Zhao Gang gave a wry smile. "Lin Chen, our cooking skills are no match for Li Dafu's. Otherwise, we wouldn't be losing customers."

Zhao Xiaowen said proudly, "Haha, the chef right now isn't you guys; it's himself."

"What? Lin Chen, you can cook?" After hearing what Zhao Xiaowen said, Zhao Gang still found it hard to believe.

"Of course, I can cook, and it's very, very delicious." As Zhao Xiaowen spoke, she suddenly felt a craving when she thought about the food Lin Chen had stir-fried today.

Zhao Gang looked at Lin Chen in amazement, realizing that he was becoming more and more enigmatic.

In his eyes, Lin Chen had always been an honest and simple boy with nothing special, very ordinary.

But in just a few days, Lin Chen seemed like a completely different person, not only knowing how to treat illnesses but also able to cook, and the kind of temperament he emitted had undergone a complete transformation.

As Zhao Gang was lost in his thoughts, Lin Chen's voice suddenly interrupted him, "Uncle Zhao, how about this, I have a lot of things to do including school. I'll take care of the cooking, and for the rest, I'll hire you two elders, and don't you worry about the salary being too little. How about ten thousand a month for each person?"

Hearing Lin Chen's words, Zhao Gang couldn't stop shaking his head, "No, no, that's too much."

You must realize that their small shop's monthly profit was only about three to four thousand, and here Lin Chen was offering ten thousand yuan as a monthly salary just like that, which Zhao Gang couldn't bring himself to accept no matter what.

Lin Chen said, "Uncle Zhao, please don't be polite with me. This ten thousand is just the base salary, and there will be additional commissions on top of that."

Zhao Gang still wanted to refuse, but Wu Mei pulled at his arm, "Old Zhao, since Lin Chen has said so, stop making excuses. Our Xiaowen has an eye for talent, finding such a good boyfriend. I've always thought highly of Lin Chen."

Zhao Xiaowen's face turned red and she chimed in, "Mom, what are you talking about? Didn't you say I'm not allowed to have a boyfriend before I get into college? And didn't you always used to say Lin Chen was..."

"You little brat, exposing my past mistakes, believe it or not, I'll spank you. I was wrong before, okay?" Now Wu Mei looked at Lin Chen as a mother-in-law would a son-in-law, the more she looked, the happier she became.

Watching the mother-daughter duo bicker, Lin Chen couldn't help but smile. He handed a bank card to Zhao Gang, "Uncle Zhao, there's three hundred thousand in this card. One hundred thousand is your and Auntie's advance salary for five months, and with the rest, find a decoration team to refurbish these two storefronts. Let's aim to open next week."

Looking at the bank card Lin Chen handed over, Zhao Gang's hands trembled. When he had learned that Mr. Sun wanted to take back the storefront, it felt like the sky was falling. But Lin Chen had not only shouldered the burden for the Zhao family but was making their lives better and better.

"Rest assured, Lin Chen, I will devote myself wholeheartedly to working for you," Zhao Gang said, moved.

Lin Chen smiled, "Uncle Zhao, you're not just working for me. This restaurant has ten percent of Xiaowen's shares."

"I have shares?" When Zhao Xiaowen heard this, she was stunned and then her eyes started to moisten.

"Lin Chen, thank you. You are our family's benefactor. I already owe you too much. I absolutely cannot accept these shares," Zhao Xiaowen said, shaking her head, refusing the offer.

"Xiaowen, didn't we agree to open a small shop together? If you don't take this ten percent, then I'm not opening this restaurant," Lin Chen said petulantly.

"You…!" Zhao Xiaowen, seeing she really couldn't refuse, reluctantly nodded her head with a blush and agreed.

"Then what shall we name our restaurant?" Zhao Xiaowen asked.

Lin Chen thought for a moment, "Since theirs is called Yongsheng Restaurant, let's call ours Little God Chef's Private Kitchen."

Upon hearing this name, Zhao Xiaowen clapped her hands, "Good, that name has authority."

A few people were chatting when suddenly Lin Chen's phone rang.

The call was from County Mayor Li, who said that all the lease procedures for the land had been completed, and Lin Chen could now use the land as he pleased.

After hearing Mayor Li's words, Lin Chen couldn't help but feel a surge of happiness in his heart, as he had not expected to become the legendary landowner he had heard about.

Originally, Lin Chen had purchased the land with the intention of growing some herbs, but now that he had opened a restaurant, he decided to use a portion of the land to grow vegetables for his own use and sale.

"Uncle Zhao, I have some things to take care of at home, so I'll head back to the village first. I'll leave the restaurant in your hands," said Lin Chen.

"Don't worry, Xiao Chen, we'll make sure to take good care of the restaurant," Zhao Gang assured, patting his chest.

Lin Chen said his goodbyes to Zhao Xiaowen and her family and rushed back to the village.

After surveying the terrain, Lin Chen decided to use the barren hill for planting herbs and the wasteland for vegetables, and he also planned to develop some part of it for tourism. Set on his plan, Lin Chen made a call to Yu Dazhuang.

On the phone, Yu Dazhuang was panting, as though he had just finished some intense physical activity.

"Xiao Chen, our WeChat group has been flooded with your Xingyang tea posts. Those old guys are ecstatic about their second youth and many people want to pre-order your tea," said Yu Dazhuang, still enthused.

"Hehe, thanks for helping me with the promotion, Brother Yu."

"Lin Chen, you need to find a way to increase your production. Your Xingyang tea is already well advertised, and I bet you'll have a steady stream of orders from now on, so you need to expand your production scale."

"Thanks for the reminder, Brother Yu. I'm already on it. I've leased a barren hill and a big piece of land specifically for growing medicinal herbs, which will allow the mass production of Xingyang tea."

"Oh, that's great news! The happiness of our latter lives is all depending on you now, " Yu Dazhuang said with a guffaw.

"By the way, I have another matter to discuss. Brother Yu, could you help me find a construction team? I just bought a piece of land and I want to redevelop it," Lin Chen asked.

"No problem, that's how I made my fortune, after all. I'll send someone right away to take down your requirements, then set them to work," Yu Dazhuang responded with ease.

"Thanks, Brother Yu. And about the fees, have someone calculate it and we can settle it together later," Lin Chen added.

"What fees do we even need to talk about between us? Just send me a few bottles of Xingyang tea later," Yu Dazhuang said casually.

"No problem, thanks a lot, Brother Yu," Lin Chen replied.

Lin Chen knew that this project would cost at least a million or two, but Yu Dazhuang was settling for just a few bottles of Xingyang tea, clearly trying to win him over.

A capable and unique individual like Lin Chen was hard to come by, and the profits and benefits he could bring to Yu Dazhuang in the future would be far greater than a mere one or two million. Thus, it was clear that Yu Dazhuang was a very astute businessman.

Having settled the matter of the wasteland redevelopment, Lin Chen breathed a sigh of relief. The next step was to transform the barren land into fertile soil through the use of the Spirit Locking Formation.

When Lin Chen accessed the system, he was stunned to see that his popularity value had already reached 520.

Lin Chen was curious as he didn't think he had done anything particularly attention-grabbing. How had his popularity value increased so much? Could it be because of the WeChat group Yu Dazhuang mentioned?