Chapter 287: Chapter 269: Already Thinking About Kindergarten?

It was expensive, but the food was truly excellent!

Ye Ling pulled on a pair of disposable gloves and began breaking down the emperor crab.

The thing was so enormous that it would have been a real hassle for a girl to eat, so the task naturally fell to Ye Ling.

"Here, try some!"

Ye Ling finished shelling a piece of the emperor crab, dipped it in sauce, and held it to Ning Ruoxi’s lips.

"Mmm! Delicious!"

Ning Ruoxi’s eyes instantly lit up.

"Is it? I’m glad you like it."

Ye Ling said with a faint smile.

Ning Ruoxi, in turn, picked up a piece of the crab meat Ye Ling had shelled, dipped it in sauce, and brought it to his lips.

"You try some too!"

Her eyes seemed to sparkle like stars, making her look absolutely adorable.

Ye Ling didn’t stand on ceremony and ate it in one bite.

The emperor crab at Sea Language Restaurant had clearly been expertly prepared. The meat was exceptionally fresh and tender with a hint of sweetness. Paired with the savory, aromatic sauce, it was a taste of heaven on earth.

It was definitely worth the price.

"I think it’s great, too," Ye Ling commented. "At the very least, the quality of the crab meat is excellent. It’s definitely not from a dead crab, and the preparation was perfect."

The grand meal, worth over fifty thousand yuan, concluded with Ye Ling and Ning Ruoxi sweetly feeding each other. As for the bottle of red wine, Ning Ruoxi had a little, but not much; Ye Ling finished off most of it.

"I’m stuffed."

Ye Ling let out a long sigh of contentment after finishing his meal.

After such a huge meal, he felt like he was starting to break a sweat.

"That was so delicious, but so expensive."

Ning Ruoxi nodded in firm agreement, then couldn’t help but sigh.

How could a fifty-thousand-yuan meal not be delicious?

Fifty thousand yuan was double the median per capita disposable income in Xia Country last year!

That just showed how extravagant this meal was.

"Maybe we should stick to cheaper places in the future,"

Ning Ruoxi said, turning to look at Ye Ling.

"Don’t worry about it."

Ye Ling chuckled, ruffling Ning Ruoxi’s hair.

"No! Listen to me. Once we’re together, there will be so many things we need to spend money on. I was looking into it recently... do you have any idea how expensive kindergarten is? It’s at least twenty thousand a year!"

Ning Ruoxi looked at Ye Ling earnestly, counting on her fingers. "And that’s just tuition! There are all sorts of extracurricular classes... and more, and more..."

"Hold on!"

Ye Ling immediately cut Ning Ruoxi off, a wry smile on his face. "Kiddo, you’re thinking a little too far ahead, don’t you think?"

’Kindergarten? Seriously?’

’He and Ning Ruoxi weren’t even married yet!’

"Of course we have to think long-term."

Ning Ruoxi shot Ye Ling a look and pouted.

"Alright, alright. I’ll be more frugal from now on."

Ye Ling couldn’t resist pulling Ning Ruoxi into his arms and kissing her on the forehead.

’Though he was tempted to say that even if kindergarten cost a hundred thousand a month, it would be a drop in the bucket for him.’

After all,

Brother Ling’s net worth had already surpassed six billion!

’What’s a few hundred thousand to him? A mere drop in the bucket.’

But he would never say that out loud. That would be way too tactless.

’Ning Ruoxi was thinking about their future, making plans, and trying to spend less of his money. How many men dreamed of finding a woman like that?’

’Compared to those keyboard warrior feminists online who screech that a man who doesn’t spend money on a woman doesn’t truly love her, Ning Ruoxi was just so sensible and considerate.’

’This whole "it’s not true love if he doesn’t spend money on you" thing?’

’Give me a break. Have they even looked in a mirror?’

’They don’t have the looks of a one-in-a-thousand beauty, yet they demand to be treated like one. What a beautiful dream. They should keep dreaming—in broad daylight, since they’re so good at daydreaming!’

"Then you have to remember, okay? We need to be more frugal from now on."

Ning Ruoxi pouted, resting her head on Ye Ling’s shoulder.

