The next morning, nothing had changed.
Li Yaru washed her hair as usual, smoothing out the spiderweb-like mess of curls until they were shiny and soft, then tied them into a ponytail.
She wore a bright red polka-dot shirt with jeans, her radiant complexion betraying nothing of a sleepless night.
Passing her usual breakfast shop, she picked up a basket of char siu buns and hurriedly caught the tram to Wangzhen Restaurant.
Wangzhen Restaurant had already returned to normal operations.
At seven in the morning, a seafood delivery truck arrived from the pier, and a few staff members were huffing and puffing as they carried the goods inside.
As soon as Li Yaru arrived, the employees all greeted her warmly.
“Good morning, Miss!”
“You’re here so early today, Miss.”
“Miss, you look so pretty today!”
“Morning, Yeshushu, Wangshushu, Fangyi… Did all the deliveries arrive this morning? Yesterday, a lot of the shrimp Old Jin sent over were dead. Tell him, if he tries to pull that again, we’ll just switch suppliers. There are plenty of stalls wanting to supply our restaurant. Why should we stick to just him?”
“Oh, and yesterday I went through the Zhaozhangben. Why does the Shaodongjia of Xiangyun Zhai always eat on credit? Does he want me to go to his father’s place and beg for the money myself? Next time he comes, make him settle the bill, or he won’t even get a glass of water!”
“Understood, Miss!”
Everyone working at Wangzhen Restaurant had been there for years.
Even the greeter ladies were all in their forties, some had watched Li Yaru grow up, and would affectionately call her “Miss.”
Li Yaru grabbed a bottle of Weiniunai from the front fridge, popped the cap off with a bottle opener, stuck in a straw, and took a big gulp.
The icy sweet soy milk slid down into her stomach, making her shrug her shoulders with satisfaction.
Thanks to last night’s kiss, her mouth still felt hot and burning.
She had no idea when Zhuang Qiting would bring the money.
Li Yaru started to worry again — what if it was just an empty promise? He even kissed her last night! She should have asked for the money before anything else.
He’s such a big boss, the top young master in Hong Kong, surely he wouldn’t just walk away and not pay up!
So frustrating. Li Yaru didn’t even have Zhuang Qiting’s contact information, so all she could do was stew in her annoyance.
She finished the rest of her soy milk in one go and placed the glass bottle in the recycling bin.
The restaurant was busy all morning: cleaning, arranging tables and chairs, washing and prepping ingredients in the kitchen, simmering the San Tang Soup Base — everyone had their own job and things ran smoothly.
Li Yaru flipped through the accounts, calculating how much Leixiongxiang had siphoned from the public funds over the past two years.
Just before ten, a shiny luxury car pulled up in front of the restaurant, the Mercedes-Benz logo gleaming.
Li Guanjia, dressed like a gentleman, got out of the car with two bodyguards in black. Each bodyguard carried a black leather case, while Li Guanjia held a bouquet of flowers.
The group entered the restaurant, drawing curious glances from the staff. Li Yaru quickly stood up from the cashier’s desk, her eyes shining.
They really came to deliver the money!
“Uncle Li,” she called sweetly.
Li Guanjia beamed and handed the bouquet of roses to Li Yaru. “The young master asked me to bring these. He hopes Miss Li will like them!”
It was a huge bouquet of red roses, carrying the rain and sunshine of the Pacific’s east coast, having crossed mountains and seas to bloom in her hands.
“I love them! These flowers look exquisite. Your young master has excellent taste!” Li Yaru took them, inhaling the rich fragrance, but her mind wasn’t on the flowers at all.
If this were before, she might have been overjoyed by the bouquet, but now all she could think about was— money. Money, money, money. For the past few days, that’s all that’s been on her mind.
She had to see the money with her own eyes before she could truly relax.
Li Guanjia, seeing that she’d accepted the flowers, finally felt at ease.
After nearly a year, these flowers had finally been delivered! “The young master is busy today, so he sent me instead. Please don’t be upset, Miss Li.”
How could Li Yaru dare get angry at Zhuang Qiting? Her fate was in his hands. “How could I be? Young Master Zhuang is so good to me, I’m thrilled.”
Li Guanjia’s smile nearly split his face.
The last bouquet hadn’t been delivered, and though the young master didn’t say anything, it had clearly bothered him.
The flowers were expensive and beautiful, and it was a pity for them to end up in the trash.
