They were in the same industry, and Lei Qiu didn’t need to make enemies for her.

Lei Qiu ignored her.

Cheng Chen: “…” What’s going on between you two?

What about that meeting I had with Lei Laoshi? What about the club I went to that day?

Lin Miao, feeling utterly defeated, asked: “Who are you?”

“Lei Qiu,” Lei Qiu replied. “Director Lin, you’ve met me before.”

She had met with Lin Miao when the project team arrived in Linjiang, along with some of the local station’s mid-level leadership.

The higher-ups had expressed interest in promoting her and had specially introduced her to Lin Miao.

Lin Miao pursed his lips, remembering.

Although Lei Qiu was just a small leader from a local station, he couldn’t really control her.

He could only sneer, “It’s you. The one Director Wu mentioned who might be interested in collaborating with our team?”

Lei Qiu sneered back: “Director Lin, you’re flattering me. I’m just muddling through at the local station. I wouldn’t dare expect anything from a team like yours from Beijing.”

Lin Miao’s face turned green with envy. Lei Qiu raised her arm and ushered Jin Yaotiao out, whispering, “Don’t take it to heart. He’s just a fool.”

Jin Yaotiao hadn’t expected to walk into a battlefield, but after seeing this spectacle, she couldn’t help but sigh: “Lei Jie, why are you doing this for me…”

“It’s not just for you.” Lei Qiu scoffed, “He’s been calling Chinese food greasy all the time. I’ve been holding it in for a while. It’s just disgraceful. You can just ignore what he says, it’s nonsense.”

Jin Yaotiao smiled and nodded, already deciding not to take it personally.

Lei Qiu glanced back: “I don’t agree with his way of thinking. I hesitated before about whether I should try to work with his team. Now, I think it’s better not to. Even if I did join, I’d eventually offend him.”

The two walked further away, and the argument continued in the background.

Lin Miao’s voice rose, “You’ve got no shame! Do you really think you can control me just because you’re the assistant director? I’ll call and have you kicked out!”

---

Jia Bingyang slammed the conference room door with a loud bang, and Lin Miao, still fuming, struggled to catch his breath, baring his teeth as he collapsed into his chair, clutching his chest.

Cheng Chen took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on, walking over to comfort him with a neutral expression: “Director Lin, don’t take it to heart. Arguments are inevitable.”

“I just don’t get it! Why did that guy drag a mysterious company into this? Is he out of his mind?” Lin Miao was still upset, but Cheng Chen knew how to handle him, offering sarcastic remarks to help him breathe more easily.

But Lin Miao still felt unsatisfied and wanted to keep complaining: “What did that Ming… Ming something’s Miss Jin give him? What benefits did she give him?”

Cheng Chen, making up a story, replied: “Maybe she gave him money.”

“It’s not enough that he gets paid to act like a dog. He keeps talking about coming from a family of famous chefs and even slammed the table at me.” Lin Miao thought of Jin Yaoqiao’s sarcastic smile when she stood at the door earlier. With the most malicious intent, he guessed, “That General Manager Jin looks quite beautiful. A young woman can climb to this position; perhaps… hehe.”

His comrade Cheng Chen blurted out, “Not to that extent.”

Lin Miao: “???”

What side are you on?

Cheng Chen, who was leaning back in his chair just like him, didn’t think too much about it. He casually pointed toward the door and said, “Someone like Director Jia, do you really think Jin Yaoqiao would take a liking to him? Director Lin, you’re overestimating him.”

Lin Miao: “……”

Lin Miao took a sip of hot water, feeling complicated.

It was a feeling like they were speaking up for him, but it didn’t quite feel satisfying.

---

The poor Jia Bingyang later found Jin Yaoqiao to apologize. “Sorry, General Manager Jin, I overestimated my influence on the set. I shouldn’t have asked you to go to the broadcasting and television administration before we discussed the outcome.”

