Chapter 180 - 170: A Long-Term Meal Ticket, Plus an Excellent Heir?

Guo Dapao asked angrily, "You have your own bottle of juice, why are you packing up mine?"

Xia Changzhi was speechless. "If I pack up my own, what am I supposed to drink now?"

"Damn it! You old scoundrel! I’m gonna strangle you."

Guo Dapao also decided to drop all pretense of dignity and act shamelessly. While Jun Xinghe was blissfully sipping his juice, Guo Dapao saw his chance, quickly snatching two pieces of meat from his plate and stuffing them into his mouth.

’Food tastes so much better when it’s someone else’s!’

Jun Xinghe was furious.

"Didn’t I just return the beef I took from you? Why are you stealing my meat now?"

"Give it back, now!"

Guo Dapao said shamelessly, "Why are you being so stingy? I’ll treat you to beef in Jing City that costs ten thousand a plate. That’s enough to buy five portions of this stuff. You’d be coming out ahead."

Jun Xinghe let out an exasperated laugh, deciding to give the man a taste of his own medicine. "You’re a truly shameless rogue. How about this? I’ll buy you a hundred portions of beef from Ancient Record. In exchange, you give me the beef on your plate. What do you say?"

Ancient Record’s braised beef was famous in Jing City, costing 17,800 a plate.

"In your dreams! Is that stuff even fit for human consumption?"

Guo Dapao snorted twice and began licking his plate clean.

Xia Changzhi had already devoured all his beef and was now carefully savoring the last of the potatoes and mushrooms.

"You two better savor it. You might never get to eat this again. I, on the other hand, can."

"Why can you and not us?"

"Because I’m on good terms with Boss Jiang!"

Jun Xinghe and Guo Dapao: "..."

They suddenly felt the urge to beat the guy up. He not only took their food but also had to twist the knife.

"Brother Xia, can you ask Boss Jiang to get us some more food? The more the better. This one plate isn’t nearly enough!"

Guo Dapao’s tone suddenly became polite.

Jun Xinghe also glanced curiously toward the kitchen.

’Who on earth is this man? How can his food be so delicious?’

Pleased at being called "Brother Xia," Xia Changzhi hesitated. "That’s not so easy. You don’t know this, but Boss Jiang has been open for less than ten days and already has a following of over ten thousand people. Only about a thousand get to eat his food each day, and even then, they have to wait in line for hours."

"I’m a special case. I was only able to bring you here because of my relationship with him. It really wouldn’t have worked for anyone else."

Guo Dapao’s lip twitched.

’Give him an inch and he takes a mile. Everything he says is just to make himself sound important, isn’t it?’

Jun Xinghe couldn’t help but cut in. "Brother Xia, stop bragging and just tell us if you can get us more food. I want to save some for my daughter who ran away from home. She must be having a hard time out there."

Xia Changzhi bit the bullet. "Fine, I’ll go ask. But don’t blame me if he says no. Boss Jiang’s time is very precious."

The two were instantly ecstatic.

"Hurry up! There’s a reward in it for you if you succeed."

"Try to be as polite as possible. If that doesn’t work, offer him money. A million is no problem. I’m not short on cash."

Jun Xinghe really wasn’t short on cash. His Huaxia Pharmaceuticals brought him an annual income of several billion.

Hearing the part about adding money, Xia Changzhi jumped in fright and quickly warned them:

"Don’t you dare say that in front of anyone else. You’ll offend a lot of people. Let me make this clear: Boss Jiang isn’t the kind of guy whose eyes light up at the sight of money. Take the beef we just ate, for example. It was 1,900, or 1,300 after the discount. Tell me, if Boss Jiang sold it for 10,000, or removed the purchase limit, he could easily make a lot more money, and with less effort, right?"

"We neighbors rely on Boss Jiang’s food, sure, but the reason we respect him so much is because of his character. Get it?"

Jun Xinghe and Guo Dapao were surprised.

It was quite unexpected.

As businessmen themselves, they understood perfectly how difficult it was to stay true to your principles in the face of enormous profits.

Human desire is a bottomless pit; it expands infinitely.

From the bottom of his heart, Jun Xinghe found himself approving of Jiang Liu.

’His food is incredible, he has great character, and he’s handsome to boot.’

’He’s the very picture of a top-tier modern young man!’

