A little after ten on Saturday morning, Wang Chuan arrived at Luo’s Private Kitchen after getting a call. A few words from the owner, Luo Jianjun, left him completely stunned.

“What? You’re closing this place?”

Wang Chuan shot to his feet, demanding loudly, “This place is already famous! Customers are lining up just to make reservations. Business is booming, so why are you suddenly closing down?”

He paused, then looked at Hu Ling, Luo Jianjun’s wife, standing beside him. “Did something happen?” he asked with concern. “Are you being forced into this?”

“Well, um, hehe…”

Luo Jianjun gave a simple laugh and scratched his large head, which sported a close-cropped bowl cut. “Mr. Wang,” he said sheepishly, “business at the restaurant is booming, but it’s just too tiring. We don’t get a single day off.”

“Also, Lingling… she’s pregnant.”

“I don’t want to work this hard every day. I want to have more time to spend with her.”

Wang Chuan glanced again at Hu Ling, whose eyes seemed to be avoiding his. In a serious tone, he said, “Luo Jianjun, that can’t be the main reason, can it?”

Luo Jianjun scratched his head again. “Mr. Wang, I’ll be honest. There’s a big boss who really appreciates my cooking, and he’s made a very sincere offer for me to work at his private clubhouse.”

“He’s offering five million a year. I’d cook for three or four tables a day at most, and I’d still get one or two days off each week.”

“Mr. Wang, I’ve done the math. Running this restaurant, working myself to the bone, I can make three or four million a year at most.”

“On one hand, I can easily make five million. On the other, I work myself to death for three or four million. Even an idiot knows which to choose!”

Wang Chuan frowned, trying to reason with him. “Luo Jianjun, that’s not the right way to look at it.”

“This restaurant is your own business.”

“Once you get more famous, you could take on apprentices, open branch locations, start a food processing factory… not to mention the value of the property will appreciate.”

“If you develop it like that, you could easily be making tens of millions a year.”

Luo Jianjun chuckled. “Mr. Wang, I only have a junior high education. I wouldn’t know how to handle any of that stuff you’re talking about.”

“Besides…”

Luo Jianjun didn’t dare to meet Wang Chuan’s gaze. He turned his head and said slowly, “Even if it’s like you say, Mr. Wang, and the business grows like that, my wife and I would be the ones working the hardest.”

“But the ones making the most money in comfort definitely wouldn’t be us.”

Hearing this, Wang Chuan’s heart sank.

He knew this meant the man’s attitude had changed. This wasn’t the same person who had begged them for investment money.

Since that was the case, there was no point in trying to persuade him further.

Wang Chuan tried to recall the partnership agreement they had signed. It seemed there really wasn’t a clause forbidding him from shutting down the business.

“Luo Jianjun, since you’ve made up your mind to close this place, what are your plans for the catering company we established as a joint venture? And for this building?”

Luo Jianjun, who already had a plan, explained, “Mr. Wang, I’ll keep the restaurant open until the tenth of next month to take care of all the customers who have reservations.”

He paused before continuing, “Mr. Wang, you’ve helped my wife and me a lot. We’re not the kind of people who forget favors for the sake of profit.”

“We’ll forfeit our share of the profits from the past six months. Consider it compensation for you, Mr. Wang, and the other investors.”

“As for the catering company, it will have to be dissolved.”

“And for this building, the big boss has offered to buy it for the original price of sixty million.”

At this, Wang Chuan could no longer hold back his anger.

“Buy it for the original price of sixty million?”

“How is that possible? The landlord sold it to us at a discount!”

“I won’t agree to it!”

Luo Jianjun spread his hands. “Mr. Wang, this is a protected building. It can’t be renovated or altered.”

“The location isn’t great, but it’s not terrible either. It won’t be easy to find someone to take it off our hands on such short notice!”

“If you and the other investors can find a buyer willing to pay a higher price in the near future, I have no problem with that…”

Wang Chuan stormed out of Luo’s Private Kitchen and went straight to the Zuimo Court District, which wasn’t far away…

The Yan siblings and Yu Suye were all shocked to hear that Luo’s Private Kitchen was closing down.

