The Reviled God of Cooking Tries to Slack Off - Chapter 56

Cheng Shifei suddenly came online after such a long time, right when A Bite of China’s popularity was trending wildly. Everyone saw the tweet he posted, which quickly racked up over 10,000 comments.

As a result, the once-mysterious question in the news—“Who was it that picked up Director Cheng?”—was suddenly answered. Even Jiang Tingzhou’s fans didn’t expect such a quick turnaround.

【“So big brother really knows Director Cheng…”】

【“Big Brother, who are you? I’m honestly shocked. What kind of amazing person casually made the small buns I bought for 12 yuan?”】

【“Oh my God, Director Cheng came to Yongqing because of him? Oh my God, And he even turned down being featured on A Bite of China?!”】

Because of Cheng Shifei’s tweet, Jiang Tingzhou appeared on the hot search again. Many who didn’t know the full story came to watch, especially since Director Cheng’s unusual tone was so striking.

Lu Baiyu obviously saw it too.

He explained the current plan to Lu Zhenting, who seemed satisfied. He handed over the matter with a strict order: “It must be done.”

Now, it was clear that Director Cheng valued Jiang Tingzhou far more than they had expected.

Qin Rushuang, with her business mindset, couldn’t help but think about shortcuts. But Lu Baiyu insisted, “Don’t approach Tingzhou for The Lu Group’s benefit. What I mean is to talk to Cheng Shifei openly and honestly, no beating around the bush.”

This matter involved Tingzhou, and he neither wanted nor could use underhanded tactics again.

Although Qin Rushuang had her own plans, since he said so, she didn’t do more and simply followed Lu Baiyu to the meeting.

The next day, the two of them met with Cheng Shifei. After Lu Baiyu spoke first, Qin Rushuang kept her word and didn’t mention Jiang Tingzhou at all. But unexpectedly, before she could say anything further, Cheng Shifei already continued the conversation from where she left off.

“…To be fair, I really do appreciate your willingness to step back on the naming rights—it makes my job much easier. But whether we go for a long-term partnership, well, that’s still undecided,” Cheng Shifei said with a smile. “So? Young Master Lu, I was right, wasn’t I?”

Lu Baiyu: “Yes.”

But how did Cheng Shifei know? Qin Rushuang grew nervous, wondering if a competitor used the same tactic behind the scenes, but Cheng Shifei gave a different answer.

“This method was thought up by Mr. Lu, right? I’ve heard of you in the capital, and this plan sounds like your style,” he said. “It’s strange. Jiang Tingzhou is a good chef and used to be very straightforward. How could he spend so much time figuring out what The Lu Group wants and what you think?”

Lu Baiyu already guessed when he first started listening, but even now that it was confirmed to be Tingzhou, he was still stunned.

“It was Tingzhou who said that?” Qin Rushuang asked, astonished.

How could that be possible? She worked in The Lu Group for so long and never thought of this level of strategy, so how could Jiang Tingzhou have?

“I was shocked too when I first heard it. Tingzhou’s always been smart, but to understand things on this level must’ve taken a lot of effort. And I can’t help but wonder—who was he learning all this for?” Cheng Shifei shook his head. “I think… maybe Master Wang misled him from the beginning. And the people who came after… also taught him the wrong things. Indeed, Chef Wang is the best chef in the country. He taught Tingzhou everything he knew, and everything he taught was the best. But there is one thing I don’t agree with. He once told Tingzhou, ‘As a chef, it doesn’t matter what you think. What matters is what others like.’ On the surface, that sounds reasonable. Most people would accept it. But Tingzhou shouldn’t have.”

At the time, Jiang Tingzhou’s circumstances were difficult. He was angry at himself for not being good enough, full of self-doubt. There was nothing truly supporting him or becoming his backbone. At seventeen, it was easy to be swayed. Gradually, he began to tie his sense of purpose to pleasing “others.”

“Young Master Lu, do you know as much about him as Tingzhou does about you?”

Lu Baiyu didn’t answer.

Cheng Shifei went on, as if uninterested in hearing the response.

“But what’s the point of me saying this now?” Cheng Shifei shook his head. “Fortunately, Tingzhou has finally realized it for himself. He’s gone off to do what he really wants—to work at the sugar factory. If someone truly likes him, they’ll like him as he is. He doesn’t need to twist himself into something else.”

Was Jiang Tingzhou really going to work at a sugar factory now?

Qin Rushuang also saw the trending news and said, “Isn’t that kind of a small project? Seems a bit of a waste of his talent.”

She couldn’t help but keep an eye on Jiang Tingzhou now.

If it were the old days, when state-owned sugar factories were still massive in scale and importance, she wouldn’t have said anything. But now…

Lu Baiyu shook his head and said, “As long as Tingzhou does it, then it’s not a small project.”

The past few days were rough for him. The thought of Jiang Tingzhou, and all the fragmented memories, twisted his heart in knots—especially after hearing what Cheng Shifei said. But knowing that Tingzhou took a deep interest in the sugar factory gave him some comfort.

As long as he still had something he was passionate about, that was enough.

Jiang Tingzhou knew he was trending, but he didn’t check closely. He only heard his phone dingdingding with messages. At first, he didn’t think much about it—he went to bed late the night before and was tired.

The next day, An Xiaoping came back and told him he now had 500,000 fans, and the number was still rising wildly.

Jiang Tingzhou was stunned. It wasn’t long since he opened the account, but his growth was skyrocketing.

Being on the trending list for one night was understandable, but he was still trending the next day—actually climbing higher on the list.

Something about that felt off—and it wasn’t just one platform. He was trending across several.

An Xiaoping said, “Don’t underestimate the national reputation of A Bite of China, and don’t underestimate yourself.”

Jiang Tingzhou still didn’t understand.

When he opened his phone, there were so many notifications he couldn’t digest them all at once.

“At first it was because of this photo,” An Xiaoping showed him. “Brother, this photo of yours is very beautiful!”

He leaned over to look. It was the photo taken by Cheng Shifei—the one with the firelight reflecting in his eyes.

Director Cheng’s shots were indeed beautiful. Jiang Tingzhou no longer looked tired. He looked relaxed, his head slightly lowered, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, and a halo-like glow around him.

Even Jiang Tingzhou felt a little strange when he saw himself like that for the first time.

“That shot’s god-tier,” An Xiaoping used to be a beauty blogger and knew exactly how beautiful this photo was. As he said this, he set the photo as his screensaver, wishing he could look at it every day. “Brother, do you know this picture went viral? Many thought you were a new star. Some beauty bloggers go viral with just a good photo. You’re not only good-looking but also amazing.”

An Xiaoping showed him many comments below.

【“Is he a chef? He’s so good-looking.”】

【“I already knew from that blurry back view in the news—just from how he wore that hoodie—that he must be good-looking— I didn’t expect his face to be even more stunning.”】

【“The blogger only has 200,000 fans? I watched his last live broadcast and checked his background—he’s ridiculously impressive.How come he has so few fans?”】

Because of this picture, more people noticed Jiang Tingzhou. The chef praised by Director Cheng was so good-looking people thought he earned by his face—but he didn’t.

Jiang Tingzhou now had fans, and many actively recommended him.

The big brother they liked was more than just a pretty face.

An Xiaoping’s photos of Jiang Tingzhou, along with the live broadcast footage and many other things, helped people better understand who Jiang Tingzhou really was.

In his past life, Jiang Tingzhou trended before too—back then, it was with the explosive tag “scandal.” People barely knew him.

When A Bite of China first brought him public attention, he trended with a similar explosive tag—but it was all suspicion and negativity. Then the media dug up his past, spreading rumors about him dropping out of high school and going to the police station. They accused him of bullying classmates. Even An Xiaoping and Cheng Shifei got caught up in the backlash.

On today’s internet, once something attracted attention, everything was dug up, and nothing could stay hidden.

As Jiang Tingzhou scrolled down, he saw some marketing accounts had really dug into his high school affairs.
Someone claimed he was expelled for being detained at a police station. The attached photo showed his younger self with a scarred face, sparking heated discussion.

Jiang Tingzhou’s first reaction was, “Xiaoping, you… no one’s said anything about you, right?”

“Who would say anything about me?” An Xiaoping smiled brightly. “Everyone’s praising you!”

Things were different from the last life.

Jiang Tingzhou was no longer isolated or helpless; he didn’t need to explain himself.

The high school incident was out in the open, and discussions continued. Although Xu Feng deleted the video, the police station receipt remained posted somewhere online, though Jiang Tingzhou didn’t know who uploaded it. He quickly issued a clarification:

【”It turns out he went to the police station because he beat up Xu Feng and Jiang You. Haha, now everyone knows who Xu Feng and Jiang You are. One’s a bad guy, and the other is a fake.”】

【”Oh my god, did big brother really have a scar on his face in high school? I feel so bad. This is the first time I’m learning about it. It must have been so hard to live with a scar on your face during those important school years.”】

【”After going through all that, he still relied on his own efforts to become a great chef. He’s really strong and brave.”】

【”People in Yongqing must remember that the Gongyan business wasn’t good before—there was no need to queue. Now, after Jiang Tingzhou left, business is declining again, judging by the online appointment situation.”】

【”Now it’s very clear who Jiang Yu relied on back then.”】

He didn’t need to prove anything. As long as everyone knew the facts, many people stood by him, saying he did nothing wrong.

An Xiaoping said, “Start the live broadcast again, brother. I’ll be the cameraman next time!”

Fans had been crying in group chats for days, begging for another livestream. Even though An Xiaoping had been posting clips, it wasn’t the same as seeing Jiang Tingzhou live. His followers were skyrocketing, the online store’s links were blowing up, and the bread was already hard to get.

Jiang Tingzhou thought for a moment and said, “Okay.”

He opened the gift limit again.

With traffic this hot, many expected him to cook on stream or cater to his new looks-based fans by dressing up and chatting. But Jiang Tingzhou was in the factory.

