Chapter 48

Upon hearing this, Xia Yunjie looked at Guangtou Qiang in silence, his mood somewhat complicated. Guangtou Qiang's current situation, where he had reached this point, was largely due to his own poor character and inability to withstand setbacks. However, could society be entirely blameless?

In the silence, the car arrived at the Huazhongcheng Grand Hotel.

The Huazhongcheng Grand Hotel was one of the top hotels in Jiangzhou City. Although the prices were high, business was always booming. If you wanted to dine here in the evening, you would generally need to book a private room in advance. However, business was not as busy during the day, so there was no need to book in advance.

Getting out of the car, Guangtou Qiang and A Biao escorted Xia Yunjie into the hotel. The tall receptionist, wearing a short-sleeved cheongsam with a slit almost reaching her thighs, was secretly surprised to see Guangtou Qiang and A Biao, two big men, respectfully accompanying such a young man. She couldn't quite figure out Xia Yunjie's identity.

If he were a gangster, he was too young and his appearance was too simple; he didn't have the air of someone who had been in the underworld. The two men beside him, however, looked like gangsters. If he were a second-generation official or a rich kid, he didn't fit the profile either; his clothing was too plain, and the two followers and the old Jinbei car were too low in status.

However, the receptionist at the grand hotel had a different level of professionalism. Although she was secretly surprised, she still calmly followed Guangtou Qiang's request and led them to an elegantly decorated private room.

Once inside the private room, the waiter handed the menu to Guangtou Qiang, who then passed it to Xia Yunjie for approval. Xia Yunjie glanced at it and was secretly amazed. He thought to himself that it seemed that high-end hotels and bars were equally overpriced. A simple vegetable dish cost thirty to forty yuan, and for the three of them to have a meal, they would need at least two to three hundred yuan to leave the place.

Three hundred yuan was almost a week's salary for Xia Yunjie.

"You order, just pick a few dishes. I don't have any dietary restrictions." Xia Yunjie glanced at the menu and then casually handed it back to Guangtou Qiang. The prices were so high that he really couldn't bring himself to order. After all, if it weren't for robbing this bald man a few days ago, his total assets would only be one hundred yuan, not enough to order three vegetable dishes.

To Guangtou Qiang, Xia Yunjie's words were like an imperial edict. Since Xia Yunjie told him to order, he dared not refuse, and he certainly didn't dare to order casually.

"Are you kidding? This person is a living god! Can you order casually?"

Taking back the menu, Guangtou Qiang flipped through it and asked the waiter, "Miss, which dishes are the chef's specialties? Price is not an issue."

The waiter, seeing that Guangtou Qiang and his companions didn't look like wealthy people, initially wanted to recommend some cost-effective dishes. However, when she heard Guangtou Qiang emphasize that "price is not an issue," she hesitated and said, "Our chef's specialties include 'Yellow Braised Fish Maw,' 'Abalone Sauce with South African Abalone,' and..."

Upon hearing this, Xia Yunjie's eyelids twitched. If they really ordered these dishes, his monthly salary wouldn't be enough.

To his surprise, Guangtou Qiang didn't even frown. Not only did he order the expensive dishes the waiter mentioned, but he also ordered a few more. If Xia Yunjie hadn't stopped him, he would have continued ordering. When it came to ordering drinks, Guangtou Qiang asked Xia Yunjie for approval again. This time, Xia Yunjie didn't bother being polite and directly asked for beer. Otherwise, he was afraid that the suddenly wealthy Guangtou Qiang would have ordered foreign liquor.

Getting rich was a good thing, but Xia Yunjie, who was short on money, still believed in frugality. Besides, he didn't know how much wealth Guangtou Qiang had gained. It was better to save where possible, as it wasn't easy for someone to get rich.

Although the dishes at the five-star hotel were expensive, they were indeed delicious and well-presented. Normally, A Biao would have been eating with his mouth full of grease, afraid of missing out. But today, he was acting like a well-bred lady, carefully using his chopsticks. This was because what Xia Yunjie said in the car had scared him. Moreover, A Biao also remembered how Xia Yunjie had suddenly found the bicycle shop yesterday and the words he said before leaving. From the boss's behavior today, A Biao could easily guess that the boss had really gotten rich. He didn't know how much, but what was important was that this Brother Jie was too amazing, so amazing that A Biao felt nervous just looking at him, wishing to kowtow to him and ask for guidance, hoping to get rich too.

