In Linjiang, the local network has unwittingly created a buzz around the name of Yinyan Restaurant.

Many locals who have visited the restaurant have shared their post-meal impressions online.

At the same time, Mingde Courtyard’s new signature dish, braised beef ribs, has finally spread across all of its branches.

As a result, Mingde Company has garnered significant attention in Linjiang’s food scene.

One day, someone posted about the San Huang chicken they had just eaten at Yinyan.

The photo showed a plump San Huang chicken stewed until its juices were rich and the thick chicken skin was glistening with oil.

The chicken was cut into uniform chunks and served on a plate, with two small dishes of dipping sauce on the side: one with minced scallions and sauce, the other a fiery red chili oil.

The person posting the photo used exaggerated language: “Oh my god, Yinyan’s new dish is absolutely amazing! I’m so glad I came! This chili oil, I can’t even describe it—anyone who loves spicy food has to try it! Seriously, this is the first time I’ve had such a strong flavor in Linjiang!”

—

The filming crew that had just landed at the airport boarded the minibus sent by Linjiang Broadcasting.

As they rode, some of them searched on their phones, and one person came across this post about the dish.

They were struck by the photo of the red chili oil and the plump San Huang chicken, and turned to show their colleagues: “This restaurant seems to be quite popular locally.”

The colleagues looked at each other in confusion: “Yinyan? We didn’t hear about it during our research.”

The person scrolled through their records and said, “It seems like this is a newly opened place, but the company behind it is Mingde, which has been in Linjiang for years. Recently, it’s been getting a lot of news coverage.”

“Oh, so it’s Mingde. I’ve come across that name when doing research,” one person said. “The owner’s last name is Jin, right? It’s a place with a lot of history. I heard they had a big anniversary celebration recently. Director Lin, what do you think?”

The person who spoke glanced toward a young man sitting in the front, asking, “Should we check it out?”

Director Lin, upon seeing the photo of the San Huang chicken, furrowed his brow slightly, though he didn’t answer immediately.

—

The kitchen torch melted the sugar, and within seconds, the white frosting turned into golden-brown caramel.

A thin layer covered the foie gras, while the deep red wine sauce swirled at the bottom of the white porcelain plate.

Dry ice steamed, creating a mist that drifted like clouds across the table.

The kitchen was impeccably neat, like a precision laboratory.

Liquid nitrogen bottles replaced oil bottles, turning fresh fruit into freeze-dried versions while still maintaining their vibrant colors.

All of this effort was for a single cherry that, after being topped with a gold leaf on its stem, was carefully placed atop the caramel.

Cheng Chen smiled as he watched his head chef work seamlessly in front of the camera. Once the filming ended, he spoke up: “So, what do you think? The result looks beautiful, doesn’t it?”

The young director looked over the footage, satisfied with the carefully placed cherry, and nodded: “It’s gorgeous, like a painting.”

“Mr. Jia is a highly skilled chef I specifically hired for a high price. He has worked in Michelin-starred restaurants and studied abroad for more than ten years,” Cheng Chen proudly mentioned.

In the large city of Linjiang, how many restaurants could afford a chef with Michelin experience?

Most of the marketing for Yun Ding had been driven by the chef’s reputation.

The Cheng family had paid a considerable price to retain him.

This investment had clearly paid off, as Chef Jia’s hard work over the years had greatly contributed to the development of the Cheng family’s business.

For instance, the molecular gastronomy banquet at Muhe Mansion was entirely based on dishes Jia had developed.

Although the event had been interrupted by the Jin family, that didn’t diminish Jia’s skill. Look, now even the film crew from Beijing was impressed!

Chef Jia, who was somewhat arrogant, carefully wiped his hands with a warm towel after placing the cherry. His attire was spotless.

When praised in person, he didn’t show much emotion, simply responding with a grunt to acknowledge it.

The young director didn’t take offense.

After all, with such an esteemed background, Chef Jia had earned his arrogance.

When the director looked at the dishes, he was even more pleased—elegant, refined, and as beautiful as any high-end restaurant abroad.

He nodded in approval: “This is exactly the kind of work I wanted. To be honest, ever since we started this project, I’ve been hesitating about what ingredients to use. This is a big production for overseas broadcast. Chinese food, no offense, can be too greasy. How can we present that to foreign audiences? Look at Japanese or French cuisine—so delicate, so high-end. Our Chinese food should be improved like this to stand a chance internationally.”

