The Reviled God of Cooking Tries to Slack Off - Chapter 57

Although Jiang Tingzhou didn’t stream regularly, every time he did, his sessions were always long. That day, he spent half a day at the factory, working on tasks while chatting with his viewers, so the long hours didn’t feel tedious.

During the broadcast, he also showed everyone the new products from the sugar factory and the bread factory—torn-open bread, crispy sandwich biscuits, and soft, sweet candies.

Even without tasting them, they looked delicious.

The factory’s products stood out. With Jiang Tingzhou’s presence and the high attention and pricing, the online store link exploded as soon as it was posted. As soon as An Xiaoping shared it, orders surged by 5,000 right after the stream started. He was stunned.

The number of viewers in Jiang Tingzhou’s live broadcast room rose alongside his fan count. Checking backstage during the broadcast, he saw the viewers exceed one million.

Viewer count surged past one million. Conversion rates were insane—by the end of the stream, over 30,000 orders at 9.9 yuan each were sold.

After all, those were affordable treats—who didn’t have 9.9 yuan to spare?

Now, there was no way to link the live broadcast directly; viewers needed to search for the product manually in the online store. That was only the first day for the single product link, and sales already reached hundreds of thousands. Most people would naturally hesitate to broadcast something so popular, but Jiang Tingzhou didn’t care.

He already accomplished what he planned to do that day.

“Okay, I’m leaving. Goodbye, everyone,” he waved to the live studio. “I’m going back to cook, and I need to water the vegetable garden.”

As he was leaving, his neighbor gave him a piece of very good pork. He heard it was wild boar raised by a farmer. Jiang Tingzhou was already thinking about making fried pork with peppers.

Jiang Tingzhou agreed to take on the sugar factory project because it was genuinely interesting—and very different from his past life.

It was something he wanted to do, without the desperate rush to catch up with anything. He followed his own rhythm. Jiang Tingzhou didn’t repeat the same mistakes of wildly overworking like before.

Even when involved in the sugar factory, he didn’t sit in the office all the time. He went there only when needed. Most people might find such a casual boss or partner suspicious, but with Jiang Tingzhou, it made sense.

With talent like his, he could do anything.

It wasn’t just Jiang Tingzhou who didn’t want to be overworked. An Xiaoping, Li Shuyan, and everyone at the factory shared the same attitude.

“Work is just a part of life. Once this production line stabilizes, we can’t work overtime so frequently — especially not the skilled masters. We can’t keep going like this,” Jiang Tingzhou said. “At the very least, we have to ensure normal statutory holidays. The factory’s income now fully supports that.”

Jiang Tingzhou thought even those holidays weren’t enough.

Since he was in charge of the factory’s sales, he didn’t expect everyone to work hard all the time.

“I understand,” Manager Peng smiled. “Actually, after we finished this product, some people from outside food factories tried to poach our masters with high pay, but they didn’t leave. They not only have affection for this factory, but also trust you, Boss Jiang.”

Hearing that, Jiang Tingzhou felt reassured.

Jiang Tingzhou was different from those outsiders who only cared about money and profit.

Li Shuyan was stunned. “What? There’s poaching? Why didn’t I know?”

“That’s for sure. Someone secretly contacted us this morning. Not only that, but the masters told me,” Manager Peng said. “Now that we’ve achieved something, many people are watching us. Once we show results, competitors copy us fast. Luckily, with Boss Jiang leading, our products are affordable, and people trust them—copycats can’t steal that.”

Business competition was ruthless. Everything could be copied except public trust. Everyone at the factory knew who maintained that trust.

Back home, Jiang Tingzhou fried fragrant chili peppers with pork. There was a pot of soup in the pot before he left, and he also served braised prawns and braised chicken wings. The vegetables came freshly picked from the yard.

He turned off the stream, but Xiaoping filmed the cooking to turn into short video content and planned to post it later.

The three of them—best friends since high school—sat down to eat together.

Li Shuyan smiled, “Look at us now—we’re real partners.”

Despite the ups and downs, good friends still walked together.

Now each took roles suiting their strengths and worked unitedly.

Jiang Tingzhou nodded, “Yes.”

He told Li Shuyan from the start that he had conditions for running the sugar factory — he didn’t want to work in the office and insisted on doing things himself. Li Shuyan already mentioned these points, so she had no objections.

After all, Jiang Tingzhou pulled the old factory back from the brink of bankruptcy. She knew his abilities, but what surprised her was Jiang Tingzhou’s additional condition: he wanted to handle the entire sugar factory project, not just parts of it.

For her, that was even better.

