Chapter 55 (Update 1)
"Mom, this is a beautiful pair!"
Leng Hanli took the pearl earrings handed to her by her daughter and said, "Baby, you have good taste."
Just as she was wearing it, her master's voice came from far away and approached - "Madam, Madam!"
In a hurry.
Leng Hanli glanced in the mirror and said nonchalantly, "Who made the master angry so early in the morning?"
Heng Bobao was a little surprised: "Dad doesn't get up until nine o'clock, is he... also going to attend Anrou's opening ceremony?"
Heng Batong was stunned, his expression strange. "What? What grand opening ceremony? Didn't her bun shop reopen the day before yesterday?"
"It's the restaurant Dad sold to An Rou. It closed for a day yesterday, but it's reopening today!" Heng Bobao said. "It's even changed its name. It's no longer Fu Xiang, but Wing On Grand Hotel!"
Heng Batong opened his mouth and said, "The Wing On Hotel that caused such a stir yesterday is the Fuxiang? Madam, what's going on?"
He looked at Leng Hanli.
Leng Hanli stood up and looked at her outfit in the mirror. Hearing this, she glanced at him in confusion: "What else could it be? Master, you've run a good restaurant like this, and An Rou bought it and didn't renovate it. Is it going to continue to lose money?
"She gave all the money she got from the Chosen One to you and me. How could she have any money left to fill the hole?"
Heng Batong patted his thigh and said, "Madam!
"How could she have renovated her bun shop without money? How could she have hired so many rickshaws for a parade? How could she have bought all these cars at once? She, she, she, she even built a farm on that wasteland in the eastern suburbs with such fanfare! I think she's got a ton of money in her pocket!"
Leng Hanli paused in her action of pinching and lifting the hem of her cheongsam.
Yes, An Rou claimed to have received 195,000 gold from Chu Mo. She lost 50,000 gold playing mahjong, spent 140,000 gold on the restaurant, and had 5,000 gold left. Is that enough for all these things?
However, seeing that her master looked as if he hadn't eaten all the fat in one bite, Leng Hanli smiled.
Although they were family, the restaurant and other businesses were all under Hengbatong's name, and the card table was her battlefield. With 50,000 gold in her account, what else did she have to do with anything else?
Leng Hanli said, "Master, Fuxiang was priced at 50,000 gold and no one was interested. But An Rou paid 140,000 gold in cash to buy him. What else do you want, Master? Even if she had 1 million gold, would she have to spend it all to buy a shabby restaurant that's losing money every day?"
"That's right, Dad!" Heng Bobao was also very unhappy. "An Rou is my friend. How can Dad only think about making money from her?! An Rou was even trying to get me to help Dad gain fame the day before yesterday! Humph, I'm angry. Mom, let's go!"
Heng Ba Tong looked at this and that, and his breath was stuck in his throat.
Can it be the same?!
We are all family, why are you being so disloyal?!
After the mother and daughter left, he thought about it, slapped his thigh hard again, and called the housekeeper.
"Go, send someone to keep an eye on Fuxiang! I want to see what tricks a little girl can come up with after taking over such a huge mess!"
-
The former Fuxiang Restaurant, now the Yongan Hotel, was packed with people, blocking the entire intersection.
Outside the restaurant, twenty or so bamboo poles were propped up, one end on the ground and the other on the windowsill. Each pole was wrapped with three strings of small firecrackers, connected end to end. The expenditure on this item alone was as high as hundreds of thousands of gold.
Throughout the history of Zhongsu Town, no store has ever opened with such grandeur.
There were two large doors on each side facing the street, each bearing a large, black-lacquered sign in gold that read "Yong'an Hotel." Hanging beside the door was a surprisingly large cloth banner, its two-meter-long lintel almost reaching the ground. The five characters "Yong'an Pickled Fish" towered over the sky.
"I know about pickled fish, but what does it mean? Such a big store only sells pickled fish?"
"That's unlikely. Maybe it's just one of their signature dishes."
"What signature dish? You've all forgotten. This is the original Fuxiang Restaurant. It's not like I haven't eaten there before. Pickled fish is not one of their signature dishes."
"Hey, you've also eaten Fuxiang? Did you eat antiques?"
