Chapter 95: You Won’t Find a Better Channel Than This!

Chu Lin was briefly stunned by Cai Sen’s words. He had never imagined that one day his merchandise would actually be returned by True Essence.

Now that was amusing.

He more or less understood what was happening.

From the looks of it, the Cai family favored sons over daughters, or perhaps there was some other reason. In any case, True Essence had already been reserved in advance for Cai Sen, and the previous general manager had been him as well.

It was probably Cai Sen who had made a mess of the place, or else lacked the ability to withstand the relentless pressure from competitors. That was why Miss Cai had been called back to clean up the chaos and steady the company.

But now True Essence was booming thanks to his shrimp and oysters, and the competitors had been squeezed so hard they could hardly breathe. So they decided Miss Cai had already fulfilled her role and was no longer useful.

Who would have thought that even in modern times there would still be families who adored a useless son no matter what and rejected a brilliant daughter no matter how outstanding she was?

He had thought that kind of thing only existed in melodramatic television dramas.

Now, because Miss Cai had slightly gone against her father’s wishes, she had been stripped of the general manager position, and that worthless Cai Sen had taken it back.

He called him worthless because the man was already acting full of himself without even understanding the most basic facts. If he were truly the general manager of a chain restaurant like True Essence, he should at least know how important a supplier was to the company.

That was exactly why so many family businesses never grew and collapsed quickly: the heir was simply too useless.

When Cai Yao heard Cai Sen, her brows drew tightly together, and she could not help reminding him, "Cai Sen, I advise you to apologize to Mr. Chu. As the general manager of a chain restaurant like True Essence, you should really understand everything about the company before making decisions."

After saying that, she felt as though she were beyond saving. Why was she still saying these things after being treated like this?

It could only be said that she still had feelings for True Essence, after all she had poured herself into the renovation and reform efforts during this period.

"Heh heh heh." Cai Sen could not help laughing. "Cai Yao, are you teaching me how to be True Essence’s general manager? Seems you forgot that it’s you who got removed. I’ve been True Essence’s general manager longer than you have."

Cai Yao no longer wanted to waste words on this worthless younger brother. She could only warn him, "Mr. Chu has a seasonal shrimp supply contract with us!"

"Heh. Then not anymore. A little compensation is nothing True Essence can’t afford." Hearing that, Cai Sen laughed even harder, and actually dialed a number right in front of Cai Yao.

As soon as the call connected, he asked, "You’re at True Essence already... and you’ve taken over the procurement side, right? Good. I don’t want a single person Cai Yao promoted. Also, send a notice of procurement termination to Cai Yao."

Cai Yao truly felt sorry for True Essence. This was the heir her father cherished. She could already imagine True Essence’s eventual fate.

This fellow would definitely make a mess of everything just like before. If the competitors then got Mr. Chu’s supply as well, True Essence would be even less able to hold them off than before.

After hanging up, Cai Sen looked at Chu Lin with smug satisfaction. "Pretty boy, I hope that after losing True Essence, you can still find another place to latch onto. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure the outside world knows that you got True Essence’s supply rights by sleeping with Cai Yao. In reality, a large share of the goods were already spoiled."

With that, he burst into laughter and walked off. To him, this was total extermination. Who told this guy to be Cai Yao’s boyfriend?

Chu Lin watched him leave and could not help asking Cai Yao, "Is your brother mentally impaired?"

"Probably," Cai Yao said without the slightest hesitation.

"Seriously makes me wonder whether you’re even related by blood. How can your intelligence be so different?" Chu Lin said with undisguised mockery.

"We have the same father, but not the same mother." Cai Yao’s tone was equally sarcastic. "His mother was my father’s secretary at first. After my mother divorced him, she took the position. Different dominant X-linked genes combining like that, it’s not surprising to get an idiot."

Chu Lin now roughly understood what kind of situation Miss Cai had been living in.

A stepmother plus whispers in the husband’s ear—while they were a family of three, she was the outsider.

Thinking of that, Chu Lin took out his phone and called Liu Fa. "Master Liu, you don’t need to deliver to True Essence today. Take the day off."

After hanging up, he smiled at Cai Yao. "Actually, not only can True Essence terminate the cooperation, I can terminate it too. After all, when you asked me to sign an exclusive supply agreement, Cai, I only agreed to a season, not a quarter."

Cai Yao was visibly stunned by that.

A season and a quarter—once she thought about it carefully, she understood the difference.

A seasonal shrimp supply meant only the shrimp available in that season, but how much shrimp would actually be available was still up to Mr. Chu. If he said the season’s shrimp were gone, then they were gone. What could True Essence say?

A quarter was different. That would mean exclusive supply to True Essence for only three months.

A single word changed everything. It was a word game.

"I never expected Mr. Chu to play word games on me," Cai Yao said in astonishment. "And here I was, constantly thinking about how to tie you down."

Chu Lin teased her, "If you want to tie me down, it’s easy. Stockings will do."

"Ah?" Cai Yao froze at once, her pretty face faintly reddening.

She had not expected this Mr. Chu, who had always seemed so upright, to make such a dirty joke. Still, she also knew he was probably trying to ease her frustration.

