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

We're here.

Lin Xiaoyu smiled and pushed Gao Yang out of the car.

Gao Yang stared at the dilapidated hotel in front of him, speechless.

The entire hotel has an old-fashioned style. The exterior walls have fallen off due to years of disrepair, and the plaque on the top is riddled with holes from insects. The four characters "Alley Hotel" can still be vaguely discerned.

"Well, our hotel is a bit run-down, but the interior is fine, I promise, and I'll give you a 50% discount."

Lin Xiaoyu blushed, a rare occurrence for her. She held up four fingers and looked at Gao Yang with a serious expression.

She assumed Gao Yang looked down on her hotel, thinking it was too run-down.

Little did Gao Yang know that a storm was brewing in his heart.

In his memory, this piece of land in his previous life was included in the demolition area and a skyscraper was rebuilt. The owner of this hotel made a fortune.

He looked at Lin Xiaoyu.

"Why is your house completely empty? It's pitch black inside."

Gao Yang was curious. Logically speaking, in this area, as long as it wasn't too dilapidated or unsanitary, there would always be people coming to stay at the hotel.

To everyone's surprise, Lin Xiaoyu's face turned even redder.

"Well, actually my house hasn't been open for several days. The chef and all the other staff have left, and my grandfather is the only one in the entire hotel."

She paused, fiddling with the edge of her clothes between two fingers.

"Moreover, a bigger hotel opened across the street, and they're driving us crazy."

Following the direction Lin Xiaoyu pointed, Gao Yang looked in that direction.

Across the street, a large hotel stood prominently, with five large, gilded characters prominently displayed at the entrance.

Hongyun Hotel.

Although this hotel is not as large as the Grand Hotel, it is clearly the best hotel in the area.

Its style is completely out of place with the white walls and black tiles of this Jiangnan water town; from this perspective, it is indeed quite different in style.

"Come on, show me your house."

Gao Yang sighed helplessly.

What can we do? We're already here, and I've almost stepped in with one foot. Can we turn back now?

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaoyu could no longer contain her joy and quickly invited Gao Yang inside.

Upon entering, the view immediately became dim, and the light was restored only after entering the courtyard inside the house.

He looked at the loquat tree inside the house, filled with emotion.

"These trees are probably all over a hundred years old."

"Yes, young man, these flowers, trees and shrubs were already there before this hotel was built."

An old and hoarse voice came from under the eaves.

Gao Yang turned his head and saw an elderly man with gray hair and a slightly hunched back, leaning on a bamboo cane, slowly walking over.

The old man was wearing a faded blue cloth jacket, his face was etched with wrinkles, and his eyes were clear. When he looked at Gao Yang, his gaze was both appraising and gentle.

"grandfather!"

Lin Xiaoyu quickly stepped forward, took the old man's arm, and spoke with a mix of coquettishness and guilt. "I brought this gentleman to stay at our hotel, and he promised... promised to help us think of a solution."

Gao Yang: When did I say that?

But seeing Lin Xiaoyu's pleading eyes, he softened.

Never mind, let's just consider it a good deed.

"Yes, you should go back and rest first. I'll be in Yuncheng for the next few days. I'll think of something."

Gao Yang nodded, and after seeing the old man off, he turned to look at the loquat tree in the yard.

In the past, when this land was demolished, this century-old loquat tree was specially preserved and became a landscape feature next to the skyscrapers, while the former site of the alley hotel was extremely valuable.

As a top-notch head chef, Gao Yang naturally has his own business acumen and has already made up his mind.

"I'm really speechless. You tricked me into coming here, and now I'm forced to work for you."

He sat on the stone bench and slowly sipped the tea that Lin Xiaoyu had brewed for him.

Lin Xiaoyu playfully stuck out her tongue, without refuting.

"Tell me, what's your current situation?"

He put down his teacup.

Lin Xiaoyu also sat down on the stool, her face full of reminiscence.

"Hongyun Hotel opened two years ago. At first, things were fine. The two hotels didn't bother each other, and we still had some customers. But since they changed owners six months ago, the situation has completely changed."

She slammed her fist on the stone table, her whole body flaring with anger.

"Starting about six months ago, their dishes gradually became more refined, but the prices were unusually cheap, which made us afraid to prepare expensive ingredients, and we slowly lost our big customers."

"Moreover, they poached our cooks and staff, and issued a notice that no one was allowed to work for us. That's when my grandfather fell ill."

At this point, Lin Xiaoyu's eyes gradually reddened.

"My grandfather had no choice. He used up his life savings to take care of me, and now that he's sick, he doesn't dare to go to the hospital for treatment."

Gao Yang listened attentively and nodded.

"I understand. I'll handle the rest. But I'm a little hungry now. Do you have any ingredients? Should I go make something to eat?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaoyu immediately put on a happy expression.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'll go get it!"

Watching the girl skip and hop away into the distance, Gao Yang couldn't help but laugh.

"This little girl looks just like her sister. Her grandfather is probably also from the Su family. I was being watched as soon as I got on the train. It seems the Su family is determined to test me this time."

He shook his head and slowly sipped his Biluochun tea.

…………

Hongyun Hotel.

"Boss, a young man went into the hotel across the street. Do you think we should scare him away?"

Inside a private room on the fourth floor, a young man sat on a sofa, wearing a well-tailored suit, and picked up his coffee, savoring it carefully.

Upon hearing his subordinate's report, he opened his eyes and turned to look at the hotel in the alley across the street.

"They must be from out of town. No rush. Let the grandfather and grandson have a couple of days to give them a little bit of hope, and then I'll bring them despair."

The young man raised his right hand, palm up, and made a big grabbing motion in the air, his expression one of ecstasy.

"The land across the street is definitely mine, no rush."

Unexpectedly, the next moment, he put down the coffee and cursed, "What the hell is this? Take it away, take it away, and get me a bottle of Coke."

Under the light, the ring on his middle finger sparkled, a bright yellow, exquisite like a work of art, but on his hand, it had no aesthetic appeal, making him look like a typical nouveau riche.

The subordinate standing nearby quickly bent down, preparing to grab the cola.

"Oh, wait a minute."

The subordinate stopped walking, turned around, and waited for the boss to speak.

"Inform the front of house that starting today, prices will be halved again. Inform the kitchen to reduce portion sizes."

The subordinate nodded in agreement, pushed open the door, and gave the instructions.

The man stared at the hotel sign in the alley, a ruthless glint in his eyes.

"Lin Xiaoyu is mine, that hotel is mine, the land is mine, it's all mine! I'm going to build an even bigger hotel!"