Reaching the age of thirty, my income randomly doubled-Chapter 734 - 542: Worry-free Tavern

Chapter 734 -542: Worry-free Tavern

When they got home, Chen Qi began summarizing with Hu Lin.

She affirmed Hu Lin’s efforts to uphold his wife’s image at school by getting into fights.

However, she also mildly criticized his tendency to frequently report other teachers at school.

Of course, she still acknowledged his sense of justice to some extent.

This left Hu Lin completely puzzled. How could he maintain his sense of justice if he was being told not to report people all the time?

Chen Qi rolled her eyes; the question was a bit too complicated, and she couldn’t think of an answer right away.

If her brother were here, he would have surely come up with some targeted advice.

As for herself, well, she knew she was a bit lacking compared to her brother. Though deep down she felt this way, she would never admit it out loud.

“Stick to being yourself. If it’s not a major, principle-violating issue, try not to report it,” she advised.

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Chen Qi nodded to herself twice, feeling like her advice was even sharper than her brother’s would have been.

Hu Lin, being someone with virtually no emotional intelligence and a single-track mindset, had very obvious flaws.

But his virtues were just as evident—he was utterly loyal to his wife and fiercely protective of his family.

Regardless of what others thought, Chen Qi was very content with him.

She wasn’t short on money; what use was a playboy second-generation rich kid to her?

She just liked honest men. The two of them went to bed.

When they woke up, Hu Lin went to work at school as usual.

Even the principal forced a smile and greeted him politely, saying, “Good afternoon, Mr. Hu.”

The principal strongly suspected that if there were ever a conflict between himself and this man named Hu, the higher-ups would likely discipline him, not Hu.

It was truly exasperating. He hated these “connected” people the most.

Oh—wait a moment, wasn’t he himself also one of those “connected” people?

No one should mock anyone else.

…

Time flew, and April arrived in the blink of an eye.

Comrade Old Chen’s Red Star Restaurant had its grand opening, and business was flourishing.

While it wasn’t turning huge profits, it wasn’t losing money either.

As for Chen Pingsheng, he had opened a late-night lounge bar in the alleys near The Bund along the Huangpu River.

It wasn’t the kind of rowdy club but rather a quiet bar for drinking and chatting.

The name was pretty fitting—he called it the Worry-Free Tavern.

The operating hours were from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., but Pingsheng himself only occasionally dropped by between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Of course, his appearance wasn’t guaranteed; he went when he felt like it, and when he didn’t, others handled it.

In the sprawling Magic City, home to countless bars, quiet bars, and coffee shops, his tavern wasn’t particularly small, covering over 300 square meters in total.

As for its unique feature, patrons were encouraged to share their stories—if the story was genuine and moving, the reward could range from a free tab to a cash prize of 100,000 to 500,000 yuan.

When the rules were announced, many assumed it was just a gimmick to attract customers and profit through a novel method.

But honestly, did Chen Pingsheng really need to open a bar to make money?

He had hired quite a few employees for the place, most of whom were relatives—like Chen Qi, who had little else to do, and Jiang Peiyao, who worked there when she wasn’t acting.

Then there was the head server, Chen An’an, and their “Number One Waiter,” Er Piya.

Of course, there were also a few who took their jobs seriously.

If everyone had been like Chen Qi—a relative with little initiative—then all the cleaning chores would probably land on his little cousin alone.

“Dad, isn’t this kind of like your old Carefree Restaurant from back then?”

“Not quite,” Chen Pingsheng explained:

“The Worry-Free Tavern is on The Bund, not in a village in the city. The clientele is very different. Plus, there are a lot more tourists here.”

“Oh, I see… So what’s the point of doing this?”

“There doesn’t have to be a big point; I wanted to do it, so I did it.”

Indeed, there wasn’t any grand purpose—Chen Pingsheng mainly saw it as a way to humble himself a bit.

At the same time, it allowed the two little ones in the family to experience the joys and sorrows of ordinary people.

Chen Pingsheng himself acted as the tavern’s host, responsible for handing out the cash prizes.

The spoiled brat and Er Piya went around chatting with patrons, asking about their impressions and stories of visiting the Magic City.

If this had been a typical quiet bar, such disruptions would have driven away business in mere months.

But the Worry-Free Tavern had no such worries.

They were there to spend money, not make it.

In the evenings, the tavern’s lighting was somewhat dim. On the first night of business, a few people came in, only to be scared off by the troublemaker Er Piya, who eagerly pestered them with questions.

One patron asked, “What’s the pricing here?”

She replied, “How do you want it priced?”

Another patron asked, “What kind of drinks do you have here?”

Er Piya replied, “Lafei for 50,000 yuan a bottle, Romantic Conti for 800,000 yuan a bottle. How many cases do you want?”

The patrons turned and left immediately.

Er Piya was undoubtedly a source of chaos. Anyone she attended to would leave within three minutes.

As they left, they would grumble something like, “What a lunatic.”

“Er Ya, can’t you be a little friendlier?”

“Dad, I’m already this cute. How much friendlier can I get?”

Originally, Er Piya had been livestreaming from home but was dragged here by her father.

Given the situation, the little troublemaker was understandably a bit disgruntled.

But this wasn’t entirely her fault—she was actually quite spirited, just not cut out for customer service.

And to be fair, there wasn’t even a bottle of wine in their house costing less than tens of thousands of yuan.

Anything cheaper than that—was it even drinkable?

Er Piya looked genuinely puzzled.

Chen Pingsheng asked her seriously, “Er Ya, do you know the average monthly income in our country?”

“I don’t know,” she answered curiously. “But it can’t be less than a million, right?”

“What are you thinking? Forget a million—not even 10,000 counts as common. Do you understand that?”

“Impossible!”

Er Piya didn’t believe it. “10,000 yuan a month wouldn’t even cover my habit of eating blue lobsters.”

This little girl had such a skewed perspective on money that Chen Pingsheng took a direct approach: “Alright then, let me show you.”

He instructed Jiang Peiyao to put up a sign outside. Instead of asking for stories, the sign invited people to simply share their income and lives in exchange for free drinks and cash prizes ranging from 100 to 1,000 yuan.

To Er Piya’s shock, her dad dared to hand out such “measly” sums.

At first, she thought no one would come, but the first visitor turned out to be a homeless man.

Well, perhaps “homeless” wasn’t entirely accurate; he was more like one of those invisible souls tucked away in the city’s bustling corners.

He was someone who eked out a living by scavenging for discarded items.

Though he appeared 50 or 60 years old, he was barely over 40. Such people didn’t even dare enter the tavern.

They would linger outside, hoping for a small drink, until Chen An’an invited him in to sit for a while.

When Er Piya approached him, she caught a whiff of such a strong odor that she nearly gagged.

How long had it been since this man last bathed?

Forget bathing—they didn’t even have homes to return to.

They often slept on makeshift boards, under bridges, or in deserted corners.

For such individuals, their existence could hardly be called “living.” It was merely “surviving.”

And even that survival came devoid of dignity.