Reborn in 2000: I just want to love a few people properly.

In the evening, Xu Bo sat in his office on the second floor and looked through the ledgers. The day's turnover had reached 13,000.

After deducting costs, today's net profit is 7,300 yuan, which is basically enough to pay the down payment for a luxury river-view apartment in Hangzhou at this time.

"You did well today, so give me my bonus later. I need to go back to school now."

Gu Lin looked haggard. She had skipped class early this afternoon and was almost caught by the teacher.

Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer and shouted angrily at Xu Bo.

"Xu Bo, who the hell is the boss? You don't care about me at all, you just treat me like your own child all day long." Xu Bo didn't say anything, but instead put his feet up on the table, lit a cigarette and started puffing away.

After a while, Gu Lin, like a deflated balloon, curled up on the sofa and continued speaking.

"Fine, you pay me so much every month, it's only right that I'm a little tired."

After extinguishing his cigarette, Xu Bo stood up, walked over to Gu Lin, and gently patted her shoulder.

"I'm leaving. Just remember to live up to the salary I pay you."

After saying that, Xu Bo went downstairs to take a look. Seeing that the store was still bustling with people, he turned around and went to the internet cafe.

I logged into the campus forum and browsed through it, only to find that the posts were the same as before, but the popularity had changed.

The current number one restaurant is Hailaolao Hot Pot.

Upon clicking through, I found over a thousand comments below.

"It's really delicious, especially the four soup bases. Every time I go out to eat with my friends, they always order the spicy soup base. I'm from Guangdong province and I don't eat spicy food at all. Now it's great, all four of my roommates can choose the one they like."

This post has the highest popularity and has resonated with many people.

"That's right, there's also a condiment station, and there are so many kinds, including beef cubes, which are really delicious."

"And with the cooking labels on the plates, Mom no longer has to worry about me not knowing how long to cook the food."

"Speaking of the condiment station, there are also ready-made condiments, which taste much better than the ones I make myself."

"The service is also absolutely amazing. I've never seen such good service before, where you can enjoy it for only 40 or 50 yuan per person. They are so enthusiastic. This is the first time I've ever felt so happy spending money."

"Haha, it was my roommate's birthday, and they actually sang 'Happy Birthday!' The onlookers were even more excited than the birthday person!"

"Speaking of service, I don't really like it when people are this overly enthusiastic. I hope the restaurant can respect people with social anxiety."

Xu Bo carefully reviewed each point and made a mental note of them; some things still needed repeated rectification.

After closing the forum, Xu Bo began to ponder.

If other businesses find out about my business model, they will definitely copy it. My current Hailaolao hot pot restaurant name is unique. If I don't seize the opportunity, once the market is completely divided up, my name will not be very useful.

Therefore, the most urgent task now should be to continue opening stores and seize market share.

By establishing a market monopoly, Hailaolao's reputation spread throughout Hangzhou, making it the go-to choice for hot pot restaurants whenever people think of eating hot pot.

Rapid expansion can lead to insufficient funding. If franchising is allowed, quality control will be difficult to maintain, and if this causes negative effects, it could even backfire on the Hailaolao brand.

So if we continue to open stores, we need to choose direct operation, but then the problem returns: insufficient funds.

Xu Bo's head was throbbing. His roommates all thought the hot pot restaurant was making a fortune, but only he knew how much pressure was behind it.

Shaking his head, Xu Bo cleared his muddled mind for a moment. He glanced at his phone; it was already 10:32. Normally, Luo Qiaoqiao would have called by now.

"Strange, was he angry with me yesterday?" Xu Bo grinned, checked the call log, and dialed the other end.

After ringing for more than ten seconds without being answered, Xu Bo had a bad feeling and dialed again, but the other party still didn't answer.

After thinking for a moment, Xu Bo turned off his phone. He had wanted to call his parents to ask if they knew about Luo Qiaoqiao's family situation, but then he thought it was too late and decided against it.

Open QQ; the level indicator has changed to a small moon. Click on group chat.

This is a group chat with Xu Bo, Chen Ying, Yang Xun, and Song Leisong.

Bo: Songzi, what are you doing now? Help me find out what Luo Qiaoqiao has been up to lately?

Ten minutes later, Song Leisong's icon flashed.

Monkey King: I was just playing a game, I'll ask for you now.

In Bingcheng, at the Zhuoyue Internet Cafe, Song Leisong took off his headphones, took out his phone, and made several calls, all inquiring about Luo Qiaoqiao.

In the darkness of the city, a small-scale information gathering was quietly underway.

Taking advantage of this moment, the two started chatting in the group.

Monkey King: How's Xiao Bo's business lately?

Xu Bo talked about opening a hot pot restaurant in the group chat, which made everyone envious.

Bo: Not bad, we're considering opening a branch recently.

Monkey King: I've got some money in my phone now, so the arcade has officially become an internet cafe. Brother Wang and I are sponsoring someone who's going to South Korea next year to participate in a StarCraft competition. His name is something like Ma, I'll tell you tomorrow.

The current communication among them is simply a matter of who's at an internet cafe; they'll send a message in the group chat, and the others will reply when they come online.

Bo: Well done. Keep doing it this way. You can also hold small-scale offline exchange competitions, starting with your two stores, to expand your influence. Save the money you make for the next two years.

Monkey King: ? Why? Shouldn't money make money?

Bo: It's different. Heavy assets require stable development. Nobody knows if there will be any natural disasters or man-made calamities in the next two years. If the policies change, you'll be in trouble. Listen to me, save up some money in two years. I can't cheat you.

The phone rang, and Song Leisong answered it. He listened to the conversation with a frown before finally speaking.

"Okay, all your spending at Shining Internet Cafe before the Lunar New Year is on me."

Monkey King: Is it convenient for you to take a call?

Bo: to hit.

"Beep beep beep." The call was quickly connected.

"What's going on?" Xu Bo asked, frowning as he lit a cigarette.

He already sensed that something was wrong, otherwise Song Leisong wouldn't have called him in the middle of the night.

"Luo Qiaoqiao hasn't been to school for the past few days. A student from No. 3 Middle School just provided information that there's a health problem in her family."

Xu Bo paused for a moment, then continued, "Keep looking for information for me, find out which hospital it is, what the symptoms are, and call me as soon as you have any news."

"understood."

After hanging up the phone, Xu Bo felt even more frustrated. Was it because he couldn't get through to Luo Qiaoqiao no matter how many times he called that she wasn't home at all?

When she called me last night, this little girl must have realized that someone in her family was sick, or that her mother's illness was probably very serious and she had no one to talk to, which is why she kept calling me.

One after another, until Xu Bo drew out the last ray of sunlight.