As year-end approached, the weather grew colder by the day, and China's hotpot market had become a sea of fierce competition.
Yet Soup King Hotpot's expansion continued to accelerate, and the day its total number of stores surpassed one hundred drew ever closer.
Zhang Yang, however, sat tight, carrying himself with the calm of someone watching the clouds gather and disperse, listening quietly as flowers bloomed and fell.
There was no rush, anyway.
What was meant to come would come naturally when the time was right. Everything would fall into place.
During his days in the capital, Zhang Yang had nothing else to do but hang out, drink, and have fun with the new friends he had met.
Their friendships could not be called particularly deep, but they were at least drinking buddies.
Drinking buddies were quite useful. Besides helping him relax and pass the time, their greatest value was in further expanding his social circle in the capital. Through them, he naturally got to know influential people from all walks of life.
Some of these friends came from distinguished families, while others were from families that had been in business for generations. All of them were proud figures who looked down on others.
But Zhang Yang possessed wealth in the tens of billions, along with exceptional looks, bearing, and personal charisma. Naturally, making these new friends came easily to him.
Deep friendships required time and mutual interests. For Zhang Yang, it was already enough to make an initial acquaintance, occasionally gather for drinks, and become an indispensable member of one circle after another.
Late at night, at one of the capital's top-ranked nightclubs.
In the booth with the best location sat various young masters, surrounded by a group of girls competing for attention like stars around the moon.
"Young