Now, with a single phone call from the station, he was kicked out of the project, and several of his loyal friends followed him out as well.

He was really unfortunate. Jin Yaoqiao couldn’t help but feel a little sympathy for him, but thinking about the fierce fans he would attract from a certain historical drama, she still patted his arm and comforted him, “It’s okay, it’s just a temporary setback. Director Jia, you have talent. You’ll definitely have your day.”

Jia Bingyang, feeling dejected, nodded to thank her for her kindness and sighed, “I really can’t accept this.”

If there was nothing he wanted to make, then leaving would have been fine.

But now that he had the draft of his own work, unable to realize it, it left him with a feeling of regret.

He and his friends, who were carrying the equipment, were preparing to leave.

Before they left, he glanced at the customers in the restaurant and looked at them with longing.

These were the people who had given him the inspiration for his work, and he was truly grateful.

His brain may have short-circuited for a moment, and before he realized it, he had already asked, “General Manager Jin, before I leave, can I shoot some footage in your restaurant?”

Jin Yaoqiao was stunned for a moment. It wasn’t that she was very opposed to it, but she said, “We still have business to do.”

“I’ll talk to the customers. I won’t shoot wide shots, just individual ones. Whoever is willing to be filmed, I won’t disturb your business,” Jia Bingyang eagerly requested.

Jin Yaoqiao spread her hands and, seeing his sincerity, casually agreed.

Jia Bingyang then went outside to talk to the customers waiting in line.

Of course, there were some who didn’t want to be filmed, and he quickly apologized and gave up on them.

After asking a few people, he found several customers who looked like a family and agreed.

One elderly woman with dentures was especially happy: “Really? I can be on TV? I’ve never been on TV before!”

From her accent, it seemed she was from another region.

Jia Bingyang felt a little embarrassed: “I can’t guarantee it.”

But the elderly woman was very happy, thinking being filmed was an honor. Her family members saw this and agreed to let her do it.

Just as the customers were about to be called in, Jin Yaoqiao, concerned about the filming, asked the waiter to find a spacious and discreet spot.

Jia Bingyang and his friends quickly set up the equipment, and it didn’t interfere with the business in the restaurant.

She was standing nearby, keeping an eye on them, but just as this family was about to order, the elderly woman looked at the menu and asked, “Do you have anything a little spicier?”

Jin Yaoqiao heard her accent and said, “You’re from the southwest, aren’t you?”

The elderly woman smiled, “Yes, my son works here, and he brought me over to retire.”

She ordered the newly introduced sauerkraut fish, and Jin Yaoqiao thought for a moment before saying, “Locals don’t eat much spicy food, so we control the spice level in our restaurant. If you like, we can make it spicier for you.”

The elderly woman smiled, “That sounds good.”

---

Jin Yaoqiao let Jia Bingyang and his helpers into the kitchen, and before they started, she asked them to disinfect themselves and their equipment thoroughly.

Afterward, Jia Bingyang was dressed in a clean chef’s robe. When he entered, he saw Jin Yaoqiao had opened a deep jar. He asked, “What is this?”

The cleanliness of Mingde Restaurant was always up to par.

Even with an unexpected filming, the place was spotless.

Jia Bingyang was impressed by the hygienic conditions and admired the setup.

As soon as the lid was removed, he was immediately hit with the sour smell.

Jin Yaoqiao explained, “This is our own pickled sauerkraut, aged long enough.”

With the pricing of the dishes at Yin Yan Restaurant, such finely crafted ingredients were well within reach. She was picky about cooking.

Even pickling sauerkraut involved great effort, and the restaurant even had to collaborate with a local workshop for this purpose.

Master Tu, who was preparing to return to the Xunxiang Restaurant soon, was on his last day helping out. He was typically stern and expressionless, as though he were an old potato about to sprout.

But when he worked, his skills were impeccable.

He quickly sliced a whole fish with the precision of a master.

