I've been possessed by a culinary genius, and I've turned Shaxian snacks into a rip-off!

Li Zhibai was dragging his suitcase, just about to get into Su Su's car.

Su Su has already found him an apartment, a high-end apartment very close to the Financial Street. That place will be his temporary residence in Jiangcheng. The location is excellent, and you can see the river view directly from the balcony.

The only downside is that the rent is too expensive, costing 20,000 to 30,000 yuan a month.

However, Su Su said that it was one of her family's vacant houses, and no one lived there usually, so she could give him a rent-free stay.

Li Zhibai naturally made some polite remarks before reluctantly accepting.

After settling his luggage at the destination, he planned to take a taxi directly to find Grandpa Huo, to see what Grandpa Huo was up to, and then see if he could haggle a good price.

He couldn't bear to leave Financial Street, a place teeming with wealthy and cunning people.

Just as he opened the car door to get in, a voice that was both familiar and unfamiliar suddenly called out to him from behind.

"Boss, you're quitting?"

Li Zhibai turned around and saw a middle-aged man in a suit standing not far behind him, his eyes slightly red, as if he might collapse at any moment.

He quickly figured out who this person was.

He turned out to be the first customer of his Shaxian restaurant when it first opened, and the first programmer to be moved to tears by his cooking.

Li Zhibai subconsciously activated the "Category Awareness" skill.

[Personal Financial Resources: Green]

???

green?

Wait, what's going on here?

He remembered clearly that this guy was a noble purple-haired vengeful spirit when he first came here.

How come it changed from purple to green in just two months?

The color faded way too fast.

Even if you want the color to fade, you should at least do it in my shop. It's only fair that I personally rip you off from purple to green. Don't you understand the principle of keeping the profits within the family?

How could you let the color fade on your own?

Li Zhibai suddenly felt a pang of heartache, like a fat pig he had raised for half a year had escaped over the wall before he could even slaughter it.

"Brother, what happened to you? You seem to have become poorer. It really breaks my heart!"

"It's a long story," Yang Chongwu said with a wry smile, explaining the situation: "After eating the meal you cooked last time, I realized that instead of working like a slave in the company, I should start my own business. So after receiving my compensation, I partnered with a few former colleagues to start a small company that makes enterprise software."

"I invested all my savings from the past few years, as well as the severance pay I received when I left the company. For the past month or so, a few of us have been working day and night writing code, and we finally finished the product. But now we're starting to run into financial difficulties. We've been looking for venture capital everywhere and have talked to a few companies, but the results haven't been very satisfactory."

"I came here today hoping to have another meal cooked by you, to find that old motivation to get back on my feet, but... how could you just close your shop like that!" Yang Chongwu said, somewhat devastated.

After listening, Li Zhibai finally understood why this guy had changed from purple to green; it turned out he had left a big company to go solo.

Starting a business is risky, so be careful with your investments, bro!

Before starting my next business, I should still frequently invite him to meals. Even if I fail, at least I won't lose out on food!

"Dude, starting your own business is great! Being your own boss means you don't have to put up with anyone else's attitude. That's what a real man does. Keep it up!"

"I want to keep going, but boss, didn't you promise to keep going? I...I..." Yang Chongwu became more and more upset as he spoke, and he suddenly felt like his faith had vanished.

He resolutely chose to start his own business so that he could make money and eat at Shaxian Restaurant every day. But when he came today, the owner had run away.

What the hell is this?!

Seeing that this guy was about to break down, Li Zhibai quickly explained to him, "Don't worry, come on, let's add each other on WeChat! Don't worry, I'm not running away, I'm just moving to a new location. I'll let you know as soon as the new store opens, and I'll reserve a spot for you on the first day so you can refuel."

After all, it was his first customer, so it had a different significance.

Although this person has turned green now, if an entrepreneur gets funding one day, won't they turn back to purple or even go up to gold in no time?

Show him some care now while he's at his lowest point, and once he's made it big, shouldn't we bring all the company's employees to his restaurant more often? Those are all big orders!

One must have foresight.

