I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 121. Zhong Wenqing

Xu Qingfan took the room key, found the camera in his bag, hung it around his neck, and then turned and left.

"Are you all ready? I'm starving!" he shouted as he knocked on the door of room 509.

Wu Lingyu quickly jogged over to open the door, "Brother Fan."

"Okay, I just contacted my college roommate, she's coming to pick us up in her car later!" Guan Bianyue put her mobile phone back in her pocket and tidied her hair in front of the mirror.

"Teacher Guan, your roommates all drive cars now, so why do you still drive an electric scooter to and from get off work? Is it for low-carbon travel?" Xu Qingfan asked gossipy.

"If you say another word, I'll leave you at the hotel!" Guan Bianyue clenched her right fist and slammed it on his head.

"Why isn't there any snow like in the TV dramas?" Xia Xiaoxiao, who had been watching the snow falling outside from the windowsill, asked curiously when she heard Xu Qingfan come in.

“If we had come a month earlier, there would probably still be snow. But now the air in Yanjing is so dry, where would we get so much water vapor to turn into snow?” Xu Qingfan had done this problem in high school physics class, he said.

"You know quite a lot." Guan Bianyue was about to speak when Xu Qingfan spoke first.

"Is it really that beautiful?" Xu Qingfan moved closer to Xia Xiaoxiao, and they looked out the window side by side.

Under the streetlights on a winter night, snowflakes fluttered down, the warm, dim light and the white drifting snowflakes creating an interplay of black and white, a symphony of light and shadow.

Xia Xiaoxiao's knees, which had been kneeling on the stool, were a little numb. She pulled on Xu Qingfan's arm and stood up straight again.

"Isn't it beautiful?" The little girl turned her head and looked at him proudly.

"Not as good-looking as you," Xu Qingfan replied casually, as he was used to his flirtatious ways.

"What~" Xia Xiaoxiao blushed and playfully punched his arm.

"She's not as pretty as Xiaoyu either," Xu Qingfan added, seeing Wu Lingyu's disappointed expression.

"I didn't... anywhere," Wu Lingyu stammered nervously, feeling that her little secret had been seen through.

Guan Bianyue, having finished styling her hair at some point, came out of the bathroom and said, "Alright, everyone get dressed, let's go eat now!"

"Yes," the three answered in unison.

When the group went down to the lobby on the first floor, a white Audi was already parked at the entrance. After seeing Xu Qingfan and the others come out, the car turned on its hazard lights twice.

Once they left the hotel's heating system, they were all freezing and quickly walked a few steps to get into the car.

"Guan Guan!"

Guan Bianyue sat in the passenger seat, and the two, who hadn't seen each other for a long time, embraced passionately after getting in the car.

"Alright, my student is still here, mind your image." Guan Bianyue said softly, struggling to breathe from being choked.

“Tsk tsk tsk, it’s gotten bigger again,” Zhong Wenqing secretly pinched it, then turned to Xu Qingfan and the other two and said, “Hello kids, my name is Zhong Wenqing, and I’m your teacher Guan’s college roommate.”

"Hello, sister." The carriage was pitch black. After a moment of hesitation, the three little ones nodded and greeted each other.

"Hold on tight, I'm taking you to eat authentic old Beijing-style hot pot!"

The car quickly drove off the main road and arrived at Yanxiedai Alley on Xicheng Road after more than ten minutes.

In 04, there weren't many motor vehicles in Yanjing, so unlike 20 years later, when driving for five minutes and parking for half an hour was common. Zhong Wenqing found an open-air parking space and parked, and the group quickly got out of the car.

After the group entered the store and sat down, Xu Qingfan rubbed his hands comfortably and exhaled a breath of warm air.

"Are you hungry? Have some duck necks to tide you over." Zhong Wenqing opened a small bag of duck products she had bought and distributed them to the group.

The three little ones looked at each other, all thinking of Li Meijuan's duck necks, wondering whose would taste better.

The fragrant and spicy sesame seed cakes, covered with white sesame seeds, were served first. Everyone was hungry and began to wolf them down along with the duck necks.

Perhaps to cater to the dietary habits of people in Yanjing, unlike the spicy duck necks made by Wu Lingyu's mother, which make your mouth water just by smelling them, the duck necks that Zhong Wenqing bought had almost no spiciness.

Xu Qingfan thought the duck neck wasn't as good as Li Meijuan's, and Xia Xiaoxiao and Wu Lingyu probably thought so too. After eating one piece, neither of them touched their chopsticks anymore.

The large, steaming copper stove, heated by charcoal, was soon brought to the table. It was Xu Qingfan's first time having hot pot like this, and he pointed to the soup base made of boiled water and scallions and asked, "Is this the soup base?"

"This is called hot pot mutton, the most authentic way to eat it. Don't worry, we come to this restaurant often, it's delicious," Zhong Wenqing explained with a smile.

"You'll know once you've tried it. It's similar to the congee hot pot we have back home, mainly relying on the flavor of sesame paste." Guan Bianyue couldn't wait to pour the mutton fat into the boiling water.

