Chapter 484 - 318: You’re Bound to Lose

Chapter 484: Chapter 318: You’re Bound to Lose

"...From what I’ve heard so far, Mr. Lin’s initial concept and plan don’t require a large amount of money. Just a few tens of millions."

’Just? A *few* tens of millions?’

Lin Chen licked his dry lips, marveling to himself. ’As expected of an expert who manages money for the rich. His perspective is on another level.’

"Of course, while that number isn’t huge, I certainly won’t be rash and invest a lot. After all, this isn’t my money, it’s the Boss’s money. If my losses for the year reach a certain threshold, I could lose my job."

"How about this: we can follow Mr. Lin’s concept and develop the entire property in phases. The first phase, of course, would be building the road, parking lot, infrastructure, and the restaurant."

"I’m not particularly interested in the other parts, but I can invest in Mr. Lin’s restaurant. As for the amount... how does two million sound?"

’Only two million?’

’Is he trying to shoo away a beggar?!’

’My yearly allowance is more than that!’

Erica was about to erupt, but the quick-thinking Lin Chen pressed her down and nodded with a smile.

"That works. I’ll have to trouble you to draw up a contract, Mr. Simon."

Simon glanced at Erica, a little puzzled. ’Looks like Lady Marcia didn’t fill her in on the specifics, huh?’

"Alright then, I’ll head back to my hotel, draft the contract, and print it out. I’ll come back tomorrow for you to sign it, Mr. Lin. That should be fine, right?"

"Of course. Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Simon."

"No trouble at all. Well, I won’t disturb your filming any longer, Mr. Lin. I’ll be on my way."

The man wiped his mouth, stood up, exchanged a few pleasantries, and had only taken a few steps before he suddenly turned back.

"Oh, right, I forgot to mention. This beef hot pot is delicious. In my judgment, it should be very popular with the local foodies."

After speaking, he pulled a twenty-dollar bill from his pocket, placed it on the table, waved to the two of them, and then left for good.

"He really is a cheapskate. Unwilling to spend even a single extra cent."

Erica walked over in a huff, took the bill back, folded it, and stuffed it into Lin Chen’s pocket.

"Haha, that just fits his character, doesn’t it? If an investment manager were a big spender, I doubt Lady Marcia would have chosen him."

Twenty dollars was indeed the baseline for all-you-can-eat hot pot in Canada, but that was for relatively ordinary ingredients. Still, you’d get at least twenty different items, sometimes even up to thirty.

If you wanted better quality ingredients, the price was usually thirty and up, with some places charging forty-five or even sixty.

To be honest, he hadn’t given Simon that much food. Twenty dollars was more than enough; he probably paid that much out of respect for Erica.

If Erica hadn’t been there, he suspected the guy would have only left ten bucks.

"He says he wants to invest, but then he’s unwilling to put up the money. And she even sent someone to negotiate in person... I really don’t know what’s going on in her head. If she didn’t want to invest, she shouldn’t have said anything in the first place!"

"Alright, alright, don’t be angry."

Lin Chen gently rubbed her back a few times and said patiently, "It’s true that I’m short on money right now, but you heard him. If we plan for phased development, we’ll have an income stream once the restaurant is open, plus monetization from the video traffic."

"Oh, right, and there’s the beef hot pot restaurant. I deliberately didn’t tell him about that. When the time comes, we’ll be making money from three sources. It won’t take long to earn our first pot of gold, and then we can start construction on the second phase."

"To be honest, I don’t really want your mom to invest too much money. Her stake would be too high. On the surface, it would look like we’re running it, but in reality, it would be her property. You wouldn’t want to see that happen, would you?"

"Putting all that aside, I think her sending Simon here has another meaning."

"Huh? What?"

"She’s hinting to you not to rush into investing your money. What if it all goes down the drain? You have to be cautious, cautious, and more cautious."

"That’s my money!"

Erica slammed the table. "I can spend it however I want! What right does she have to control me?"

"Hey, little wildcat, calm down. It’s your money, yes, but your mom worked hard to earn it. Didn’t you say yourself that you don’t want to spend it unless it’s absolutely necessary?"

"What did you just call me?"

"Huh?"

"Quick, say it again. I want to hear it."

Stared at by her crystal-clear, beautiful eyes, Lin Chen subconsciously wanted to look away. But then he remembered the promise he had just made with her and forced himself to speak.

"Little... little wildcat?"

"Ha! I like that nickname, it suits me. I didn’t know you were so good at coming up with them. So, what should I call you..."

Erica was clearly very pleased with his courage. Her beautiful eyes curved into crescents as she rested her head on her hand, thinking for a moment.

"Little sea otter, how about that?"

"Why a sea otter??"

’I thought it would be something like a pig or a dog, but a sea otter?’

’Foreigners’ thought processes really are something else.’

"Because sea otters are smart and capable, and they’re also very cute, just like you."

"...Is it appropriate to describe a grown man as ’cute’?"

