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

"Excuse me, could you please call the chef who is in charge of preparing this dish?"

Seeing that Lin Xiaoyu had almost finished eating, Gao Yang put down his chopsticks and called out to the waiter.

An older waiter came over, glanced at the dishes on the table, and asked.

"What's wrong? Could you please tell me? I'll go and tell the chef."

Gao Yang spoke calmly, without a hint of accusation, only pointing to the dishes on the table.

"There's nothing wrong with the food itself, but it just feels like the chef knows Suzhou cuisine, but he wasn't quite ready to fully unleash his skills. I'd like to have a chat with him."

The waiter was taken aback, realizing that Gao Yang wasn't there to cause trouble, but rather seemed like a culinary expert.

She nodded quickly and turned to walk towards the kitchen.

A short while later, a middle-aged man wearing a slightly worn white chef's uniform followed him out.

The middle-aged man was somewhat hunched over, with graying temples, a tired look on his face, and an undisguised melancholy in his eyes.

This is Guo Yun, the head chef of Hongyun Hotel.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem with you calling me?"

Guo Yun looked at the squirrel-shaped mandarin fish on the table, his mind racing with calculations.

The ingredients are fine, and the cooking process was followed exactly as instructed. It doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with it.

Lin Xiaoyu was also confused, and whispered in Gao Yang's ear.

"What's wrong? Isn't this dish delicious? There's nothing wrong with it."

Gao Yang smiled faintly.

"Master Guo, are you using ingredients and seasonings that you don't find convenient?"

"Moreover, I can taste that your cooking seems to carry some emotion."

"boom!!!"

Like a thunderclap streaking across the calm night sky, Guo Yun's heart sank.

He looked at Gao Yang with an incredulous expression.

Ever since the boss switched to cheaper ingredients and seasonings, he's been driven to exhaustion by the constant changes – changing ingredients, reducing portions, altering cooking methods, and so on.

No matter what method he used, the taste was always a little off. He had long lost the will to cook and was just waiting for customers to complain, which he would then silently endure.

He also tried it on other people, and there was absolutely no difference.

But why was this young man able to taste it?

He looked at Gao Yang's face and felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

Where?

The faces in his memory gradually overlapped. Yes, he remembered. It was on the day the boss's so-called distinguished guests arrived that this young man came out of the hotel across the street and shook hands with those distinguished guests.

"You are the chef at the Alley Hotel."

Guo Yun asked somewhat uncertainly.

Gao Yang smiled and nodded, stood up, gestured for him to sit down, and looked directly at Master Guo, seeing through the frustration in his eyes at a glance.

"I can tell you're very unhappy with your current state."

Gao Yang's voice was not loud, but every word was clear, like a precise key that directly pierced through the fog that had been blocking Guo Yun's heart for so long.

Guo Yun's hand gripping the edge of the table trembled violently, his knuckles instantly turning white.

He stared at Gao Yang, his pupils dilating slightly, his weariness completely replaced by shock.

For so many days, he has been forced by his boss to use inferior ingredients and cut corners. He feels that he has deviated from his original intention as a chef, and he can't remember the last time he saw a smile on a customer's face.

Guo Yun's nose felt slightly sore.

"Master Gao, you don't know, after all this time, finally someone understands me."

Guo Yun's voice trembled slightly, his Adam's apple bobbed, and the bloodshot veins in his eyes became more and more obvious.

He tried to suppress the turmoil in his heart and calm himself down, but his fingertips still trembled slightly.

Gao Yang smiled slightly, pulled over a chair next to him and sat down, looking Guo Yun at eye level.

His gaze was gentle, yet it carried a penetrating certainty.

"Master Guo, at your level, your joys and sorrows can be fully reflected in your dishes."

He paused, then gently tapped the squirrel-shaped mandarin fish on the table with his fingertip, his tone tinged with regret.

"Take this squirrel-shaped mandarin fish for example. Your knife work was precise, and the frying temperature was perfect. It can be called flawless."

"But your seasoning is really bad, it's not the same ratio as before, and the taste isn't satisfactory, is it?"

Every word Gao Yang said felt like a needle piercing Guo Yun's heart.

Guo Yun looked down at his hands.

These hands are covered in calluses, and are scarred from cuts and burns.

These same hands, through day after day of honing their skills, brought fame to the established brand and presented the most authentic dishes to the customers.

Back then, standing in the kitchen, listening to the praise coming from the front of the house, and seeing the smiles on the faces of the customers after eating the squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, he always felt that being a chef in this life was worthwhile.

But now?

He clenched his fist tightly, his knuckles turning bluish-white from the force, and the calluses on his palms ached from the friction.

His eyes were red-rimmed and his voice was hoarse.

"I've been making squirrel-shaped mandarin fish for decades, bringing the freshest ingredients and the best flavor to my customers. But now I don't even have the right to use a better soy sauce."

"But what can I do? The ingredients are the same, the seasonings are the same, how delicious can I make? I've watched my reputation be ruined, I've watched my old customers take a bite, frown, and put down their chopsticks. Every night, I secretly flip through old recipes, but I don't even have a chance to try to change the situation."

Guo Yun's body trembled slightly as he pressed himself firmly against the table.

Lin Xiaoyu sat to the side, looking at the chef with graying temples, feeling a pang of sadness. Her previous dislike for Hongyun Hotel had turned into heartache.

Upon reflection, everyone at Hongyun Hotel, from greeters and waiters to chefs, was working hard and didn't bring their emotions to the guests.

Gao Yang looked at Guo Yun, but did not interrupt; he simply listened quietly.

Once Guo Yun's emotions had calmed down a bit, he slowly spoke, his tone gentle yet carrying an undeniable certainty.

"Master Guo, I understand how you feel right now, and our alley hotel is in need of someone like you. If you'd like, you can come work for us."

Gao Yang quietly handed Guo Yun a business card.

"But, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Guo Yun hesitated for a moment, then took the business card, glanced at it briefly, and put it in his pocket.

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Gao Yang smiled faintly and said softly, "Master Guo, then I won't bother you any longer. But I think it's a real pity that a craftsman like you has to bow down to reality."

Guo Yun sat in his seat, carefully recalling Gao Yang's words.

Gao Yang and Lin Xiaoyu got up, went to the front desk, paid the bill, and left.

After the two walked out of the Hongyun Hotel, Lin Xiaoyu finally couldn't help but pout.

"Hmph, I knew you weren't being kind by inviting me to dinner. You're just here to poach my talent, aren't you?"

Gao Yang smiled.

"Wow, you've improved! You noticed that."

He would think of Guo Yun's appearance and know in his heart that someone was probably going to have a hard time.

…………

On the other side of Yuncheng.

"I'm entrusting this matter to you three seniors."

In the dimly lit room, the owner of the Hongyun Hotel bent over and placed a thick stack of the four leaders in front of the three elderly men.

"Hehe, easy to say, it's just a matter of insisting that your food is better during the competition."

The one on the far right was the first to reach out and hug his share to his chest.