The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Jia Rundong was like an ant on a hot pan, pacing anxiously.

The matter, which was originally only being hotly discussed in the platform’s live broadcast room, somehow got pushed to the trending search. Even though it was at the very bottom of the real-time rising hot topics, it still made him feel scared.

He was in a frenzy, calling around to find connections.

But he had almost exhausted his contacts in this area. If they were of any use, last night’s live stream wouldn’t have proceeded smoothly to the end.

He prided himself on having a wide network, but he never expected that at this critical moment, he wouldn’t have a single friend who could help him solve the problem.

At the same time, everyone in the kitchen was quietly discussing the trending news.

The first to notice it were the front hall’s waiters, and soon, the news spread to everyone in the kitchen.

Within a single morning, the chat apps on everyone’s phones in the kitchen started buzzing.

All were from curious friends and relatives inquiring about the situation after hearing the news.

”Serves him right!” Sun Qingning gloated, ”That Mrs. Jia abusing their authority!”

”Among the leaders in our store, he’s the most unethical!” added another junior worker.

Everyone was talking about it, mocking and ridiculing, making Jia Rundong the target of everyone’s criticism in an instant.

Fu Yu didn’t participate in the discussion; he kept in mind what Yao Shi said last night and began using every moment to secretly study the special family dinner recipes, familiarizing himself with the various dishes and cooking methods.

Having such a cooking manual at hand, especially with a system backing him, he firmly believed that as long as he worked hard, he could achieve what Yao Shi mentioned about the future.

Meanwhile, Yao Shi took advantage of the idle time in the morning when no customers were around and stood in the open window of the corridor with Zhao Meng, smoking.

They had also heard about Jia Rundong being on the trending search.

The two joked for a while, then Zhao Meng started his bad habit of speaking out of turn: ”Watch, in the end, it’ll be you who has to come up with a solution! You’re almost like his dad, cleaning up his messes every day.”

Yao Shi couldn’t help but laugh at this and was about to joke along when his phone rang.

This guy really couldn’t be mentioned, as soon as he was brought up, the call came.

”Dong Jun Tian, right?” Zhao Meng laughed, ”Pick it up...”

”...” Yao Shi gave Zhao Meng a glance but didn’t pick up the call.

Eventually, the call ended, only to be dialed again shortly.

Zhao Meng said gleefully, ”With his temperament, if you don’t answer, he’ll keep calling non-stop.”

”... pulling this move again.”

Yao Shi knew there was no dodging it, if he didn’t answer, Dong Jun Tian would come looking for him.

He didn’t deliberately avoid Zhao Meng, cleared his throat, and answered the call, ”Boss, how come...”

On the other side, Dong Jun Tian started rattling off, ”Did you hear about Old Jia trending? Honestly! That Old Jia, really! Anyway, Yao Shi, do you have any connections to help suppress this? It’s almost National Day; if this blows up, it will definitely affect the store’s business!”

Yao Shi listened absentmindedly to Dong Jun Tian, and when he finished, reluctantly said, ”Oh dear, I don’t know many people in this regard, not sure if I can help...”

Dong Jun Tian interrupted, ”Yao Shi, just try to reach out, alright? I’ll think of something on my end too.”

”Alright.” Yao Shi restrained himself and said flatly, ”I’ll do my best.”

Dong Jun Tian, still anxious, reminded him a few more times before hanging up.

Zhao Meng chuckled, ”Didn’t I say so? What are you going to do about this?”

”Not my damn business.” Yao Shi smirked coldly, ”Previously, Jia Rundong messed with my subordinates, why didn’t he think of coming to say something to me then?”

Zhao Meng paused.

Yao Shi lazily smiled, ”I just promised to try my best, as for how I try, it depends on when I’m in the mood.”

He casually extinguished the cigarette butt, holding it in his hand, ”Let’s go, back to work. Didn’t you hear him say it’s almost National Day? I also have to start making arrangements.”

Zhao Meng took a deep drag on his cigarette before extinguishing it.

The two walked back.

Yao Shi remembered something and asked, ”You don’t have any temporary leave or reschedule, right?”

Zhao Meng replied, ”Not at the moment.”

Yao Shi nodded, ”Then let Fu Yu take a leave tomorrow; I plan to promote the ’Three Turn Banquet’ before the National Day.”

Zhao Meng had no objections, and the two discussed as they returned to the kitchen.

They went on with their tasks as usual.

Meanwhile, the online news continued to escalate.

Dong Jun Tian was calling his familiar friends one by one, pleading and entreating, to try to calm the situation.

Finally, he managed to get in touch with an old classmate who was a director.

The other party was in a small meeting with the screenwriter and answered the phone, sounding vague and confused, ”Huh? Who? What’s trending?”

With urgency, Dong Jun Tian explained the situation rapidly.

The other side spoke steadily and casually, ”Oh, I thought it was something big. What’s this? On my crew, halfway through filming, the leading actress got exposed for being someone’s mistress, trended for three days straight, and how did that end? Clarification statements were released, internet ghostwriters were hired, a few small leaders in the fan group got some sponsorships, and within a week, the matter was completely resolved.”

”...” Dong Jun Tian closed his eyes momentarily and forced himself to ask, ”I really don’t understand this... but can I handle my matter like this?”

The other party clearly didn’t take such minor gossip, which hadn’t even cracked the top twenty trending, seriously and said indifferently, ”Why not? Here’s the plan: I’ll give you the contact number for the PR department. Follow their instructions, and you’ll be done.”

Dong Jun Tian got the number, waited for the other side to give a head’s up, and promptly contacted the PR department leader.

The person on the other side got straight to the point, ”In your case, you shouldn’t clarify or hire ghostwriters to divert the topic. As for deleting malicious comments, it probably won’t have much effect. People are very antagonistic and disgusted by incidents of cutting in line; it easily resonates with everyone.”

”So, my suggestion is to respond immediately, but not with a clarification, rather, directly issue a disciplinary notice from your store. Since it’s a front hall manager violating store regulations, let him bear the appropriate punishment, but this punishment must be heavy enough; otherwise, it can’t quell the anger of the netizens.”

”Additionally, the chef who bravely refused to cave under managerial pressure and insisted on serving in order should be rewarded handsomely.”

”This way, you can change the public’s current perception of your restaurant, and then you can take advantage of the momentum to launch a National Day promotion, which can not only perfectly resolve this issue but also take advantage of the buzz for free advertising for your restaurant.”

Dong Jun Tian listened in awe.

No wonder the person could become the leader of PR; being professional makes all the difference!