From Wage Slave to Tycoon

Chapter 136: Chapter 110: Upgraded? You’ve Got to Be Kidding Me

The dinner party lasted until midnight, and everyone had a fantastic time. Yun Tianqi, in particular, demonstrated what it meant to be a man from the northwestern grasslands, drinking Jiangyang, Chen Yao, and Ye Feng until they threw in the towel.

Thanks to years of practice, Xiao Chen barely managed to keep pace with Yun Tianqi. As for Su Chen, he drank a fair amount of wine but didn’t touch the Maotai. The others had it all to themselves. Toward the end of the night, Su Chen even brought out the aged Maotai Jiangyang had gifted him.

Not counting Su Chen, the five of them downed a full ten bottles of Maotai, ten bottles of fifty-year-aged wine, and six bottles of forty-year-aged wine!

Su Chen himself only drank one bottle of the fifty-year-aged wine.

"That’s about it for today. Let’s call it a night," Xiao Chen said, seeing that everyone had recovered somewhat.

Su Chen nodded, called Jiang Hui over, and whispered a few words in his ear.

A flicker of surprise crossed Jiang Hui’s eyes, but he nodded in understanding, then quickly walked out, calling for Chen Fei on his way.

"You guys able to walk straight? If you don’t mind, you can crash here for the night," Su Chen said to Ye Feng and the other two.

Before Ye Feng and the others could answer, Xiao Chen spoke up from the side. "It’s fine. We brought drivers. I’ll make sure they all get home."

Since he put it that way, Su Chen didn’t insist.

Su Chen, Xiao Chen, and Yun Tianqi each supported one of the drunks and slowly walked outside.

Just then, Jiang Hui and Chen Fei emerged from the backyard, each struggling to carry two large boxes.

After helping the three drunks into their cars, Su Chen signaled for Xiao Chen to open the trunk.

"Brother Cheen, the beast heads you wanted and the wine from our bet are here. As for the extra case, please give it to the old man for me. This wine is perfect for seniors."

Xiao Chen looked at the four large boxes in the trunk and clapped Su Chen on the shoulder.

"Alright. I’ll thank you on the old man’s behalf."

After a few more words, Xiao Chen got into the car.

Watching the two Hongqi sedans drive off into the distance, Jiang Hui finally asked, "Sir, why did you give away those two beast heads? Weren’t you planning to open a private museum?"

Su Chen glanced at Jiang Hui and said slowly, "We can open a private museum anytime. We’ll just have to make another trip to Europe and try to acquire some more artifacts."

’Actually, I have some questions myself,’ Su Chen thought. ’But I’m sure Xiao Chen will tell me when the time is right.’

"Alright, let’s head back." ’If I can’t figure it out, I’ll just stop thinking about it.’ Right now, Su Chen was more concerned about what changes his system might have undergone.

At this thought, Su Chen’s pace quickened.

Back in his room, after a quick shower, Su Chen eagerly summoned the system.

"System!"

A sapphire-blue screen of light materialized before Su Chen’s eyes.

[Host: Su Chen]

[Intermediate God of Wealth: 1 Billion/1 Billion (Upgradeable)]

[Wealth: 23,658,564]

[Warehouse: Louis Vuitton Group Share Agreements, etc.]

[DING! The system has met the conditions for an upgrade. Host must initiate manually. This upgrade will take 48 hours. The system will undergo significant changes. Host may explore the specific details after the upgrade is complete!]

"Uh... 48 hours? Two days?" It was as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over Su Chen’s burning passion, extinguishing it instantly.

’Significant changes? Now this is interesting. Let’s see what kind of new tricks the system has up its sleeve after this upgrade!’

Su Chen didn’t hesitate and immediately clicked "Upgrade."

A white light flashed across the sapphire-blue screen, leaving behind nothing but a progress bar.

After a couple of glances, Su Chen lost interest and closed the system interface.

"I hope it doesn’t disappoint me," Su Chen murmured before falling asleep. He was utterly exhausted from the day’s events.

-----------------

「Backyard, Attic Study」

The weather in the Imperial Capital was growing colder by the day. It had even snowed this morning. Su Chen’s plans to bask in the sun and sip tea were dashed; he could only stay home, enjoy the warmth of the heater, drink his tea, and gaze out at the snowy scenery over Shichahai.

"Sir, Yu Qian is here," Jiang Hui said, hurrying up the stairs.

’Hmm? Why would Old Yu be looking for me?’

Though puzzled, Su Chen told Jiang Hui to show him in.

"Mr. Su, my apologies for coming unannounced. I hope I’m not disturbing you."

"Oh, cut it out. Come on, have a seat. Have some tea and warm yourself up."

As he spoke, Su Chen poured Yu Qian a steaming cup of tea.

Yu Qian didn’t stand on ceremony, immediately picking up the cup and taking a drink. He couldn’t help it; the weather was just too cold, with the temperature having dropped to five degrees below zero.

After refilling Yu Qian’s cup, Su Chen asked, "You came all the way here through the snow. It must be something important, right?"

"It’s nothing major. The De Yun Society is holding a big crosstalk show in a few days, and I wanted to invite you to come see it." As he spoke, Yu Qian pulled five tickets from his pocket and handed them over with both hands.

Su Chen accepted the tickets and gave them a glance, feeling a bit surprised.

A top-tier VIP box, and Box Number One at that. The show was in three days at the Beizhan Exhibition Hall. It seemed this was going to be a large-scale performance if they were setting up the stage at Beizhan.

