Ye Chen and Xia Yingluo went together to a supermarket around the corner.
The two of them each bought a bottle of cola.
Ye Chen took a sip and couldn't help but say, "Cola is so refreshing."
After drinking half the bottle, he finally managed to suppress the heat.
Xia Yingluo asked curiously, "Ye Chen, you're so amazing. Professor Li actually took the initiative to take you as his apprentice."
What surprised Xia Yingluo even more was the expression Old Man Xia had when he saw Ye Chen verify Goldbachs Conjecture.
Being able to move Professor Li Tongming meant that the conjecture Ye Chen verified was very likely correct.
Ye Chen took a sip of cola and said with a smile, "Actually, I didn't intend to become an apprentice, but Professor Li is highly respected. Since he wanted to take on an apprentice, I just didn't want to let him down."
Xia Yingluo was stunned for a moment, not understanding what Ye Chen meant.
But soon, Xia Yingluo understood.
She knew Ye Chen's strength better than anyone. After all, being able to solve Goldbachs Conjecture alone was a miracle in the mathematical world.
Even Li Tongming couldn't do it.
It was only natural for Li Tongming to take Ye Chen as his apprentice.
In Yingluo's eyes, Li Tongming was at the pinnacle of the mathematical world.
Being his apprentice should be an honor.
But Xia Yingluo suddenly thought of something and fell silent.
Could it be that Ye Chen's attainments in mathematics now surpassed Li Tongming's, which was why he said what he just did!
The Hot Pot Restaurant had already been open for a week. Although Song Yuyu had been full of confidence when she spoke, the Kyoto Hot Pot Restaurant hadn't made any money since it opened.
Inside the Hot Pot Restaurant, Song Yuyu anxiously said to Xia Yingluo, "Yingluo, the rent for our shop is so expensive. Right now, the daily turnover is only over nine thousand. If we can't make fifteen thousand a day, we're operating at a loss."
Song Yuyu was feeling extremely anxious now.
After all, if the business at the Kyoto shop was good, she would be able to get a share of the profits.
Most importantly, this was Xia Yingluo's trust in her.
But now, with the Hot Pot Restaurant making less than 10,000 in turnover per day, it was losing money.
This made Song Yuyu feel like she had let Xia Yingluo down.
Xia Yingluo also frowned.
Although the start of the Kyoto shop was much better than the Jiangcheng shop, both the rent and costs for the Kyoto shop were quite high.
Therefore, even though they were selling 10,000 a day, they were still losing money.
Most importantly, Kyoto was different from Jiangzhou.
The Hot Pot Restaurant's brand hadn't been established yet, and Song Yuyu really couldn't think of a way to make it profitable.
Xia Yingluo had no solution either. In fact, there were already many customers in the shop.
The decoration style of the Hot Pot Restaurant and this self-service model were actually very eye-catching. In the few days since opening, the daily foot traffic had reached five or six hundred, which was not a small number.
It was just because the costs had gone up, so to make money, they needed to increase the foot traffic.
But as of now, it had already reached the limit of customer traffic.
What should they do? Song Yuyu looked at Xia Yingluo, who also had no solution, and felt like crying.
"Yuyu, what's wrong?"
Accompanied by a hearty laugh, Old Man Xia walked in.
As soon as Old Man Xia walked into the Hot Pot Restaurant, he saw Song Yuyu wailing while slumped over the table.
In these past few days, Old Man Xia and Song Yuyu had become very familiar with each other.
Song Yuyu's personality was naturally lively, and the two of them soon became friends across generations.
Seeing Professor Xia, Song Yuyu raised her head and said, "Old Man Xia, you're here."
Song Yuyu saw an old acquaintance behind Professor Xia.
"Professor Xiao, you've come again."
Behind Old Man Xia, Xiao He looked helpless.
Hearing Song Yuyu's words, Xiao He's old face twitched even more.
He really wanted to complain—was it really him who wanted to come?
This Old Man Xia was too wicked.
The first time Old Man Xia invited him to eat Hot Pot, Xiao He was quite happy.
The taste of the Hot Pot was indeed good, but one couldn't eat Hot Pot every day.
Xiao He felt like he was about to eat his way into having high blood lipids.
Xiao He glanced at his abdomen.
He felt that the fat around his abdomen had increased by a few layers.
This check-up would definitely result in a fatty liver.
Old Man Xia asked with a smile, "Yuyu, who bullied you? Tell Grandpa Xia."
Seeing Song Yuyu's distressed expression, Old Man Xia asked with concern.
"It's nothing much, it's just that business at the Hot Pot Restaurant hasn't been good lately and we've been operating at a loss," Xia Yingluo explained from the side.
Xia Yingluo glanced at Old Man Xia and shook her head, guessing that Old Man Xia wouldn't have any solution either.
Seeing his granddaughter's disdainful little look, Old Man Xia got worked up.
Who said I couldn't help? My own granddaughter actually looked down on me; this was something Old Man Xia couldn't tolerate.
However, although he was stubborn, Old Man Xia thought about it, and he really didn't have any solution.
After all, he was a professor. Although he had quite a bit of property and was very capable in academics, Old Man Xia was not a businessman.
When it came to business matters like this, he was truly powerless.
Old Man Xia turned his gaze toward Xiao He.
Professor Xiao said, "Don't look at me, I have no solution."
"Let me tell you, I've already been very supportive of you. Look at me, I accompany you to eat Hot Pot every day, and now I'm almost eating my way into a fatty liver."
Although Hot Pot was delicious, they were old, and with such high fat content, who could stand eating it every day?
If it weren't for the fact that Professor Xia and Xiao He had a good relationship, and he was dragged to the shop to eat Hot Pot by Professor Xia every day, he would have quit long ago.
Professor Xia scratched his head, also having no solution.
At this moment, Ye Chen had just finished class and walked in from outside.
He happened to see several people looking distressed.
Ye Chen laughed and said, "What's going on with all of you?"
When Xia Yingluo saw Ye Chen, her eyes instantly lit up.
"Ye Chen, we were just discussing that our business has been operating at a loss. Do you have any way to turn losses into profits?"
Professor Xia noticed that his granddaughter didn't hold any hope for him at all.
But seeing how her eyes lit up for Ye Chen, Old Man Xia felt a bit annoyed. His own granddaughter didn't believe in him at all, only in Ye Chen.
He had lived more than 40 years longer than Ye Chen, after all, and had eaten more salt than Ye Chen had eaten rice.
Why didn't his granddaughter believe in him?
Old Man Xia felt a wave of grievance in his heart. He also looked at Ye Chen, wanting to see if Ye Chen really had a solution.
Ye Chen thought for a moment and said, "There is a way."
Ye Chen's expression was a bit hesitant. Xia Yingluo said excitedly, "You really have a way? What is the way?"
However, Ye Chen's expression seemed very conflicted.
After pondering for a moment, Ye Chen asked Xia Yingluo, "How much are you willing to sacrifice for our Hot Pot Restaurant?"
Ye Chen suddenly said something unrelated.
Xia Yingluo was stunned for a moment and said, "Unless you ask me to give you up, I am willing to sacrifice everything else."
This Hot Pot Restaurant had an extraordinary meaning to Xia Yingluo; the Hot Pot Restaurant witnessed Xia Yingluo's youth and love, and even more, carried the fate of the children in the Orphanage.
Most importantly, this Hot Pot Restaurant was a joint venture between her and Ye Chen.
Looking at Xia Yingluo's shining eyes, Ye Chen nodded, patted Xia Yingluo's little head, and said, "Since that's the case, then there is a way."