The helicopter landed in Linhuai just before sunset. Yi Hansheng and Ling Qingzhou each went home.
Jiang Fuyue, Liu Jinzhong, and Liu Sisi got into a car and headed back to the city center from the suburbs.
Suddenly, Jiang Fuyue said, “Let’s stop by King.”
Liu Jinzhong ordered his trusted driver to change route.
At 8 PM, the three of them were sitting in a booth in the main hall of the bar.
A waiter came over to take their order.
Liu Sisi didn’t speak — in fact, she had barely said a word the entire time.
Liu Jinzhong glanced at Jiang Fuyue but also stayed silent.
So the waiter turned to Jiang Fuyue, waiting for her order.
“A glass of yogurt,” she said.
“Uh?” The waiter froze.
Liu Sisi and Liu Jinzhong also paused.
Jiang Fuyue patiently repeated herself: “A glass of yogurt. Is there a problem?”
“No… no problem!” The waiter quickly recovered, smiling again. “Anything else?”
“That’s all.”
“Alright, please wait a moment.”
About five minutes later, a glass of yogurt was placed in front of Jiang Fuyue, with the waiter giving a polite bow: “Please enjoy.”
Jiang Fuyue moved her gaze from her watch, lowered her wrist, and said, “Could I have another glass, please?”
The waiter stood there, stunned.
“Is it not allowed?” she asked.
“O-of course it is.” Though he said yes, a vein on his forehead visibly twitched.
Two minutes later, the waiter brought the second glass of yogurt, still maintaining the standard eight-tooth smile: “Please enjoy. Anything else you need?”
Jiang Fuyue: “Please bring me another glass.”
Liu Jinzhong: “…”
Liu Sisi: “…”
The waiter’s face stiffened. “Are you serious?”
Jiang Fuyue didn’t smile. She kept a straight face, looking serious: “Do I look like I’m joking?”
The waiter took a deep breath, remembering what the manager said just yesterday — the customer is God! Treat them like royalty!
He held it in.
Then, the third glass of yogurt was brought out, this time only taking a minute: “Please enjoy.”
“Wait…”
The waiter tensed up instantly, dreading every word that came out of Jiang Fuyue’s mouth.
Unfortunately, it came anyway.
“Another glass, please. Thank you.”
The waiter stood silently for a full ten seconds before forcing a smile: “There are only three of you. Are you sure you want a fourth glass?”
Internally, he was screaming: You come to a bar to drink yogurt?! Why not go soak in a hot spring in Africa instead?!
Jiang Fuyue: “I’m sure.”
So the fourth glass came.
By now, Liu Jinzhong and Liu Sisi were completely unbothered — one silent, one expressionless.
The waiter smiled stiffly and endured.
The management had clearly stated: minimal arrogance, minimal anger. Unlike back when Brother Hu had just taken over and people would get tossed out by bodyguards over the smallest issue. Now they had to win with service quality, not violence.
They even set up evaluation standards, and he had managed to avoid needing the bodyguards this whole month — with just a few days left, he couldn’t screw it up now.
“Would you like a fifth glass?” he asked. “If you plan on having sixth, seventh, or eighth, you can tell me all at once.”
Jiang Fuyue glanced at him. “No need for now.”
“Alright.” The waiter turned away, exhaling in deep relief.
Finally! It’s over!
However——
Fifteen minutes later, Jiang Fuyue said again: “Please bring me a glass of warm water at 45°C.”
The waiter: “???” Did I run into a ghost today or something?!
Jiang Fuyue: “Another one, please.”
“……”
“Another one, thanks.”
……
And so it went on — one cup at a time, never more.
After the yogurt, she wanted precisely heated warm water. After the warm water, she ordered grass jelly milk tea.
The waiter’s head was about to explode.
Finally——
“Miss, are you playing with me?” the waiter couldn’t help but ask, his tone carrying a bit of frustration but still not rude.
By now, the table was completely covered with yogurt, water, and milk tea.
Except for the warm water which they had on hand, the yogurt and milk tea had to be bought from the convenience store and dessert shop next door.
Oh, and a thermometer — to measure the water temperature.
Under the waiter’s slightly hostile stare, Jiang Fuyue nodded. “Good attitude. You managed to hold out this long.”
The waiter: “?”
Jiang Fuyue stood up, walked out of the booth, and headed upstairs, instructing Liu Jinzhong, “Call Hu Ben. Ask where he is. We’ll wait for him upstairs.”
