Mad Dragon gets out of prison and marries a beautiful CEO.

After Xiaowen finished explaining things, Chen Li took her to another property, Zuixianlou.

The main problem is the complicated handover procedures; it's better to hand it over to someone who is good at it.

This restaurant was originally the first restaurant opened by Chen Li's father. After the city was redeveloped, it was located in a prime area and had a spacious parking lot in front, so business was always good.

Chen Li learned the essence of cooking from his father, and through his bold expansion, Zuixianlou became a well-known private restaurant, making a fortune.

From a young age, he hung out in Kowloon Street. Those who followed him had food and drink, and because he was righteous and good at fighting, his reputation grew, and his ambition began to swell.

Thus, used car dealerships came into being.

The biggest mistake was taking in Yuan Tao, who was desperate and had nowhere else to turn, and making him his follower.

Chen Li parked the car and walked towards the restaurant with Xiao Wen.

Because she had her lawyer negotiate with the manager beforehand, the manager, upon learning the reason, waited at the door for his former employer to return.

"Brother Dali!"

Chen Li looked up and saw an old acquaintance in a suit and tie, bowing and nodding to him with a simple and honest expression.

This man is named Chen Bin. Before the city was redeveloped, we were from the same village. He's a few years older than me and has always worked as a kitchen helper in this shop.

He has a great head for running a restaurant, but he's timid and doesn't dare to invest, though he's excellent at management.

"Bin? You're still there?"

Chen Li was surprised, but not annoyed that Yuan Tao was helping him.

Chen Bin smiled憨厚ly and said:

"That's all I'm good for, where can I go?"

"Once you went in, I knew you'd come out one day. Even if you quit this shop, we can always open another one."

"I didn't say I was leaving, and Yuan Tao didn't kick me out, so I'll just continue managing things here."

"I've finally waited for you to come back."

Chen Li put his arm around his shoulder and shook him, laughing:

"I knew you were still here. This beautiful lady is called Xiaowen. She's been busy all day and hasn't eaten yet. Tell the kitchen to prepare a few dishes so we can eat and chat together."

Chen Bin said excitedly:

"become!"

"It's been a long time since I've cooked myself. Today I'll show off my skills and see if my cooking has gotten worse."

"You guys go sit in the private room and rest for a while, then have some appetizers to tide you over."

Enter the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

The current scale is twice as large as it was five years ago. Yuan Tao has forcibly merged the shops on both sides and renovated them in a magnificent manner.

There is also an area on the second floor that is dedicated to serving buffets.

Buffets aren't about making more money; on the contrary, they're about keeping customers coming back with small profits.

This ensures the restaurant maintains a steady flow of customers and popularity; as long as people keep coming, the business will continue to thrive.

This is also Chen Bin's bold idea of ​​using one store to support another.

Chen Li and Xiao Wen chatted in the elegant and comfortable private room. Before long, they were served sweet and sour squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, eight-treasure lotus seed chicken, garlic braised shrimp, stir-fried emperor vegetables, sea cucumber soup...

A variety of dishes were served one by one.

Full color and flavor.

Xiaowen, who was quite worldly-wise, was still tempted and her stomach rumbled. She couldn't stop laughing, her mouth practically watering, and she said with a smile:

"I've heard of this place before, but I regret that I came too late."

Chen Li joked:

"If you come early, Yuan Tao will make all the money, and you won't get to eat the dishes Chen Bin cooks himself. In terms of seniority, he is my number one disciple, and I can only be the third."

Xiaowen realized she had said something inappropriate, so she quickly changed the subject and laughed:

"Having received your uncle's true teachings, your culinary skills are all quite remarkable. And what about the one ranked second?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Bin walked in, waved for the waiter to leave, closed the door, and continued:

"We'll talk about the second-ranked one after we finish eating. Dali, have a taste first."

Chen Li could tell from his expression that his second brother was in trouble. He gestured for Xiao Wen to eat with him, picked up a piece of squirrel-shaped mandarin fish with his chopsticks, chewed it carefully, and nodded:

"Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, sweet and sour, no wonder my dad told me to learn from you how to control the oil temperature when frying fish."

Memories were brought back, and the originally awkward atmosphere instantly became harmonious.