Jin Yaoqiao introduced, “This fish is specially selected for our restaurant. It’s perfect for making sauerkraut fish—low on bones, tender meat, and more delicious than the common black fish.”

Jia Bingyang was stunned, and as the machine captured the scene, he assumed that Master Tu, who looked like an experienced chef, would be the one filleting the fish.

To his surprise, after preparing the ingredients, Master Tu stepped aside and gestured for Jin Yaoqiao to take the lead.

Jia Bingyang asked, “Aren’t you the head chef?”

Master Tu, embarrassed, stiffened even more, looking like a piece of pickled vegetable about to be chopped: “I usually am, but when she’s here, I’m not.”

Jin Yaoqiao calmly took the pan.

After the fish fillets were marinated in wine, she used a mix of rice wine and other ingredients, which many other restaurants wouldn’t use.

The fish was lightly fried, then added to the sauerkraut.

The aroma filled the air, and the stock, which had been simmering for who knows how long, was poured into the pot, making the fish soup thick and flavorful.

As the fish cooked, the spicy oil with fresh chilies and Sichuan peppercorns crackled in the oil. With a glance, her assistant immediately added the chili oil she had prepared.

The fish fillets, after only being boiled for a few seconds, were ready to be served, and the hot oil was poured over the ingredients, releasing a burst of fragrance.

Jin Yaoqiao finished the dish and wiped her hands with a towel, still looking neat and pristine. “It’s ready.”

Jia Bingyang was stunned. The whole process had been so efficient that it didn’t even seem real.

He smelled the fragrant aroma, and although his mood was bad, he felt a little hungry.

But he couldn’t eat it. He moved to the customer’s table instead.

The sauerkraut fish was a new dish, and many customers hadn’t tried it yet.

The scent made them look over, some even asking the waiters what it was.

The elderly woman at the table sniffed the air, grinning. “This smells even better than the one at home.”

Her son laughed, “Of course! Yin Yan is such a great restaurant; how could anything be bad here?”

The elderly woman, without hesitation, took the first bite on camera. She wasn’t nervous, likely captivated by the dish in front of her.

The fish fillet was thin but firm, not falling apart, and you could almost feel its freshness just by looking at it. The sour soup mixed with the oil made it hot and soft on the tongue, releasing flavor immediately.

The elderly woman made a sound of surprise, but didn’t comment. She took a second bite, this time pulling out a piece of sauerkraut.

After cooking, the sauerkraut was thin and tender, every wrinkle soaking up the soup. Jia Bingyang watched the shiny fish soup sliding off the leaf of the sauerkraut.

Lin Miao would call all this “greasy.”

At that moment, he smelled the sour and fresh aroma, but he only felt his stomach growl.

The elderly woman suddenly put down her chopsticks. Jia Bingyang, thinking something had gone wrong, turned around in a hurry.

But the elderly woman wiped her eyes, saying, “This sauerkraut… it tastes just like the old pickled vegetables back home… You can’t find this flavor anywhere else.”

“That’s not a bad thing, is it?” Her son, surprised, asked, “It tastes good, so just eat a few more bites. What’s wrong? You don’t like it?”

“I do like it,” the elderly woman said with a smile that was almost tearful. She took a spoon and ladled some fish soup into her son’s bowl, “This restaurant really is delicious. It just… reminds me of your dad, reminds me of home. He’s been gone for so long…”

“Back in the day, when he was still alive, he loved to eat sauerkraut. It’s a pity I couldn’t make it that well. If your father were still around, and could eat something so delicious, he’d definitely be overjoyed.”

The son opened his mouth, and his eyes instantly welled up with tears.

He couldn’t say anything, so he simply lowered his head and drank the soup.

As soon as it touched his lips, he broke into a smile. “It really is delicious. Dad would definitely love it.”

The old lady sat quietly by the side, watching her son drink the soup, a soft smile on her face.