Gourmet: Midnight Vending

Chapter 199: Rejecting Strategic Cooperation with Huaxi


The dancers are gone, the people soaking in the hot spring have disappeared, and even the masseuse who was giving me a foot massage has retreated.

Chen Mo looked up and glanced around. Only three women sat in a row on the benches in front of the dining car, dozing off while leaning against it. Mu Mu was snoozing in the cab of the dining car.

Looks like everyone is exhausted.

"Did I really sleep from noon until the evening?"

Even Chen Mo was speechless, sleeping for so long felt like a dream. When he looked at Lu Yingqiu again, the little girl popped into his mind.

"So, Lu Yingqiu's family does have some legacy skills. It's a pity I don't know what happened afterward. That must have been a memory from more than ten years ago."

From that memory, Chen Mo captured a few bits of information.

Lu Yingqiu had a second uncle who moved from Sichuan to Yu City District many years ago.

Most likely, the eldest and second brothers had a disagreement over something left by their father. Chen Mo was puzzled—while the second brother moved to Yu City to develop, the eldest stayed home to run his small shop.

Isn't that fine?

Everyone is doing well in pursuing their ideals; there shouldn't be any issue. Why would such a matter trigger a side mission?

"I guess I have to wait for the second Memory Card to activate."

When Chen Mo recalled his nap again, he realized, "Where's my rabbit head?"

He distinctly remembered saving five rabbit heads for himself, but he fell asleep without eating them, and he missed Wen Zhiliang's reward settlement this morning because he was so busy.

Tsk!

It's just material things; Chen Mo wasn't in a hurry to sort that out. Right now, there was something big to handle.

Finally, he could upgrade! Level 4 Dining Car!

He went over to wake up the three women and Mu Mu.

"Stop sleeping here; there should still be rooms available today, right? Mu Mu, how about I get you a room too?"

Mu Mu laughed naively, "No need, Boss Fang already booked rooms for everyone. I was just waiting for you to wake up."

"Alright." Chen Mo patted Mu Mu's shoulder, not surprising for an old colleague, "You all go back and rest; I still have things to do."

"Where are you going?" Lu Yingqiu asked.

"I have some personal matters to attend to, need to go out for a bit, alright, alright, stop asking, all of you, leave now."

Chen Mo ignored the four girls' curiosity and jumped into the car, started it, and slowly drove towards the end of the resort.

If he wanted to upgrade, he needed to find a place where there was no one and no cameras.

Fortunately, the resort was on the side of the highway, so finding some wasteland wasn't difficult. After driving for a while, Chen Mo parked the car on a grassy roadside.

"Do I need to step aside?"

[What do you think?]

"How the hell do I step aside? This is the middle of nowhere!"

Bam!

There was a sound from the side of the dining car, and Chen Mo circled around to see.

Oh boy!

The structure of the dining car was like this: one side had a display window for selling food, and the other side was like a storage compartment, with a luggage compartment below that could only be opened from the outside, much like a bus's luggage compartment.

Just now, the luggage compartment of the dining car opened automatically and ejected three little yellow bikes.

"Aren't these the bikes that Lu Yingqiu and the others rode that day?"

[Please step aside, do not delay the upgrade!]

Chen Mo's head buzzed with disbelief, thinking, isn't this dining car a girl? Why does an upgrade need privacy? I can summon Black Blade out of thin air, can there be anything more outrageous than this?

But rules were rules, so Chen Mo had to scan to unlock a bike, then calmly pedaled it back in the direction he came from.

He hadn't eaten a meal after working all day, and the five rabbit heads he saved for himself were gone. Chen Mo wandered into the resort lobby, following signs toward the restaurant.

"Every day the good food is eaten by others, and when it's my turn, I can only casually eat something at the resort restaurant, ridiculous."

Chen Mo walked into the restaurant, finding the environment quite nice, but since it was past meal time, there was hardly anyone eating. In the corner, a few middle-aged men were chatting together.

Walking closer, "Boss Wen?"

Wen Zhiliang turned around, "Ah, Boss Xiao Chen, sit, sit, how come you are here at the restaurant?"

Chen Mo scratched his head and sat next to Wen Zhiliang, "To eat. I don't even know who stole my rabbit heads."

The four of them suddenly coughed awkwardly; Zhao Jianzhong pretended to throw a few napkins into the trash can.

"By the way, Boss Xiao Chen, my assistant told me about you booking a room yesterday. I've already refunded the room money at the front desk, remember to check it out, and also..."

With a meaningful look, Wen Zhiliang stared at Chen Mo, "Your sales today were over twenty-three thousand, and according to our original reward scheme, you would get ten percent of the sales."

Nice!

Chen Mo felt quite pleased. Ten percent was pure profit, over two thousand, nearly half a month's salary for an average person.

"But..." Wen Zhiliang said with some expectation, "Your achievement today really opened my eyes. I never imagined one person could achieve such a remarkable sales figure by setting up a stall. After some discussion with my old friends, we came up with another plan."

"Oh? Tell me later, could you get me a bowl of noodles first?"

"Oh right, my apologies." Wen Zhiliang waved at the waiter, quickly instructing the kitchen to prepare a bowl of noodles, and also ordered two side dishes for Chen Mo.

"Alright, what's this new plan Boss Wen mentioned?"

"Here's the thing." Wen Zhiliang glanced at the three bosses, who all nodded silently, then turned back to say, "I'd like to establish a long-term strategic partnership with Boss Xiao Chen."

"Hold on, hold on..." Chen Mo raised his hand, dazed, interrupting Wen Zhiliang, "Speak plainly, Boss Wen, I don't understand this whole strategy stuff."

"Oh! It means, how about you set up your stall in the resort from now on? I'll provide you with a free suite to stay in, and no matter how much your sales are, our resort will give you ten percent of your sales as a reward, how about that?"

Tsk.

Chen Mo considered it; the conditions were indeed generous.

But!

"Sorry, Boss Wen." Chen Mo hardly hesitated, "I don't aspire to this. I'm a man who will travel across the country, maybe even the world! Huaxi Hot Spring is just a place I happened to visit."

"What?"

That was unexpected for Wen Zhiliang.

"So." The noodles were on the table, the classic lamb stew noodles, with a side of smashed cucumber and a braised carp.

The restaurant's carp is pre-fried, making it quick to cook.

Seeing Chen Mo burying his head in the noodles, Wen Zhiliang just sighed heavily.

Even though they couldn't keep Boss Xiao Chen, today's bustling resort gave him some ideas; Boss Fang's words were quite right, his initial approach was wrong.

Why can others do foot massages, host programs, all so well, yet it's not working for him?

Wen Zhiliang already had new ideas in mind.

After his meal, Chen Mo returned to the room Wen Zhiliang arranged for him. While the nap in the day was refreshing, it still didn't feel stable.

After showering and lying on the bed, he fell asleep again within minutes.

The next morning, Chen Mo got up early; it was hard to sleep soundly with something on his mind!

Leaving his beloved dining car in the wilderness unsettled anyone; early in the morning, Chen Mo rode his bike out again.

"Oh, Boss Xiao Chen, up early for exercise?"

Seeing Fang Zhizhong running, Chen Mo waved, "Yeah, just riding the bike for a bit."

Fang Zhizhong called out in frustration, "I'll gift you a better bike next time."

Watching Chen Mo's bike wobble out of the resort, Fang Zhizhong stopped in his tracks.

This young man is truly diligent!

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