Chapter 110: A Touch Unreasonable! Secret Scheming!

The people from the surrounding catering companies saw Lin Quan storming down with a fierce aura and truly expected him to lose his temper. Yet, to their surprise, he performed an extreme flip of expression instead.

This made them realize that the young man had indeed called Mr. Wu from Erbai Housing Construction and had actually secured the restaurant in just one call.

This was unreasonable.

If you had such ability all along, why didn’t you act sooner?

If you had called earlier to secure this restaurant, they wouldn’t have needed to make plans or rush over here.

Cai Yao looked at Chu Lin in confusion and quietly asked, “Didn’t you say you had no connection with Tianhui Plaza?”

Chu Lin smiled faintly and replied, “It’s true I have no ties with Tianhui Plaza, but I never said I had no connection with Erbai Housing Construction.”

“Is there a difference?” Cai Yao stared at him in astonishment.

At this moment, Lin Quan also scrutinized Ma Zhen, the person who had called him. He wasn’t blind to his intentions.

Ma Zhen gave an awkward smile. In this situation, he had no face to stay, so he hurriedly left the restaurant with Cheng Jian.

Mr. Wu from Erbai Housing Construction had already given the order; no matter how displeased they were, they dared not show it.

Their pride was once again lost.

Lin Quan then warmly turned to Chu Lin. “Mr. Chu, please come with me to the second floor. I will explain all the details and materials about this restaurant to you.”

“Alright!” Chu Lin nodded and, with Cai Yao, followed Lin Quan, forgetting that he was still holding Cai’s hand from before.

Cai Yao naturally noticed and felt a flush of embarrassment as she was led forward.

It was her first time being publicly hand-in-hand with a man, and her heart raced slightly.

But thinking that Chu Lin already had a girlfriend, she sighed quietly.

Lin Quan did not forget the people from the other catering companies and apologized with a hint of regret, “Everyone, I’m truly sorry to have wasted your trip.”

The catering company representatives could only sigh and, with no desire to linger, left one after another.

At least Lin Quan apologized—what more could they ask? Should they blame Tianhui Plaza? Or express dissatisfaction with Mr. Wu from Erbai Housing Construction?

That would only make things uncomfortable for themselves.

Lin Quan led Chu Lin and Cai Yao to the conference room on the second floor of the restaurant.

Inside, several senior executives from Tianhui Plaza were reviewing materials from the catering companies.

“This New Moon restaurant plan is quite good,” one executive said. “Although it’s not as famous as Yunhe Restaurant, it has a very distinctive operation.”

Lin Quan entered and immediately said, “Everyone, no need to review those proposals anymore. This restaurant has already been handed over to Mr. Chu.”

The comment stunned the executives, and some displeasure showed on their faces.

After all, the matter was initially set to require their joint review and discussion before a decision. Now, the general manager Lin Quan directly brought someone and decided—wasn’t this an abuse of power?

“General Manager Lin, this doesn’t follow protocol,” a vice president who was at odds with Lin Quan challenged on the spot.

Lin Quan responded coldly, “This is an order from Mr. Wu, the top boss at headquarters. Vice President Gu, since you doubt the boss, I will call Mr. Wu now.”

Vice President Gu immediately turned on a smile and said to Chu Lin, “Mr. Chu, it’s so nice to meet you! Mr. Wu entrusting you with this restaurant is definitely the right choice.”

“...” Chu Lin was taken aback. It seemed the internal atmosphere at Tianhui Plaza wasn’t very harmonious.

But that was normal; where there are people, there are conflicts and interests.

As long as they don’t interfere with him, it was fine.

Lin Quan continued, “Mr. Chu, Mr. Wu has instructed that during the cooperation period, this restaurant’s operation will be considered a joint venture, occupying 10% of the restaurant’s shares. When you’re ready to sign the contract, we will cooperate fully.”

“Also, regarding the original staff of the restaurant, if you want them to stay, I can notify them. If not, I will dissolve them within these two days.”

Regarding the original staff, Chu Lin looked at Cai Yao.

Since she would be managing the restaurant’s future operations, this decision naturally fell to her.

Cai Yao immediately said, “All the waiters can stay, kitchen apprentices and assistants can stay, but we will handle management and the head chef ourselves.”

Ordinary employees were replaceable; if they didn’t perform well after opening, they could be fired. But management and the head chef had to be trustworthy.

She had already assessed many people in Zhizhen, and given the current circumstances there, it would be a disservice to her father in the hospital if she didn’t try to recruit from there.

After finalizing some matters, it was too late in the evening to proceed with contract signing, so Chu Lin and Cai Yao left the restaurant and took a stroll along the pedestrian street.

The handsome young man and beautiful lady attracted quite a bit of attention on the street.

Chu Lin asked the most important question, “Ms. Cai, since the restaurant is secured, what are your demands?”

After all, this project was originally proposed by Ms. Cai, who had a bit of a strong-woman streak. She wouldn’t be satisfied with just a management role.

Cai Yao responded, “Since you’ve already secured the place, I will invest 4 million as startup capital. For investment plus management, I want 30% of the shares. Of course, if you find this hard to accept, investment is always a matter of mutual consent, and I can start my own venture elsewhere.”

