After a male student transmigrated into the body of a widow,

evening.

As everyone sat down to eat, Gu Lin shared his long-planned scheme: "Sister-in-law, Brother Yu, Xiao Hao will be starting school in August, so we've decided to set off for the prefectural city in mid-July."

Zhao's sister-in-law was quite surprised to hear this, and then a look of reluctance appeared on her face: "So soon, I thought you were going there in August."

“You’ll be unfamiliar with the place and the people there, and I don’t know if you’ll be able to get used to the food. I’ll pack some pickled vegetables from home for you to take with you.”

After saying that, Sister Zhao put down her rice bowl and got up to pack the pickled vegetables.

Gu Lin turned his head slightly and exchanged a glance with Zheng Hao beside him before speaking up to stop her: "Sister-in-law, there's no need to prepare. You can do it after you come to the prefectural city with us."

Zhao's sister-in-law looked surprised: "Me too?"

Gu Lin nodded and said, "Not only you, sister-in-law, are going, but Brother Zhao is going too."

After hearing Gu Lin's words, Sister Zhao waved her hand and said, "You have important business to attend to in the prefectural city. What would your brother Zhao and I do if we went with you? Besides, Happiness Residence is still here. What will happen to Happiness Residence if I leave?"

Gu Lin said helplessly to Sister Zhao, "Sister-in-law, Da Gen will also be living in the prefectural city in the future. Don't you really want to live in the prefectural city? When Da Gen gets married and has children, don't you want to hear the children call you grandma?"

No elderly person can resist the temptation of a grandchild, and Aunt Zhao is no exception.

However, she still said, "After Dagen has children, I think I can just go to the prefectural city to see them."

"Besides, you said that parents-in-law shouldn't live with their son and daughter-in-law for too long, otherwise conflicts are likely to occur. I'm living comfortably in the county town, and I don't want to make things difficult for myself."

Gu Lin said, "Sister-in-law, I never said that after we go to the prefectural city, you and Dagen would live together. I can't be without you for even half a day now."

"As early as after the academy exam, Xiao Hao and I bought a house and a shop in the prefectural city. After you go to the prefectural city, you don't have to worry about not having anything to do. My shop is short-handed!"

"Really?"

Zhao's sister-in-law was skeptical, fearing that the other party was only saying that to appease her.

Gu Lin said, "Absolutely true."

Hearing the other party's assurance, Sister Zhao's expression was somewhat moved.

Just when Gu Lin thought the other party would agree, Sister Zhao still said, "Brother Lin, I appreciate your kindness, but I still can't go with you."

"Why?" Gu Lin asked, puzzled.

Sister-in-law Zhao said, "You handed Xingfuju over to me, and I haven't even trained a suitable person to take over yet. How can you just leave like that? Besides, your brother Zhao still needs to buy melons and vegetables from Xiahe Village. What will happen to the melons and vegetables at Xingfuju and Xingfulou after he leaves?"

Unexpectedly, these were the things that Sister Zhao was worried about. Gu Lin smiled and said, "Don't worry, I've thought them all out."

Then, Gu Lin said to Sister Zhao, "Before we go to the prefectural city, we can choose a suitable employee from Xingfu Building to manage Xingfu Residence."

"Regarding the purchase of melons and vegetables, we can also select someone from Xiahe Village to replace Brother Zhao. Da Niu from the village chief's family, or Zhang Er Niu, would be very suitable. We can just talk to the village chief and let them choose the right person themselves."

After hearing Gu Lin's solution, Sister Zhao gradually became interested.

If Zhao's wife were to entrust Xingfuju to just anyone, she would definitely be worried. But if she entrusted Xingfuju to the staff of Xingfulou, she would have no worries.

Brother Zhao, who was standing to the side, had no objections to Gu Lin's arrangements.

Sister Zhao made up her mind and said, "Okay, I will pick a clever and honest person from Xingfu Building these days, and after checking that there is no major problem, I will hand over Xingfu Building to the other party."

After persuading Sister-in-law Zhao and Brother Zhao, Gu Lin turned his attention to Brother Yu and his wife.

