Who Would Fall in Love After Being Reborn? - Chapter 196: No Chance to Call You "Big Brother"!

TL: Etude

There was no eldest grandson, nor a daughter-in-law.

In such circumstances, how long could a mother’s fondness for her returning son last? In reality, it wouldn’t take many days. A few instances of sleeping in and tossing clothes around carelessly, and maternal love would diminish at an unexpectedly rapid pace.

Consequently, the elaborate six-dish-one-soup meals of the first day would soon be reduced to two dishes lasting the entire day.

Then it would dwindle to no dishes at all, with just twenty yuan handed over.

Eventually, even the twenty yuan would be forgotten, and one would have to rummage through cabinets for instant noodles.

But Jiang Qin was no ordinary person; he never gave his mother the chance to resent him.

The next morning, at seven o’clock, when the day was just dawning, Jiang Qin had already finished washing up. His early rising left his parents, who were preparing for work, both suspicious and puzzled, wondering what had gotten into their son.

“Aren’t you going to sleep in now that you’re back?”

“No, the morning hours are the most precious.”

“Where are you going without even eating breakfast?”

“To the Jizhou Library.”

Watching Jiang Qin hurry out the door, his parents exchanged a look.

On the first day of the winter break, leaving at 7:30 in the morning without breakfast to go to the library? Yuan Youqin felt uneasy: “Old Jiang, do you think we’ve been too harsh, always commanding him to study whenever we call?”

“What else can we do? Do you think winning university awards, especially those with trophies, is easy?” Jiang Zhenghong pointed at the trophy already displayed in the living room.

“We should talk to him tonight. It’s frightening to see him study so hard,” she said.

“Don’t worry too much. He’s probably just struggling to adjust his routine after coming back. Let’s observe for a couple more days.”

Unaware of his parents’ imaginations, Jiang Qin swiftly left the residential area, heading towards the library.

It was a winter morning in Jizhou City, with few people on the streets and a layer of fine mist hanging in the sky, spreading in all directions.

Feng Nanshu, dressed in a white down jacket, stood in front of the yet-to-open library, eagerly looking in his direction. Only when he emerged from the mist did she dash to the roadside to wait for him, her usually aloof expression instantly turning foolishly cute.

“Jiang Qin, hold hands.”

Jiang Qin took her delicate, slightly cold hand, warming it with his breath before tucking it into his pocket: “You thought I’d refuse, right? Haha, if I said no, you’d definitely start calling me ‘big brother’ again. I’ve seen right through you.”

The little rich lady looked up at him blankly, finding the handsome man both smart and somewhat silly.

“Why are you drooling at me?” Jiang Qin narrowed his eyes.

“Jiang Qin, I’m hungry. Take me to breakfast,” Feng Nanshu rummaged in his pocket.

Jiang Qin rubbed his stomach, feeling empty too: “I’m hungry as well. Let’s go have some lamb soup.”

“Okay.”

The two walked hand in hand along the misty, deserted streets. This was, in fact, their first time holding hands on the streets of Jizhou.

Passing by the gate of Chengnan High School, Jiang Qin felt an inexplicable flutter in his heart.

Standing outside the high school where you spent three years, holding hands with the most beautiful girl from those days…

Damn, this feels even better than playing tricks on people.

If he were to rank it, this joy would be second only in his life.

Suddenly, Jiang Qin let go of her hand, pretending not to hold it anymore, which caused the little rich lady to hum and stuff her hand back into his.

See, this could be the top joy of his life.

About ten minutes later, Jiang Qin brought the little rich lady to Heping Road, where he had invested in a Yang’s Lamb Soup House during the summer break to test the waters.

“Uncle, long time no see.”

“And, aunt… auntie, hello.”

Yang Shu’an had just returned home for the holidays, so his father had roused him early in the morning to help out at the lamb soup shop. The shop was particularly busy on winter mornings, and with the opening of the fourth branch, they were short-staffed, so he was drafted to assist.

However, he never dreamt that his first customer of the morning would be Jiang Qin, the devil-like man, his former high school classmate, and now his father’s sworn brother.

Honestly, when Yang Shu’an called Jiang Qin ‘uncle’, he no longer felt much of a psychological barrier.

Why? Because Jiang Qin had invested over a hundred thousand in his family’s business. He never took his share of the quarterly dividends, instead using them to support his father in opening more branches. Thanks to this, their family was thriving, and he was living comfortably at university.

Hearing that Guo Zihang shamelessly addressed someone as ‘godfather’, why couldn’t he call someone ‘uncle’? But now…

Now he had to call Feng Nanshu ‘auntie’, which really made him want to die.

She was the unattainable dream of all the boys at Chengnan High School, a pure white memory in many a youth, and now she was his aunt. Damn it, who could he even complain to about this?

“Shu’an, back for the holidays? How did your exams go?”

Jiang Qin asked with the benevolent attitude of an elder, thinking how great it felt to finally be the one asking this question.

“Pretty good…”

“Did you win the ‘Star of Learning’ award?”

“What’s that?”

