Chapter 300: Shopping And Dining, Enjoying Their Own Little World!
The waiting area at the Hermes counter in Yansha, Capital City.
Jiang Tao looked at Yuan Mengqi, who had already selected her items and paid the bill without a word, feeling a mixture of speechlessness and concern.
These purchases could have been paid for with Yuan Mengqi’s exclusive Love Fund.
However, Yuan Mengqi used her own deposit.
“What’s wrong, Brother Tao? Are you angry?”
Yuan Mengqi sidled up to Jiang Tao, linking her arm through his, putting on a charming, delicate woman’s facade.
Before they came, it had indeed been agreed that Jiang Tao would buy things for her.
As it turned out, after she went in and picked out items, she only chose a dress for herself priced at just over 20,000 yuan.
The remaining bags and packages were all gifts for Jiang Tao, Jiang Dad, Jiang Mom, and Third Sister Jiang Bing.
When buying gifts for Jiang Tao’s family, Yuan Mengqi was truly generous with her spending, spending over 300,000 yuan on a pile of things!
This shopping trip today was also the biggest expense Yuan Mengqi had ever incurred in her life.
The other buddies in the waiting area, who were ready to pay for their girlfriends at any moment, overheard their conversation.
The looks they gave Jiang Tao were as if they wished they could be in his place!
It was one thing for a girlfriend to be beautiful and elegant, but she was also quite wealthy!
Could this buddy be…
The onlookers looked at Jiang Tao with complicated expressions, some even suspecting he was Yuan Mengqi’s kept man.
“Let’s let this slide this time, but you’re not allowed to make decisions on your own next time.”
Jiang Tao knew Yuan Mengqi meant well, so he wouldn’t blame her; in fact, he felt a little touched.
When Yuan Mengqi was with him, she never asked for anything, only gave.
Since they got together, Yuan Mengqi’s spending on Jiang Tao had definitely exceeded Jiang Tao’s spending on her.
Every time Jiang Tao gave her something, she would reciprocate with something more expensive.
Towards Jiang Tao, Yuan Mengqi was completely unreserved, wishing she could give him her heart and soul.
She also cherished the rare fate they shared.
She had truly fallen for Jiang Tao, and her love ran deep.
“Mhm, I promise there won’t be a next time~”
“Honey, can you smile a little? When you keep a straight face like that, I get butterflies too.”
Seeing Jiang Tao’s expression soften, Yuan Mengqi tilted her head, looked into his eyes, and gave him a playful look.
Yuan Mengqi, now 31 years old and the same age as Jiang Tao, had always had a mature, sophisticated style.
Since confirming her relationship with Jiang Tao, her personality had become increasingly lively, as if her mindset had rejuvenated by over a decade.
“Haha, let’s go, let’s eat first. What do you want to eat tonight?”
Jiang Tao smiled, gently stroking Yuan Mengqi’s face, and with a laugh, he put his arm around her and they headed out.
Leaving behind a few onlookers in the waiting area, so envious they were almost splitting themselves.
Yuan Mengqi had been dieting recently, eating only a small amount for dinner each time, her appetite comparable to that of a five or six-year-old child in kindergarten.
For her, it didn’t really matter what she ate.
Ultimately, Jiang Tao himself chose the dining location.
It was a buffet barbecue restaurant on the 6th floor of Yansha, with an average price of 499 yuan per person, Black Ox Barbecue!
It was quite a coincidence.
At this time, the Delicious Barbecue Sauce produced by Jiang’s Food Factory was actually bought by Jiang Tao from the owner of Black Ox Barbecue, Tian Wei.
Jiang Tao originally paid 200,000 yuan to Tian Wei for the barbecue sauce recipe.
After the system’s analysis and optimization, it was transformed into the current, higher quality “Delicious Barbecue Sauce.”
However, due to insufficient raw material supply, the money Jiang Tao spent on the barbecue sauce had not yet been recouped.
Once there were developments from the farm managed by Liu Yuan and the raw material issue was resolved,
they would surely earn back thousands of times over in the future.
Jiang Tao was quite confident about this.
Black Ox Barbecue in Yansha, like the one in Wanxiang Hui, was doing very brisk business.
When Jiang Tao and Yuan Mengqi arrived, there were still twenty to thirty diners waiting in the waiting area outside the entrance.
“There are so many people. Brother Tao, I hope our hot pot restaurant will be as successful as this barbecue restaurant when it opens.”
Yuan Mengqi looked at the crowded Black Ox Barbecue restaurant, with customers dining inside.
In the waiting area outside, there were constantly people like her and Jiang Tao waiting for seats, their eyes filled with envy.
Since she started preparing for the Delicious Clay Pot Restaurant, Yuan Mengqi had been paying close attention to the business status of various restaurants when she went out.
When she saw a restaurant with booming business, she would also go in and patronize it to personally experience why its business was so good.
If she saw a business that wasn’t doing well, she would also go in and spend money.
She would figure out the reasons for their poor business so that they could try to avoid them when their own hot pot restaurant opened.
Yuan Mengqi cherished the Delicious Clay Pot Restaurant, which she was cooperating with Jiang Tao on, as if it were her own child.
She strived for perfection in all preparations.
“Don’t worry, our hot pot restaurant will do even better business than this barbecue restaurant.”
Jiang Tao’s face showed an expression of immense confidence.
He held the “secret weapon” of “Delicious Clay Pot +3” 【Delicious Clay Pot】, which was like a “game-changer.”
It would be hard for the hot pot restaurant’s business not to be booming!
“Mhm, under your leadership, Brother Tao, our hot pot restaurant will surely create our own legend.”
Yuan Mengqi looked at her man with adoration, her eyes full of trust and love for him.
“What do we do now? Should we wait?”
Yuan Mengqi saw that there were many people in the waiting area and estimated they would have to wait at least half an hour for their turn.
Jiang Tao looked at Yuan Mengqi with a smile and teased:
“Qiqi, do you believe me if I say that if I go up and give my name, we’ll be seated immediately?”
Yuan Mengqi covered her mouth and chuckled, “Does Brother Tao have that much influence?”
“Don’t believe me? Come on, I’ll show you.”
Jiang Tao smiled, reached out, took Yuan Mengqi’s hand, and walked towards the service desk.
“I’m sorry, the restaurant is currently full.”
“To ensure the dining experience for our customers, you will need to take a number and wait before you can dine.”
“It will take about 35 more minutes. Would you like to take a number?”
A waitress at the service desk, wearing a black women’s small suit and an earpiece, apologized to Jiang Tao and Yuan Mengqi.
Jiang Tao asked with a smile, “Hello beautiful, does your Platinum VIP Card offer a skip-the-line service?”
“Uh, yes, sir! May I have your name and phone number…”
Upon hearing that Jiang Tao was a Platinum VIP member, the waitress’s attitude immediately became even more respectful!
The membership cards at Black Ox Barbecue had three tiers.
They were Silver Member, Gold Member, and Platinum Member.
Depositing 10,000 yuan automatically upgraded one to a Silver Member card.
Silver Members received a 10% discount on in-store consumption.
Depositing 50,000 yuan upgraded one to a Gold Member, offering a 20% discount.
Depositing 100,000 yuan upgraded one to a Platinum Member card.
Platinum card members not only enjoyed a 30% discount on consumption but also had the privilege of skipping the line.
Of course, Jiang Tao’s membership card wasn’t topped up by himself.
He had won it in a lucky draw on the Black Ox Barbecue mini-program after a certain purchase.
It was said that the chance of winning this Platinum Card was less than one in a million, but he had somehow managed to win it.
As a result, the programmer responsible for the lucky draw mini-program at the company was criticized by their leader.
The mini-program, reflecting on its shortcomings, quietly increased the winning probability of the Platinum Card in the backend to match that of the Double Color Ball lottery.
Of course, these were all behind-the-scenes matters at Black Ox Barbecue, known only to those involved.
Jiang Tao was unaware of this.
He believed that winning the Platinum Card back then had a lot to do with the 【Heluo Stone】 he was wearing; it was probably a burst of incredible luck.
After Jiang Tao gave his name and mobile number to the waitress, she immediately arranged for a dedicated person to escort him and Yuan Mengqi into the restaurant.
Some uninformed diners in the waiting area saw them enter ahead of time and felt indignant.
“Waitress, what’s going on? I’ve been waiting for over ten minutes, and they just arrived and went in?”
A young man, seeing Jiang Tao and Yuan Mengqi enter, couldn’t help but step forward to question them.
The waitress patiently explained:
“I’m sorry, sir, those two are our Platinum Members and are entitled to skip the line service.”
“Platinum Member?”
The young man was clearly dining at Black Ox Barbecue for the first time and had never heard of this concept before.
The waitress patiently explained:
“By depositing 100,000 yuan, you can obtain our Platinum Membership, which not only offers a 30% discount on dining but also the privilege of skipping the line service.”
“Uh…”
Upon hearing that a deposit of 100,000 yuan was required to upgrade to a Platinum Card membership, the young man immediately began to lose interest.
He secretly congratulated himself for not mentioning that he also wanted to upgrade to a Platinum Card.
His monthly salary was only seven to eight thousand yuan.
Bringing his girlfriend here this time was just to experience the dishes at this internet-famous restaurant.
If he didn’t spend a single cent of his salary for a year, it wouldn’t be enough for the deposit.
After receiving the waitress’s explanation, the young man retreated and returned to quietly wait for his meal.
“Mr. Jiang, if you have any issues during your meal, you can press this call button, and our service staff will be here to assist you immediately.”
A waitress, dressed in a burgundy women’s small suit uniform, said respectfully to Jiang Tao after escorting him and Yuan Mengqi to a separate area.
Black Ox Barbecue did not have private rooms, but it did have several separate dining tables like the one Jiang Tao and Yuan Mengqi were now seated at.
The equipment and seating here were nothing special, but they offered better privacy.
“Okay, you can go ahead. We’ll call you if we need anything.”
Jiang Tao waved his hand, signaling her to leave.
“Certainly, Mr. Jiang. We hope you enjoy your meal.”
The waitress respectfully bid Jiang Tao farewell and then turned to leave.
Both Jiang Tao and Yuan Mengqi had experienced hardship and were not pampered; they didn’t need constant service wherever they went.
After putting down their bags and jackets, they went to the buffet area, chatting and laughing, to pick out the ingredients they liked.
Jiang Tao was here for the barbecue today, so he picked only the restaurant’s prime cuts of beef.
Yuan Mengqi, on the other hand, chose some shrimp and green leafy vegetables.
For dinner, they chatted softly while grilling their food on the barbecue stove.
Yuan Mengqi chattered about what she had learned in her training classes and some new friends she had made.
Initially, when Jiang Tao signed her and Lin Ranran up for the training classes, she felt he was wasting money and that it was unnecessary.
One could easily find a plethora of business management books and courses online with a quick search.
But after she actually attended and began learning from the instructor,
she realized why their courses were so expensive and why so many people enrolled.
The students in Yuan Mengqi’s cohort came from all over the country, totaling 50 people.
There were entrepreneurs who had been in business for many years and had entered a stable operating phase.
There were also executives from joint ventures with an annual revenue exceeding 100 million yuan who came for further advanced studies.
Those like Yuan Mengqi and Lin Ranran, who were still in the early stages of entrepreneurship, were actually a minority, accounting for only about 20% of the total number.
While chatting and laughing, Yuan Mengqi also took on the responsibility of grilling the meat.
Once the meat was cooked, she carefully cut it into bite-sized pieces for Jiang Tao with scissors.
She was as gentle and thoughtful as a newlywed wife.
Jiang Tao, while enjoying Yuan Mengqi’s grilling service, chatted with her in a low voice.
Although they hadn’t been together for a long time,
they already had the feeling of an old married couple, sharing everything and talking about anything.
Yuan Mengqi would occasionally burst into laughter, amused by Jiang Tao.
The moments spent with Jiang Tao were always her happiest times.
Jiang Tao was quickly becoming her source of joy.
“Hey, Xiao Yuan, what a coincidence!”
Suddenly, an unfamiliar male voice interrupted Jiang Tao and Yuan Mengqi’s conversation.
Jiang Tao and Yuan Mengqi both turned their heads in the direction of the voice.
Upon seeing who had spoken, Yuan Mengqi’s cheerful and smiling face instantly turned somber.
Seeing the change in Yuan Mengqi’s expression, Jiang Tao frowned slightly, sensing something unusual.
“Is this gentleman Ms. Yuan’s friend?”
Ma Jinsong, as if he hadn’t noticed Jiang Tao and Yuan Mengqi’s unwelcoming expressions, maintained his smile and scrutinized Jiang Tao with a discerning gaze.
Jiang Tao looked at Yuan Mengqi and asked, “Qiqi, are you well acquainted with him?”
Yuan Mengqi looked at Jiang Tao, seemingly afraid he might misunderstand, and quickly explained:
“Brother Tao, he… he’s an instructor from our training class.”
Yuan Mengqi had previously only shared the good news with Jiang Tao.
She had only mentioned the good friends she had made and some happy events during her training.
However, she had not told Jiang Tao about instances like Ma Jinsong’s harassment.
One reason was to avoid him misunderstanding, another was to prevent causing him trouble, and a third was to prevent him from acting impulsively and doing something irrational.
“My name is Ma Jinsong, a gold medal lecturer at Xingdong Education.”
“Miss Yuan is the most spiritually gifted and the most beautiful student I have ever taught.”
“You are truly fortunate to have such a friend.”
Ma Jinsong stood beside Jiang Tao and Yuan Mengqi, his gaze fixed entirely on Yuan Mengqi, as if Jiang Tao didn’t exist.
Even in front of Jiang Tao, he did not hesitate to express his admiration and praise for Yuan Mengqi.
However, Yuan Mengqi felt no joy upon hearing his compliments; she wished he would shut up immediately.
For a man to praise her in front of her boyfriend was not a good thing!
If he encountered a jealous man with a small mind, he might become jealous in minutes.