Chef Jia’s thin lips curled slightly, seemingly agreeing with the director’s words, but when his gaze swept over the other members of the team, who seemed less impressed, his expression turned cold again.

—

“Lin Miao.” After leaving Muhe Mansion, Jia Bingyang couldn’t help but criticize the young director who had spoken with Cheng Chen earlier. “Do you really think this approach will work? The restaurant we just visited—does it differ in any way from the other places we found in Beijing?”

Lin Miao, the young director, ignored his comments.

The two had already argued many times about ingredient selection, and now, with Jia bringing it up again, he was growing impatient: “Come on, Jia Bingyang, you’re not satisfied with a Michelin three-star chef? Are you really upset, or are you just trying to make trouble?”

Jia Bingyang frowned: “I’m not trying to make trouble, but that dish we saw—where’s the Chinese element? It could easily be passed off as French cuisine. You…”

“Who says only French food can look like that?” Lin Miao shot back. “Just because it’s beautiful? Because it’s high-end?”

Jia Bingyang, frustrated, retorted: “Don’t think I don’t know how much sponsorship money you’ve taken…”

The two men had an argument and left in anger.

Jia Bingyang stormed off with his team, while Lin Miao, leading his own crew, returned to the minibus.

He glanced at the retreating figure and sneered, “Such a problem. People from humble backgrounds are like this—they can’t shed that poor, awkward air even after going to Beijing. He really needs to go abroad and see how highly Japanese and French food are regarded. If he doesn’t improve, and keeps pushing greasy chicken, duck, and goose for foreign audiences, he’ll just be embarrassing himself.”

Jin Yaotiao received a reply from her cousin, saying that the email sent to the program team, which was provided by Lei Qiu from the company, had been read but no response was given.

She wasn’t surprised and calmly said, “Alright, I understand.”

The email from Mingde simply recommended the company’s restaurant in a very formal manner.

She wasn’t surprised that there was no reply from the other side.

After reporting back, her cousin still felt a little unwilling to give up.

After all, it was a great opportunity to be featured in a documentary.

She couldn’t help but suggest to Jin Yaotiao, “Yaotiao, should we offer them something? I’ve heard that the program team has a strong background, and the broadcast channels might expand internationally in the future.”

Jin Yaotiao looked at her cousin in surprise.

Wow, impressive! Lei Qiu had mentioned that the production team, affiliated with Linjiang Broadcasting, had been strictly instructed not to leak any details, and yet her cousin had managed to gather this information?

Her cousin, under her gaze, cleared her throat.

She had been raised with the belief that girls should be modest and obedient.

When she came to work at Mingde, she only aimed to do her job well and not cause any trouble for the company or Jin Yaotiao.

However, after hearing the conversation between Jin Yaotiao and Lei Qiu, she had thought about it for many days and suddenly realized that, although she was a woman, that didn’t mean she couldn’t achieve something.

This small task assigned to her by the project leader seemed trivial, but after sending the email, she began to think about how she could help Jin Yaotiao.

While reflecting, she realized her network was actually not any smaller than her cousins at home.

So, she mobilized a large group of classmates and friends to investigate, and indeed, they uncovered some information that the public didn’t know.

After hearing her cousin’s suggestion, Jin Yaotiao didn’t seem inclined to agree, and her cousin felt a bit embarrassed. “Sorry, did I say too much?”

“No,” Jin Yaotiao responded, though she wasn’t planning to offer any bribes.

However, she was pleasantly surprised by her cousin’s unexpected capabilities.

She looked at her cousin for a few moments and said, “Cousin, you have great potential, keep up the good work.”

Her cousin was flattered and left with a light-hearted step, smiling contentedly.

There were very few women who could speak up in the Jin family, as the board of directors was filled with traditional male elders.

Seeing the obedient girls around her grow, Jin Yaotiao was pleased.

Having more people like her cousin was a huge advantage for her.

As for offering bribes…

Jin Yaotiao glanced at her phone. In fact, Lei Qiu had given her the program team’s private contact information, but she had never intended to use it.

Why bother? If the documentary team truly wanted to collaborate with Mingde and was considering asking for money, they wouldn’t have ignored the email and failed to respond out of courtesy.

They clearly didn’t take Mingde seriously, and if they were to pursue this opportunity, Mingde would have to bow down and offer astronomical sums.

With that kind of money, Mingde could use it for better purposes.