Chen Bin, no longer reserved, poured himself a drink and said:

"Ladies, have some too. It's homemade rice wine with a traditional recipe. It's delicious and won't give you a headache."

Xiaowen politely raised her glass to express her gratitude.

Chen Li downed a glass of wine, feeling exceptionally cheerful, and said:

"We've had the wine and the food, but where's the second brother now?"

Chen Bin hesitated for a moment, then sighed:

"He's dead. Yuan Tao wanted to take over the restaurant, but Chen Yao firmly disagreed. He was stabbed to death on the roadside on his way home in the middle of the night."

"Later I heard that it was Yuan Tao who hired people from the Juxian Chamber of Commerce to do it. He would give Zhang Jin, one of Tiger Boss's four henchmen, a share of the profits every month. Through his connections, he managed to get on Tiger Boss's good side."

"Yuan Tao smoothed things over behind the scenes, and no one mentions Chen Yao's death anymore; it's more often a joke."

Chen Li nodded and said:

"It's alright, I'll find Zhang Jin and get to the bottom of this. If he really did it, I'll make the entire Black Tiger branch pay with their lives!"

Chen Yao was closer to him; they were cousins.

When Chen Li was young, he was thin and small. Whenever someone beat him up, his cousin Chen Yao would be the first to rush out and beat the other person until they cried for their parents. Because of this, he was often beaten by his family.

His cousin, who had once protected him, was killed.

This grudge.

We are irreconcilable enemies.

Afraid of spoiling Xiaowen's mealtime mood, the two didn't chat for long.

The perceptive Xiaowen knew that the calmer the surface, the bigger the storm brewing beneath.

After Xiaowen finished eating, she took her team to inspect the restaurant under the pretext of handling handover documents, and Chen Bin instructed his staff to cooperate with them.

Chen Li and his companion continued drinking, reminiscing about their youthful arrogance and discussing the future development of the restaurant.

Chen Bin isn't good at drinking; even rice wine makes him blush. He offered his suggestions:

"Restaurants are facing two problems now. First, more and more people around us are imitating our restaurant's decoration style, dishes and business model. To maintain our established advantages, we need to further innovate and widen the gap."

"Secondly, the lease for this store expires in half a month, and we need to renew the contract."

"But this shop belongs to the developer, Green Leaf Group, and Luo Quan, the manager in charge of this area, has a close relationship with Yuan Tao. This man is ruthless and greedy, and has repeatedly hinted at demanding benefits."

"If he interferes, it will be difficult for us to renew our contracts."

Chen Li leaned back in his chair, gave a disdainful smile, and said:

"You don't need to worry about the second problem. If Luo Quan dares to act recklessly, I'll make him disappear."

"As for the first question, the dishes, decoration style and business model are already very mature. Changing them would only make diners feel that the taste has changed."

"The only way to differentiate ourselves is to build a brand and open chain stores."

Chen Bin immediately agreed with him, saying:

"Actually, I've had this idea for a while. Yuan Tao has a lot of ambition, and his mind isn't on running the restaurant. I didn't want to talk to him about it, so I just kept it to myself."

"Our operating model is already very mature, and we can prepare for new stores at any time, which also prevents anyone from cutting off our escape route by using the lease."

Chen Li agreed:

"You take charge of the planning. If you encounter any difficulties, just ask Xiaowen for help. As for funding, don't worry about it; I can bring in investors."

Chen Bin said excitedly:

"Okay, I've been waiting for you to say that. I plan to open five branches in Yuncheng this year!"

Just then, someone knocked on the door:

"Manager Chen, Luo Quan, the regional manager of Greenleaf Group, is having lunch at Tingfeng Pavilion and wants you to come over."

"Okay, I understand."

Chen Bin shouted out to the outside world, then shook his head and sighed:

"This guy is used to dining and dashing here. Yuan Tao didn't ask him for money when he was alive because of his pride. Over the years, it's not a small amount."

Chen Li decisively said:

"He's really spoiled rotten. He dares to come here and dine and dash. I'll pull out all the bills he owes and make him pay them all today."

Chen Bin said with concern:

"Dali, if we offend him, our contract renewal will be affected..."

Chen Li smiled and said:

"Even if you don't offend him, the contract renewal will still be difficult. Since it's difficult, deal with the person first, then deal with the business."