Rebirth 1990: The beginning is sweet and cool Bai Yueguang

Lin Ruixue came out of the kitchen carrying a fruit plate, her hair still stained with the sweet mist of sugar-roasted chestnuts. When her eyes met her husband's, there was an unspoken warmth in them.

Lin Taoping gently turned the teacup and broke the silence with a smile:

"The last time I saw Xiao Zhou was when Ruixue got married, right? I remember telling my brothers at that time that this young man had stars in his eyes and would achieve great things sooner or later..."

"you do not say!"

Qian Lan's voice suddenly rose an octave:

"Now the streets are full of Pinliang's red signs, and even Yifeng has become the factory director. Sister-in-law, you are really lucky. This large flat is at least 200 square meters, right? It's decorated just like in the TV..."

Han Juan stroked the armrest of the leather sofa, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were filled with smiles.

Who doesn't like to hear about their children's success? This sentence really hit her heart.

"It's true that children can endure hardships."

She deliberately placed her jade-wearing hand on the coffee table: "Old Lin and I always advise them not to work too hard, as long as they have enough money. But these little ones..."

He dragged out the last syllable of his voice, and suddenly raised his hand to tidy up his temples.

Qian Lan immediately caught the emerald color: "Oh, this ring face is so watery that it's dazzling!"

"Xiao Zhou said it was from an old pit in Myanmar."

Han Juan covered her mouth and said, "What's the name Emperor..."

"Emperor green."

Lin Jiadong's voice suddenly sounded in the corner.

The young man, who had remained silent the whole time, pushed up his glasses and said, "A jade ring of this quality can be exchanged for an Audi A6."

He glanced at the dial on Zhou Qi's wrist: "Brother-in-law, this Vacheron Constantin Heritage series watch is worth three years of my salary."

The air was suddenly quiet.

The old couple opened their mouths, as if they had been paused. Qian Lan mechanically counted on his fingers, hundreds of thousands of numbers running wild in his mind.

Lam Ka-tung fished out an unopened pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his suit's inner pocket and turned the metal lighter around in his palm twice.

Just as he was about to open the package, Zhou Qi raised his hand to block it: "Rui Xue can't stand the smell of cigarettes now."

His hand suspended in the air paused, and Lam Ka-tung silently put the cigarette box back into his pocket.

In the light of the crystal chandelier, beads of sweat oozed out of the back of his neck.

"How about we stop smoking for now?"

Lin Jiadong just took out his lighter, but when he saw Zhou Qi raising his hand to stop him, he quickly put the cigarette back into the cigarette box.

Zhou Qi casually played with the metal cigarette case, tapping the carved surface with his knuckles: "Where have you been recently?"

"Don't mention it."

Lin Jiadong scratched the back of his neck and said, "When I was assigned to the machinery factory after college, I thought it was a stable job. Who would have thought that the performance would decline drastically in the past two years. The overdue salary was only settled last month. I couldn't afford it any longer, so I quit."

Qian Lan came over with a fruit plate and just happened to hear it. She stuffed an orange slice into her husband's mouth:

"The world is changing so fast now! A company that was stable two years ago suddenly went bankrupt. This guy is crazy and wants to open a hot pot restaurant. Please judge for yourself..."

She suddenly raised her voice and said, "You want to be the chef in the kitchen when you can't even tell the difference between light soy sauce and dark soy sauce when cooking?"

"mom!"

Lin Jiadong's ears turned red: "Didn't you and Dad also go to investigate franchise brands?"

Lin Taoping wiped the orange peel from his lips and continued: "The brand is indeed reliable. Doing business now is different from before."

He turned to his brother Lin Dong and said, “In the early days, you could make a fortune by being a middleman, but now information is very transparent.

Take our clothing stores for example. In the past, we could make a profit by purchasing goods from factories and reselling them, but now the streets are full of chain stores.”