Yan Ziruo said indignantly, “For fuck’s sake! Some people collect antiques, some hide away mistresses in fancy houses, and now someone’s ‘collecting’ a chef?”

Wang Chuan sighed softly. “To some truly wealthy people, five million is a small sum. It might even be less than what they make in a day.”

“It’s not unimaginable for them to spend that kind of money to hire Luo Jianjun as a private chef just to satisfy their cravings.”

“Besides, he’s having Luo Jianjun work at his private clubhouse. Close a few business deals over a good meal, and the cost is more than covered.”

“Which boss is it?” Yan Feifan asked.

Wang Chuan shook his head. “I asked, but the guy wouldn’t say. He’s probably worried we’d try to interfere.”

After a pause, he changed the subject. “Feifan, why don’t you take the building? You have the financial means.”

“It’s a quiet little place in a bustling area. It would be great as a private residence or for some other purpose.”

Without a second thought, Yan Feifan shook his head. “That’s sixty million. I can’t just pull that kind of money out of thin air.”

“As for a place to live, the villa in the Academician District will be done with renovations in a month or two.”

“As for other uses, if we were to open a restaurant, we’d never be able to find another chef as skilled as Luo Jianjun.”

“I can’t just open a clinic there, can I?”

The words were spoken casually, but they struck a chord with the listener. The mention of a clinic instantly sparked an idea in Wang Chuan’s mind.

“Feifan, now that you mention it, if the interior was renovated, it could actually work as a small hospital.”

Seeing the interested look on Wang Chuan’s face, Yan Ziruo couldn’t help but ask, “Chuan, are you thinking of leaving the hospital to go solo?”

Wang Chuan chuckled. “I won’t be leaving the hospital anytime soon.”

“I was thinking of Yanyan’s mother.”

“She’s planning to open a medical facility in Binhai and refer patients from the United States.”

“From what she said, her negotiations with Fuhai Heaven and Earth on behalf of that big shot from overseas aren’t going very smoothly.”

“The building might be a little small, but it’s probably big enough. The main thing is that it’s close to the Affiliated Hospital and its staff residential area.”

“I’ll talk to her tonight and get her opinion…”

After settling on a possible use for the building, Wang Chuan and the Yan siblings started sighing again.

It was for one simple reason: Luo Jianjun’s cooking was truly impeccable.

With him closing the restaurant, it would be very difficult to eat his delicious home-style cooking again.

Yan Ziruo said in frustration, “I guess we’ll just have to go eat there a few more times before it closes.”

“It’s a real pain when your palate gets spoiled like this.”

Wang Chuan said with a smile, “The food was just alright. It’s not like we ate there every day anyway.”

Just then, he noticed that they were all dressed to go out.

“Are you all heading out? Do you have plans?”

Yan Ziruo hummed in agreement and explained, “Feifan lost a bet, so he’s treating Duan Yu and her boyfriend to dinner. We booked a private room at Luwei Kitchen.”

“Chuan, if you don’t have other plans, why don’t you join us?”

Wang Chuan chuckled. “Luwei Kitchen’s Shandong cuisine is actually quite good. I’ll shamelessly impose and join you for a meal.”

Seeing that Yan Feifan still looked downcast, Wang Chuan comforted him, “So what if Luo’s is gone? There will always be a new Zhang’s or Chen’s popping up.”

“There’s a whole world of good food out there. We just need to take the time to discover it.”

On the way to Luwei Kitchen, Yan Feifan received a call from Song Yi.

She said that Mr. Sun had introduced a few people who were eager to experience the natural audio hypnosis.

Song Yi added, “Mr. Sun specifically emphasized that we must charge them double, or even more.”

Yan Feifan rolled his eyes. “Song Yi, for things like this, you can just contact Dr. Qiu directly.”

Song Yi agreed, then sighed lightly. “Feifan, I think we need to launch our audio hypnosis project ahead of schedule.”

“With word-of-mouth spreading like this, more and more people are going to start seeking us out…”

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