“Ms. Cai, I’m not willing to lose talent like you,” Chu Lin said without hesitation, agreeing immediately. After all, Ms. Cai was investing 4 million as startup capital, right?

Subtracting her 30% and the 10% Mr. Wu required, he still held 60% of the shares.

The key was that Mr. Wu provided the restaurant and Ms. Cai provided 4 million, so it seemed he was getting 60% of the shares for free.

As for oyster and prawn supplies, those would be accounted for clearly; the restaurant had to pay for the stock.

Even if he got the 60% shares for free, Ms. Cai and Mr. Wu definitely wouldn’t lose out.

After all, no one could compete with his supply of Atlantis prawns and oysters, and soon he would provide the Mesopotamian cooking wine—a secret weapon for the restaurant’s success.

Cooking wine adds +1 to flavor, +1 to aroma, +1 to appetite, which would surely make the restaurant outshine all other high-end restaurants in Min City.

Seeing Chu Lin agree to her terms, Cai Yao solemnly extended her fair hand. “Mr. Chu, from now on, we are partners. Let’s shake on it.”

“Hello, partner!” Chu Lin smiled.

The two continued strolling, getting along pleasantly; anyone unaware might think they were a couple.

“Mr. Chu, we should start thinking about the restaurant’s name.”

“Ms. Cai, I’m useless at naming things. Don’t count on me.”

“Same here. How about ‘Lin-Yao Restaurant’? After all, you and Chen Feng’s partnership is called Linfeng.”

“That’s too cliché.”

“Then you pick one, Mr. Chu.”

“Ms. Cai, I think Lin-Yao Restaurant is still pretty good.”

...

Elsewhere,

Ma Zhen and Cheng Jian had long left Tianhui Plaza and headed to a private room at Yunhe Restaurant.

They hadn’t eaten much at Tianhui Plaza, so Cheng Jian was hosting Ma Zhen at his own restaurant.

Although they couldn’t get the Tianhui Plaza restaurant, Cheng Jian still hoped to secure investment from Ma Zhen.

The food industry is both easy and hard to expand, but capital is key.

Ma Zhen, as the young master of the Ma family, controlled part of the investment funds, which was Cheng Jian’s aim.

Ma Zhen was scrolling through his social media when suddenly he slammed his phone down on the table in anger.

“Damn it! It’s only been a short time, and someone already posted on social media. What do they mean by ‘Ma Zhen got slapped in the face by Cai Yao again’?”

He was truly furious.

Previously, when Cai Yao left him for Chu Lin in Zhizhen, someone had posted about it, letting acquaintances know and embarrassing him.

He didn’t expect it to happen again today.

What was worse, even more people were posting this time, making him notorious in the circle.

When had Ma Zhen ever felt so humiliated?

Cheng Jian, seeing Ma Zhen’s anger and having his own agenda, offered a plan.

“Ma Young Master, there is a way to deal with Cai Yao and Chu Lin.”

“Since they’ve taken the restaurant, it must open eventually. We can use that as a target and get some satisfaction.”

“But since they got the restaurant through Mr. Wu, are you worried about provoking Erbai Housing Construction?”

Ma Zhen’s face turned dark. “The Ma family is no less than Erbai Housing Construction Group. There’s no need to worry. From what I saw earlier, Chu Lin probably used his so-called White Dragon Saliva to connect with Mr. Wu.”

“So, Mr. Wu won’t intervene again. If these young people’s quarrel really involves him, I can always report to the elders.”

Cheng Jian nodded. “Then there’s nothing to worry about.”

Ma Zhen eagerly asked, “Tell me, how can we ruin their restaurant?”

Cheng Jian explained, “For a high-end restaurant, the key is the dishes. If the dishes aren’t good, many people won’t come. We can attack them on that front.”

Ma Zhen shook his head. “That won’t work; Cai Yao seems to have special access to oysters and prawns.”

Cheng Jian smiled. “I’ve heard about that, but Ma Young Master, you should know that even the best oysters and prawns are only two dishes. A high-end restaurant needs dozens of dishes.”

“If we can let everyone know that their other dishes are terrible, it will be an invisible blow. After all, you just want to vent your anger.”

Ma Zhen thought it made sense and asked, “How exactly do we do that?”

Cheng Jian continued, “On the opening day of their restaurant, we’ll hold a food tasting event at Tianhui Plaza under the Yunhe Restaurant name. People will inevitably compare their dishes to ours.”

“Our Yunhe Restaurant ranks first among high-end restaurants in Min City. The three best chefs in Min City are with us, all bound by shares. Their culinary skills are widely recognized as far superior to others.”

“By then, they’ll be embarrassed, and if you help with some behind-the-scenes promotion, more people will come to watch the show.”

“I’ll definitely promote it properly,” Ma Zhen said, liking the idea. He laughed, “Don’t worry. After we enjoy the show and vent our anger, your Yunhe Restaurant will gain fame, and I can invest in you.”

“Thank you, Ma Young Master,” Cheng Jian said with a broad smile.

This was exactly his goal—to overshadow the competitor at their opening.

...

(End of chapter)