The Mingde official account was flooded with numerous inquiries about the authenticity of the rumors.

Ultimately, the news was confirmed on the Shangjia Zhenlong official account. It seemed that Shangjia had run out of options.

With no one in the industry supporting them, they turned to the internet, publishing a long article accusing their former disciples.

The article began by denouncing the departure of Second Senior Brother and others. It then accused them of taking away what was rightfully Shangjia’s legacy.

The article made an emotional appeal, detailing how Shangjia had treated these disciples with great care over the years, only for them to turn their backs on the family, breaking Shangjia’s heart.

In the final section, the article hinted at Mingde, implying that Mingde had taken Shangjia’s heritage.

The provocative article quickly stirred up anger online, with many netizens blaming Mingde for being unscrupulous:

“No matter what, it’s someone else’s legacy. I can understand normal business competition, but stealing someone’s heritage is just too much!”

“These chefs have no conscience! Zhenlong treated them so well, and they just left without hesitation, without any regard!”

However, Mingde now had its own fanbase, many of whom had been brought in by Jin Yaotiao through her work with Huaxia Zhenxiu.

These followers were not easily swayed by a one-sided article, and they quickly mobilized to defend Jin Yaotiao and Mingde, starting heated online debates.

Soon, the situation escalated. Jin Yaotiao, unwilling to let her company be tarnished, did not sit idly by.

Before Mingde could officially respond, Second Senior Brother and others, unable to bear the situation any longer, released an official statement through the Shenzhen Culinary Association.

When they had left Shangjia, they had done so quietly, wanting to leave some dignity for the family.

However, it seemed that Shangjia was intent on tightening the noose around them.

Now that they were at Mingde, any attack on them would inevitably harm Mingde.

To protect the company, their remaining sense of obligation was finally completely gone.

The truth about Shang Rong’s identity had already begun to spread, and in the statement, Second Senior Brother and others fully addressed the rumors, revealing their life under Shangjia’s rule.

Every day, they were caught up in competitions and work, with almost no time off.

Although Shangjia offered generous salaries, they were still considered standard industry pay.

However, their lives were much more strained compared to chefs at the same level because Shangjia did not value the apprentices they brought up.

While it was understood that these apprentices were meant to work for Shangjia in the future, Shangjia was unwilling to offer them decent pay until they officially joined.

As a result, these masters had to subsidize their apprentices, spending a significant portion of their own income just to ensure their disciples lived decently.

For years, they had put in their best efforts to train generation after generation of apprentices for Shangjia. But Shangjia had never recognized their sincerity.

In fact, they had even bribed the apprentices around them, spying on their every move.

This was not just a claim—it had evidence.

Ma Le, who had always been keen on rooting out spies in the school, had taken action before leaving Shangjia, thoroughly dealing with the “moles” around his father.

Afterward, he confiscated various items his father had bought for these ungrateful people, including several mobile phones.

Inside the phones were messages from bribed apprentices communicating with the Xia family, and these messages were posted online as proof.

The internet was shocked.

Was this some sort of spy war?

For outsiders, the revelation that Shang Rong was not the biological son of Shang Lao seemed absurd enough, but the exchange of spy-like messages was even more dramatic.

Even industry insiders were stunned by the turn of events.

But the focus of Shangjia’s accusations was clear.

They had long known that Shang Rong’s true heritage could not remain hidden.

Their real objective was to recover the cookbook.

No matter how much the internet ridiculed their claims, Zhenlong stuck to its story, insisting that Second Senior Brother and the others had given the cookbook to Mingde.

This was a strategic move, an attempt to drag Mingde down with them, even at the cost of damaging their own reputation.

If Mingde didn’t want to get involved with Shangjia, they would have no choice but to return the cookbook to Shangjia.

Shangjia was confident that reclaiming the cookbook would give them a chance to breathe. In the world of culinary arts, ancient books were highly valued.

