The Reviled God of Cooking Tries to Slack Off - Chapter 5

This was a question Jiang Tingzhou wanted to ask himself, too.

Looking back now, in his youth, he always had too many worries. Even after being tormented like this by Manager Yang and the others, he still hadn’t lashed out. Now, it just seemed foolish—laughably foolish.

Not long after, the round-faced young woman returned with the video she had just taken and formally introduced herself. Her name was Tian Hui.

When Jiang Tingzhou first woke up, he had already picked up from the auntie’s fragmented words that she was a reporter. Out of professional instinct, she had pulled out her equipment and started recording right away. That’s why the video was so clear. She’d zoomed in directly on Manager Yang and captured his snarling expression in full detail.

Right now, Jiang Tingzhou wasn’t a public figure. The food program aired on CCTV in the afternoon slot, and although many seasoned foodies followed it, the ratings weren’t high, so he wasn’t widely recognized.

Tian Hui only found him familiar because she worked as a journalist for a local Yongqing media outlet. In fact, there had been a story about Jiang Tingzhou’s championship win not long ago.

“We were fated to meet,” Tian Hui said regretfully. “I almost got assigned your story, but my team leader gave it to someone else. That colleague even said they arranged an interview with you, but you were too busy at the time. I never expected to meet you here.”

Back then, she’d thought he looked unusually good and had a certain aura about him, unlike an ordinary chef, so she had paid extra attention.

CCTV’s cameras were famously unflattering, often making people look heavier. During the show, he always wore a mask and chef’s hat, showing only his eyes. Now that he was sick and dressed differently, having also lost at least ten pounds since the competition, she hadn’t recognized him at first. But with the recent commotion, everything clicked.

To be honest, he didn’t photograph well. He looked far better in person than on TV. Even while sick, it was hard to look away—his appearance was striking. He didn’t look like a cook at all, more like a star.

Jiang Tingzhou now vaguely remembered her. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Your company… is it Qingyu Media? Thank you for speaking up for me back then.”

When he won the competition, many people had doubted him—saying he was too inexperienced, or that the results were rigged. Qingyu Media’s article had spoken positively of him, and he had remembered it clearly.

Even though it was just a small media outlet, the article was well written. It highlighted his win while also showcasing Yongqing’s local food culture. He’d even liked the article at the time.

Tian Hui smiled and said, “Of course! You’re the pride of Yongqing after winning that championship.”

As they chatted, Jiang Tingzhou noticed that Tian Hui was familiar with the contents of the article. But he also remembered that the person who contacted him back then for the interview was a man, and Tian Hui’s name hadn’t appeared anywhere in the report.

Aunt Tian, who had been listening in from the side, interjected, “Which report? The one from last month? Let me tell you, a lot of the articles from their company were written by her. Their team leader just gives them to others. They bully her because she’s young and has no background. Poor Huihui cried when she got home. You should say something fair about that…”

“Mom, please stop. Don’t bring up the past—it wasn’t anyone’s fault,” Tian Hui interrupted, clearly embarrassed. She quickly changed the subject, turning back to Jiang Tingzhou. “I didn’t expect you’d win the championship only to be mistreated by your boss. I filmed the whole thing—I’ll send it to you. You should post it online to clarify things.”

Jiang Tingzhou frowned. “Clarify what?”

He’d been unconscious earlier and had no idea what had happened.

It wasn’t until Tian Hui showed him her phone that he realized why Manager Yang had barged into the hospital to confront him.

The guests who’d booked tables at Gongyan the day before were indeed special—actual public figures. But without Jiang Tingzhou present, the restaurant’s other chefs had filled in, and their skills were clearly inferior.

Those guests felt slighted. Some even gave cold remarks on the spot.

Zhao Tongzhi and Manager Yang were friends. Among the media reporters invited that day were well-known food critics who had come specifically to try Jiang Tingzhou’s cooking. After tasting the substitute dishes, they were disappointed, and the situation turned awkward.

Manager Yang, trying to smooth things over, blamed Jiang Tingzhou. He told everyone that the chef had left his post without permission and that the restaurant was caught off guard. He promised the guests better treatment if they returned today, and then rushed to the hospital to drag Jiang Tingzhou back.

Unfortunately, one prominent food blogger had gotten so upset that he posted a sarcastic Weibo.

Possibly influenced by Manager Yang’s exaggerated account, the blogger reposted a microblog celebrating Jiang Tingzhou’s championship, saying: “I don’t know where he got such a bad attitude. He’s a nasty person. No matter how good his cooking is, it’s worthless.” He even directly tagged Jiang Tingzhou.

Naturally, this stirred up a wave of criticism.

And this wasn’t the first time. When Jiang Tingzhou won the CCTV competition, he beat several experienced veteran chefs. Given how young he was, many had already suspected the results.

Although some local media outlets, including Qingyu Media, had spoken up in support, it hadn’t helped much. His online reputation remained poor.

Jiang Tingzhou had never been good at online engagement. He just worked quietly, telling himself that time would eventually prove his worth. But the effects of public opinion were real. Even after winning the championship, searching his name online only brought up negative comments.

Even Tian Hui couldn’t stay calm after seeing the rumors and comments. She said angrily, “You were seriously ill yesterday—what does that have to do with being arrogant or a bad person? I checked your credentials and your teacher’s background when I was writing the article, and I read the diners’ reviews too. They were all genuine. You deserved the win. Why can’t someone young be a champion? That guy calls himself a senior in the field, but spreads lies without fact-checking!”

