Chapter 75 – The Start of a Banquet
Translated by Gumihou
Please read this at kitchennovel dot com
It has been half an hour since Sun Yi’s report, now that he knew that the man had secured Ye Chui’s recipe, He Chengfei was in a really good mood. He certainly have a good eye for people. The business was nicely done, it’s now time for the next phase of his plan.
He cast his gaze across the dance floor, before zeroing towards the other corner of his private booth. Two people were seated together. One of them was Cao Kang–his face still bore marks left by Han Yuyan. The other person was a 23-24 year old young man, who looked like he had never been in this kind of place before. He was reserved, trying to act cool.
He had called these two over after Sun Yi’s report.
He Chengfei smiled briefly and addressed the newcomer, “Mr. Fang, I heard you’re a great chef from the Jun Le Xiang restaurant, not a bad achievement at such a young age.”
The young man was Fang Tao of course. At He Chengfei’s praise, he quickly demurred, “No, no, I was just lucky.”
“Hehe, luck is also a skill.” He Chengfei said with a smile. He eyed Cao Kang for a moment before turning back to Fang Tao, “I shall be glad to witness your skills this Monday, I trust you won’t let me down.”
“Please be at ease, I guarantee not disappoint.” Fang Tao promised quickly.
Cao Kang who had been sitting quietly all this while spoke up, “Brother Fei, do you really think this will work?”
Fang Tao was someone that Cao Kang had brought in. Yesterday, He Chengfei informed Fang Tao about Lin Wei’s mother’s birthday celebration, and that Ye Fei intended to make a special delicacy that could purportedly heal Wu Haimei’s anorexia. If Ye Chui really make this dish as he claimed, then Lin Wei would transfer to that Xi Zhou 32nd Middle School. When Cao Kang heard this, he was naturally indignant. He Chengfei immediately followed up that information by informing Cao Kang that he had found a way to sabotage Ye Chui. However, Cao Kang must find a skilled and trusted chef to assist them, which was why Fang Tao was brought in.
Fang Tao had depended on recipes stolen from Ye Chui to reach his position at Jun Le Xiang. Therefore, when he heard what Fang Tao wanted him to do, he immediately rushed over. How could he missed this chance to make connections with the rich and aristocratic?
He Chengfei’s plan was simple. Stael the recipe from Ye Chui. Get Cao Kang’s people to replicate the recipe and make the dish for Wu Haimei first, thereby poking a stick through the spokes of Ye Chui’s grand plans. By the time Ye Chui was ready to present his dish, he would have missed his chance to make an impact. Indeed, Cao Kang was an important figure in his plans — They also have plans to offer dishes made with Fang Tao’s stolen recipes to Wu Haimei.
He Chengfei only had one goal, that was to destroy Ye Chui’s culinary advantage. Once Wu Haimei’s anorexia was cured by Fang Tao’s dish, there was a high possibility that she would cast a favourable eye on Cao Kang. He Chengfei had no problem with this development, he was certain that he could snatch whatever he wanted from that idiot. If this plan were to fail, Cao Kang would be left carrying the blame. A true businessman should plan for all ways to success. This was also a lesson he had learned from his father in his boyhood days.
Right now, He Chengfei smiled as he patted Cao Kang’s shoulder, “This is an extremely rare opportunity. Auntie Lin’s birthday is also an opportunity for Lin Zhengdao to mingle with the local rich and noble families. I’m sure your father will be invited. When the time comes, make sure to hand your dish over first. Not only will you gain Auntie Lin’s favour, you can also strike a blow against Ye Chui. Everything has been accounted for, what could go wrong?”
[Gumihou: Flag! … sorry, can’t resist, but really… Flag!]“But, Brother He, are you really sure about letting me have such a good thing?” Cao Kang felt uneasy. Isn’t this He Chengfei too generous?
“Wei Wei is my little sister, how could it be considered too generous?” He Chengfei patted Cao Kang on the shoulder. He said meaningfully, “Didn’t I tell you already? I don’t like the look of that Ye Chui. How dare he raise his eyes to Wei Wei? I’m also doing this for Wei Wei’s own good. Make sure you don’t disappoint me, Cao Kang.”
At He Chengfei’s words, Cao Kong nodded eagerly, “Brother He, you can rely on me. I won’t disappoint you!”
“En, I believe you.”
