Chapter 127: The Culinary Tycoon

Slander

“We need County Magistrate Luo stand on our side? That’s a good idea, but we don’t know the relationship between the Minister of Rites and the Deputy Minister of Rites. If the Deputy Minister of Rites is the Minister’s right-hand man, I doubt our chances,” Master Liao said.

Young Master Zhao suggested, “We can ask Old Master Cai. He might know.”

Yu Qingze immediately chimed in, “I’ll go to Cai’s Mansion and inquire with Old Master Cai and the others.” During the autumn harvest, Lord Cai mentioned to him that County Magistrate Luo’s father wrote a letter to Lord Cai, requesting him to take care of his son. Based on that, their relationship should be quite good.

“Good idea,” Master Hu nodded, and continued, “In any case, regardless of the relationship between Jia Xiaoren’s uncle and County Magistrate Luo’s father, we can try to win over County Magistrate Luo first, establish a good relationship. It can’t go wrong.”

Another boss added, “Right. County Magistrate Luo has a great fondness for good food. He loves eating snacks and dishes from Boss Yu’s shops. We can start from there.”

“That’s right. And I have some insider information,” Master Liao said mysteriously, lowering his voice.

“What news? Old Liao, can you just say it without keeping us in suspense?” Master Hu said impatiently.

Master Liao chuckled and said, “But that’s my little hobby, isn’t it enough?”

“Enough, just tell us already!” Master Hu glared at him.

Master Liao smiled and whispered, “It is said that Magistrate Luo’s entire fortune is managed by his wife. He used to be a playboy, and his father brought him here to toughen him up. To prevent him from squandering money and not focusing on his duties, his father confiscated all his wealth. Now, his daily expenses can only be obtained from his wife.”

“Is that so?” another boss widened his eyes, chuckled, and then said, “No wonder he’s so afraid of his wife. That explains it.”

“Indeed, without money in hand, he can only be obedient,” Master Liao added.

Everyone laughed at the revelation.

Master Hu said, “Then we must thank the Minister of Rites and Madam Luo. Otherwise, Tongshan County will have another incompetent magistrate.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Anyway, let’s give it a try first. The reason for this is related to Xiang Man Yuan and Boss Yu’s business. Boss Yu, you can host a banquet in your name to entertain Magistrate Luo. Let him know the purpose of it, and a few of us can accompany you. What do you think?” Master Hu said.

Yu Qingze nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll go back and send an invitation to Magistrate Luo. Once we receive a reply and confirm the date, I’ll inform the other leaders.”

“That’s excellent. Let’s do it this way,” Master Liao said.

After returning home, Yu Qingze immediately prepared the invitation and invited Magistrate Luo to have dinner at House of Prosperity tomorrow night. He had Jiaobao write it and personally delivered it to the county office. After receiving a response, he went to the Cai residence.

When Old Master Cai heard Yu Qingze’s question about the relationship between the Deputy Minister of Rites and the Minister of Rites, he shook his head and said, “I haven’t heard Dongwen (Lord Cai) mention this before. I’ll write a letter to ask and find out. What do you want to accomplish by asking about this?”

Yu Qingze proceeded to recount the events that had happened to the Yu family and explained Jia Xiaoren’s background.

Upon hearing this, Old Master Cai furrowed his brows and said, “Why didn’t you tell us about such a serious matter?”

Yu Qingze replied, “It’s a business matter, and I thought it would be best to resolve it through business methods. Besides, Master Hu, Master Liao, and Young Master Zhao are also helping. We have no problem with the source of ingredients now, so please don’t worry.” If the Cai family were to intervene, it might give an opportunity for Cai’s political enemies to exploit the situation. That wouldn’t be good.

Upon hearing this, Old Master Cai understood that Yu Qingze was concerned about the impact on his son and grandson. He sighed and said, “I see. I will write a letter to ask Wendong about it. I feel more at ease knowing that Hu family is helping you with advice. Be careful with Xiang Man Yuan. Since that person has used such methods in the past, it’s hard to say they won’t try the same tricks on you. Be vigilant.”

Yu Qingze nodded in acknowledgement.

That evening, after returning from the county government office to his residence, County Magistrate Luo changed his clothes and was about to go out.

“Wife, the owner of Xiang Man Yuan invited me for dinner tonight, so I won’t be eating at home,” reported Luo Mingda to his wife.

Madam Luo furrowed his brows and asked, “Why is he inviting you for dinner again? Is there something going on?” The owner of Xiang Man Yuan had previously taken Luo Mingda to a brothel, and Madam Luo strongly disliked him. Just hearing the man’s name made him frown.

Luo Mingda replied, “I don’t know what it’s about. He sent an invitation in the afternoon.”

Madam Luo stepped forward and adjusted Luo Mingda’s clothes, saying, “He doesn’t seem like a decent person. He’s not worth associating with.”