He took out his phone and swiped it a few times, then suddenly thrust the screen in front of everyone:

"Look at this advertisement of Inspur Clothing. They hired a popular young actor! They are releasing the advertisement online and offline. Stores like us with unknown brands have to either cut prices to clear out their stock or wait to keep them in the bottom of the closet."

The old couple looked at each other with subtle expressions.

Inspur is the brand founded by her daughter and son-in-law. Han Juan coughed and changed the subject: "So what are your plans?"

“So I want to switch to catering!”

Lin Taoping suddenly became excited: "I have been investigating hot pot restaurant franchises for more than three months, visiting seven cities and twelve branches. Guess what?"

He lowered his voice mysteriously: "Every restaurant has a long line at meal time! I packed eight kinds of secret dipping sauces to study."

Lin Dong stroked the lid of the purple clay teapot: "Crossing industries is like crossing a mountain. The catering industry is a very deep pool."

"Brother-in-law!"

Lin Taoping suddenly grabbed his brother's wrist and said, "This project is a sure win! You just need to partner with me, and if you lose, I'll take the blame!"

Seeing the other party hesitate, he changed the subject: "I heard that the founder of the brand is in our county. You have a wide network of contacts."

Han Juan suddenly stood up to add more tea: "Mr. Lin's heart has been in trouble recently, and the doctor told him not to work hard."

The air suddenly froze as the celadon teapot collided with the cup.

"Don't worry about it, brother!"

Lin Taoping pressed on: "Just introduce the brand, and the rest will be done."

He rubbed his fingers together: "We are still short of start-up capital."

Lin Dong looked at his brother's eager eyes and tapped the sandalwood table unconsciously with his fingertips.

The chirping of cicadas outside the window suddenly became shrill, the ceiling fan creaked overhead, and the franchise brochures scattered on the coffee table were rolled up. The slogan on the color page "Annual income of one million is not a dream" flickered in the light and shadow.

The atmosphere at the table was tense. Lin Taoping turned to Zhou Qi with his teacup in hand:

"I heard that you guys started Pinliang Shop in the county? I just wanted to ask you, you have a lot of connections in the business world, can you help me find the owner of Bailaishun Hotpot?"

He deliberately emphasized the last four words: "If I can get in touch with you, or cooperate with you..."

"This brand has opened several branches in Jinshi."

The wife replied at the right time: "The boss must be someone like Xiao Zhou, a person of some importance in the local business circle."

Zhou Qi lowered his eyes and turned the teacup, knowing the couple's true intentions.

Lin Dong had mentioned before that they wanted to raise money to open a shop and also wanted to get in touch with Bai Laishun. Now that they knew that Pinliang Shop was their own property, they were planning to do something about it.

"Uncle, as far as I know, Bailaishun is not open for franchising."

Zhou Qi raised his eyes and tapped the table with his fingertips: "Do you want to imitate the business model, or..."

He paused deliberately: "You want their secret base?"

This question hit the nail on the head. Lin Taoping rubbed his hands and smiled awkwardly: "It would be best if I could get the formula, but I also understand that this is the lifeblood of this person."

He glanced at the silent Lin Ruixue: "In fact, as long as we are allowed to register in Jinshi, or supply base materials regularly..."

Lin Ruixue touched her husband's knee under the table.

She knew that Ma Yuancai regarded the recipe as his life, and she also knew that if Zhou Qi asked, the honest hot pot restaurant owner would definitely give it up.

But making an exception for this remote relative? Not worth it.

"I am indeed familiar with the boss of Bai Laishun."

Zhou Qi changed the subject and caught the bright eyes of the two people opposite him: "But Mr. Ma values ​​his reputation the most. Last time someone offered 500,000 to buy the formula, he didn't budge."

He picked up the teacup and blew away the mist: "How do you plan to cooperate specifically?"

Lin Taoping hurriedly took out his notebook: "We have calculated that according to the revenue of Bailaishun in the county, opening a branch in Jinshi will cost at least..."