C10 He Secretly Observed!

Chen Fann had no plans for an extravagant grand opening for his new venture. He believed that keeping a low profile was better, and he preferred to invest his money where it mattered most. Thus, the transition from Hospitable Coming to Yu Fan's Little Store was a smooth one, so much so that many people didn't even realize the old sign had been replaced with the new one.

Standing in his freshly renovated shop, Chen Fann was awash with emotions. The past three days had been intense and exhausting, yet he felt an overwhelming sense of joy. He had long harbored dreams of running his own restaurant, but a lack of funds and culinary skills had held him back.

Deep down, Chen Fann harbored a secret. A decade earlier, his family had run a restaurant for several years, with his father as the head chef. His father's culinary expertise and unique dishes had made a name for them locally, and life had been on the upswing, with Chen Fann becoming the envy of his peers.

However, as the old saying goes, it's not the theft but the fear of theft that wears on you. Chen Fann's father, a man of simple honesty and no suspicion, fell victim to the machinations and sabotage of competitors. A deliberate food poisoning scandal affected many and struck their family like a thunderbolt, sending them back to square one.

The fallout was severe: Chen Fann's family depleted their savings and accumulated a mountain of debt. Worse still, his father ended up serving time due to the work-related mishap.

It took them ten years to clear the debts.

After that ordeal, Chen Fann's family adopted an unwritten rule to steer clear of anything related to the restaurant business. Otherwise, how could Chen Fann, a chef's son, possibly be so bad at making something as simple as egg fried rice?

This time around, Chen Fann invested 1.2 million yuan for two years' rent and set aside an additional 300,000 yuan for upcoming expenses, such as ingredients and wages. The remaining 1 million yuan went straight into his bank account, earmarked as untouchable.

His plan was straightforward: if his entrepreneurial venture failed, he would hand over the 1 million yuan to his parents as their retirement fund, ensuring their future security.

"Fortune has smiled upon me, allowing Chen Fann a second chance at life. I'm going to reclaim everything that's mine, piece by piece!"

"Honey, what's on your mind?"

As Chen Fann was lost in his thoughts, Lin Yuer emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands with a cloth.

"Just feeling a bit worn out, I need to take a break."

Chen Fann offered a weary smile. Noticing the beads of sweat on Lin Yuer's brow, his heart ached for her. She had quit her well-paying job, over ten thousand yuan a month, at his behest to join him in this challenging journey.

Over the past three days, she had worked tirelessly alongside him. While Chen Fann's initial feelings for Lin Yuer were a mix of admiration and affection for her beauty, those feelings had evolved into a deep familial love. She was now truly family to him.

"Honey, our Yu Fan Little Store opens tomorrow. It's going to be quite the event, isn't it?"

"Yuer, I've decided against having an opening ceremony."

His statement surprised Lin Yuer, but she was incredibly empathetic. She trusted his judgment implicitly, so without questioning him, she simply smiled and replied, "That's probably for the best. We'll save money and avoid the fuss."

Touched by Lin Yuer's understanding, Chen Fann pulled her close into an embrace.

"My love, you've endured so much by my side. Rest assured, I'll make it up to you, repaying everything I owe you and more."

"Hubby, I'll get upset if you keep talking like that. Oh, by the way, have you decided on our Yu Fan Little Store's signature dish?"

"Well..."

Chen Fann hesitated. The system had taught him only one recipe so far – the A-lister Red Jujube Chicken Soup. But could a single dish really attract customers?

"Don't worry!"

Lin Yuer, sensing Chen Fann's dilemma, gave a reassuring chuckle. "If you don't mind, I can contribute my own culinary talents. I have some skills in the kitchen, too."

Upon hearing Lin Yuer's words, Chen Fann nodded in agreement. There's a saying: "Where there's a will, there's a way." He was confident that when it came down to it, a solution would present itself.

Unbeknownst to Chen Fann and Lin Yuer, someone was watching their every move.

From the expansive, opulent office on the eighteenth floor of the Hanwu Restaurant, Xu Yuan stood before a grand floor-to-ceiling window, observing the modest Hospitable Coming as it swapped its sign for 'Yu Fan's Little Store.' He struck a match, lighting a cigarette, and inhaled deeply.

"Who would've thought this kid had it in him? To rent this place must've cost at least a million," he mused.

"I'm not sure either. My sister hasn't gone to work for several days now, and I've already checked with her colleagues," said the woman speaking, Lin Keer.

Despite his recent escapades with Xu Yuan, Lin Keer's focus on Chen Fann and Lin Yuer hadn't waned. A deep-seated grudge lingered in his heart; he couldn't stomach the idea of his sister cozying up to his ex-boyfriend, even if he was the one who had ended things.

His confusion only grew when Xu Yuan mentioned the steep price tag of taking over Hospitable Coming. Where on earth had Chen Fann found such a sum? It seemed impossible that he could have saved that much in just a few years of work, especially since Chen Fann had previously confided that his family wasn't well-off—not even half a million was within their reach.

Lin Keer was also certain the money wasn't Lin Yuer's. She had once confided in him that her bank account held only a little over two hundred thousand yuan, painstakingly saved over time.

To Lin Keer, such sums were now trivial. His current lifestyle was leagues beyond what Chen Fann and Lin Yuer, scraping by at society's edge, could even fathom. Yet, in just a few days, Xu Yuan had lavished tens of thousands on him, including a designer Hermès bag worth over twenty thousand yuan.

"Chen Fann, Lin Yuer, I swear you won't have an easy time!" he vowed with a cold determination.

Lin Keer muttered to herself with a fierce determination.

"If all goes as planned, their restaurant is set to open tomorrow. Should I round up some people to show support?"

"Honey, do you think their restaurant could pose a threat to us?"

"A threat?"

The word made Xu Yuan chuckle.

"Do you have any idea what our daily turnover is? This restaurant alone brings in at least a million yuan a day. I could buy them out in a heartbeat. How could they possibly threaten us? With what?"