Dong Jun Tian led Gu Yunwu into the kitchen, and immediately saw Sun Qingning and Yao Yihang each busy with their wok, while Zhao Meng stood next to Sun Qingning, occasionally offering some pointers.

Over by Yao Shi’s station, the fire was already lit, with a helper assisting at the side.

Seeing the kitchen in complete order, Dong Jun Tian felt a great sense of relief.

With Yao Shi around, there definitely wouldn’t be any worry about incoming orders in the kitchen.

“Boss, should I go and get busy now?”

Gu Yunwu studied Dong Jun Tian’s expression, and though reluctant, knew he had to show his attitude at this moment.

Dong Jun Tian, after calming down, with most of his earlier impatience gone, thought for a moment and said, “Since today is a special case for you, I won’t hold it against you this time. But next time, you must prioritize the store’s business first!”

Gu Yunwu thought inwardly that Dong Jun Tian just wanted to squeeze every bit of labor out of him.

All this fuss was just to get him to work hard!

However, he obediently replied, “Alright, boss. I’ll be sure to pay attention next time.”

No matter what he thought, as soon as Gu Yunwu got the orders, he didn’t linger for even a second and turned around to get back to work at his station.

Who would dare stay behind at this point?

If the boss suddenly raised hell again, he’d be the one to take the hit.

That’s why Gu Yunwu could win Dong Jun Tian’s favor; he really had a thorough understanding of Dong Jun Tian’s temperament, which allowed him to successfully curry favor and become close to Dong Jun Tian.

Having dealt with Gu Yunwu, Dong Jun Tian went on greeting everyone with smiles as he walked over to Yao Shi.

Yao Shi, busy with work, asked, “Boss, anything you need me for?”

Seeing everything in order in the kitchen, Dong Jun Tian found it hard to speak what he intended to say.

Especially because Yao Shi’s calling him “Boss” reminded him of the previous times he was called “Brother Dong.”

It left him somewhat uneasy.

So after clearing his throat lightly, Dong Jun Tian smiled and said, “Ah, nothing much, just wanted to invite you to dinner tonight.”

Yao Shi casually replied, “Next time perhaps, it might be pretty late when we’re done today.”

His words were reasonable both emotionally and logically.

Having been refused, Dong Jun Tian couldn’t say anything further.

With the kitchen bustling, Dong Jun Tian realized his presence was in the way, so he didn’t stay long and left.

However, once he left the kitchen, that indescribable feeling surfaced again in his heart.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that Yao Shi’s attitude towards him seemed unusually polite, even a bit distant?

The thought came to him, and Dong Jun Tian couldn’t help but shake his head.

It couldn’t be, obviously Yao Shi’s behavior was perfectly normal.

He must have been overthinking it.

Thinking this, Dong Jun Tian felt reassured and walked away with a light step.

…

Fu Yu enjoyed a nice dinner at the music restaurant and was already past nine in the evening when he took a cab back to Qianlima.

The taxi stopped in front of Qianlima, and Fu Yu walked in through the main entrance.

He was about to head to the back kitchen to find Zhao Meng when he happened to encounter Dai Li carrying a tray.

Fu Yu smiled and greeted, “Sister Dai, you’re busy!”

Dai Li hurriedly said upon seeing him, “Chef Fu, you’re finally back! Where did you go just now? I heard the boss was pretty angry and was looking for you everywhere!”

Fu Yu was taken aback and asked in surprise, “Looking for me?”

Dai Li nodded, “Apparently, a customer was urging for their food, and the kitchen couldn’t cope.”

Dai Li had heard this from other servers, but when she got to the kitchen, Dong Jun Tian had already left.

At that time, Zhao Meng was talking to Yao Shi, and the only ones cooking were Yao Yihang and Sun Qingning.

While Dai Li was serving, she overheard Yao Yihang ask Zhang Jinyu, who was temporarily helping out, where Fu Yu went.

At that time, Zhang Jinyu said that Fu Yu had left to take care of something.

Yao Yihang then made a sarcastic remark, implying that Fu Yu left his post during working hours and how Chef Zhao seemed really lenient with his people.

Zhang Jinyu, being clueless, happily continued with his work.

Having kept an ear on the situation, Dai Li now saw Fu Yu had finally returned and hurriedly told him what had happened.

Dai Li asked with concern, “Where did you go? Why are you back so late? Didn’t you inform Chef Zhao when you left?”

The kitchen was pretty busy, so Dai Li didn’t have a chance to talk to Zhao Meng alone.

Fu Yu didn’t expect the boss would be looking for him.

Could it be that the kitchen really was overwhelmed?

But when he went to the music restaurant, it was arranged by Chef Yao, so they should have known he was out for a catering service.

He left with good reason and wasn’t afraid to be questioned by anyone.

Fu Yu smiled and explained the situation to Dai Li, omitting his trip to the music restaurant and only mentioned he had a sudden catering job to attend to.

Dai Li breathed a sigh of relief and said sincerely, “That’s good.”

After a few words, Dai Li went back to deliver dishes, and Fu Yu headed to the kitchen.

For the sake of communication, Yao Yihang temporarily took over Fu Yu’s cooking station to work.

When Fu Yu arrived, Yao Yihang was busy with the wok, Zhang Jinyu wasn’t there, but the storage room door was open, so he was probably fetching some vegetables.

Sun Qingning was focused on plating, while Zhao Meng stood nearby, hand on hip, watching closer.

Not far away, Yao Shi was also busy with his wok.

The helpers were each tending to their duties.

Everyone was busy yet orderly, with no sense of urgency despite the customers’ eagerness for their food.

Seeing Fu Yu had returned, Zhao Meng turned to Yao Yihang and said, “Xiao Yao, once you’re done with this, head back; Chef Gu must be exhausted.”

Yao Yihang didn’t particularly care which station he worked at.

Either way, he was standing and working with the wok from morning till night.

When here, he was busy with the wok, and if he returned, he’d still be cooking.

He couldn’t rest either way, so there was hardly anything to look forward to.

Fu Yu changed clothes, washed his hands, and replaced Sun Qingning to help stir-fry a portion of spicy crayfish.

This month, the crayfish were starting to get plump, so many customers were ordering it.

While pouring oil into the pan, Fu Yu turned to Zhao Meng and asked, “Chef Zhao, I heard the boss was looking for me earlier?”

Zhao Meng was puzzled, “No?”

Indeed, Dong Jun Tian did come by during the shift change, but he went straight to talk with Yao Shi and didn’t say a word to Zhao Meng.

Fu Yu was confused, “That’s odd, then why did they say the boss was looking for me?”

Zhao Meng asked, perplexed, “Who said that?”

Just then, Yao Yihang suddenly said, “I heard it too. Apparently, there was a customer urging for dishes, and the boss asked where Chef Fu went.”

After he said that, Zhao Meng and Fu Yu simultaneously looked over at him.

Zhao Meng, still dubious, said, “The boss didn’t come over here before, right?”

Yao Yihang was actually clued in by a message from Gu Yunwu earlier, which explained everything.

But he couldn’t say that in front of Zhao Meng and Fu Yu.

Gossiping about others behind their backs was indeed unbecoming…

Feeling their eyes on him, Yao Yihang, a bit guilty, awkwardly continued bluffing, “I heard the boss saying it earlier; I shouldn’t have heard wrong.”

Zhao Meng was skeptical but didn’t dwell on it much.

Since Fu Yu’s trip to the music restaurant was through Yao Shi, it must have been handled well.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep