"That’s right. My daughter is the best, the most hardworking." Jiang Liu smiled and patted Tongtong’s head.

"Hehe, I know, right?"

"How about we have beef again tonight? Do you two like that?"

"We do!!"

"I love potatoes the most! Daddy, I love you so much! Mwah."

Tongtong tugged on Jiang Liu’s ear and leaned in to plant a few kisses.

"Is Daddy tasty?"

"Mmm, so tasty."

"If you buy Tongtong some ice cream, I’ll reward you with another one."

Jiang Liu didn’t indulge her and gave her a light flick on the forehead. "Eating it every day... aren’t you afraid you’ll get a tummy ache?"

"WAHHH!"

Tongtong clutched her head, pretending to be wronged.

...

「7:20 PM.」

Jiang Liu announced they were officially open for business.

The customers had been waiting impatiently. A few aunties squeezed into the shop before Jiang Liu could even finish his sentence.

The room was instantly packed with people.

"Xiao Jiang, why are you opening at 7:30 now? Are you feeling a bit tired? I have some yams at home, they’re very nourishing. I’ll bring some for you tomorrow."

Jiang Liu awkwardly refused. "There’s no need, ma’am. It’s not because I’m tired."

Jun Qingmeng giggled behind the counter.

"Tongtong, your daddy’s expression is so cute. What do I do? I love it."

Jiang Tongtong replied with a perfectly straight face, "Then Mommy should hurry up and marry him, so we can all sleep together."

Jun Qingmeng’s face flushed red.

Just then, the auntie from yesterday who wanted to give them a workbook was at the door, getting some buns to go.

Her eyes met the dead-serious Tongtong’s.

"Oh, Tongtong’s here! Here, take the workbook. I finally caught you."

"No, no, no! You do it, Grandma! Tongtong doesn’t like doing them."

Tongtong waved her little hands, backing away in fright.

The auntie wasn’t pleased. "You child, as a flower of the motherland, you must learn more! Here, take it. Be a good girl!"

"Sob..."

Tongtong looked to Jiang Liu for help.

Jiang Liu was packing up some beef. He smiled at the auntie and said, "Thank you for your kindness, ma’am, but Tongtong is still too young. She wouldn’t know how to do it. It’s not necessary."

"Alright then. I’ll hold onto it for Tongtong."

The auntie, feeling it was a shame her gesture of care wasn’t accepted, gave Tongtong another look.

Jiang Tongtong covered her little mouth, looking at her father with a touched expression.

"Daddy, why do I feel like you’ve gotten even more handsome?"

"Heh, go play by yourself. Don’t bother me here."

"No, I want to help you carry plates. Tongtong wants to be Daddy’s little bee."

The noise both inside and outside the shop was making his ears itch.

Several Meihuang delivery drivers lined up and came in, finishing writing on an order slip.

"Brother Jiang, we need forty-five buns, one plate of beef, and three bottles of juice. I wrote it down for you."

"Finally, a chance to relax. Sigh, Brother Jiang, I nearly ran myself to death today. Ran deliveries all day, and still got a complaint from someone. My liver hurts from the anger."

Jiang Liu replied amidst the rush, "Try not to be so angry, it’s bad for your health. Besides, everyone is contributing to society in their own way. It’s just like me, cooking for you in this scorching heat."

The Meihuang drivers looked thoughtful.

’That’s right, who doesn’t have it tough? Even those big bosses at the very top, don’t their companies also serve society? They must worry about so much, isn’t that exhausting too? Maybe life is fair, maybe it isn’t.’

"Thanks for the guidance, Brother Jiang. Listening to you is more enlightening than scrolling through social media."

The three of them regarded Jiang Liu with much more respect.

With Jun Qingmeng and his daughter helping, things were much easier for Jiang Liu.

He handled everything with ease.

He could even find time to chat with customers occasionally.

Wang Han walked up and said to Jiang Liu,

"Jiang Liu, we’ll have three plates of beef, thirty buns, and three bottles of juice."

"Sure, just a moment."

Jiang Liu nodded with a smile. He still remembered this businesswoman who had "invested" in an air conditioner for him.

Just as Wang Han was about to say something else,

Jun Qingmeng came over, her voice laced with jealousy.

"Boyfriend, you go pack the buns. I’ll serve her the beef."

"Okay, sure."

Jiang Liu didn’t think much of it and turned back to his work.

Wang Guozhong was about to step forward and speak, but Wang Han pulled him back. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Don’t. We can talk about it later. There’s no rush."

