Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2772 Madam Shi 12.0
"Ah? Ah!"

As soon as Xue Mu uttered those words, a chorus of exclamations erupted around him. Apart from Chu Han and the Third Grandfather, everyone else looked astonished. Even Shen Cha, who had always been very calm, couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

"Why are you so surprised? I thought you all knew." Seeing their expressions, Xue Mu said helplessly, "Didn't you all know that Elder Mo came from a grand restaurant?"

“I know that.” Shen Cha sighed, feeling a bit thirsty, and handed her bowl to Xue Mu. “I never thought it would be Tianxiang Restaurant. Of course, I don’t know much about big restaurants. I only know that he used to live a pretty good life, but he was framed by someone and rescued by my father, Uncle Xue and the master, which is why he came to the border.”

“I’ve heard my master mention this, but not in great detail.” Jin Miaomiao nodded. “Old Master Mo’s skills are so good, how could he be framed?”

"How could you say that? Such things happen in every industry." Third Grandfather shook his head helplessly, pointed at Jin Miaomiao, and said, "She's still too naive. She should gain more experience."

“I talked to Old Mo, and he said that at his peak, many restaurants were vying for him and wanted to poach him, but his former employer had been kind to him, so he never left. If he had made the decisive choice to leave back then, perhaps what happened later wouldn’t have happened.” Shen Cha sighed, “After the former employer passed away, the young master took over the family business and wanted to cultivate his own confidants. He either coaxed away his father’s people with kind words or used underhanded means to ruin their reputations and force them to leave.”

"Is Elder Mo the latter type?"

"Yes!" Shen Cha nodded, then looked at the Third Grandfather and said, "The Master mentioned something, and I think you were there at the time?"

"Yes, at that time, your father was not very old. Due to an accident, he had a short two-week vacation. The adults in the family were too busy to take care of them, so they entrusted them to me and my senior brother. We happened to be invited to Jiangnan to treat patients, so we took them with us. Unexpectedly, as soon as we arrived in Yangzhou, we were preparing to have a big meal at Tianxiang Restaurant when we saw Old Master Mo being framed by the young master."

"I heard from Mr. Mo that the scheme was extremely stupid. They framed Mr. Mo for stealing, but they couldn't produce any evidence and just relied on words."

“Yes!” Third Grandfather nodded. “The scene was very awkward. Old Mo didn’t seem particularly awkward. Although he was also angry, he seemed particularly calm compared to the young master who was yelling at him and the lackeys who were cheering him on.”

"lackey?"

"They are the chefs that the young master wants to promote. Many of them have been colleagues with Lao Mo for a long time, and a few are Lao Mo's apprentices."

"The apprentice betrayed him?"

“Yes!” Third Master nodded. “Not only did his apprentices betray him, but they also helped to slander Old Mo, saying that he was the thief. Although the young master has no evidence, with these apprentices around, it doesn’t matter whether there is any other evidence or not.”

"Isn't this blatantly trying to force him to leave?" "Yes, but the project isn't finished, so the owner has to compensate him. But the young master isn't happy about it, and he's eyeing the secret recipes for several of his signature dishes, which is why he came up with this stupid move." Third Master sighed and said, "I was going to go up and argue with them. I've been to Tianxiang Restaurant a lot, so I'm quite familiar with Old Mo, and I wanted to stand up for him. But my senior brother stopped me and told Xiao Shen and Xiao Xue to do it."

"very smooth?"

"Hmm!" Third Master nodded. "When it comes to using power to oppress others, who can beat those two?" He chuckled. "They didn't say much, just that they were ordered by their families to bring someone to the capital. Not only that, Xiao Shen even threw a few silver notes in the young master's face, saying something like..." He thought for a long time but couldn't remember, "...something like their family poached Old Mo. Before the young master could react, they dragged Old Mo away. Later, they borrowed someone and thoroughly investigated the young master's background. Although he hadn't done anything seriously wrong, his family's businesses lost a lot because of him, and his father, the old master, was so angry with him that he fell ill and eventually died. Xiao Shen and Xiao Xue posted everything they found out at the entrance of Tianxiang Tower. The young master of Tianxiang Tower woke up to find the sky had fallen, and everyone was coming for him."

"This person is really stupid," Jin Miaomiao said, pursing her lips. "How could someone so stupid take over Tianxiang Restaurant?"

Third Grandfather watched as Xue Mu brought over Shen Cha's soup and handed him his own bowl. Roast duck was indeed delicious, but one couldn't eat too much. One could only satisfy one's craving with duck soup. Besides, this duck soup also contained sour radish, which was not only not greasy but also quite refreshing.

"What kind of person do you think he is? Someone who is ignorant and incompetent?"

"He's not exactly incompetent, but his ambition outweighs his ability, and he's also a bit too eager for quick success, wanting to take over Tianxiang Restaurant as soon as possible, which is why he caused this mess. Actually, he's made similar mistakes before, and this time, wanting to quickly take control of Tianxiang Restaurant, he's gone even further." The Third Master sneered. "Actually, anyone in this business knows that the kitchen is the key to a restaurant. Only with a pillar of strength in the kitchen can a restaurant survive for a long time."

"So, that incident threatened the survival of Tianxianglou?" Seeing that it was your great-grandfather who nodded, Jin Miaomiao stroked her chin. "And then what happened? Tianxianglou can now open a branch in Xijing City, which means that the crisis passed quickly, right?"

“Because that young master was directly replaced.” Third Master held up two fingers. “The old owner of Tianxiang Restaurant had two sons. One son was studying away from home, and the other son was the young master at home, learning how to run the shop from the old owner. But this young master is not good enough, so we had to bring the other young master back. After all, Tianxiang Restaurant is not his sole business; there are other investors as well. We can’t just watch Tianxiang Restaurant collapse.”

"But it must have taken a heavy toll on its vitality for a while, right?"

"It's definitely become more low-key, but the taste hasn't changed much; they've just stopped serving vegetarian meals. The eldest son came back from outside, kicked out his younger brother, the former young master, and personally apologized to the old employees who were hurt in this farce, going door-to-door to apologize. Most people, considering the old master's kindness and the new master's good character, said they wouldn't hold it against him, and they signed new employment contracts and went back to work. But Old Mo..."

"Haven't you forgiven me?"

"He forgave her, but no contract was signed, and he didn't want to go back. The new employer came to his door several times, but he politely declined each time. On the last visit, the new employer finally opened up to him, saying that although this whole farce was a farce, it had shown him the true nature of humanity. Many people would choose to betray their promises when faced with a life-or-death situation, so he didn't want to go back to a place where he might be stabbed in the back again."

“Yes, that’s right.” Chu Han agreed with Old Master Mo’s idea and nodded to Third Grandfather. “How old was he back then?”

"In his thirties, not that old," the Third Grandfather sighed. "My senior brother, those two kids, and I helped him out of the predicament. He was very grateful to us and wanted to ask if our household needed a chef. My senior brother and I are homeless; we came here to gain experience, and it wouldn't be convenient to bring a chef along. The two kids said they wanted to come home with us. Although Old Mo didn't know the background of those two kids, he knew they were either rich or noble, so he readily agreed."