Yang Chongwu was relieved. As long as the boss hadn't really run away, he was fine. He could only put aside his original request to ask the boss for a favor and wait until the boss opened for business.

After they added each other as WeChat friends, Li Zhibai got into his car and left.

Soon, the car stopped at a high-end apartment building three kilometers away from Financial Street.

Su Su led Li Zhibai up to the 26th floor, to room 2601, and pushed open the door with a fingerprint lock.

"Come in."

Li Zhibai followed behind, dragging his suitcase, looking left and right with curiosity. This was the first time in his life he had ever entered such an expensive house.

Although it is only about 100 square meters, the decoration is very luxurious, and the floor-to-ceiling windows offer a prime river view.

"Sister Su, the houses here aren't cheap, are they?"

"It's about 170,000 to 180,000 yuan per square meter. This apartment cost more than 10 million yuan when we bought it. It should have appreciated a bit now, but I'm not sure of the exact amount. My dad bought it."

Li Zhibai clicked his tongue in amazement after hearing this.

Jiangcheng is great in every way, except the housing prices are terrifying. All the savings he painstakingly accumulated over a month of ripping off customers... well, you know what, it's almost enough for a down payment on a house.

"Is this apartment really free for me?" After all, it's a little embarrassing to be living in someone else's luxury river-view apartment for free.

"Of course, Master. And you promised me you'd come to my shop more often."

"That's definitely not a problem."

Su Su handed him the key and helped him input his fingerprint. After everything was almost done, she left.

After putting his luggage away, Li Zhibai went to the kitchen and saw that everything was there. He nodded in satisfaction.

After he finished packing, he opened WeChat and checked the address the old man had sent him.

According to the map, this place is in a town in a neighboring city, about a two-hour drive from Jiangcheng.

Without hesitation, Li Zhibai placed an order for a cross-city ride on a ride-hailing app.

Two hours later, the car exited the highway and entered a relatively narrow county road. The scenery outside the window gradually changed from high-rise buildings to lush green rice paddies and scattered farmhouses.

After driving for about twenty more minutes, the car finally stopped in front of a school with a sign that read "Qinghe Primary School".

Li Zhibai paid the fare and got off the bus. Looking at the school in front of him, he was even more confused.

What's the old man up to? Why did he invite him to this place?

Li Zhibai took out his phone and dialed the number that Grandpa Huo had given him.

The phone rang a few times before being answered.

"Hello, I was sent here by Uncle Huo Wang. My surname is Li."

"Mr. Li, right? Mr. Huo has already given us instructions. Please wait a moment, I'll come out to meet you right away."

Less than two minutes later, a middle-aged woman in her forties wearing glasses ran up to the school gate.

They must be teachers at this school.

After opening the iron gate, she warmly extended her hand.

"Hello Mr. Li! You must be tired from your journey! Please come in, please come in!"

"Um, teacher, what is your surname?"

"My surname is Chen, Chen Long. I am the principal, Chinese language teacher, logistics director, and..."

Li Zhibai: "..."

Goodness, this is probably the teacher with the most positions in the country.

"Principal Chen, you hold multiple positions?"

"There's nothing we can do. Our school has limited resources. There are only five or six teachers in total, and many of them have multiple roles," Principal Chen explained as he led Li Zhibai inside. They soon arrived at the school cafeteria's kitchen.

The kitchen appears to be newly built, as the equipment inside is clearly brand new and has hardly been used.

As soon as Li Zhibai stepped into the kitchen, several aunties and young teachers wearing aprons warmly surrounded him, while some children peered curiously through the window.

"Mr. Li, Mr. Huo told us that you are an exceptionally skilled chef. He came here specially today to cook delicious food for the children. The children were overjoyed to hear that and all want to try your cooking."

Chen Long took an apron from the side and handed it to him: "Here, have an apron. And these are the ingredients we just bought today on that counter over there. The rest is up to you."

Li Zhibai: "..."

He finally understood why Grandpa Huo had called him over: he wanted him to be a free laborer in the canteen of this rural primary school!

The old man really wasn't shy at all.