Bao Zi Takes a Leave

"I have to warn you. You should never mess around here. This place is not like the rest, so you cannot act recklessly. You have to work hard and steadily earn more money so that you could marry a good wife. Oh yes, speaking of working hard, what is going on with your restaurant? It opens and shuts down every other day; No one does business like you. I am not trying to lecture you, but if you keep operating the restaurant in the same manner, then it would have to close down sooner or later." Li Huang disciplined him.

"Didn't 2nd Uncle operate the restaurant in the same manner last time?" Bai Lu casually said.

"Can't you use someone more decent as an example? Let's talk about Tian Xiang Restaurant which is not too far off. Because your restaurant was not in operation, their business has risen by 20% out of nowhere. Are you an idiot? Why let someone else steal all of your sales?" Li Huang felt triggered by Bai Lu's indifference.

Bai Lu smiled, and he asked, "You must also have sold quite a lot of dumplings right?"

"How much money can I earn from the dumplings? Just look at your current renovations, do you have any idea how many dumplings I need to sell to recoup the losses? Listen to me, stop messing around. Your Uncle Li has personally been through all of this..."

Bai Lu sighed, and he said, "There have really been quite a few incidents lately, and I am also struggling to hire a chef." As he spoke about it, he recalled the hiring notice that he had pasted on the front door. He went over to take a look, but he realized that someone had torn it down. He turned back and said to Li Huang, "Uncle Li, our neighborhood is dangerous. The thieves here even stole my hiring notice."

"Are you even listening to me?" Li Huang was getting mad.

"Yes, I listened," Bai Lu said, with a half-hearted tone. At this moment, the phone in the restaurant started ringing. He exploited this perfect opportunity to run away from his incessant nagging. "Uncle Li, I am sorry, there is a phone call for me. I have to answer it... 'Hello, how are you? Are you looking for the boss? Yes, I am. May I ask who is calling? Could you speak louder? Ah, what do you need? What? Investment? Hold on for a second.' "

When he was on the phone, Li Huang was loitering around. It seemed like he still had the intention of continuing his lecture. Bai Lu covered the mouthpiece of the phone and said to him, "Uncle Li, there is an investment company that wants to discuss business with me. I will not be able to entertain you."

Li Huang hummed, and he left.

The moment that Li Huang was gone, Bai Lu changed his tone immediately. "What investment? Good night." And he hung up the call.

Global Investment was the one made the call, they were very impressed by the culinary talent that Bai Lu possessed. That was why they wanted to turn the Great 5-Star Restaurant into a franchise. At the same time, they had plans to set up a food facility and many other projects. In short, they were all about making more money. Of course, before they could roll out this plan, they had to focus on marketing to create a successful brand for Bai Lu. Unfortunately, Bai Lu did not give them the chance to do so.

He went into the closet to search for his gaming device and devoted his time single-heartedly into playing Battle City.

After a while, Ding Ding came to the restaurant, with a blue folder in her hands. She sat in front of Bai Lu and asked, "Have you read this yet?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"I am busy."

"Busy with playing games?"

"Gaming is also an important aspect of life."

"Why is this guy always so ridiculous?" Ding Ding snatched over the giant IPAD, and then she swiftly detached the external connecting cable. "Look at it now."

"Stop it. I was already on the ninth level." Bai Lu went to grab the IPAD. When he finally took it back, he saw that his base was already destroyed. Out of helplessness, he had no choice but to give up. "You are my ancestor. Say, what do you want to eat for lunch?"

"Eat? Do you think I am a pig? Hurry up and look at this proposal. It was very well-drafted."

"If you say that it was well-drafted, then I would trust you. What else is there for me to see?" Bai Lu refused to look at the proposal.

"Did you mean that you would trust me to make the decision for you?" Ding Ding asked.

"Anythi— Wait, what? What do you mean by making a decision?" Bai Lu almost said the word 'anything' to her.

"Look at this. The handwriting is beautiful, and the proposal is also very detailed. There are three propositions, and I think that the first one is not too bad. She wants you to focus on stable development and start developing slowly from this small restaurant." Ding Ding passed the proposal in front of Bai Lu.

