Chapter 18: Business Plan
Chapter 18: Business Plan
It was certain that his wife had assets worth hundreds of millions, but that money did not belong to Li Zian. Even if Yu Meilin gave him money, he would not accept it, because that would really make him a man living off his wife.
He was a Fangshi with peerless skills; did he need his wife to support him?
No, he did not.
So, when Fan Rui brought up business, Li Zian immediately felt tempted.
“I drank the Master’s soup, and my symptoms improved a lot. I own a catering company with branches in all major cities across the country. I want to buy the Master’s secret recipe for the soup. Do you think that’s possible?” Fan Rui looked at Li Zian, his eyes full of anticipation.
Li Zian smiled, but inside, he felt disappointed.
He guessed that Fan Rui had come up with the idea of buying his secret recipe as soon as he woke up this morning, which explained why he was so generous earlier, directly having Mu Chuntao transfer a red envelope of two hundred thousand.
Of course, two hundred thousand was really a small amount for someone like him.
The waiter placed two cups of Tieguanyin tea on the table and said, “Please enjoy.”
Li Zian looked at the steaming tea cup, thinking about how to refuse this so-called business.
Fan Rui added, “Master, don’t worry about the money. I definitely won’t shortchange you.”
Li Zian spoke, “Brother Fan, this really isn’t about money. First, my late master left a strict order that the secret recipe must not be passed on to outsiders. Second, that recipe isn’t something any ordinary cook can prepare. Even if I gave it to you, it would be useless to you.”
“Really?” Fan Rui looked rather skeptical.
Li Zian smiled, “Why would I lie to you? I also want to make money, but this is money I can’t earn. If I sold you a secret recipe that is useless to you, how could we remain friends in the future?”
“Then, how about you supply the soup base and the ingredients for the soup? We could run the business together. What do you think?” Fan Rui still wasn’t giving up.
Li Zian shook his head, “I can’t supply it.”
The core of the Mind-Calming Soup was the Furnace Body Mud; how could he possibly have that much Furnace Body Mud?
Mu Chuntao interjected, “Brother Fan, it’s already a blessing for you that Zian could help treat your illness and resolve your troubles. You shouldn’t keep thinking about the soup’s secret recipe anymore.”
“Haha, I was being vulgar. Master, let me toast you with tea instead of wine.” Fan Rui held his tea cup with one hand and supported the bottom with the other. He raised the cup towards Li Zian, making a respectful gesture before taking a sip.
“Brother Fan, you’re too kind.” Li Zian also picked up his tea cup. The waiter had just brought the tea, and the liquid was still boiling hot like water. But since the other party was toasting, he had to at least go through the motions. So, he also supported the bottom of the cup, brought it to his lips, and took a very small sip.
Mu Chuntao asked with concern, “Aren’t you afraid of burning yourself?”
Li Zian smiled and said, “Just blow on it and take a small sip; it’s fine.”
But in his heart, he thought, I wish Yu Meilin cared about me like this.
Fan Rui said, “Master, I have an appointment with that woman to settle things, so I must take my leave. We’ll talk again later.” He then said to Mu Chuntao, “Chuntao, please keep the Master company for some tea. I’m leaving now.”
Mu Chuntao said, “Go ahead.”
“Goodbye,” Li Zian also said.
Fan Rui walked a few steps, then turned back again, “Master, your soup was very effective. Last night was the best sleep I’ve had in over a year. When can I drink your Mind-Calming Soup again?”
Before Li Zian could speak, Mu Chuntao said, “I put the leftover soup from last night in the fridge. I’ll bring it to your place later. Once you finish it, I’ll have Zian prepare another batch for you.”
Fan Rui smiled and said, “Alright then, I won’t disturb you two any longer. See you later.”
The three people drinking tea became two, and the atmosphere changed.
“I really didn’t know he wanted to buy your secret recipe; otherwise, I would have told you earlier,” Mu Chuntao broke the silence between them.
Li Zian said, “It’s fine. He’s a merchant. After drinking my soup, he smelled a business opportunity and naturally wanted to make a deal.”
Mu Chuntao said with a smile, “I didn’t expect you to understand business matters. Did Sister Meilin teach you?”
Li Zian gave a bitter smile, “She hardly talks to me. She’s so busy; how would she have time to teach me about business? I don’t really know much about business either; I was just saying that casually.”
Mu Chuntao stopped smiling and stared directly at Li Zian, “Zian, do you consider me a friend?”
“Of course.”
Mu Chuntao said, “The kind of friend I mean isn’t an ordinary friend.”
Li Zian was slightly taken aback and felt inexplicably nervous. Could she mean a romantic partner?
Mu Chuntao added another sentence, “I mean a heart-to-heart friend, a confidant.”
Only then did Li Zian feel relieved. He smiled and said, “It’s fate that we met. If you consider me your confidant, of course, I consider you mine too. There’s no need to even say it.”
Mu Chuntao smiled again, “Good. Since we are heart-to-heart friends, then tell me what exactly is going on between you and Yu Meilin? Why are you sleeping in separate rooms?”
It was only then that Li Zian realized he had fallen into her trap.
Mu Chuntao pursed her lips, “See, you just said you consider me a heart-to-heart friend, but you won’t even talk to me about this. What kind of heart-to-heart friends are we?”
Li Zian hesitated about whether to discuss it.
If he talked about it, it was still his family’s private matter, and not exactly something glorious.
If he didn’t talk about it, keeping it bottled up inside was also painful. All these years, he hadn’t had anyone to confide in.
“Talk to me about it. Maybe I can help you solve the problem,” Mu Chuntao coaxed persuasively.
Li Zian took a sip of tea and remained silent for a few seconds before speaking, “How about we talk about you first? What do you do?”
Mu Chuntao said frankly, “I don’t have anything to do right now, but I’m planning to start a business. My dad is in foreign trade and often stays abroad. My mom and dad divorced when I was in middle school, and I haven’t seen her since. At that time, my dad was going through a tough period, and she couldn’t handle the hardship, so she left him. I grew up in a single-parent family, so my personality is a bit wild.”
Li Zian thought she wouldn’t share such private matters, but to his surprise, she immediately revealed her background to him. For a moment, he felt at a loss about how to respond to her.
“Do you want to know anything else? Height, weight, measurements?” Mu Chuntao’s lips carried a hint of a meaningful smile.
Li Zian quickly said, “That’s not necessary.”
“Your turn now,” Mu Chuntao looked quietly at Li Zian, her eyes full of expectation.
Li Zian sighed, “Alright, I’ll tell you. Just listen, and don’t tell anyone else.”
“You don’t even need to say that. Hurry up and tell me,” Mu Chuntao urged.
Li Zian continued, “My marriage to Meilin—actually, she needed someone to marry her. At that time, her father was sick…”
They talked for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
Getting all those words that had been bottled up inside him for years off his chest made Li Zian feel as if he had swept the garbage out of his heart—it felt clean and much more relaxed.
“I never imagined your marriage to Sister Meilin was like this. No wonder she never mentions you. I’ve heard Xiaomei ask several times where her dad went,” Mu Chuntao’s mood was affected as well, feeling a bit down.
Li Zian gave a bitter smile, “She said I went to Mars to dig for coal.”
The words were funny, but Mu Chuntao couldn’t laugh, “Are you planning to go on like this?”
Li Zian was silent for a moment before saying, “Back in our hometown, I originally wanted to end this marriage with her, but she came back with Xiaomei. Only then did I know I have a daughter. Xiaomei is still young; I don’t want her to grow up in an environment without a father or mother. So… for now, I’ll just continue like this.”
“You have such great abilities, yet you live like this. She is a bit too much. I feel it’s unfair for you, and you’re wronged,” Mu Chuntao said with a serious face, looking indignant.
