Siheyuan: A Very Happy Era

Chapter 618 You can buy it from me

"How could this be?" Lou Xiao'e looked at the beautiful young woman in the mirror, her eyes filled with astonishment.

Although she has lived a life of luxury in Hong Kong for more than ten years and often uses cosmetics to maintain her appearance, she looks several years younger than her actual age.

However, that couldn't possibly make her look so much younger all of a sudden, making her look like she did when she first went to Hong Kong more than ten years ago.

What exactly is going on?

"Could it really be because of Qiangzi?" Lou Xiao'e thought of Qin Huairu's beautiful face and the relationship between Li Guoqiang and Qin Huairu, and then muttered to herself in disbelief.

As a successful businesswoman, she knew very well what it meant that Li Guoqiang had the ability to make people look younger and more beautiful.
At the same time, she finally understood why Li Guoqiang was able to take the position of head of the domestic group headquarters at such a young age.

The beauty effect is simply too frightening.

Lou Xiao'e looked at her face in the mirror, couldn't help but slide her finger across it, and then suddenly thought of a very crucial question:

"How long will this effect last?"

If this effect only lasts for a day, that's fine, because since it's not something you have for long, you won't feel too disappointed when you lose it.

But if this effect can last for several days and then slowly return to its original state, then that process would be too torturous.

Furthermore, if Shazhu sees her like this, how should she explain it?
Thinking of this, her expression changed slightly, and she hurriedly ran out to find Lou Tanshi and told her about the deal she had made with Li Guoqiang.

The reason she did this was partly because Lou Tanshi had already seen the changes in her, and continuing to hide it would be pointless.

Another reason was that she needed to rush back to Hong Kong immediately to prevent her sons, He Xiao and Sha Zhu, from seeing the changes in her.

At the same time, she also had to handle the cooperation with Qiangsheng Group and take some time to think about what to do next.
Because no woman can resist the temptation of becoming younger and more beautiful so easily.

"What? Is what you said true? This...this..." Lou Tanshi was stunned after hearing what Lou Xiao'e said.

She originally thought that Lou Xiao'e was in a good mood because she and Sha Zhu had been separated for a long time and were newly married, and that this was because she was in high spirits.

To her utter surprise, this incident had nothing to do with Sha Zhu; it was all caused by Li Guoqiang.

"Mom, I don't have time to explain that much to you right now. Just remember to keep this to yourself and don't mention it to anyone!" Lou Xiao'e said earnestly in a deep voice.

"Okay, Mom understands!" Knowing how rare the opportunity to cooperate with Qiangsheng Group was, Lou Tanshi naturally wouldn't blame Lou Xiao'e for acting recklessly.

Moreover, the beauty effects shown on Lou Xiao'e are simply too amazing.

If it weren't for her age, already over seventy, and the fact that no one would be interested in her, she might have even asked to get involved.

And so, Lou Xiao'e quickly returned to her room, packed her things briefly, and then left without saying goodbye, buying the next available flight back to Hong Kong.

Lou Tanshi did not intend to contact Sha Zhu privately. After He Xiao and her two other grandchildren took their afternoon nap, she took the children to a different hotel and then busied herself with some domestic investment matters.

Sha Zhu waited and waited for several days, but Lou Xiao'e did not come to see him. When he finally went to the hotel to ask Lou Xiao'e about the situation, he was suddenly told that Lou Xiao'e had already returned to Hong Kong.

This made him acutely aware of the gap between himself and Lou Xiao'e, and his mood suddenly became somewhat heavy.

Immediately afterwards, when he returned to the courtyard house with a heavy heart, he was stopped by Yan Bugui and Yan Jiecheng as soon as he entered the gate.

"Shazhu, you knew all along that your apprentice couldn't cook your dishes, didn't you?" Yan Jiecheng questioned aggressively.

"Get lost! I'm in a bad mood right now, don't mess with me!" Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu seemed to have found an outlet for his emotions and angrily cursed at Yan Jiecheng.

Yan Jiecheng glared at him, and was about to retort when Yan Bugui stopped him.

"Hey! Sha Zhu! Actually, we don't mean anything by it, we just want to know if you can come back and continue to be the head chef at our restaurant?" Yan Bugui forced a smile and asked in a somewhat ingratiating tone.

"No time!" Sha Zhu glanced at Yan Bugui, then uttered two words in a cold voice.

"No, you don't have anything to do at night besides working at the factory during the day, so how come you're not free?" Yan Bugui asked anxiously.

After all, in the first month, he could watch money flow into the Yan family's pockets every day.

But ever since they fired Sha Zhu, their restaurant's business has plummeted.

Watching all sorts of costs and expenses flow out like water every day, he was in so much pain that he couldn't sleep all night.

Left with no other choice, he had to swallow his pride and try to persuade Sha Zhu to come back.

He just didn't expect that Sha Zhu wouldn't give him any face at all, and wouldn't even wait for him to name a price before rejecting him directly.

"Do I need to report to you whether I'm free or not? I'm busy right now! Don't bother me unless it's important, or don't blame me for being rude!" Sha Zhu's face darkened, and he retorted with a look of displeasure.

After saying that, he didn't wait for Yan Bugui and Yan Jiecheng to say anything, and turned around and went into the courtyard.

"Hey, Sha Zhu, don't think we can't survive without you. Just you wait and see!" Yan Jiecheng couldn't help but jump up and down and say these harsh words when he saw how arrogant Sha Zhu was.

However, once Sha Zhu's figure disappeared behind the hanging flower gate, his face immediately fell.

After all, he had hired other chefs before, but the food they made was always a little lacking, not nearly as appealing as the food made by Sha Zhu.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have rushed back so eagerly, wanting to invite Sha Zhu back.

"Alright, it seems that Sha Zhu is determined not to go back. Let's go back and discuss it again to see if there's any other way!" Yan Bugui waved his hand and then said with a heavy expression.

"Dad, how about we go ask Qiangzi?" Yan Jiecheng's eyes lit up, and he suddenly came up with an idea.

"That's right! How could I have forgotten about him?" Yan Bugui's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly.

Before Yan Jiecheng could say anything, he hurriedly turned around and ran towards Li Guoqiang's house.

"Qiangzi, Qiangzi!"

"Hey? Uncle San, why aren't you counting your money at the restaurant? What are you doing here?" Li Guoqiang came out of the house and couldn't help but tease Yan Bugui, the newly appointed restaurant owner. "Hey, don't even mention it. Our restaurant is about to go out of business!" Yan Bugui sighed.

"Oh? Then please come in and sit down so we can talk!" Li Guoqiang raised an eyebrow and then chuckled as he greeted him.

Soon, Yan Bugui led Yan Jiecheng into Li Guoqiang's house and sat down on the sofa.

Li Guoqiang did not treat them poorly and poured them each a cup of tea.

Unfortunately, Yan Bugui was currently preoccupied with the restaurant's affairs and had no time to enjoy tea. As soon as he sat down, he eagerly recounted the situation of his family's restaurant.

Then, he asked somewhat expectantly, "Qiangzi, you are knowledgeable and capable, can you help us think of a solution?"

"This is it!"

Li Guoqiang pondered for a moment, then said softly, "I do have a solution, but why should I tell you?"

“No, we’ve been neighbors for so many years. Just consider it a small favor. We’ll never forget your kindness.” Yan Bugui’s eyes lit up, and he quickly tried to persuade him.

“That’s right! Qiangzi, you were the one who came up with the idea of ​​opening a restaurant. Now that our restaurant is in trouble, you can’t just abandon us!” Yan Jiecheng quickly added.

"What? So, according to you, the fact that your restaurant is in this state is my fault?" Li Guoqiang frowned and then questioned him with some displeasure.

"No, that's not what I meant!" Yan Jiecheng was slightly taken aback, then hurriedly waved his hand and denied it.

"Then what do you mean?" Li Guoqiang asked in a deep voice.

"I," Yan Jiecheng opened his mouth, but for a moment he was speechless.

"Yan Jiecheng, if you can't speak properly, then shut up!" Yan Bugui shouted angrily upon seeing this.

After saying that, he turned to look at Li Guoqiang and said apologetically, "Well, Qiangzi, I'm sorry! Jiecheng didn't mean that. He was just a little too worried about the restaurant's business."

Upon hearing this, Li Guoqiang immediately waved his hand and said coldly:

"Alright, Uncle, you don't need to explain so much to me. I gave you advice before because of our many years of neighborly friendship."

Now that you've messed things up, you want my help? You can't just ask me for it without any real help, can you?

"Then what do you mean?" Yan Bugui's heart sank, and he tentatively asked.

"What I mean is, you can pay me to buy it." Li Guoqiang didn't keep anyone in suspense and stated his request directly.

"How much money do you want?" Yan Bugui's face twitched slightly upon hearing this, and then he asked with some heartache.

"It's not much, just 2500 yuan, which is equivalent to a month's salary for hiring Uncle He," Li Guoqiang smiled slightly and replied softly.

"What? 2500 yuan? That's too much!" Yan Jiecheng exclaimed in surprise upon hearing this.

Yan Bugui's lips twitched, and he silently looked at Li Guoqiang without saying a word.

"If you think it's too much, you don't have to buy it!" Li Guoqiang said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders.

"We'll buy it, we'll buy it!" Seeing Li Guoqiang's attitude and thinking of the restaurant that was already half-dead, Yan Bugui finally gritted his teeth and agreed.

“Very good! Now you can go back and get the money. I’ll tell you my plan once you’ve brought it back!” Li Guoqiang chuckled as he looked at Yan Bugui’s heartbroken expression.

"Okay, wait a moment, I'll go back and get the money!" Yan Bugui nodded in agreement, then got up and went home to get the money without hesitation.

When Yan Jiecheng saw Li Guoqiang reach out and take the 2500 yuan, he felt a sharp pain in his heart.

Back then, if it weren't for the heartache of having to give Sha Zhu so much money every month, he wouldn't have teamed up with Yan Bugui to fire Sha Zhu.

I originally went there to save money, but how come I'm spending more and more money?

"Alright, listen carefully now. My solution is to have you turn your restaurant into a Chongqing hot pot restaurant." Li Guoqiang said immediately after receiving the money.

"It's that simple?" Yan Jiecheng's eyes widened, and then he looked at Li Guoqiang with disbelief.

"That's right! It's that simple!" Li Guoqiang smiled and nodded.

"What if it doesn't work?" Yan Jiecheng's face darkened, and he asked with some dissatisfaction.

“If it doesn’t work, then you need to look for the reason within yourself!” Li Guoqiang raised an eyebrow and then retorted without any politeness.

Upon hearing this, Yan Jiecheng was immediately furious.

However, before he could even open his mouth to curse, Yan Bugui pulled him up with a strong tug, and then said to Li Guoqiang with a serious expression, "Qiangzi, thank you for your idea. We'll go back and think about it carefully. If we encounter any problems, we'll come back and ask you for advice."

After saying that, he didn't wait for Li Guoqiang to agree before hurriedly pulling Yan Jiecheng away.

Li Guoqiang watched Yan Bugui and Yan Jiecheng leave, and couldn't help but feel a little happy.

Clearly, compared to Yan Jiecheng who gets angry at the drop of a hat, Yan Bugui is much more shrewd. Not only did he not question the ideas Yan Bugui offered, but he also wanted Yan Bugui to provide after-sales service.

"Oh dear, Dad, what's wrong with you today? This isn't like you at all!" Yan Jiecheng followed Yan Bugui home and couldn't help but complain as soon as he sat down.

"Shut up!" Yan Bugui shouted angrily upon hearing this.

Then, before Yan Jiecheng could even open his mouth to argue, he asked with a serious expression, "Do you think that with his current status and position, he would have any reason to play us for fools?"

What's more, he also took money from us.

Instead of wasting your time questioning him, you should be thinking about how to turn our restaurant into a Chongqing hot pot restaurant.

Upon hearing this, Yan Jiecheng was suddenly stunned.

(End of this chapter)