Jia Rundong felt very aggrieved; he realized he had messed up this time.

Fu Yu wasn’t absent from work yesterday; he was out for a service call.

Moreover, he had already reported to the finance department before leaving.

So now, with all this happening, isn’t it a case of confusing right and wrong, turning truth on its head?

As Jia Rundong thought of this, his expression changed, but he quickly calmed himself down, taking a deep breath.

The situation was as it was; it was useless to argue.

Jia Rundong turned to Yao Shi and his attitude made a complete 180-degree change. Sincerely, he said, “Oh! You see, what a big misunderstanding we’ve had. I went to the kitchen yesterday, specifically wanting to have a chat with you about the activities for the National Day holiday at the store.”

“The kitchen is the most important department in our store, and your insights are always unique and particularly valuable. I just wanted to discuss with you the banquet menu for the day and the festival bonuses for the kitchen staff.”

“I had a lot of things piling up; I was just too busy. When I saw Fu Yu wasn’t there, I particularly inquired about it and heard that he had left for a reason. Later I heard he hadn’t returned even by evening, so I mistakenly thought he was absent without leave.”

“Chef Yao, I really handled this inadequately. However, you see, I was considering the management system of the store, just a bit too impatient.”

“Please, don’t take it to heart!”

Everyone likes compliments, especially from someone like Jia Rundong, who is eloquent and appeared so sincere and apologetic. His words were also very earnest.

It made people feel warm inside when they heard them.

Yao Shi still kept a stern face, showing no sign of backing down.

Jia Rundong managed to climb from being a finance accountant to the front office manager, indeed someone flexible and adaptable.

He explained apologetically, “Furthermore, there was a misunderstanding. I really didn’t know about Fu Yu’s service call. Initially, when I mentioned the penalty, Xiaosu didn’t inform me either.”

“If I had known Fu Yu was on a service call, I surely wouldn’t have considered disciplining him, would I?”

At this point, most people wouldn’t have anything more to say.

After all, what Jia Rundong said was reasonable, plus he firmly held the banner of ‘considering for the store’—apologizing on one hand and explaining on the other.

With him doing things like this, who could really have the heart to argue with him?

But if Yao Shi were just anyone, he wouldn’t be able to juggle the position of chief chef at Qianlima and oversee all matters in the music restaurant so well on both ends.

Yao Shi said pointedly, “This matter has nothing to do with misunderstanding. If you, as a leader, cannot act impartially, neither the punished employee nor others will be convinced by you!”

“You just heard Fu Yu wasn’t there and rashly concluded he was absent without leave. Why didn’t you communicate with me directly in the first place? Even if not through me, you could ask Zhao Meng, or even personally inquire with Accountant Xin, and it wouldn’t have escalated to this point!”

“Furthermore, even if Fu Yu really was absent without leave, you not only fined him and canceled his year-end bonus, but also directly published a disciplinary notice in the group announcement. Fu Yu is under my supervision, did you communicate this with me from start to finish?”

“Fu Yu is currently a very outstanding chef in the kitchen, and I was preparing to train him well…”

Yao Shi became serious, his gaze sharp and imposing, and he asked word by word, “If you drive him away, where am I supposed to find another such excellent chef?”

Yao Shi’s words brought a flush to Jia Rundong’s face, who tried to argue back several times, only to be directly refuted by the next rebuttal.

It wasn’t over yet.

Yao Shi sneered and said, “Manager Jia, your actions today, to put it nicely, were careless. If we look into it seriously, it’s negligence! As a manager, not treating your employees fairly and justly is truly disheartening!”

“I…” How could Jia Rundong sit by and let Yao Shi easily place such a label on his head, and he hurriedly retorted, “Chef Yao, your words are a bit extreme! I did this for better management of the store’s employees…”

Yao Shi said, “You call this management? This is called using power to oppress!”

It’s not just Jia Rundong who’s articulate.

Yao Shi, in his forties, has been tempered by society. His demeanor is mature and stern, with a natural presence.

Arguing? Quibbling? Engaging in verbal battles?

The kitchen doesn’t fear such tricks.

Dong Jun Tian saw that the two were on the verge of a full-blown argument, and quickly intervened in a timely manner, “Alright! I understand the situation now.”

On one side there’s the front office manager, and on the other side, the head chef.

Both are equally important.

In Dong Jun Tian’s view, Yao Shi is just emotionally protective, which is why he’s somewhat agitated.

He could understand.

And it’s not wrong for Jia Rundong to administer a penalty based on Fu Yu’s alleged absence upon thinking it over.

After all, such incidents are indeed quite common in the store now.

Jia Rundong probably intended to set an example, but ended up with a huge misunderstanding.

You can’t really blame him.

With that in mind, Dong Jun Tian could only calmly appease both sides, “In this matter, Old Jia, you indeed handled it inadequately. When you return, immediately revoke the penalty! This was just a misunderstanding; next time be more careful, everything should be based on solid evidence. How can you make conclusions so lightly!”

“Yao Shi, don’t be angry. Old Jia’s actions were indeed somewhat aggressive, but his intentions were good, wanting to uphold the work discipline in our store. And about Fu Yu, please take the effort to comfort him; Xiaofu is indeed very good, very outstanding, and I plan to focus on training and promoting him!”

“Tell Fu Yu that since he performed exceptionally well after becoming a regular, starting next month, he should get the same commission by proportion as Old Zhao and Lao Gu!”

Yao Shi moved his lips but ultimately said nothing further.

What Dong Jun Tian said seemed to side with him, as if speaking on his behalf, but he was actually just trying to make peace.

Yao Shi himself is also a boss, understanding that regardless of right or wrong in this matter, as the front office manager, Dong Jun Tian could not really make Jia Rundong apologize to Fu Yu.

And he couldn’t really bring up the previous incident of Jia Rundong letting acquaintances cut in line as an act of using public office for personal gain.

Because such things, almost everyone in the store has done.

Even he, himself, has, when friends came to dine at the store, greeted them and helped secure a private room, letting them cut in line.

Such social favors are unavoidable.

Besides, as the front office manager, Jia Rundong and Yao Shi frequently need to work together, so they couldn’t really fall out; otherwise, it would be impossible to work in the future.

So, even though Yao Shi was clear-minded about this, at this point, he had to let it go graciously.

As for Fu Yu, since Dong Jun Tian had stated that he’d be allowed to start receiving standard commissions proportional to performance from next month, it was indeed a blessing in disguise.

After all, knowing this could bring in quite a few extra bucks from a single table, which added up to a lot in one day!

For the sake of the money, Yao Shi decided to let Jia Rundong off this time.

But he wouldn’t forget this matter.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep