Film and Television: Bao Zong has finance in his left hand and entertainment in his right.

After listening to the uncle's explanation, Liu Xiaobao finally understood the weight of the IOU.

This doesn't represent his status as "Boss Bao" or any other kind of person; it represents the face of the gambling city.

Since the casino authorities had previously given Du Honggen face by releasing the people, Du Honggen now has to repay that favor; otherwise, he would be ungrateful.

Realizing the weight of this IOU, Liu Xiaobao couldn't help but wonder.

"Uncle, why did you let me hand over something so important to Zhizhen Garden so easily?"

The old man remained calm and answered slowly.

“If I don’t use this, it’s worthless. Since you promised to help Li Li, you should make her feel indebted to you. The things you helped before were all small things and didn’t carry much weight. Only this IOU is enough to make her remember your kindness so that you can get a greater return from her in the future. Your two aunts are waiting for me to come back for dinner. I’m leaving now.”

The old man turned and left.

All Liu Xiaobao could do was shout a few words at his uncle's departing back.

"Uncle, thank you so much!"

The uncle, who had already stepped out of the room, smiled slightly upon hearing Liu Xiaobao's words.

Half past five in the afternoon.

Manager Pan stood anxiously waiting at the entrance of Zhizhen Garden.

At this time, a large crowd had gathered near Zhizhen Garden. Some were waiting to see the excitement, some were worried about Zhizhen Garden, and some were waiting to see Zhizhen Garden make a fool of itself.

In particular, Lu Meilin, the owner of the 'Jin Meilin' restaurant across the street, was loudly making sarcastic remarks to several other restaurant owners around her.

"Look closely, it's almost six o'clock. Zhizhenyuan doesn't have a single chef. They definitely can't open for business tonight."

As soon as Lu Meilin said this, the proprietresses of several other restaurants, including Huangteng Restaurant, Yuelaixiang Restaurant, Ririxian Restaurant, and Qixing Restaurant, chimed in to agree.

“Meilin, you’re right. Let alone today, I don’t think Zhizhen Garden will be able to operate at all.”

"Without a chef and ingredients, it's impossible to operate a business."

"Meilin's methods are truly superior. With this move, Zhizhen Garden is probably going to go out of business!"

"How about we go to Zhizhen Garden tonight and support them, and try their 'no-meal banquet'?"

Upon hearing the suggestion from the proprietress of Qixing Restaurant, Lu Meilin laughed loudly, "Hahaha...that's a great suggestion. It'll be more fun to see them make a fool of themselves in front of everyone. Come on, I'll treat you to dinner at Zhizhen Garden today!"

Led by Lu Meilin, the five restaurant owners from Huanghe Road headed towards Zhizhen Garden.

Although Manager Pan was anxious, she still managed to remain calm and led Lu Meilin and her group of five into a private room at Zhizhen Garden.

Just as Li Li said, Zhizhen Garden is an open business, and even if Manager Pan knew that Lu Meilin and her group had no good intentions, he couldn't kick them out.

Moreover, as soon as Lu Meilin and the others entered the private room, Li Li, having received the news, also rushed over in person.

Li Li smiled and asked Lu Meilin and the others, "It is truly an honor for our Zhizhen Garden to have you ladies grace us with your presence. May I ask what you would like to eat today?"

Lu Meilin and the others exchanged a glance and gave each other a meaningful smile.

Then Lu Meilin loudly said to Li Li, "Nothing else matters, we came to Zhizhen Garden today specifically to eat your king cobra, so please don't disappoint us, boss lady!"

Such blatant provocation clearly indicates that Lu Meilin and her group are the ones who want to cut off Zhizhenyuan's food supplies.

However, given what happened to Xiao Jiangxi before, Li Li didn't find this surprising at all.

Li Li did not lash out at Lu Meilin and the others.

She smiled calmly at Lu Meilin and the others and replied, "No, please have a seat, ladies. The King Cobra will be served to you shortly!"

After Li Li finished speaking, she turned and walked out of the private room.

At this moment, Manager Pan leaned close to Li Li's ear and reminded her, "Boss, it's almost six o'clock. Could something unexpected have happened with Boss Bao?"

Li Li glanced at the direction of the wall clock and calmly said, "Don't worry, it's 5:55 now, there are still five minutes until six o'clock, we have to trust Boss Bao!"

Hearing what Li Li said, Manager Pan didn't say anything more, and she turned around and went to look at the door again.

It was 5:59, and there was only one minute left until 6:00.

At this moment, a car stopped at the entrance of Zhizhen Garden, and five vans also stopped at the back alley entrance of Zhizhen Garden.

A tall, slender figure stepped out of the car, immediately eliciting gasps and suspicions from the onlookers.

"Is that President Bao?"

"That's right, that's Boss Bao! Boss Bao is here!"

"Why is Mr. Bao here? I don't think he's ever been to Zhizhen Garden before."

"What else could it be? It must be because Li Li, the proprietress of Zhizhen Garden, is beautiful!"

"Hahaha... So CEO Bao is just like us, he has a thing for beautiful women!"

"Even heroes have difficulty resisting the charms of beautiful women. Do you think Boss Bao will be able to win over the beautiful boss lady, Li Li?"

