After the divorce, he took care of his child and sold fried rice; his ex-wife was filled with regret

Next, add the garlic shoots and stir-fry quickly over high heat. Add two drops of dark soy sauce for flavor, stir well, and remove from heat.

He cooked dozens of portions of stir-fried meat, pot after pot.

The portion size and cooking time of each batch are perfectly controlled.

With a flick of the wrist, only the crisp sound of the shovel and the wok colliding could be heard.

11:00 AM.

The morning rush hour was completely over, and only a few tables of customers remained in the lobby.

At 1 p.m., the spare black mountain pork and Xiangshui tribute rice were all gone.

"Serve your meal." Lin Fan pressed the bell and placed the last bowl of clear broth beef brisket noodles on the table.

Su Xiaoxiao took the noodles, glanced at the order tablet, and turned back to say, "Brother Lin, we're out of ingredients. I'll lock the rest of the orders."

"Okay. Let's put up the sign." Lin Fan turned off the stove and tightened the gas valve.

Su Xiaoxiao walked to the gate, hung the "Closed Today" sign on the handle, and then bolted the door shut.

The hall gradually quieted down. After the last table of guests finished eating and left, Su Xiaoxiao pushed a small cart and collected all the empty bowls and chopsticks from the table into the kitchen sink.

Lin Fan took off his white apron and washed his hands.

He made himself and Su Xiaoxiao two bowls of clear noodle soup and added two poached eggs. The two sat at a square table by the window to eat lunch.

"Meow..."

In the wooden crate in the corner, Shrimp Dumpling woke up. The little orange cat toddled out on its short legs, habitually ran to the children's high chair where it usually sat in a circle, and looked up at it.

Not seeing anyone, it circled around a couple of times in confusion, then ran to Lin Fan's feet and rubbed its head against his trouser leg.

Lin Fan lowered his head and reached out to smooth the soft fur on the shrimp dumpling's back.

Su Xiaoxiao ate her noodles, glanced at the empty children's high chair, and couldn't help but ask a question.

"Brother Lin, why haven't I seen Tuantuan today? Usually, she'd be drawing right away by now at this time."

"She'll be staying at her mother's place for the next couple of days," Lin Fan said calmly, picking up a mouthful of noodles and putting it in his mouth.

Su Xiaoxiao was stunned for a moment, her chopsticks stopping in mid-air.

I just heard a few days ago that the boss was fighting a custody battle with his ex-wife, and today the child suddenly disappeared from the store. This doesn't seem like normal visitation at all.

But seeing Lin Fan's calm expression, Su Xiaoxiao swallowed back the question that was on the tip of her tongue.

After finishing her meal, Su Xiaoxiao washed the dishes and chopsticks and mopped the floor in the living room.

"Brother Lin, I'm going back to school now." Su Xiaoxiao slung her canvas bag over her shoulder.

"Drive carefully."

After seeing Su Xiaoxiao off, Lin Fan bolted the glass door and hung up the "Closed Today" sign.

He went to the back kitchen, rinsed the remaining stainless steel basins in the sink, drained them, and turned them upside down on the shelf.

The hall fell silent.

Lin Fan washed his hands, poured himself a glass of warm water, and sat down at the solid wood table by the window.

Just as I picked up the cup, there was a light knock on the closed glass door from the outside.

Lin Fan raised his head.

There was a person standing outside the door. Because of a thin layer of frost on the glass, only the outline of a woman could be made out.

He put down his water glass, walked over, and unlatched the door.

A cold wind blew in through the crack in the door, and standing outside was none other than Shen Man.

Lin Fan was somewhat surprised.

Whenever this young lady comes to the store, no matter how cold the weather is, she is always dressed in an exquisite haute couture trench coat, wearing ten-centimeter high heels, carrying a limited-edition designer bag, and her makeup is impeccable.

But today, Shen Man looked completely different from usual.

She wore a slightly wrinkled long black down jacket and ordinary black flat leather shoes. Her hair was unstyled, simply tied back in a low ponytail with a hair tie, with a few stray strands sticking to her pale face in the wind.

She wasn't carrying a designer handbag, but rather a thick, transparent plastic document bag filled with various A4 papers and brochures.

"Lin Fan," Shen Man said, her voice hoarse and filled with deep weariness, "Is there anything left to eat at the shop? Leftovers will do."

"Come in."

Lin Fan didn't ask any more questions and stepped aside to let her in.

Shen Man walked in and closed the glass door behind her.

The warmth from the lobby hit her face, and she let out a long sigh, as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She walked to the chair closest to the radiator, threw the file folder she was carrying on the table, and slumped into the chair.

"We've sold out of ingredients for lunch." Lin Fan walked to the water dispenser, filled her with a glass of warm water, and said, "I'll go to the kitchen and make you a bowl of noodles."

"Thank you." Shen Man held the paper cup with both hands and drank more than half of it.

Lin Fan walked into the kitchen.

The broth was almost gone, and there was no more black mountain pork left. Instead of going to the system's farm to get some, he used the most common method.

I melted some lard in a hot pan, sautéed some scallions until fragrant, added a few drops of soy sauce and water, and brought it to a boil. I then added a handful of noodles and poached an egg.

In less than ten minutes, a steaming bowl of plain noodles was served.

There are no complicated toppings, just a layer of glossy scallions floating on the clear soup.

"Eat up." Lin Fan placed the bowl of noodles in front of her and handed her a pair of chopsticks.

Shen Man showed no restraint whatsoever, picked up her chopsticks and started eating.

She ate very quickly, even slurping twice when it was too hot, without stopping. She clearly hadn't eaten in a long time.

Lin Fan sat down opposite her, said nothing, and quietly watched her eat.

In just a few minutes, she finished the bowl of noodles, soup and all.

Shen Man put down her chopsticks, took a tissue to wipe the fine sweat from her mouth and forehead, and seemed to come back to life.

"Having lived for over twenty years, this is the first time I've felt that a bowl of plain noodles can taste so good." Shen Man leaned back in her chair and gave a wry smile.

"Are you having some trouble?" Lin Fan asked casually.

Shen Man nodded with a wry smile and pointed to the thick file folder on the table.

"I've always wanted to create an independent skincare brand. Unfortunately, after a fight with my family last time, they cut off all my credit cards and my funding. I have no choice but to spend the last few days going to various cosmetic contract manufacturers in the suburbs, trying to find someone to set up an experimental production line for me."

Shen Man lowered her head and glanced at her feet.

"I never realized how big Jiangcheng was when I was driving a sports car. But these past two days, walking around here has shown me just how crowded the buses are on the way from the city center to the industrial park, and how cold it is."

Lin Fan looked at her. Going from a pampered rich heiress who never lifted a finger to suddenly jump to the bottom and run a business, such a change is hard for most people to handle.

"How did the talks go?"

"They're all yellow." Shen Man shook her head self-deprecatingly.

"I used to think that as long as I had the technical formula, I could always get a deal. But when the factory managers saw that I didn't have the Shen family's financial backing, they wouldn't even let me in the door."

"What's even more ridiculous is that Liu Zhiyuan was behind it all," Shen Man said through gritted teeth.

"He spread the word that anyone who dared to take my orders would be going against the Liu family. Those contract manufacturers wouldn't dare to offend the Liu family for my sake."