Many new fans watched him with fresh eyes, but Jiang Tingzhou looked at the old fans. Besides happiness for him, they still wanted one thing: delicious food.

And he wanted to make more delicious food for his fans.

【”The crispy bread and red date walnut candies in big brother’s store are delicious. Now there’s even a new loaf bread—someone already bought it and says it’s super good.”】

【”I want to eat it, but it’s in high demand now.”】

Facing many new fans and comments about buns, Jiang Tingzhou smiled at the camera and said, “Pre-orders will take about a week to ship. The factory is rushing production.”

An Xiaoping’s camera shifted, and Jiang Tingzhou pointed, “Look, that’s the new production line. We invited back workers who used to work in the sugar and bread factories. New products are coming soon.”

He was personally developing a new product line.

The Black Sugar series would include black sugar plum soft candy, hard candy, and black sugar sandwich biscuits developed in the factory the day before. Jiang Tingzhou knew how to make them but needed to teach the recipe to workers and adjust the machines—just like with the bakery before—to replicate the taste to his standards.

The black sugar series wasn’t as complicated as crispy bottom bread or buns. Although machines helped, the best taste depended on experienced masters, and output was limited.

In his previous life, Jiang Tingzhou worked in a food factory at Jiang Food’s. He knew the process, but his hands weren’t skilled enough then. Now it was different.

These biscuits and candies mainly required adjusting proportions and formulas, so they could be mostly produced by automated machines. Workers only needed to focus on key steps.

This was Li Shuyan’s strength. She originally studied automation abroad.

When Jiang Tingzhou went live, she quickly sent a sample bag.

The factory’s pricing was always transparent. Just like last time, Jiang Tingzhou said, “This one’s finalized. Price is 9.90 yuan per bag.”

There were 25 candies per bag, and mixed packs of candies and small biscuits, all at 9.9 yuan. After the production line was debugged, mass production could meet demand.

The comments exploded:

【”I checked the quality of the black sugar, plums, and biscuit ingredients. They’re all very good. I thought such good raw materials wouldn’t be cheap, even if machine-made. But the price is 9.9 yuan?”】

【”Don’t doubt it. Big brother’s always been like this.”】

Jiang Tingzhou saw the comments and smiled. “Actually, the profit margin on the black sugar series is higher than before, because the factory expanded the production line and needs to hire more people.”

Manager Peng joined in, “Besides rehiring some old workers, we’re recruiting new ones.”

Jiang Tingzhou thought for a moment and said, “Let’s hire more. Also, give them holidays—especially older employees who need rest. No more desperate overtime.”

Manager Peng’s expression changed. He worried Jiang Tingzhou might cut staff since machines were under pressure.

“Don’t worry, I’ll give bonuses. An experienced master doesn’t need to sit on the assembly line all day. That’s a waste. They can train new workers,” Jiang Tingzhou said. “How can I fire such a master? Even with automation, some food-making skills can’t be replaced by machines. People aren’t machines—they need rest.”

Manager Peng rubbed his hands. “But business is just right now…” It had been a long time since he saw such good business; he didn’t want to leave even if tired.

Jiang Tingzhou enjoyed seeing the thriving scene and festive atmosphere but thought about others—people couldn’t keep this pace forever. Eventually, they would burn out.

“It doesn’t matter. Business will always be good, and it will get even better,” Jiang Tingzhou said. “You can only live longer if you rest well, right?”

Manager Peng agreed, “You’re right! Boss Jiang, with a boss like you, we really…”

Halfway through, he paused, realizing that technically Li Shuyan was the one who took on the project.

“Keep talking, you’re not wrong,” Li Shuyan said with a laugh. “It took forever to get him to agree. I had to force shares into his hands. How can I understand all this? I just studied technical work abroad. Jiang Tingzhou is the boss—I listen to him.”

Thinking back, if not for Jiang Tingzhou, she probably wouldn’t have joined this project. She’d probably be off buying property in a school district like Jang Li wanted.

Jiang Tingzhou smiled, turned to the live broadcast, and said, “The store put up a pre-order link. The black sugar series will be available soon, 9.9 yuan a pack. Oh, by the way, unlike the small buns, these aren’t sensitive to delivery. You don’t need to choose express delivery specifically. Many couriers can deliver it. If you spend over a certain amount, we offer free shipping.”

The comments flooded in again:

【”It’s really 9.9 yuan. I’ll buy some to try.”】

【”Many bloggers cash and raise prices when they get popular, but I didn’t expect you to sell things more cheaply. You can’t lose money selling at 9.9 yuan, but you won’t be cheated either. I want to see if your black sugar plum candy tastes like it did when I was a kid.”】

【”Tsk, last time I saw Xiao An take pictures, the factory wasn’t so lively. Now it’s busier, and everyone’s smiling.”】

【”No wonder it’s so popular. This blogger is really different from other appearance bloggers or food bloggers.”】

【“I even went back and watched the old livestream. Followed immediately. Watching a pretty chef and becoming a proud electronic shareholder!”】