"Just blanch it for about ten seconds and it's ready to eat. Do you need rice?"

Xu Qingfan shook his head repeatedly, impatiently reaching into the stove with his chopsticks to pick out a large piece of meat.

"Don't be shy, I'll share some with you." Seeing that Wu Lingyu was still eating the sesame seed cake, Xu Qingfan shared half of the mutton in his bowl with her.

“Yes, Lingyu, don’t be shy. If it’s not enough, we can order more. The school will reimburse us,” Guan Bianyue said while eating.

"Mmm." The little girl glanced shyly at Xu Qingfan, then continued eating with her head down.

Because of the presence of strangers, Xia Xiaoxiao and Wu Lingyu were too embarrassed to speak. Xu Qingfan was too busy picking up and eating meat to keep quiet. Zhong Wenqing and Guan Bianyue chatted and laughed about various gossips about their work.

"I really envy you. I wish I had taken the teacher qualification exam and become a teacher myself," Zhong Wenqing said with a worried expression when talking about her work.

"What do I have to envy? Your state-owned enterprise offers such good benefits, what's there to be unhappy about?" Although Guan Bianyue wasn't dissatisfied with her current job, she still harbored resentment about failing the political background check back then.

"Damn! There are so many frustrating things going on, I quit last year!"

"Huh?" Guan Bianyue was stunned for several seconds before she came to her senses. "What's wrong?"

"Don't even mention it, some bald bastard saw that I was pretty and tried to sleep with me, but I slapped him across the face in front of his wife."

"Pfft~" Guan Bianyue couldn't help but laugh out loud when she thought of the scene where her best friend angrily slapped her boss.

"You're still laughing? You're asking for it!" Zhong Wenqing reached out to touch her funny bone.

"I'm sorry, Qingqing, I was wrong. Please continue." Guan Bianyue pleaded repeatedly.

Xu Qingfan slowed down his eating pace and secretly observed Teacher Guan's best friend. With willow-leaf eyebrows and triangular eyes, she looked to be over 1.7 meters tall and gave off a fierce vibe like a girl from northern China.

Excluding his own mother, the most beautiful woman Xu Qingfan had ever met since his rebirth was Zhang Chunxue. Her unique aura as a female CEO was a huge plus. If Aunt Zhang gave her a 9 out of 10, then Zhong Wenqing in front of him would probably get a 6.5 out of 10.

Zhong Wenqing felt that the second-grade kids probably wouldn't understand these things, so he continued, "That's how it is. Reporting to the higher-ups wouldn't have helped. In a fit of anger, I printed out the disgusting text messages he sent me and distributed them throughout the company, and then I got fired. What's that word now? 'Sponging off one's parents'!"

"So what do you want to do in the future? Help out at home?" "Come on, my stepmother is keeping me under her thumb, afraid that I'll fight her son for the family fortune. She's setting me up on blind dates every day, I'm so annoyed!" Zhong Wenqing complained.

"Pfft~ I'm not much better off. It's like the sky is falling if you're not married by 25. Sigh. It was better when I was in school."

"I shouldn't have listened to my dad and studied that damn accounting. Now, when I go for interviews, no company wants to hire me because they know I was fired from a state-owned enterprise!"

"Accounting was indeed a subject I didn't understand back then. Only three years after graduation, many of my classmates ended up in jail," Guan Bianyue sighed.

Xu Qingfan recalled a joke he had seen while surfing the internet in his previous life: Tilanqiao Prison in Shanghai was a prison where 60% of the inmates were accounting students from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, hence it was jokingly called "a branch campus of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics" by netizens.

“I recently heard that a senior from Renmin University in Zhongguancun made his fortune selling pirated CDs, started an internet company, and earned millions of dollars. Maybe I should start my own business too,” Zhong Wenqing said enviously.

“I support you in spirit. If you quit your current job to start a business, my mom will probably tie me to the house.” Guan Bianyue shrugged helplessly.

“Starting a business is great! Ten years of working for someone else will leave you with nothing, but three years of entrepreneurship will make you a millionaire. I support you, sister!” Xu Qingfan suddenly said.

"Go eat your food." Guan Bianyue tapped him on the head in an annoyed tone.

"Haha~ Guan Guan, you're such an interesting student."

"He's really something. Back in first grade, he co-authored a comic book with two girls in his class, and it's probably sold around 500,000 copies by now." Xu Qingfan and his friends had never publicly announced how many copies of "Hilarious Daily Life" had been sold, so Guan Bianyue could only give an estimate.

"Wow, that's amazing! What's the name of the comic book? I'll buy a copy to support it when I have time." Zhong Wenqing's eyes widened in surprise.

As Xu Qingfan pulled out a tissue to wipe his mouth, he noticed the duck necks placed in the corner, and a sudden idea struck him.

Selling duck necks might solve Wu Lingyu's family's problems!
Given how popular Zhou Hei Ya and Jue Wei Ya Bo were in their previous lives, with Jue Wei Ya Bo's market value later reaching tens of billions, he could easily replicate this mindless advertising + franchising strategy.