He carefully observed Li Yaru’s reaction, planning to report every detail back to the young master to make him happy.
Li Yaru stood there hugging the flowers, waiting anxiously for Li Guanjia to mention the money, but he didn’t say a word.
She fidgeted like an ant on a hot pan and finally hinted, rather ungracefully, “Uncle Li, did your young master send anything else with you?”
“Yes, indeed. May I have a word with you in private, Miss Li?”
Li Yaru breathed a sigh of relief, politely invited them into the office, and went to make tea. Li Guanjia sat stiffly, feeling like he was sitting on pins and needles. “There’s no need, Miss Li, please just take a seat.”
Li Yaru brought over a cup of hot tea, smiling brightly. “I can’t let Uncle Li come all the way here and not even get a cup of tea. Careful, it’s hot.”
Li Guanjia dared not refuse, nervously taking a sip of tea served by the future mistress herself, burning his lips in the process but still smiling through the pain.
He waved for the bodyguards to bring the goods forward. The bodyguards, well-trained, placed the two black cases neatly in front of Li Yaru.
“One and a half million. Please count, not a cent short.”
Li Yaru sat up straight, eyes fixed on the bodyguards as they opened the cases.
Stack after stack of crisp bills, Franklin’s face staring back at her, made her mind slow to a crawl, like sinking into quicksand.
After a few moments of silence, she stammered, “U-USD?”
She couldn’t believe it. It really was one and a half million, not a cent short, but it was in US dollars— equivalent to eleven million Hong Kong dollars.
Eleven million! Li Yaru had never even dreamed of seeing so much money.
Li Guanjia smiled kindly, “The rest is yours to use as you like, buy yourself something nice. Just a bit of pocket money.”
Li Yaru didn’t say a word, swallowing quietly. Whose pocket money was this…?
Li Guanjia watched the unmoving girl, wondering if he’d said something wrong.
Then he realized, it was only natural— a girl not even nineteen, suddenly receiving such a huge sum, anyone would be shocked.
He was about to comfort her, to tell her not to feel pressured, that it was only right for the young master to treat his future wife well, when the girl hesitantly asked, “Is it really for me?”
Like a hungry little leopard tentatively reaching out a paw to touch a fat deer that had suddenly dropped dead in front of her, unsure whether to wolf it down or drag it away to enjoy later.
Either way, there was no way she’d let it go.
“Of course it’s for you.”
Li Yaru couldn’t control her excitement, clenching and unclenching her hands, her cheeks flushing red as she forced herself to stay calm.
Her bright eyes sparkled, her voice trembling with excitement, “Please tell Young Master Zhuang, thank you, thank you so much! He’s such a good person! A living Buddha! The God of Wealth himself! He’ll live a long life, have endless fortune, and all his wishes will come true!”
Li Guanjia swallowed his comforting words, chuckling instead. “Alright, I’ll be sure to relay your message word for word.”
Looks like the future young mistress loves money. That’s just perfect — if the young master has anything, it’s money.
A match made in heaven, destined by fate!
Before leaving, Li Guanjia left the bodyguards with Li Yaru.
Li Yaru didn’t refuse. She’d been worrying about finding someone who could fight, and these two bodyguards were women — tall, lean, full of presence, diligent and quiet.
Having them around wouldn’t be inconvenient at all.
All in all, this God of Wealth, Young Master Zhuang, had thought of everything.
Now all she could do was pray that her God of Wealth was a normal man without any weird quirks, and that if she played along and acted obediently for a year or two, she’d be back to being a lively little rich lady.
Didn’t the ancients say, “Good fortune comes from disaster, and disaster lurks within good fortune”?
Thanks to this bizarre twist of fate, she’d run into Zhuang Qiting, the great benefactor. Maybe this really was heaven sending her a windfall.
Thinking this way, Li Yaru felt much more at ease. She rested her chin in her hand, gazing at the stacks of cash, grinning to herself.
She was just a flower born to face the sun, her roots digging desperately for nourishment in the soil, and with just a little rain and sunshine, she’d never let her days wilt.
.
The God of Wealth didn’t appear for two days — he really was a busy man.
But every day, flowers were delivered to her, and the huge red roses filled up all the empty space at the front desk.
Today, business at Wangzhen Restaurant was booming: a wedding banquet at noon, a birthday party in the evening, the schedule packed tight.
Li Yaru went to the hospital to visit her father, stayed for a while, then hurried back to oversee the restaurant.
Mornings were always the quietest.