After working so hard for so long, it was finally time to reap the rewards.

However, there was still one unresolved matter.

After the storm had subsided, Jin Yaotiao received the analysis report her cousin had prepared for her and squinted as she read it.

She felt something wasn’t quite right.

During the previous online spat, some of the voices attacking Mingde seemed organized and premeditated.

Certain media outlets, which clearly had been paid, seemed more interested in attacking Mingde than in the documentary itself.

In theory, Lin Miao’s real opponent was the documentary and Jia Bingyang, not Mingde, so it didn’t make sense to focus so much fire on attacking Mingde.

Even now, when Lin Miao had already been defeated, there were still voices reluctant to give up.

They didn’t dare attack the documentary directly, but instead subtly suggested that while Lin Miao deserved to fall, that didn’t mean Mingde’s attempts to buy their way into the documentary were justified.

After all, it was the country’s first food documentary, and Mingde’s money had been a major reason why the two directors had parted ways.

Even though Lin Miao was a despicable person, Mingde had used such underhanded methods, which disturbed the rules of the food industry and didn’t take the promotion of food culture seriously.

With the big patriotic hat thrown in, it almost sounded reasonable.

Jin Yaotiao didn’t believe they would dare to stir up trouble without financial backing.

In Shenzhen, Old Lady Xia specifically cleared the entire second floor of her restaurant and invited managers she was familiar with from the local catering association to attend the meeting.

Shenzhen’s economy is prosperous, and its local catering association is also quite large, gathering nearly all the well-known catering professionals in the city.

The influence of this group is even comparable to the chambers of commerce in small cities.

Whether it’s related to publicity, food competitions, or other such events, you can always see the members of the association in the spotlight.

News that Mingde would soon open multiple restaurants in Shenzhen reached the ears of the Shang family, and they truly lost sleep over it.

Despite her old age, Old Lady Xia even learned to use a smartphone and was furious when she heard that a documentary invested by Mingde had won an award in a heated competition—she was so upset that she couldn’t even eat her meal.

Xia Ren was also troubled, but in a way, he was a little happy: “The director of another film is a fake foreigner, serves him right. Aunt, don’t get so worked up.”

Old Lady Xia ignored him, wiping her tears, and Xia Ren tried to comfort her: “The documentary we invested in is fine, but that doesn’t mean Mingde will benefit from it. We have the leverage. I’ve invited a friend today; if we come up with a plan, we can definitely isolate Mingde in Shenzhen. No matter how they jump around, our catering association is the most exclusive. Anyone trying to take what’s ours will be drowned in spit.”

Old Lady Xia felt a little better after hearing that.

The guest who came was indeed Xia Ren’s friend, the vice president of the Shenzhen Catering Association, a position of considerable but quiet influence. Xia Ren had recently lost many friends, so he cherished the ones he had left, grabbing this vice president and drinking with him eagerly.

After a few rounds of drinks, Xia Ren brought up his request and took out his phone to show the vice president.

The vice president, a little drunk, squinted at the screen, and immediately recognized the image: “This is Huaxia Delicacies, right?”

This documentary had become extremely popular recently, and it was almost impossible for anyone in the food industry not to have seen it.

The vice president not only recognized it but also commented: “So, you’re watching this documentary too? It’s well made. That guy named Lin, what a joke, saying that our national dishes are greasy—go to hell with him.”

Xia Ren immediately shifted the focus: “Exactly, that fake foreigner!”

The two of them cursed Lin Miao for a while, getting more and more worked up.

Then the vice president remembered: “By the way, you showed me this to tell me something?”

Xia Ren cleared his throat awkwardly: “Ah, forget about the picture, look at the article, read the article.”

The vice president read carefully and realized the article was talking about Mingde’s unfair competition, which ran through the entire Huaxia Delicacies documentary.

The writer of the article made their stance clear: they supported the documentary but did not approve of Mingde’s actions, even labeling Mingde as the only blemish in the entire film:

“Huaxia Delicacies is excellently made, but unfortunately, it got tainted with unscrupulous interests. Mingde, as the main focus of the film, did well, but I believe any other restaurant could have performed just as well. I understand the director’s helplessness due to lack of funds, and I don’t blame him. I am grateful that he still gave us such an outstanding work in the face of adversity. My only complaint is with Mingde and the capital behind it, using dirty tactics to pollute this pure land and coercing a director with dreams. Thankfully, talent will always shine. The director, despite the struggles, succeeded through his own work, and I wish him freedom from constraints in the future, creating what he truly desires.”

The vice president sighed, “It’s really well written.”

Xia Ren thought to himself, “Of course, you should know how much this article cost me,” and said aloud, “Yes, it’s painful to watch. The catering industry is getting more and more restless. Just recently, didn’t Mingde announce that they would open a large number of branches in Shenzhen? People like us, working diligently, can’t compete with their capital operations.”

The vice president glanced at him and chuckled: “I remember this Mingde company isn’t on good terms with your Shang family’s Zhenlong, right?”

The Shang family had not hidden this feud.

“Family matters should not be aired in public,” Xia Ren laughed, “It’s a small grudge, nothing to mention.”

The vice president nodded knowingly: “Although Mingde just came to Shenzhen, with the documentary as advertising, their reputation is bound to rise. You’ll have to be prepared.”

Xia Ren replied, “What’s the big deal if their reputation rises? It’s not like they have a good reputation. Haven’t they not joined our local association yet?”

The vice president thought for a moment and shook his head with a smile: “Our president is too stubborn. If he knew about this, he definitely wouldn’t allow them to join.”

The two exchanged a knowing smile. Before leaving, Xia Ren politely handed the vice president a bank card. The vice president drunkenly refused at first, but then quietly said, “I’ll find a way to let the president know.”

The next day, the vice president woke up with a hangover, gleefully examining the bank card. He then called the president.

The president of the Shenzhen Catering Association was an elderly overseas Chinese with a great reputation in the industry.

He was regularly invited as a fixed guest at the country’s most prominent food competitions.

He was proud and stubborn, never lacking money or status, and he wouldn’t change his mind once he was set on something.

Given the current reputation of Mingde, the vice president felt that fulfilling Xia Ren’s request would be easy.

When the president answered the phone, his tone was authoritative: “What is it?”

The vice president had already prepared his pitch: “President, I wanted to talk to you about Mingde. Have you heard of this company?”

The president, not being active in public lately, didn’t know about Mingde, but to the vice president’s surprise, he responded with a laugh: “Oh, I’ve seen their news. You’ve seen it too, huh?”

The vice president was startled: “News? You’ve seen it?”

Had he seen the articles online? And why did the president sound like this?

The president laughed: “Haha, yes, I just found out that they actually have a branch here in Shenzhen. What a pity their headquarters is in Linjiang. It’s too bad, those Linjiang guys get to enjoy the benefits.”

The vice president was stunned: “…”

He cautiously replied, “Right.”

Then, in a rush, he opened his computer to search for news about Mingde.

His eyes widened in shock.

In the time he spent drunk, the latest updates related to Mingde had already been posted online.

The director of the Huaxia Delicacies documentary, after the dispute, had accepted a public interview and mentioned the earlier viral article as well as his investor, Mingde’s vice chairman, Jin Yaotiao.

In the interview, the director, visibly upset, calmly explained: “I’m not good at public relations, so after that article came out with many false rumors about me, I never thought to clarify it. After all, truth will prevail in the end. But I didn’t expect that, even though the program team and I got through the tough times, some people on the internet still believe the rumors in that article, thinking that Chairman Jin was using capital to threaten me. Even some of my supporters thought so. If I ignore this now, I would be ashamed of myself!”

He didn’t leave any face for himself, detailing his past hardships and exposing everything to the public.

How he reached Linjiang with Lin Miao, how they parted ways, how he was once ready to give up on his dreams, and how he tasted dumplings and tangyuan Jin Yaoqiao distributed outside a nursing home during her charity work.

The events that had happened so long ago were still vivid in his mind.

Jia Bingyang spoke with tears in his eyes, choking up several times, from trying to introduce Jin Yaotiao to the filming team for a warm meal, to her generously investing in him, a penniless director.

“Chairman Jin is my benefactor, my muse. Without her, there would be no documentary, and there would be no me today.”

His words, spoken with red eyes, were picked up by many major websites as headlines.

Online, fans of the documentary, who had been supporting the film, suddenly began to support Jin Yaoqiao and Mingde as well:

“[Crying, Yangyang, don’t cry, it’s all over]”

“Wow, I didn’t realize Huaxia Delicacies almost didn’t get made. Thanks to Mingde for giving us this opportunity!”

“Chairman Jin in the documentary was really beautiful. I never believed she could be the greedy businesswoman described in that article. She’s truly kind-hearted and beautiful. She’s my goddess from now on!”

“Yeah, Chairman Jin is beautiful, and the main storyline of Mingde in the documentary was so heartwarming. Watching her cook made me feel happy.”

“As a person from Linjiang, I’m so proud! Linjiang has Mingde and someone like Chairman Jin. Linjiang’s pride! Linjiang’s pride!”

“When are they going public? I’ll buy stocks to support them.”

“Chairman Jin, I love you! Please start a Weibo! I want to send you my little hearts!”

“This documentary really wasn’t just the director’s work. It was thanks to investors like Chairman Jin and Mingde that such a poor director could get support.”

The vice president looked at these comments and slowly swallowed. On the phone, the president was still watching the news, with Jia Bingyang’s sobbing in the background.

The president was deeply moved, then suddenly asked, “By the way, what did you want to talk to me about?”

The vice president looked at the bank card in his hand, feeling it was now too hot to handle. “Well, I discovered that Mingde isn’t part of our association. Even though their headquarters is in Linjiang, they have a branch here in Shenzhen. I just wanted to recommend them to you and invite them to join us.”