Jin Lao Ba was overjoyed, believing Ling Tian to be his lucky star. Ever since meeting Ling Tian, his luck had been exceptionally good. Not only had his own illness been cured, but he had also gained significant favor with the Li family by healing their patriarch. Just yesterday, he had merely voiced an idea, and Ling Tian had produced the recipe for medicinal cuisine. Initially, he had been dismissive, thinking medicinal cuisine was nothing special. However, after tasting it himself, and especially after a night's rest, he could better appreciate its potent effects. Moreover, from a taste perspective, as a seasoned chef, he found the medicinal cuisine to be perfectly acceptable.
Ling Tian had stayed at Jin Lao Ba's home the previous night. When Jin Lao Ba found him, Ling Tian was already engaged in his exercises.
"Brother Jin, how did you sleep last night?"
"To be honest, not well. Ling Tian, your medicinal cuisine is too potent."
"So, Brother Jin, can we do this business?"
"Absolutely! How about this, brother, we partner up and create a high-end medicinal cuisine brand. You provide the recipes, and I'll handle the operations and all the store setups. You can have sixty percent of the shares, and I'll take forty," Jin Lao Ba said generously. He understood that without Ling Tian's medicinal cuisine recipes, his business would never take off. With these recipes in hand, Ling Tian could easily find other partners or sell them for a sky-high price. Therefore, he decided to generously give up a larger share, considering it a way to foster a good relationship with Ling Tian, his lucky star.
To his surprise, Ling Tian shook his head seriously.
"Brother, this restaurant is your life's work. If I just take money without contributing, I'd feel uneasy taking such a large share. How about this, I'll provide the recipes, and you give me twenty percent of the shares..."
"No, brother, I can't take advantage of you..."
After much back and forth, they finally reached an agreement: Jin Lao Ba would operate the medicinal cuisine brand, holding sixty percent of the shares, while Ling Tian would hold forty percent. Ling Tian wrote down the medicinal cuisine recipes, specified the accompanying dishes, and personally taught Jin Lao Ba how to prepare the medicinal mixtures and select quality Chinese medicinal herbs. Jin Lao Ba learned quickly; after all, for a chef, identifying and procuring ingredients was a fundamental skill, and the same applied to medicinal herbs. Jin Lao Ba only needed to grind the relevant herbs into powder, package them in non-woven bags, and then deliver these medicinal packs to each branch. The chefs would then use these medicinal packs as seasonings in their normal cooking process. Jin Lao Ba could prepare enough medicinal packs for several stores for a week by dedicating one day each week. The reason he personally prepared these medicinal packs was for secrecy. Jin Lao Ba was well aware of the value of these medicinal cuisine recipes.
Ling Tian stayed there for a full three days before returning to Wang Family Village. He had to go back as the Minor New Year was approaching. On the day of the Minor New Year, Ling Tian accompanied Old Master Wang for a meal. Only the Wang Qing Tian family was invited to join them; none of his other children were called. After a satisfying meal, Ling Tian sent Wang Qing Tian home, and then he and Bing Xia returned to their residence. They agreed to go shopping for New Year goods together the next day. Ling Tian had spent years on the mountain, living a monotonous life where New Year was no different from any other day. This was his first Spring Festival after descending the mountain, and Ling Tian was very excited. He wanted to personally experience the atmosphere of the New Year.
The next morning, Ling Tian drove his Wuling Hongguang, with Wang Bing Xia, to Jiangshan City's largest CBD. However, they encountered a problem: too many people were out shopping for New Year goods, and there were too many cars, making it impossible to find an available parking space. They drove around for over half an hour before finding an empty spot on the roadside. Ling Tian turned the car, preparing to park, when a woman in her thirties, with the speed of an Olympic hurdler, dashed over and occupied the parking space. It was only due to Ling Tian's quick reflexes that the woman wasn't hit by the car.
Ling Tian rolled down the window, about to reprimand the woman for her dangerous behavior, but saw that she completely ignored him and was instead on the phone. "Honey, honey, hurry over, I've found a parking spot, it's right behind Runfa Supermarket!" Ling Tian immediately understood; this was the infamous "human parking spot" maneuver. Ling Tian sharply turned the steering wheel, nudging the car's rear into the parking space. Since the woman was standing in the middle of the road, Ling Tian's car only entered halfway, but his action angered the woman. She walked over and started banging desperately on Ling Tian's car window.
"Hey, what are you doing? Why are you stealing our parking spot?"
"Your parking spot? Who says so? This is a public parking lot, first come, first served!" Ling Tian said, rolling his eyes.
"Yes, I arrived before you, so this parking spot is mine!" the woman argued unreasonably.
Ling Tian was amused by her audacity. "Sister, a parking spot is for a car! Your car isn't here yet. Besides, I entered before you, so this is my parking spot!" the woman insisted stubbornly.
At this point, Wang Bing Xia also opened her car door and got out. "Sister, you can't be unreasonable. This is a parking spot; it's only considered 'first come, first served' when a car arrives. What is it when you're just standing here? If everyone did this, they might as well come at night and sleep here to reserve a spot!"
"Oh, you young girl, you really have no taste, wasting such good looks. How could you find such a shabby man, and driving such a beat-up car! I advise you to dump him quickly and find someone rich, otherwise, you'll regret it!"
Ling Tian was surprised by the woman's maliciousness, actually trying to persuade Wang Bing Xia to dump him. However, Ling Tian also understood that the woman dared to brazenly snatch their parking spot partly because their car was a domestic "divine car." If Ling Tian had been driving an imported luxury car, the woman wouldn't have dared to snatch the parking spot or attack him with such venomous words. Seeing Wang Bing Xia being verbally attacked by the woman, Ling Tian became displeased.
"Sister, I advise you to have some public decency and be more mindful of your words! Otherwise, you might face retribution!"
"Oh, you brat, how dare you curse me! I'm telling you, you're in trouble! When my husband gets here, we'll see how he deals with you!"