Gu Lin said to Yu Ge'er and Chen Xiaoliu, "Yu Ge'er, Xiaoliu, I originally wanted to take you to the prefectural city, but Yu Ge'er is pregnant and cannot travel. In addition, there are two stalls in the county town. I am not comfortable entrusting these two restaurants to anyone other than you."

“If it were just Brother Yu, I wouldn’t dare take Sister Zhao away. But now that Brother Liu can manage the restaurant, I feel much more at ease and can bring Sister Zhao and the others over to help me.”

“After we go to the prefectural city, Yu-ge’er, don’t worry too much. Try to delegate the things that require mental effort to others.”

Then, Gu Lin said, "I have two promising waiters at Happiness Restaurant. If you and Brother Liu train them, you won't be so tired."

After saying that, Gu Lin looked at Yu Ge'er and said, "I still hope that after you finish giving birth and recover, you can come to the prefectural city to help me."

Yu Ge'er was deeply moved to hear that Gu Lin had entrusted him with the two properties.

At the same time, Yu Ge'er also longed for the prefectural city that the other party mentioned.

Although he had never been to the prefectural city, he had heard about its prosperity from Sister Zhao more than once, so he had long wanted to go there and see for himself.

However, his health is indeed inconvenient now, and with his father-in-law still alive, he cannot leave as easily as Sister Zhao.

"Brother Lin, I know you're doing this for my own good. Don't worry, I'll help you manage the business well after you go to the prefectural city," Brother Yu assured him.

Looking at Yu Ge'er in front of him, Gu Lin felt it was a pity that he couldn't take him to the prefectural city.

Yu Ge'er was the head manager he had personally trained, and he shared many of his ideas. If he could bring Yu Ge'er to the prefectural city to assist him, he didn't know how much trouble it would save.

Gu Lin felt regretful but there was nothing he could do about it.

In the month before leaving the county town, Gu Lin had no free time. Starting from the second day after returning from Xiahe Village, he began to take Chen Xiaoliu around to handle various matters.

Gu Lin was very eager to train Chen Xiaoliu into an all-around manager before he left.

After a month of continuous work, Gu Lin finally managed to arrange the affairs of the two restaurants by the end of June.

After following Gu Lin for over a month, Chen Xiaoliu underwent a complete transformation, both inside and out. He not only became darker and stronger, but also gained a lot more confidence.

This gave Gu Lin even more confidence in Xingfulou.

At the same time, Zhao's wife also selected a suitable caretaker to take over Xingfuju. After observing the caretaker for more than 20 days, Zhao's wife felt at ease handing over Xingfuju to him.

Brother Zhao's task of purchasing melons and vegetables has also been handed over to Zhang Daniu.

This incident led to an amusing incident.

Originally, when the village chief heard that Brother Zhao was going to the prefectural city with Gu Lin and planned to select someone else to replace him, the village chief wanted to have Zhang Erniu take over.

In the past two years, Zhang Erniu had often helped Brother Zhao transport melons and vegetables to the county town, so he must have become familiar with these tasks. In addition, Brother Zhao was quick-witted, eloquent, and good at dealing with people, so the village chief felt that Zhang Erniu was the only one suitable for this job.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Erniu refused the village chief's offer, stating that he did not want to do the work of buying melons and vegetables.

The village chief immediately glared at Zhang Erniu and scolded him for being ungrateful, but Zhang Erniu gritted his teeth and refused to budge, insisting that the village chief hand over the work to Zhang Daniu.

Despite all attempts to persuade Zhang Erniu, he remained unmoved. The village chief had no choice but to assign the task of purchasing melons and vegetables to Zhang Daniu.

As for the others?

Hmph, the village chief only entrusted the task of purchasing melons and vegetables to Zhang Erniu because he was his own nephew. He wasn't so selfless towards the other people in Xiahe Village.

However, although Zhang Erniu was unwilling to do the work of buying melons and vegetables, he wanted to stay at Xingfulou as a waiter.

Two years ago, when Zhang Erniu was transporting vegetables to Xingfulou with Brother Zhao, he saw the waiter running back and forth in the lobby, whose spirit was completely different from that of other restaurants, and he was already interested in him.

He was not a peaceful person to begin with. Seeing the waiter at Xingfu Restaurant chatting with customers with a genuine smile every day, Zhang Erniu was very envious.