"Sister Qingqing, let's put the comic book thing aside for now. I have a startup project here, I wonder if you'd be interested?" Xu Qingfan said, feeling that it was a good idea.

"Oh? Tell me about it." Guan Bianyue and Zhong Wenqing looked at him in surprise.

"Sister, do you think this duck neck is delicious?" Xu Qingfan asked, pointing to the plastic bag on the table.

"It's alright, I quite like it, and the price isn't expensive. You're not talking about selling duck necks, are you?" Zhong Wenqing asked with amusement.

Xu Qingfan nodded, "Yes, yes, yes, Xiaoyu's mom's duck necks are a hundred times better than this. If she opened a shop, a lot of people would definitely buy them!"

Suddenly brought up by Xu Qingfan, Wu Lingyu stopped eating and looked up. Seeing everyone looking at her, the little girl seemed at a loss for what to do.

"It's alright, my mom's duck necks are quite spicy."

"Aunt Li's duck necks are tastier than this, but not a hundred times better. It should be twenty times better!" Xia Xiaoxiao said seriously.

Zhong Wenqing was a glutton to begin with, and after the two of them said that, he suddenly wanted to try the legendary Xiaoyu brand duck neck.

“Starting a business is not child’s play, opening a shop is not that easy.” Guan Bianyue thought Xu Qingfan’s idea was unreliable without even thinking about it.

Zhong Wenqing's family is in the cold chain business, so they don't underestimate the profit margin of duck necks. "My sister also wants to open a braised duck neck shop, but she doesn't have that much money."

After working for two years, including the subsidies from his family, Zhong Wenqing's savings were just over 100,000 yuan.

"Sister, you don't need to put up any money. I can find investors. You just need to be responsible for recruiting people, choosing a site, supervising construction, and purchasing ingredients." Xu Qingfan really wanted to convince her, completely forgetting that he was still an eight-year-old child, and talked on and on about his grand plan.

"Do you understand?" Xu Qingfan drank the water in his cup in one gulp.

"Pfft~"

"That's enough. If you keep going, Asia won't be able to contain you anymore," Zhong Wenqing and Guan Bianyue said with smiles, teasing each other.

"Little friend, what does your family do? How do you know so much?" Zhong Wenqing reached out and ruffled Xu Qingfan's hair, asking with a smile.

"What's the big deal? You can learn anything on the internet. Qingqing, why don't you consider it?" Xu Qingfan sincerely invited.

“It seems promising. Let’s wait until after the New Year. Plane tickets are hard to buy now. After the New Year, I’ll try Xiaoyu’s mom’s duck neck and see if it’s really that delicious.” Xu Qingfan’s last sentence, ‘KFC and McDonald’s can succeed, why can’t we?’ moved her. Zhong Wenqing felt that the duck neck chain store was worth the effort.

"Qingqing, are you serious?" Now it was Guanbianyue's turn to lose her composure.

“I think what your student said makes a lot of sense. Why not give it a try? Are you going to stay here and find an honest man to marry?” Zhong Wenqing tossed his hair, looking dismissive.

Xu Qingfan nodded in satisfaction. To open a chain of stores, he needed a project manager who was bold, decisive, and efficient.

He certainly didn't invite her on a whim. Judging from Zhong Wenqing's actions of slapping the leader and printing out text messages to send to the whole company, she has the courage to face trouble. Coupled with the meticulousness unique to accountants, she is undoubtedly an excellent team leader.

If Xu Qingfan knew that the other party had served as the head of the external relations department during his university years, he would probably be even more satisfied.

"Sister Qingqing, you absolutely have to come!"

"Don't worry, I'll do what I promised. Are you sure you can really bring in investment? Don't try to fool your sister." Zhong Wenqing smiled and patted Xu Qingfan's head.

"I'm absolutely not lying to you. The senior from Renmin University you just mentioned is someone my aunt invested in. Qingqing, write a business plan and I'll take you to see her!" Xu Qingfan patted his chest and said.

"The million-dollar one?"

"Uh-huh!"

Seeing that Xu Qingfan didn't seem to be lying, Zhong Wenqing nodded: "Okay, I believe you."

Xia Xiaoxiao and Wu Lingyu didn't understand what Xu Qingfan was saying. They were completely bewildered, as if they were listening to gibberish.

After the group returned to the hotel, having enjoyed a satisfying meal, Xia Xiaoxiao grabbed Xu Qingfan's arm and kept asking, "Xu Qingfan, what were you saying just now? Why are you suddenly talking about opening a duck neck shop? And what's with the KFC?"

"It's about opening a chain of duck neck stores, like my mom's convenience stores, with countless locations all over the country."

"That must cost a lot of money, right?"

“We don’t have to spend any money; in fact, they’ll give us money back!” Xu Qingfan said, patting the little girl’s head.

"Virtue~"

"Watch my amazing tickling skills!"

"Xu Qingfan!!!"

Watching the two chasing and playing in the corridor, Wu Lingyu felt envious.

At this moment, the little girl has no idea how earth-shattering Xu Qingfan's words tonight will be to her family.

(End of this chapter)