Food and Live Broadcast（15）

Every two weeks, as per the rule set by Old Master Yan, everyone had to gather at the ancestral home for a meal, which also served as an opportunity to strengthen family ties.

During these meals, he would inquire about the work situation of his grandchildren. However, his mood was evidently very bad today, and his appetite was also affected. After taking just a few bites of food, he put down his chopsticks.

In fact, ever since he returned from Mr. Hong's birthday banquet, his appetite had been poor. Having tasted the dishes prepared by Lu Jingqian at the banquet, other dishes he tried to eat afterward seemed tasteless and hard to swallow. He couldn't stop thinking about the dishes he had enjoyed at the banquet. Even if he wanted to dine at the Rainbow Garden Villa, he couldn't secure a reservation, and he was reluctant to lower his status and ask Mr. Hong for help. As a result, he became increasingly anxious at home.

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Everyone at the table could feel the low atmosphere created by him. Usually, the cousins might engage in banter, teasing, and exposing each other's flaws, but today, the dining table was unusually quiet. The cousins of the Yan family often had fierce disputes, and a single meal every two weeks wasn't enough to mend their relationships, but he always hoped they could get along, so he forcefully brought them together.

"Yan Bin, how did the task I assigned to you go?" Master Yan couldn't hold back any longer and asked the same question for the fifth time this week.

"I tried to contact him, but he still hasn't replied." Yan Bin put down his chopsticks and gave the same response for the fifth time.

In reality, Lu Jingqian did reply to Yan Bin once, and his response was concise and direct, just one word, "Scram."

Yan Bin was naturally furious upon receiving such a reply, but under the urging of his grandfather, he had to suppress his anger and continue finding ways to meet Lu Jingqian. He couldn't possibly reveal Lu Jingqian's response in front of his uncles and cousins, as they would only mock and ridicule him without offering any help.

"It's been so long, and you still haven't met him in person?" Old Master Yan felt very disappointed with Yan Bin's abilities, "Is this all the capability you have? How can I trust you to continue managing the F&B brand?"

"Grandfather," Yan Bin's eldest cousin, Yan Hao, put down his chopsticks and said, "If he truly had the ability to manage the F&B brand, he wouldn't be so crushed by the Rainbow Garden Villa now. I said a long time ago that he's simply not suitable for managing the F&B brand. The only reason he managed it for these few years without any major issues is that you laid a strong foundation for the brand. As soon as a slightly stronger opponent appears, he's unable to cope."

With just a few words, Yan Hao completely negated all of Yan Bin's hard work and efforts, making Yan Bin in rage. He had to forcefully suppress his frustration, and the veins on his forehead even popped out.

"I don't think Big Brother Yan has any chance of meeting Lu Jingqian. He bullied him so much in the past, and even if Lu Jingqian is forgiving, he won't just forgive him like that." Yan Bin's cousin, Yan Hao's younger brother chimed in.

"This is the second reason I was about to say." Yan Hao said earnestly, "Others may not know, but everyone in our family is well aware of the bad relationship between Lan Shaoxuan and Lan Mingze. Yan Bin has helped Luan Mingze teach Lan Shaoxuan a lesson several times, so how could he agree to meet him? Rainbow Garden's ready-made dishes and Rainbow Garden Villa have achieved their current sales entirely because of Lan Shaoxuan's culinary skills and cooking methods. Food and catering are all about taste. Just a few days ago, Rainbow Garden's branch opened, and one of my clients specifically requested to go there before they were willing to discuss business with me. It was quite challenging to secure the reservation, but when I went there, Lan Shaoxuan happened to be in the restaurant and was personally cooking. After tasting his dishes, I truly understood why Rainbow Garden Villa is so successful, and I can confidently say that as long as he is there, it will be the most popular restaurant for the next few decades."

"You tasted the dishes prepared by Lan Shaoxuan?" Old Master Yan looked at Yan Hao and asked.

