Zhong Yuan quickly retrieved all the ledgers, documents, bank accounts, and other materials from the steamed bun shop.

"Little Pear, everything from the steamed bun shop is here. You should find someone to take over for me as soon as possible. The current shop managers are doing a great job. I'll go book tickets to Kyoto right now."

Jiang Xiaoli opened her mouth, then stopped Zhong Yuan, "Brother Yuan, can you stop acting? Even if you want to go to Kyoto, you don't have to go to this extent, do you?"

Seeing that he had been exposed, Zhong Yuan chuckled awkwardly and sat down next to her. "Haha, Little Pear really has sharp eyes."

Jiang Xiaoli pouted, "I don't care, you have to settle things at the steamed bun shop before you leave!"

“Alright, alright, leave it to me. Actually, I’ve been preparing for this for a long time. The manager of our No. 1 store is my backup plan. I dare not say that he will lead our steamed bun shop to glory, but he will definitely be able to keep this business going!” Zhong Yuan explained his long-term plans clearly in one breath.

Jiang Xiaoli nodded. "It's good that you have plans. I was just joking with you earlier. Zong Jia and his side aren't in such a hurry either. In a while, Da Fu and I are going to Kyoto to check out branch factory locations. Shall we go together?"

Zhong Yuan's heart had already drifted to Kyoto, and he asked pitifully, "How long is 'a while'?"

She thought for a moment, "Once I get the admission notice, it should be soon. The college entrance exam results will be released tomorrow, and I should be able to get the notice in about a week."

With a definite date set, Zhong Yuan was no longer in a hurry.

"Alright, I'll tidy up my house in the next couple of days and get ready to go stay with Brother Zong!"

He was thinking about the wonderful trip to Kyoto when he suddenly realized, "Hey, Little Pear, you just said you and Daifu are going to inspect a branch factory near Kyoto?"

Jiang Xiaoli replied with a smile, "That's right, we've all gone to Kyoto, how can we leave Brother Dafu alone in Xijing? It just so happens that my food factory needs to build a new factory, and I plan to look at some places near Kyoto."

Zhong Yuan was even happier now, "Hahaha, that's great, let's not separate!"

Suddenly his smile vanished.

Jiang Xiaoli raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

Zhong Yuan sighed, "I didn't want to talk about this since none of you are here, but Pumpkin came to see me the other day."

She didn't mind, saying, "Even though he's not doing business with us anymore, no one has any objections to your interactions in private."

Zhong Yuan nodded. "Brother Zong went to study in Kyoto, and Dafu often stays at the branch factory, so I do have more contact with Pumpkin. He came to me to borrow money a while ago."

"Borrow money?" Jiang Xiaoli frowned immediately. "You gave him nearly 300,000 yuan in dividends and for buying his shares. Why is he asking you for money?"

Zhong Yuan got angry as he talked about this, "It's all because of that unlucky Su Xiaoxiao. Not long after we kicked Pumpkin out, they got married. Pumpkin did have some brains, though. She spent money to buy a small courtyard, like this steamed bun shop, and opened a small shop in a window on the wall facing the street."

Jiang Xiaoli nodded in agreement. "Isn't that great? This must be what it means to have a wife, kids, and a warm bed, right?"

"Yes! But some people are just not satisfied!"

Zhong Yuan said angrily, "At first it was fine, but not long after, Su Xiaoxiao's family came. The small courtyard that Nan Gua bought has a total of five rooms, which is enough for Su's parents and Su Xiaoxiao's brother to stay in."

But this family is really something else! They play mahjong at home all day, and whenever they want to eat something, they just grab it from the convenience store. You can't say anything to Pumpkin; if you do, Su Xiaoxiao bursts into tears.

After several months of this, they hadn't sold many goods, and the Su family had eaten up all the profits. Pumpkin couldn't take it anymore and closed the shop.

Now that the family has no source of income, Su Xiaoxiao started making a fuss, telling Nangua to go out and find a job. Nangua is just like me, no education, no work experience, what kind of job can she find?

Besides, he didn't want to look for a job, but because Su Xiaoxiao was pregnant, he pretended to go out for a few walks every day as if he was looking for a job before going home.

After a while, Su Xiaoxiao found out about his antics, which caused another uproar. Pumpkin was also angry and said that the family had savings and could afford to raise the child, so why did he have to make such a fuss?

It was only through the conversation that he learned that Su Xiaoxiao had used all his savings to build a house for her brother in the countryside. The Su family had come to the city because they had nowhere to stay while their house was under construction!

Hearing this, Jiang Xiaoli was completely dumbfounded. Good heavens, this melodramatic plot twist has reached its maximum!

She loves hearing this story!

"And then what?"

Zhong Yuan shook his head helplessly, "What else can we do? Su Xiaoxiao is pregnant, we can't exactly beat her up, can we? The house in Su's hometown has already been built."

Tsk tsk tsk, that's really pitiful.

But she was curious, "What does he want to do with the money he asked you for?"

"In the end, he used to be with us, with Brother Zong leading the way. Although we didn't earn as much as we do now from our small businesses, we were still doing pretty well. He's just not content with that. His family is broke and he doesn't want to find a regular job. He's still thinking about continuing to run a small business. He even asked me for money when he didn't have any."

Did you borrow it?

Zhong Yuan snorted coldly, "No, he asked me to borrow 50,000 yuan as soon as he opened his mouth, acting like he was asking for 5 yuan. Why should I lend it to him? I don't need 50,000 yuan right now, but I'm not a fool."

He really thinks he can start a business with just a few hundred yuan and set up a stall. He's dreaming. He wants to open a shop and start making money right away. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Besides, with a wife like Su Xiaoxiao, I don't believe he can succeed in his business at all!

"Clap clap clap!" Jiang Xiaoli jumped up and applauded him. "I have to say, Brother Yuan, you are the one who is truly clear-headed! You are so right! Didn't I also start out by pushing a bicycle and selling spicy strips with my mom? Pumpkin has really gotten too big for his britches."

Zhong Yuan took a big bite of watermelon. "That's right. Back when we were selling popsicles under the scorching sun in the middle of summer, he never complained. Now he feels ashamed and embarrassed about setting up a stall. He's just spoiled!"

Jiang Xiaoli shook her head. "Sigh, everyone has their own destiny. Not everyone can walk the right path. I hope he can see it clearly soon."

Zhong Yuan wiped his mouth. "Alright, you guys are never around, so I've been complaining to you all this time."

She waved her hand with a smile, "Brother Yuan, please don't say that, I love hearing this kind of gossip!"

"Hahaha!" Zhong Yuan was amused by her. "Okay, if there's any more dramatic news later, I'll report to you immediately!"

She nodded with a smile, picked up a slice of watermelon and touched it to Zhong Yuan's, "Then it's settled! My watermelon-eating teammate?"

"Okay, it's a deal!"