Suddenly, an idea struck him. "Is Boss Jiang married?" he asked.

"Uh...?"

Xia Changzhi glanced toward the kitchen and replied in a low voice,

"He’s divorced. But it was because his ex-wife was a terrible person. Everyone around here feels a lot of sympathy for Boss Jiang."

"Why do you ask?"

Xia Changzhi gave Jun Xinghe a probing look.

Jun Xinghe shook his head. "Nothing, just curious."

’He thought about his own stubborn, foolish daughter. She’d run away from home and refused to take over the company. It was infuriating.’

’This young man, on the other hand, seems truly outstanding!’

’In terms of character, according to Brother Xia, all the neighbors can vouch for him.’

’And most importantly, he’s an amazing cook!’

Jun Xinghe was thoroughly tempted by the idea.

’If... he could marry that good-for-nothing daughter of mine, that wouldn’t be a bad outcome at all.’

’He only had one daughter, and she refused to inherit the company. If Jiang Liu could have a child with his daughter... he could definitely hold on for another twenty years and wait for his grandchild to take over!’

Guo Dapao urged, "Brother Xia, what the... uh, you two can stop chatting now. Go ask Boss Jiang to get us some more food."

Jun Xinghe also looked at Xia Changzhi expectantly.

’He hadn’t had his fill either. It was just too delicious; he wasn’t satisfied.’

"Alright, I’ll go ask."

Xia Changzhi walked into the kitchen, feigning composure.

Jiang Liu was kneading dough.

"Boss Jiang, keeping busy?"

"Getting the buns ready for the lunch crowd. What’s up, Uncle Xia?"

Jiang Liu glanced at him.

Uncle Xia said with a smile, "Do you have any more of that yak beef and potato stew? We’d like to buy a few more portions. The tuna would be fine too. Anything to eat, really."

Jiang Liu shook his head. "I set aside a few portions of the beef for myself this morning, but there’s nothing else left. Why don’t you come back at lunchtime?"

There really was nothing else to eat in the shop.

"Alright, haha, no problem. I’ll come over again when I have time."

Xia Changzhi walked out of the kitchen, crestfallen.

The two immediately asked, "So, is it settled? What are we eating? Is there any tuna?"

"Are there any buns?"

Xia Changzhi shook his head.

The hearts of Jun Xinghe and Guo Dapao immediately plummeted.

Unwilling to give up, they asked:

"Brother Xia, when will he have more? Bring us with you, we can wait."

The pair had completely forgotten why they came to South City in the first place.

’Business? To hell with business!’

’Eating Boss Jiang’s food is the most important thing, okay?’

"I don’t know."

"What do you mean, you don’t know?"

Jun Xinghe grew anxious. "What do you mean you don’t know? Isn’t Boss Jiang open for lunch? We can just wait, can’t we?"

"Old Jun is right. It’s only three hours until noon. We’ll just wait," Guo Dapao said, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

’His stomach was rumbling again.’

"You’re oversimplifying things."

Xia Changzhi sighed and jutted his chin toward the door. "Please, turn around and look. All those people are customers waiting for Boss Jiang’s food. If we get in line now, we have no hope of getting any. And if the three of us try to cut in line right in front of them, they’ll definitely raise hell."

"Boss Jiang would probably be displeased, too."

"What? That many people?!"

"Holy crap, I just noticed!"

The two of them stood up to look and only then realized that several hundred people had already gathered outside.

They hadn’t paid attention before, assuming the clamor was just the sound of passersby on the street.

"Then what do we do? I still want more. How about you go and plead with him again?"

Jun Xinghe was completely hooked.

His tone was practically a plea.

Xia Changzhi frowned and shook his head emphatically. "No way. It’s one thing if you two don’t get to eat—you’re not from around here, after all. But if I push things too far and get on Boss Jiang’s bad side, I’m done for!"

He was very careful to protect his standing with Jiang Liu.

The two didn’t dare press the issue and sighed in disappointment.

Jun Xinghe said, "Brother Xia, do you think it’s possible to just hire Boss Jiang? An annual salary of ten million would be fine. I want to hire him to be my personal chef."

He kept another thought to himself: if Jiang Liu happened to take a liking to his disappointing daughter, it would be a perfect outcome for everyone involved.

’A long-term meal ticket, secured.’

’An excellent heir, secured.’