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

Just as Li Zhibai finished cooking the last dish, footsteps sounded at the entrance of the cafeteria.

Grandpa Huo walked in with his hands behind his back, and there was a van on the open space outside the school. Several workers were unloading things from the van, which looked like school supplies for the students.

As soon as Grandpa Huo entered the kitchen, he sniffed the air and his eyes quickly locked onto a large pot of steaming, very beautiful and tempting braised pork.

"Oh, what a coincidence! I smelled the aroma of braised pork as soon as I got back."

"Old Huo."

"Mr. Huo, you've arrived."

"Hello, Mr. Huo..."

When Principal Chen and the kitchen staff saw Huo Wang arrive, they immediately greeted him warmly.

Grandpa Huo responded with a smile to each of them, then went straight to the stove, took a large bowl, filled it with white rice, then used a serving spoon to scoop out a few pieces of braised pork, poured on a spoonful of rich sauce, and a bowl of bright red, steaming braised pork rice was ready.

He waved to Li Zhibai while holding the bowl, then turned and walked out of the kitchen.

"Young boss, let's go outside and have a chat."

Li Zhibai also made himself a braised pork rice bowl before following Huo Wang out of the cafeteria.

An old man and a young boy sat casually on the cement steps outside the kitchen and ate their lunch.

Grandpa Huo picked up a piece of braised pork, blew on it to cool it down a bit, put it in his mouth, chewed it a few times, and said with satisfaction, "This is the taste! Delicious!"

After a moment, he asked, "How was it? How was it cooking for the kids?"

Li Zhibai shoveled a big mouthful of rice soaked in meat gravy and said, "What kind of feeling could I possibly have? I sell a piece of meat for 99 in the store, but I'm cooking it for free here. You have to make up for it, sir."

Grandpa Huo laughed heartily: "You lad, you really can't stop talking about money."

"That's because I'm poor," Li Zhibai swallowed the food in his mouth and got down to business: "Sir, what's your story about the shop? I came all this way to be your free laborer, I can't just leave empty-handed."

Grandpa Huo didn't beat around the bush and directly stated his conditions: "The shop at No. 99, facing the street, is a little over 200 square meters and has a market value of about 80 million. If you want it, you can pay in installments. I won't charge you interest, and I won't urge you to repay. As long as you repay a total of 60 million, the shop will be yours."

Li Zhibai's eyes lit up when he heard the number.

6000?

If you give him a shop worth 8000 million for 6000 million, that's equivalent to a direct reduction of 2000 million!

Of course, a shop with a normal market value of 8000 million might not actually sell for 8000 million. In recent years, the real estate market has been declining overall, and the transaction cycle for shops has generally been lengthened. In addition, there are various miscellaneous fees such as brokerage fees and taxes. If the old man lists the shop for sale normally, he will probably only get around 7000 million, or even less.

But no matter what, a price of 6000 million is definitely a windfall, provided there are no other hidden pitfalls.

Li Zhibai decided to lay the groundwork first: "Sir, let's get this straight. I'm just a Shaxian restaurant owner. I sell my art, not my body. Even if you give me a discount, I'll never become your live-in son-in-law. That's not my ambition. I'm not one to live off women."

Grandpa Huo was taken aback by his words and said irritably, "What kind of nonsense is going on in your head, kid? There are definitely conditions."

"What are your conditions?" Li Zhibai was prepared to continue bargaining.

Grandpa Huo pointed into the classroom with his chopsticks.

"My conditions are very simple. You don't need to pay me back this money. You just need to take a portion of your store's profits each year to help me sponsor those poor students, starting with this school. This could include things like food expenses, scholarships, tuition fees, etc. Sponsor at least a thousand students each year, and that will be considered fulfilling your task for that year."

"Once you have donated a total of 6000 million, this shop will be completely yours."

Li Zhibai was very surprised; he never expected the old man to propose such an unexpected condition.

Donating money isn't a big problem, but contacting 1000 students in need of assistance each year takes a lot of energy and time.

Why didn't the old man just donate it to an organization? ... Well, let's not even talk about the old man; he himself doesn't want to donate to an organization.

In short, he felt that the conditions were completely acceptable. After all, it was a gentleman's agreement, and there was no requirement to sign a formal contract, so he could just agree to it first.

"Sir, you donate every year? My small business is under a lot of pressure. What if I go bankrupt due to poor management and can't pay back the money?"

Huo Wang immediately interrupted him: "Don't give me that crap. With your skills, as long as you don't do something stupid, you're guaranteed to survive."

Then, he took out a stack of printed documents from the bag behind him.

—Agreement on Transfer of Commercial Property and Charitable Grant.

The bottom right corner bears the law firm's red official seal, and the signature section reads "Huo Junmin".

Grandpa Huo handed the document to Li Zhibai.

"This is what I had my daughter draft. It includes the minimum annual donation amount, the number of people to be sponsored, and the third-party supervision method. If you stop donating without a special reason, not only will the shop be taken back, but you will also have to pay double the penalty for breach of contract."

The smile on Li Zhibai's face vanished instantly.

No way, sir, how could you let your daughter produce a contract? Don't you trust me that much?

"Uncle Huo, that's not fair of you. Bringing this out is questioning my character!"

"Do I, Li Zhibai, look like the kind of person who goes back on his word? Have you forgotten that when you fell at the entrance of Shaxian Restaurant, so many people stood around but no one dared to help you up? Who was it that rushed up to help you up without saying a word? It was me! And now you're actually making a good Samaritan sign a contract? Isn't that too hurtful? Can't you have even the most basic trust between people?!"

Grandpa Huo, however, wasn't buying it at all: "Heh, forget about trust, I even suspect you're planning to just let me die and then deny everything. Don't worry, I won't give you that chance."

"My daughter also specifically told me that others may not have to sign a contract, but you must."

Li Zhibai: "..."

Is his reputation really that bad now? Even Attorney Huo specifically mentioned that he should be wary of him.

Li Zhibai then angrily read through the agreement word by word from beginning to end. After confirming that there were no problems, he started arguing with the old man again to thoroughly understand some of the details and clauses.

For example, could the ownership be transferred to him in advance? Could it be postponed in case of force majeure? Only after confirming that there were no problems did he sign his name at the signature area.

It's just a guaranteed minimum of 1000 students per year.

It's done!

Once he gets his hands on the shop, he'll continue to fleece those rich suckers; he'll make back that money in no time.

Furthermore, the shops in Jiangcheng Financial Street have always maintained a high value. Even though the real estate industry is currently experiencing a downturn, the impact is minimal, at least in the city's core commercial district.

This is also the main reason why he still wanted to buy the old man's shop, even though he knew it was very expensive and he couldn't afford it. This wasn't impulsive buying; he genuinely believed in the long-term value of the shops in this location and the number of wealthy people in the surrounding area.

Even if something really bad happens in the future, he still has a shop worth more than 50 million yuan as a safety net.

Most importantly, from now on he will never have to worry about the landlord raising the rent again, or being evicted.

This time, he will truly have his own foundation to stand on.