"Yes, Grandfather. I heard that Lan Shaoxuan spends most of his time at Rainbow Garden Villa and only occasionally visits the branch stores. It was just lucky that day as we went there, almost all the dishes were prepared by him personally. It was the same time I mentioned before, the big deal I recently closed. I had been negotiating with that client for almost half a year, and it was this meal that sealed the deal. The dishes were so delicious that I almost forgot about the business discussion. It was only after finishing the meal that I remembered it, and when I mentioned it, the other party immediately agreed. Isn't that miraculous? I feel that someone with such exceptional culinary skills would be a waste if he don't join the Gourmet Association. Perhaps I can try to persuade him. While I haven't had any interactions with him before, at least I haven't offended him, so meeting him should not be difficult."

Yan Hao spoke at length and finally revealed his true intention. He wanted to seize the management of the F&B from Yan Bin using this opportunity. He believed that as long as he could persuade Lu Jingqian to help him, he could lead the F&B brand to dominate the catering industry. If he could win Lu Jingqian over to his side, he didn't mind using some means to deal with Yan Bin and Lan Mingze.

Upon seeing that Old Master Yan seemed swayed by Yan Hao's words, Yan Bin quickly spoke up, saying, "Grandfather, please give me a few more days. As long as I can meet Lu Jingqian, I have a way to persuade him."

After pondering for a moment, Old Master Yan replied, "I'll give you a few more days. If you still can't meet Lan Shaoxuan by then, it will prove that your abilities are not sufficient to manage the F&B brand and I'll hand over the management rights to someone else who is capable."

Yan Hao glanced at Yan Bin, then picked up his chopsticks and continued eating without saying anything more. He believed that Yan Bin's chances of persuading Lu Jingqian were slim. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been unable to meet him until now. He thought his own chances were much better, so he didn't mind waiting a little longer.

As Yan Bin couldn't get a reply from Lu Jingqian and couldn't directly go to Rainbow Garden Villa to find him even if he wanted to. So, he had someone wait outside the restaurant. The plan was to follow Lu Jingqian whenever he came out, and if he went to any branch of Rainbow Garden Villa, they would immediately notify Yan Bin.

Previously, Lu Jingqian might not have left Rainbow Garden Villa for half a month, but now that the branches were open, he had to visit them to inspect the chefs' practice results. If they didn't meet his requirements, they couldn't cook in the kitchen, as it would tarnish his reputation.

Lu Jingqian now unable to come in from the main door, because he would be ambushed and surrounded by his fans. So every time, the car would come in from the back door directly before he enter the kitchen.

When Lu Jingqian arrived at the kitchen, all the chefs had already put down their work and lined up according to their seniority and age, awaiting Lu Jingqian's guidance.

Neither Hong Boxiao nor the manager, nor Lu Jingqian himself, had ever demanded that they must stand in line to greet Lu Jingqian when they saw him. However, these chefs respected Lu Jingqian from the bottom of their hearts and eagerly looked forward to his guidance in their cooking. Thus, every time Lu Jingqian came, they were particularly serious and dedicated, making the most of every minute with him.

"Head Chef, here's today's menu waiting for your review." The branch's head chef handed the updated menu to Lu Jingqian, sending it with both hands.

Lu Jingqian glanced over the menu. Every restaurant would frequently update their dishes, although there wouldn't be significant changes. However, to give customers a sense of freshness, minor adjustments were necessary.

If Lu Jingqian felt that a certain dish didn't meet his standards, he wouldn't allow it to be on the menu. After reviewing the menu, he nodded. Then, he added two new dishes to today's menu and decided to personally prepare these two dishes, allowing the chefs to learn from the side.

The chefs were nervous yet excited, knowing they could learn new dishes. They immediately put in their utmost effort, widening their eyes, and focusing on every detail, afraid of missing anything.

Upon hearing that Lu Jingqian was there, the customers also became excited, wishing they could order multiple portions of every dishes he was going to prepare. Unfortunately, the branch had a rule that each table could only order each dish once. This rule was unique to Rainbow Garden Villa, as other restaurants would naturally want customers to order as much as possible. However, Rainbow Garden Villa was genuinely overwhelmed, especially when Lu Jingqian was present; customers went crazy with their orders, making this rule necessary.

After spending two hours cooking, Lu Jingqian prepared to rest in the lounge and wait for Hong Boxiao to accompany him back. Hong Boxiao happened to be dining at this branch with a business partner.

As Lu Jingqian was walking toward the lounge, he saw someone he didn't want to see in the corridor, it was Yan Bin.