“Cut it out, you didn’t win any awards? I was going to give you a red envelope, but never mind now.”

Jiang Qin, feeling smug, led Feng Nanshu into the shop.

After a while, steaming bowls of lamb soup were served, accompanied by two flatbread pancakes and a pot of beef and glass noodle stew. It seemed Yang Jianguo had taken his advice to diversify beyond just lamb soup.

That’s how it is in the catering business. Only by offering customers more choices can you ensure a stable and lasting clientele. Relying on a single product, no matter how delicious, is not a sustainable strategy. The key to a successful restaurant brand is repeat customers, but even the tastiest single product can become tiresome.

In other words, a signature dish attracts customers, but a restaurant can’t rely solely on that.

Jiang Qin tore the flatbread into pieces, adding them to the lamb soup, and fed Feng Nanshu, who looked utterly content with every bite.

While eating, Jiang Qin suddenly remembered the previous night’s topic and became curious about the ‘worth’ of red envelopes in wealthy families.

“Do you get red envelopes during the New Year, little rich lady?”

Feng Nanshu shook her head: “No red envelopes.”

“Right, you’re not short on money,” Jiang Qin shrugged.

“Do you get red envelopes, Jiang Qin?”

“Yeah, the elders usually give them. Uncles, aunts, they all give every year. You have to pretend like you’re too grown-up to accept them while eagerly waiting for them to slip it into your pocket. It’s quite amusing.”

After thinking for a moment, Feng Nanshu took out her wallet, pulled out a hundred yuan, and handed it to Yang Shu’an, who was sitting next to her, her expression as aloof as an elder’s.

Yang Shu’an: “?”

Jiang Qin: “?”

“…”

After a while, Yang Jianguo arrived, warmly embracing Jiang Qin, calling him ‘big brother’.

After the pleasantries, he pulled out a contract from his bag and handed it to Jiang Qin.

“A few days ago, someone approached me about a franchise partnership, but I don’t really understand it, so I waited for you to come back and take a look.”

“A franchise?”

Jiang Qin skimmed through the contract: “Franchising is an option, but not right now. My suggestion is to first establish ourselves in the Jizhou market, build our reputation, and then consider franchising ourselves. It’s better than sharing profits with others.”

Yang Jianguo had blind trust in Jiang Qin and immediately dismissed the contract: “I’ll follow your advice. No partnership for now, we’ll continue to open more branches.”

“Don’t rush with opening new branches either. We should focus on developing new menu items. Oh, I have two recipes here, one for dumplings and the other for spicy chicken. See if they work for you.”

Jiang Qin took out his phone and forwarded two recipes to Yang Jianguo.

The spicy chicken recipe was given by Dong Wenhao, which they had tried during a trip to a rural resort. Jiang Qin thought the taste was excellent.

The dumpling recipe was from Song Qinqin’s mother. He hadn’t tasted it himself, but judging by the reactions of Old Lu, Zhu Feng, and Principal Zhang, the filling must be exceptionally good.

“This recipe isn’t mine. If it works, consider it a technical investment. Each year, take a portion of the revenue and give them a small share of the profits.”

“Alright, I’ll give it a try.”

Jiang Qin nodded, feeding Feng Nanshu a spoonful of lamb soup and using his little finger to wipe away the soup that spilled from the corner of her mouth.

However, this ‘accident’ happened a few more times, with soup ‘inadvertently’ spilling each time.

“?”

Noticing Jiang Qin’s realization, Feng Nanshu pursed her lips and looked away, feigning innocence.

After they finished eating, Jiang Qin got up to leave. Yang Jianguo immediately asked his son to see ‘uncle and auntie’ out. Yang Shu’an, still dazed with the hundred yuan in his hand, felt his scalp tingle at the mention of these words.

“Uncle, have a safe trip home. Please don’t come again.”

“This nephew of mine, what are you saying? Be good at home, don’t be naughty, and don’t spend that red envelope frivolously. Save it for school supplies when school starts!”

“…”

In the following days, Jiang Qin continued to leave early and return late, usually leaving at seven in the morning and returning at five in the evening, always saying he was going to the library.

He had no choice; the little rich lady was waiting for him at the library. Where else could they meet?

But to Yuan Youqin, this was a cause for concern. She wondered why her son was studying so hard. It wasn’t high school anymore, and there was no need to be so serious about studying.

He was in university and not even dating, only focusing on his studies. How could this be right?

After much thought, she decided to put away the trophy in the living room, aiming to reduce the pressure on Jiang Qin.

“Eh, where’s my trophy?”

Jiang Qin came out of his room to drink water and immediately noticed his trophy was missing.

“I put it away. Study less and watch more TV. Your dad paid the cable bill today, and we’ve got twenty more channels now.”

“??????”

Jiang Qin was momentarily stunned, then realized his parents had misunderstood, thinking he was actually studying at the library.

But this wasn’t something he could easily explain, as he wasn’t out dating, just hanging out with a friend. Such a modern concept would probably be hard for them to understand.

Maybe he should slack off for the next couple of days, just to stop his parents from worrying.

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