Era: You're asked to cook a home-style dish, but you cook Wellington.

Upon hearing this, Gao Yang narrowed his eyes slightly.

This is not cooperation, it's a blatant threat. If Xiao Jianyuan doesn't achieve the results he wants today, then there's no point in discussing anything further.

What a despicable person!

He was so angry he gritted his teeth; he was determined to kill this kind of person.

Nangong Ming, who was standing to the side, also saw the situation clearly.

Xiao Jianyuan's arrival left everyone helpless, forcing them to speak out.

"If you offer a higher price, I can talk to you."

But to everyone's surprise, Xiao Jianyuan actually let out a cold laugh.

"A little higher?"

"Old man, do you have some misunderstanding about my pricing? That was the price just now. Now that we've dragged it out for a while, the price naturally has to go down."

"Let me think about it. Here's the deal: the apprentices will pay me 100 each month, the young masters 100 each month, the experienced masters 300 each month, and you all 500 each month."

"This price is already quite generous. If you push your luck any further, I can't guarantee that the price will be lowered even more later."

His voice was extremely smug, even tinged with self-satisfaction, as if he had reaped the fruits of victory.

"You! You've gone too far!"

Nangong Ming pointed his finger at Xiao Jianyuan, his body trembling with anger.

This price is really too low, even lower than some temporary workers, let alone compared to the amount Su Wanqing initially agreed upon.

Nangong Qinglang could no longer hold back and pointed at Xiao Jianyuan's nose, cursing loudly.

"You son of a bitch, causing trouble here! Are you feeding your dogs at such a low price?!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jianyuan's face turned cold.

"I've been so sincere, it seems you don't appreciate it."

"Do you really think I haven't investigated the Nangong family? Do you really think the Nangong family has no pressure supporting a bunch of good-for-nothings like you?"

"Isn't that right, Patriarch Nangong? If I'm not mistaken, what I'm holding in my hand is the fan left behind by your Nangong family's ancestors. I didn't expect it to end up in my hands after all this time."

"What?!"

Upon hearing this, the disciples of the Nangong family scrambled to the front, eager to see the fan in Xiao Jianyuan's hand.

Xiao Jianyuan made no attempt to hide it, facing the crowd and open the fan in his hand with a flourish.

"That looks like our family's fan."

"How could the treasures of our ancestors fall into the hands of such a person?"

"How could this be? This must be fake."

When the disciples saw the marks belonging to the Nangong family on the fans, they were all incredulous and looked up at Nangong Ming.

"Master, please tell me quickly, is this true or false?"

Nangong Qinglang, however, reacted more strongly.

"Brother, tell me clearly, isn't what he's holding something our ancestors used?"

Nangong Ming was speechless.

Over the years, in order to maintain the survival of the Nangong family, he had no choice but to sell many items.

In fact, the sale of items had already begun during the reign of his father, the previous head of the family, but it was kept very well hidden and was never discovered.

Now that this matter has been exposed so openly, it's not a good look for anyone.

Looking at the anxious faces of his people, Nangong Ming sighed deeply.

Nangong Ming let out a long sigh.

"How shameful! How shameful! My Nangong family has long been on the verge of life and death."

The entire interior was deathly silent; there wasn't a sound.

The members of the Nangong family looked at Xiao Jianyuan, then at their own hands.

Whether they were conservatives or reformers, they had received training from the Nangong family since childhood, repeatedly flipping woks and sharpening knives in the kitchen. The calluses on their hands broke and scabbed over repeatedly, until they were as hard as stone.

They did it all so that they could make a name for themselves and so that the Nangong family's culinary skills could be passed down.

But now?

They couldn't even protect their own ancestors' belongings, which ended up in the hands of outsiders.

They found it utterly absurd, and even some of the older folks rushed over upon hearing the news.

He spent his whole life honing his culinary skills, only to become a burden on his family in the end.

They couldn't help but chuckle, but for some reason, as they laughed, two lines of tears slid down their cheeks.

It’s ridiculous.

Gao Yang remained silent.

In this moment of his past life, he was still honing his skills, completely unaware of what was happening outside.

Even after they became famous, they never heard of the Nangong family.

In retrospect, at this time in my previous life, the Nangong family would either have been destroyed or fallen into Xiao Jianyuan's hands, where he had squeezed the last drop of blood from them.

He clenched his fists.

This Xiao Jianyuan is truly despicable. He's a cancer in the world, only harming the entire catering industry in China. He must be eliminated as soon as possible.

His gaze met Su Wanqing's, and they both saw the same thought in each other's eyes.

Xiao Jianyuan was completely unaware of this. Looking at everything on the field, he was extremely satisfied and smiled knowingly.

"Oh dear, it seems I've come at an inopportune time, just as you're reminiscing about your ancestors. In that case, I won't linger any longer. I'll come back tomorrow to seek cooperation with Patriarch Nangong."

"Hey, Mr. Su, please continue. Don't lower the price just because I'm here. I believe the Nangong family head has discerning eyes and will choose someone who truly understands him."

"As the old saying goes, a wise person knows when to yield."

He laughed loudly, turned around and left with his henchmen, leaving only one person standing there with a gloomy face.

The sun was already high in the sky, scorching and blinding.

The scorching sunlight shone on everyone, and they felt a burning pain.

…………

In the evening, Su Wanqing and her party did not leave the Nangong family. Instead, they were warmly received by Nangong Ming.

Although it was described as a warm welcome, it wasn't actually that warm.

The group sat around the round table, looking at each other in silence.

"That's outrageous! How dare he?"

Nangong Qinglang's temper remained volatile, and he slammed his chopsticks on the table with a "bang".

Today, he found his brother and learned the whole story of the Nangong family.

"Brother, I support your reforms, but what do we do now? According to Xiao Jianyuan, if we accept his price, we'll be drained of our last drop of blood and then discarded."

"If we don't accept his price, what future does the Nangong family have? Can the Nangong family really survive in this industry?"

Nangong Ming did not answer the question, but sighed softly and turned his gaze to Su Wanqing.

Su Wanqing propped her head up, deep in thought.

As the saying goes, "a higher-ranking official can crush a lower-ranking one." The Su family is indeed powerful and has many friends, but their businesses are too scattered, and they have very few influential figures in the catering industry.

"I can't think of any solutions right now, because I'm also facing a threat from Xiao Jianyuan."

"But I know I still have a way out. If I give up the catering industry, I can switch to other industries."

She stopped speaking there, her gaze sweeping over everyone's faces.

"And what about you? What about the other members of the Nangong family? Do they have a way out?"

Su Wanqing's tone was firm.

"Therefore, we must unite now. Regardless of whether the final cooperation succeeds or not, we cannot let Xiao Jianyuan succeed."

"So what should we do?"

"Boss Su, don't worry, the Nangong family will cooperate with whatever you say to the end."

Nangong Qinglang couldn't help but stand up, his hands still supporting him on the table despite his advanced age.

Su Wanqing didn't speak, but turned to look at Gao Yang.

Gao Yang nodded at Su Wanqing.

"Our first step is to catch the traitor."