After listening to Jiang Yanyi’s words, Chef Yao fell silent for a moment and replied, “I appreciate your kindness, Master Jiang. Although I am dissatisfied with the boss, if I were to leave Laifu Restaurant just because of this matter, it would be ungrateful of me.”

Jiang Yanyi smiled and said, “Master Yao, you are a person of great loyalty.”

She took the small stove, settled the bill, and said goodbye to Chef Yao before leaving.

She wanted to tell the blacksmith that this stove was her original creation and that he shouldn’t make another one for others.

But then she thought that before this thing was produced, the blacksmith would have to experiment for a long time.

Now that there was already a model, it would be much easier to replicate.

Even if this blacksmith was unwilling to make one for anyone who asked, other blacksmiths would certainly not pass up the opportunity to earn money.

She couldn’t possibly bribe every blacksmith in the world.

The only way to resist such a trend would probably be to awaken the awareness of copyright among the people of this era, but that path would undoubtedly be long and arduous.

After Jiang Yanyi left the blacksmith’s shop with the boiler, Chef Yao returned to Laifu Restaurant after negotiating the price for repairing his kitchen knife with the blacksmith.

Today, Chef Yao had come to repair his family heirloom knife because it had been damaged, and the boss of Laifu Restaurant had openly favored the new chef, which left him feeling quite frustrated.

That was why he had hastily left to repair the knife.

Once his anger subsided, he felt that abandoning the banquet he was supposed to prepare today was indeed a dereliction of duty.

Little did he know, the fact that he and Jiang Yanyi had left the blacksmith’s shop one after another was soon relayed to the boss of Laifu Restaurant by someone with ulterior motives.

When Chef Yao returned to the restaurant, he found everything still in order inside, and not a single problem had arisen.

He breathed a sigh of relief but was also somewhat puzzled.

In the section of the kitchen he was responsible for, no one could take over; could it be that they had changed the menu?

He stopped a waiter and asked, “Did the main dish for today’s banquet ordered by Mr. Ma change?”

Chef Yao was the head chef in the kitchen, and everyone in the restaurant respected him.

The waiter replied, “It was suggested by Master Jin to change it to a hot pot, and Mr. Ma was also satisfied with the revised main dish and even gave a tip.”

Master Jin was the new chef at Laifu Restaurant.

Currently, hot pots were popular among the wealthy circles of Xizhou City.

When inviting guests, a hot pot meal could be more expensive than a customized banquet, so Mr. Ma naturally had no complaints about the restaurant compensating for the inability to prepare a banquet by offering a hot pot instead.

When Chef Yao thought about how the change was made because of that Jin fellow, he felt even more frustrated despite his guilt over acting impulsively.

He was about to head back to the kitchen when the boss’s young servant came down from upstairs. “Master Yao, the manager is looking for you.”

Chef Yao knew that the boss was definitely calling him about his earlier departure and braced himself for a scolding as he followed the servant upstairs.

The boss of Laifu Restaurant, Mr. Xu, was waiting in a private room.

After the servant led Chef Yao in, he stepped back.

“Boss, you were looking for me,” Chef Yao said.

Having worked at the restaurant for over a decade, he didn’t bother with formalities.

Mr. Xu, the boss of Laifu Restaurant, was a middle-aged man with a lean build.

At first glance, he seemed cultured, but a closer look revealed a shrewdness hidden in his brow, much like a weasel.

“Old Yao, Laifu Restaurant has reached this point today, and it’s all thanks to you over the years,” Mr. Xu said while fiddling with his abacus.

Chef Yao was not good at these kinds of pleasantries.

Once the anger in his heart subsided, he felt even guiltier upon hearing those words: “Boss, you flatter me.”

Mr. Xu continued, “I know you’ve been here for a long time and have a strong reputation. The people under you all respect you, and in the kitchen, you have always been firm. However, since Master Jin arrived, he comes from a family of imperial chefs and has a lot of pride, leading to some conflicts with you…”

Chef Yao understood. Mr. Xu thought he was domineering in the kitchen and targeting Master Jin simply because Jin had his own pride, unlike others who respected him.

Chef Yao interrupted, “Boss, I swear on my conscience, it’s that Jin who looks down on our small place in Xizhou, constantly talking about the capital. I can’t stand him complaining after eating and occasionally argue with him. But when he turned around and used my family’s heirloom knife to chop big bones, I couldn’t swallow that! I fought him this morning, and I have no regrets! However, abandoning the banquet is something I do feel guilty about; whatever the loss is, I will compensate you, boss.”

Mr. Xu replied, “Let’s set aside the matter of compensation for now. You often criticize Master Jin, but today, after you hit him, you walked away. Master Jin didn’t even have time to go to the doctor; his first thought was to ensure the banquet was prepared for today.”

Chef Yao’s anger flared up again: “Boss, your words truly hurt me. I’ve been at Laifu Restaurant for so many years without any mishaps, and just because of this one time, you think only that Jin fellow has the restaurant’s best interests at heart, while my decade of effort was for nothing?”

Mr. Xu said, “Once the Laifu Antique Soup was established, it became an eyesore to someone, and I think you know that well. Master Jiang from Jiang’s Restaurant is rumored to be a disciple of Chef Li from the Xizhou Army. You and Chef Li are on the same side. Last time, you met at the Han family’s banquet, and today, you left the restaurant only to bump into Master Jiang at the blacksmith’s shop. Isn’t that a bit too coincidental?”

