will teach tea ceremony every week, Mu Chen will give a lecture every semester, and Platinum Hotel will increase the proportion of tourism college interns, the college leaders have agreed to reduce the management fee by 10%.

For schools, reducing administrative fees while increasing the proportion of interns is highly beneficial. After all, employment rate is an important criterion for evaluating the quality of vocational skills schools.

"You make it sound so easy. We have long-term partnerships with several schools, and the total number of interns each year is basically fixed. If we increase the number of interns from the Tourism College, the other schools will have to reduce theirs accordingly. Who do you want me to reduce? It's easy for you to say that when you're not in the same boat." After saying that, Fu Meilin turned around and went into the office, sitting back in her chair.

Song Yunxi pulled over the empty chair next to Fu Meilin and sat down at her table. "I've already done the statistics. The quality and level of interns from the Tourism College are generally higher than those from other schools, which you should know. Moreover, the proportion of interns who stay as full-time employees in hotels after their internships is also the highest in the Tourism College."

Now, the tourism college has agreed to reduce management fees, which is only natural in order to increase their internship opportunities. Even if you present the facts to other schools, they wouldn't be able to voice any objections.

Song Yunxi thought for a moment and then continued, "Moreover, this will also promote healthy competition among schools. If other schools also want to increase the proportion of interns, they will improve their teaching standards and make their students more competitive in the market. They might even be able to reduce some management fees."

She smiled and looked at Fu Meilin, "As long as they get into a fight, no matter what, the one who will ultimately benefit is our Platinum Hotel."

Fu Meilin snorted coldly: "Look at your cunning businessman face."

"There's no way around it. Your administration and human resources departments are departments that spend money, while mine is a department that makes money. If I weren't a shrewd businessman, how would my brothers and sisters at Platinum Hotels make a living?"

"Go back now. I'll let you know when I've thought it over." Fu Meilin reached into the file basket and pulled out a clip, looking like she didn't really want to talk to Song Yunxi.

“Alright.” Song Yunxi stood up and put the chair she had been sitting in back in its original position. “But don’t think about it for too long. You know the internship coordinator at the Tourism College is President Mu’s junior, so maybe this is President Mu’s idea too. By the way, I’m going to President Mu’s office anyway, so I’ll tell him you’re still considering it. Otherwise, he might think I’m neglecting my work and didn’t suggest it to you.” After saying that, she turned and walked out towards Mu Chen’s office.

While she was changing clothes, Mu Chen called her and asked her to come to his office during her lunch break.

Fu Meilin angrily shouted at Song Yunxi's retreating figure, "Song Yunxi, how dare you speak ill of me to President Mu? You just wait!"

Song Yunxi smiled, this provocation tactic always worked on Fu Meilin.

Knocking on the door to the general manager's office, Mu Chen was sitting on the sofa next to the coffee table. The coffee table was fully furnished with a tea tray, a gaiwan (lidded bowl), and cups.

He beckoned to her: "Come here."

Song Yunxi had her hands in her uniform pockets. "What are you doing?"

"Someone sent me some newly harvested summer tea and asked me to come and try it." Mu Chen reached out and pulled Song Yunxi to sit on the sofa, handing her the tea box he was holding.

Song Yunxi opened the lid, and a rich aroma of Tieguanyin tea wafted out. She smiled and sat down, scooped out the tea leaves and put them into the gaiwan, then poured in hot water to brew the tea.

After pouring Mu Chen and herself each a cup of light-colored tea, Song Yunxi took a small sip. Although the taste was weak, coarse, and astringent, the aroma was very strong, almost comparable to autumn tea.

"Mr. Rui and President Mu are really in close contact. If you didn't know better, you'd think you were his son."

Mu Chen smiled. "How did you know he was the one who sent this tea?"

"Otherwise what? Summer tea is the worst quality of all the teas of the year. When people give gifts, especially to President Mu, they wouldn't give summer tea, would they? It's probably because the person who gave the tea wanted to have more contact with you, so they came over under the pretext of the newly launched summer tea?"

Mu Chen pulled Song Yunxi to sit on his lap. "You're really smart. But he didn't really want to have much contact with me. This tea was obviously meant for you to try; he just used me as a front. Why did you ignore him?"

"He never seemed to give me a chance to ignore him, did he?"

Whenever she needed something, she would contact Mu Chen, truly keeping her promise not to bother her.

When Rui Huaisen arrived in the morning, he only glanced at Song Yunxi from afar, and then sat in Mu Chen's office for a while before leaving.

He had a suitcase with him, saying he was going to take an afternoon flight to another city to check out potential sites, planning to open two more chain tea shops before the end of the year.

Mu Chen poured tea for Rui Huaisen and asked, "Mr. Rui, you've worked hard all your life, and you've seen both wealth and hardship. Why not take advantage of your current stable business and slow down to enjoy life?"

Although Rui Family Tea Shop is not as large as it was six years ago, it is enough for Rui Huaisen to retire and enjoy the rest of his life now.

Now in his fifties, with graying temples, many people have begun a leisurely life, but Rui Huaisen is still striving for his career.

Rui Huaisen smiled and took a sip of tea. "Being a parent means taking on corresponding responsibilities. We can't let her regret being a daughter of the Rui family. I know you love her very much, but dating is easy, but marriage still requires considering reality."

The Mu family is a wealthy and powerful family, and I imagine your parents would prefer a daughter-in-law of equal social standing. While my wealth may not match the Mu family's in the short term, it would be good to be close, so as not to cause her any trouble when she wants to marry you in the future.

Although Mu Chen has already made his stance clear to Rui Huaisen that neither he nor his parents would make things difficult for Song Yunxi based on social class, Rui Huaisen no longer needs to worry about Song Yunxi marrying into a wealthy family.

But Mu Chen still relayed Rui Huaisen's words to Song Yunxi truthfully. He smiled and patted her hair, saying, "He's trying to earn money to save up for your dowry."

Song Yunxi buried her head in Mu Chen's shoulder. "Who asked him to earn my dowry? I can earn it myself. If all else fails, I'll just marry someone who asks for a small dowry."

Mu Chen pulled her off his shoulder, feigning anger and asking her coldly, "What did you say?"

Song Yunxi smiled ingratiatingly, then playfully wrapped her arms around Mu Chen's waist and snuggled into his embrace. "I said I'm going to work hard and earn enough for my dowry."

After a moment of silence, Mu Chen spoke again: "When he comes back, let's invite him to have dinner together, shall we?"

What do you want to eat?

A foodie's self-discipline only allows her to hear what she wants to hear, automatically filtering out the words "who she's eating with."

"A new Hangzhou restaurant recently opened in the south of the city. Shall I take you to try it?"

Ever since he had eaten at Guiyu Private Banquet in Hangzhou, Song Yunxi had been full of praise for the dishes and often wanted to fly over there to satisfy his cravings again.

Song Yunxi stubbornly replied, "Then you make the arrangements. Anyway, I'm just going to eat, not to see anyone."

Mu Chen smiled and nodded. "Okay."

It's good that we can go out for a meal. Actually, he knew that Song Yunxi was slowly accepting Rui Huaisen, but the two of them had fewer opportunities to communicate.

On the morning of the second day after their last trip to South Korea, Song Yunxi woke up and told Mu Chen, "I dreamt of my mother. She said she forgave Mr. Rui." Then she added, "But I didn't forgive him."

Mu Chen didn't know if she had truly dreamt of her mother, or if she had forgiven Rui Huaisen on her mother's behalf. Perhaps time would fade all past grievances and resentments, and also erase the barriers between people.

And he was willing to face this process with her, and to walk hand in hand with her through time.