The waiter stared dumbly at them going upstairs, frozen in place for a long while.
Did I hear wrong?
No, I didn’t, right?
That woman had called Brother Hu by his full name, and casually told her subordinate to find him, then swaggered upstairs like she owned the place?!
“Little He! Little He! Why are you standing there in a daze?”
“…Ah?!”
“You okay? Your face is pale, you’re sweating — and it’s not even hot today!”
“Manager,” he gulped, “let me ask you something.”
“Go ahead.”
“What kind of person can call Brother Hu by name in this place?”
The manager thought for a second. “Brother Hu doesn’t bring family here, so rule that out. That leaves… the big boss. Only the big boss dares to call him like that. Why are you asking?”
“B-big boss?!”
“Wait, why do you look even paler now?”
Meanwhile, Jiang Fuyue didn’t care about what was happening downstairs. Leaving behind the full table of yogurt, water, and milk tea, she walked confidently into the office and sat right down in the main seat.
Two minutes later, Hu Ben hurried in, reeking of smoke and alcohol.
Jiang Fuyue frowned.
He realized it too, hurriedly said, “I’ll freshen up!” and left.
Two minutes later, he came back — jacket off, wearing only a shirt with sleeves rolled up, water still dripping from his face.
“S-sorry!” Hu Ben rubbed his nose, head low like a child caught misbehaving.
Before Jiang Fuyue could speak, he rushed to say: “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I wasn’t ready at all — you really caught me by surprise.”
Liu Jinzhong said lazily, “If we gave a heads-up, it wouldn’t be a spot-check, would it?”
“Spot-check?” Hu Ben blinked.
Jiang Fuyue said, “We agreed three months ago: you and Little Six each manage King and Queen respectively. If you can’t achieve at least a 50% increase in revenue, you’d work as waiters, carrying trays, for at least half a year. Remember?”
Hu Ben nodded hard. Of course he remembered. Actually, not a day had gone by where he forgot.
To meet the 50% growth target, he had been running like a top wound too tight, without slacking even a little.
“So… did I pass?”
He didn’t have access to the financial records — whether business was up or down, he could only guess.
Jiang Fuyue raised an eyebrow and asked, “What do you think?”
“Huh?”
“What’s your gut feeling? Did you pass?”
Hu Ben thought seriously. “I think… maybe? I hope so?”
Jiang Fuyue turned to Liu Jinzhong. “Uncle Liu, tell him.”
Liu Jinzhong stepped forward, pulling out his phone.
The atmosphere instantly grew tense.
Hu Ben swallowed hard.
Three months of hard work — all about to be decided now. It felt sudden, but also expected.
“Last quarter, King’s revenue was…” Liu Jinzhong read out a long number.
“And this quarter’s revenue…” another long number.
Hu Ben cursed his poor math skills — he couldn’t immediately tell if it had increased by 50%. So frustrating!
“Compared to the previous quarter,” Liu Jinzhong continued, “this quarter’s revenue increased by——”
Hu Ben’s eyes widened. His toes curled in his shoes.
“62%.”
“I made it?! Holy sh*t — I f*cking made it!!!”
Liu Jinzhong: “…” No need to be that excited.
Jiang Fuyue smiled slightly. “You’ve trained your team well. From now on, King is yours to manage, Brother Hu.”
That last “Brother Hu” made Hu Ben shudder.
“No, no, no… I don’t dare,” he said quickly, scratching his nose, “I’ll run it properly! Make good money! Big money! Hehe…”
When Jiang Fuyue left, Hu Ben personally walked her downstairs. “Next up, it’s Little Six’s turn, right?”
Jiang Fuyue shot him a sideways glance.
Liu Jinzhong said coldly, “No tipping them off.”
Hu Ben laughed awkwardly. “Of course not! Just asking… just asking!”
After leaving King, Jiang Fuyue and her group headed to Queen, doing the exact same thing — this time, letting Liu Sisi lead the act.
Liu Sisi copied the routine exactly — ordering yogurt, then water, then a few milk teas.
The waiters at Queen maintained their smiles the whole time.
Meanwhile, Little Six had already noticed their presence even before Jiang Fuyue called him over.
He walked over smiling and asked Liu Sisi, “Having fun?”
Liu Sisi blinked and turned to look at Jiang Fuyue.