"Didn’t you say it before? What was that phrase... In a lover’s eyes, the other person gets cuter and cuter?"

"I get it. So you’re saying I’m fat."

"Huh? No, no, that’s not what I meant at all!!"

After some lighthearted banter, Erica stopped fussing over the investment issue.

It was a collaboration between him and her mom. If both parties involved were fine with it, she, as an outsider, had no room to interfere.

Besides, what Lin Chen said did make sense. She didn’t want the business they built with their own hands to become her mom’s property.

The thought of everything she saw, touched, sat on, and lay on every day belonging to her mom was suffocating.

"BEEP BEEP BEEP—"

Just then, the timer went off.

Lin Chen immediately ran to the stove, turned off the heat under the pressure cooker, and then lifted the lid of the adjacent pot. A rich, savory aroma rose with the steam.

"It smells so good!"

Erica leaned in curiously.

While they were eating hot pot earlier, she had been focused on discussing the contract. That, combined with the aroma of the boiling beef broth right in front of her, meant she hadn’t paid much attention to this side of the stove.

It wasn’t until he lifted the lid that she took a deep sniff and realized the faint, unique fragrance in the air was coming from here.

The dark brown liquid bubbling in the pot looked as eerie as a witch’s potion from a movie, yet it continuously gave off an enticing, meaty aroma.

Lin Chen picked up a chopstick and gently poked the beef shank. With a little pressure, the entire chopstick sank right to the bottom of the pot.

Forty-five minutes was the perfect amount of time to cook the beef shank through without it becoming mushy.

If he cooked it any longer, it would fall apart when he tried to slice it.

He lifted the meat out of the pot to cool, leaving the pot of braising liquid uncovered to cool naturally as well.

After letting the pressure cooker next to it sit for a while, he began to open the lid.

"Why not just open it right away?"

"Because it’s a pressure cooker. The inside is basically in a semi-vacuum state, and the pressure is higher than outside. If you don’t wait for it to cool down before opening it, one wrong move could easily cause an explosion."

"What??? This pot can explode?"

Before, she had only ever heard Lin Chen talk about the advantages of this kind of pot. She never imagined the thing was so dangerous.

"That’s why the safest method is to be patient and let it cool naturally for five to fifteen minutes. You can also run it under cold water to speed up the cooling process, but if you’re not in a hurry, it’s best to just wait."

When the pressure cooker was opened, it revealed more of the same dark brown braising liquid. The originally white, rod-shaped beef tendons had been completely dyed a reddish-brown, and they were so soft and tender that they jiggled like pudding with the slightest movement.

"The tendons can be eaten now. The beef shank needs to soak in the braising liquid overnight after it cools. Do you want to try some now? I can slice a couple of pieces for you."

"Nah, let’s eat it tomorrow. I’m so full right now~"

He had expected Erica, the little glutton, to nod immediately, but who would have thought she’d actually resist the temptation.

"It’s hard to feel happiness from food when you’re already full. Eating even the most delicious thing right now would be a waste. It’s better to wait until I’m hungry. I’m just respecting the value of the food~"

"Alright, suit yourself. But I don’t agree with that ’can’t feel happiness when you’re full’ part. I can find a food right now that will make you feel happy."

"Impossible! I’m completely stuffed. I feel like the food is piled up to my throat. I’m not interested in any food whatsoever!"

"Alright, wanna bet?"

"Bet what?"

"What do you want to bet?"

Erica blinked, poking his cheek with an amused expression.

"Hey, you’re the one who was so confident about making a bet. That means you must be sure you’ll win. Normally, you could propose stakes that are favorable to you, like making me do something for you, or doing something *to* me."

"You really are just like a clueless little sea otter. You’re not even taking advantage of such a great opportunity, instead asking me what I want to bet. Sometimes I really wonder, am I even attractive to you? How can you act so calm?"

"No, you don’t get it," Lin Chen said, waving his hand with a solemn expression. "Using a bet to take advantage of a girl is something scumbags and hooligans do. It proves they have no confidence in themselves and have to rely on such tricks."

"A person with an upright character would never do something so despicable."

"Wow, well said. I applaud you!"

"...Why do I feel like you’re being all yin-yang with me?"

"’Yin-yang’? What’s that?"

"Uh, I’ll explain it to you later. With your current Chinese level being practically zero, you wouldn’t understand the explanation anyway... Hey? I’ve got it!"

His eyes lit up as an excellent idea suddenly occurred to him.

"How about this: the stakes are still that the loser has to do one thing for the winner, as long as it’s within reasonable and legal bounds. Sound good?"

"You’re not planning to use this bet to make me learn Chinese, are you?"

"??????"

Seeing the astonishment written all over his face that screamed ’How did you guess?’, Erica stifled a laugh behind her hand.

"I’m definitely going to learn Chinese eventually, but I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. You can’t feel my sense of happiness. All I have to do is pretend I don’t feel anything, right? Who could prove I’m faking it?"

"You’re so going to lose~"