Chapter 120: Something Terrible Has Happened!

Chen Feng had never been courteous to anyone who harbored hostility toward him. Fang Yi had made it perfectly clear that he had no intention of showing Chen Feng any respect, so Chen Feng naturally had no reason to be polite either. He swung his arm in a wide arc and slapped Fang Yi hard across the face.

What made it worse for Fang Yi was that Chen Feng’s slaps left him utterly speechless. After all, the dishes Chen Feng had prepared were on an entirely different level from theirs.

To put it another way, the gap between these chefs was roughly 0.1, never exceeding 1. But the gap between Chen Feng and them was greater than 10. They simply were not in the same league.

The program was eventually broadcast without incident. However, much of the content was cut during editing. The tense confrontation between Chen Feng and Fang Yi went unnoticed by the audience. Even so, the program became a huge hit. There were already countless food lovers in the country, and with Stephen Chow joining the show, its popularity soared instantly.

However, just as Chen Feng had expected, he did not gain very many Achievement Points. The program brought him far fewer Achievement Points than becoming the top scorer in the national college entrance examination had. Even so, Chen Feng was quite satisfied. After all, the Achievement Points he had gained from the show were still far greater than those he had earned from playing basketball.

Although the ability Chen Feng had displayed was already astonishing, the program still had to continue. The longer it ran, the easier it would be to attract viewers and boost ratings. Chen Feng was more than willing to cooperate. After all, this way he could earn a few more Achievement Points.

Three days after the program aired, Chen Feng, Xiao Yu, and Stephen Chow were having a meal together when Xiao Yu’s phone suddenly rang. Her brows furrowed slightly as she picked it up and answered in a low voice, “Hello?”

“Chairwoman Xiao, something terrible has happened!” A panicked voice came from the other end. “There’s a problem with our bursting beef balls!”

“What? Slow down and tell me exactly what happened.” Xiao Yu spoke quickly. “What’s going on?”

“It’s like this.” The voice on the phone became cautious. “Over the past few days, people have gradually begun reporting adverse reactions after eating our bursting beef balls. Today, something serious happened. Someone ate our product and suffered food poisoning. They’re in the hospital now!”

“What?” Xiao Yu’s eyes widened. She spoke rapidly. “What did you say? Someone has been hospitalized with food poisoning?”

“Yes!” The voice on the phone hurriedly continued. “Their condition is very serious. The patient’s family is causing a disturbance at Baihua Supermarket. And that’s not all. Many people have now reported that there are quality problems with our bursting beef balls!”

Xiao Yu narrowed her eyes. “All right, I understand. I’m going to the company immediately.”

“What happened?” Chen Feng’s hearing was extraordinarily sharp. The moment he heard the conversation, his brows drew tightly together. He knew very well that Xiao Yu had always kept an iron grip on quality control. There was absolutely no way she would allow a quality problem to occur. How could anyone have gotten sick from eating the product?

“Liu Kaifeng has made his move.” Xiao Yu glanced at Chen Feng, her expression calm. Then she rose and looked at Stephen Chow. “Mr. Zhou, I’m sorry, but there seems to be a problem with our bursting beef balls.”

“What kind of problem?” Stephen Chow was taken aback and looked at her in surprise.

Xiao Yu’s expression turned grave. “Someone has developed symptoms of food poisoning after eating our product. I need to return to the company immediately to deal with it. Mr. Zhou, I’m very sorry. This matter may have some impact on your reputation.”

Stephen Chow’s expression also became solemn. He knew perfectly well that if the incident produced serious consequences, his reputation would suffer as well. He drew a deep breath and spoke quickly.

“Chairwoman Xiao, I believe in your character. You’re not the kind of person who would sacrifice your reputation for a petty profit. I trust you!”

Three simple words: I trust you.

Chen Feng could not help sighing inwardly. Stephen Chow was an exceedingly straightforward man. Once he chose to trust someone, he continued to trust them without reservation.

“I’m sorry, but we have to go to the company and handle this first.” Xiao Yu smiled at Stephen Chow. “Mr. Zhou, please rest assured. This matter will not affect your reputation.”

Chen Feng and Xiao Yu then hurried to Xiao Yu’s branch office. The normally spacious company had descended into chaos. When everyone saw Xiao Yu arrive, they seemed to have found their backbone and hurried toward her.