"I want to talk to you." Yan Bin finally managed to meet Lu Jingqian and looked at him seriously.

"What do I have to talk to you about?" Lu Jingqian rolled his eyes. "Do you want to discuss how you used people to go after me in the past? Do you really think I don't know those people were acting under your orders?"

"I can apologize to you. As long as you're willing to talk to me, I can agree to any condition you have." Yan Bin urgently wanted to persuade Lu Jingqian.

"You can agree to any conditions?" Lu Jingqian said with a smirk. "Don't promise too much so soon."

"In that case, why don't you tell me your conditions, as long as it's something I can do, I'll agree." Yan Bin said.

"I want you to kneel down and apologize to me first, then I'll consider whether to listen to what you have to say. But that doesn't mean I'll agree with you. Can you do that?"

"…Insulting my dignity won't benefit you in any way. How about we talk about what you want to get, like the Lan Family's recipe?"

"Heh, it seems you came prepared. I won't talk to you unless you agree." Lu Jingqian might not care about Lan Family's recipes, but the original host did. Retrieving the recipe was inevitable for him, but he didn't need Yan Bin's help. He could only say that Yan Bin overestimated himself.

"This isn't the right place to talk. Since you're so eager to speak with me, I'll listen to how you plan to convince me." Lu Jingqian led him to the lounge, thinking that since Yan Bin was so insistent on embarrassing himself, he'd oblige.

Lu Jingqian sat on the sofa. His assistant brought him tea and then left to stand outside.

"What do you want to say?" Lu Jingqian took a sip of tea.

"First, I want to apologize for my previous actions towards you. I can compensate you in other ways, and I hope you can let go of our past grievances and talk to me calmly about your demands."

Lu Jingqian smirked and said, "Actually, when I said you need to kneel down and apologize before I talk, I was just joking."

Yan Bin felt relieved because of his words.

"Even if you and Lan Mingze kneel in front of me and apologize publicly, I still won't forgive you. So no matter what conditions you offer, I have nothing to talk about with you."

"Our conflicts aren't so irreconcilable that they can't be resolved. I genuinely want to cooperate with you, and I'm willing to apologize and admit my mistakes. We can offer you the same treatment as Rainbow Garden Villa does, and I'm sure you also want to obtain Lan Family's recipes, right?" Yan Bin was well aware that his biggest advantage now was the control over Lan Family's recipes.

"That's just your opinion. In my heart, the conflicts between you, me, and Lan Mingze are irreconcilable in this lifetime." Lu Jingqian thought to himself. The original host was dead, and so was the original host's grandfather. How could this conflict be resolved? "Do you think that now that you have Lan Family's recipes, I will obediently let you manipulate me? It's quite naive of you, to believe that you can manage a company with such innocence. My grandfather always told me when he was alive that he would leave Lan Family's recipes to me and pass on the most authentic Lan Family culinary techniques to me. Yet, in the end, he left the recipe to Lan Mingze. Do you think that's reasonable? Both you and Lan Mingze know very well that Lan Family's recipes rightfully belong to me. Am I wrong?"

Yan Bin closed his eyes, trying to conceal his guilt, and said, "The will was made by your grandfather, and whether you find it reasonable or not, it's an unchangeable fact. But as long as you're willing to cooperate with us, we can give you a portion of Lan Family's recipes. You and Mingze are both descendants of the Lan Family, and your grandfather surely hoped that you could reconcile and revitalize Lan Family together."

Lu Jingqian let out a genuine sarcastic laugh. "Let me and Lan Mingze revitalize the Lan Family together? You really are naive. It seems Lan Mingze didn't tell you how much my grandfather disliked him. After he was brought back to the Lan Family, my grandfather treated him like an invisible person. He never wanted to have such a grandson."

"Please forgive my bluntness." Lu Jingqian changed to a more comfortable sitting position and looked at him. "With your level of intelligence, if I were to truly cooperate with you, I'd probably end up being dragged down with you. You better continue playing with Lan Mingze. After all, birds of the same feather flock together, and you two seem well-matched in terms of intelligence."

Yan Bin never imagined that he would be humiliated like this, but he couldn't get angry or retaliate, as that would completely ruin his chance of convincing Lu Jingqian.