It was early evening.
Brilliant sunset clouds blazed across the sky.
A frantic roar of an engine shattered the village's tranquility. A black Mercedes-Benz S-Class screeched to a rough stop outside the Farmhouse Courtyard, practically drifting into place.
The car door flew open.
A tall, straight-backed middle-aged man in a bespoke suit rushed out.
He did not even have time to straighten his collar, rumpled from his frantic journey, before his gaze swept wildly across the courtyard.
The next second, his movements, his breathing, his entire world froze.
Beside a dining table in the courtyard, the daughter who had worried him day and night, who had grown so thin she barely looked like herself, was holding a small bowl on her own. Her little face was intent as she shoveled mouthful after mouthful of white rice into her mouth.
Beside her sat a plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, almost scraped clean.
"Mengyao..."
Gu Shaotang's eyes instantly reddened as he stared fixedly at his daughter. This imposing man, ruthless and decisive in business, unflinching even in the face of disaster, burst into tears.
He hurried over. After learning everything that had happened, he bowed deeply to Chen Lin.
"Mr. Chen! Words can't begin to express my gratitude!"
He pulled a checkbook from inside his jacket, signed a check for one million with a flourish, and insisted on pressing it into Chen Lin's hands.
"Mr. Chen, you must accept this small token of my thanks!"
Once again, Chen Lin declined politely with a smile.
At dinner, Gu Shaotang tasted the Farmhouse Courtyard's dishes for himself.
The instant the first mouthful of tender fish slid down his throat, an astonishing gleam flashed in his shrewd eyes.
As Haidilao's deputy general manager for Northlake Province, he understood better than anyone the staggering commercial