He loved this profession.

From a young age, he learned cooking from his father and was the third-generation disciple of the Shang family, one of the most outstanding talents among the younger generation.

His father was also the most active and respected chef in the Shang family, so he had always believed that he would inherit the true legacy of the Shang family, just like his father.

But after waiting for so long, he never expected the outcome to be like this.

Jin Yaotiao arrived with her father.

As she got out of the car, she was greeted by a group of elders.

After politely greeting them, she quickly sensed something was off.

Her gaze shifted, and she met the sharp eyes of a young man in the crowd.

He was handsome with delicate features, but his gaze was so sharp it made him seem difficult to approach.

After greeting her father, one of the elders introduced him, “Yaotiao, this is your second uncle’s son, Ma Le.”

Ma Le remained expressionless.

Jin Yaotiao noticed this and simply nodded in acknowledgment.

After entering, Ma Le walked at the back with a group of his peers.

He overheard some of his father’s disciples exclaiming—

“Wow, she’s a big beauty.”

Ma Le pressed his lips together and thought, You’re all happy now, but you won’t be in a minute.

And sure enough, his prediction came true.

Jin Yaotiao had barely sat down when her father’s disciples exchanged glances.

She was drinking tea when a book was suddenly slipped into her hands. “Yaotiao, take a look at this.”

Jin Yaotiao, confused, opened the book and found it was a cookbook.

The first page described a dish she had never heard of, immediately piquing her interest.

She flipped through it while asking, “What is this book?”

Several elders looked at each other with complicated expressions, but Jin’s father, upon seeing the handwriting in the cookbook, quickly reacted: “Isn’t this Master’s handwriting?”

Master?

Old Shang?

Jin Yaotiao raised her head to look at her second uncle, who smiled slightly and said, “Yes, Master personally wrote it and handed it to me before he left.”

Upon hearing this, a group of young disciples nearby immediately stirred, and Ma Le’s gaze grew sharper.

Jin Yaotiao had finished reading the first page and turned to the second, stopping when she reached a particular point: “What does this mean?”

Old Shang personally wrote it?

Then what is this cookbook…?

Jin’s father also realized the implications of his second brother’s words and was startled. “Master gave you the cookbook? Why didn’t he give it to me?”

He didn’t give it to himself or to Shang Rong, but instead, to his second disciple?

The other disciples who had just learned the truth fell silent, and the second brother sat down, pouring a cup of tea for Jin’s father.

He said softly, “Senior Brother, when Master gave me this cookbook, he said it was a family heirloom passed down by his ancestors. He told me I was the most talented among his disciples, which is why he chose me to pass it on. He asked me not to tell the others, so I wasn’t trying to hide it from you.”

Jin’s father seemed slightly affected but regained his composure.

Indeed, he knew that he wasn’t the most gifted disciple under Old Shang.

The Second Brother continued, “Senior Brother, Master wanted me to study this carefully and assist you in carrying on the Shang family legacy, but…”

“But unexpectedly, after Master passed away, the Shang family changed hands.”

Jin’s father shook his head. “Let’s not dwell on old history.”

Then he snapped back, “If Master asked you not to tell anyone, why are you revealing it now?”

The second disciple looked at him. “Master told me to find the next heir for this cookbook. I invited you here today to discuss this.”

Upon hearing this, the younger disciples in the room grew excited, their eyes full of anticipation as they looked towards the cookbook.

Only Ma Le remained expressionless.

Jin’s father glanced at the cookbook now in his daughter’s hands, still somewhat confused. “What does this mean?”

The second disciple put down his teapot and solemnly announced, “Senior Brother, I believe Yaotiao is the most suitable person.”

The room fell silent, the younger disciples’ excitement vanishing. Ma Le finally heard the words he least wanted to hear, his head buzzing with anger.

Jin’s father was equally surprised and sat up straight. “Yaotiao? With so many disciples in the Shang family, and you even have a son, why her?”

Ma Le’s father answered matter-of-factly, “What’s the point of having so many disciples? My son isn’t capable of carrying on the legacy. This inheritance belongs to Master, not to the Ma family. How could it go to him?”

To be so openly criticized by his father in front of the disciples, Ma Le nearly lost his temper.

Am I even your real son? Or was I adopted?

He then fixed his gaze on Jin Yaotiao, watching her white, slender fingers resting on the book’s pages.

Although they were beautiful, they didn’t lessen the intense anger building up in him.

Where did this scheming girl come from?

She must have charmed his father, poisoning him with some kind of potion to the point that he disregarded his own son.

But the next moment, this scheming girl actually closed the book, placed it back on the table, and said, “Thank you, Second Uncle, for thinking so highly of me, but I’m sorry, I cannot accept this inheritance.”

Jin’s father looked at his daughter, who had already reached out to pull him and his wife up.

She then politely nodded to the group of disciples. “Uncles, sorry, Mingde still has something to do, so we cannot stay longer. We will leave now.”

Jin Yaotiao finished speaking, gave the cookbook one last glance, and decisively left with her parents.

The room full of people, including Ma Le, was left stunned by her rejection.

Today, Jin’s father was quite shaken.

After leaving, he began to clear his head and realized what had happened.

