"I don't need your concern." Su Shiyuan cut Cao Mingyan off, his face turning pale with anger. "My son is my responsibility. I'll take care of him myself."
"Everyone in this city knows how much you dote on your son, Chairman Su. Of course I believe you'll take good care of him. But your biological son is lying in the hospital, isn't he?" Cao Mingyan said with a smile. "The person I'm concerned about is the volunteer who donated bone marrow to your son. Surely Chairman Su won't stop First-Rank Pavilion from showing concern for our benefactor?"
Su Shiyuan gave a humorless smile. "Huo Jiu acted recklessly and unintentionally damaged First-Rank Pavilion's reputation—"
"That's not quite right." Old Master Cao spoke slowly. To show First-Rank Pavilion's sincerity, he had come in person today. "A blessing in disguise. Young Mr. Huo's actions didn't damage First-Rank Pavilion's reputation. They eliminated the possibility of Mingyan ruining our name at its source. From that perspective, he truly is a great benefactor to First-Rank Pavilion."
As he spoke, Old Master Cao turned to Huo Jiu, who had been sitting quietly on the sofa. His expression was especially kind. "I wonder if you'd be interested in becoming an honorary consultant at First-Rank Pavilion? You're a superb cook, and you have a fine character. First-Rank Pavilion needs talented people like you."
Before Huo Jiu could reply, Old Master Cao continued, "First-Rank Pavilion is willing to hire you as an honorary consultant for a monthly salary of one million. You wouldn't have to cook; you'd only need to drop by in your spare time. If you're in the mood, you could share your cooking experience with our chefs. Or you and I could have a friendly cook-off. I'm getting on in years and don't cook much these days. My skills may have grown rusty, but I still have plenty of experience."
Neither Su Shiyuan nor Lu Manzhen had expected Old Master Cao to make such a move. They were caught completely off guard. After a moment, Lu Manzhen angrily refused, "Absolutely not! If Huo Jiu's going to be anyone's honorary consultant, he'll be one at Su Garden. He'd never go to First-Rank Pavilion."
Old Master Cao remained calm. "Whether he's willing is for Young Mr. Huo to decide. You're his parents, and I know you mean well, but you shouldn't stand in the way of his future."
Lu Manzhen couldn't help rolling her eyes. "What kind of future could a cook possibly have—"
She stopped mid-sentence when she caught Huo Jiu's faintly amused look. Only then did she remember that she'd tried to persuade him to become head chef at Su Garden just the night before.
Her expression grew awkward.
Huo Jiu ignored Lu Manzhen and looked at Old Master Cao with curiosity.
Another million! Lately, he seemed to have a real knack for running into a million yuan!
Author's note:
Didn't see that coming, did you? I updated early! ︿(￣︶￣)︿
Noticing Huo Jiu's scrutiny, Old Master Cao smiled and asked in an increasingly kind tone, "What do you think, Young Mr. Huo?"
"Just call me Huo Jiu."
After a brief pause, Huo Jiu added, "A million a month in exchange for First-Rank Pavilion's reputation. This is like buying a thousand gold pieces to win a horse's bones. First-Rank Pavilion wouldn't be losing out."
Old Master Cao smiled. "If we intend to cooperate sincerely, it should benefit both sides. It wouldn't do for either side to lose out."
As he said this, Old Master Cao cast a pointed glance at Su Shiyuan.
Su Shiyuan: "..."
Huo Jiu lowered his head and smiled. He rather enjoyed seeing Su Shiyuan get put in his place. But he only had four or five days left before the story loop started again. There was no need to stir up trouble.
Old Master Cao wasn't surprised when Huo Jiu declined. Huo Jiu was living under the Su family's roof, and no matter how dissatisfied he was with them, he probably wouldn't accept First-Rank Pavilion's offer. The boy was in a difficult position, and Old Master Cao was willing to lend him a hand. "If you run into any problems you can't solve, you can go to Dongge at First-Rank Pavilion."
Huo Jiu thanked him with a smile.
Su Shiyuan's face turned dark.
After they finally saw their guests off, Lu Manzhen turned to Huo Jiu and said, "Good thing you've got some sense. You knew the Cao family came over just to provoke Chairman Su. They're up to no good. They were using you as a target."
"If they're willing to pay a million to use me as a target, that shows they're sincere." Huo Jiu was in a very good mood. He smiled and said, "Stop bad-mouthing other people in front of me."
Lu Manzhen glared at Huo Jiu. "Look at you, acting so smug! So what if it's a million? Who can't come up with a million? If you agreed to be head chef at Su Garden, the chairman would pay you a million too."
As she spoke, Lu Manzhen turned to Su Shiyuan and asked with a smile, "Right?"
Su Shiyuan nodded. He was quite tempted by Lu Manzhen's suggestion.
Hiring someone who had beaten First-Rank Pavilion's head chef to run the kitchen at Su Garden would be excellent publicity. What's more, Huo Jiu's suggestion that First-Rank Pavilion offer free meals for a week had already won the goodwill of many customers.
—Let First-Rank Pavilion enjoy its moment in the sun a little longer. They could spend money and effort placating their customers. When the time came, Su Garden could step in and reap the benefits.
Su Shiyuan turned the idea over in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more he felt he could use these events to his advantage. But before he could get his thoughts in order, Huo Jiu let out a snort.
"...A million to hire me as head chef?" Huo Jiu thought of the domineering CEO who had offered him a million to cook a single dish, and his confidence swelled. "That's not quite enough."
First-Rank Pavilion's million was only for an honorary consultant, but Lu Manzhen had turned it into a head chef's salary. That was no way to take advantage of someone.
Lu Manzhen rolled her eyes dismissively. "We're family. Do you really think we'd let you lose out? You're being so petty."
"How many times have you made me lose out?" Huo Jiu returned her glare without missing a beat. "And stop calling us family every other sentence. We haven't seen each other in over a decade. We're not that close."
Lu Manzhen was left speechless by Huo Jiu's retort. She huffed, "Fine, we're not close. You ungrateful little brat."
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