Do You Think This Deal Is Fair?

"No need to trouble yourself." Su Shiyuan cut Cao Mingyan off in a low voice, his face turning slightly green. "I can take care of my own son."

"Everyone in this city knows that Chairman Su loves his son more than life itself. Of course I believe you'll take good care of your son. But isn't your biological son lying in the hospital?" Cao Mingyan said with a smile. "What I'm concerned about now is the volunteer donating bone marrow to your son. Chairman Su wouldn't stop First-Rank Pavilion from showing concern for its benefactor, would he?"

Su Shiyuan replied with a smile that did not reach his eyes, "Huo Jiu acted recklessly and inadvertently damaged First-Rank Pavilion's reputation—"

"You can't put it that way." Cao Old Master slowly spoke up. To demonstrate First-Rank Pavilion's sincerity, he had come in person today. "A blessing in disguise, perhaps. Young Master Huo's actions did not damage First-Rank Pavilion's reputation. Rather, they nipped in the bud the possibility of Mingyan smashing First-Rank Pavilion's signboard. From that perspective, he truly is First-Rank Pavilion's great benefactor."

As Cao Old Master spoke, he looked at Huo Jiu, who had been sitting on the sofa without saying much, his gaze especially kind. "I wonder whether Young Master Huo would be interested in becoming an honorary consultant for First-Rank Pavilion? Your culinary skills are superb, and your character is admirable. First-Rank Pavilion greatly needs talents like you."

Before Huo Jiu could speak, Cao Old Master continued, "First-Rank Pavilion is willing to hire Young Master Huo as an honorary consultant for a monthly salary of one million. You would not need to cook. You would only need to drop by when you had spare time. If you were in the mood, you could share your cooking experience with our chefs. Or the two of us could exchange pointers. I'm getting on in years and rarely cook these days. My skills may be rusty, but my experience is still plentiful."

Neither Su Shiyuan nor Lu Manzhen had expected Cao Old Master to pull something like this. They were caught completely off guard. After standing there stunned for a moment, Lu Manzhen finally snapped, "Impossible! Even if Huo Jiu becomes some honorary consultant, it would be at Su Garden. He would never go to First-Rank Pavilion."

Cao Old Master said calmly, "Whether he is willing or not should be Young Master Huo's decision. As his parents, you may mean well, but you should not stand in the way of your child's future."

Lu Manzhen could not help rolling her eyes. "What future could a cook possibly have—"

Before she could finish, she suddenly caught Huo Jiu's faintly amused gaze. Her words came to an abrupt halt. Only then did she remember how she had tried to persuade Huo Jiu to become Su Garden's head chef last night.

Her expression immediately turned awkward.

Huo Jiu ignored Lu Manzhen. He looked at Cao Old Master with some curiosity.

Another one million! He seemed to have a peculiar connection with one million lately!

Author's Note:

You didn't expect that, did you? I updated early.

Do You Think This Deal Is Fair?

Noticing Huo Jiu's scrutiny, Cao Old Master smiled faintly and asked in an even kinder tone, "I wonder what Young Master Huo thinks?"

Huo Jiu said, "You can just call me Huo Jiu."

After pondering for a moment, Huo Jiu added, "One million a month in exchange for First-Rank Pavilion's reputation. Paying a fortune to buy a prized horse's bones—First-Rank Pavilion isn't really losing out on this deal."

Cao Old Master said with a smile, "Since we intend to cooperate sincerely, naturally both sides should benefit. It would not do for either side to suffer a loss."

As he said that, Cao Old Master gave Su Shiyuan a meaningful glance.

Su Shiyuan: "..."

Huo Jiu lowered his head and smiled. He rather enjoyed watching Su Shiyuan get put in his place. Unfortunately, he only had four or five days left before the plot looped around again, so there was no need to stir up trouble.

Cao Old Master was not surprised to hear Huo Jiu refuse. Huo Jiu was currently dependent on others. No matter how dissatisfied he was with the Su family, he presumably would not accept First-Rank Pavilion's olive branch. This child was in a difficult position, and Cao Old Master was willing to lend him a hand. "If you encounter any difficulties you cannot resolve, you may come to First-Rank Pavilion and seek out Dongge."

Huo Jiu thanked him with a smile.

Su Shiyuan's face turned completely dark.

After finally seeing them off, Lu Manzhen immediately turned to Huo Jiu and said, "Good thing you've got a bit of sense. You knew the Cao family came here this time just to anger the chairman. They had no good intentions. They were using you as a target."

"If they're willing to pay me one million to be their target, that shows sincerity too." Huo Jiu was in an exceptionally good mood as he smiled. "Stop badmouthing people in front of me."

Lu Manzhen glared at Huo Jiu. "Look at how pleased with yourself you are! What's so special about one million? It's not as though we can't afford one million. If you were willing to become Su Garden's head chef, the chairman would give you one million too."

Having said that, Lu Manzhen looked at Su Shiyuan and asked with a smile, "Right?"

Su Shiyuan nodded, quite tempted by Lu Manzhen's suggestion.

Hiring someone who had defeated First-Rank Pavilion's head chef to become Su Garden's head chef would itself be an excellent publicity stunt. Not to mention that Huo Jiu's earlier proposal to have First-Rank Pavilion waive bills for a week had also won the favor of many customers.

Let First-Rank Pavilion be smug for a little longer. They can spend money and effort soothing their diners, and once the time is right, Su Garden can step in and reap the rewards.

Su Shiyuan kept calculating in his heart. The more he thought about it, the more he felt he could make something of these matters. But before he could sort out his thoughts, he heard Huo Jiu give a derisive snort.

"...One million to hire me as head chef?" Thinking of that domineering CEO willing to pay him one million for a single dish, Huo Jiu immediately became cocky. "That's still not quite enough."

First-Rank Pavilion's one million was merely to hire him as an honorary consultant, yet Lu Manzhen had turned it into a head chef position. That was not how one took advantage of others.

Lu Manzhen rolled her eyes dismissively. "We're family. Would we let you suffer a loss? You're being far too petty."

"Haven't you made me suffer enough losses already?" Huo Jiu shot back sharply, rolling his eyes at her as well. "And stop calling us family at every turn. We hadn't seen each other for over a decade. I'm not that familiar with you."

Lu Manzhen was left speechless by Huo Jiu's retort. She huffed angrily. "Fine, then we're not familiar. What an ungrateful little white-eyed wolf."