The handwriting was indeed eye-catching. In the modern age of digital text, this proposal was entirely written by hand instead. There were more than 30k words compressed into a voluminous stack of paper; Each page was very appealing. 

Bai Lu gained some interest after seeing well-written words, he received the proposal and started flipping through it. "This lady is amazing. She has good looks and also excellent handwriting."

"Have you seen her before?" Ding Ding asked.

"Yes, I have. She is an exceptionally sexy lady, who is around the same height as you. However, as compared to your"—Bai Lu looked up and started scanning Ding Ding—"her breasts are also around the same size as yours. But she wears a skirt, which reveals her beautiful legs. On the other hand, you are always wearing pants, so I cannot see it."

Ding Ding was about to get mad, she thought, "How could you describe a lady in such a manner? Not to mention, I am a movie star." As soon as she was about to flare up her temper, there was a series of footsteps from someone wearing high heels that emanated from outside the door. As the sound approached closer and closer, the door suddenly swung open. There was a gorgeous and alluring lady that walked into the restaurant. With a soft voice, she asked, "Mr. Bai, have you seen the proposal?"

Bai Lu turned around. It was Liu Wen Qing, and she wore the same attire as before. From head to toe, there were no changes at all. Even her smile was entirely the same as yesterday. "I am looking through it now," he casually said, while he was flicking the folder in his hand.

"Mr. Bai, may I ask if you are satisfied with my proposal or not?"

"My name is Bai Lu. Stop calling me mister repeatedly. It makes me uncomfortable. As for this proposal, I think it is still ok? But it is slightly deviating from my goals."

"Then what are your goals in managing this restaurant? I can alter the proposal." There was a flash of joy in her eyes. If he allowed her to alter the proposal, then there would be a chance of collaboration, which meant that there would be a chance of success for her.

"We do not have the same goals. What you are pursuing is efficiency. Also, you are interested in an active management position for an equity stake in my company, which means that we would have to work as a team. That would not be feasible."

In an instant, the joy in her eyes evaporated, but she was not ready to give up. She asked again, "What do you want? What are your goals to run this restaurant?"

"I do not care about the revenue of the business. For now, I want to accept a few students and pass down my culinary talent." He provided an answer that nobody would have expected.

Ding Ding interrupted and said, "What are you talking about? Accepting some students? You have zero reputation, so who would want to learn from you?" After pausing for a while, she asked, "How old are you?"

"Honestly speaking, I have not thought about doing this. However, Gao Yuan's grandpa reminded me that if I was able to cook delicious food, I should let more people enjoy it. I feel that what he said was right, but I am a lazy man, so I could only look for someone else to help me with this."

Liu Wen Qing thought about it, and she said, "Since you are interested in accepting students, then you must first have the reputation, otherwise who would know about you? I could help you with the publicity, which would make you famous."

"It's not like I am a third-rate actor, why would I need to have publicity?" He refused.

Liu Wen Qing still refused to give up, she urged him and said, "If you are famous, then there would be more talented people who are interested in learning from you. Isn't that a good thing?"

Bai Lu shook his head, and he said, "I do not plan to accept many students, and I do not want to have a lot of trouble. All I want is to have a few students."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a young man in his 20s that knocked on the door. "Master, are you opened for business today?"

"Yes, we are opened for business," Ding Ding said on behalf of Bai Lu.

"Alright." The young man closed the door and stood outside. Suddenly, he rushed back into the restaurant, and he said, "Are you, Ding Ding? I like you a lot. Autograph... No, wait. Could I take a selfie with you?"

Ding Ding smiled, and she said, "Do I really look like Ding Ding? My classmates always said the same thing. Thank you. Come, let's take a selfie."

"Oh? So you are not Ding Ding?" The young man carefully examined Ding Ding, and he said, "At first glance, you two look rather alike. After looking closer, it is not the same. You are not as pretty as Ding Ding." When he finished talking, he went out of the restaurant and stopped mentioning about the selfie.

Liu Wen Qing whispered, "You lied to him."

