"Huh. After saying it out loud, I feel much better."

Luo Xiyun let out a long breath, turned to look at Chen Xu who was holding the steering wheel, and said, "I know, this is not your fault. I just feel a little uncomfortable. If we had recognized each other earlier, this would not have happened."

Chen Xu sighed silently. It was more than just this matter.

Yang Jinxia's story is definitely not over yet. And then there's Bai Jinxuan.

He couldn't imagine what would happen if the three of them met.

He could only hope that such a day would never come.

Chen Xu drove back home, picked up his parents and Chen Ziqi, and went directly to the hotel. When they arrived, the banquet was about to begin.

His cousin invited relatives from both sides. The Chen family had more people, so they sat at three tables. Luo Xiyun became the most popular person at the three tables, and everyone greeted her and Chen Xu cordially.

Chen Xu didn't ask her what gifts she bought, but judging from the enthusiasm of her relatives, they should be quite expensive.

After the banquet, Chen Xu returned home and pulled his parents into the room to discuss. He said that he would transfer 200,000 yuan to them the next day to ask them to pay off part of the debt first, and he would transfer the rest to them in two months.

Chen Xinwen's expression became serious after hearing his words. "Xiao Xu, although our family is poor, we must have ambition. Your girlfriend gave gifts to everyone, and I can't say much. But we can't spend other people's money, understand?"

Zeng Wenli also said, "Your father is right. No matter how good your relationship is, you must distinguish money matters. No matter how rich her family is, it is her business. You can't treat it as your own money. You can't be confused about this."

"Don't worry, I know what's going on. These two hundred thousand are all earned by me." Chen Xu then told them everything about his resignation and the opening of the store.

Chen Xinwen and Zeng Wenli looked at each other in surprise.

"You kid, you didn't even discuss such a big thing with us in advance." Zeng Wenli complained.

Chen Xu said, "I just don't want you to worry."

Zeng Wenli said a few more words to him, and finally couldn't help asking, "Is it really that profitable to open a noodle shop? Can you make 60,000 or 70,000 a month?"

"Yes, there was one last month," said Chen Xu.

"This..." Zeng Wenli couldn't help but look at her husband.

Chen Xinwen took out a cigarette box from his pocket, paused for a moment, and immediately put it back, saying, "I'll take a day off tomorrow and go with you to see your noodle shop."

"I'll go too," said Zeng Wenli.

Chen Xinwen wanted to say something, but held back.

Chen Xu originally wanted to tell them at the end of the year and pay off the debt in one go. Unfortunately, plans don't change as fast as they should. Luo Xiyun came back this time with so many gifts, and some people must have wondered why his girlfriend, who was so rich, still owed so much money.

There might even be some gossip.

He knew that his parents were very concerned about these gossips. He didn't want to make it difficult for them, so he simply took out the money and paid back part of it first. The rest, including interest, could be paid off in two months.

But this means that the plan to buy a car will have to be postponed.

………………

The next morning, Chen Xu drove the car, Luo Xiyun sat on the passenger seat, and his parents and Chen Ziqi sat in the back seat, just like a family outing.

After arriving at the noodle shop, Luo Xiyun had other things to do at the company, so he left first. Before leaving, he told Chen Xu's parents that he would pick them up in the evening to go out for dinner together.

As soon as she left, Zeng Wenli couldn't help but ask curiously, "What does Xiyun do for a living?"

Chen Ziqi finally found an opportunity and rushed to say, "Second Aunt, you may not know this yet. Sister-in-law used to be Chen Xu's immediate superior. She is the director of their company and now the vice president, with an annual salary of one million."

Zeng Wenli was shocked. "A million dollars a year? She's so young..."

"You don't understand this, right? If you want to be a company leader now, the first thing to look at is background, the second is education, and the third is ability. My sister-in-law has all three."

Chen Ziqi said, changing the subject, "Of course, Chen Xu is not doing badly now. His noodle shop is about to open a branch. With more and more branches opening in the future, maybe he can create a chain brand and become a billionaire."

Zeng Wenli thought about it and it made sense. Her son now ran a noodle shop and could earn 70,000 to 80,000 yuan a month, so the difference was not much.

She knew her son well and knew that he seldom boasted and would never lie to them about such things.

However, she still felt a little uneasy. Luo Xiyun was too generous with her gifts. She asked in a low voice, "Xiaoxu, what does Xiyun's family do?"

"I haven't asked her, but she should be of high status." Chen Xu could guess a little, but it was not easy to tell his parents directly, so he could only give them some warning.

"Let's go to the store and have a look."

It's almost lunchtime and there are quite a lot of people in the noodle shop.

"Boss, you're back." Aunt Zhang saw him from a distance and greeted him loudly.

Seeing that the store was almost full, Chen Xinwen said, "Just look here for a while, don't go inside and disrupt business."

Chen Xu had no choice but to stand outside with him.

Chen Xinwen observed from outside for a while and saw that there were always many customers in the store. He nodded and said, "Let's go and take a look at your rental house."

So Chen Xu took them back to the rented house first.

…………

In the following week, Chen Xu devoted all his energy to the decoration of the new store. Xu Xiaoxiao also attached great importance to her work. She would come over to watch it after work every day. Soon, the new store was decorated.

On the opening day, Chen Xu asked Dai Zixin to help promote the store through WeChat Moments. As a result, there were a lot of people coming on the first day, and Luo Xiyun even brought the entire department to show his support.

Several of Dai Zixin's friends also came with a large group of friends.

There were also a group of old customers including Yanqing, all of them came.

Only then did Chen Xu realize that, without realizing it, his social circle had become much larger than before, and he now had many people who could be considered friends.

The second branch's noodle shop is more than twice as big as the old one, and can accommodate more customers. On the first day, its sales broke the old store's record.

Fortunately, Chen Xu had recruited enough people in advance. The five employees of the new store were very busy. Due to lack of experience, they made a lot of mistakes. Fortunately, with him personally watching over them, no major problems occurred.

However, the first day's turnover was not normal, and Luo Xiyun could not bring the entire department to support the event every day. We had to wait and see what would happen in the future.

He has now completely handed over the old store to Aunt Zhou and her family, and hired an extra employee there to take shifts. He has been keeping an eye on the new store, and only goes to the old store once every night to hand over to Aunt Zhou.

For a whole month, he was busy with the store and only had dinner with Luo Xiyun a few times. The main reason was that she was also very busy during this period. The company's online channel had just been launched, and she was one of the main persons in charge. There were countless things piled up for her, and she worked more than ten hours a day. Sometimes she didn't even have time to eat.

…………

It's already June and the weather is getting hotter.

On this morning, just after seven o'clock, Chen Xu came to the branch as usual. Two employees on the early shift were already waiting there.

He opened the door and two employees skillfully began to clean the store to welcome the first wave of customers in the morning.

Gradually, some people came to have breakfast.

At almost eight o'clock, a woman in a professional dress caught Chen Xu's attention. He noticed her because she came every day this week, never missing three meals a day and midnight snacks. And she would order different noodles every time.

More importantly, she was not like other customers who always looked around while eating. Sometimes, she would nod and smile at him when she noticed his attention, and then she would remain the same.

In short, she didn't look like she was here to eat at all.

Of course, Chen Xu didn't want to care about her, as long as she wasn't here to cause trouble.

"You are the boss here, right?" This time, she came directly to him and asked.

He was a little surprised and nodded, "Yes, I am."

"My name is Jiang Yan, and I want to talk to you." The woman took out a business card and handed it over, "This is my business card."

Chen Xu took it and saw that it said, "Jinyun Catering Group Co., Ltd., Brand Promotion Director, Jiang Yan." He could guess her intention, but it was unbelievable. His first reaction was, could she be a liar?

"Let's talk in my office," he said. Let's talk first anyway.

Although it is called an office, it is actually very small. It can barely accommodate a sofa and a coffee table, which is a place to entertain others.

After Jiang Yan sat down, he asked, "Have you heard of our company?"

Chen Xu put the water in to boil and said, "No."

"Then you can go and find out. Our company is mainly engaged in the catering industry. We have multiple chain brands, fast food, milk tea, restaurant bars, etc." Jiang Yan mentioned a few brands.

Chen Xu had also seen these brands of stores on the street, but he didn't say anything and asked, "I wonder what you want to talk to me about?"

Jiang Yan asked, "What's your name?"

"Chen Xu."

"Mr. Chen, this is what I am responsible for. I am responsible for discovering some restaurants with potential. We will work together to use our resources to operate and promote them, expand the brand, and achieve a win-win situation. After observing you for so many days, I think your noodle shop has great potential. I would like to invite your shop to join our company and become our sub-brand."

Chen Xu was surprised when he heard this, "Isn't the general routine to buy the formula?"

"No, no, no, the formula is dead, but the people are alive."

Jiang Yan smiled and said, "There are many so-called formulas in this world, but only a few of them can be made into mature products. Instead of spending a lot of money to buy a formula, it is better to cooperate with the formula owner who has already made a mature product. This is the most efficient way."

Chen Xu had to admit that this was a very moving story, but he continued talking to her.

This conversation lasted nearly half an hour.

Finally, Chen Xu said that he needed a few days to think about it.

Jiang Yan left behind several examples of previous successful collaborations and left.

PS: For the first leader in my life, I will add the first chapter, a total of five chapters.

(End of this chapter)