Chef Yao angrily said, “In the whole of Xizhou City, only Feng the blacksmith has the best blacksmithing skills. My knife was ruined by someone named Jin, leaving it like this…”

Manager Xu impatiently interrupted him, “Stop bringing up your kitchen knife. How many knives do you want? I’ll have someone make you as many as you need. Can you replace your kitchen knife? You are a long-time employee in my restaurant, and everyone treats you like half a manager. But… Old Yao, I am still the owner of this restaurant.”

He was a businessman, and businessmen tend to have more cunning than others.

Today, Chef Yao abruptly left the banquet and coincidentally met with Jiang Yan at the blacksmith’s, which was a bit too coincidental.

Usually, Chef Yao relied on his seniority and often pointed fingers at the restaurant’s management.

Manager Xu had long held discontent toward him.

When Manager Xu spoke those words, Chef Yao fell silent for a long time.

After a while, he said, “So, you called me over today not to blame me for not finishing the banquet, but because you suspect that I have some collusion with Manager Jiang? Over the years, whenever I saw the waitstaff in the restaurant being lazy, I scolded them. Did you find that I was meddling too much?”

If Chef Yao previously felt guilty toward him, now only disappointment remained. With a bitter smile, he said, “Today, at the blacksmith’s, when Manager Jiang heard that my ancestral kitchen knife was destroyed while chopping bones, she felt sorry for me and wanted to invite me to work at her place.”

Upon hearing this, Manager Xu’s expression changed instantly.

Chef Yao continued, “But I thought of the fifteen years I’ve spent at Laifu Restaurant and declined! I came back to let you know who I met, so it seems you were worried about me from the start and sent someone to follow me.”

Manager Xu wanted to extract information from Chef Yao and said, “That’s not the case; it’s just that someone happened to see it. Since you say you didn’t accept Manager Jiang’s invitation, let me ask you, what are the tin boxes she’s making at the blacksmith’s for?”

At that time, Chef Yao was too preoccupied with his knife to remember what Jiang Yan was making.

He shook his head, extremely disappointed, and said, “I didn’t ask Manager Jiang and don’t know what they are for.”

Manager Xu’s expression clearly showed disbelief.

However, Chef Yao had no intention of saying more.

He took off a large bunch of keys from his waist and placed them on Manager Xu’s desk. “These are the keys to the storeroom. Owner, you once showed me kindness, but no matter how difficult things got at the restaurant, I never thought of leaving. After working here for fifteen years, I’ve repaid your kindness.”

Although Manager Xu had long intended to cultivate newcomers to replace Chef Yao, this action still flustered him.

He shouted, “Old Yao, what are you doing?”

Without Chef Yao, who would take over the restaurant’s catering business for the time being?

But Chef Yao left without looking back. “I’m done. Owner, you should hire someone better.”

Manager Xu angrily slammed the table. “You still say you have no collusion with that Jiang girl! Clearly, you two have made plans together!”

---

When Chef Yao left Laifu Restaurant, Jiang Yan was still unaware.

She was still worried about the old scholar’s rejection, so when she went to deliver medicinal food to Feng Shuo the next day, she felt somewhat down.

Feng Shuo asked her what was wrong. After learning about her failed attempt to invite the old scholar to tell stories, he thought for a moment and said, “Why not send someone to see what he’s been doing lately?”

Jiang Yan was struck by this suggestion, realizing that if the old scholar truly didn’t want to tell stories anymore, then life would certainly continue as before.

There would be no need for her to worry; she could just set her sights on the next target.

But if he showed even a slight inclination to return, he might look at storybooks and practice his storytelling skills, indicating there was still room for persuasion.

After returning, Jiang Yan had Bing Shao go check on the old scholar again.

Bing Shao didn’t return until the afternoon, almost missing dinner.

Jiang Yan asked, “How did it go?”

Bing Shao said, “The old scholar has been telling stories to a group of children in his yard, and he is indeed very skilled.”

He had braved the cold wind to eavesdrop outside the door all afternoon, unwilling to leave as the stories were truly captivating when told by the old scholar.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yan realized there was hope! She instructed Bing Shao to bring some pastries and liquor to invite the old scholar every day.

However, Bing Shao was not good at speaking sweet words.

He would only stand outside the yard in the cold wind, listening to the old scholar’s stories.

Although it was chilly, he found enjoyment in the captivating narratives.

After the old scholar finished his storytelling, he would leave the pastries and liquor at the door.

This went on for several days, and Bing Shao, as a loyal audience member, finally touched the old scholar.

One day, as he eagerly squatted at the door with a bottle of liquor prepared to eavesdrop, the old scholar directly opened the door.

Bing Shao thought he was being chased away and, being quite sensible, was ready to leave, but the old scholar called out to him, “Let’s go; take me to see your owner.”

Only then did Bing Shao notice that the old scholar had changed into a patched but clean outfit, which looked like something he would wear to meet guests.

Bing Shao always had a deadpan expression, and the old scholar saw no contempt or pity on his face.

The pride hidden beneath the patches was preserved, and his thin back straightened a little.

Jiang Yan was thrilled that the old scholar was willing to come out of retirement.

After discussing the matters related to storytelling, they moved on to the topic of the stories themselves.

As the owner, she had the right to decide what stories their storytellers would tell.

Regardless of the era, people were more interested in tragic love stories, so Jiang Yan summarized the early chapters of “Dream of the Red Chamber” to the old scholar.

The old scholar took paper and pen, listened and wrote, and by the time Jiang Yan finished, he had noted down the gist of it.

“This story is good, owner. Although I haven’t told stories in a while, I still know what stories are popular in Xizhou City. I’ve never heard anyone tell the story you just shared,” the old scholar said, amazed.