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

"What's up? No money involved." Lin Fan took a sip of water and joked.

"Tch!" Qin Lang slapped his thigh. "Who's borrowing money from you?! Do you think I'm short of cash?! I'm here to give you money, Brother Lin!"

"Hmm?" Lin Fan put down his water glass, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Giving money?"

"Do you still remember Old Zhao?" Qin Lang asked in a low voice, winking at him.

"Old Zhao?"

Lin Fan searched his memory for a moment and quickly made up the story.

Zhao Tianyi.

The young master of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, a top five-star hotel in Jiangcheng.

A few days ago, Qin Lang brought Old Zhao and a few rich kids to the shops on Jin Street for the first time to show their support.

When Zhao Tianyi finished eating the bowl of "Supreme Clear Broth Beef Brisket Noodles" that he made, he was amazed and immediately took out his business card, offering him a generous offer of a two million annual salary plus 5% equity in the Grand Hyatt Hotel's food and beverage department, wanting to poach him to be the executive chef.

However, Lin Fan flatly rejected him at the time, citing reasons such as "not being able to stand being constrained" and "wanting to open his own shop."

"I remember." Lin Fan nodded, his tone flat.

"The young master of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, the one who tried to poach me as a chef. What, he's still not giving up?"

"No, no, no, how could he dare to poach you! Everyone knows your Lin family shop is incredibly successful these days; his meager annual salary isn't even enough to shine your shoes!"

Qin Lang waved his hand, his expression suddenly becoming serious. He took out a black invitation with gold trim and excellent texture from his pocket and gently pushed it across the table in front of Lin Fan.

"That's how it is. The day after tomorrow night, which is Sunday, the Jiangcheng Chamber of Commerce is holding its annual 'Celebrity Charity Gala' at the Grand Hyatt Hotel."

Qin Lang tapped his finger on the invitation and patiently explained:

"Brother Lin, don't underestimate this banquet. This is the highest-level gathering in Jiangcheng's business community."

"At that time, all the prominent figures in Jiangcheng, the heads of major families, and top investors will be present."

"Not only that, even Elder Ye Weiguo, whom you just conquered, is a guest of honor at this banquet."

Lin Fan glanced at the gold-embossed invitation card with his name on it on the table, but didn't reach out to take it. He simply asked, "..."

"What does this have to do with me? You want me to cater for them and book a private event?"

"Oh dear, my dear brother! How could I possibly let you do servant work!"

Qin Lang slapped his thigh in frustration, "They invited you to be a special guest! The kind where you'd sit properly at the head table!"

At this point, Qin Lang looked around, lowered his voice even further, and wore a gloating, gossipy expression.

"Actually, Old Zhao was really desperate. He begged and pleaded with me to come and ask you to come out of retirement and save the day!"

"Save the day?" Lin Fan was somewhat surprised.

Qin Lang sighed and explained, "A banquet of this caliber is all about a 'phoenix start and a leopard finish.' The earlier dishes are easily handled by the Zhao family's master chefs. The key is this final, grand finale—the dessert!"

"Old Zhao's dad spent a fortune hiring a Michelin three-star pastry chef from France to elevate the class of this dinner. The team's airfare and hotel were all covered; everything was planned perfectly. But guess what happened?"

Qin Lang covered his mouth and chuckled:

"That French chef just landed in Wuhan yesterday and insisted on experiencing some 'authentic street food,' so he went to a seafood stall. As a result, his stomach betrayed him, he got acute gastroenteritis, and ended up in the ICU in the middle of the night due to dehydration!"

"With less than two days left until the banquet, the French team is leaderless and simply cannot produce the grand finale dessert that was originally planned."

"If they just throw on some ordinary mousse cake, the Grand Hyatt Hotel's reputation will be laughed at by all the celebrities in Jiangcheng for a whole year! Old Zhao's father is so worried his blood pressure is skyrocketing!"

"Old Zhao knows your culinary skills are superb; you even cured Old Ye's stomach problems with a single bite. So, as a last resort, he asked me to ask if you could prepare a special dessert to be the grand finale of the banquet?"

Qin Lang raised a hand, his eyes burning with fervor:

"Old Zhao said that as long as you're willing to step in and save face for Junyue, you don't need to cook anything else, just the last dessert! Your appearance fee... 500,000!"

"And after it's all done, you'll be seated as a special guest; you'll definitely get a lot of face!"

Hearing this, Shen Man, who was standing next to her, also perked up her ears and listened intently, a hint of surprise flashing in her beautiful eyes.

Five hundred thousand, just to make one dessert!

Even among top-tier private chefs, this price is absolutely astronomical!

However, Lin Fan's expression remained as calm as a still well after hearing this.

Five hundred thousand?

For him now, 500,000 is just a few days' worth of revenue for the store.

Lin Fan neither immediately agreed nor immediately refused; his mind was racing, weighing the pros and cons.

To go or not to go?

In the past, he would have refused outright.

During the five years he lived as a son-in-law in the Su family, he attended several so-called "high-society parties".

Those people held wine glasses, wore hypocritical masks, talked about projects worth tens or hundreds of millions, but their eyes were full of calculation and class contempt.

At that time, he stood in the corner, enduring scorn and ridicule, and even breathing felt suffocating.

He has an instinctive aversion to that kind of world of fame and fortune.

but……

Lin Fan's gaze slowly fell on the wallpaper on his phone, a picture of himself and his daughter.

My daughter's smile was so innocent and pure.

His business is indeed booming right now, so booming that he's making a fortune every day.

But in the eyes of the real old-money families and powerful elites in Jiangcheng, "Lin's Shop" was still just a relatively popular "fly restaurant".

Lin Fan was just a "cook" with decent skills.

Zhang Dawei's malicious report a few days ago, and Liu Zhiyuan's arrogance today, are both reminding him of a cruel reality—the tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled by the wind.

Without a strong social standing and extensive network of connections to act as a protective barrier, a popular online store that makes a fortune every day without any backing is always likely to attract the covetous eyes of predators.

Relying solely on the protection of Qin Lang, Shen Man, and their few other wealthy friends is not enough.

He needs to make his name known and thoroughly etch the name "Lin Fan" into the highest echelons of Jiangcheng's social circles!

He wanted everyone to know that he wasn't a small-time boss who could be easily manipulated.

This "celebrity charity gala," which brought together the city's elite, was undoubtedly an excellent springboard.

More importantly...

He wanted his daughter, Tuantuan, to have a better life.

Thinking of this, he slowly reached out and took the invitation.

"Brother Lin, what's your decision?" Qin Lang swallowed hard and asked nervously as he saw him pick up the invitation.