He glanced back at his daughter and said, “Yiaotiao…”

That recipe had been left by Old Master Shang, and as Old Master Shang’s senior disciple, Jin’s father knew exactly what it meant.

Although Old Master Shang couldn’t leave heirs, if you traced back through the generations, they were all remarkable figures.

The recipe he left for a chosen successor, along with his secretive instructions, was no ordinary thing.

It contained the collective wisdom of the Shang family’s ancestors, and it was something of great value.

Jin Yiaotiao, holding her father’s hand with one hand and her mother’s with the other, quickly walked toward their car.

As they walked, she whispered, “Don’t mention it anymore, Dad. I won’t take it.”

Her father’s fellow disciples were all from the Shang family.

Even if they didn’t share the Shang surname, their work with the Shang family made them inseparable from it.

That recipe was indeed extraordinary.

Jin Yiaotiao had felt an incredible surge of inspiration when she saw the first page.

But there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

If she accepted that recipe today, it would be like tying herself to the Shang family from now on.

If she took something from them, how could she later demand anything from the treasures in their possession, like Zhenlong?

To her, food wasn’t just about business; it was about bringing happiness to herself and those she cared about. Even if she didn’t already have Mingde, she wouldn’t stop to such a low level just for the sake of profit.

Jin’s father sighed, knowing his daughter was thinking of him.

He was reluctant, but he said, “Yiaotiao, this is a great opportunity.”

Jin Yiaotiao got into the car and replied, “Unless Second Uncle and the others leave Zhenlong and have no connection to Mr. Shang anymore, then this opportunity is no longer tied to him. Otherwise, Dad, you are more important to me than these opportunities.”

---

Inside the house, Jin Yiaotiao left, and while the elders remained silent, the younger generation felt a sudden shift of fortune.

The young disciples of the second senior brother felt relieved and began to celebrate.

“Wow, good thing she didn’t agree.”

“Master is probably going to choose someone else now. Maybe it’ll be me.”

“Tch, just you? What a pipe dream. If Master chooses someone, it’s definitely going to be Lege. He’s not only Master’s son but also our eldest senior brother, and he’s the best among us.”

The young disciples spoke among themselves, and all turned their attention to Ma Le, the eventual victor.

However, Ma Le didn’t show the slightest sign of happiness in response to their gaze.

He pursed his lips and turned to leave.

Ah!!!

As he walked away, his mind was spinning with rage.

He was angrier than when he had heard his father criticize him in front of others.

The precious recipe that had gathered the wisdom of the Shang family’s ancestors—the very one he had dreamed of—was rejected?!

She actually refused it?!

Ah!!! He was livid!

He felt like smashing a wall.

He almost wanted to drag that ignorant girl back.

But as he rounded a corner, he suddenly heard someone on the phone.

“…Mr. Xia, here’s the situation. President Jin from Mingde has left…”

One of the younger disciples from the Shang family, as usual, had been quietly making a covert phone call in a corner to send a tip.

He turned around and widened his eyes in shock to find Ma Le standing just a few steps away, glaring at him.

“I knew someone was playing both sides,” Ma Le said in a slow, deep voice, his tone threatening.

He slowly rolled up his sleeves, giving off the aura of a brewing storm as he approached. “Turns out it’s you, the one who’s tired of living.”

After a thorough beating, Ma Le dragged the culprit downstairs and handed him over to his father.

He rolled his sleeves back down and started to walk away, still simmering with rage.

Ah! He was absolutely furious!

---

The Xia family eventually learned about the Shang family’s move to actively recruit from the Jin family’s younger generation.

The situation was chaotic, and it was impossible to describe in full detail.

When Old Madam Xia heard what Xia Ren had relayed, a wave of panic overwhelmed her, and she clutched her chest, nearly fainting.

---

Back at the company, Jin Yiaotiao put the recipe she had seen only a page of out of her mind.

She returned to her office, where she resumed reviewing the future development plan she had started for Mingde.

As she flipped through the company’s personnel records, she made modifications and adjustments to the plan.

After a while, she started to feel troubled.

It wasn’t for any particular reason; the main issue was that Mingde’s kitchen staff was a little too small.

Jin’s father had only left Master Tu as the sole successor. No matter how good Master Tu was at training apprentices, he couldn’t teach them everything, and there were only so many capable ones.

Among the more talented chefs, those like Wang Sheng, who could manage a restaurant as the head chef, were few.

Mingde had nearly ten restaurants under its three brand lines in Linjiang.

These establishments were already running smoothly, and there was no need to worry about them.

However, with the plans to quickly open more branches in Shenzhen, she needed to figure out where to transfer staff from and who to assign.

And the same problem would arise in other cities across the country. If Mingde wanted to maintain its pace, this challenge would never go away.

She stopped typing on her keyboard, rubbed her face, and sighed about the shortage of reliable ministers.

She hadn’t realized how underwhelming things were until now, as if facing a royal court where the officials were insufficient.

She reminded the HR department to look into the issue, but she was also aware that cultivating talent takes time.

She couldn’t help but briefly entertain an absurd thought:

If only a group of good chefs with solid experience could drop from the sky.