Craving my body is one thing, but now you're eyeing my cooking skills too

Since Diwu Ling had seen through him at a glance, Huo Jiu no longer hesitated. He nodded at once. "We only met by chance. There's no need."

"But I felt an instant connection with you." Thinking of the bowl of Wensi Tofu Huo Jiu had made, Diwu Ling licked his lips unobtrusively. "Do you usually enjoy cooking?"

Huo Jiu: "?"

Diwu Ling said, "I happen to enjoy eating."

Huo Jiu: "...??"

Diwu Ling continued, "Our hobbies complement each other. We'll definitely become friends."

Diwu Ling concluded, "So we should exchange contact information."

Huo Jiu: "..." How exactly had he arrived at that conclusion?

Huo Jiu said, "I still don't think that's necessary."

Diwu Ling asked, "Your family doesn't run a restaurant, and you don't plan to give me your contact information. If I want to eat something you've cooked, where am I supposed to find you?"

Huo Jiu couldn't help saying, "Even if you add me, I still won't cook for you."

Was he that bored? Why would he cook for some stranger?

"You will." Diwu Ling looked at Huo Jiu and said with absolute conviction.

The corner of Huo Jiu's mouth twitched. Just as he was about to ask where Diwu Ling got his confidence from, Diwu Ling continued, "...I'll provide the ingredients. One million per dish for your trouble. You decide what you want to cook, and you can cook whenever you feel like it. Once you're done, just call me and tell me where to eat. If you have any other requests, feel free to name them."

Huo Jiu: "..." Was he really being this direct?!

Huo Jiu blinked. It wasn't impossible. Besides, this Diwu Ling had spoken up for him, and he was handsome too. Money or no money didn't really matter—Huo Jiu mainly wanted to improve his cooking skills!

Diwu Ling studied Huo Jiu's expression, then expressionlessly waved his phone around. Just as he had wished, he got all of Huo Jiu's contact information.

Looking at Diwu Ling's face, Huo Jiu found it hard to imagine that someone with such a cold, stern appearance could convey such rich emotions through his gaze and tiny movements.

That evening, Huo Jiu returned to the Su family home. News had already spread rapidly throughout the city that he had exposed First-Rank Pavilion for using fake shark fin to deceive customers, defeated First-Rank Pavilion's head chef in a cooking contest, and forced First-Rank Pavilion to waive customers' bills for a week as an apology.

After all, as a time-honored establishment that had operated locally for more than three hundred years, First-Rank Pavilion held far more influence in the area than Huo Jiu had imagined.

Naturally, the Su family was so delighted because their own interests were involved.

"I knew that First-Rank Pavilion was all fake refinement. They couldn't be anything good. Just because they're a three-hundred-year-old establishment, they look down on everyone and everything. They always think everyone else opens restaurants for money, while only their family does it for tradition. As if no one is as authentic as they are. They put on such airs, but behind the scenes, aren't they still passing off inferior goods as the real thing and resorting to fraud?"

"A head chef, nearly forty years old, and his cooking is worse than my sixteen-year-old son's. I don't think their restaurant is all that impressive either. It's nothing but an empty reputation."

"You have no idea how hateful First-Rank Pavilion is. Back when Su Corporation was building Su Garden..." Grasping Huo Jiu's hand, Lu Manzhen chattered excitedly for the entire evening.

Huo Jiu was thus forced to learn about the old grudge between First-Rank Pavilion and the Su family—

Back then, Su Shiyuan had founded Su Corporation from nothing. Once Su Corporation had grown to a certain scale, Su Shiyuan planned to enter the food service and tourism industries in order to expand into new fields and build connections. He spent a fortune constructing Su Garden, intending to turn it into the region's most famous tourist, culinary, and vacation destination. To make a splash from the start, Su Shiyuan had also wanted to join forces with First-Rank Pavilion and use its reputation to promote Su Garden. However, First-Rank Pavilion ultimately rejected Su Shiyuan's proposal.

As the leading name in the local food scene, First-Rank Pavilion was a three-hundred-year-old establishment. It had both a famous name and deep foundations, so it looked down on an upstart like Su Corporation that had crossed into an industry outside its field. Thus, not only did it reject Su Shiyuan's proposal, it also suppressed Su Garden at every turn within the food service industry.

Su Corporation was a powerful outsider that had crossed industries. Though it possessed abundant capital, its foundations in the culinary world could not compare to First-Rank Pavilion's. The chefs it hired naturally could not match First-Rank Pavilion's chefs in skill either. At the time, Su Shiyuan was young and full of vigor. If the chefs weren't good enough, then he would replace them with better ones. He threw money at the problem, changing the kitchen staff batch after batch. Su Garden's dishes changed in flavor day after day as well. By the end, even diners had grown impatient.

Over time, Su Garden, the grand project on which Su Shiyuan had pinned such high hopes, became known among locals as a "face project." Tourists from elsewhere came to visit and check in, but few locals ever came.

One reason was that the area had such a long history and so many famous classical gardens and historic sites that people could never finish visiting them all, so naturally they would not visit an imitation antique restaurant. The most important reason was that everyone agreed Su Garden's food was not authentic. When locals wanted genuine, delicious Huaiyang cuisine, they would naturally go to First-Rank Pavilion.

Come to think of it, part of First-Rank Pavilion's reputation as an authentic old establishment had been built by stepping on awkward, neither-fish-nor-fowl restaurants like Su Garden.

At that thought, Huo Jiu raised his brows imperceptibly. He suddenly recalled a minor plot point from the original novel. Since it had not involved the original owner, Huo Jiu had not paid attention to it before. Only now, hearing Lu Manzhen complain, did he remember why First-Rank Pavilion had sounded somewhat familiar.

Craving my body is one thing, but now you're eyeing my cooking skills too

That was all part of the plot after the original owner had been driven out of the Su family.

After Su Zhuo successfully took over Su Corporation, he carried out sweeping reforms to consolidate the group's internal resources and businesses. This included redeveloping the Su Garden project.

At the time, the country was vigorously promoting cultural innovation and traditional Chinese trends. Every industry was trying every possible way to ride the wave of cultural creativity and the promotion of traditional culture for publicity. Su Zhuo also wanted to partner with the Huaiyang Cuisine Museum and turn Su Garden into the region's premier tourist, dining, and vacation center known for its cultural heritage. However, the Huaiyang Cuisine Museum was more inclined to cooperate with First-Rank Pavilion.