Recently, several employees at the Mingde branch have been quite puzzled and started a small discussion during work:

A: “Hey, don’t you think there are some strange people around our company lately?”

B: “Strange people?”

A: “Yes, I’ve been running into these handsome guys a lot in the past few days. Today at work, I met one again. Apart from being a bit dark-skinned, he was tall and strong, and he looked a bit fierce. But before I could look closely, he disappeared in the blink of an eye.”

B: “You’ve been single for too long, haven’t you? Probably seeing things and imagining handsome guys.”

A: “Waaah, don’t blame me, blame the company! They’ve been feeding me ten pounds of food every month, where can I find a handsome guy?”

B: “What are we having for lunch today?”

A: “Ah, you asked the right person! Lunch today is braised pork with abalone sauce and dry pot tea tree mushrooms. I’ve been thinking about it for a whole week!”

---

In Linjiang, Jin Yaojiao returned to handle the final tasks and to avoid her father.

She found an employee who had followed her father to Shen City for the branch’s business.

Her father had inexplicably delayed his return to Linjiang, and afterward, he refused to discuss the details of the trip.

Jin Yaotiao had been wondering about it for a while.

As expected, the feedback from the employees was close to her suspicions—her father had been working alone in Shen City, and the delay was caused by some unforeseen paperwork issues.

He had never attended any gatherings related to the Shang family.

The Shang family’s brand, Zhenlong, had a strong foundation in Shen City, with a group of chefs trained by Shang’s patriarch, who were now somewhat famous in the country.

Industry insiders often mentioned the Shang family, and even the staff at Mingde, far away in Linjiang, knew of them.

However, her father never talked about his time with the Shang family, and very few people knew that he had spent more than ten years training with them.

But as a disciple who joined the family at a young age and returned to his own family in his twenties, the two families had been connected for generations, yet they hadn’t been in contact for years.

It would be naïve to believe there had been no issues between them.

However, Jin Yaotiao didn’t dwell on it.

After all, Mingde’s branch had never planned to rely on the Shang family.

Shen City’s market was vast, and no one was hindering anyone’s development. Mingde, being a small company, didn’t threaten the Shang family’s foundation, so they treated Mingde as non-existent, which suited her just fine.

But soon, she realized that her company wasn’t truly so insignificant.

The newly established Mingde marketing department reported some issues.

The promotion of their new store in Shen City seemed to have hit a snag, with several popular local food promotion channels rejecting their collaboration.

Jin Yaotiao felt uneasy and had a hunch: “Are there really people who won’t make money?”

The marketing department was puzzled: “Yes, we’ve been negotiating for so long, and even got to the stage of signing contracts. Suddenly, they all turned down the deal. It’s strange.”

While they were discussing this, the staff from Yinyan Restaurant reported another issue: a customer had caused some trouble in the restaurant, and there might be complaints or rumors online.

The company needed to prepare for the aftermath.

Yinyan had been open for so long, and all customers had spoken highly of it. Now, in Linjiang, it was one of the most famous local restaurants.

This was the first time they received negative feedback, and they were quite nervous about handling it.

Jin Yaotiao asked, “What happened?”

The staff stammered: “Well, the customer ate a dish and then ran to the bathroom to vomit. Manager Jin, we really followed your instructions, using only the freshest ingredients every day. There’s no way there’s a safety issue.”

Confident in the restaurant and the chefs she had trained, Jin Yaojiao furrowed her brows as she replied, “I’m coming over now.”

When she arrived at Yinyan, the table with the customer was still there. Many of the other diners were staring at them.

A girl was sitting in the corner crying, and the restaurant manager and her companions were surrounding her, offering comfort.

Jin Yaojiao had considered various possibilities on her way over—was there really an issue with the dish, or was someone causing trouble on purpose?

But when she saw the girl, she was taken aback because the girl was so thin.

Jin Yaotiao herself was slim, but her appearance was seen as a plus, whereas this girl truly looked like skin and bones.

The warmth in the restaurant made her backbones stick out clearly as she wiped away her tears.

Seeing Jin Yaotiao, the manager quickly explained, “Director Jin, please don’t worry. We’ve checked and found out that the customer was just experiencing morning sickness.”

The girl, realizing the attention she had drawn, cried even harder, apologizing to Jin Yaojiao: “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have gone out. People like me only cause trouble for others.”

---

Ye Baiqing felt incredibly embarrassed, as if she were a failure. Sitting there, she felt like she was sitting on needles, and she wished she could just vanish into a crack in the ground.

It wasn’t her first pregnancy, but because of her inability to eat during pregnancy, she had lost her baby in her last pregnancy due to a minor incident.

This time, both she and her family were overjoyed to learn she was pregnant again, and they immediately stopped all work so she could rest.