As someone new to the industry, she still had a strong sense of justice. But Jiang Tingzhou had long grown used to being blamed for things he didn’t do.

He stayed calm—this sense of being scapegoated was all too familiar.

But An Xiaoping couldn’t take it.

With his fiery temper—and now being a small internet celebrity with a considerable fanbase—he immediately wanted to clarify everything and go head-to-head with the blogger.

Jiang Tingzhou quickly stopped him. “Don’t be impulsive. Let me think about it first.”

An Xiaoping slammed the phone down in frustration and snapped, “You’re still going soft on the Jiang family?!”

“It’s not that I’m soft-hearted,” Jiang Tingzhou said, then advised him, “Sit down first and calm down.”

It’s just a Weibo post, with only a little over a thousand comments. Just a few people with nothing better to do, cursing. Jiang Tingzhou has been through many storms and really doesn’t care about something this small.

If he hadn’t seen An Xiaoping, he might still think this reborn life is meaningless, so why care about these idiots? Compared to the comments from those big Vs, he doesn’t want An Xiaoping to be affected because of him.

“Anyway, don’t worry about it.”

Jiang Tingzhou warned him repeatedly, but An Xiaoping snorted and tapped on his phone a few times.

Tian Hui refreshed her feed and said to Jiang Tingzhou, “Too late. He’s already arguing online.”

An Xiaoping was just a small internet celebrity with tens of thousands of fans; how could he compare to the millions following those big Vs? It was too late to ask him to delete it—someone had already tracked down his account to curse him.

Jiang Tingzhou had to handle it now; otherwise, An Xiaoping would never be able to stand up to them.

He sighed, carefully read the conversation between the big V and the fans, and confirmed that Manager Yang had promised a banquet again today.

But what just happened was destined to ruin today’s banquet.

Jiang Tingzhou then turned off his phone so no one could contact him today. He told the nurse that he would not accept visitors.

Because of Manager Yang’s farce, which resembled a medical dispute, the hospital took it seriously. The inpatient department was closed to outsiders. Visiting or accompanying a patient required formal procedures. Security guards patrolled the floors; as long as the patient refused, no one could force their way in or take him away.

Jiang Tingzhou then turned to Tian Hui and asked, “You actually wrote the news about me back then, but it was given to someone else, right?”

Before she could answer, Aunt Tian said, “Really. I saw her working overtime writing it at home. She stayed up until midnight!”

“I believe it,” Jiang Tingzhou said. “It’s coincidence and fate that we met here, and you happened to take this video. Thank you for taking care of me before. No matter what, I owe you. Now I want to repay it and hope to make some compensation. Tian Hui, please keep the video for now. I have some ideas about how to respond.”

Tian Hui was stunned. She didn’t want to make news from this video—she only wanted to preserve the evidence. She asked, “What do you want to do?”

“I think since this has already started and I’ve been scolded, I might as well make a bigger fuss,” Jiang Tingzhou smiled. “This can’t be let slide or it’ll be a pity.”

He was still sick but slowly straightened his back and sat up.

Meanwhile, Manager Yang finally made it back to the restaurant after all the chaos. After sitting for a bit, he found his whole body aching. His arm had been twisted by hospital security, and he wasn’t even sure who had kicked him in the leg—when he rolled up his pant leg, he found a deep bruise on his calf. He limped badly but had nowhere to file a complaint. And his troubles weren’t over yet.

The floor manager came over, wiping sweat, to tell him that several old customers had complained at noon. Without Jiang Tingzhou, many popular signature dishes couldn’t be made, and the kitchen was flustered.

Gongyan wasn’t the same as it had been a few years ago. Without Jiang Tingzhou, the sous-chef couldn’t keep things under control, and they had already made several mistakes.

This man, it turned out, was far more important than they’d realized.

Dishes were delayed or tasted off. Gongyan was not cheap, and many picky old customers noticed the slightest change—they couldn’t be fooled.

Manager Yang gritted his teeth and spat out, “Call Jiang Tingzhou again. Whatever he wants, we can talk. If I have to back down for once, so be it…”

He had suffered losses and knew intimidation was useless. He thought Jiang Tingzhou wouldn’t really abandon Gongyan but was just angry and trying to cause trouble.

But things weren’t going as usual.

“I’ve called several times. No answer. His phone’s off,” the floor manager said, voice panicked. “I sent others to the hospital to find him, but no luck. They said no visitors are allowed.”

“Manager, he won’t really not come back today, right? Zhao Tongzhi and the reporters will be here tonight. What do we do? It’s just a minor illness. He’s never acted like this. Could the things the reporters said online yesterday have made him angry?”

If Jiang Tingzhou didn’t come back, the dishes these guests specifically requested wouldn’t be served.

“We still have a way. There must be a way…” Manager Yang paced anxiously but couldn’t find a solution. His leg pain worsened.

Time passed, but Jiang Tingzhou remained unreachable.

Seeing the time nearly up, Manager Yang wiped sweat from his brow and said harshly, “I can’t cook? Fine. If this goes wrong, it’s Jiang Tingzhou’s fault for being willful! He wants to teach me a lesson—then I’ll teach him one first!”

He seemed to have a plan. He opened his phone, flipped through the contacts, and made a call.

This time, the call connected quickly. The voice on the other end sounded amused: “Uncle Yang, long time no call. What’s up?”

“Xiaoyou, I need a favor,” Manager Yang’s tone softened completely, unlike when he spoke to Jiang Tingzhou. “Do you know anyone who can help me with some online publicity? I have a small problem here…”

He didn’t need to say more; the other side understood immediately and agreed without questions.