The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

Soon, three plates of exquisite sushi were served.

They look pretty good; each sushi is wrapped perfectly round, and there's plenty of pork floss and ham, almost stretching the seaweed covering the rice.

That spicy chicken noodle sushi looked pretty good too, covered in chili oil, with the crookedly twisted noodles sticking out from the top like a beautiful woman who had just gotten her hair permed.

Xu Nian picked up a piece of pork floss sushi, tasted it, and couldn't help but nod in approval.

The taste is fantastic. The pork floss is very fresh, crispy and crunchy, and with each bite, the aroma of meat fills your mouth.

"Brother, this sushi is so delicious!"

As Xu Xi chewed, her eyes suddenly lit up.

She covered her cheek with one hand, savoring each bite with relish.

The spicy chicken noodle sushi, in particular, was absolutely delicious.

She has a great love for spicy food, and adding spicy chicken noodles to sushi was a perfect match for Xu Xi's taste buds.

Soon, the three servings of sushi were devoured by the two of them.

"Boss, another serving of sushi with spicy chicken noodles."

Xu Nian wiped her mouth with a tissue. Seeing that her younger sister hadn't had enough, she decided to order another serving of the spicy chicken noodle sushi, which she found to be the most delicious.

"The boss?"

He called out several times, but there was no response from the kitchen.

Xu Nian frowned in confusion, then got up and walked towards the kitchen.

"...Please! Just refund half the rent, I'll forgo the deposit, okay? I really can't take it anymore..."

The boss was holding his phone to his ear, pleading desperately into the phone.

Oh, they were on the phone.

Xu Nian tactfully withdrew and stood by the cashier, quietly waiting for the boss to hang up the phone.

Judging from the owner's tone on the phone, it seemed he was begging the landlord to let him terminate the lease early, as he didn't want to run the shop anymore.

But the landlord doesn't seem to agree.

If the food tastes so good, why close down?

Xu Nian muttered to herself.

It's normal for business to be dismal during the summer vacation, but school is about to start.

With this owner's skill and affordable prices, he's bound to make a fortune.

If I were running this shop myself, I would definitely continue doing it no matter what.

Just then, the boss hung up the phone and walked out of the kitchen with a gloomy face.

"Another serving of spicy chicken ramen sushi, please."

Xu Nian scanned the QR code and paid ten yuan.

He thought for a moment, then said to the boss.

"School starts in a week. Your business will pick up after that. Keep it up!"

The boss sighed softly, shook his head, and said nothing.

"Brother, are you full? Why didn't you order something for yourself?"

Hearing that her brother had only ordered one serving of sushi with spicy chicken noodles, Xu Xi tugged at his sleeve and asked softly.

She knew her brother didn't like spicy food; he hadn't touched the spicy chicken noodle sushi he had just eaten.

"I'm full. You eat first. I'm going out for a walk and I'll come back to you later."

Xu Nian gently patted her younger sister's head and left the sushi restaurant.

In the sweltering summer, this shop had no air conditioning, making it quite stuffy and uncomfortable.

Why not go outside for a stroll and stop by the Mixue Ice Cream shop next door to get a cold drink for my sister?

The snack street was deserted, without the deafening shouts of "GG!" that used to fill the restaurant when he delivered food.

Only the cicadas' chirping from the treetops on both sides of the alley, a sound from the height of summer, adorned this deserted lane.

How wonderful! This tranquil environment, coupled with its proximity to Yuncheng University, exudes a strong academic atmosphere.

If I could open a shop here, earn some money, and enjoy reading amidst the scholarly atmosphere, living a leisurely life, that would be wonderful.

Not only will it be easier to take care of the stream, but it will also allow me to interact more with college students of the same age and absorb some cultural knowledge.

Xu Nian touched the calluses on her hands, shook her head with a wry smile.

Just think about it. With my skills, I'd better stick to delivering food.

Doing business is something only smart people do; it's not suitable for a rough person like me.

As she walked, a noodle shop with a sign that read "Prime Location for Rent" caught Xu Nian's attention.

The noodle shop's roller shutter door was tightly closed, the lock still damp with rainwater from the previous two days, and slightly rusty. Some scattered weeds had grown at the entrance.

I guess the owner closed the shop when the summer vacation started.

Xu Nian's lips moved as she slowly read out the phone number left on the subletting notice.

The more he read, the faster his heart beat.

As if possessed, Xu Nian took out her phone and dialed that number.

The ringtone rang for a long time, but the other party still didn't answer.

Just as Xu Nian was about to hang up, an impatient male voice came from the phone.

"Damn it, I don't take out loans! I don't buy insurance! I don't need data! Anything else?"

"Hello, are you the owner of Xinyang Noodle Shop?"

Xu Nian looked up at the noodle shop's sign and said calmly.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a few light coughs and a softening of tone.

"It's me, what's wrong?"

"I saw a sublet notice in your shop. I was wondering how much you're willing to pay?"

Upon hearing that Xu Nian was inquiring about subletting, the man on the other end immediately became delighted, even his tone becoming somewhat obsequious.

"Ahem... Hey bro, are you really planning to rent it?"

"I have that idea."

Xu Nian sat on the steps in front of the noodle shop and replied calmly.

Ask around, it won't cost you anything.

"Brother, three thousand a month. My noodle shop has two floors, a total of forty square meters. There's still a year left on the lease. I'll take it for forty-eight thousand. What do you think?"

Three thousand yuan a month?

Xu Nian raised an eyebrow, somewhat incredulous.

While delivering food, he became very familiar with many restaurant owners and chatted with them quite a bit.

They all complained that running a restaurant these days is just working for the landlord.

In a city like Yuncheng, where land is incredibly valuable, a 40-square-meter shop on the pedestrian street can cost 100,000 yuan a year in rent.

All told, the monthly rent would be over eight thousand.

Here, the monthly rent of three thousand yuan is so cheap that Xu Nian can hardly believe it.

He looked up, checked the phone number again, and made sure he hadn't contacted the wrong person.

When Xu Nian didn't reply for a long time, the man on the other end became a little anxious.

"Bro! Don't hang up yet! How about 2800? The noodle shop's kitchen equipment is all ready-made, and I've even converted the second floor into a bedroom so you can sleep there at night. If you're renting in Yuncheng, you can save on rent!"

Hearing this, Xu Nian felt a little flutter in her heart for a moment.

"Thank you, I'll think about it."

However, his infatuation lasted only a moment before he hung up the phone.

Over the years, Xu Nian has worked long hours and earned a lot of money, but he has spent most of it on supporting his younger sister.

He didn't have much savings; he only had less than 30,000 yuan in cash on hand.

Even if the rent were reduced to 2,800 a month, he still couldn't afford a year's rent.

Xu Nian put her phone back in her pocket and laughed self-deprecatingly.

That's quite something, actually dreaming of opening a shop one day.

For someone like me, it's already good enough if I can earn some hard-earned money through physical labor and sweat.