Shocking! This student is phenomenal!

Everyone was stunned, even Su Jiang was a little dumbfounded.

What's going on?

A man's knees are worth gold; he should only kneel to heaven, earth, and his parents, and not to anyone else, okay?

The next second, Zhu Fei's words made Su Jiang even more confused.

Zhu Fei shouted to the chef, "Master Fang, our Jiangnan Hot Pot really needs you! My parents asked me to pick you up that day, but because of me, I was distracted by someone writing calligraphy on the roadside and completely forgot about you. Now, without your help, our Jiangnan Hot Pot restaurant will go out of business!"

At this point, the waiters also began to explain to the diners who had gathered around:

"This is the young master of Jiangnan Hot Pot. This shameless fellow didn't properly entertain Chef Fang; our boss beat them to it, and now he's causing trouble. Doesn't he know a contract has already been signed?!"

"The current hot pot broth recipe we've put together is all thanks to Chef Fang. They see our business is doing well, so they're thinking of poaching us again! Shameless!"

"Jiangnan Hot Pot is going to be ruined by this young master. If they had sent someone even slightly more normal to serve Chef Fang, none of this would have happened."

Listening to everyone's comments, it seems that Zhu Fei's actions were indeed wrong.

But Zhu Fei clearly heard what everyone was saying, and he excitedly shouted:

"No! No! Someone deliberately wrote calligraphy there that day, or someone deliberately pulled me there. That person was a friend of your boss!"

"Also, you threatened Master Fang, which is why you made him sign the contract so quickly."

After Zhu Fei finished speaking, the restaurant staff continued to refute him, but they did not directly refute him on these matters.

Moreover, it was clear that the truth of the matter was not far from what Zhu Fei had said. Soon, Zhu Fei was helped up and carried outside. He sat down at the shop entrance in frustration, patting his head with some regret.

Perhaps wanting to cultivate an image of tolerance and magnanimity, none of the store's staff, including the manager, made things difficult for Zhu Fei. On the contrary, when he argued back, they would make understanding gestures.

Su Jiang understood somewhat.

It seems that Zhu Fei's parents were too busy that day, so they asked Zhu Fei to receive Master Fang. On the way, Zhu Fei was framed and his weakness—calligraphy—was exploited, causing him to miss the appointed time.

Meanwhile, the hotpot restaurant owner took the opportunity to use some underhanded methods to get Chef Fang to sign a contract ahead of time.

In this matter, Su Jiang still believed in Zhu Fei, based on his previous contact with Zhu Fei.

Su Jiang knew that Zhu Fei wasn't the kind of person who would spout nonsense. His mind was focused on calligraphy, which made him very simple-minded and incapable of resorting to low-class deception and lies.

So the problem must lie with this makeshift hotpot restaurant.

Also, is that Zhu Fei's family? They also run a hot pot restaurant? And they need the broth recipe?

With these two thoughts in mind, a wicked smile crept onto Su Jiang's lips.

Since you guys at Kouhe Hotpot are the kind of people who know how to play dirty tricks, then don't blame me for being impolite. We must get our hands on this black wooden box and get some benefits first.

He didn't go to find Zhu Fei immediately.

Instead, he went to the waiter he had just asked.

"Hello, I'd like to ask, I'm particularly interested in your decorative items, I think they're very beautiful, and your hot pot is also delicious. If I were to get a membership card, how many cards would you give me as a free gift?"

Su Jiang didn't specifically point to that small trinket in the black wooden box, but instead directly pointed to three or four.

He had just searched online and found out that Coucou Hotpot offers membership card programs and rechargeable membership cards.

This is a common tactic used by many shops: they offer a promotion like "top up 1,000 and get 100 back" to get you to recharge your card, which essentially keeps you hooked and spending money at the shop long-term.

The waiter was clearly taken aback by Su Jiang's question.

I didn't know how to answer for a moment.

This was also the first time he had ever encountered someone who would spend money on some small ornaments.

He politely said to Su Jiang, "Handsome, please wait a moment. I need to ask our boss about this, because our staff don't have the authority to handle these decorations."

"Okay, sure!" Su Jiang nodded, then continued, "I didn't see any of these ornaments online, otherwise I would have bought them online. I think they would look great on my bookshelf at home. If you could spare some for me, I'd definitely invite all my classmates to come here for hot pot!"

Su Jiang's face showed his youthful innocence, and as a student, he naturally possessed a scholarly air that he didn't need to fake.

This made the waiter believe it even more.

He turned and went into a storage room to call his boss.

After a while.

He came out with a smile: "Handsome, our boss said it's possible. You're a student, so we won't make things difficult for you. As long as you get a membership card for 1,000 yuan, you can choose three of these ornaments. You'll have to recommend us to more customers in the future."

Clearly, the shop owner also thought that Su Jiang was probably just a poor student who liked these ornaments, since these ornaments really couldn't be bought online.

Including these decorative items, the shop owner didn't spend much money initially; he just happened to have a friend who didn't want them, so he got them without spending much money at all.

If Su Jiang were to become a member now, he would make a profit of more than 700 yuan; he would definitely make a profit.

"Okay, thank you so much!" Su Jiang gratefully paid 1000 yuan, and then casually picked out two more decorative items, including the black wooden box.

The waiter was very polite and packed it into a bag for him.

I left the store.

Lin Wanqing asked curiously, "Little Su Su, why did you spend 1000 to buy these things?"

Su Jiang shook his head: "Sister Wanqing, these are good things!"

He stared blankly at Su Jiang. These are just some things that people disdainfully leave to gather dust on this shelf, treating them as mere decorations. Are they really good things?

However, Lin Wanqing didn't say much, and instead chose to believe Su Jiang.

Su Jiang didn't explain. Now that he had the black wooden box, he determined from some details that it was genuine and its estimated value was over a million.

The two arrived outside the store and found Zhu Fei squatting on the ground, grabbing his hair.

"Zhu Fei, what's wrong?" Su Jiang asked, standing in front of Zhu Fei.

"kindness?"

Zhu Fei heard the familiar voice and suddenly looked up.

Upon recognizing Su Jiang, she immediately wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

She forced a smile: "Su Jiang, you two are here too? Want to join us?"

Lin Wanqing blushed, but did not refute, secretly pleased with herself.

"Alright, stop pretending. We were just having hot pot inside. Is there anything we can help you with?" Su Jiang cut straight to the point, tearing away Zhu Fei's pretense and asking directly.

"Forehead."

Zhu Fei was stunned again.

"So you all saw it just now?" he said somewhat embarrassedly.

Su Jiang nodded.

It means you shouldn't keep things to yourself, just say what you want to say.

Zhu Fei sighed, "Alas, our Jiangnan hotpot is doomed."