I open a restaurant in Mysterious Recovery

Chapter 697 The Seven Elders Gather (Fragment)
problem?

What could possibly be wrong?
Lin Yuan is their boss, so he can do whatever he wants without any problems. Even though Tong Qian still cares about the headquarters, she has already sided with Lin Yuan and the Peace Hotel.

The influence of supernatural forces has made Tong Qian prioritize Lin Yuan.

Even if she herself may not realize it, that is the biggest fact, and the most obvious point is that she will no longer ask Lin Yuan for detailed arrangements.

Unlike before, when she would immediately ask Lin Yuan the reason for leaving the house and then report it to headquarters.

It's unclear when this started, but it's been going on for a while now. Just like when he went to New York City in the US a couple of days ago, Tong Qian didn't say anything.

Her current thinking is simple: "It's been so long, if the store manager really had any bad intentions, he would have taken action long ago, instead of just sitting around doing nothing for so long. Besides, if the store manager really does take any action, no one can stop him. If I ask too many questions, it's easy to provoke the store manager's resentment and push him to the opposite side, which would be a loss. If the store manager tells me, then I will report it; if he doesn't, I can't force him."

It's a very reasonable idea, but it feels so out of place when applied to Tong Qian.

Unfortunately, she herself wouldn't realize it, or rather, even if she did realize it, she would subconsciously ignore it and wouldn't think about it in detail.

This is the effect of "favorability".

He Yin'er wouldn't have any thoughts about it. She hadn't been involved much in the operation of the Peace Hotel; she had always been managing the Ghost Lake Fishpond, which didn't have much business.

Right now, what we care about most is our own branches.

The fact that the elders from the Gengshen year can come to the present and experience the happiness of life now is her biggest dream, which is to stop being lazy and complacent and start working hard.

At this time, He Yin'er has transformed into a super strong woman, constantly striving for the sake of her elders!

However, Liu Qingqing and He Yuelian, upon hearing that Lin Yuan was going out, volunteered to go with him regardless of where he was going, showing great enthusiasm.

“Brother Yuan, it’s not convenient for you to travel alone. Like last time when we went to New York City, Xiao Guo was clearly your driver, but he went to the hotel to rest by himself. How could that be allowed? It’s only because you’re so generous, Brother Yuan, that you didn’t do anything to him and even gave him a day off. Why don’t you take me with you? I can do shoulder and leg massages.” Liu Qingqing blinked her big eyes, looking extremely cute.

He Yuelian was not to be outdone; she and Liu Qingqing had completely different styles.

She has natural beauty, so she naturally follows the "beauty" route. It's just that she didn't get enough feedback from Lin Yuan, otherwise she would have gone straight for the "sexy" route.

As for Liu Qingqing, since she is not as good-looking as He Yuelian and there is a certain gap between them, she can only take the route of the girl next door, which is the cute route, instead of the beautiful woman she originally wanted to establish.

Although cuteness is worthless in the face of sexiness, He Yuelian is not qualified to take the sexy route now, and she can't compare with He Yuelian in terms of appearance, so this is all she can do.

He Yuelian, who is a beautiful woman, naturally cannot act coquettishly like Liu Qingqing. However, her persona is not, and cannot be, aloof. So she is the type of gentle and beautiful woman with a very pleasant and soft voice that is very comfortable to listen to. "Brother Yuan, let me go. I can be your secretary."

secretary?

When there's work to be done, the secretary does it; when there's nothing to do, they do it...

Liu Qingqing's eyes widened, but she made no attempt to hide the disgust in them, thinking to herself: This woman is up to no good again.

Because of Lin Yuan's attitude towards them, they had originally focused their main efforts on their careers, namely the business competition between the branches they were in charge of.

But now He Yuelian is plotting this, is she trying to reignite the war?

He Yuelian didn't even glance at her, as if Lin Yuan was the only person in her eyes.

Lin Yuan immediately sensed something was wrong. He didn't want the two women to be jealous of each other and affect the atmosphere and relationships in the store, so he decisively said, "You still have branches to take care of, so you don't need to come along."

They won't let me go with them?
How can that work!
Why not let her (Liu Qingqing/He Yuelian) go with us?
That's fine.

The two had calmed down, but the next second, they turned their attention to He Yin'er, their eyes filled with shock and astonishment.

But then, it was filled with murderous intent, as if to say:
So, you actually raided my base!

It was all because Lin Yuan said, "Da He, you should be alright, right? Then you can come with me. Maybe we'll run into some old friends."

He Yin'er's eyes widened. Accustomed to watching the drama unfold, she never expected Lin Yuan to call her name. She really didn't want to be remembered by He Yuelian and Liu Qingqing.

However, since the "store manager" had called her name, she couldn't refuse directly. Her little brain quickly started working, and she instantly came up with a suitable reason: "But Brother Yuan, I still have to take care of the branch store, so I might not have time this time."

"It's alright, we still have Lao Liu and the others. Besides, those two who came from the Gengshen year are also helping to take care of things over there, so nothing will happen," Lin Yuan said.

Seeing the unquestionable look in Lin Yuan's eyes, He Yin'er sighed inwardly and could only agree.

But as she was leaving, she felt a prickling sensation on her back, so much so that she didn't dare to look back. Just as she stepped out of the store, Lin Yuan suddenly said, "Take Lao Hei with you. Lao Hei, let's go."

"Wang!"

Old Black let out a low growl, shook its six heads, swallowed the last few ghost bones at its feet, and then trotted over to follow Lin Yuan.

The old man stared longingly at Lin Yuan, seemingly wanting to go out with him, but Lin Yuan didn't say anything more.

He Yin'er suddenly realized that she and Lao Hei were quite similar.

It wasn't until they passed Ghost Lake, Fishpond, and Ghost Post Office, and arrived at the commemorative coin exchange area, that He Yin'er mustered up the courage to say, "Brother Yuan, why did you have to call me along? Now I'm in big trouble."

"I thought you could keep putting up with it," Lin Yuan said with a smile.

He Yin'er couldn't help but roll her eyes, appearing quite lively and not at all like someone deeply affected by supernatural influences. "I think you did it on purpose, Brother Yuan."

Lin Yuan laughed and said, "I guess so. Xiao He and Xiao Liu have both focused their attention on things outside of work, which is not good news. I would like to ban office romances, but Xiao Fang and Lao Fan are both married. I can't let one group go and punish the other, that would be unfair. So, I was thinking about whether I could guide them to focus their attention on work in another way."

He Yin'er glanced at him and muttered, "Add me in, and the three of us can have a free-for-all?"

"No, it's about work performance. Haven't you noticed? Your branch in Dayuan City, though only a few days old, is doing really well. It's not just for ordinary people, but also for many animal trainers who want to drink there. The sales volume of the new liquor is almost comparable to the long-established Dahai City branch." Hearing this, He Yin'er's heart skipped a beat. Looking at Lin Yuan's profile, she asked almost unconsciously, "Brother Yuan, you've been keeping an eye on my... branch all this time."

“Well, you four are different from the others, so naturally I have to pay more attention to you.” Lin Yuan seemed oblivious to her odd behavior and continued speaking to himself, “Whoever performs better will get more attention. Focusing solely on performance has its drawbacks, but it’s the only option right now. I’m not interested in relationships, at least not until the Peace Hotel is fully established and there are no more hidden dangers. I won’t consider dating.”

He Yin'er felt a little disappointed, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why.

The two had arrived at the bus stop. He had given Guo Fan a day off yesterday, but the holiday wasn't over yet; Guo Fan wouldn't be back to work until the afternoon.

Guo Fan didn't waste any time and stayed at the Caesars Hotel.

The atmosphere there was not good. Li Qingzhi was constantly dismembering the vengeful ghosts with his rusty woodcutter's knife to make new wine bottles. He never stopped. The scene was a veritable hellscape, literally.

Under such circumstances, Guo Fan's ability to hold back somewhat moved Lin Yuan.

If he can persist, he might give Guo Fan a chance. After all, it's better to keep the benefits within the family. Unless there's a special plan, the people and animals in the shop can't be handed over to outsiders to "control".

"Da He, go drive. We won't take the bus today."

"understood."

He Yin'er did not refuse and got into the driver's seat of the ghost taxi. After a few simple adjustments, she learned how to operate it.

boom!
With the engine roaring, Lin Yuan sat in the passenger seat, while Lao Hei squatted in the back seat. And so, the ghost taxi drove along the road in front of them into the depths of the white fog.

