Ye Baiqing’s expression changed, and her friend, Phoebe, immediately noticed.

She gestured for her to stay quiet.

Some nearby people passing by noticed the scene, perhaps thinking it was especially eye-catching, and couldn’t help but glance back several times.

The main person, surrounded by bodyguards, nervously tugged at her mask.

Phoebe quickly waved, saying, “Bai, let’s leave here first.”

After they left, some tourists continued chatting among themselves—

“Who were those foreigners just now?”

“The ones in the middle looked quite impressive. The big guys next to them seemed like bodyguards.”

“I feel like I’ve seen them somewhere.”

“Come on, they’re dressed so discreetly. The woman wearing the hat is one thing, but the other one, protected to the point that you can’t even tell if they’re a man or a woman—how could you recognize them?”

“But, to be honest, even though you can’t see their face, there’s something striking about them. You can tell they have a good presence even through their clothes, and their figure is amazing.”

“I think they’re a bit too thin. The wind could blow them away.”

“What do you know? Being thin is what makes them look good.”

---

In the car, the guest, who had been armored to the teeth, finally took off her hat and mask.

Her skin was as white as snow, with no color at all, and her light golden hair fell smoothly over her shoulders.

The car windows had anti-peeping film, yet she still seemed very uneasy. In the large car, she sat in the farthest corner, glancing outside several times.

After confirming that she was safe, she finally curved her lips into a smile at Ye Baiqing and said, “Hello.”

Although Ye Baiqing had already guessed who she was, seeing her face in person still caught her by surprise.

Phoebe, observing her expression, gave a wry smile and said, “Looks like I don’t need to introduce you.”

“Yes,” Ye Baiqing murmured, nodding. Looking at the radiant face in front of her, she said, “Who doesn’t know Debbie?”

She worked in the modeling industry and had attended many international fashion shows.

Compared to the domestic entertainment industry, she was much more familiar with the overseas scene.

Debbie was one of the most influential female singers in the music industry today.

Beautiful, talented, and with a strong presence in both the music and fashion industries, her commercial value was immeasurable.

Compared to her, a relatively unknown model like Ye Baiqing seemed insignificant.

Ye Baiqing herself had attended many of Debbie’s concerts and was quite a fan.

When Phoebe mentioned she would be bringing someone over, Ye Baiqing never imagined it would be this superstar.

What did she lack? Absolutely nothing!

She had wealth, beauty, fame, and status.

Ye Baiqing gazed at the beautiful woman, who had just won the Best Female Singer award at an international music event last year.

Despite wearing a plain, long coat, her superstar aura couldn’t be concealed.

It was a mysterious aura, one that could only be built with popularity and status.

Ye Baiqing remembered how Debbie loved interacting with her fans on stage. She always appeared confident and approachable in public.

But now, sitting in the car, when Ye Baiqing shared her thoughts, Debbie only smiled softly, then leaned back in her corner, falling into silence.

Phoebe explained to Ye Baiqing, “She might be a bit tired.”

Ye Baiqing nodded absently, hesitated, and then asked, “She’s…?”

Phoebe looked worried, nodded, and Debbie, leaning against the car window, smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

She did indeed seem in good spirits, which surprised Ye Baiqing.

However, the bodyguard sitting next to her, with his deep features, spoke up: “Debbie, what you should do now is take your medicine and receive psychological counseling, not come to this strange country for treatment just because Phoebe insisted. If you’re looking for good food, there are plenty of fine restaurants in New York. I’m sure we can find something you’ll accept.”

Ye Baiqing furrowed her brow at the arrogance in his tone, and Debbie responded to him: “Doctor, I will take my medicine. Just think of this as a trip. I want to be with my friends and see the world.”

As she spoke, her gaze turned to the window, and she gave an ambiguous smile. “Perhaps, it might even help improve my situation.”

So this person wasn’t a bodyguard, but a doctor?

Ye Baiqing looked at the doctor, feeling somewhat defiant due to his earlier words.

She couldn’t help but say to Debbie, “You will definitely find help in our country. The restaurant I know is really great. When I was pregnant, I couldn’t eat anything either, but now, look, I’m healthy and ready to be a mother.”

However, Debbie didn’t show any signs of anticipation at her words.

She just looked at Ye Baiqing and said seriously, “Thank you. I wish you a healthy baby.”

……

For the first time in decades, Jin’s father received an invitation from his junior brother, Ma Yuanzhong. He took his wife and daughter to pay a visit.

On the way, he said to Jin’s mother, “Yuanzhong doesn’t even know what he wants to do. When I asked him, he wouldn’t say, but he specifically asked me to bring Yiaotiao along.”

The “Yuanzhong” he mentioned was his second junior brother, Ma Yuanzhong.

Jin’s mother was looking at the gifts she had brought and was confused.

Jin Yiaotiao didn’t think much of it and replied, “Anyway, I don’t have anything urgent lately. All the tasks I needed to hand over have already been taken care of today.”

