Inside the noodle shop, Lin Jiang reviewed the day’s accounts. With the rent waived, his only costs were ingredients and staff. A net profit of 5 million a year was no problem.
’Tongzi’s main mission is to expand by two more shops, but that’s far from enough.’
’Zhonghai has nine districts in total. If I open two or three shops in each district, keeping the total around 20, the market should be saturated.’
’If they’re popping up all over the place like that, then the sales per shop couldn’t possibly be this high. It would be great to even hit around 2 million. That would still be a net income of 40 million a year. Add in the barbecue restaurant, and if I’m lucky, breaking 100 million is even possible.’
’And that’s just in Zhonghai. If I expand the shops nationwide, the income would be even more substantial.’
’But if I do that, the Delicious MSG might not be enough. That depends on whether Tongzi will give me the formula.’
’On top of that, I was also rewarded with a barbecue recipe, so I need to put the barbecue restaurant on the agenda.’
’But since Tongzi specified the locations for the new noodle shop branches, I can’t just act blindly.’
’I can start preparing now, so if a related mission comes up later, I can get right to it.’
Gradually, the sky darkened, and the morning shift employees had already clocked out.
Lin Jiang called Chen Jingxian and checked the money in his accounts. All told, he had nearly 17 million. His capital was accumulating quite quickly.
’Now I have a bit of confidence to go negotiate with them.’
Seeing it was about time, Lin Jiang called out. Yang Tao and the other two excitedly went to change their clothes.
"Brother Jiang! Brother Jiang!"
Just as Lin Jiang was killing time on his phone, Zhou Xiaoli ran over in a hurry.
She had been on the morning shift, and it was now after her clock-out time.
"Why are you back?"
"I remember when you came back, you greeted two customers. The woman seemed familiar, I think she might be a friend of yours."
"You mean Qin Youyou, right? What’s wrong?"
"Your friend is in the mall, arguing with someone. Do you want to go check it out?"
Putting down his phone, Lin Jiang immediately stood up.
"Who is she arguing with?"
"A watch repairman. They’re saying he damaged their watch."
"What brand of watch?"
"I think it was Brei-something-ling. I can’t remember clearly. I’ll take you there."
"I know the brand. You can go home for the day."
"Okay."
Before leaving, Lin Jiang told Yang Tao and the other two to wait in the shop, then ran quickly toward the Breitling boutique.
「Inside the Breitling boutique.」
Jiang Rongmin stood elegantly to the side, not getting involved in the matter. Qin Youyou was arguing with the watch repairman.
"I want to see the security footage and check your repair records now."
"Aren’t you trying to frame me? Your watch was already like that. To say I broke it now, that’s going a little too far."
The watch repairman was also arguing his case, refusing to admit he was at fault.
"My mom has barely ever worn this watch. How could it have such an obvious scratch? Don’t try to shift the blame."
Qin Youyou might be a bit timid when it came to romance, but in other matters, she was a different person.
"I think you’re the one shifting the blame. You say she’s barely worn it, so she’s barely worn it? Why should I believe you? Maybe you wear it every day?"
The watch repairman had a mocking expression, looking at Qin Youyou from under his eyelids.
"You didn’t buy a second-hand watch and come here trying to scam us, did you?"
"You’re saying we buy second-hand watches?"
Qin Youyou had come to reason, not to pick a fight.
But that sentence was like lighting Qin Youyou’s fuse. Rolling up her sleeves, she pointed at the watch repairman.
"Our family may not be fabulously wealthy, but we’re not so poor we’d buy a second-hand watch! You’d better make yourself clear today. Who exactly buys second-hand watches?"
Jiang Rongmin raised an eyebrow and said calmly:
"Let’s go. There’s no need to make a scene in public. We can just file a complaint when we get back."
Jiang Rongmin’s initial intention was to reason with them.
In terms of value, she wouldn’t even be heartbroken if she lost a watch worth over a hundred thousand yuan.
But she was personally very fond of this watch. If it could be repaired, she had no intention of holding them responsible.
But this man before them was going too far.
It was one thing to not admit his mistake, but to have the audacity to accuse her of buying a second-hand watch ignited a spark of anger in her too.
"Mom, wait a minute."
Qin Youyou’s stubborn streak flared up, and she had no intention of backing down.
"You have to make yourself clear today, or else I’ll..."
"Youyou..."
Lin Jiang’s voice came from behind, cutting Qin Youyou off.
"Brother Jiang."
Seeing Lin Jiang, Qin Youyou felt even more confident.
"This guy is outrageous! He damaged my mom’s watch, and we just wanted him to do a simple touch-up. Not only does he refuse to admit it, he’s even accusing my mom of buying a second-hand watch."
For wealthy people, being accused of buying second-hand things was indeed rather insulting.
"Calm down. I’ll handle this."
Lin Jiang said calmly, "Where’s the watch? Let me see."
"Here."
Qin Youyou took out the watch, handed it to Lin Jiang, and pointed out the scratch on it.
Ever since his X-ray Vision disappeared, Lin Jiang’s eyesight had become astonishingly good.
Observing the scratch carefully, Lin Jiang felt it looked a bit fresh. There was a very high probability that it was new.
And this watch was only worth a little over a hundred thousand. To the Qin Family’s wealth, that was a drop in the bucket. If they had damaged it themselves, they wouldn’t have come looking for trouble.
Throughout this process, Jiang Rongmin was scrutinizing Lin Jiang.
She noticed that his composure remained steady from start to finish, and he handled the matter methodically.