After driving on such roads for about half an hour, the surrounding scenery and the road under our feet began to change.

It was no longer a wide avenue, but instead turned into an old rural road, as if it had suddenly changed from a national highway to a rural road. Fortunately, the ghost taxis remained stable and were not greatly affected.

This was nothing, He Yin'er knew, they were almost there.

But to her surprise and dismay, the surrounding white mist actually dissipated and did not spread with the arrival of the "shop manager," which was very different from the previous situation.

He Yin'er felt a little uneasy, but then she saw that Lin Yuan, who had closed his eyes to rest shortly after getting on the bus, had now opened his eyes and was quietly looking out the window.

Because the muddy road was surrounded by tall trees, the surrounding light was very dim, making it feel like nighttime. This also allowed the reflections of people inside the car to be seen in the windows.

Through the reflection in the window, she seemed to see a touch of sentimentality and sorrow on Lin Yuan's face.

However, it's understandable that she feels nostalgic. The "store manager" comes from a much earlier era, so it's normal for her to feel nostalgic when she sees familiar things.

What's going on with this sadness? Could it be that this "old friend" is really someone the "shop manager" can't bear to part with?

The ghost taxi was driving on the road. Without Lin Yuan's request, He Yin'er would not stop. But after driving for a while, a bus suddenly appeared in front of them.

At just one glance, He Yin'er recognized it: it was the haunted bus!

This bus goes to the Peace Hotel at least three times a day. Although He Yin'er doesn't see it every time, she can still recognize it at a glance.

The mere sight of the supernatural bus didn't concern He Yin'er.

As she stepped on the gas to overtake, she noticed several familiar faces in the car:

Zhang Bohua, a traditional Chinese medicine doctor who should be sitting in the shop seeing patients!

Granny Meng, also known as Meng Xiaodong, was supposed to complete the ghost costume order at the store!
The tall male corpse, Li Qingzhi, who should have been making new wine at the Caesars Hotel!

There was also Guo Fan, the former ghost spirit, now an ordinary person, sitting next to the tall male corpse, Li Qingzhi, staring wide-eyed with what seemed like a "minotaur" gaze.

And inside, there was another person, that was Liu Qingqing... no, not Liu Qingqing, but Zhang Youhong, the store manager of the Dadong City branch!

How did all these people end up on the same bus? And don't they have jobs?

He Yin'er quickly looked at Lin Yuan beside her, not knowing what to say for a moment. Lin Yuan had clearly seen it, but he only glanced at it and didn't say anything more.

A sense of unease suddenly welled up in He Yin'er's heart.

She had a premonition that this business trip wouldn't be as peaceful as she had imagined. She wondered who this "old friend" of the "store manager" who was leaving was, that he would attract so many older people.

Granny Meng and the others were together, weren't they?
This idea was confirmed when Lin Yuan called for the bus to stop, because the supernatural bus also stopped there, and Granny Meng, Li Qingzhi, Zhang Bohua, and Zhang Youhong all got off the bus one after another.

Guo Fan, standing beside Li Qingzhi, felt like a nobody, like a mere accessory, and at that moment, he felt a deep unease.

Only when she saw Lin Yuan did she quickly come up to greet him, "Brother Yuan, you're here too?"

"Ah."

Lin Yuan nodded casually. "Grandma Meng, Old Zhang, and Little Zhang, you're all here. Old Qin, are you planning to drive away, or are you going to get out and attend the funeral of an old friend?"

Old Qin sighed silently, then stood up from the driver's seat, walked to the back door and got out of the car. He looked at Lin Yuan with a complicated expression and said, "Boss Lin, you've come too."

Lin Yuan shook his head and said, "Old Qin, your memory isn't good either. You forgot, you were the one who delivered Old Zhang's funeral invitation to me. But that makes sense, if you weren't in poor health, you wouldn't have been able to train a new bus driver."

Old Qin was speechless for a moment.

He certainly remembered that he was the one who sent the invitation to Lin Yuan, but he sent it to him, while the one who came this time was clearly not him, but the "store manager".

Is this appropriate?

(End of this chapter)