Chapter Thirty-Nine: Wang Hongyi, Chief Steward of the Prince's Residence
The act of poaching staff came so suddenly that Qin Wenyuan was completely unprepared. Cursing furiously at whichever little miscreant had broken the rules and started this trend, he hurried to devise a countermeasure—he couldn’t simply close his establishment as Cui Xin Tower had done. Besides, Cui Xin Tower had only shut down for a day, and they had chefs from his own Qin Family Restaurant to recruit. But who could the Qin Family Restaurant poach in return? There were only two renowned restaurants in Fangzhou City, and chefs from other establishments simply weren’t up to standard.
He pondered the matter from every angle, but found no solution. Yet he was unwilling to accept defeat and swallow the humiliation quietly. The old man was burning with rage and shouted at Qin Fu:
“Come! We’ll go to Cui Xin Tower and settle this!”
If he couldn’t find the source, he would simply confront the party that had wronged him. So, master and servant, accompanied by the staff of the Qin Family Restaurant, stormed into Cui Xin Tower. The business of the two largest restaurants in Fangzhou was brought to a standstill, and a fight nearly broke out. The commotion even alarmed the local government office, prompting Magistrate Sun Hongde to personally intervene and mediate.
His words were full of hints to Qin Wenyuan: let it go, don’t pursue the matter further. This startled Qin Wenyuan—was it possible that Manager Wang of Cui Xin Tower had secured Sun Hongde as his protector? How could he possibly win this case?
He hadn’t realized that Sun Hongde had no interest in meddling with merchants; he was simply acting out of goodwill, urging Qin Wenyuan to let the matter rest. Besides, how could someone poach his chef in just a day? Such things rarely happened so quickly—it was most likely long premeditated.
Moreover, Sun Hongde knew things that Qin Wenyuan did not. Manager Wang of Cui Xin Tower was no ordinary figure. Not only Qin Wenyuan, but even Sun Hongde himself, as the Magistrate of Fangzhou, had to show him respect.
...
———
Qin Wenyuan was sensible enough. After Sun Hongde’s persuasion, he accepted his defeat. He ordered Qin Fu to temporarily close the restaurant, returned home, and wrote a letter to an old friend in Xiangyang, asking for help in finding an excellent chef.
Yet, while he was ready to let the matter go, others were not. Manager Wang, after leaving the government office, did not return to his own restaurant, but instead took a turn onto Mansion Street, heading straight for the Luling Prince’s residence.
The soldiers guarding the mansion recognized him and, without announcement, led Manager Wang directly inside.
“Manager Wang, you’ve come at the perfect time. The Chief Historian is resting in the rear garden. Let me take you to him.”
Manager Wang nodded and strode into the mansion, passing through the courtyards as if walking through his own home. Upon reaching the rear garden, he saw someone in the pavilion with the best view, but it wasn’t the person he sought. An eight or nine-year-old boy was leading a four or five-year-old girl in watching the fish.
Manager Wang frowned and, following the mansion guard around the pond, finally found a man seated beside a stone table under the shade of the trees.
He hurried forward, “Nephew greets Uncle.”
The man was Wang Hongyi, Chief Historian of the Luling Prince’s residence. Upon seeing Manager Wang, his face darkened instantly.
“How many times have I told you, entering the mansion requires proper reporting. Do you really think this is your own home?”
“Heh.” Manager Wang grinned obsequiously, “With Uncle serving in the prince’s residence, isn’t it just like our own garden?”
“Nonsense!”
Wang Hongyi was furious. “Such lack of propriety will bring disaster sooner or later!”
Manager Wang dared not reply, wondering inwardly what had changed. Usually, he came and went freely, even ordering servants around as if it were his own home, but never had Uncle been so angry.
“Ah!” Wang Hongyi sighed deeply, “The political climate has shifted. You must be more restrained from now on.”
“Huh?” Manager Wang was startled. “What has happened?”
Wang Hongyi said, “Not your concern. Do not ask.”
“Say what you came here for today.”
“Oh, yes, Uncle!” Manager Wang recounted the incident of Qin Wenyuan’s commotion at Cui Xin Tower.
