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

In the following days, thanks to the vigorous promotion by those bigwigs and Su Wanqing's behind-the-scenes efforts, the alleyway hotel's business improved more and more, with people staying there and eating there every day.

Such days inevitably bring exhaustion.

"Gao Yang, let's hire a few more people."

Today, there were no private rooms available for reservation, and the few tables of guests we had left early after their meal.

Lin Xiaoyu lay slumped on the table, her body feeling like it was falling apart.

"Gao Yang, I'm so tired! Just the two of us can't keep up!"

In the Su family, she was a pampered young lady who never lifted a finger. She had never experienced such torment before. Now, she not only has to serve the dishes, but also wash the dishes.

"Good heavens, when will this ever end?!"

Lin Xiaoyu's wailing and howling amused her grandfather, who was standing nearby.

Grandpa sat under the pipa tree, tapping his old-fashioned pipe, and felt much more relaxed.

Gao Yang thought about it and realized that he had been busy all this time.

"Okay, let's go, I'll take you out to eat."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaoyu immediately sat up straight, her little face filled with anticipation, her eyes sparkling as she asked, "Really? Where are we going to eat? Is it something delicious?"

Gao Yang couldn't help but chuckle; a little girl is just a little girl.

One second they're howling and complaining about being tired, the moment food is mentioned, all their energy comes back.

"Let's go, let's see what our opponents are really made of."

"An old rival?"

Lin Xiaoyu was stunned for a moment, then realized what she meant and instantly became interested.

She didn't even have time to complain about being tired, and quickly stood up, patting her clothes.

"Let's go! Let's see just how luxurious that shameless bastard's hotel is. I want to see what they're capable of besides lowering prices to steal business!"

She grabbed Gao Yang and rushed out of the hotel, her face full of undisguised smugness.

Gao Yang smiled and shook his head, then turned around and greeted his grandfather.

"Grandpa, let's go out to get something to eat, we'll be back later."

Grandpa put down his pipe, waved his hand, and smiled broadly.

"Go on, go on, you're all exhausted. Relax and don't worry about me. I can cook some porridge myself."

The two walked out of the alleyway hotel side by side.

The evening breeze carried a slight chill, which felt particularly pleasant on my face. It was late spring, and there were quite a few pedestrians on the street, all of whom were taking a walk to digest their food after work.

The rustling of leaves, the fragrance of flowers, the chirping of birds, and the buzzing of insects all combine to create a harmonious scene.

Lin Xiaoyu skipped and hopped ahead, occasionally turning back to urge Gao Yang on.

"Hurry, hurry! I can't wait to see the excitement at Hongyun Hotel!"

Gao Yang followed slowly behind, his gaze sweeping across the street to the Hongyun Hotel, a subtle scrutiny flashing in his eyes.

During this period, as the alleyway hotel gradually gained popularity, the number of guests at the Hongyun Hotel decreased significantly compared to before.

Before long, the two arrived at the entrance of the Hongyun Hotel.

Unlike the quaint and elegant alleyway hotels, the Hongyun Grand Hotel was decorated in a very luxurious style. Bright colored lights hung at the entrance, and exquisite potted plants were placed on both sides. The staff at the entrance wore uniforms and stood with perfect posture, giving it a grand appearance, although there were quite a few of them.

Lin Xiaoyu tilted her head back, looked at the hotel in front of her, and pursed her lips.

"Gao Yang, this number doesn't match up. I remember there was a whole line of greeters before the guests even arrived, making quite a show of it. How come there are only two people now?"

After thinking for a moment, the answer in Gao Yang's mind became clear.

"Maybe their business hasn't been doing well lately, and their boss laid off some people."

Lin Xiaoyu's face was filled with disbelief.

"I remember they were hiring just half a month ago, and they hired quite a few people. They let them work for half a month and then fired them. Why would anyone be willing to work for them wholeheartedly?"

Gao Yang shook his head and didn't say anything.

Indeed, this is a major taboo.

They entered the hall.

As soon as you enter, a waiter will greet you warmly.

"Hello, how many of you are dining? Please come in."

Gao Yang nodded slightly.

"Gentlemen, no need to go to too much trouble, just find a seat by the window."

The waiter respectfully led the two to a window seat on the second floor and handed them the menu.

Lin Xiaoyu took the menu, flipped it open, and immediately frowned.

"My goodness, that's so expensive! A dish of squirrel-shaped mandarin fish costs fifty-eight yuan, almost twice as expensive as the restaurants in our alley!"

This price was within Gao Yang's expectations. After all, it's such a big hotel with a certain level of prestige. They probably didn't make any money during their big promotion a while ago, so now that they don't dare to compete with smaller hotels in the alley, the price has come back up.

He took a sip of the tea on the table.

"Order whatever you like, it's on me today."

"Thank you, brother!"

Lin Xiaoyu smiled and flipped through the menu page by page.

Gao Yang wasn't stupid. The dishes in such a big hotel are already very complicated. It's impossible for dozens or even hundreds of dishes to be made by the same chef. This is perfect. Let's see their skills.

"One of each of these, one of these, one of these, and one of these."

Lin Xiaoyu, on the other hand, was happily ordering food.

Suddenly, a familiar roar came from a private room not far away; it was the young owner of the Hongyun Hotel.

His voice came from afar, followed by a series of dense, chaotic footsteps—his subordinates.

"Useless! You're all useless! I told you to investigate Gao Yang's background, and after all this time, you haven't found anything! Also, the alleyway hotel has been doing so well lately, can't you come up with a solution?!"

Lin Xiaoyu shrank back in fright and quickly looked at Gao Yang, lowering her voice as she spoke.

"It's that shameless boss! He's swearing at people right now!"

Gao Yang gestured for her to be quiet and listen attentively.

"Boss, we've investigated. Gao Yang used to be the head chef at the Grand View Hotel. He has connections with many important people. Those big clients all come for his cooking skills. We can't touch him at all."

It was his subordinates who were quietly defending him.

"Can't move?!"

The young man's voice grew increasingly agitated.

"I don't care! I don't care what kind of head chef he is, or what important people he knows, I'm going to make him suffer! The better the alleyway hotel does, the more miserable I feel. If you can't come up with a solution, get out of here!"

He spoke as he walked, bumping into a row of tables and chairs, his voice so loud that everyone could hear him.

Lin Xiaoyu frowned, looking indignant.

"That's outrageous! He's incompetent, all he does is bully his subordinates and try to harm us. He's despicable!"

Gao Yang's face gradually darkened, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

He had known all along that the young boss wouldn't give up easily, and now it seemed he would soon have something new to do.

"Never mind, let's eat first."

At this moment, the first dish was served, and he picked up a piece of squirrel-shaped mandarin fish with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.

"Um?"

Gao Yang noticed something, his brows furrowed, and he chewed the fish meat carefully while pondering something in his mind.

After a moment, he realized the reason, and his expression became very strange.

"What's wrong?"

Lin Xiaoyu asked, puzzled.

"It's nothing, I just thought it was fun."

He picked up another piece of fish with his chopsticks, his expression playful.

Things started to get better, didn't they?