"Hey, it's not a bad idea to call it an antique. I ate here when it first opened ten years ago. The smell, ugh, ugh, ugh, I had to rinse my mouth several times to clear it."
"That's right, I had diarrhea for three days after eating there too. This place not only takes your money, it takes your life too. Anyone who eats there is being taken advantage of!"
“…”
There were many people and a lot of discussion. An Rou sat in the store, listening and yawning.
1. I didn’t sleep all night and I’m really sleepy.
The plan was to open at ten in the morning, and now the time was almost up. She steeled herself, her eyes fixed on the empty space.
On the farm twenty miles away, even the fine hairs on Paopao's face were clearly visible.
"Let's go, we have to get there within an hour." Paopao said.
The "camera" shook, and Paopao walked ahead, then turned back: "Since we have nothing to do, let's practice some more. What's your name?"
"Zhang Er." A muffled voice said.
"Where are you from and where do you live?"
"I live in Wufang Town, District 7. My family was attacked by a ghoul and their house was destroyed. I have no money to repair it, so I wandered here to make a living. Now I work as a handyman at Hongjie's hair salon and live in the salon."
Not only did she run, An Rou also nodded with satisfaction.
After a night of intense training, Zhang Er performed the best among the five ghouls. As long as he didn't interact with humans or communicate too much, it would be difficult to discover his ghoul identity.
Moreover, its body was highly "active," and An Rou was connected to its consciousness, so the images she saw through its eyes were crystal clear. Unlike the sudden wealth, it felt like a stream was flowing before her eyes, making everything look slightly distorted.
"An Rou!"
Heng Bobao's voice reached her ears, An Rou disconnected her consciousness and looked over with a smile.
This young girl, who just turned 18, is always full of energy. On the other hand, An Rou, dressed in a mature manner, looks more like a lady in Leng Hanli's circle.
An Rou walked over quickly and greeted Leng Hanli with a smile, "Good morning, Madam."
Leng Hanli smiled faintly and said, "It's quite a big deal, with so many firecrackers. It must have cost a lot of money, right?"
"Yes, in order to keep the restaurant from closing down, I owe a lot of money." An Rou complained, "Madam, if I have no other choice, An Rou will have to ask for your help."
Heng Bobao rushed to say, "Don't worry, An Rou. If you're short of money, I can lend you all my savings at a mere 10% interest per month!"
When she heard the first half of the sentence, Leng Hanli frowned slightly and looked at her daughter. When she heard the second half of the sentence, she smiled.
An Rou secretly rolled her eyes.
The monthly interest rate is 10%, and the principal and interest have doubled in less than a year. In reality, this is a clear case of usury!
But then again, as an NPC in the Soul World, it is already very rare for someone to be willing to lend money.
"Thank you, Bo Bao." An Rou thanked him and looked at Leng Hanli. "I am also grateful to Madam for attending the opening ceremony. It's time to go out together?"
Leng Hanli smiled and said, "Don't take it to heart. Fuxiang has been run by the master for ten years, and I have some feelings for it. This time, let's just give this wish a happy ending."
The three of them came to the hotel gate accompanied by Manager Jin and others.
With the mayor's wife present, the dense crowd of onlookers soon quieted down. Pairs of eyes scanned between her and An Rou, secretly trying to figure out the relationship between the two.
An Rou intentionally hid herself in the background and let Leng Hanli speak on her behalf at the opening ceremony. Since it wasn't her business, Leng Hanli wasn't interested in saying too much. The reason she accepted the invitation to the opening ceremony, besides what she called "some feelings", was more because of Heng Bobao.
An Rou specifically asked Heng Bobao to invite his mother. Since it was rare for her daughter to make a friend, Leng Hanli agreed without much hesitation.
After a few brief opening remarks, the event was followed by the ribbon-cutting and the setting off of firecrackers. The latter was the most anticipated part of the event, with over twenty small firecrackers on bamboo poles exploding simultaneously, a deafening crackle that quickly attracted a large crowd.
It’s like Chinese New Year.
Leng Hanli and Heng Bobao both found the sound of firecrackers too noisy, so An Rou sent someone to invite them to the private room on the second floor to taste pickled fish.
An Rou stayed at the door of the store, her eyes scanning the crowd through the smoke and dust in the air.