Ding Ding smiled, but she did not defend herself. Instead, she said to Bai Lu, "I am going back. Come back earlier in the afternoon to cook lunch." Then, she left the restaurant.

Liu Wen Qing was shocked. "You are living together with Ding Ding?"

Bai Lu scratched his head and said, "You should be concerned about your proposal instead."

She said, "Since you are not interested, then there is no longer a need to be concerned."

Looking at this gorgeous beauty, he asked, "How did you come up with this proposal? You did not even ask me at all. Aren't you scared of rejection?"

Liu Wen Qing thought about it, then she sat down and said, "I have thought about it. However, I noticed that your restaurant is so small, so I assumed that you would want to make this into a bigger restaurant for sure. And if I come over to help you with the management, then we could achieve a win-win situation. Speaking of which, you are very impressive. Over the last two days, many people left their contact details behind as they were interested in discussing business with you. I have figured, if someone else could do it, then so could I. Thus, I went back to prepare the proposal."

"You do not have to work?" Bai Lu was a little curious.

"Why do you ask that?" Liu Wen Qing was unwilling to answer that question.

"Nothing much. It's just a casual question. If I do not enter into a partnership with you, what would you do?"

"Don't worry. There is always something else I could do." Liu Wen Qing was tight-lipped.

"Oh, then have a drink." Bai Lu poured some hot water into a cup for her. Then he connected the gaming controller by himself, and he continued to play Battle City.

This battle lasted more than half an hour, and Liu Wen Qing finally could not endure it any longer. "You cannot keep wasting your time like this."

Before Bai Lu could even respond, Bao Zi entered the restaurant and said, "Boss, are we opened for business today?"

"Yes. You can go and get the groceries. 

Bao Zi looked at Liu Wen Qing. In his heart, he thought that she was stunning. Then he went out of the restaurant. However, after a while, he ran back in as he held his phone in his hand. "Brother Bai, I want to take a leave."

"Take a leave? What happened?" Bai Lu paused his video game.

"My mum was hit by a vehicle, and I just received the call. She cannot move one of her legs, and she is still in the hospital. I want to go over and take care of her." Bao Zi was very anxious.

"Which hospital is she in? Is it severe?" Bai Lu stood up and asked.

"She is in the regional hospital. It is very close to our home."

"Let's go. I will go back with you," Bai Lu said.

"So we are closed for business today?" Bao Zi asked. Since the restaurant was re-opened, it was closed almost every other day.

Bai Lu said, "It is a medical emergency." He went out of the restaurant to speak with the young guy outside. "I am sorry, brother. The restaurant is closed again today. I will have to let you down."

"What is going on? I have waited for an hour, and you are telling me that the restaurant is closed? Look behind me. Including me, there are already eight people here. It was because I was queueing up, so they also came over. If that's the case, aren't you lying to us?" The young man was very displeased.

"Brother Bai, I could go back by myself. You should open your business." Bao Zi did not want to cause trouble for Bai Lu.

Bai Lu thought, "Even if I go there now, I would not be able to do anything to help. Wouldn't it be better if I make a meal for her another day and bring it over?" Therefore, he said, "Ok, you go back and take good care of Aunty. If you need anything, give me a call. Come, let's go back to pack up your stuff."

He went back home with Bao Zi. The young man shouted, "Where are you going? What's going on here? Are you opening for business or not?"

Liu Wen Qing stepped forward and said, "We are opening for business. The boss is going out for a while, but he will be right back."

With her help, she soothed the crowd, and the entrance of the restaurant regained its tranquility.

After five minutes, the two of them reached their apartment. When Ding Ding saw them, she was a little bit surprised. "How come you are back so early?"

Bai Lu went into the bedroom, and he said, "Bao Zi is taking a leave to go back home. Aunty has been hit by a vehicle."

"What? Are her injuries severe?" Ding Ding and Sha Sha came over immediately.

Bao Zi took a small bag and packed his stuff inside. As he packed, he said, "She broke one of her legs, but she is still ok. She cannot move around and need to recuperate."

Ding Ding fumbled around with her pockets and retrieved a bunch of spare change. "Wait a while," she said, as she went upstairs to get more money.