Especially after witnessing firsthand how a worker at Xingfulou was transferred to manage Xingfulu because of his outstanding performance, Zhang Erniu found it increasingly difficult to control his thoughts.

So one day, he approached Gu Lin and told him his thoughts. Gu Lin was surprised, but considering the other person's personality, he didn't find it strange.

But he didn't agree easily. Instead, he said, "Sure, but Xingfu Restaurant always requires a test to recruit employees. Go and interview Brother Yu and Brother Xiao Liu. If they think you're qualified, you can become a waiter at Xingfu Restaurant."

After hearing this, Zhang Erniu excitedly ran to find Chen Xiaoliu. Chen Xiaoliu didn't make things difficult for him, but he didn't go easy on him either. He interviewed Zhang Erniu according to the usual procedure for recruiting waiters.

As expected of Zhang Erniu, who had meticulously prepared for two years to become a waiter at Xingfu Restaurant, he passed all of Chen Xiaoliu's questions and tests and successfully became a waiter at Xingfu Restaurant.

Time flies, and soon it was mid-July, the day when Gu Lin and the others left the county town.

On that day, Gu Lin did not allow Yu Ge'er and the others to deliver the package.

After he and Zheng Hao left the county town, they boarded an oxcart.

Suddenly, an oxcart approached them, and Gu Lin looked up to see Niu Qiang sitting opposite them.

Niu Qiang greeted them.

Zheng Hao had already told Gu Lin that Niu Qiang was going to the prefectural city with them, so Gu Lin wasn't surprised.

But what Zhao's sister-in-law didn't know was that after Gu Lin, Zheng Hao, and Niu Qiang finished catching up and the two oxcarts started to set off, Zhao's sister-in-law whispered to Gu Lin, "Brother Lin, who is that man? He looks fierce and menacing. Could he be a bad guy?"

Seeing the wariness and suspicion on Zhao's face, Gu Lin found it amusing and explained, "Brother Niu is a friend of Xiao Hao. Last time Xiao Hao and I went to the prefectural city, we were able to get along safely thanks to his protection. Although Brother Niu looks fierce, he is actually very easy to get along with, so please don't worry, sister-in-law."

Listening to Gu Lin's comforting words, Zhao's sister-in-law couldn't help but recall the man's fierce appearance, but soon her attention was diverted to something else.

Hearing Gu Lin's evaluation of Niu Qiang, Sister Zhao's heart nearly jumped out of her chest. She glanced at Brother Zhao and Zheng Hao sitting in front, and seeing that they didn't turn around, Sister Zhao lowered her voice and asked Gu Lin, "Are you interested in him?"

Gu Lin was drinking water from the bamboo tube and didn't hear what Zhao's sister-in-law said for a moment.

Sister-in-law Zhao asked again, "Are you interested in Niu Qiang?"

"puff!"

Gu Lin suddenly spat out the water in his mouth.

Seeing Gu Lin's strong reaction, Zhao's heart skipped a beat. Had she guessed right?

That's what Sister Zhao thought, but seeing the young man beside her looking disheveled, she quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe him clean.

Hearing the commotion, Zheng Hao turned around and saw Gu Lin choking on his water. He asked worriedly, "Uncle Gu, are you alright?"

Wiping the water off his face, Gu Lin waved his hand at him and said, "I'm fine, you sit still."

Seeing that Gu Lin was indeed alright, Zheng Hao turned around.

Gu Lin turned to talk to Zhao's wife, unaware that the young man in front of him had his dark eyes linger on her briefly before turning around.

Gu Lin said to Sister Zhao, "Sister Zhao, what are you thinking? Where did I show that I was interested in Brother Niu?"

"Keep your voice down." Sister Zhao patted him a few times. "Am I overthinking things? Think about yourself, when have you ever praised another man like that? How could I not be suspicious?"

Gu Lin was speechless.

He said to Sister Zhao, "I've praised plenty of men, Fang Jiyue, Wang Yue, they're all men, why don't you say I'm interested in them?"

"Oh dear, my little darling, keep your voice down, are you afraid others won't hear you?" said Sister Zhao.