’She didn’t like to fight with others over a man; that wasn’t her style.’

「Not long after.」

Wang Cheng arrived with his wife.

"Boss Jiang, business is good, huh?"

"It’s alright. Go ahead and sit at the small table by the counter. I’ll whip up some yak and potatoes for you in a bit."

"Sounds good! Take your time, I’m not in a hurry."

Wang Cheng sat down by the counter with his wife, who was beaming with pride.

The surrounding customers cast envious glances their way.

"I wish I could be friends with Brother Jiang too."

"That seat is the dream I’ve been working my whole life for."

"Nice!"

"Don’t get carried away. We should just help Brother Jiang more so he doesn’t decide to leave."

"Exactly, exactly! As long as Boss Jiang is here, Yangzhai Street will be lively."

「Soon.」

At 8:30 PM, they closed for the night.

"Brother Jiang, I’m heading out. I work at the courthouse, so let me know if you ever need anything."

"Leaving now, Boss Jiang! I’ll take out the trash for you!"

"Alright, thanks."

Once most of the customers had left, Jun Qingmeng and Tongtong started cleaning up the shop.

Tongtong held a small rag, sticking her butt out as she scrubbed the tables with all her might.

Jiang Liu sat at the counter, counting the day’s earnings.

There was another huge stack of cash.

Net profit from the Yak, Potato, and Mushroom Soup: 168,580.

Net profit from the juice and tuna buns: 289,505.

Total profit was around 450,000.

After deducting taxes, Jiang Liu now had nearly 800,000 in savings.

However, he was still a long way from being able to buy a commercial storefront.

Jiang Liu knew that with the explosive increase in foot traffic on Yangzhai Street, the storefronts would definitely be more expensive now.

There was nothing he could do about it. ’If I’d had a few million from the start, I could have just bought several shops. That would have been sweet.’

[Current Praise Points: 113,580]

Jiang Liu looked at the Praise Points in the Divine Book and was satisfied.

’Not bad. I wonder what the next delicacy will be...’

’But then again, if another new dish appears, I don’t think I’ll have enough time...’

Just as Jiang Liu was lost in thought,

Tongtong ran over and hugged his leg, looking up pitifully. "Daddy, hungry."

"Hungry? Okay, you and your teacher go sit over there. How about we eat some beef?"

"Okay~" Tongtong agreed in her milky voice.

Jiang Liu went to the kitchen and brought out a large platter of the yak, potato, and mushroom soup.

He didn’t bother to serve it in separate bowls.

Since they were now boyfriend and girlfriend, there was no need to be overly mindful of such things.

"Wow! More delicious beef!"

"Qingmeng’s Mother, I love potatoes. Can you save some extra for me?"

"It’s all yours."

Jun Qingmeng placed a few tender chunks of potato into Tongtong’s bowl.

"It smells so good! Daddy’s potatoes are delicious, and the beef is delicious too! Mmm, no, wait, everything Daddy makes is delicious!"

Jiang Liu playfully tapped Tongtong’s head with his chopsticks. "You’re such a little flatterer!"

"I am not! I’m a little cutie."

"Hahaha."

Jiang Liu and Jun Qingmeng were both amused.

"Daddy, you eat more meat, so you can get nice and plump."

"Alright."

"You eat some meat too. Little kids can’t grow big if they don’t eat meat."

Tongtong’s face immediately fell. "No way! Tongtong has to watch her figure. I can’t eat too much meat. What if I get fat and Daddy doesn’t like me anymore?"

Hearing his daughter’s words,

Jiang Liu finally understood what people meant by ’a little sweetheart from a past life’.

It was just too heartwarming.

"It’s okay. Even if you get fat, Daddy will still love you just the same."

"Okay then... I’ll just eat a tiny bit. I can’t eat too much."

"Ooh, the more meat I eat, the tastier it gets... I’ll just have one more piece."

"I still want more, sob..."

Tongtong rubbed her tummy, looking reluctantly at the yak, potatoes, and mushrooms on the platter.

It was making Cute Jiang so mad! This was all Daddy’s fault!

「8:40 PM.」

Night enveloped the city, and the air grew cooler.

Jiang Liu closed the shop’s door.

He headed home with two "big-bellied" beauties.

The owner of the massage parlor was loitering around his entrance.

"Boss Jiang, you’re finally done for the day! Are you tired? Why not bring your wife and daughter over for a foot bath?"