He Chengfei nodded, his expression earnest. However, a trace of ridicule glinted in his eye…
Just then, his phone rang. It was Sun Yi. He Chengfei immediately stood up.
“I’m going to meet someone outside. He’ll have Ye Chui’s recipe in hand!”
… please read this at kitchennovel.com …
A week after the opening of Little Rain Restaurant, it was time for Lin Wei’s mother’s birthday celebration.
Ye Chui had already called up Lin Wei early in the morning. This little greedy cat had been on the phone trying to tease out just what mysterious delicacu he was going to bring, “Ye Chui, Ye Chui, what are you making for mother, ah? Can it really cure her anorexia?”
“Wei Wei, do you or do you not want me to cure your mother’s anorexia?” Ye Chui countered amusedly.
“Of course I do!” Lin Wei declared.
Ye Chui smiled, “Then you should be able to leave everything to me and peacefully go to school, right?”
“… hateful…” Lin Wei knew that she had fallen into Ye Chui’s verbal trap. She could only acted spoiled and pretended to lose her temper, “Don’t want to speak to you anymore!” but before hanging up the phone, she continued, “do your best, oh. I really hope that you can cure mother’s anorexia, hei hei.”
Ye Chui thumbed off the contact with a smile. He really felt like a youth in love, ah. In the past life, though there were quite a few interested women in his life, he had given all his passion to the kitchen. This kind of first love fun was something he experienced for the first time.
Right now, Ye Chui was having breakfast at the dining table. An Jing and Wang Shiyu had just finished their breakfast and was about to leave for school when something occurred to Ye Chui and he tugged An Jing by the arm, “Has that Zhao Hongyu pester you these couple of days?”
“Brother, please relaxed. How could he still have the leisure to bother me, ah.” An Jing smiled. “A lot of people seemed to have drifted away from him. That guy looked really depressed these days, I think he probably won’t have time to bother me any more.”
“That’s good.”
Ye Chui smiled and nodded. Dealing this kind of small fry was simple, this level of education should be enough to teach him a lesson.
Not long after An Jing and Wang Shiyu left for school, Tian Xiaodu stuck his head furtively into the restaurant — this fatty clearly still fear the very shadow of Wang Shiyu. A red handprint was clearly seen on his soft white cheeks. That print haven’t disappear after a week. Tian Xiaodu’s wife must have been super pissed off by that lip print on his cheek…
“Relax, she has gone to school.” Ye Chui really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this man’s scaredy cat behaviour. How could a man be such a chicken, ah?
“Oh,” Tian Xiaodu finally dared to walk in normally. He looked around and inquired, “Where’s Sun Yi and Big Rain?”
“Sun Yi has gone to market for ingredients. Big Rain has just gone to to check up on Elder Han.” said Ye Chui. After some thought, he took out his phone. “Is this elder sister trying to avoid work? I want to put that face to use as part of our marketing strategy. Let’s try and call her.”
… …
“I know, master. I’ll be back soon!” Han Yuyan grumbled impatiently, cutting off the line.
She was currently at a Xi Zhou’s most expensive and luxurious hospital. Elder Han was currently recovering here. As he reclined on the sickbed, Han Yuyan made sure that every little detail was to her grandfather’s comfort. Early that morning, she had gleefully stolen the century egg[1] and lean meat congee Ye Chui had especially prepared for his sisters for Elder Han…
Elder Han laughed as Han Yuyan cut the line, “Well? Is your master calling for you?”
“Humph, he wanted to make some kind delicacy for Wu Haimei’s birthday and wanted me to help him. Said something about a dish that could cure Wu Haimei’s anorexia.” Han Yuyan muttered. She really didn’t want to go to Wu Haimei’s birthday thing.
Elder Han was in the middle enjoying the stolen congee when his eyes brightened at this unexpected news. “Ye Chui is going to that Wu girl’s place to cook? What’s more he’s going to cook something that cures anorexia? Just how delicious could that dish be, ah? No, I can’t miss this chance to taste this delicacy, ah!”
[Gumihou: Fufufu, how like Elder Han. I salute thee, old man.]
[1] Century Egg – Here’s a youtube explanation of century eggs. Luckily, they are not really pickled for a century, otherwise they’d be really expensive…
^_^
Translated Gumihou from kitchennovel dot com.
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