CHAPTER 537: CHAPTER 499 THINKING OF OPENING A BRANCH STORE

Indeed, within a few minutes of going downstairs, the servants had arranged Li Zihan’s achievements on the dining table.

The dishes were vibrant in color and the taste wafted through the air.

Li Zishen sat at the head of the dining table, and a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes as he gazed upon the exquisite dishes; he hadn’t expected his brother’s cooking skills to have advanced so much and couldn’t help but see him in a new light.

"Brother, try this," Li Zihan pointed to a perfectly seared steak, "I specially used the spices you brought back from Country Y last time."

That evening, Li Zihan took it upon himself to cook, preparing the dinner with great care. It included their mother’s favorite vegetarian dishes, the specialties from Western restaurants, and of course, the shredded radish personally requested by his brother Li Zishen.

He eagerly hoped for their approval.

"Seems pretty good!" Li Zishen nodded, cutting a piece of steak with his knife and fork.

He savored it carefully and soon nodded with approval, "Mmm, tastes good, quite impressive indeed. You’ve reached the level of a five-star chef!"

At such high praise, a proud smile appeared on Li Zihan’s face.

He turned to his mother Yuan Min, eyes gleaming with anticipation, "Mom, would you try some too? Just a small bite as a way of encouraging me."

His mother primarily followed a vegetarian diet, something Li Zihan was aware of, but he yearned for recognition nonetheless.

Yuan Min smiled and nodded, tasting a piece of the steak and then a few bites of other dishes, a look of satisfaction on her face, "Zihan, you really have a talent; all these dishes are delicious."

"That’s great, thanks, Mom!"

"Can we all just dig in then?" Yuan Min asked half-jokingly, "The radish shreds seem quite good too!"

"I did those, without using any tools."

Upon hearing this, Li Zishen immediately gave his brother a thumbs-up, "You’re ready to graduate."

"Haha, right? I think so too."

A warm atmosphere filled the dining room, and Nanny Wu felt a cozy warmth in her heart as she attentively served to ensure each dish was plentiful.

The dinner went very smoothly, the trio conversing amicably.

Li Zishen spoke of attending a royal ball in country T from a couple of days ago, Li Zihan shared some amusing stories and gossip from school, while Yuan Min listened quietly, a hint of relief flashing across her lips.

After the meal, while practicing calligraphy in the study, Yuan Min took the opportunity to send a message to Lai Jingshan, telling him everything was normal at home.

Her anxious heart finally settled.

Meanwhile, Li Zihan was in his bedroom, bombarding his brother Li Zishen with questions.

"Brother, you’re really not leaving tonight?"

Li Zishen nodded, "Yes, that’s right."

"That’s great, we can talk all night long!"

"You mean you want to talk about the Western restaurant?" Li Zishen asked with a slight curl of his thin lips, "Planning to open another branch, in Chicheng?"

He knew his brother had always been intensely interested in gastronomy, and studying medicine was only for their mother.

"Did Uncle tell you?"

"Oh, so Uncle knew all along!" Li Zishen frowned and pretended to be angry.

"He just mentioned it casually. You’ve been busy, so..." Li Zihan explained with a grin, "I thought since you were building that hotel, following your lead can’t be wrong."

Li Zishen couldn’t help but laugh out loud, amused by his brother’s flattering words; he really knew how to play the game.

"Tell me, how much money do you need?"

"No need, no need, I was just thinking of asking Bai Long to show up... You know, there’s a commercial street next to the shopping center, I was wondering if I could get a spot?"

All things in Chicheng had been handled by Bai Long recently; his brother had indeed turned to the right person.

In doing so, it saved both time and effort.

But Li Zihan didn’t know that more than half of that shopping street belonged to Tang Xiaowan, and the rest would also be hers in a matter of days.

"Just tell him directly," Li Zishen said as he stood up from the sofa, his phoenix eyes deep and dark.

"No, I used to bully him all the time. What if he holds a grudge and refuses..." Li Zihan coughed lightly and quickly approached Li Zishen, "Brother, can you pass on the message for me? He listens to you the most, and I’m sure there will be good news."

"That depends on whether there is any."

"There is, for sure! As long as you give Bai Long an absolute order, there’s nothing that can’t be done."

The flattery was so loud that it would seem quite unreasonable if he didn’t make the call.

So, Li Zishen dialed Bai Long’s number and explained that his brother, Li Zihan, wanted to open a Western restaurant and the location had to be the best.

After understanding the intention, Bai Long didn’t dare to delay and immediately paused his work.

He quickly called the person responsible for renting out shops on the shopping street in Chicheng, got straight to the point, and said that Li Zishen’s brother wanted to open a Western restaurant on the shopping street, needing a shop in an excellent location, and stressed the importance of a prompt response.

After hanging up the phone, the person in charge fell into deep thought. Indeed, there were currently three shops available in a prime location in the middle of the shopping street.

For the Leng Family’s financial strength, buying all of them would not be a problem at all.

However, the resort hotel that Li Zishen was investing in building in Chicheng was going to compete with Tang Xiaowan’s Chihai Hotel in a year’s time.

Although the building was not yet finished, this delicate relationship indeed required careful handling.

Who was Tang Xiaowan? The person in charge knew it only too well—she wasn’t just the owner of Chihai Hotel and the leader of Hai Sheng Company but also the wife of the chairman of the Lingxiao Group and effectively his benefactor.

So, he immediately contacted Zhao Renjie, reported in detail the call from Bai Long, including the information about the shops.

"That’s roughly the situation, what do you think..." the person in charge hesitated as he asked for instructions.

Zhao Renjie respectfully looked at Tang Xiaowan, then smiled and replied, "All visitors are guests, there’s no reason to refuse business when the door is open, just proceed as usual."

"So, shall we give him the larger one?"

"Hmm, that’s fine."

After getting the instructions, the person in charge quickly contacted Bai Long and sent him the information about the shops.

Meanwhile, Li Zihan was waiting with great anticipation for news. He firmly believed that with his brother Li Zishen’s support, his Western restaurant plan would definitely succeed, and someday he would expand to every major city in the country.

Dingling ling, dingling ling, dingling ling...

At that moment, Li Zishen was looking at his brother’s plan and completely missed the ringing of his phone.

"Brother, the phone, there’s a call," Li Zihan shouted excitedly, "Pick it up quickly, it must be Bai Long, is there news?"

As the call connected, Bai Long’s joyful voice came through, "Brother Shen, I’ve found it!"

"Hmm, are there pictures?"

"Already sent to your inbox, take a look. There’s a full description of the shop, and the location is excellent, very suitable for a Western restaurant."

"Good, you’ve worked hard!"

After hanging up the phone, Li Zishen logged into his email under the anxious gaze of his brother, and indeed, the location of the shop was excellent.

Li Zihan smiled so broadly he couldn’t close his mouth.

"Brother, this is fantastic, I can finally go to Chicheng and make a big impact, and next... Huang City."

"You really don’t need financial support?"

"No need, a good location is enough."

Li Zishen nodded. In his heart, he silently thanked Tang Xiaowan, grateful that she didn’t obstruct due to the issue with the printing factory.

Tonight, Bie Yuan was filled with joy, whereas Qingya Garden presented a completely different scene.

The entire main building was as silent as the dead.