With the cookbook, they might be able to attract renowned chefs to join Zhenlong, helping Shangjia recover and rise again.

At Mingde, Jin Yaotiao shook her head as she watched Shangjia’s desperate attempts to drag her company down through various tactics.

Since officially joining Mingde, Ma Le had repeatedly tried to convince Jin Yaotiao to accept the cookbook.

Even before Shangjia had resorted to these extreme measures, Jin Yaotiao had refused.

To be honest, she wasn’t particularly keen on becoming Shangjia’s heir.

She was only interested in the cookbook because it could provide her with new inspirations for her cooking. But the title of heir to Shang Lao had no benefits for her.

In fact, it could cause more harm than good.

First, it would muddy Mingde’s identity.

Having a father already involved in the culinary world was enough.

Although her father had learned from Shang Lao, he had never participated in the company’s recipe development.

Mingde’s current success had nothing to do with Shangjia.

She, however, was in a different situation.

If she accepted the cookbook, what would her external identity be?

Would she remain Jin Yaotiao, or would she be known as Shang Lao’s heir?

This identity would bring her a bit of industry recognition in Shenzhen, but Mingde already had enough of that.

So what would be the point of accepting the title?

Was it to gain favor with the Xia family, whom she despised?

Placing the box with the cookbook on the table, the expressions of Second Senior Brother and the others were serious.

Jin Yaotiao smiled at them and said frankly, “Second Master, to be honest, I really don’t want to accept this cookbook.”

Second Senior Brother closed his eyes, and Ma Le, frustrated and anxious, responded, “All for Shangjia? But if you don’t accept it, as long as the cookbook stays with us, Shangjia will claim you took it. Are we really going to give it back to them?”

Second Senior Brother, having reached his breaking point with Shangjia, immediately retorted, “Impossible!”

Even if it meant leaving Mingde to avoid causing trouble for the company, he would never allow the heirloom of his master to fall into the hands of the corrupt Xia family.

The senior disciples all had serious expressions on their faces.

Jin Yaotiao could roughly guess how they were planning to solve the problem.

She looked at the second elder and the others, puzzled: “Why are you all so adamant about making me the heir? Why not directly pass it to Ma Le or another disciple?”

Second Senior Brother looked at her, then sighed with a wry smile after a moment: “They can’t do it, and neither can I Jin Yaotiao, our greatest wish these years, along with your uncles, has been to carry on the master’s name, to let more people know about the achievements of his ancestors. But after so many competitions, we still haven’t succeeded. Everyone knows Shang Jia’s Zhenlong, but no one knows the true Master Shang. If any disciple around him had the talent to carry the school forward, why would I have kept this recipe book for decades?”

Jin Yaotiao thought for a moment, then asked in confusion: “Don’t you want more people to know about Shang Laoshi, to see this recipe? Wouldn’t that be faster?”

The second elder was stunned.

“Let more people see it?”

He had never considered that option.

Jin Yao Tiao looked at them, sighing.

Many of the country’s ancient cultures might have been lost this way, passed down through generations only to be cut off by one generation after another.

For example, this recipe book.

Even though the second elder and the others couldn’t master it themselves, nor could their younger disciples, they would never let outsiders see what was written inside, fearing that others might learn it.

But would it really harm them if someone learned the contents of the recipe?

Actually, it wouldn’t, because they hadn’t been able to fully utilize the skills from the book when they traveled the world.

The world is vast, and the people they could reach are just a drop in the ocean.

Had they not met her, the recipe’s fate might have been one of searching for an heir generation after generation, but never finding one, ultimately being sealed away or destroyed, forgotten, and no one knowing what was written inside.

Yet, she happened to meet them, and she felt that the recipe wasn’t so irreplaceable.

Her current skills were forged through her own insight, effort, and passion for cooking, with no connection to inheritance.

The same dish made by her, by the Second Senior Brother, or by Ma Le, would all taste different.

