Seeing that Mr. Shen seemed to want to speak with Boss Lin, she spoke up:

"Then I'll head off now. I'll take a taxi to check out those famous design agencies in Beijing first, and if those don't work out, I'll look elsewhere."

After she finished speaking, she didn't wait for Shen Guofu's approval, pulled open the door of a taxi by the roadside, and got in.

"Where to, miss?"

"Just drive ahead for now; I need to find the address."

With that, Dou Wenjing took out her phone and began searching for famous design companies and agencies in Beijing.

Watching the taxi drive away, Shen Guofu turned and asked,

"What do you think of Xiao Dou?"

What do I think? Father-in-law, why do you sound like you're trying to play matchmaker?

Lin Xu said with a smile,

"Wenjing is excellent—diligent, efficient, and handles everything assigned to her meticulously. Are you planning to promote her?"

Shen Guofu opened the car door,

"No, I'm actually preparing to fire her."

Lin Xu: ???????

Firing an employee who performs well... What kind of logic is that? Is he bound to some kind of system that only rewards him for going bankrupt?

He opened the car door and got in, not quite understanding his father-in-law's decision.

"Why is that, Uncle Shen?"

Shen Guofu started the car, smiling as he said,

"Because you're lacking a manager here. Others don't have the experience, and I can't trust them. So, I found you a trustworthy general manager to handle the store and the company. You just need to focus on your cooking."

This… Just a moment ago, I was still wondering if Wenjing had offended someone in the company. Turns out, this was all to pave the way for me.

Lin Xu opened his mouth, very grateful for his father-in-law's help,

"Uncle Shen, wouldn't this be unfair to Wenjing?"

Being kicked from a publicly listed company to a startup—that's quite a drop, isn't it?

Shen Guofu shook his head,

"There's nothing unfair about it. On the contrary, the opportunity to manage a company independently is something many managers dream of. I'm letting Wenjing try because she has always performed well. And besides, as long as the pay is good enough, who really cares about fairness?"

After he finished speaking, he slowly drove the car towards Yingchun Street.

It was already almost four o'clock in the afternoon. Mr. Shen didn't feel like returning to the office, so he decided to accompany his son-in-law to the restaurant and wait for dinner.

「Back at Yingchun Street.」

Lin Xu shoved the stack of property deeds into the cash register's drawer, washed his hands, changed into his chef's whites, and went into the kitchen to get busy. The property transfer had already cost him nearly two hours, so he needed to hurry and prepare the ingredients for the evening, or he wouldn't be ready in time. Fortunately, no one had the day off today, and Niu Chuan and the others had already completed all the possible basic prep work.

While he was busy, Shen Guofu picked up the trophy and medals from the morning's competition with great interest and examined them carefully again. He had already watched the live broadcast at noon, but even now, seeing the trophy and medals, he still found it hard to believe. His son-in-law had actually defeated the chefs from Fishing Platform. His culinary skills were truly impeccable.

If there's a chance, I must have him make all the competition dishes for me to taste. This Old Shen would love to experience the joy of being a food critic!

Thinking of this, he called out to Lin Xu in the kitchen,

"Xiao Xu, tonight, could you make a serving of that White Jade Lotus Root Strips dish you won the championship with? I've been craving it ever since I watched the live broadcast; I really want to taste it."

"No problem, that dish is very simple."

Lin Xu readily agreed. My father-in-law gave me so many storefronts. Forget one serving of White Jade Lotus Root Strips; even if he wanted it every day, I'd have to make it for him.

Hearing his son-in-law's agreement, Shen Guofu cheerfully took out his phone and, TAP-TAP-TAP, sent his daughter a message:

"Daughter, Xiao Xu is going to make White Jade Lotus Root Strips tonight. Aren't you curious to taste it, just like me?"

Shen Jiayue had driven to work after returning to the restaurant earlier. As a wage earner, she figured she might as well make as much as she could. After all, who wouldn't want to experience the joy of slacking off while still getting paid!

Right now, Shen Jiayue was at her office computer, organizing electronic documents. Seeing the message from her dad, she couldn't help but reply:

"I've already tasted it! Senior Brother Xie made it for me the first time he came to help at the store... Dad, you haven't had it before, right? How about I describe the flavor and texture of the White Jade Lotus Root Strips to you?"

Shen Guofu: "..."

You're going to describe it to me? The more you talk, the more I'll crave it! Yueyue, that girl, has been... well, utterly infuriating ever since she was little! Fortunately, my son-in-law is decent. That's probably the only consolation for raising a daughter!

While father and daughter were chatting, Wei Qian arrived at the entrance of Lin Ji's Food on a shared electric bike.

This place is tiny, isn't it? Completely unworthy of Lin Xu's culinary skills.

He parked the electric bike at a bicycle parking spot by the roadside, scanned the QR code to pay, then pushed open the door and entered the restaurant.

As soon as he entered, he saw Dundun fast asleep on the cash register counter.

Confirmed, this is Lin Xu's place. I remember this fat cat; it ate the fragrant pork I gave it this morning.

"Hello, we're not open for business yet..." Song Tiantian said politely, looking up from the accounts she was checking and the morning's paperwork she was sorting.

"I'm here to see Lin Xu."

As he spoke, Wei Qian saw Lin Xu busy in the kitchen and walked in.

"Your restaurant is tiny, isn't it? It doesn't fit your champion image at all. So many people online are dying to taste your cooking, and yet here you are, running such an inconspicuous little place."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.