Luo Mingda knew that his wife still remembered what happened in the past, so he said, “Don’t worry, I’ll just have dinner at Xiang Man Yuan. After I finish, I’ll come back. I’ll have Xiao Lanzi with me, so you don’t need to worry.”

“Don’t drink alcohol,” reminded Madam Luo.

“I know, I’m leaving now,” Luo Mingda responded and left.

Once he was gone, Madam Luo tidied up his official attire and noticed two invitations on the nearby tea table. He opened them and looked. One was from Jia Xiaoren of Xiang Man Yuan, and the other was from Yu Qingze of House of Prosperity.

Why is House of Prosperity also inviting my husband for dinner? Madam Luo stared at the invitations for a while and then set them aside.

Luo Mingda arrived at Xiang Man Yuan, and Jia Xiaoren led him to a private room where there was no one else, just the two of them.

“Why did Boss Jia invite me for dinner today?” Luo Mingda sat down.

Jia Xiaoren waved his hand for the waiter to serve the dishes and personally poured tea for Luo Mingda. He said, “It’s been a while since I had a chance to catch up with Young Master Luo.”

Luo Mingda neither confirmed nor denied anything. If there was something important, it would be mentioned eventually, and he wasn’t in a hurry.

Once the dishes arrived, he began to eat. Although the taste of the dishes at Xiang Man Yuan couldn’t compare to House of Prosperity, two of the dishes were decent enough, better than most other restaurants. One was drunken duck, and the other was roasted rabbit meat.

There were seven or eight dishes on the table, but he only touched these two. He barely touched the others, including the duck meat that he enjoyed eating. He had only taken a bite and didn’t eat any more.

To truly savor duck meat, he had to go to House of Prosperity. He didn’t want to ruin the exquisite position duck meat held in his heart. Ever since he had tasted Yu Qingze’s duck meat, whenever he ate it elsewhere, he would take one bite and if it didn’t meet his expectations, he wouldn’t have another bite.

In truth, the duck dish at Xiang Man Yuan was better than that of other restaurants, and in the past, Luo Mingda would have happily enjoyed it. However, now his palate had been spoiled by Yu Qingze’s culinary skills, so eating elsewhere made him feel like he was betraying the high regard he held for duck meat in his heart.

“Come on, Young Master Luo, let’s have a drink,” Jia Xiaoren filled a glass of wine for Luo Mingda and started persuading him.

Luo Mingda waved his hand and said, “I’m not drinking today. I have something to do early tomorrow, and if I drink now, I won’t be able to get up.”

“You have a high tolerance, a few drinks won’t affect anything. Having a few glasses won’t delay your tasks for tomorrow,” Jia Xiaoren said, picking up the glass of wine intended for Luo Mingda, gesturing for him to drink.

“I really have something important. If there’s something you want to discuss, just say it,” Luo Mingda took the glass of wine, placed it on the table, and then reached out to pick up a rabbit leg to gnaw on. After a couple of bites, he found it inconvenient to use chopsticks, so he switched to using his hands to gnaw on the meat.

Seeing that Luo Mingda refused to drink, Jia Xiaoren frowned and finished his own glass of wine in one gulp. He put the glass down and said, “Young Master Luo, I didn’t invite you today for any particular reason. I just wanted to catch up. It’s been a long time since we had a chance to get together.”

Luo Mingda glanced at him, spat out a bone from his mouth, swallowed the rabbit meat, and then said, “It has been quite a while.”

Jia Xiaoren continued to engage in small talk with Luo Mingda while he ate and responded intermittently.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Eventually, Jia Xiaoren, whether due to drinking too much or for some other reason, blurted out to Luo Mingda, “Young Master Luo, you have no idea how difficult my business has become.”

Luo Mingda didn’t even lift an eyelid and casually asked while eating, “Why is it difficult? Isn’t your business doing well?”

Jia Xiaoren said, “Well, it’s a load of crap! Someone stole my signature dish!”

“What?” Luo Mingda turned to look at Jia Xiaoren. “Signature dish?”

“Yes, exactly. Look, it’s this drunken duck,” Jia Xiaoren lifted his chin and pointed to the plate of drunken duck. He continued, “Yu Qingze from House of Prosperity stole the recipe, and I have no idea how he got his hands on it. It’s simply despicable and shameless!”

Luo Mingda blinked and said, “But, the drunken duck they make at House of Prosperity is more delicious than yours.”

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar:

Ho ho ho Merry Christmas 🎅🏻☃️🎁❄

I hope each and every one of you lovely readers is having a fantastic day! Thank you so much for your unwavering support of our hololo novels and the culinary tycoon. To show our gratitude, we have a special treat for you today—a triple release! Please enjoy ε(´｡•᎑•`)っ 💕