From Wage Slave to Tycoon

After a moment of thought, Su Chen looked up and asked, "Elder Xiao, can I hold on to this request for now? I can’t think of what to ask for on the spot."

"Of course. Just let me know whenever you’ve thought of something!" This was within Elder Xiao’s expectations, as a request like this was far too valuable to be made lightly.

"GROWL~" Just then, a sound came from nearby. Su Chen followed it with his eyes and saw Xiao Chen rubbing his stomach, a little embarrassed as he chuckled.

"We got here after nine last night and still haven’t eaten," Xiao Chen hurriedly explained.

They had left in too much of a hurry yesterday to bring any food. On top of that, their visit was secret, so they hadn’t asked the cafeteria to arrange for meals.

Su Chen glanced at the time; it was already 6:45 a.m. ’The cafeteria should have breakfast ready by now,’ he thought.

"Elder Xiao, Brother Cheen, it’s not early anymore. Let’s go to the cafeteria and get something to eat. We can also arrange for someone to send some food over."

Neither Xiao Chen’s men nor Old Chen and his team of researchers had eaten yet. Besides, with the current lockdown, having food delivered was the only option.

He couldn’t just let all these people starve, after all.

Having rushed around all night, now that he had confirmed the truth about the controllable nuclear fusion, the tension Elder Xiao felt finally eased. He felt physically exhausted and just wanted to eat something and get a good sleep.

Su Chen promptly got behind the wheel of an electric cart and drove the two toward the main campus area. As they went, Elder Xiao began to take in the layout of the entire research base.

Beyond the research institutes, he could see several large factory buildings further back. He couldn’t make out the details, but he was surprised to see that the lights in those factories were still on.

He made a mental note of this.

As they arrived back at the main campus building, Su Chen saw Chen Fei and Xiao Peng standing by the entrance, smoking and chatting.

Seeing Su Chen’s party of three appear, the two immediately extinguished their cigarettes.

"Elder Xiao, Sir, Boss!"

As the electric cart came to a halt at the entrance, Chen Fei and Xiao Peng hurried forward to greet them.

Chen Fei and Xiao Peng were not outsiders, so both Elder Xiao and Xiao Chen nodded in response.

"Is the cafeteria ready for meals?" Su Chen asked, looking at Xiao Peng.

"It’s all ready," Xiao Peng replied hurriedly. He had already made the arrangements as soon as he learned that Elder Xiao and Su Chen had arrived at the campus overnight.

The group of five then headed straight for the cafeteria on the first basement level.

The breakfast spread could only be described as lavish. There were three types of congee alone, plus a wide variety of other breakfast foods and snacks. Su Chen took a look around—it seemed they had collected breakfast specialties from both the North and the South.

"Your breakfast selection is truly impressive!" Elder Xiao couldn’t help but remark. He had never seen such a spread, not even in the Imperial Capital.

"It’s all to ensure our researchers and security personnel stay well-nourished!" Su Chen said with a grin.

The men grabbed plates, selected some breakfast items they liked, ladled a bowl of congee, and found a spot to sit and eat.

"Tsk, tsk. I won’t even mention the variety, but the skill... Don’t tell me these are all made by master chefs!" Elder Xiao asked after swallowing a mouthful of a pork and shrimp soup dumpling.

"Hmm?" Su Chen turned and gave Xiao Peng an inquisitive look.

Xiao Peng chuckled, a bit embarrassed. "Ah... well, you did tell us to make the food a little tastier, Sir. So, I hired eight master chefs specializing in the major regional cuisines."

Upon receiving his answer, Elder Xiao said nothing more and simply focused on eating.

After breakfast, Su Chen could see the exhaustion on Elder Xiao’s face and how his eyelids were struggling to stay open, so he arranged for Chen Fei to take the old man to rest.

Elder Xiao didn’t refuse. After all, at his age, and having not slept all night, the sleepiness washed over him completely after he ate.

Su Chen didn’t remain idle either, immediately arranging for Xiao Peng to take people to deliver food to everyone at the research institute.

"Find a place to talk?" Xiao Chen said, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offering one to Su Chen.

Su Chen exhaled a puff of smoke and nodded, then led Xiao Chen into an elevator, heading straight for the manager’s office on the top floor.