Manager Wang returned to his office and hurriedly called his boss.
Head Chef Dai whispered Stephen Chow's situation into Manager Wang's ear. Manager Wang had not recognized Stephen Chow before, but after Head Chef Dai's reminder, he immediately remembered who he was.
His boss had used underhanded means to cripple Stephen Chow, seize the God of Cookery title, shut down his restaurant businesses, and drive him completely bankrupt. Who would have thought that, in the blink of an eye, he had gone to work on television programs?
A thought immediately arose in his mind: Stephen Chow was here to cause trouble.
He left Head Chef Dai to handle things there, then quickly left the restaurant for his office and dialed his boss's number.
"What is it?" Boss Wu said in a low voice as he picked up the phone.
"Boss, I have something to report to you." Manager Wang sounded anxious.
"Talk."
"Boss, Stephen Chow is here. He's on this ATV food program as a tasting guest. Just now, he criticized our dishes for being poor. Boss, I think he may be here to cause trouble," Manager Wang said.
There was a brief pause on the other end, followed by a curse. "That little punk actually dared to make trouble on my turf? Tell me exactly what happened."
Manager Wang explained the situation in detail. Boss Wu said angrily, "Damn it, that bastard still dared to show his face. Hmph, send security to throw him out."
"That won't do. The television station is recording a program right now. If we throw him out, we'll offend the station. Besides, it won't look good if it gets recorded," Manager Wang hurriedly advised.
Boss Wu realized that made sense. After thinking it over, he said, "Wait there for my reply." He hung up and immediately called a friend at ATV, a senior executive there.
"Yang Sheng, it's been a long time since we last spoke. Got time to come out for a drink?"
"Boss Wu? Of course."
"Yang Sheng, I need to discuss something with you. I remember you oversee the variety department. Your station came to my Da Long Feng Restaurant to record a program and apparently said some unpleasant things. Could you cut that content and keep it from airing?" Boss Wu said pleasantly.
"A food variety show? I have many variety programs under me, and I'm not too familiar with the newer ones. But it's fine. Don't worry. I'll look into it when I get back and make sure they don't air it," Supervisor Yang said.
"Oh, then thank you, Yang Sheng. I'll arrange something in a couple of days. You must come."
"Sure, sure."
With a guarantee from ATV's upper management, Boss Wu finally relaxed. Yet he was still angry, so he called Manager Wang again. "Go keep an eye on them. Let them record if they want. I've already spoken to a friend in ATV's upper management. There's no way it'll air."
Manager Wang accepted the order and returned to the restaurant upstairs.
Bang!
Boss Wu viciously slammed the phone onto its base.
A cigar hung from his mouth, and his eyes glinted viciously. "Stephen Chow, you bastard. Instead of obediently begging for food, you dared to come to my restaurant and cause trouble? I'll find someone to kill you."
Inside the Imperial Hall of Da Long Feng Restaurant, Jiang Hao's venomous tongue continued.
"Poor ingredients would be one thing, but you weren't even careful during preparation." As he spoke, he picked up a pair of chopsticks and pulled an extremely fine piece of down from the dish bowl. It was clearly a Golden Swallow feather.
When Golden Swallows built their nests, they mixed saliva with down. Before eating bird's nest, it had to be soaked for several hours until it expanded, then the feathers inside had to be meticulously picked out by hand with tweezers. However, few kitchens did that work themselves now. Most simply bought bird's nest that had already been cleaned, then soaked it in water for use.
This feather had clearly not been picked out properly.
In truth, it was not unusual for one or two feathers to remain in bird's nest. But this was a five-star hotel. Once Jiang Hao spotted it, it became a problem.
The camera zoomed directly onto Jiang Hao's chopsticks, magnifying that feather countless times.
Head Chef Dai's lips trembled. "You could even pick out a feather only two or three millimeters long?"
"Hehe, that's the skill of a God of Cookery. I've always been meticulous about ingredients," Jiang Hao said calmly.
"Whoever makes bird's nest can guarantee there won't be one or two feathers left behind?" Head Chef Dai snapped.
"Oh, so this is how Da Long Feng Restaurant treats its diners? Negligence is negligence. There are no excuses." Jiang Hao's tone was firm, like that of a judge.
The two glared furiously at each other. Sparks flew from their eyes in midair, producing crackling thunderclaps. Of course, those would be added in post-production.
Head Chef Dai was so enraged by Jiang Hao's sharp tongue that his face and neck turned red.
"What kind of God of Cookery are you? You've been irrelevant for ages. Tang Sheng is the God of Cookery now. Stop using that title to bluff people here!" Head Chef Dai roared.
"Every generation produces new talent. That's perfectly normal. But you can't deny that I was the former God of Cookery, can you?" Jiang Hao said lightly.
Head Chef Dai wore a mocking expression. "Former God of Cookery? Hehe, wasn't your reputation bought and manufactured with money back then? What fucking God of Cookery are you, daring to point fingers here?"
Jiang Hao did not change expression. "Didn't you, Head Chef Dai, also vote to make me the God of Cookery back then?"
At those words, Head Chef Dai's expression darkened. It was true. Back when Jiang Hao had been made God of Cookery, people like them had also voted for him—or rather, taken money for it. It was hard to deny now.
Head Chef Dai was left speechless, choking on his frustration.
Should he directly say that the other man had bought the God of Cookery title? Exposing Stephen Chow would mean exposing himself. He did not dare say it. His face filled with rage as he pointed at the restaurant entrance. "Stephen Chow, you're not welcome here. You don't get to judge my dishes. Leave Da Long Feng Restaurant now."
So he was lashing out in humiliation?
Now this was getting interesting.
Jiang Hao put his hands in his pockets and said teasingly, "Oh? Restaurants can drive away their customers now? Da Long Feng really thinks highly of itself."
"Besides, you didn't invite me. ATV invited me as a food-tasting expert. You have no right to throw me out."
"Your cooking is dishonest, yet you're afraid of others talking about it. I remember you were once hailed as one of the three masters of Bird's Nest, Shark Fin, Abalone. So this is all you've got."
The sight of Stephen Chow acting so smugly made Head Chef Dai burn with rage. "Stephen Chow, I know you're here to pick a fight. Get out."
"What if I don't?"
"Believe it or not, I'll beat you to death, you bastard."
"Come on, then. Try laying a hand on me."
The two were about to rush at each other. The food review was on the verge of turning into an all-out brawl. Seeing this, the two assistant chefs immediately grabbed Head Chef Dai, while the TV station's assistant director held Stephen Chow back. The pair cursed and pointed at each other while kicking and waving their arms, looking ready to fight to the death.
Zhen Xiaoqiu watched with an excited expression. Now this was interesting. If this program aired, the viewers would definitely love it.
Before you continue