Jin’s father asked, “Which task are you talking about? The loan?”

Jin Yiaotiao nodded.

She had recently gone over the financial status of Mingde over the past year and could clearly see the company’s thriving momentum.

As for the Linjiang headquarters, there wasn’t much room for further development.

However, Mingde was in a good position, with a high reputation.

Opportunities like this were rare, and she planned to take advantage of this momentum to expand all the restaurants under the company into Shenzhen’s market and quickly seize the market share.

Jin’s father had promised to leave the company to his daughter, and he had indeed kept his word, not interfering with her actions.

But thinking of his daughter’s plans, he couldn’t help but ask, “Mingde has just entered Shenzhen, do you think the pace might be too fast? Actually, Mingde doesn’t need to take on these debts. The restaurants under the company are doing well recently. We could wait until we have more funds before taking the next step.”

He was from an older generation, preferring to take things one step at a time.

Since taking charge of Mingde, the most daring thing he had done was to use Mingde’s big estate to capture the budget restaurant market in Linjiang.

But at that time, it had been unavoidable.

Mingde’s old brand couldn’t hold up, so they had no choice but to take a bold approach to find a way out.

Now, however, Mingde was growing steadily.

Although it couldn’t yet compete with brands like the Shang family, which had established a presence in Shenzhen years ago, the restaurants under Mingde were steadily increasing their revenue. In his view, his young daughter didn’t need to rush.

She could wait patiently for the company to gather funds. While the pace might be slower, it would be more stable.

He said, “The market isn’t going anywhere.”

Jin Yiaotiao smiled at him. “Dad, do you know how many people line up outside our restaurants every day?”

Jin’s father, of course, knew, and he gave a few figures.

Jin Yiaotiao took out her phone, searched for a map of Shenzhen, and showed it to him. “Sounds like a lot, right? Dad, Shenzhen has eleven districts, ten major business circles, and nearly thirty medium-sized business circles. According to our market analysis, this city can at least support one Xunxiang banquet, five Yin banquet restaurants, and over ten Mingde courtyards. Dad, the market may not run, but if we take it slowly, we may not be able to fill Shenzhen even in ten years.”

Jin’s father was taken aback.

He hadn’t expected his daughter to have such an ambitious vision. “You want to fill Shenzhen with Mingde?”

Jin Yiaotiao casually handed him the phone. “Not just that. Do you want to see a national map or even a world map?”

Jin’s father almost trembled as he took the phone.

The world?

He didn’t even dare to think about it, but nationwide…

In recent years, he had sometimes felt guilty towards Mingde, towards his sect, and towards his father, who had entrusted the company to him.

Although he sat in the chair of chairman of Mingde, living the life of a successful entrepreneur, the domestic economic landscape was changing rapidly, and the new generation was coming fast.

The glory Mingde enjoyed under his father’s leadership was something he ultimately couldn’t maintain. Fortunately, he had a daughter now, giving him hope for the family’s rise.

Mingde was now widely admired by food lovers in Linjiang, and the company’s reputation was growing day by day.

To him, this was already a very fulfilling situation.

But what if one day Mingde’s brand could bloom nationwide?

If the ancestors of the Jin family knew, they would probably be so happy they couldn’t close their mouths.

Jin’s father, holding the phone and thinking, Jin Yiaotiao leaned against the car, lost in thought.

She had grown up in a conservative family like the Jin family.

Even though she had studied finance in college, she hadn’t been so bold in her early years.

After all, she never lacked money, so there was no need to rush.

Later, when her parents passed away and her relatives were indifferent, she chose to escape abroad, where she began to realize the hardships of starting a business.

Thanks to an angel investment at the time, she gradually established herself overseas.

Over the years, she had learned many business techniques that her family had never taught her.

Unfortunately, that angel investor never showed up in person.

All dealings were done through an institution, and she never knew why the investor chose to invest in her when she was still an unknown entity.

In return, she promised to give the investor even greater profits than expected once the company became profitable.

She had never known who that investor was.

But after that experience, she learned how to leverage opportunities.

---

Second junior brother Ma Yuanzhong was waiting at home, surrounded by several junior brothers and his own young disciples.

With the elders present, the younger ones seemed quite restrained, even though they were very curious, they didn’t dare to ask what the elders were doing.

His son, Ma Le, sat in a corner, with a few of his disciples gossiping softly around him.

“Lege, is there an important guest coming?”

“Is it a master in the culinary world? Or is it a senior executive from Zhenlong coming?”

Ma Le didn’t respond to them.

His eyes were fixed on the door, with an unfriendly look.

His father had told him to pass on his grandfather’s recipe to some unknown outsider.

He had always known that his father kept that recipe, but his father had never mentioned passing it on to him.

He had taught him a few dishes from the recipe before, but then for some reason, it was never discussed again.