Ding Maofu gave a slight smile, proudly saying, "Therefore, you should never just look at the surface of things, but at how that surface was formed, so follow me closely and learn."

The middle-aged man laughed, "Mr. Ding is right, your insights are indeed superior to others."

Just then, the young man who had also gone to the bun shop earlier came in, looking listless, and said, "Damn, I was secretly thrilled this morning when I heard that the recipes from Datong River were lost, but they just denied it on TV, claiming that Datong River didn't lose anything and anyone claiming to have the recipes is a scammer!"

Upon hearing this, Ding Maofu immediately stood up, "They denied it?"

The young man was stunned, then said, "Yes, and they had Miss Chu Qing vouch for it."

Ding Maofu's eyes suddenly gleamed with sharpness, "What did they say?"

"They said that the safe was just taken out for repair, and there was a miscommunication within the staff, so they had reported it to the police, but it was all a misunderstanding; nothing was actually lost. For this, Datong River publicly apologized and at the same time claimed that anyone saying they have the Datong River recipes must be a fraud."

"Not only that, the delicacies of Datong River are made through tens or even hundreds of procedures, and outside of Datong River, no place can replicate them. As such, Datong River is advising everyone not to believe anyone who claims they can replicate their dishes."

Hearing this, Ding Maofu's eyes lit up frighteningly, and then he exclaimed with excitement, "It must have been lost, the dishes from Datong River must have been lost! Otherwise, they wouldn't have hurried to deny it so quickly!"

The young man was somewhat confused, and said in astonishment, "But Mr. Ding, Datong River has already denied it, how could it still be lost?"

With sharp-eyed, Ding Maofu sitting in his chair, excitedly said, "Firstly, Datong River is currently very popular, whether they want to hype themselves up, or have another agenda. If the recipes weren't lost, they could have just waited and seen, as this news could have raised Datong River's profile."

Getting excited, Ding Maofu paced around the room, continuing, "But they immediately issued a denial, saying nothing was lost? If that's true, why were they in such a rush to deny it? Waiting for the news to ferment and reach a peak in attention before announcing it was all a false alarm would have been better."

The middle-aged man's eyes also gleamed, "So their denial is just a remedy for the incorrect reward offer by Datong River!"

Ding Maofu arched his eyebrows smugly, "Exactly, only in this way does it make sense, so this denial by Datong River is essentially an empty disclaimer of hidden goods!"

Hearing this, the middle-aged man said with bright eyes, "So what do you think, should we give it a try?"

Ding Maofu fell silent for a moment, then said, "Don't panic, the recipes from Datong River must have been lost, but the person who has them is now keeping them very cautiously. Even if we are anxious, it might not be possible to get them immediately."

As he spoke, Ding Maofu walked over to the clothes rack, put on his suit jacket, and said to the two, "Follow me, if this petty thief has acted before securing a buyer, then he can only turn to someone capable of making a purchase."

"In our Provincial City, only three restaurants are potent enough to afford the high price for the recipes."

"Now, Datong River has already begun to deny it, soon everyone will believe that nothing was lost from Datong River. This will force the petty thief to sell the recipes from Datong River as soon as possible."

"Thus, under careful and cautious conditions, to avoid drawing unnecessary attention, visiting during lunchtime to discuss face-to-face is definitely the best choice! So let's split up and dine at those three restaurants, just carefully watch for anyone suspicious, and we will surely find that petty thief."

"Keep your eyes peeled, we're going to try our luck. If we're fortunate, this might be the rarest opportunity of our lives!"

The three of them rubbed their hands together eagerly.

After leaving Shunhua Company, they split up.

Once they had left,

from behind a corner wall of Shunhua Restaurant Company, a tall, leggy beauty emerged. She smiled as she watched the trio's departing figures, then spoke into the phone, "The target has shown interest. Proceed to the next step."

Bang!

Inside the lobby of the Banquet Hall,

no sooner had Ding Maofu settled into his seat than he saw an old gentleman, dressed in leather shoes, trousers, and a shirt, looking quite neat and capable, suddenly slam the table next to his and angrily exclaimed, "It's a cover-up! What is this Datong River doing? Rushing out to refute the rumors so hastily, it's obvious they've lost the formula!"

The middle-aged man sitting opposite the old man said helplessly, "Dad, keep your voice down. You've already retired from the bureau, why worry about this? Besides, Datong River isn't stupid. Would they claim nothing's lost if it were?"

"Shut up!" the old man exploded, "I've been a criminal detective all my life; I've encountered all sorts of people and incidents. This denial from Datong River is merely indulging those criminals. No, I need to go back to the bureau. I'm not only going to find out what shady things Datong River is hiding, but I will also expose them."

Hearing this, the middle-aged man said helplessly, "Dad, you're retired, nobody at the bureau has time for you anymore. Let's just have a nice meal. And, you have this occupational hazard, seeing crime everywhere, which is often just your wild imagination. Datong River said nothing's lost, and that must be the case."

"Nonsense!" the old man fumed. "TV stations charge by the second. If they truly hadn't lost anything, would they need to refute the rumors so urgently? I might be retired, but I can still go online and expose their attempts to cover up, letting everyone know they lost their formula,"

Having said that, the old man stood up and left, with the middle-aged man trying to pull him back all the way out of the Banquet Hall.

Ding Maofu watched their retreating figures with a slightly tense look in his eyes.

At that moment, two waiters came over. While cleaning the table of the old man and the middle-aged man, they muttered softly, "Pfft, Datong River even went on TV to refute the claim, saying nothing was lost—it must be true. That old guy must be senile."

The other waiter snickered, "Yeah, like a fool. We serve here, and we've seen all kinds of people. Datong River isn't silly enough to lose something and not admit it."

Sitting in his chair, watching the two waiters, Ding Maofu's eyes gleamed with a touch of smugness as he softly chuckled to himself, "Fools always think they see through everything, but the truth is often in the hands of the few. They can't even see through Datong River's cover-up, they truly deserve to be waiters all their lives."

With a smug arch of his brow, Ding Maofu sat at his spot, haughtily laughing to himself while waiting for his food, looking around. At that moment, a young man who looked like he hadn't slept all night, haggard and with a stubbled face, appeared somewhat evasive as he took the seat previously occupied by the old man and the middle-aged man.

After the server came over, he leaned in anxiously and whispered, "Hello, I need to discuss an urgent matter with your boss."

Upon hearing this, Ding Maofu's eyes immediately lit up.

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