This proves that the recipe was merely a finishing touch. Its purpose was only to be realized in oneself, which was truly a pity.

Jin Yaotiao said, “Second Master, although Master Shang didn’t leave behind a bloodline, perhaps one day his heirs will be found all over the country.”

The second elder stared at her for a long while before finally chuckling.

“You’re right, Yaotiao.”

While everyone was eating popcorn and gossiping, the disciples of Master Shang, who had been relentlessly pursued by the Shang family, suddenly spoke up.

They announced that they would officially publish the recipe left by Shang Laoshi, and after its publication, they would donate the ancient text to the Shenzhen Museum.

Once the news broke, the entire culinary world was in shock, unable to believe they would do something so generous.

After issuing the announcement, the second elder and the others once again clarified through the Culinary Association why they wouldn’t hand the recipe back to the Shang family, and how they had repeatedly tried to convince Jin Yao Tiao to let more people see Master Shang’s hard work.

As a result, the Shang family’s attack seemed to hit a soft target, and people in the culinary world were deeply moved, with many even stepping forward to criticize the Shang family.

Fans who had always supported Ming De were extremely proud, rushing to the Ming De account to cheer:

【President Jin!!! The support club is here!!!! We weren’t wrong about you!!!!!!】

【I knew Ming De could never be that kind of person!!!】

【President Jin is amazing!!!!】

【I love you, President Jin!!!!】

Even bystanders were left speechless.

When they saw the Shang family’s complaint, they couldn’t help but feel embarrassed for them:

What is this picture?

Complaining in circles without gaining anything, only to have their gossip spread, discussing who the boss’s father really is.

The Shang family couldn’t stop talking about the recipe, which they seemed to cherish like their eyes, almost as if they wanted to swallow Ming De alive for it.

Yet Mingde didn’t even care.

Netizens from Linjiang spoke up to mock:

【To be honest, Ming De has deep roots here in Linjiang. They’re no worse than the Shang family. How could they even care about their stuff?】

【Exactly. Ming De has its own culinary style. They have no ties with the Shang family. Ming De is the pride of Linjiang!】

---

In the Shang family, Old Lady Xia was nearly driven mad: “Publish?! Publish?! How dare they publish?!”

Once the recipe was published, it would be known to everyone, and how much could it be worth then?

They had hoped to retrieve the recipe to attract chefs from the culinary world to Zhen Long, but that idea was crushed.

Anyone could buy it at a bookstore, so who would be willing to sell themselves to the Shang family?

But misfortune never comes alone.

Not only did the news of the Shang family’s ancestral recipe’s publication make them upset, but the chefs who had been striking at the company all walked out!

A relative from the Xia family called, almost in tears: “They saw the second elder’s announcement and learned how the masters have been treated at the Shang family all these years. Now, these stubborn mules won’t work anymore!”

The third-generation apprentices at the Shang family had all been nurtured from nothing by the second elder and the others.

The grievances had never been spoken by the masters, and only now did they realize the truth.

Would they stay at the Shang family now?

No way!

They’d join Ming De!

With their departure, the stores of the Shang family that were temporarily closed might never open again.

Old Lady Xia listened in a daze, looking at her silent son.

“It’s fine,” she murmured to her son. “We still have the Shang family, Zhen Long, and the Xia family. Those outsiders are nothing…”

But just then, she received a call from Xia Ren.

“Aunt,” came Xia Ren’s cautious voice, “How much working capital do you have left? How much of the company’s shares can you buy back?”

Old Lady Xia froze, then coldly asked, “What do you mean by that?”

Xia Ren, usually sweet-tongued, was silent for a moment before awkwardly laughing: “Aunt, I’m a bit short on cash lately. Can you redeem the Zhen Long shares for cash? Even at a discounted price?”

Old Lady Xia listened, raising her hand to clutch her chest. Her vision darkened.

A few seconds later, Shang Rong, who had been staring out the window, suddenly heard the sound of someone collapsing to the ground.