She knew full well that few of these NPCs would actually come into the store to spend money. The reason they gathered so bustlingly, besides watching the firecrackers, was to collect red envelopes. And no matter how much red envelopes they collected, compared to the price of the pickled fish in the store, it would be hard to replicate the grand occasion of the bun shop that day.
But the tens of thousands of gold spent on firecrackers was not wasted.
The crowd was everywhere, and among the densely packed narrow and long light screens, there were many IDs with level suffixes - players.
Firecrackers attracted crowds, and the crowds piqued the players' curiosity. At this moment, the number of players outside the Yong'an Hotel was probably denser than anywhere else in Zhongsu Town.
The firecrackers were finally over. An Rou waited for the smoke to clear a little, then gave Manager Jin a look.
Shopkeeper Jin cleared his throat and said loudly, "Thank you all for your support. Wing On Hotel is officially open! Opening special offer: all guests who visit our restaurant will receive a 20% discount!"
The crowd fell silent, then suddenly erupted in discussions even louder than before.
"The Chosen One? Only the Chosen One gets a discount?"
"What on earth do you mean? Are you looking down on us ordinary people?!"
"So you only did business with the rich before, and now it's even worse, only doing business with those with destiny? Wow!"
"Oh no, isn't that right? A restaurant that specializes in ripping people off is now targeting those with destiny, isn't that a good thing?"
"Hiss—the mayor is so majestic!!!"
"I heard the restaurant is no longer owned by the mayor and has been sold..."
"Hey, besides the mayor, who else would be so bold as to deceive the one who has destiny?"
"Could it be... the Ouli Gang and the Yinlai Gang?"
"Come on, have you ever seen a gang open a shop to do business? Even if they were to do it, it would have to be a high-end store like a car dealership. How could it be a restaurant with waiters like that..."
"Hey, why are you so concerned about this? What's important right now is that this crappy restaurant isn't giving out red envelopes for its grand opening!"
"Yeah, why not send out red envelopes?!"
"Boss, congratulations on your prosperity and wealth, give out red envelopes!!!"
“…”
Unfortunately, no matter how much they shouted, the shopkeeper and the staff ignored them. Two of the staff even took out a dustpan and broom and started to clean up the mess of small firecracker remains.
This response is tantamount to driving customers away.
"I told you before, a dog will never change its bad habits!"
"Let's break up, it's going to go bankrupt in a few months anyway!"
"What a waste of my time..."
…
The NPCs left cursing.
An Rou looked out through the window and saw that most people had left. She gave Manager Jin another look.
Shopkeeper Jin waved his hand, and the waiters on the side walked out with smiles on their faces, greeting the people who had remained. The crowd had been too dense earlier, making it difficult to identify them, but now it was easy to distinguish: those wearing string gloves were the Chosen Ones.
The reason why I didn't leave was naturally because I was curious about the preferential policies set by the store.
After all, in the game, when NPCs encounter a Chosen One customer, they'll all raise their prices to the highest level. So, offering a discount to a Chosen One?
Unheard of.
"Sir, we have a grand opening special, please come and visit us. Our shop specializes in pickled fish, and the soup is delicious and you'll never forget it!"
"Sour fish? How much?"
"300 gold for one person, 500 gold for two. Since you are a respected Chosen One, you will receive a 20% discount on all purchases..."
"Hiss—robbing money! You must be crazy because you are poor!!!"
…
An Rou listened briefly but didn't take it seriously.
Originally, Fuxiang Restaurant was criticized for selling rice grains as gold. Instead of lowering the prices, she raised them a lot. She was mentally prepared for this.
This is also one of the ways to intercept NPC guests.
There are still dozens of players waiting outside the store. It would be ideal if two or three of them could come into the store to eat.
As expected, as soon as the players heard the prices, they immediately left in droves. Shopkeeper Jin, standing at the door, looked anxiously at An Rou, "Boss An..."
Before he finished speaking, he caught a glimpse of two figures approaching. Even without a waiter leading the way, they walked into the store without hesitation.
"Welcome!" Shopkeeper Jin greeted with a smile, but then his smile froze.
The visitor didn't look at him, but looked directly at An Rou who was sitting by the window: "Boss An, good luck with your opening."
"Captain Li, Boss Tang," An Rou met their gazes and smiled slightly, "I am honored to have you here."
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