At the time, the factory workshop was only one piece of the puzzle. The old sugar factory reconstruction project was a whole—like they discussed initially, besides the production area, the life quarters would be rebuilt into a city-run cultural park.

Li Shuyan successfully won the bid for the renovation, otherwise she wouldn’t have participated so directly in the sugar factory’s work or gone to the municipal government to sign the contract early Monday morning.

That morning, Jiang Tingzhou went to the sugar factory.

Li Shuyan was interested in this project from the start. Jiang Tingzhou didn’t care about it at first, only reminded her based on his rebirth experience. But he didn’t expect it to relate to the old sugar factory. Thinking carefully, ever since moving to the old city, connections became unavoidable.

Morning Market Street was originally the sugar factory’s staff area, with stores open for many years.

Almost all the neighbors there were former sugar factory employees. They treated him well—not only because Jiang Tingzhou’s cooking was delicious, but also because he revived the sugar factory. They were very grateful to him. At that time, Xiaoping launched the online store because of the sugar factory.

Now, so many people liked him across the Internet, and so many fans continued to support him because many really enjoyed the small buns baked with his adjusted recipe and genuinely felt his products were good.

That afternoon, Jiang Tingzhou sat happily in the bustling little shop, much of his joy connected to that seemingly abandoned sugar factory.

He toured the now-thriving factory zone and then walked further.

The entire old sugar factory was actually very large, covering tens of thousands of square meters. The area currently in use probably accounted for only one-tenth of the original sugar factory.

Walking into the busy factory, he felt the change immediately.

The rest of the factory area was currently unusable and in disrepair, but tall chimneys still stood, overgrown with weeds. Without orders, there was no way to maintain those old facilities. There was a large abandoned warehouse behind, and weeds grew along the road.

However, if business continued to grow, all of that could be reused.

The whole factory area was industrial. Going further, you’d reach the cultural and creative park planned by the municipal government, which was the residential quarters of the former sugar factory employees. The centerpiece was the workers’ grand assembly hall, flanked by an old fountain and sculptures of laborers—copper figures still standing proudly despite age.

As the leading sugar factory back then, it was like a complete small community. The living area was larger than most factory buildings. Many buildings couldn’t be demolished and had to be renovated according to project requirements.

This mix of Chinese-style architecture and other building styles was characteristic of the era. Many trees had grown tall, and the red brick houses hidden in their shadows looked even more special—as if stepping back in time at a glance.

The most distinctive and largest building was the Workers’ Auditorium.

In front of it stood a fountain and sculpture rare for that era—a group of sugar factory workers. Though old, the bronze sculptures still looked lively and hadn’t rusted.

Jiang Tingzhou stood there, looking at them for a long time.

He once felt the positive emotions that his neighbors, the morning market street, and the sugar factory and bakery conveyed to him. He felt the positive energy emanating from that place, carried forward by the people who worked there.

Even though the statues were old, many people who walked out of there still retained the spirit of the past.

There were thousands of projects in the world that could make money, but those people were rare. For him, that was truly precious.

That was exactly why he and Li Shuyan wanted to take on the full sugar factory renovation—not just build a factory.

Jiang Tingzhou walked into the auditorium, then forward to the area of the hospital, elementary school, department store, and dormitory building.

Now those were all old, and at the end was the sugar factory garden and the morning market street area where An Xiaoping took the photo. After walking a few steps, he could see Zhou Lifen’s store from a distance, and that area was connected in that way.

Looking up again, he could see Guanyin Mountain. His current home was at the foot of the mountain.

Jiang Tingzhou stood in the Sugar Factory Garden and looked at those things, thinking about something. Unexpectedly, he turned his head and saw Lu Baiyu.

The Sugar Factory Garden where he was now was a public place, and everyone could come, but it was strange for him to appear here.

Lu Baiyu obviously came specifically for him. He had something to say in person, so he specially found him. But when he arrived, he stood there for a long time, just looking at Jiang Tingzhou, as if afraid to disturb the peace of the moment.

Now that he was noticed, he walked to Jiang Tingzhou in a few steps and said, “Tingzhou, I…”

Jiang Tingzhou said, “Mr. Lu, I remember I said it’s better for us not to meet.”

“I’m here, but I really have something important to say,” Lu Baiyu said. “I couldn’t reach you, so I tracked you down.”

Jiang Tingzhou was now on a blacklist. Hearing this, he frowned and asked, “You found me here—did you put me under surveillance again?”

Lu Baiyu said, “I didn’t, really didn’t.”

Besides, where did the “again” come from?

Lu Baiyu dared not say he thought about it before but didn’t do it because it was too easy to be discovered.

The place where Jiang Tingzhou lived wasn’t the kind with tall buildings where neighbors couldn’t find each other. All the neighbors were familiar. If a stranger came, everyone would be alert. After thinking more, he really didn’t dare to do it.

