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

Late at night, under a dim yellow light, Guo Yun sat in the empty kitchen, looking bewildered.

By the light of the lamp, he looked at the knife in his hand.

That was bought by my master to celebrate his graduation from the apprenticeship, and I've used it for over thirty years.

The scenes from back then, the master's instructions, the smiling faces of the customers—everything from the past is still vivid in my mind. But I have long since strayed from my original intentions.

Guo Yun thought for a long time, drinking one glass of baijiu after another, but no matter what he did, he didn't feel drunk at all.

The vicissitudes of time have left deep scars on his body, but they have also honed him into the hardest test stone. These hands have truly brought glory and hope.

"If all else fails, let's go to the alleyway hotel."

Guo Yungang was stunned when he said those words, and then shook his head.

"No, Hongyun's salary is high. Without this salary, how will our son get married?"

He sat alone in the chair, his mind filled with thoughts.

There's no way around it; even the most skilled craftsman can be defeated by reality.

…………

Early morning, in a small alleyway hotel.

"Gao Yang, Gao Yang, look! The newspaper says Yuncheng is holding a cooking competition. The winner gets featured in a column and it'll be widely reported!"

Lin Xiaoyu rushed over with a newspaper in her hand, and as soon as she saw Gao Yang, she eagerly handed the newspaper to him.

Gao Yang looked closely, then nodded in affirmation while wiping the plate.

"Indeed, I didn't expect it to be such a big competition. The three judges who participated in the judging are quite influential."

Lin Xiaoyu's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

"Then let's participate too. With you here, we can crush them on the field and then promote our brand. That way, this hotel will never have to worry about customers again! Hehe."

The little girl had an innocent smile on her face, imagining her next victory.

Gao Yang was speechless at her behavior.

"Don't overthink it, we're not participating."

Gao Yang's words were like a heavy hammer, striking Lin Xiaoyu precisely.

"Oh, why?"

Lin Xiaoyu had a long face and looked pained.

"Do you know that if we participate in this competition, you're absolutely capable of winning? Then we can truly make a name for ourselves!"

"Alright, alright, we have more important tasks to complete."

"What? What?"

Young girls are always full of energy. Hearing Gao Yang say this, she quickly moved closer to him, craning her neck to look on.

At this moment, outside.

"Boom!"

A large truck was parked in front of the hotel in the alley.

"Hello, Chef Gao Yang, it's a pleasure to be here to film a documentary about you."

Lin Xiaoyu looked in the direction of the sound and saw five or six people enter the hotel in the alley. They were carrying all kinds of cameras and even microphones.

The one in the lead had a warm expression and shook hands with Gao Yang as soon as he entered.

Gao Yang nodded.

"Then I'll have to trouble you with the rest."

"Okay, don't worry, I'll make sure you're settled in properly."

He waved his hand, signaling his men to start moving the equipment.

Just then, an uninvited guest appeared.

"Oh, so your run-down alleyway hotel is going to participate in a competition?"

The owner of Hongyun Hotel walked in, swaggering around with extreme arrogance.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Zhao Lei, you can also call me Young Master Lei, I don't mind."

Zhao Lei's haughty attitude towards others greatly displeased Lin Xiaoyu.

If there hadn't been so many people on set and the filming crew nearby, her tightly clenched little pink fists would have already punched Zhao Lei on the head.

Zhao Lei noticed that they were preparing to film, and his eyes darted around.

"Yes, you're going to participate in that big competition in Yuncheng, right? You've already started preparing so quickly."

Zhao Lei held up the newspaper and pointed to that column, which clearly stated that in order to increase publicity, a short video needed to be filmed first.

Lin Xiaoyu was speechless.

Good grief, how could they even crash into that?

However, she had no intention of explaining anything; she would just let this fool be self-righteous.

As expected, after confirming his suspicions, Zhao Lei scoffed dismissively.

"Stop struggling. This competition will definitely be won by our Hongyun Hotel. You guys can just serve as our servants. If you apologize and say a few nice words now, I might be able to help you. But later on, it won't be so easy to talk to you."

Gao Yang didn't show much expression after hearing this, but these words really angered Lin Xiaoyu.

This guy is crazy, this guy is definitely crazy, what is he even talking about?

She suppressed the urge to slap Zhao Lei across the face and forced a smile at him.

"Then I wish you success!"

Zhao Lei looked at the girl with a puzzled expression, not understanding why she would wish him success after he had provoked her to this point.

He didn't want to care anymore and looked up at Gao Yang.

"Gao Yang, how about we make a bet? If our Hongyun Hotel wins the championship this time, you'll transfer the Xiaoxiang Hotel to us."

"What if you can't get it?"

Gao Yang countered with a question.

Zhao Lei burst out laughing as if he had heard something unbelievable.

"How could that be? Our Hongyun Hotel is determined to win this competition, okay?"

"What if you don't win the championship?"

Gao Yang continued to repeat the sentence slowly and deliberately.

Zhao Lei narrowed his eyes slightly.

"If Hongyun doesn't win the championship in this competition, I will transfer the Hongyun Hotel to you."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone present gasped in shock.

"That's incredibly daring to gamble."

You know, a hotel like Hongyun Hotel easily generates hundreds of thousands in revenue a year, and they just gambled it all away like that?

Lin Xiaoyu nervously tugged at Gao Yang's sleeve.

As a child of the Su family, she understood all too well what the alleyway hotel meant. This was where the Su family had built their fortune for generations, and even with her personality, she would never dare to take such a gamble.

Gao Yang's expression remained calm and composed.

"Come on, let's bet."

His performance once again left everyone gasping in astonishment.

My God, what kind of courage does it take to take such a huge gamble!

Zhao Lei was also caught off guard.

He swallowed hard.

"Very good, you said it yourself. Just don't renege on your promise when the time comes. I can guarantee that our Hongyun Hotel will definitely win the championship."

Gao Yang didn't say anything, he just stared straight at Zhao Lei.

The atmosphere on the field became tense for a moment.

Zhao Lei felt a little uneasy under Gao Yang's gaze, chuckled dryly, and made an excuse to leave in a hurry.

After he left, Lin Xiaoyu looked at Gao Yang, her bright eyes filled with worry.

"Gao Yang, what do we do? If you don't participate in the competition and they really win, we're doomed!"

She also felt a little regretful, wishing she could have stopped Gao Yang earlier.

This is really bad.

Unexpectedly, Gao Yang smiled gently and reassured them softly, "It's alright, they won't win the championship."

Why?

Lin Xiaoyu still had tears in the corners of her eyes, and she was very puzzled.

Gao Yang did not answer, but turned to look at the group of people who were filming.

"You guys filmed that part, right?"