After the divorce, he took care of his child and sold fried rice; his ex-wife was filled with regret

After Su Xiaoxiao left, Lin Fan grabbed his car keys and prepared to leave the shop to go home.

Just as the roller shutter was pulled down halfway, a pair of feet in shiny leather shoes hurriedly got stuck in the gap between the roller shutter and the ground.

"Oh dear! Boss Lin! Master Lin! Please don't close the door yet! Wait a minute!"

A voice, tinged with urgency and ingratiation, came from outside the door.

Lin Fan stopped what he was doing and pushed the roller shutter back up.

Standing outside the door was a middle-aged man with a large belly, wearing a light blue shirt.

He was carrying a briefcase, sweating profusely. His once slicked-back hair was now somewhat disheveled, with a few strands sticking to his forehead with sweat, making him look rather disheveled.

Lin Fan knew this person.

It was the same landlord, Mr. Wang, who had reneged on renting "Yushange" to Zhang Dawei on the spot because of a price difference of tens of thousands of yuan when he was looking at shops on Phoenix Golden Street.

At this moment, Wang, the landlord, no longer had any of the arrogant and snobbish attitude he once had.

His chubby face was plastered with a fawning smile, and because he laughed so hard, the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes were squeezed together, making him look like a blooming chrysanthemum.

But with a closer look, one can see the deep sorrow and anxiety hidden in his eyes.

"Boss Wang?" Lin Fan raised an eyebrow, his tone indifferent. "What's up?"

"Oh dear, Master Lin, what are you saying? Can't I come to you for a cup of tea if there's nothing wrong?"

As he spoke, Wang, the landlord, tried to squeeze into the shop in an extremely familiar manner, and casually took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, and handed it over.

"Here, Master Lin, have a Huazi cigarette."

"I don't smoke. The shop is already closed."

Lin Fan did not take the cigarette.

"Just say what's on your mind here. I'm in a hurry."

Landlord Wang's hand froze in mid-air, his smile fading for a moment, but he quickly forced out an even brighter smile.

He tucked the cigarette back into his ear, rubbed his hands awkwardly, sighed, and could no longer hide the gloom on his face.

"Master Lin, I've come today... to apologize to you."

Landlord Wang swallowed hard, his tone filled with deep regret:

"Regarding the shop rental matter before, I, Old Wang, was blind to your worth and looked down on you, thus offending you! You are a magnanimous person, with a heart as vast as a prime minister's, please don't hold it against me!"

"You're a big shot in Jiangcheng's business world now. Even Elder Ye and Chairman Zhao treat you as an honored guest. In your eyes, I, Old Wang, am nothing but a fart!"

As Wang was speaking, he pretended to give himself a light slap, but after being swept over by Lin Fan's indifferent gaze, he awkwardly lowered his hand.

"There's no need for an apology. In business, the highest bidder wins. It's your prerogative to rent the shop to Zhang Dawei; I didn't take it to heart."

Lin Fan glanced at his watch. "If this is all you came here for, you can leave now."

"No, no, no! Master Lin, please let me finish!"

When Wang, the landlord, saw that Lin Fan was really about to close the door, he grabbed the door frame in a panic, his eyes even turning red:

"Master Lin, I, Old Wang, have truly suffered a major setback this time! A complete and utter humiliation!"

He pointed to the three-story building next door that had a "Dawei Hot Pot" sign, but was now tightly closed, with even a white seal on the door, and his voice trembled with a hint of tears:

"That bastard Zhang Dawei... he really screwed me over!"

Upon hearing Zhang Dawei's name, Lin Fan raised an eyebrow slightly.

Previously, Zhang Dawei had maliciously reported Linjiapu to the Food and Drug Administration, but not only did they fail to find any problems with Linjiapu, he was also taken away for investigation on the spot by Section Chief Liu, who even threatened to conduct a thorough investigation into the hygiene of Dawei Hot Pot.

These past few days, Lin Fan has been busy with the business at his shop and the farm, so he hasn't paid attention to the situation next door. He just noticed that Dawei Hot Pot hasn't opened yet.

"What's wrong with him?" Lin Fan asked casually.

Upon hearing this, Landlord Wang seemed to have found an outlet for his pent-up emotions, and tears welled up in his eyes as he poured out all the frustrations he had been holding back for the past few days:

"That damned Zhang Dawei is still in jail! And he probably won't be out anytime soon!"

Landlord Wang gritted his teeth, wishing he could tear Zhang Dawei apart alive.

"After Section Chief Liu took him away that day, he led a group of people to conduct a surprise inspection of Dawei Hot Pot's kitchen early the next morning."

"My God! You have no idea how many rotten things you've uncovered!"

Landlord Wang gestured exaggeratedly, his face filled with dread:

"The hygiene in the kitchen was simply appalling. Those supposedly premium tripe and beef aorta imported from Australia were all soaked in formaldehyde and industrial hydrogen peroxide! They even found trace amounts of poppy shells in their broth!"

"This is a serious crime under the criminal law! The Food and Drug Administration immediately sealed off the store and opened a case."

"Zhang Dawei not only faces huge fines, but also lawsuits and jail time! All of his chain hot pot restaurants have been shut down for rectification, his cash flow dried up overnight, and he's completely bankrupt!"

At this point, Landlord Wang suddenly slapped his thigh, trembling with heartache:

"It's one thing that he went bankrupt, but the worst part is that he swindled me!"

"Master Lin, he rented my 'Royal Cuisine Pavilion' for 1.2 million yuan a year, plus a transfer fee of 800,000 yuan. To save face, he went through a 5 million yuan luxury renovation, but he didn't actually have enough cash on hand!"

"He only gave me a down payment and a transfer fee deposit of 300,000 yuan. He said he would transfer the remaining balance and deposit to me after the store opened and he collected membership recharge fees."

"Now look what happened! The shop has been raided, and he's in jail! Not only have I not received a single penny of my remaining payment, but the shop is also temporarily sealed off because of my involvement in the case!"

The more Wang, the landlord, spoke, the more aggrieved she felt, staring longingly at Lin Fan:

"This is the prime shop on Golden Street! And I'm already racking up tens of thousands of yuan a month just for mortgage payments and interest. It's just sitting there empty, not a penny of rent coming in, and I'm even being investigated. My life savings are all tied up in this shop. If this drags on for a few months, my cash flow will dry up!"

Lin Fan listened quietly to Wang's tearful account, his face showing neither sympathy nor schadenfreude.

The path is one's own choice. Back then, landlord Wang, driven by greed and a desire to earn more transfer fees, chose the seemingly wealthy Zhang Dawei. Now, he's ended up like this, and it's entirely his own fault.

"so what?"

Lin Fan looked at him, his tone remaining calm and undisturbed:

"Are you telling me all this to get my sympathy, or to get me to pay the remaining balance for Zhang Dawei?"

"No, no, no! Master Lin, you've misunderstood! How could I dare let you make the final payment!"

Landlord Wang waved his hands repeatedly and quickly revealed the real purpose of his visit.

He rubbed his hands together, looking at Lin Fan with eager eyes, his tone revealing an extremely obvious fawning and expectation: