445: National Restaurant is stable

Two hours later, Yan Xiaoli and Wang Doudou were in Pan Han's car.

The two beauties looked at Pan Han, feeling like something was off, but they couldn't quite put their finger on it.

A sense of unfamiliarity lingered in their hearts.

"What's wrong with you two? You've been staring for ten minutes, right? Don't you recognize me?" Pan Han puffed on his cigarette, sitting motionless, glancing at them sideways.

"Boss, have you encountered some major change recently? Your eyes and temperament seem off," Yan Xiaoli said, touching Pan Han's forehead and pinching his shoulder.

"Yeah, I have that feeling too." Wang Doudou, having taken the Primary Yellow Potion, was more sensitive and could feel a fluctuation of energy from Pan Han.

"I have indeed experienced some changes." Pan Han didn't deny it, but he didn't offer much explanation either.

"Let's go. Let's go see Little Ling and Old Qin."

"Xiaoli, from now on, you take care of Little Ling. Ellie has other matters to attend to and won't be back for a while."

"Ah? What happened to Ai Li?"

"I have other work for her."

"I was planning to take her with me when I go to the Myanmar Northern Region to film a movie. Come to think of it, it really has been a long time since I've seen her. I can't even reach her on the phone."

Yan Xiaoli took out her phone, which had many messages sent to Ellie.

Wang Doudou grabbed Pan Han from behind and said, "You didn't send Ellie to Africa, did you?"

"No, no, you two stop asking so many questions. Let's hurry and find Little Ling." Pan Han didn't want to explain further and immediately started driving.

On the way, the three of them bought plenty of snacks, toys, and clothes before parking the car directly in front of the National Restaurant.

It was now eleven in the morning, and people were already arriving one after another to eat.

Pan Han wasn't in a rush to get out; instead, he sat in the car and observed.

Several elderly people were helping each other, slowly shuffling toward the steps, preparing to go inside to eat.

At this moment, Qin Hongbing hurried out to help the elderly people inside.

After observing for ten minutes, more than a dozen elderly people had gone in to eat, and Pan Han nodded.

Being recognized by the neighborhood elders meant that the National Restaurant's taste and pricing were well-received.

They treated this place as their own cafeteria, and even a social hub.

"Old Qin, come out for a moment. We're in the car at the entrance." Pan Han called Qin Hongbing directly to come out.

Before long, Old Qin hurried out, looked around, spotted Pan Han's car, and hopped in.

"Boss Pan, what brings you here?"

"Just stopping by to see how you've all been lately."

"It's going great, business is excellent." Qin Zhong hadn't seen them for a long time and was visibly excited, rubbing his hands together constantly.

"How's the turnover?" Pan Han handed him a cigarette, and Old Qin took it, then lit one for Pan Han.

"Heh, our National Restaurant sells at least two thousand set meals every day, with a turnover of tens of thousands." Qin Hongbing spoke of the performance with quite a bit of pride.

"Oh? How are you selling so many?" Pan Han was surprised to hear there were two thousand orders.

"Boss, there are tens of thousands of households around here. Many people don't cook dinner and come to our place to eat, or buy it to take home."

"Mm, not bad, not bad!" Pan Han nodded. A turnover of several tens of thousands a day should be enough to cover all costs.

"How are the employees? Is everyone doing well?"

"Definitely! Everyone has gotten to know each other, and we just paid out salaries, with even the lowest earners getting 6,000. Everyone is very satisfied."

Hearing this, Pan Han nodded, while Wang Doudou felt nothing.

Only Yan Xiaoli was surprised; before meeting Pan Han, her income had long been below that amount.

Moreover, she used to frequent various small eateries and knew how much a regular waiter made per month.

6,000 yuan, even in a place as expensive as Kyoto, was enough for them to live quite well.

Besides, the National Restaurant provided meals, and there was low-cost employee housing, which was equivalent to an extra two thousand yuan a month!

If they were frugal with their daily expenses, they could save quite a bit of money each month.

"Old Qin, what's your income now?" Yan Xiaoli couldn't help but ask.

"Heh heh! Teacher Xiaoli, thanks to Boss Pan, I'm making twenty thousand a month now." Old Qin was a bit embarrassed and kept his head bowed low.

"Wow, that's really great. Old Qin, you've really made it through." Yan Xiaoli patted Old Qin's shoulder, recalling the scene when she first met him—that down-and-out, middle-aged, defeated man who made one's heart ache just looking at him.

"I have to thank Boss Pan!"

"No need to thank me. Just do a good job with the National Restaurant from now on. Mobilize the employees' morale and initiative, and perfect all the processes as soon as possible. Once that's done, create a manual, and then we'll open branches."

Pan Han waved his hand, signaling Old Qin not to be so formal, but then followed up with new requirements.

"Yes, I'm working on it. Now everyone treats the restaurant like their own home. Whenever there's something to be done, everyone pitches in. Every day there are new ideas and new rules." Speaking of this, Qin Hongbing's eyes lit up.

He had been an entrepreneur for half his life and had never met a boss who didn't care about profits.

Once he let go of the idea of just making money, things suddenly opened up.

All the staff were like bosses, each of them competing to do better for the restaurant.

In the morning, someone noticed the restroom was dirty and suggested increasing the cleaning frequency; in the afternoon, someone else mentioned that the elderly liked to take the free pickles, so they needed to stock more.

In short, he, as the store manager, seemed useless; it was extremely relaxing, and he didn't have to worry much.

"Mm, that's good! Shall we go see Little Ling?" Pan Han was just about to start the car when he was stopped by Qin Hongbing.

"Boss, Little Ling is still in class; she hasn't returned yet."

"Oh! I remember now, I arranged for her to go to a special school."

"Yes, she studies very seriously now. Every day after school, she takes the initiative to do her homework and often helps me with work. She says when she grows up, she wants to take over my job." Speaking of his child, Qin Hongbing was full of pride.

Since meeting Pan Han, Little Ling's condition had stabilized, and the father and daughter had been reborn.

Although Little Ling was young, she cherished this hard-won new life immensely.

Old Qin and Little Qin were like they were on adrenaline every day, full of hope for the future.

"Then let's go to the school and see."

"Sure!"

"Shh, don't talk." Pan Han and the others stood at the back door of the classroom, secretly watching Little Ling.

Little Ling was listening to the lecture intently, taking notes from time to time.

Qin Hongbing looked at his daughter, then at the three of them, his eyes gradually welling up with tears.

Pan Han watched Little Ling and suddenly thought that having a child might not be so bad.

He hadn't had this thought before, always feeling that children were trouble and a burden.

But now, he liked the idea for no reason and wished he could return to the apocalypse right now and have a few with Ellie.

They took turns watching for a long time before reluctantly leaving the school.

"Boss, where is Ms. Ellie?" Only then did Qin Hongbing realize Ellie hadn't come.

"I sent her out to do other work; she won't be back for a while. If you have any issues, go to Xiaoli."

"Hey! What's going on? Are you treating me like an outsider? Old Qin, Sister Xiaoli often has to go film, you're better off coming to me if you need anything." Wang Doudou quickly interjected.

"Fine, I'll listen to you all. I may be leaving for a while, so you all handle things." Seeing Wang Doudou volunteer, Pan Han naturally wouldn't decline her offer.

"Ah? Leaving again?" Upon hearing this, the three asked in unison.

"Yeah! There's too much to do. I'm going to the Myanmar Northern Region tomorrow." Pan Han checked his watch. He planned to stay for only three to five days this time; once he finished dealing with everything, he had to rush back to the apocalypse.

There was a lot of food stored there that he needed to transport to the apocalypse.

He wouldn't be at ease until he evolved into a high-level evolver.

He had to communicate with the Twelve Palaces in time.