The Reviled God of Cooking Tries to Slack Off - Chapter 126

Liu Rui had no idea what kind of connections the boss of this restaurant had to be able to hire someone like her as the store manager.

The video he had just recorded was entirely focused on the idea of “unfairness.” He thought no one in Yongqing would be able to refute him. But the truth was, he hadn’t even been born yet when the Cai family’s Northeastern cuisine restaurant was at its peak. If he tried shouting “unfair” in front of the locals, he’d only get slapped in the face.

He had already realized while standing at the front counter: this kind of trick wasn’t going to work here.

Not to mention the taste of the food—it was genuinely good—which made posting a negative review that much harder. And now that this store manager had been hired, the entire management style was starting to resemble the Cai family’s approach.

It felt like a family reunion. The kitchen staff, delighted by today’s strong business, had even whipped up some off-menu dishes for everyone to try. The atmosphere was cheerful and welcoming—just like back home.

Putting all these factors together, Liu Rui had to think carefully.

Even with his best editing skills, this video was unusable. There were just too many points that could easily be picked apart. After serious consideration, he made his decision.

He clenched his teeth and paid the penalty fee for breaching the contract. His account with five million followers had taken a long time to build. If anything went wrong now, it would tank his ad revenue and credibility. Nobody would trust him anymore.

“This time it’s just our bad luck,” he said. “We can’t afford to offend these people—just drop it.”

The assistants in the car immediately understood what he meant. They looked at one another and sighed, realizing that money this hot would only burn their hands.

“No worries, Brother Liu. We’ve learned our lesson—no more jobs like this. High pay, high risk,” one assistant tried to comfort him. Then he changed the subject. “Anyway, we’ve already got the packed food. Let’s eat it!”

He was still holding the takeout bag and had begun untying the knot on the plastic wrap with practiced ease. “I didn’t eat enough at the restaurant earlier—hurry up.”

“…”

Liu Rui was a little speechless, but to be honest, he wasn’t full either. He’d been too busy filming and criticizing the food to actually eat.

Well, things had come to this. Might as well eat first.

Luckily, the restaurant was close to the parking lot, so the food was still warm.

The snow-coated bean paste fritters were crispy on the outside, with smooth egg white and delicate red bean filling inside. The crispy yellow cabbage was rich with egg fragrance. The sugar coating was even and pulled into threads fresh from the pot—it was still crunchy and delicious.

These dishes looked simple but were a serious test of the chef’s skill. Most Northeastern dishes leaned toward hearty family-style cooking, but these required precision and finesse.

Both dishes were sweet, and after a few bites, the grease started to build up. That’s when they turned to the cornmeal dumplings the store had included.

These featured a local specialty filling of pickled cabbage and lard cracklings—something rarely seen outside the region. The pickled cabbage cut through the richness, and some broken vermicelli added texture. The steamed cornmeal wrapper was a bit chewy, but the filling was just right, especially with dipping sauce.

The dumplings were small, and each person in the car got just two. They were still unsatisfied after finishing them.

Sigh… still not full. Such a waste to leave all that food behind on the table.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t go back. They could only leave in defeat.

Meanwhile, back in the Northern Hometown restaurant, Manager Cai had pulled up the store’s security footage. After watching for a bit, she clipped and saved the parts featuring the group—including when they ordered and their sour expressions after leaving the private room.

The foreman glanced over and asked, “Manager, I think those are the people Jiang Tingzhou said were coming to make trouble. Should we let the higher-ups know so they can step in?”

“No need to bother Jiang Tingzhou with something so trivial,” Manager Cai snorted. “I know what kind of person he is. A blogger? If he has any sense at all, he won’t dare post that video. Otherwise, he’s just asking to get smacked down.”

The Cai family had been running restaurants for years. She’d been helping out since she was a kid, and she’d seen all kinds of people like this—ugly and desperate.

Even if other bloggers had snuck in to secretly film, it wouldn’t change anything. The overwhelming praise and the restaurant’s booming business were unstoppable.

A well-prepared store like this was bound to succeed.

And this was just the beginning. The initial wave of customers may have come for Jiang Tingzhou’s reputation or the chef competition name, but soon the restaurant’s popularity exploded.

Many customers left glowing reviews and actively promoted the place online. The restaurant experienced another wave of organic growth. Even on weekdays, lines stretched out the door. Visitors came from nearby cities just to eat here, and the sugar factory parking lot was packed.

This massive foot traffic also boosted business in the surrounding area—the morning market street, the sugar factory, and Deng’s Pastry Shop all saw a surge in sales.

Visitors from other cities wanted souvenirs too. The sugar factory and shortbread gift boxes were perfect for taking home, especially since some products were only available on-site. 