But Chu Lin very much wanted to slap himself.

That was pure habitual flirtatious nonsense.

He knew he could not handle a woman like Miss Cai, could not keep her under control, and really should not provoke her.

He had been restraining himself just fine before, so why had he blurted that out on impulse?

At that moment, Cai Yao’s phone rang. She glanced at the number and sighed before answering. Immediately, an anxious voice came through: "President Cai, what is going on? Early this morning Li He came to take over my work, saying it was the chairman’s order."

"Manager Han, I’m very sorry." Cai Yao sighed as well, sounding embarrassed.

After all, Manager Han had been promoted by her, and this was purely because she had been dragged into it.

But Manager Han’s abilities were definitely strong. Cai Yao had never imagined that simply because she had promoted her, she would also be removed.

What kind of nonsense was a company playing at if it did this sort of thing? It was nothing but idiocy.

"President Cai, you don’t need to apologize," Manager Han said rather bluntly. "Since people like Li He are back to make a mess of things, I’m not going to serve them anymore."

Inside True Essence, a woman in her thirties also put down her phone and coldly looked at the smug man before her. "Li He, you’ve won. Do whatever you want."

Li He immediately laughed. "Han Xin, I told you long ago that Young Master Sen would bring me back. Cai Yao was only a transitional general manager. If you follow the wrong person, this is exactly what happens."

After that, he even ordered the people beside him arrogantly, "Did you hear that? Draft a notice of procurement termination right now!"

Manager Han sneered and left.

The products True Essence procured now were the carefully selected goods chosen by President Cai, and that was exactly why True Essence had gained recognition. Let these people mess it up for all they were worth. Better yet, they should even suspend Mr. Chu’s shrimp and oysters.

If the competitor chain restaurant Golden Feast then got access to Mr. Chu’s supply, that would be something worth seeing.

Unfortunately, Mr. Chu’s shrimp and oysters were True Essence’s lifeline, and these people would not be stupid enough to go that far.

Seeing Manager Han leave, Li He grew even more pleased with himself. Before long, he received the notice of procurement termination as well.

The supplier surnamed Chu that Young Master Sen had mentioned was only one person, so there was no need to waste time checking who it was.

Naturally, there was also a notice of Cai Yao’s removal from office.

Back then, that young lady had stripped him of his position without giving him the slightest bit of face. Now, he could not wait to get his own back and personally deliver her removal notice to her door.

Following the address Cai Sen had given him, he left True Essence and headed for Jinhua Gardens.

At Jinhua Gardens, Cai Yao gradually composed herself after a while. Looking at Chu Lin, she suddenly remembered the sight of herself when she had awakened: the disheveled nightdress on her body, so messy it was practically as good as not being there.

Embarrassed, she asked, "Um... Mr. Chu, when did you come over last night?"

A certain alluring image also surfaced in Chu Lin’s mind, and he hurriedly replied, "I didn’t really keep track of the time. I didn’t go into your room, and I wasn’t sure what the situation was. I just lay down on the sofa and fell asleep."

"If you explain it so carefully, that means you saw it," Cai Yao muttered under her breath, which only made her even more embarrassed. She quickly changed the subject. "Mr. Chu, are you hungry? As thanks for taking care of me all night, I’ll make you a delicious breakfast."

Chu Lin still had some expectations for breakfast made by a beauty like Miss Cai.

After all, beauty plus good food was the very definition of feast for the eyes.

But when Cai Yao came out carrying two cups of instant noodles, he froze.

Food = instant noodles?

Come on, you’re the young lady of True Essence. You promised me breakfast, and all you bring out is instant noodles. Aren’t you embarrassed?

Shouldn’t you be showing off your cooking skills and dazzling me instead?

Cai Yao set the two cups on the table and said somewhat sheepishly, "My family does run a restaurant, but I don’t really have any talent for cooking."

"Instant noodles can still be delicious. The key is when a beauty makes them, they somehow smell even better..." Chu Lin almost naturally fell back into his flirtatious habits, trying to give the girl some emotional value as was only fitting for someone like him.

Fortunately, he stopped himself in time. If he could not handle a woman, he should not go and invite trouble.

Cai Yao was amused by the awkward look on his face. "Look at you. You even got embarrassed by your own compliments, didn’t you?"

"..." Chu Lin froze.

Was that really what he meant?

But there was no need to explain. He simply lowered his head and started eating the noodles.

"Mr. Chu, you don’t even bother to hide it and just admit it outright?" Cai Yao teased instead. "Someone like you should be called a hopelessly straight man, right? You don’t have the slightest sense of romance. I really don’t know how you managed to win over Xiao Qian."

Hearing Miss Cai’s assessment, Chu Lin nearly spat out a mouthful of noodles.

How had this young lady reached such a conclusion?

Just then, the doorbell rang. Cai Yao frowned as she opened the door, only to see Li He standing outside. She frowned and said, "Li He, what are you doing here?"

Li He smiled in triumph. "President Cai, what can a nobody like me do if you can throw him out whenever you want? I’m just here under Young Master Sen’s orders to deliver your removal notice—and a notice of procurement termination, that’s all."