"Okay, we’ll save it. We’ll save it for our baby... actually, we’ll have to have several babies. One won’t be able to spend all this money," Ye Ling teased, the corner of his mouth curving into a smirk.

"What do you mean, several babies!"

Ning Ruoxi shot him a playful glare.

’This big pervert!’

’I don’t know what goes through his head all day.’

Since they were still in the restaurant, Ye Ling and Ning Ruoxi didn’t get too lovey-dovey and soon left Sea Language Restaurant.

After all, who knew how many people were watching them through the security cameras!

This was where Brother Ling had to complain about Sea Language Restaurant. For their VIP private rooms, shouldn’t they have a no-camera option?

’Just put a camera by the door, and that’s it!’

’The food gets five stars, but this point deserves a one-star review!’

Ye Ling held Ning Ruoxi’s hand as they ambled through the streets of Yazhou, the vibrant nightlife a unique feature of the subtropical city.

"This breeze feels so nice and cool."

Ning Ruoxi’s eyes narrowed in pleasure.

"If you like it here, I’ll buy a sea-view condo. We can come and stay whenever we have free time," Ye Ling said casually.

"And you just said we needed to be more frugal."

Ning Ruoxi couldn’t help but shoot him a look.

Still...

’A sea-view condo?’

’That didn’t sound half bad, actually.’

Ye Ling continued to stroll hand-in-hand with Ning Ruoxi, and they soon arrived at the duty-free shopping center the driver had mentioned.

The duty-free center in Yazhou was basically the largest in all of Xia Country, carrying all sorts of international luxury brands, such as Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Chanel, Louis Vuitton...

Of course, besides luxury apparel, the real draw was the skincare products.

"Let’s just browse today. Don’t buy a whole lot."

Ning Ruoxi reminded Ye Ling before they even went inside.

’This guy was such a big spender!’

"Alright, alright."

Ye Ling ruffled her hair, his eyes filled with a flicker of genuine emotion.

’If it were any other girl,’ he thought, ’she wouldn’t be telling me to spend less. She’d be scheming how to get another handbag out of me.’

’As far as Ye Ling was concerned, before asking for a bag, a girl should take a hard look at her own looks. If you’re a seven out of ten, forget about Bottega Veneta or Gucci. He’d recommend Uniqlo!’

Holding Ning Ruoxi’s hand, Ye Ling walked into the duty-free center.

It was about an hour after the dinner rush, so the shopping center was crowded.

"When you’re in Yazhou, you have to check out the duty-free stores." That was the common advice from anyone who had visited.

And it was true. While the discounts on luxury brand apparel in Yazhou’s duty-free centers weren’t that great, high-end skincare was definitely cheaper by about ten percent.

To be honest, that was a huge discount.

And if you were to ask why?

Well, that would require a discussion on the relationship between cost and profit.

As everyone knows, profit isn’t just determined by the list price; cost is also a crucial factor.

Why do so many merchants on food review apps complain about low profit margins?

Because the cost of running a restaurant is exceptionally high!

Take the meal Ye Ling just ate, for example. Fifty thousand yuan—expensive, right?

But you have to realize that thirty thousand of that was for the wine. Only twenty thousand was for the food itself.

Let’s use the two emperor crabs as an example again. By Ye Ling’s estimate, each one was a little over four pounds. At a price of 600 yuan per pound, that’s 2,400 yuan each.

The menu price was 3,000 yuan, so it looked like the profit on one crab was over 600 yuan, right?

However, a restaurant’s costs aren’t just the food itself. There are also cooking and preparation costs, labor costs for the chefs, servers, and managers, and the biggest expense of all: rent!

In short, the profit on that single emperor crab wasn’t nearly as high as you’d think. A four-figure price tag might only yield a two-figure profit.

And emperor crab was a relatively high-margin item, since its high price allowed for a larger profit space.

What about a more ordinary dish?

Or a more ordinary restaurant?

A dish might cost a little over a hundred yuan. Do you expect to make a fifty-yuan profit on that?

In your dreams!

You’d be lucky to get a tenth of that, okay?

And under these conditions, the food review apps still take their cut, percentage by percentage. How could restaurant owners not complain?

Especially when they run all sorts of big promotions. You have to remember, there’s no such thing as a free lunch—the cost is always passed on to someone.

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