“Uh, the information is a bit off,” Austin awkwardly rubs his hands.
“Mr. Austin, this isn’t just a bit off; it’s ridiculous!”
“How could he be delivering takeout? He’s clearly driving a million-dollar luxury car, and he looks pretty handsome too!”
Austin pouts, feeling frustrated: “It’s all that idiot Nicholas’s fault for spreading rumors!”
In the private room.
Sarah is holding her phone, chatting with a few former colleagues on the road. Hearing footsteps, she instinctively looks up and sees Jacob walking in with a smile.
“Sarah, you came early!”
Jacob greets her cheerfully. Seeing this former employee who has been with him for ten years, Jacob feels a sense of familiarity, especially since she has been with him longer than his ex-wife, Karen.
“Boss Jacob!”
“You’ve lost weight and look more handsome!” Sarah stands up from her seat, her face filled with smiles.
Her last memory of Jacob was their chance encounter at a barbecue restaurant, where he was wearing a delivery uniform.
Having secretly admired Jacob for many years, Sarah genuinely hopes for his well-being. So when she saw him in a disheveled state last time, she felt both heartbroken and pained, almost shedding tears.
This time, however, Jacob’s state is worlds apart from the last.
She feels that the spirited boss, Boss Jacob, has returned, and she smiles sincerely, happy for Jacob.
“Sarah, you’ve become more beautiful too!” Jacob compliments her with a smile. Sarah is not bad-looking; while she may not be stunning, she is definitely among the pretty ones in a crowd, and she has a charm that grows on you.
At this moment, Sarah has taken off her coat, wearing a white turtleneck sweater on top and tight jeans on the bottom. It’s a simple outfit, but it suits her well.
Sarah has long hair and a good figure, with a strand of hair cascading in front, creating a graceful effect.
“Ezekiel, Tobias, and the others are on their way.”
Feeling a bit shy from Jacob’s compliment, Sarah takes the initiative to change the topic.
“Yeah, I saw the messages in the group.” Jacob pulls out a chair and casually sits down.
Sarah pours him a cup of tea: “How’s Macy doing?”
“She’s doing great, full of energy!”
“Just that she’s been influenced by a little chubby kid lately, always reciting some strange poems.” Jacob picks up the teacup, shaking his head helplessly.
“What strange poems?” Sarah asks, quite curious.
“For example, ‘Goose, goose, goose, iron pot stews big goose.’”
“This…”
“Smart but mischievous!”
Sarah laughs: “But it’s quite fun. Are there any others?”
“There was another one yesterday; you can see for yourself!”
Jacob takes out his phone, opening the chat with Lara. On Sunday, Macy was with Lara, and during lunch, the little girl showcased a poem she learned in kindergarten.
Lara recorded a video and sent it to Jacob.
Now, Jacob is about to show Sarah that video.
In the video, Macy sits on a dining chair, waving her little hands while reciting: “The bright moonlight before the bed, Hot pot with extra soup, lamb must be cooked well, only then it tastes better.”
After watching the video, Sarah can’t help but laugh again: “Macy is still so cute!”
“She’s starting to understand things and already knows how to show off.” Talking about his precious daughter, Jacob’s eyes are filled with loving smiles.
After chatting for a while, the veterans of BestDiet’s Hot pot start to arrive one after another.
Sarah had thought someone might be absent, but it turns out everyone is here.
Eighteen people in the group, not a single one missing!
They are all old acquaintances who haven’t seen each other for a long time, and the private room is naturally very lively.
As laughter fills the air, steam rises from the small pots. “Boss Jacob, say a few words!”
“Yeah, it’s not easy for everyone to gather together.”
“Come on, let’s give our boss a round of applause.”
As the dishes are almost served, Mr. Ezekiel and Sammy, who have been with Jacob for six or seven years, start to lead the cheer.
Jacob originally intended to talk about opening the restaurant, so he raises his hand to quiet the noise, and the private room immediately falls silent.
“Actually, the reason I called everyone here is for something important.”
“I’m planning to reopen BestDiet’s Hot pot!!”
Jacob doesn’t keep them in suspense and directly states the purpose of gathering everyone.
He still has ten million in his account for opening the restaurant, and once the restaurant is up and running, there’s also a double cash back on the Hot pot restaurant’s revenue! This is a benefit task given by his father; it would be a waste not to take advantage of it!
Upon hearing Jacob’s words, everyone was taken aback.
Even Sarah was surprised. Although she knew Jacob was planning to start a new business, she had prepared herself for the hardships of starting from a small shop.
However, Jacob was now saying he wanted to reopen BestDiet’s Hot pot. It should be noted that the smallest branch of BestDiet’s Hot pot was over a hundred square meters!
Opening such a large-scale Hot pot restaurant would mean a significant amount just for rent.
The last time Sarah saw Jacob, he was still delivering takeout, so she naturally didn’t think he could come up with that much money.
“Mr. Jacob, where are you planning to open the new store?” After a brief moment of shock, Ezekiel asked tentatively.
The eyes of the others also turned to Jacob; this was a crucial question, as the location of the store would determine its scale and positioning.
Hearing this question, Jacob slowly stood up from his seat, walked to the window of the private room, and waved to everyone: “Come here.”
Everyone was puzzled but still gathered around.
Amidst the curious gazes, Jacob pointed to a vacant storefront across the street: “The new store is right there!”
“Ah??”
“This???”
Upon hearing this, everyone was astonished, their faces displaying disbelief.
The storefront Jacob pointed to was quite large, estimated to be over a hundred square meters, and combined with the upstairs, it was at least over two hundred square meters.
Moreover, this was in the Mimia Commercial Street, where the rent would definitely be expensive.
Opening this store would cost at least over a million, possibly even two million.
When Jacob designated Coolest Hot pot as the gathering place, it was precisely for this moment; he wanted everyone to see the storefront directly and have the most intuitive feeling.
“Mr. Jacob, the rent here isn’t cheap.”
Sarah spoke up.
“The storefront is mine, so there’s no need to worry about rent!” Jacob’s main point today was sincerity; he wasn’t keeping any secrets.
However, his sincerity once again shocked everyone present. Sarah was so surprised that her mouth fell open, especially since the last time they met, Jacob was still delivering takeout!
In the blink of an eye, he had acquired such a large storefront, which was truly magical.
The others were also dumbfounded. They had come to this gathering out of past affection, but they never expected Jacob to give them such a huge surprise.
“Mr. Jacob, you must have struck it rich!”
Ezekiel, coming back to his senses, exclaimed, which also served as a question.
“Just lucky, inherited some assets.” Jacob casually replied, then gestured for everyone to sit back down.
Once everyone was seated, he continued, “This storefront, combined upstairs and downstairs, is three hundred square meters, so as long as you’re willing, you can come help me.”
“Everyone sitting here is family; the shortest has been with me for three or four years!”