Wang Hongyi listened with little interest—a chef hardly deserved his attention.
“Is there more?”
“Yes! I investigated the chef’s home and found that someone named Wu Jiulang from Xiashan’ao in the southern part of the city offered him a monthly wage of five strings of cash, prompting him to switch jobs.”
“Hmm?” Wang Hongyi stiffened, “Xiashan’ao?”
That surprised him. “A relative of Wu Changlu?”
“Exactly.”
Wang Hongyi pondered for a long time. “Let it be, it’s just a chef.”
“With the imperial envoy soon arriving in Fangzhou and Wu Changlu commanding the mansion’s guards, it’s best not to make enemies for now. But as for Qin Wenyuan...”
Manager Wang immediately assured him, “Rest easy, Uncle, I have already made arrangements.”
“Good.” Wang Hongyi finally smiled.
“With the Wu brothers coming south, this is a rare opportunity. We must prepare a generous gift. If the Qin family is as wealthy as you say, perhaps we can also pay respects to Princess Taiping.”
Manager Wang bowed respectfully, “I understand, Uncle. I will not let your plans down.”
...
——————————
The turmoil outside seemed to have little bearing on the small mountain valley of Xiashan’ao.
The old patriarch stared at Wu Ning in disbelief.
“Jiulang has brought the head chef from Cui Xin Tower here?”
That was Cui Xin Tower—a place that farmers like them didn’t even dare to enter. Yet Wu Ning had managed to recruit its chef to Xiashan’ao, cooking for their little inns. How could the patriarch not be astonished?
In fact, it wasn’t just the old patriarch. News of Wu Jiulang’s family bringing in Cui Xin Tower’s head chef had drawn Fifth Uncle, Sixth Uncle, Seventh Brother, Old Eleven, and every relative who heard the news in the valley to Wu Ning’s house to witness the famed chef.
“The chef is right here—what’s not to believe?” Wu Ning responded to the patriarch while turning to Luo Li and Li Wenbo, “This is the village head, my family’s patriarch. Aren’t you going to pay your respects?”
Chef Luo: “...”
Li Wenbo: “...”
Neither moved.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to, but rather, they couldn’t. At that moment, they were like two monkeys being watched, surrounded by a crowd. Now, even Li Wenbo was feeling uncertain. Was this arrangement reliable? Looking around, all he saw were village farmers. Could they really afford such high wages?
Chef Luo scowled at Wu Ning. “It’s settled—five strings of cash a month.”
Wu Ning shook his head wordlessly, went inside, and tossed a money pouch into Luo Li’s arms. “Here’s one string up front. Satisfied?”
Seeing the money, Chef Luo’s heart settled. “Agreed, agreed!”
Wu Ning said, “Glad to hear it! You and Scholar Li go check the kitchen. If anything’s missing, let Scholar Li buy it.”
“In a bit, give everyone a demonstration—don’t let the reputation of Fangzhou’s famous chef suffer!”
Chef Luo had no objections. “You’re the boss, you call the shots!”
He pushed through the crowd and headed for the kitchen.
...
At that moment, Sixth Uncle approached Wu Ning and whispered, “Five strings of cash a month? Has Jiulang gone mad?”
Wu Ning knew Sixth Uncle thought it was too expensive and reassured him, “Don’t worry, it’ll be worth it!”
With Chef Luo’s skills, the inns of Xiashan’ao would be elevated, attracting more guests. Moreover, don’t forget—staying at Cui Ju Inn cost money, and so did meals. The wool comes from the sheep; with Cui Xin Tower’s chef cooking, could the price be low?
“Oh.”
Sixth Uncle felt somewhat relieved after Wu Ning’s explanation.
“We must try it first, see just how skilled Cui Xin Tower’s chef really is. Let’s hope he’s not just for show, not worth five strings.”
...
Chef Luo overheard this, and with his fiery temper, he couldn’t let it slide.
“Li Wenbo!”
“Here!”
“Give me a hand. Today, I’ll show them what I’m made of—let’s not let these people look down on us!”
...
Power outage, electricity won’t return until ten o’clock, so only one chapter tonight. Everyone, sleep early!