The big stores in the area were now benefiting from one another.

But while business at the sugar factory was booming, some people were having a rough time.

Previously, President Zhong had managed to lure in a wave of customers through deleted posts and paid hype. But now that a truly good restaurant had appeared, who would still eat at hers? People would rather wait in line at the sugar factory—or go grab a hearty meal from the nearby market if they couldn’t get a seat.

Even though she managed to squeeze some penalty fees from Liu Rui, it was nothing compared to the millions she had already sunk into marketing—hiring influencers, deleting negative posts, running campaigns. It all added up to eight figures… all wasted.

On top of that, Liu Rui was well-connected in the food influencer space. He paid the damages, but he didn’t take the loss quietly. He warned many contacts, and now hardly any bloggers would accept work from President Zhong.

Make a bit of money and get cursed out for it? Lose fans after posting? Accused of taking bribes? 

Who would risk that?

Now, Zhong Qianqian had only one final move: find some clueless franchisees.

She pivoted to franchise recruitment, heavily promoting it outside Yongqing since locals were already aware of her reputation. 

After two weeks, she managed to gather around 40 to 50 prospective franchisees.

They were given the full VIP treatment—free lodging, chauffeured luxury cars, a tour of her lavish office, glossy presentations full of exaggerated projections. The forty- to fifty-thousand yuan franchise fee included all sorts of hidden costs, with more concealed in the contract. As long as half of them signed, it would be worthwhile.

To make her restaurant look thriving, she even hired fake customers to sit inside and simulate buzz.

These potential franchisees were ordinary folks—many were middle-aged and not internet-savvy. They trusted the brochures and the big-name investment label, thinking such a legitimate-looking company wouldn’t scam them. They figured that with business this good, they could earn back their investment in a year, and profit in two.

Everything was going smoothly—But then an unexpected turn.

Two uniformed inspectors walked in, stern-faced. “We’re from the Municipal Supervision Bureau. Here are our IDs. We received a complaint that your kitchen is unsanitary. An entire family ate here and ended up hospitalized. We need you to cooperate with our inspection.”

The staff immediately panicked—trying to block the door, smiling nervously, sneaking in to clean up. But their guilty behavior only confirmed suspicions.

Sure enough, the inspection turned up everything.

Business had been bad lately, and the boss was cutting corners. Spoiled ingredients were being trimmed and reused. The kitchen was understaffed and filthy. Dishes were overloaded with seasoning to mask freshness issues.

The Municipal Supervision Bureau ordered a shutdown and cleanup.

The visiting franchisees witnessed the entire thing.

Once they saw that, even the slowest among them realized what was happening. No matter how sweet the sales pitch, they weren’t signing anything. 

The franchise manager’s smiles and pleading couldn’t hold anyone back—they were desperate to flee.

Those 40–50 prospective franchisees scattered.

When President Zhong heard what happened, she was livid.

Losing money was bad enough—but what infuriated her most was that she had used this exact franchise scam successfully before. It had always worked—until she ran into Jiang Tingzhou.

When she called him, she didn’t bother hiding her rage anymore. “Jiang Tingzhou, your methods are absolutely despicable!”

Jiang Tingzhou laughed. “My methods are despicable?”

He wasn’t even angry. He was busy working.

The store was crowded today, and there was a line out the door. He had brought in a few newly trained apprentices to make snacks for waiting customers.

The Northern Hometown branch was frying peanuts and date nuts for dine-in and takeout guests. Blazing Jianghu was prepping cold dishes like crispy cucumbers and pickled radishes—everyone loved them.

A new batch was just ready when Zhong Qianqian’s voice came through the phone. “You reported me to the Municipal Bureau, didn’t you?” she accused.

Jiang Tingzhou was calmly taste-testing the peanuts. Cold oil had been used for the frying, making them crisp from the inside out. The radishes were tangy and refreshing.

“Nope,” he said.

It wasn’t him. A customer who had gotten sick called the hotline and even posted online. The Municipal Supervision Bureau was just doing its job.

But Zhong Qianqian didn’t believe him. “If it wasn’t you, who else could it be? How else would they show up at that exact moment?”

“They were enforcing the law and just happened to arrive at that moment. That’s not my fault. If you don’t believe me, you can file your own report and request an inspection here. I’ll gladly cooperate.” Jiang Tingzhou stayed calm, picking up another piece of pickled cucumber. “It really wasn’t me. I even had someone at the mall entrance that day handing out printouts of online reviews, warning people not to get duped. I was planning to tell those franchisees myself: be careful when investing—some ‘big companies’ aren’t trustworthy.”

He sighed. In the end, his warning wasn’t even necessary. They had all run off before he got the chance.

He smiled as he added, “I didn’t need to lift a finger, did I?”