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

Qin Wanshan's face turned deathly pale.

With Gu Jingzhou's reputation, ruining him would be a piece of cake.

"Damn it, what kind of work is Zou Li doing? He's been caught."

He cursed inwardly, and strategies flashed through his mind at lightning speed.

"Old Gu, what brings you here? Let me tell you, some unscrupulous people like to spread baseless rumors, so you mustn't be fooled by them."

His gaze drifted towards Gao Yang almost imperceptibly.

It's true that he injected Zou Li with hallucinogenic drugs, but given his methods, obtaining such drugs would still be quite difficult.

So he was stalling, stalling until the person behind him noticed something was wrong and came to his rescue.

After all, they're in the same boat.

So at this moment he forced a smile, his face showing no sign of guilt.

"Old Gu, look at me, I don't gamble, I don't cause trouble, I just like to chat with beautiful women. There's no need to arrest me for such a small matter."

Old Gu's face was ashen. With his intelligence, how could he not see that Qin Wanshan was wasting his time?

"Take it away."

He forced out three words, not wanting to have any further interaction with Qin Wanshan.

"Put your clothes on and let's go!"

Two police officers quickly stepped forward, took Qin Wanshan and the blonde woman beside him into custody, and brought them back to the police station.

…………

Inside the police station, Gao Yang stood outside the interrogation room, his face grim.

Four hours of intense interrogation failed to get Qin Wanshan to reveal who was behind him.

He frowned, realizing that things might not be that simple.

Previously in Yuncheng, I offended a big shot in the capital, and now I've offended another one.

Sigh, there's nothing I can do about it. For some reason, this body just attracts so much negativity.

However, it's no longer something he can control.

At that moment, he was using the police station's phone to communicate with Su Wanqing.

"Haha, here's the thing. You can arrange the staff yourself, but the budget is limited. It's time to test your skills!"

Su Wanqing spoke playfully on the phone; anyone who didn't know better would think Gao Yang was working for her.

Gao Yang thought to himself with a hint of helpless mockery.

"You've already built your new restaurant, but you won't approve the budget for me and you want me to pay for it myself."

"This means I have to be responsible for my own profits and losses."

Su Wanqing chuckled softly on the other end of the phone.

"Haha, who can blame us for having such a capable chef like Gao Yang? Su Family Island was built up without much effort, becoming the undisputed number one. A small shop in Yicheng will definitely be no problem for us."

"Besides, isn't this giving you the right to choose? Just take whoever you want, and I'll consider the rest."

"As for the money you invested in the early stages, consider it all as an investment."

Even over the phone, Gao Yang could sense that Su Wanqing was probably sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed right now.

Su Wanqing continued, "Don't worry, with your cooking skills, you can just wait to count the money. This restaurant is located in the old town, so business is bound to be booming. You'll see when you have time."

When the topic turned to business, Gao Yang's smile faded and his tone became calm.

"In Yicheng, you have no reason to open another restaurant; are you gambling with someone else?"

"Tell me, what is this mission?"

Su Wanqing, on the other side, was clearly taken aback. She hadn't expected Gao Yang to ask so directly, so she simply stopped hiding it.

"You're right. Do you remember those foreigners who put pressure on me when you first arrived at the Grand Hotel?"

"This restaurant was built with their money. If it earns 15 yuan in revenue within a month of opening, they will continue to invest in Haoting."

"Of course there are requirements. During the performance-based agreement period, you can't have more than three employees. You're the only one in the entire Su family with that kind of capability."

Gao Yang listened patiently to Su Wanqing's words and remained silent for a moment.

Goodness, it started back then?

This move was quite far-sighted; it seems all those tests he underwent before were paving the way for today.

He sighed.

"Okay, leave it to me. I guarantee I can achieve this goal."

Gao Yang said in a deep voice, completely unaware of the cunning in Su Wanqing's words.

He hung up the phone, feeling slightly pressured.

Since it's a bet, the other party definitely won't offer a very good location.

He knew a bit about the old town area.

That place used to be very prosperous, full of restaurants.

However, with the relocation of the economic zone, all that's left is a university town made up of a few universities. Making five thousand yuan a day in such a place is really quite difficult.

Just then, a police officer walked out of the interrogation room.

"Gao Yang."

He softly called Gao Yang's name.

Gao Yang's thoughts were interrupted, and he looked over.

"So, did Qin Wanshan confess?"

The police officer looked grim and slowly shook his head.

"No, we've tried everything, but Qin Wanshan just won't confess."

"I don't know if it's because his backing is too strong, and the higher-ups can't do anything about him. According to the regulations, we can only detain him for a maximum of 48 hours, and we have to ask him to leave when the time is up."

The police officer scratched his head in frustration and kicked the trash can.

This was handled well.

Everyone knows that Qin Wanshan is involved in this matter, but unfortunately, they lack crucial evidence and cannot obtain a search warrant. They are truly at their wits' end.

Gao Yang pondered for a moment, then slowly raised his head.

"Forget it, let's just let it go. We really don't have enough resources. Let him run rampant for a couple of days and wait for him to slip up on his own."

Gao Yang was also helpless. Now, all sorts of things were happening one after another, making him a little dizzy.

He left the police station and returned to the Grand Hotel.

In the private room at the top of the hotel, reserved exclusively for Su Wanqing.

He sat by the window, enjoying the evening breeze, looking at everything outside. He could almost still smell Su Wanqing's scent, and his thoughts raced.

To be honest, this mission was really too difficult.

Putting everything else aside, the location alone is problematic.

The old town has lost its former prosperity. In terms of infrastructure alone, everything was built more than a decade ago. It's too old, and the roads are so narrow that not even two cars can pass each other.

The shop is probably not very big, probably only able to accommodate fifty people at a time, and only has three employees.

Each of these issues is challenging on its own, let alone when they are all crammed together.

"Who should we look for?"

A series of figures flashed through his mind, eventually settling on two individuals.

"Hello, this is Gao Yang. Could you please come to the Grand Court Hotel so we can discuss this further?"

Gao Yang picked up the phone. If they were coming, then the restaurant would at least not have any problems with staffing.

However, he was unsure whether he could leave it to fate now that he had come to this point.

Gao Yang grabbed his coat, slowly walked out the door, and went to another private room.

"Hello, I didn't expect you to actually come."

Looking at the two figures, one in red and one in blue, Gao Yang smiled.