Lin Fang's words were so resolute that the situation on-site became somewhat awkward; nobody spoke until Shi Wen finished his phone call and walked back from a distance.

Shi Wen sighed, evidently something had happened that made him sigh.

"What's wrong, still no good?" Lin Fang asked.

Shi Wen nodded, "Don't even mention it, Fengming Group's attitude is very firm, they keep telling us to hold on."

Lin Fang was furious: "Hold on, always hold on, it's not their company's money that's being lost, I really find it strange why we signed that advance and retreat agreement with Fengming Group in the first place. Isn't this just shooting ourselves in the foot?"

Shi Wen was also somewhat angry: "What's the use of saying this now? Because we're lacking Xishan Manor's vegetables, a lot of old customers have already switched to other hotels. Did you know even Green Apple Restaurant is starting to pick up now?"

Although the two lowered their voices, Ling Zhenfei still heard them clearly, and he immediately understood: Shi Wen's hotel chain had also cancelled their vegetable order from Xishan Manor and was now beginning to struggle.

"This is truly baffling, why are the vegetables from Xishan Manor so special? Those people act as though they're bewitched, eating vegetables from Xishan Manor like that. Can't they just replace them with vegetables from somewhere else?"

"Impossible, you've eaten them yourself; the taste is indeed very good. The reason Green Apple Restaurant is picking up now is also related to their use of vegetables from Xishan Manor."

As the two continued speaking quietly, they suddenly remembered that Ling Zhenfei was still there, so they quickly stopped, knowing it was better to discuss the poor state of their business away from others.

At that moment, Ling Zhenfei's phone suddenly rang, and seeing that it was Ji Mei calling, he quickly excused himself from Lin Fang and the others and then answered the call.

He walked toward the window while answering the phone: "Hello, Li Hao."

"Hello, Zhenfei, it's me," Ji Mei's voice was cheerful, clearly Ling Zhenfei's Weibo post had a significant impact.

Although Ling Zhenfei's Elixir couldn't possibly hit the shelves of Ji Mei's store so quickly, the buzz created by the post caused the sales in Ji Mei's store to soar.

Because members could pre-order Ling Zhenfei's Elixir, the number of their company's membership cards increased exponentially, and getting a card meant money, so Ji Mei was definitely very happy.

"Miss Ji, what's up? You sound happy," he said.

Laughing, Ji Mei replied, "I'm happy thanks to you. Our company's sales are doing so well that I'm almost out of stock."

"So what do you want to talk about?" he asked.

Ji Mei feigned displeasure: "What, can't I call you if there's nothing urgent? Are we still friends or what?"

Ling Zhenfei sneered to himself; they had already shared a bed, of course they were friends, probably closer than that.

"Of course we're friends, but I know you well enough to doubt you'd call me without reason," he said.

Ji Mei said with a laugh, "Can't I just miss you, to the point of losing sleep at night?"

Upon hearing this, Ling Zhenfei was surprised that Ji Mei would be so bold, not fearing someone might overhear the call on his end.

"Miss Ji, I have other things to deal with now, if there's nothing important, I'll call you back later," he responded.

Realizing the cue, Ji Mei quickly said, "I'm just teasing you. The thing is, the three million I owe you, I'll be able to pay it back to you very soon."

Ling Zhenfei was first taken aback: "What three million?"

Ji Mei replied, "Have you forgotten? I should've kept quiet had I known, it's the money you fronted at my place last time."

Ling Zhenfei then remembered and hastily said, "No need to rush about that money. When you're really in a better position, give it to me then. I don't need it for now."

Ji Mei said with a smile, "That's good to hear. Also, the new packaging bottles are ready. I'll mail them to you in the next couple of days."

"Okay, is that everything?"

"Yes, let's leave it at that." Ling Zhenfei actually sensed some reluctance in Ji Mei's voice, but they hung up all the same.

Ling Zhenfei walked back to his seat to find Jiu Jiu's family of three wearing a mix of expressions.

Unaware of the situation, Ling Zhenfei watched as Lin Fang stood up: "I'll go check on the dishes in the kitchen. I'll also whip up a few more, while I'm at it."

Not long after heading to the kitchen, Lin Fang called for Shi Wen to help her, leaving only Ling Zhenfei and Jiu Jiu in the living room.

Finally finding an opportunity, Jiu Jiu said to Ling Zhenfei, "Why didn't you call before you came?"

"Didn't I tell you before? I wanted to surprise you. Didn't you say your parents were away on a business trip?" Ling Zhenfei was quite helpless.

Jiu Jiu replied, "How was I supposed to know they would come back early, and even show up here directly? When you saw the situation was off, you should've just left. Didn't you notice the signals I was trying to send you?"

"I noticed, I did, but under those circumstances, was it really better for me not to come in?"

Jiu Jiu pinched Ling Zhenfei's arm hard and said, "Now you understand, this is all the trouble you've caused, hmph."

At that moment, Shi Wen emerged from the kitchen carrying two dishes, which he placed on the table. Soon, several more dishes were served.

The two of them took their seats again, and Shi Wen said, "Come on, you must be hungry after talking for so long. Try this."

Ling Zhenfei didn't hold back, already enticed by the fragrance of the dishes, so he picked up the chopsticks and tasted a few bites.

"How is it? How's my cooking? Back when I ran a small restaurant, I used to cook personally," Shi Wen was clearly very confident in his culinary skills.

Ling Zhenfei nodded, "It's really good. If you could use vegetables from Xi Shan Manor, the flavor would be even better."

Upon hearing that, Shi Wen was taken aback, "You know about the vegetables from Xi Shan Manor?"

Ling Zhenfei said with a smile, "Of course, I'm also in the restaurant business. Although my own restaurant hasn't opened yet, I certainly know about Xi Shan Manor's vegetables. I plan to use them exclusively in the future."

Then Lin Fang interjected, "That can't be right. I know that Xi Shan Manor's vegetables are supplied only to high-end restaurants. How could a small restaurant like yours get their produce?"

Both Lin Fang and Shi Wen looked at Ling Zhenfei with surprise and anticipation for an explanation.

After a moment of thought, Ling Zhenfei said, "Actually, it's nothing much. As you know, China is a society based on relationships. I just have some connections with Xi Shan Manor."

Hearing about connections with Xi Shan Manor, Lin Fang and Shi Wen's interest was quickly piqued.

"So that's the case. I wonder what kind of relationship you have with Xi Shan Manor."

Ling Zhenfei was taken aback, knowing these two must have some ulterior motives, though he was unsure what they were after. From their earlier conversation, their hotel chain seemed to move in lockstep with Fengming Group and had also stopped ordering vegetables from Xi Shan Manor.

With a slight smile, Ling Zhenfei said, "Why, do uncle and auntie's hotels also use produce from Xi Shan Manor?"

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