However, the familiar and intense pregnancy symptoms soon returned.

She had an even harder time this time, and she couldn’t even take the medicine prescribed by the hospital.

Her family and friends, concerned, urged her to eat for the baby, but she knew this herself.

Ever since falling in love with her husband, she had always dreamed of becoming a mother.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t keep any food down.

With the pressure mounting, she had been unable to sleep for several days.

Her family felt that this couldn’t go on, and to cheer her up, they took her on a short trip.

They ended up in Linjiang, where a local friend recommended a restaurant. Her family insisted on taking her to try it.

But it didn’t help—she still couldn’t eat.

The moment she smelled the food, she felt nauseous. Her mother-in-law enjoyed the braised oxtail but insisted that she try it too.

Her family had been complaining recently about her lack of appetite, and even though she wanted to refuse, she didn’t dare. She could only force herself to take a bite.

Sure enough, she threw up, and it caused quite a scene.

After vomiting, her body felt weak and drained, and the emotional toll made her want to cry.

Her mother-in-law couldn’t stand it anymore and, after trying to comfort her, finally blurted out: “You really have such a poor constitution. What if you lose the baby again? What will you do then?”

The moment Ye Baiqing heard this, her mind went blank.

Perhaps it was the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

She suddenly thought, “Why not just die? End all the suffering, whether it’s a miscarriage or vomiting. I won’t have to endure this pain anymore.”

Once this thought crossed her mind, she became clear-headed. She stopped crying, looked around at the people nearby, and, with a dizzy head, stood up and said, “Let’s go.”

She turned to apologize to the beautiful girl standing by, who seemed to have come specifically to solve the trouble she had caused: “I’m really sorry for causing you trouble.”

Just as she was about to leave to find a quiet place, the stranger suddenly called out, “Wait.”

Ye Baiqing looked at her, thinking the girl was going to blame her for disturbing the restaurant.

Jin Yaojiao looked at the pregnant woman, so thin that she seemed as if she might float away while walking, and sighed. “Stay here for a moment. I’ll get you something to eat.”

Ye Baiqing was taken aback, but the girl seemed very efficient.

After saying that, she turned and headed to the kitchen.

---

In the kitchen, Wang Sheng, the head chef of Yinyan, had just heard about the incident and felt a little guilty and worried. “I hope this doesn’t bring any bad effects to the restaurant. Maybe my skills aren’t enough.”

Jin Yaojiao reassured him, “It’s not your fault. Go back to work.”

The staff in the kitchen, upset by the unprovoked incident, started complaining quietly.

“Why come to a restaurant when you know you can’t eat?”

“Exactly, always causing trouble for others.”

Jin Yaojiao closed her eyes, interrupting them, “Stop talking. Bring me the jar.”

The staff stopped complaining and started working. Jin Yaojiao looked at the large jar they moved out and sighed.

The image of the girl’s thin, bony frame reminded her of her mother.

When her father passed away, her mother was devastated.

She developed cancer and also suffered from severe depression, leading to a complete loss of appetite. She became skeletal.

At that time, Jin Yaojiao tried different cooking methods every day, hoping her mother could eat a little more. Her culinary skills improved quickly, even faster than when she had focused on feeding Shen Qiming.

Her mother did manage to eat a bit more, and on some occasions, when she ate a dish she liked, she even smiled.

Later, when the media asked her about her expectations for her culinary skills, she thought for a moment and answered, “I hope my food can make people a little happier.”

Perhaps if her mother had eaten just a little bit more happiness, she wouldn’t have withered away so quickly.

Jin Yaojiao thought about this and, remembering her mother’s nagging from earlier that day, couldn’t help but smile.

The staff brought out the jar.

This time, it wasn’t pickled cabbage but pickled radishes and some ginger slices and pickled chili peppers.

On the other side, she prepared an old duck, blanched it, and only used a little oil to coat the pan.

She then sautéed the duck until the skin became golden and crispy, pressing out most of the fat.

After filtering the oil, she added the pickled ginger and chili peppers, stir-frying briefly.

Then, she added the pickled radishes, without any stock, just some mineral water and a little wine, until it covered the duck.

She then covered the pot to stew it.

When she opened the lid, the steam rose, and the duck, with its golden, crispy skin, was wrapped in the rich, sour, and spicy broth.

The smell was so inviting that even Jin Yaojiao felt her appetite returning.

Her mother had loved this dish the most.

Every time, she could eat at least half a bowl of rice, and she would also eat a lot of the pickled radish and ginger.

Looking at the bubbling pot, Jin Yaojiao’s gaze softened.

She turned to Wang Sheng, who had been taking pictures and sending them to Chef Tu: “Let the soup reduce further, and once the remaining oil is absorbed, have someone send it out.”