Although the company’s various branches had seen a significant increase in foot traffic recently, and the revenue was much higher than before, according to the future development plan she had set for the company, the money was still tight and every penny had to be spent wisely.

The first branch of Yin Yan had just opened, but plans for additional branches were already underway. Mingde had been developing for many years, but its foundation was still thin.

However, Jin Yaotiao’s ambition was not limited to just the Linjiang area.

Linjiang was one of the fastest-growing new-tier cities in the country in recent years, but it was still small. The Jin family’s situation was different from that of Shen Qiming’s family.

Jingmao had its headquarters in Linjiang because the city’s government had made significant efforts to secure favorable policies.

The headquarters had political significance, and in fact, Shen Qiming’s father had long been stationed abroad, and Jingmao’s business scope had already expanded nationwide, independent of Linjiang.

However, Mingde was different. If their future branches were always limited to one city, no matter how hard they worked, Mingde would only ever become a medium-sized company.

The headquarters had done well in its opening move, and Mingde had gained some recognition in Linjiang, but expanding beyond the city would indeed require effort.

After recuperating for some time, Jin Yaotiao’s father had recovered enough to make a special trip to Shenzhen.

Shenzhen was not far from Linjiang.

When Jin Yaotiao’s father was young, he had been sent by the elder Jin to Shenzhen to study, and later returned to Linjiang to help develop Mingde. In terms of city size and population, Shenzhen was one of the most economically developed cities in the country.

Its restaurant market was far larger than Linjiang’s.

Fortunately, compared to other first-tier cities, the market economy there was more relaxed.

From any perspective, it was the best place for Mingde to open its market outside of Linjiang.

At this special time, Jin Yaotiao didn’t miss any publicity opportunities.

It was cold outside, and the winter solstice quietly arrived.

Every year, Mingde would engage in some social charity activities on this day.

This year was no exception.

Jin Yaotiao put on her down jacket and drove to the south of the city to meet with the employees who had been waiting for her there.

---

Jingmao, Shen Qiming received news that his parents were returning to China.

The domestic headquarters was something he had taken from his father, but after the conflict was settled, they didn’t harbor animosity.

His father naturally packed up and left with his mother for overseas.

Now, with the ocean between them, they seldom contacted each other, only meeting when necessary for work. Even during the holidays, they didn’t reunite much.

This year, because there was no business requiring their meeting, they hadn’t seen each other for over a year. His father had only returned because of a conference invitation.

He wasn’t particularly concerned when he heard from his assistant that his father had arrived at Linjiang Airport, and he casually sent another assistant to pick him up.

Soon, Shen’s father arrived at the headquarters, greeted by a few of the senior shareholders.

The leadership had changed, and the old ministers were having a tough time.

A few who had been suppressed by Shen Qiming over the years spoke with bitterness.

Shen’s father, with graying temples but still walking briskly, didn’t show much interest in their complaints.

Instead, he coldly replied, “I can’t control him right now. You’re all at an age where, if you think you can’t handle it, just go home and take care of your grandchildren. Since you’ve chosen to stay in the company, be obedient.”

The senior shareholders felt heavy-hearted after hearing this.

They had hoped that his return would offer a lifeline, but that hope had faded.

Shen Qiming didn’t come down to meet his father, and Shen’s father didn’t find anything wrong with that.

They met on the top floor. The first thing Shen Qiming said was, “Let’s go to the meeting room.”

Shen’s father responded with a simple “Mm,” and they walked side by side towards the meeting room.

Their similar faces didn’t show any animosity or joy from a long separation.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Qiming asked, “Where’s mom?”

Shen’s father, still looking sharp despite the wrinkles around his eyes, thought for two seconds before answering, “I forgot to tell her I was coming back. It’s been a while since I’ve seen her, so she’s probably in New York, or maybe Los Angeles.”

Shen Qiming furrowed his brows when he remembered the call from his mother’s assistant saying that she had already arrived in Linjiang.

He was used to it, though, as his mother often followed his father’s movements.

But he couldn’t be bothered to inform his father about this.

They proceeded with the meeting as scheduled, and after it was over, they stepped out of the conference room, where his mother was already waiting in the office.

Shen’s father was stunned when he saw her: “Why are you here?”

Shen’s mother smiled as usual, her eyes showing a complex look as she gazed at her aging husband. “I haven’t seen my son for a long time. I heard you were back, so I came to see him as well.”