The last time they met at the airport, Lu Baiyu wanted to see Tingzhou but just watched the live broadcast many times like an ordinary audience.

“I heard you often come to the sugar factory now. I asked the guard, and he said you just left, so I came to find you,” Lu Baiyu said. “Tingzhou, you are interested in the sugar factory. I really want to help you get this project.”

He looked into Jiang Tingzhou’s eyes. He clearly planned what to say on the way over, but now that he was standing there, he was nervous, like he was confessing something for the first time. He was truly thinking about their relationship. In the past few days of dealing with Cheng Shifei, he reflected on everything that happened to Jiang Tingzhou. The more he learned, the more distressed he felt.

Especially when Cheng Shifei said: “It’s my turn to help him this time.”

Lu Baiyu looked at him: “Tingzhou, I really want to help you do what you want to do. I want—”

“Will you pave the way for me?” Jiang Tingzhou interrupted.

In his previous life, Lu Baiyu expressed his so-called repentance in the same way, saying that if he could pave the way, Lu Group could give him even more. But in this life, the words were different.

“I don’t need that,” Jiang said gently. “Li Shuyan’s already won the project formally.”

Li Shuyan already won the bid for the sugar factory renovation project. Even if they weren’t friends, Jiang Tingzhou’s ability was enough for her to welcome him onboard.

“I mean all of it, all by you,” Lu Baiyu said. “I know Li Shuyan secured the bid, but I understand that the cooperation between the Jang family and the Li family put most of the cash flow into the second district housing project.”

The land was just auctioned two days earlier at a price higher than planned. It was also one of the largest projects undertaken by the Jang and Li families in recent years. Although the two families were wealthy, they really couldn’t free up so much cash flow now.

Moreover, Lu Baiyu investigated and found that Jang Li always opposed letting Li Shuyan run the sugar factory. The Li family pushed to the limit and gave her the qualification to take the project, but she had to pay a deposit and down payment immediately—about 150 million yuan. After that, it would be very difficult for her to get more funding from her family.

This was exactly what Lu Baiyu worried about after he found out.

Unlike school district housing, which could be sold immediately, that project—done in partnership with the municipal government—required long-term input. The initial payment might not be large, but future costs, like restoring old buildings and building museums, would be endless.

The municipal government accepted the project according to the budget. If the construction was delayed or quality suffered due to insufficient funds, it could lead to major issues.

“Tingzhou, Li Shuyan doesn’t have the same authority at home that Jang Li does. She’s under family pressure. I have no issue with her—but I’m worried you’ll be affected,” Lu Baiyu said. “I’ll give you the money later. You can do whatever you want, don’t worry about money. You, Li Shuyan, and An Xiaoping can continue to do things like this. I just hope it all goes smoothly.”

He calculated that in the five-year construction period, it would take at least 1 billion yuan, or more, to complete all projects required by the municipal government.

Jiang Tingzhou looked at him. “I know. I’ve been aware Li Shuyan only has the initial capital.”

She never hid it from him.

Li Shuyan struggled to even pay that down payment. Her parents didn’t support her. They didn’t give her the full amount—hoping she’d give up instead. So she sold her car, her apartment, even most of her clothes and jewelry to raise the money.

When she went to the bidding, the factory wasn’t even stabilized yet.

Li Shuyan was originally interested in the sugar factory. She wanted to give up at first, but after talking with Jiang Tingzhou, she deepened her resolve. Later, when Jang Li kept opposing her on everything, she became even more determined. It was through that conflict that she realized she actually had no voice in her family.

The Jang Li-led housing project was investing over 10 billion yuan, but she couldn’t even get a hundred million. Because of this, she had to persist. Because having a voice wasn’t about arguing—it was about fighting to prove yourself.

Jiang Tingzhou nodded. “From where I stand, what she did was enough.”

Lu Baiyu said softly, “Tingzhou, I believe you can make this happen. I don’t want you to exhaust yourself—when it’s unnecessary…”

It would take five years to raise another billion yuan. Even with the sugar factory already established, it was still far from that goal.

Jiang Tingzhou never marked up his prices. He always insisted on fair, reasonable rates with modest profit margins. How could he raise such a large sum?

But then he saw a sentence in the sugar factory project book—and everything clicked.

“The sugar factory cultural and creative park must include museums and public gardens. Limited commercial development in food and beverage is permitted.”

“Exhaust myself?” Jiang Tingzhou shook his head. “I already exhausted myself long ago.” Lu Baiyu looked at him earnestly. “I thought you understood me by now—but I guess not, Mr. Lu.”