"I'm sure I'll win the heart of my beloved!"

"I also believe in Boss Bao. Besides, Boss Bao is young and promising, and Li Li is young and beautiful. They are quite a good match!"

.......

Chapter 23 Tearing Off Faces (Please add to your favorites and give flowers)

That's right, the person who got out of the car was Liu Xiaobao.

After picking up the chefs at several restaurants, Liu Xiaobao headed towards Zhizhenyuan.

Even after rushing, it was already 5:59 PM when we arrived at Zhizhen Garden.

Fortunately, it didn't exceed six o'clock in the end.

Liu Xiaobao ignored the onlookers. He knew time was of the essence, so he immediately called out to Manager Pan and asked her to go to the back alley to arrange for the chefs to start work.

Soon, under Manager Pan's command, the eighteen chefs borrowed by Liu Xiaobao entered the kitchen of Zhizhenyuan with their ingredients.

The ingredients were naturally the king cobra and lobster that Xiao Ningbo and his friends had purchased.

When Liu Xiaobao went to pick up the chefs, he brought them along as well.

With the incident of Xiao Jiangxi being asked for compensation today already in the picture, no one dares to openly cause trouble for Zhizhen Garden anymore.

So the chefs and ingredients all got into Zhizhenyuan's kitchen without any problems.

With the chef and ingredients all in place, there was nothing to worry about anymore. After Manager Pan happily shouted "Open for business!", Zhizhenyuan opened for business as usual.

Because of the appearance of Liu Xiaobao, the "Boss Bao," many of the people who were originally watching flocked to Zhizhenyuan to eat.

These people are just like the customers who go to 'Night Tokyo', hoping to try their luck and see if they can reach some business cooperation with Liu Xiaobao.

However, they were destined to be disappointed, because as soon as Liu Xiaobao entered Zhizhen Garden, Li Li arranged for him to be placed in a private room, where outsiders could not see him at all, let alone discuss business.

Upon entering the private room, Liu Xiaobao smiled and said to Li Li, "I'm not late, am I?"

Li Li turned to meet Liu Xiaobao's gaze and said, "It's just in time. If it had been five minutes later, my Zhizhen Garden would have had to close down."

"It seems that fate is not allowing your Zhizhen Garden to close down!" Liu Xiaobao said as he sat down.

Li Li then asked Liu Xiaobao, "Mr. Bao, is this your first time visiting Zhizhen Garden? What would you like to eat?"

"I'm all alone. Just prepare one meat dish, one vegetable dish, and one soup. That's enough to fill me up. Every grain of rice is hard-earned, so don't waste food!"

Although he knew there was a minimum charge for the private rooms, Liu Xiaobao still didn't order many dishes.

Just like he said, he eats alone, so there's no need to waste food.

Li Li looked at Liu Xiaobao with some surprise: "You're different from most people. Unlike those who only know how to show off."

Liu Xiaobao simply smiled and didn't reply.

"The boss ladies Jin Meilin are still waiting for me, I'm leaving now!" Li Li said to Liu Xiaobao, and without lingering, turned and left.

Liu Xiaobao did not hand over the IOU that his uncle had given him to Li Li.

It wasn't that he forgot; rather, he had other uses for that IOU.

When Li Li arrived at Lu Meilin's private room, Manager Pan and his team were serving them food.

When they saw the king cobra 'snake soup' served on the table, Lu Meilin and the other restaurant owners were stunned.

Even the proprietress of Huangteng Restaurant asked in surprise, "We clearly told those people not to sell king cobras to your Zhizhen Garden, so where did you get king cobras?"

As soon as Sister Huang said this, Lu Meilin and the others glared at her.

Sister Huang immediately realized that she had said something she shouldn't have, but the words were already out and couldn't be taken back. She could only give Lu Meilin and the others an awkward smile to cover up her foolish behavior.

Li Li naturally overheard the truth that Sister Huang had inadvertently revealed earlier.

Moreover, not only Li Li heard it, but Manager Pan and several waiters in the private room also heard it.

However, Li Li did not immediately break ties with Lu Meilin and the others, but instead smiled and said to them.

“Everyone has their own way, and the road can’t be blocked. Even if those people on ** Street won’t sell me the king cobra, I have other ways to buy it. Ladies, it’s rare for you to come to my Zhizhen Garden for a meal, so why don’t you try this king cobra while it’s hot and see if it suits your taste?”

boom!

Just then, Lu Meilin suddenly stood up, smashed a porcelain bowl on the ground, and then said fiercely to Li Li.

"What's there to eat! Since Sister Huang has already made things so clear, let's just lay it all out! Li Li, I'm telling you the truth today: the things Xiao Jiangxi did to cut your power lines, the departure of your fat chef, and the blocking of your food supplies—all of these were done by us. Our goal was to make Zhizhenyuan go out of business. Now we're giving you two choices: either sell Zhizhenyuan to us at market price, or wait for us to shut you down and leave Huanghe Road with nothing! Now you have the choice; it's up to you to decide!"

Faced with the aggressive Lu Meilin, and the supportive glances from the other four restaurant owners beside her, Li Li's smile finally turned cold.