"Alright, I’ll definitely be there. But you gave me one too many tickets, here, take this one back." Su Chen pulled one out and offered it back to him.

Yu Qian was also a bit confused. He remembered there being five people living here with Su Chen—a butler, two bodyguards, and a housekeeper. How come there were only four now?

He recalled seeing only the butler, Jiang Hui, and the bodyguard, Chen Fei, in the living room of the central courtyard when he arrived. He was starting to understand.

"Mr. Su, I won’t take it back. Just see if one of your friends is free and take them with you. If you can’t find anyone, just toss it."

Su Chen didn’t argue. It was just a ticket, after all, nothing particularly valuable.

"By the way, what about Wu Jing? What’s he been busy with lately?" Su Chen asked, taking a sip of his tea.

"Oh, him? He’s already over in Africa. *Wolf Warrior 2* is in the preparatory stages, so he’s scouting locations. Filming will officially start after the New Year."

"Africa? He’s setting *Wolf Warrior 2* in Africa? What if something happens?" In Su Chen’s mind, Africa was a chaotic and dangerous place. You could never be sure you’d live to see another sunrise.

"It should be fine. His project has gotten the attention of the higher-ups, and they’ve given him a lot of support, including security guarantees over there." Yu Qian didn’t know all the details; this was just what he’d picked up from occasional chats with Wu Jing.

"’The higher-ups?’" Su Chen raised an eyebrow. ’Looks like this Wu Jing is more capable than I thought.’

"Hmm. Well, let’s get together when he’s back. On another note, Old Yu, have you ever been interested in opening a mutton restaurant?" A faint smile played on Su Chen’s lips.

"A mutton restaurant?" Yu Qian looked bewildered. ’Weren’t we just talking about Wu Jing? How did we jump to opening a restaurant?’

"Yes. The Wuzhumuqin lamb you all had here last time was pretty good, wasn’t it? Are you interested in opening a restaurant that serves dishes like that? Mutton hot pot, whole roasted lamb, lamb bone soup..."

’The idea had just occurred to Su Chen. The De Yun Society had tons of fans in the Imperial Capital, and Yu Qian himself was a huge celebrity here. If he could pull Yu Qian onto his culinary ship, could the rest of the De Yun Society be far behind?’

Hearing the words "Wuzhumuqin lamb," Yu Qian couldn’t help but lick his lips. The taste of that lamb was truly excellent, a world apart from the ones he raised at his own animal park.

Besides, the proposal had come from Su Chen himself. The implications of that were worth pondering.

After a moment of contemplation, Yu Qian figured it out. Opening a mutton restaurant might not make a fortune, but it certainly wouldn’t lose money. More importantly, it would strengthen his relationship with Su Chen. What was there not to like?

"Alright, Mr. Su. Whatever you say, I’ll do it."

Su Chen gently tapped his fingers on the table a few times before speaking slowly. "Wait a couple of days until Sicong and the others get here. I’ll give you a call, and you can come over to discuss this matter in more detail."

"Huh?" Yu Qian looked stunned. He’d originally thought Su Chen was suggesting he open a restaurant by himself. But from the sound of it, this mutton restaurant was going to be a much larger-scale operation.

Yu Qian quickly recovered, a hint of excitement in his voice. "Alright! I will eagerly await your good news, Mr. Su!"

Just as he was about to get up and take his leave, Yu Qian thought of something and sat back down.

"Mr. Su, this mutton restaurant... are we limited to just one, or can we open as many as we want?"

A smirk played on Su Chen’s lips. "Why do you ask?" he teased. "Planning to strike while the iron is hot and corner the entire Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei market?"

A flicker of shock crossed Yu Qian’s eyes at having his thoughts laid bare. ’The idea had only just popped into my head. How did Su Chen see through me so easily?’

But he was a seasoned veteran, after all, with a hide as thick as a fortress wall. He feigned curiosity and said, "I was just asking. My main concern is that if we open multiple restaurants, the lamb supply would become a major issue!"

"Don’t worry, that’s already been taken care of. You’ll find out the details when the time is right."

Yu Qian nodded and didn’t press the issue. After finishing the tea in his cup, he stood up to leave.

With the De Yun Society’s big crosstalk show just around the corner, Yu Qian was quite busy. He had only stayed at Su Chen’s for less than half an hour.

Su Chen stood at the window, watching Yu Qian leave through the courtyard. He muttered under his breath, "They say wisdom—and cunning—comes with age. Looks like they’re right."

"MEOW~ MEOW~" As Su Chen was spacing out, a cat named Yuanbao, who had run up from downstairs at some point, began rubbing its large, orange head against his leg.

Su Chen squatted down, picked Yuanbao up, and gave the cat a few vigorous pets in his arms.

"Say, Yuanbao, are you a boy or a girl?"

Su Chen was genuinely curious about this, so he immediately lifted Yuanbao up to check.

"Well, little guy, I didn’t expect you to be a little man!"

Yuanbao seemed embarrassed, squirming in mid-air and flailing its limbs as if to protest Su Chen’s inspection.

"Hmph hmph. You’d better be a good boy from now on. Otherwise, I’ll have your ’little weapon’ removed and make your meow-life less than perfect!"

Lying in his arms, Yuanbao froze in terror.

Seeing this, Su Chen smiled faintly, his gaze drifting out the window as if looking at something in the distance.