Xiao Yu waved them off and led Chen Feng into her office. Only then did she allow the staff to come in and report the situation one by one.

“Chairwoman Xiao, we’ve just received word that someone has been hospitalized due to food poisoning. The hospital is still trying to save them.” A man of about thirty spoke at great speed. “The patient is elderly and not in very good health. At present—”

“Have someone prepare a sum of money immediately and pay for their treatment,” Xiao Yu said calmly.

“Yes!” The man nodded quickly. After hesitating briefly, he continued in a quiet voice, “Chairwoman Xiao, there’s more. All the major supermarkets have already removed our products from their shelves. They’ve also sent us legal notices demanding compensation. They’ve submitted our bursting beef balls to the Food and Drug Administration. I expect they’ll discover something soon. When that happens, we—”

“Zhao Ze.” Xiao Yu raised her eyes to look at him, a faint smile on her face. “What are you afraid of? Do you really think our products could have a quality problem? Or do you think I’m the kind of person who would lose her head over a petty profit?”

Under Xiao Yu’s gaze, the man named Zhao Ze felt his scalp go numb. Xiao Yu’s presence in the company was often terrifyingly imposing, and cold sweat broke out across his back.

He lowered his voice. “But Chairwoman Xiao, someone’s life is at stake. We can’t be certain yet—”

Xiao Yu stood up. “Don’t panic. Sooner or later, the truth will come to light. If the Food and Drug Administration wants to investigate, then let them investigate.”

Zhao Ze gritted his teeth and hurriedly said, “But Chairwoman Xiao, the problem is that once this is exposed by the news media, our reputation will be ruined. And you could even end up in prison!”

“I know. But is worrying going to help?” Xiao Yu smiled at Zhao Ze. “All right, go downstairs and immediately investigate when the problem with our beef first began. Then find out how many people have suffered food poisoning because of our bursting beef balls. I want a statistical report by this time tomorrow.”

“Yes!” Zhao Ze replied quickly. “Chairwoman Xiao, what about the media?”

“I’ll handle that.” Xiao Yu looked out the window and spoke calmly. “Now go and do what I told you.”

“Food poisoning?” After Zhao Ze left, Chen Feng jumped to his feet. “Sister Xiao, if this gets out of hand, we may all end up in serious trouble. And Liu Kaifeng is completely insane. He—he could really get someone killed!”

Xiao Yu said nothing. Her gaze rested on a Porsche parked outside the window, and a trace of coldness appeared at the corners of her lips.

“Yes, he is indeed a ruthless madman. But, little brother, some people in this world are simply that crazy. They will do anything to win.”

“Sister Xiao, what are you planning to do next?” Chen Feng asked with a frown. “If this really escalates and we have no way to deal with it, we may not be able to avoid prison.”

Chen Feng still remembered the Sanlu scandal from several years earlier. The impact of what had happened today might be even greater than that. Stephen Chow had endorsed the product, and the bursting beef balls were selling like hotcakes thanks to The Strongest God of Food. If something like this suddenly came to light at the height of its popularity, the consequences would be terrifying. If someone actually died—or if food poisoning spread on a large scale—it was entirely possible that they could be arrested and spend several years in prison.

Xiao Yu turned back to him with a faint smile.

“Do you remember what I told you before?”

“What you told me before?” Chen Feng stared blankly for a moment.

Xiao Yu continued, “Before we came to Donghai, I told you that I had deliberately left an opening for Liu Kaifeng to exploit. Do you really think he could deal with us so easily?”

At this, a deep, icy smile appeared on Xiao Yu’s face.

“I told you—he’s just a brat in my eyes. These little tricks of his are no different from children playing house.”

Chen Feng was stunned.

Xiao Yu continued, “Liu Kaifeng is here.”

(To be continued…)

Second update of the day. I have already opened up a lead of sixty-seven monthly votes over fourth place. Originally, I said that if the gap reached eighty, I would add another update. I’m changing that now: if the lead reaches seventy, I’ll add another update. Counting today’s four hundred monthly votes, that means I’ll post four updates today. Come on! If anyone still has monthly votes, please give Feng Shao your strongest support!