Dean Zheng said to Ye Chen, "Before opening a shop, you have to consider the risks. We've never run a business before; we might lose money."
"I actually like losing money… No, what I mean is I'm not opening the shop to make a profit—I just want to help our Orphanage."
Seeing Dean Zheng's odd look, Ye Chen quickly corrected himself.
"But, Xiao Ye, you've already donated books and built the Basketball court. You've done so much for the Orphanage—we really can't accept more."
At that moment, Xia Yingluo walked over.
"What are you two talking about?"
Dean Zheng said, "This kid Ye Chen wants to open a shop to help our Orphanage."
"Open a shop?" Xia Yingluo was also taken aback.
Both Dean Zheng and Xia Yingluo were deeply moved.
Ye Chen truly had the Orphanage's welfare at heart.
Their grateful gazes made Ye Chen blush.
In truth, Ye Chen just wanted to earn more money so he could fleece the System.
But with the two of them so touched, he felt a bit ashamed.
Dean Zheng had also dreamed of running a shop.
The Orphanage's costs kept rising; maintaining normal operations was already a struggle.
And the children would eventually grow up; life after leaving the Orphanage was another problem.
While kids like Xia Yingluo could attend University and find a good path, not every child had grades as stellar as hers.
Without supervision, many dropped out early and entered society.
If the Orphanage really owned a shop, those kids would have a fallback when life outside got too tough… Finally, Ye Chen convinced Dean Zheng to open a Hot Pot Restaurant.
But disputes arose over the details.
"Ye Chen, that won't do. You're funding the shop and already letting our kids work there—we're immensely grateful. How can you also give the Orphanage shares?"
Dean Zheng couldn't fathom Ye Chen's plan.
He'd assumed Ye Chen would simply hire the kids, which was generous enough.
Yet Ye Chen had just offered to split the shares with the Orphanage.
Dean Zheng found it hard to accept.
After all, Ye Chen would invest every cent; the Orphanage wouldn't put in a single yuan.
And now Ye Chen wanted to allocate shares to the Orphanage.
Dean Zheng felt it was too great a favor.
Ye Chen persuaded him, "Dean Zheng, I don't see anything wrong with giving the Orphanage shares—this is the Orphanage's business too."
Ye Chen had already decided the shop would operate at a loss.
His plan was to keep pouring money in and reap tenfold rebates.
So, for a loss-making shop, he really didn't care about the share ratio.
Ye Chen had calculated everything in advance.
The System's rebate was tied to the Orphanage's stake.
The larger the Orphanage's share, the bigger Ye Chen's rebate.
For example: invest 100,000, the Orphanage holds fifty percent, and Ye Chen gets a 500,000 rebate.
But if the Orphanage owns only ten percent, he'd receive just 100,000.
Naturally, Ye Chen wanted to give the Orphanage as many shares as possible.
Ye Chen originally intended to hand over all the shares and offered the Orphanage ninety percent, but the Dean flatly refused.
Reluctantly, Ye Chen lowered it to fifty percent.
"Ye Chen, something still feels off to me." The more Dean Zheng thought about it, the fishier it seemed.
Ye Chen wasn't doing business at all—he was simply giving money to the Orphanage.
"What's wrong with that? Look, our Hot Pot Restaurant's managers and staff will all be from the Orphanage, right? Allocating shares is just to boost everyone's motivation. With motivation we'll earn more money, yeah?"
Afraid the Dean might back out, Ye Chen started sweet-talking him.
Dean Zheng declared, "Ye Chen, I give you my word: whether it's me or our kids, we'll devote ourselves to your Hot Pot Restaurant. Whether there are shares or not, after all you've done, if we still slacked off, we wouldn't be human."
Ye Chen said earnestly, "Actually, the main reason I'm giving shares is to give the kids a sense of ownership. When they feel like masters of the shop, they can hold their heads high out in the world!"
Dean Zheng was stunned.
Tears already glimmered in Xia Yingluo's eyes.
Ye Chen was truly selfless, thinking only of the Orphanage and its children.
Dean Zheng was deeply moved.
"Yingluo, you must treat Ye Chen well from now on. Otherwise, don't bother coming back to the Orphanage."
Xia Yingluo: "…"
She suddenly felt Dean Zheng was looking at Ye Chen the way a father-in-law gazes fondly at his son-in-law.
At Ye Chen's insistence, they finally signed a contract giving the Orphanage fifty percent of the shares.
Ye Chen and the Orphanage each held fifty percent of the Hot Pot Restaurant.
Though Ye Chen felt a bit regretful, the contract was signed.
Next, once his bitcoin funds came through, he could invest and properly fleece the System… After Ye Chen left, the Dean called Xia Yingluo over.
He handed her the contract.
Xia Yingluo blinked in surprise. "Dean, isn't this contract between you and the Orphanage?"
The Dean shook his head. "From now on, these fifty percent of the shares belong to you."
"Dean, how can that be right?" Xia Yingluo shook her head repeatedly.
Dean Zheng sighed. "Ye Chen can selflessly give us money, but he's already helped the Orphanage so much. How can we keep taking advantage of him?"
"But if you don't want the contract, you should return it to Ye Chen—why give it to me?" Xia Yingluo was utterly bewildered.
Dean Zheng said, "Sooner or later you'll be his; once you marry him, won't the contract be back in Ye Chen's hands?"
Xia Yingluo's face flushed crimson.
Dean Zheng added, "About opening the Hot Pot Restaurant, discuss it with Ye Chen. Since he's kindly helping us, we should do everything we can to run the place well—at the very least, we mustn't let Ye Chen lose money."
Xia Yingluo bit her lip and nodded.
That night, Xia Yingluo didn't sleep at all, researching on her phone and scribbling in a notebook.
By dawn, she had filled several pages.
On the first page she'd written "Hot Pot Restaurant Development Plan."
The next day, Ye Chen had just stepped into the Classroom when he spotted the panda-eyed Xia Yingluo.
Ye Chen was speechless. "Girl, what did you do last night? Look at those dark circles—you didn't sleep at all, did you?"
Xia Yingluo yawned; she'd napped barely an hour after sunrise before heading to school.
She handed him the plan and said, "Here, my whole night's work."
Ye Chen stared at the plan, stunned—this girl had pulled an all-nighter drafting a complete opening plan for the Hot Pot Restaurant.
She was way too hardcore!