It was already evening when they returned to Fanjia County.
On the way back, Zhou Chen responded to each of the people who had sent congratulatory text messages.
People like Wu Yingjie, Sun Liancheng, and Hu Haibing all sent messages to him, expressing their happiness.
Li Kaile and Xu Dalong, these two right-hand men, needless to say, called that very day.
With his phone completely dead, Zhou Chen didn't wait for Xu Dalong to return. Instead, he charged his phone and went to bed early to rest.
The next day, I woke up...
Xu Dalong brought back breakfast: hot soy milk and fried dough sticks.
The two chatted as they ate. In the past two days, while he was away, Pin Chou Fang signed five more franchisees, earning a whopping 50,000 yuan in franchise fees.
Zhou Chen was somewhat surprised.
“Brother Chen, these franchisees all came to our Fanjia County specifically to join the franchise after watching your interviews and documentaries.”
Xu Dalong explained that the decision of franchisees to join was largely influenced by television reports.
Zhou Chen's expression flashed; the celebrity effect continued to ferment.
The reports from Fengcheng City gave him some recognition, and this time, winning the National Youth Track and Field Championships and being reported by national television stations will surely raise his profile to another level.
While it may not be nationally famous, it will spread to some extent and be known by some sports enthusiasts.
And all of these people could potentially become franchisees.
"I understand. If nothing unexpected happens, there will likely be even more franchisees in the future."
Zhou Chen told Xu Dalong to prepare himself. Previously, his reputation was mainly limited to Fengcheng City, and his influence was limited. Now, going to Su City and the post-victory interviews would make him known to people from many regions, and some of them would inevitably be interested in his business.
His stinky tofu is bound to become more and more popular.
Xu Dalong naturally realized this, and a simple smile involuntarily appeared on his face.
Arriving at school,
As soon as Zhou Chen entered the courtyard, Grandpa Liang stopped him. The two chatted for a while, and Grandpa Liang watched the whole competition, cheered him on, and was very happy that he won the championship.
As the two were talking, students passing by gradually gathered around and took the initiative to greet Zhou Chen.
Soon, the school gate was blocked.
Having no other choice, Zhou Chen had to say goodbye to Grandpa Liang, park his bicycle, lock it, and then sign autographs for his enthusiastic classmates.
Many people took out their books and asked him to sign them.
He even saw more than one person take out their homework and sign it while he was signing.
After finally finishing signing, Zhou Chen hurriedly entered her classroom.
He thought he could finally breathe a sigh of relief, but then all the girls in the class took out their books and asked him to sign them.
Goodness, everyone seems to want him to sign his autograph.
Zhou Chen was unaware that Fengcheng TV was broadcasting his championship win continuously and airing the previous documentary several times a day. Now, almost everyone living in the Fengcheng area knew him, Zhou Chen.
At the homes of students attending a high school, many received calls from relatives and friends in other regions, inquiring about Zhou Chen and requesting autographs.
Finally, the last signature was completed.
When Zhou Chen saw Li Kaile arrive, Li Kaile immediately gave him two thumbs up and shouted, "Brother Chen is awesome!" which left Zhou Chen both amused and exasperated.
"Brother Chen, you are my idol, haha, all my relatives know you now. They all asked me for your autograph when they heard that we were classmates."
When Li Kaile talked about this, his face was full of pride and satisfaction.
He was different from others; he was not only Zhou Chen's classmate, but also worked with Zhou Chen, and their relationship was closer than that of others.
When the relatives heard this news, they were all stunned.
Many wanted him to act as a go-between, to connect them with Zhou Chen so they could do business with him.
This incident greatly enhanced his and his mother's reputation.
"The signature is fine. Let me rest for a while."
Everyone else got autographs, so naturally Li Kaile wouldn't be left out, but after signing autographs all morning, Zhou Chen really wanted to write one herself.
He had never written his name hundreds of times in a row like he did today.
"By the way, Brother Chen, something happened while you were away these past two days."
Suddenly, Li Kaile seemed to remember something and abruptly changed the subject.
Immediately afterwards, the news was spread that the area where Zhao Kun's family lived was going to be demolished.
Upon hearing this news,
A certain memory in Zhou Chen's mind quickly went from blurry to clear.
He had indeed forgotten about it. Zhao Kun was lucky; his family was among the first to be relocated in Fanjia County.
Each household received a considerable amount of compensation for the demolition. Although it was not as much as he had received from hoarding houses, it was still several hundred thousand yuan, which was a huge sum for the people living in that area.
Moreover, for a family like Zhao Kun's, it was like rain after a long drought.
Zhou Ling must have been so excited about this that she couldn't sleep all night.
However, it was somewhat unexpected that this ingrate didn't immediately boast to him.
In the past, Zhou Ling would never have missed an opportunity to show off like this.
Why not this time?
After a moment of distraction, Zhou Chen stopped dwelling on it. It was better if Zhou Ling didn't come out and annoy him; at least he could have some peace and quiet.
It's likely that Zhou Ling herself knew that by doing that, she was acting like a clown.
Actually, Zhou Chen overestimated Zhou Ling. The reason Zhou Ling didn't show off to Zhou Chen wasn't because she didn't want to, but because she was currently having Zhao Kun hold a wedding for her, a proper marriage, to bring her into his family.
Zhao Kun didn't express his opinion, but Old Mrs. Zhao disagreed.
The reasons are simple: first, the two don't get along; second, if he marries Zhou Ling now, he'll have to give Zhou Ling a share of the demolition compensation.
This is something that Old Mrs. Zhao does not want.
"Brother Kun, I didn't ask for a bride price, I dropped out of school to be with you, and I'll have your children. Don't you even want to marry me?"
“Your family is about to be occupied, and you’ll get a lot of money, but do you think I, Zhou Ling, am after money? If I valued money, why would I have been with you so resolutely in the first place? We’ve overcome so many obstacles to get to where we are now. Don’t you know me?”
"This wedding is something you promised me, Brother Kun."
Zhao Kun was speechless after Zhou Ling said this, because it was the truth.
Upon seeing this, Old Mrs. Zhao exclaimed that Zhou Ling had done all of this voluntarily, and that no one had begged or forced her.
"Brother Kun, are you really willing to let me lose the bet and be laughed at by Zhou Chen?"
Zhou Ling looked at Zhao Kun.
Zhao Kun was silent for a while, then said to his mother, "Mom, don't worry about this. Xiaoling is carrying our family's child, and I owe her."
After saying that, he turned to look at Zhou Ling, "A real man keeps his word. The wedding you want, I'll give you."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ling burst into tears of joy.
She immediately threw herself into Zhao Kun's arms.
"Brother Kun, I knew you loved me. I didn't misjudge you."
...
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