The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 477 Plans and Intentions

"really!"

Upon hearing Song Yu's answer, Qin Lang perked up. "The relationship between Hai Sheng Yan's head chef and Wang Lixuan is not simple."

Previously, at Hai Sheng Yan, the waiter accidentally let slip that the head chef's surname was Zhao, and Wang Lixuan happened to have a junior apprentice with the surname Zhao.

In addition, the two have an astonishing similarity in their cooking...

Without a doubt, the head chef of Hai Sheng Yan is Wang Lixuan's junior apprentice.

"Besides this, what else did you find out?" Qin Lang asked excitedly.

"Uh..." Song Yu's tone was tinged with embarrassment, "After inquiring in the kitchen, I learned that Wang Lixuan doesn't interact much with the other chefs and rarely reveals anything about himself, so there's nothing else..."

"Alright." Qin Lang nodded slightly, not too disappointed. "There's one more thing I need to find out."

“Go ahead!” Song Yu’s tone became more enthusiastic.

"I will tell you everything I know!"

Qin Lang shook his head. "It's not that serious. I just want to know when Manager Qu Dong will be back?"

“It will take about two days.” Song Yu paused for a moment. “Previously, Hai Ba Wang’s food supply channels were cut off by an anomaly, and there are no alternative food supply channels to be found in the entire Mingjing State.”

"The vast majority of the ingredients come from Qili Bay, which is not easy to obtain. In order to get Haibawang Restaurant back to normal as soon as possible, Manager Qu had to go deep into Qili Bay and look for more stable and reliable ingredient supply channels in the Qili Islands within Qili Bay."

"When the restaurant encountered a problem, I contacted them immediately."

"Manager Qu is very angry and has already rushed back."

"But the Qili Islands are far from here, and it would take at least three days by boat to reach Xianyu City."

"Including yesterday, there are two days left."

"Understood." Qin Lang nodded slightly. "Continue to question the chefs in the kitchen or other staff members in the restaurant to see if you can get any other information about Wang Lixuan."

"Just like today, report any news immediately."

“Okay, okay!” Song Yu quickly agreed.

Qin Lang didn't continue the conversation. After hanging up the phone, he looked at the other three and smiled, "Finally, some important news."

"Now that we've confirmed the relationship between Wang Lixuan and the head chef of Haishengyan, we can basically piece together the whole story," Tang Yu said in a deep voice.

"The head chef surnamed Zhao at Hai Sheng Yan is very likely the one who brought Wang Lixuan and Hai Sheng Yan together."

"In order to ruin its competitor's business, Hai Sheng Yan bribed Wang Lixuan, thus learning about the situation of Hai Ba Wang Restaurant."

"That's why they were able to get the news on the very first day that Deputy Manager Song Yu decided to use inferior goods, and set a trap to cause Hai Ba Wang's reputation to plummet."

"As for their relationship with the rare animal hunting team..." Tang Yu pondered for a moment, then shook his head, "I don't know for now."

"Unfortunately, everything is just our speculation at the moment. There is no substantial evidence to prove that the two are related. Otherwise, we could report directly to the association and ask them to conduct a thorough investigation of Haishengyan Restaurant."

When it comes to rare animal hunting teams, it's no longer a simple business battle.

After sharing her analysis, Tang Yu looked up at Qin Lang and asked, "What are your plans now?"

"Yes." Qin Lang nodded. "Wang Lixuan is very wary of Manager Qu Dong's return, and Manager Qu Dong will be back in two days, so he will definitely try to leave during this time."

"And before leaving, he will definitely take his share of the benefits."

“We just need to keep an eye on Wang Lixuan, and we should be able to get some results.” At this point, Qin Lang looked troubled. “But besides Wang Lixuan, we also need to continue investigating Zhen Ling…”

“That rare chili pepper spirit involves both the hunting team and the Haishengyan Restaurant, so it definitely needs further investigation.” Tang Yu nodded in agreement. “In that case, let’s split up.” “I’ll keep an eye on Wang Lixuan.” Tang Yu paused slightly at this point. “Besides Wang Lixuan, I should also be able to find someone to help investigate his junior brother.”

“We didn’t know his identity before, but now that we know he’s Wang Lixuan’s junior brother, we can start from that point.”

"Really?" Qin Lang's eyes lit up instantly. "If it's possible, that would be even better."

"As expected of Sister Tang Yu, she's so reliable." Zhao Qian couldn't help but exclaim, her eyes practically sparkling with admiration.

"Alright." Tang Yu chuckled. "If you want to thank me, then cook me some delicious food during this time."

"No problem!" Qin Lang patted his chest and said, "I'll cook a meal for Sister Tang Yu later."

"Forget it, I'm already full." Tang Yu shook her head. "But later, we can have a digestive sparring match."

"…Eh?"
-
"Next, we're heading to our third location."

The next morning, Qin Lang, having regained his spirits, took Cao Dongdong and Zhao Qian in a taxi and headed straight for the third location listed in the information.

"However, did we set off too early?" Cao Dongdong rubbed his sleepy eyes and took a bite of the egg yolk pastry.

"Do you want some? I made it last night."

"Give me one." Qin Lang held out his hand.

"I want one too." Zhao Qian didn't stand on ceremony with Cao Dongdong either.

"Um..." The taxi driver swallowed hard, smelling the rich aroma filling the cramped car. "Can I have one too?"

A moment later, each of the four people was holding an egg yolk pastry.

"I didn't want it to be so early either." Qin Lang broke off some egg yolk pastries and gave them to Danbao and Lala, then continued with Cao Dongdong's question.

"But two days ago, Zhenling appeared at this time."

"But the previous two times, you didn't go to the same location during the time when the spirits appeared, did you?" Zhao Qian couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Why are even the time periods the same this time?"

"because…"

Qin Lang paused, then said, "The location is String Sound Square."

“Xianyin Square?” Cao Dongdong looked surprised. “I heard that it’s the largest and most bustling square in Xianyu City.”

"Zhenling actually appeared there? Is this a hoax?"

“I’m also very skeptical, but that’s what the intelligence says.” Qin Lang shrugged helplessly. “If it really is there, there should be quite a few witnesses to Zhen Ling’s third appearance.”

"That's why I went at the same time, because it's easier to run into witnesses from two days ago."

Cao Dongdong and Zhao Qian immediately looked enlightened.

"These egg yolk pastries taste so good!"

The driver sighed deeply, then smiled apologetically at the three of them, "Sorry, as the driver, I should have kept quiet."

"I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'precious spirit'."

"But if you're looking for someone who was at String Sound Square two days ago at this time, I might be able to offer some assistance."

(End of this chapter)