"Hear me out first."
Su Chen had Li Mingtao sit down. "Something happened on this trip to the Capital City."
"..."
Su Chen spoke for a good half hour, recounting nearly everything that had happened with Cuihua Building and Cui Yufen. "Director Li, what do you make of this?"
Li Mingtao was engrossed in the story. He leaned back and drew in a sharp breath. "Hiss... This is a bit complicated."
"This old lady isn’t just coming for a birthday party. She’s bringing her apprentice to settle a score..."
"If we don’t perform well, then with what happened at Cuihua Building, who knows what people will say about us."
Su Chen slapped his thigh. "That’s exactly what I mean. If the food we serve is subpar, it’ll be a disaster."
Director Li nodded. "But if we do too well... that’s not giving the old lady any face at all. It’s like slapping her face all the way from the Capital City to Jingzhou, and on her birthday, no less!"
’Li Mingtao really is a shrewd one!’
Su Chen was very satisfied. "So, Director Li, how do you think we should handle this?"
Li Mingtao, with a rare frown on his face, thought it over. "Boss, something’s not right. I feel like there’s more to this."
"More to this?"
Li Mingtao nodded. "Think back. Is there anything else that happened that you might have missed?"
Su Chen mentally replayed the events of the past few days. "No. Other than what I told you, there’s nothing else."
Li Mingtao leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Logically speaking, a big shot like Cui Yufen shouldn’t need to pick a fight with us.
But now, not only is she coming after us, she’s bringing her apprentice to do it too. She seems so desperate to win, as if beating you would prove something. Someone is definitely playing dirty behind the scenes! But as for who it is... that’s hard to say..."
Tsk!
’Could that really be it?’
Su Chen felt that Li Mingtao had a point.
’But who could it be?’
’First, I can rule out the employees at Delicious. Could it be Shang Mingke?’
’No, that can’t be it. Based on my interactions with Old Shang these past few days, I get the feeling he’s one of those older guys who acts all serious on the surface but is actually a bit childish inside.’
’I mean, he’s almost forty and still not married, so there must be a bit of immaturity there. He wouldn’t stoop to something like this.’
’Then who else could it be?’
He thought for a long time but came up with nothing. "Forget it. Whether someone is playing tricks or not, what’s done is done! We can’t turn down an order worth over forty thousand. It just comes down to how we handle it, and how we can do it beautifully!"
Li Mingtao nodded fiercely. "Don’t you worry, Boss. Give me some time. Within two days, I’ll come up with the best solution for you!"
Su Chen agreed.
After Li Mingtao left, Su Chen finally leaned back in his chair.
’I never would have expected this. The trip to the Capital City was fruitful, but it also brought trouble. If possible, I’d rather not have provoked Cui Yufen and her associates.’
’To be more precise, Su Chen had no desire to get involved in the so-called "culinary circle" at all. He just wanted to cook good food. Why bother with all that faction-forming nonsense? It was so boring!’
’Making a few more friends would be one thing, but unintentionally making an enemy was just a pain.’
As his mind drifted over the events of the past few days, a knock sounded on his office door.
"Come in."
Turning his head, he saw Ling Shuyu storming in. The dissatisfaction on her face was practically overflowing; she might as well have had the words "You’ve offended me!" written on her forehead.
’What’s wrong with her?’
’Who dares bully my little EXP booster?’
"Boss!" Ling Shuyu’s tone was filled with not just dissatisfaction but also a hint of indignation.
"Huh? What’s up?"
"You get back to the company and just hide in your office!"
Su Chen didn’t understand what she meant. "What else was I supposed to do?"
Ling Shuyu was furious.
’I worked my butt off here at the company, not eating, drinking, or sleeping well. I worked around the clock for seven days to get the small dining hall set up for you, and not only do you not praise me, you don’t even ask about it?’
At that moment, Ling Shuyu felt incredibly wronged.
It was like when she was a little girl, painstakingly cleaning the whole house by herself, just waiting for her mom to come home and praise her.
But then her mom came home, tossed her bag aside, and went straight to bed.
It felt awful!!!
"You!" Ling Shuyu clenched her little fists, trying her best not to get angry. ’Whoever gets mad first in a situation like this loses!’
"You should at least take a look at the changes around the company!"
"Changes?" Su Chen finally stood up and strode out. "Mm! The office is clean again! Aunt Fang must have worked hard these past few days!"
Ling Shuyu’s little fists clenched tighter.
"Oh? And someone made scallion oil noodles. I can tell Aunt Fang made them! Thank you for your hard work!"
Ling Shuyu’s little fists were about to fly!
"Huh? A Lego set? Nice hobby. This is..."
"Boss Su, I made it!" Brother Fang Chang raised his hand. "I was bored and built it for fun. You can have it. It looks pretty good sitting here."
Su Chen nodded. "Not bad, not bad. I’ll give you a one-percent discount today."
Although he felt quite pleased, Brother Fang Chang couldn’t help but think, ’Is a one-percent discount some kind of joke?’
This time, Ling Shuyu really couldn’t hold her little fists back any longer!
She was about to lunge at Su Chen!
"Oh, right!" Su Chen turned just in time to see Ling Shuyu’s fist coming at him. "How’s the small dining hall on the second floor? Don’t tell me you’ve already finished everything? If you have, I can’t give you a very big bonus! And what’s with the fist?"
Ling Shuyu awkwardly pulled her fist back. "There was a fly!" She quickly changed the subject. "The second floor is basically finished. Next, we just need to see if you have any specific requirements for the kitchen."