"Brother Qiang..." After eating a few bites and drinking a few cups of wine, Xia Yunjie felt it was time to talk about the main issue.

"Brother Jie, please don't call me Brother Qiang, I can't bear it. You can call me Guangtou Qiang or Xiao Qiang, which is my nickname. When I was a child, everyone in the village called me that." Guangtou Qiang was so scared by Xia Yunjie's use of "Brother Qiang" that he trembled and spilled some of the wine in his glass.

"Then I'll call you Xiao Qiang." Since they were now acquaintances, and Guangtou Qiang was planning to go straight, Xia Yunjie thought it was better to call him by his nickname. However, it felt a bit awkward, as if he were calling him by a senior's name.

"Good! Good!" Guangtou Qiang was delighted to hear Xia Yunjie call him Xiao Qiang. He could tell that this nickname was much more intimate than "Guangtou Qiang."

"Xiao Qiang, your ancestors once worked in the imperial kitchen. If you enter the catering industry, you can carry on the family legacy. Of course, if you don't want to do this, it's also fine. As long as you don't take the wrong path, you won't necessarily become rich, but you will definitely have a stable life without worrying about food and shelter." Since Guangtou Qiang liked the nickname, Xia Yunjie didn't mind using it. After a moment's thought, he pointed out a path for Guangtou Qiang.

Xia Yunjie's words frightened Guangtou Qiang so much that he quickly moved his chair, ignoring A Biao who was still sitting in the private room. He straightened his clothes, bent his knees, and kowtowed to Xia Yunjie.

Indeed, Guangtou Qiang's ancestors had worked in the imperial kitchen. Although the people were long gone, some palace cooking secrets had been passed down through generations. Before the liberation, Guangtou Qiang's family was wealthy and prominent in the area because of this skill. Even the great-grandfather, who was the head of the family at the time, was taken by the Japanese because of this skill and later died at their hands. In the early days of liberation, Guangtou Qiang's grandfather, as a major landlord in the area, was executed as an enemy class. Later, Guangtou Qiang's father, because of his culinary skills, gradually became successful again, but during the Cultural Revolution, his family's background was exposed, and he was persecuted, leading to his early death. Because her husband, son, and even her grandson had all died because of this skill, Guangtou Qiang's grandmother, although she sometimes taught him some basic cooking skills, never told him about the family's history in the imperial kitchen, believing it to be the root of the family's misfortune. Over time, not only did Guangtou Qiang forget about it, but even the old people in the village who knew the story had forgotten. Despite this, Guangtou Qiang later used his cooking skills to run a small restaurant in the countryside, which was very successful. Unfortunately, it was interrupted due to the local officials' bad behavior. Two years ago, when his grandmother was on her deathbed, she finally told Guangtou Qiang the family's history and passed him a yellowed cookbook. Over the past two years, Guangtou Qiang, with his foundation and interest in the catering industry, had been studying the palace cookbook. He sometimes thought about reopening a restaurant but was afraid of repeating the same mistakes, lacked funds, and was also attached to his brothers like A Biao. This matter was thus put on hold. He never expected that Xia Yunjie would be so powerful, not only figuring out his family's history in the imperial kitchen but also pointing out a path that truly suited him.

"Thank you, Brother Jie. I, Guangtou Qiang, have never trusted anyone except my grandmother. From today on, you, Brother Jie, are my second parent. Whatever you say, whether it's through wind and rain, up the mountain of knives, or down the sea of fire, I, Guangtou Qiang, will never say no!" Guangtou Qiang said solemnly after kowtowing.

Xia Yunjie, who had initially just wanted to do a good deed and help Guangtou Qiang, felt somewhat gratified by his words. He smiled and helped him up, saying, "If you really want to thank me, then lead your brothers onto the right path!"

"Brother Jie, you are a true hero and a good person! Rest assured, even if you don't say it, I, Guangtou Qiang, will definitely not let my brothers continue on this path of no return." Guangtou Qiang said with deep respect, even shedding tears.

What a good person, always trying to lead people to the right path!

Xia Yunjie modestly waved his hand. He knew that he wasn't a true hero or a good person, and he didn't have the awareness that great abilities come with great responsibilities. His life goal was to be a law-abiding citizen who lived a comfortable life and couldn't be bullied by anyone. Of course, if he encountered something, he was willing to do good deeds, like helping Guangtou Qiang. After all, he wasn't completely selfish and indifferent.

To put it bluntly, Xia Yunjie was essentially just a small citizen, a commoner. The only difference was that he had a superpower.