Just this ability to remain unflustered was rarely seen in people his age.
"I feel like this scratch is new, but I can’t be certain. We can send it to an appraisal center to get it checked out. They’ll be able to figure it out easily."
Lin Jiang handed the watch back and said to Qin Youyou:
"If the scratch turns out to be his fault, just get your sister to sue him, and that’ll be the end of it."
Jiang Rongmin nodded in satisfaction. This approach was a bit extreme, but it was certainly a way to teach him a lesson.
"Who the hell are you to come in here and boss people around?"
The watch repairman was a little scared, but he blustered as he pointed at Lin Jiang.
"Master Wu, please be more polite," the female clerk at Breitling said.
"This is the owner of the Xiaojiang Noodle Shop next door. I often eat there. This has nothing to do with him, so please calm down."
"He’s helping this mother and daughter duo screw me over. How do you expect me to calm down?"
Upon learning Lin Jiang’s identity, the repairman became even more brazen, pointing at Lin Jiang and yelling:
"You stay out of it. This is none of your business. Don’t stick your nose into everything. Go back and cook your noodles."
"We’re all civilized people here. Keep your voice down. I’m going to make a call and have someone handle this."
"Playing the tough guy, are we? Don’t think you’re the only one who can call for backup. Let me tell you, this is a mall. If you dare lay a single finger on me, I’ll sue you for everything you’ve got."
"Brother Jiang..."
Qin Youyou was about to speak but was stopped by Jiang Rongmin.
"Mom, why are you stopping me?"
"Your Brother Jiang is here. You don’t need to get involved."
"How is this getting involved? What if Brother Jiang really calls someone to beat him up? Then we’ll be in the wrong."
"I doubt it’ll come to that. Let’s wait and see."
Jiang Rongmin didn’t know how Lin Jiang would handle this, but she didn’t think he would resort to violence.
’She was also a little curious.’
At that moment, Lin Jiang made a call and said coolly, "Come to the Breitling boutique."
Without another word, he hung up.
The repairman pulled over a chair and crossed his legs.
"You just want to show off in front of your girlfriend, don’t you? Go on, call more people. Hurry up and come beat me up. Avenge your girlfriend. It’s perfect, I’ve been wanting to buy a car but don’t have the money."
"Don’t be in such a hurry. Take it easy."
Lin Jiang, unruffled, looked over the watches in the display case.
"Take that watch out for me to see."
The female clerk was a bit taken aback.
’Looking at watches at a time like this? Isn’t that a little strange?’
"This watch is this year’s new model. The list price is 197,000. If you want it, I can give you a 15% discount."
Lin Jiang nodded. "Take it out so I can have a look."
The saleswoman took out the watch. Lin Jiang held it in his hand and compared it with Jiang Rongmin’s original one.
"The style is similar, but the overall look is a bit nicer. What do you think?"
"It is," Qin Youyou nodded.
Jiang Rongmin turned away, sighing helplessly in her heart.
’How did I raise such a clueless daughter?’
Lin Jiang called the saleswoman over and handed the watch back. "Ring me up. I’ll take this one."
"Certainly."
Seeing how casually Lin Jiang made the purchase, both the saleswoman and the watch repairman were secretly astonished.
’Just how much money does your noodle shop make? You didn’t even blink before buying a watch worth over a hundred thousand.’
As the saleswoman went to process the payment, Qin Youyou finally realized what was happening.
"Brother Jiang, you’re not buying this watch for my mom, are you?"
"The scratch on that watch is quite obvious and probably won’t be easy to fix. Wearing it out wouldn’t suit your mother’s status, so it’s better to just buy a new one."
"This is too much."
"It’s not that much money. Don’t be so formal with me."
The saleswoman: ???
’Not that much money???’
’What an interesting choice of words.’
"Xiaojiang, I appreciate the thought, but there’s no need to spend so much. It’s just an accessory."
She hadn’t spoken up just now because the situation hadn’t been resolved yet.
Although she had guessed he was buying it for her, she couldn’t say anything until the words came from Lin Jiang’s own mouth.
"Business is business. But since this problem happened here, I need to make it right."
Jiang Rongmin was about to say something, but the saleswoman walked over. The bill was ready, and she brought the POS machine with her.
Seeing this, Jiang Rongmin couldn’t say anything more.
’I’ll just have to find an opportunity to pick out a gift for him in the future.’
"Brother Jiang, thank you for spending so much."
"It’s nothing."
Just as the two were talking, footsteps were heard from outside the door.
Huang Youwei walked in from outside. With one glance at the situation in the shop and the expressions on everyone’s faces, he had already figured out most of what had happened.
Jiang Rongmin was also sizing up the newcomer. It was obvious he was the person Lin Jiang had called to resolve the issue.
The name tag on his chest already revealed his identity: General Manager of the mall.
’He summoned the mall’s general manager with a single phone call. It seems Lin Jiang has some influence in this mall. His connections are really good.’
’And this is exactly the kind of ability that Youyou lacks.’
’If the two of them were together, with Lin Jiang handling external affairs and Youyou managing things at home, they could live a happy life.’
Approaching Lin Jiang, Huang Youwei bowed slightly and said very politely:
"President Lin, what’s happened?"
Lin Jiang glanced at the watch repairman, took out Jiang Rongmin’s original watch, and said:
"He botched a watch repair and then turned around and accused the customer of buying a second-hand watch. Contact their brand manager. If this store wants to stay in business, they’ll handle this properly. If they don’t, they can pack up their things and get out."

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