Li Zian stared at Mu Chuntao, feeling curious and somewhat unable to understand.
Wasn’t she Yu Meilin’s close friend?
Her evaluation of his marriage with Yu Meilin felt a bit strange.
Mu Chuntao rolled her eyes at Li Zian, “Why are you looking at me like that? I’m on your side.”
Li Zian smiled, “Thank you.”
Whether those words were true or false, they warmed his heart.
“So, what are your plans? With all your skills, are you just going to stay at home taking care of the child and serving her family’s old lady?” Mu Chuntao spoke bluntly, “Think about it. Yu Meilin is the president of a listed company. She’s influential and impressive out in the world. But no matter how much she achieves, you get no credit. Xiaomei is still young and doesn’t understand things now, but when she grows up a bit, and her classmates ask her what her dad does, do you want her to say, ‘My dad cooks at home and takes care of the old lady’? The result would be: she would admire her mother and look down on you.”
Li Zian’s heart felt a bit unsettled.
He really hadn’t thought that far ahead, but after hearing Mu Chuntao say this, he felt her words made sense.
“Let me ask you another thing. Before you got married, did she make you sign a prenuptial agreement?” Mu Chuntao stared straight at Li Zian.
Li Zian nodded, “Yes, we signed one. I don’t know where my copy went, and I can’t remember what was written on it either.”
“What else could it say? Even without looking at your prenuptial agreement, I know that if you divorce, you wouldn’t get a single cent.”
Li Zian smiled, “I don’t want her money. Not to mention dividing assets, even if she gave me money, I wouldn’t take it.”
“You, ah…”
“That’s just how I am.”
Mu Chuntao sighed, but then smiled, “You’re really foolish, and Yu Meilin is foolish too, for not knowing how to cherish you.”
Li Zian smiled, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Yu Meilin?”
“If you tell her, she’ll definitely come ask me. I’ll just say we were in a hotel room, drunk and talking nonsense,” Mu Chuntao said.
Li Zian gave a bitter smile; he was no match for this woman.
“So, you need to have a plan and start your own career,” Mu Chuntao brought the topic back.
Li Zian said, “I also want to find something to do, but I don’t have any plans yet.”
Mu Chuntao gently kicked Li Zian under the table, “How about I give you an idea?”
Li Zian was immediately stunned. He suddenly realized who the real culprit was who kicked him under the table at noon—it was Mu Chuntao. The feeling was the same.
“I’m talking to you.”
Li Zian snapped back to reality, “What idea? Tell me.”
“Let’s set up a studio together,” Mu Chuntao said.
“Huh? A studio?”
Mu Chuntao smiled and said, “I’ve even thought of a name: the Worry-Relieving Studio. We’ll use your peerless skills to offer global private customized services. It definitely has great prospects.”
Li Zian’s interest was piqued, “Go on, tell me more.”
Mu Chuntao said, “Nowadays, wealthy people all have some kind of ailment—either health issues left from their entrepreneurial days or bodies depleted from excessive drinking and indulgent lifestyles after becoming rich. How much do you think they’d pay for your soup? And what about your Fangshi Esoteric Arts? If those wealthy people come to you for fortune-telling or divination, how much do you think would be appropriate to charge?”
“Keep going.”
“And besides, these are just the visible aspects of wealth. This business also has invisible benefits: connections. If you cure a wealthy person or an important figure, they owe you a favor. If you want to do something else later, just make a phone call, and wouldn’t those people rush to help you?”
Li Zian was delighted, “I really didn’t expect you to be so sharp. This idea of yours is quite good. Tell me more about the details of starting a studio, like what needs to be prepared, how much money is needed to get started, and so on.”
Mu Chuntao picked up her tea cup and took a small sip, “Tonight at ten, after Yu Meilin has gone to sleep, come to my place. We’ll discuss the plan in detail.”
Li Zian was immediately stunned on the spot.
A single man and a single woman alone in a room discussing plans.
Could it be about family planning?