Chapter 61: The Dark Secrets of the Kitchen

Lin Qing’er went to the hotel parking lot, where her white luxury car was parked.

“Shui Ge, you really did well! Come on, spill the beans—how exactly did you manage to hook up with Chairwoman Lin? The way you two were acting all cozy together, I bet you’ve already…” As soon as Lin Qing’er left, Chen Bing and the others immediately became lively, naturally the most excited being Chen Bing himself, because he had gained real benefits.

However, Chen Bing used the term “hook up,” which greatly annoyed Shui Miao.

Shui Miao wasn’t a rigid person by nature; he simply felt that pure emotions shouldn’t be tainted by derogatory words. A woman with a pure heart who had already been hurt should not be further wounded by irresponsible gossip.

“Chen Bing, do you even know what you’re saying?” Shui Miao frowned and interrupted Chen Bing. “Chen Bing, Lin Jie is a good person, and also a tragic one. There’s nothing between us but innocence. What you said might be a joke, but it’s also insulting language. It’s fine if you insult me, but you’ve also insulted her. We’ve all come together, and I will directly point out your shortcomings so that you can improve quickly, so don’t get upset—you should correct your attitude. We’re all just ordinary employees; we mustn’t become arrogant or careless because of temporary success, nor should we casually speak words that hurt others’ feelings. Alright, I need to go out for a bit now. Huang Fei has already been fired, so you’re in charge—don’t mess things up.”

Shui Miao was troubled. He knew that Chen Bing lacked the capability to manage because he didn’t understand the basic qualities a manager should possess. Chen Bing’s personality was somewhat reckless and overly money-oriented. Yet Lin Qing’er had directly appointed him as deputy manager, and since they were friends, what else could Shui Miao do but urge him strictly to improve quickly?

Sometimes, making friends is like this: when there’s no conflict, everyone gets along well. But once conflicts arise, it tests a person’s true abilities. Those who can achieve great things naturally handle situations with ease and quickly learn what should or shouldn’t be done. Those who can’t achieve success might not even listen to advice like Shui Miao’s, and might even react emotionally, thinking Shui Miao was heartless, turning their backs on him and resigning, or even breaking off the friendship entirely.

Shui Miao left Chen Bing standing there, stunned, and hailed a taxi, asking the driver to follow Lin Qing’er’s car ahead.

As he sat in the car, Shui Miao suddenly felt a strange sadness. There’s no banquet that never ends; people must always face trials. He hoped Chen Bing could understand him, correct his shortcomings, grow quickly, and not disappoint him—please don’t…

“Boss Bing, did you see how fast Shui Ge changed?”

“Yeah! How come he suddenly turned so harsh on us? We didn’t even say anything to others…”

“Exactly! It’s one thing to treat us like this, but why be so harsh on you, Boss Bing?”

Several young men felt quite upset at the moment. They all thought Shui Miao was a selfish, opportunistic person who had stepped on his old friends for his own future.

“Enough! Don’t talk nonsense anymore. Shui Ge was teaching me how to be a person and how to manage. Can’t you see that? If anyone dares to speak ill of Shui Ge again, I’ll fire them myself.” Chen Bing impatiently glared, clearly affected, but reflecting on Shui Miao’s words, he realized he had indeed been wrong.

Seeing Chen Bing suddenly change his tone, everyone quickly shut up.

They looked at each other, then hurriedly slunk away.

“A bunch of bastards almost misled me. Shui Ge is a man of integrity and emotion, my good brother. I was just too excited and spoke without thinking—who else can I blame?” Chen Bing hated himself for speaking recklessly in a moment of excitement. To remember this lesson, he even slapped himself.

※※※

Lin Qing’er drove to a place called Tianfu Garden.

Shui Miao asked the driver and learned that Tianfu Garden was a cemetery. Behind its main gate lay more than thirty acres of graves. Clearly, Lin Qing’er hadn’t come to visit the living. Sure enough, Lin Qing’er bought some flowers and paper money, entered the cemetery, burned the paper at a grave, and murmured to herself for quite a while before leaving.

After Lin Qing’er left, Shui Miao also came to the grave to take a look.

The gravestone read: “In memory of Liu Zhi…”

So his name was Liu Zhi!

Shui Miao finally figured out who it was that Lin Qing’er had loved so deeply all along.

However, Shui Miao became deeply curious about the cause of Liu Zhi’s death.

Before he could think further, when Shui Miao exited Tianfu Garden, Lin Qing’er’s car was already gone.

Worried that Lin Qing’er might do something rash, Shui Miao gave her a call. The phone was quickly answered.

“Lin Jie, are you coming back for dinner?”

“No, I’m meeting a close female friend. We haven’t seen each other in a long time, so I’ll probably chat for a while. Don’t wait for me.”

“Okay then, have fun, Lin Jie.”

“Alright. Oh, by the way, during lunch today, managers from other departments might come too. They’re all cunning old foxes. Think of a way to handle them carefully.”

“No problem, I’ll be cautious.”

“Alright, I’m hanging up now. I’m driving.”

“Okay.”

After a brief conversation, Shui Miao felt relieved. It seemed he had worried unnecessarily—Lin Qing’er was fine, truly revitalized. But immediately afterward, he recalled Lin Qing’er’s parting words, which seemed to carry hidden meanings… It was just a meal—why did she tell him to be careful and think of a way to handle it?

What did she mean?

Shui Miao couldn’t quite grasp Lin Qing’er’s intention. However, he had met several of the other department managers before. Each of them acted high and mighty, especially the female manager from the HR department, Yin Yangyang. Even if you smiled and greeted her, she might not even look at you properly. She always had a stern expression, as if the whole world owed her money.

Could it be that Lin Jie wanted to see how he would deal with them, trying to push him to take the lead?

Shui Miao pondered. Previously, Lin Qing’er had mentioned that several other department managers weren’t clean either, just like Huang Fei. She had wanted to deal with these managers, and now she told him this—could she be trying to let him use his wits and take the first step for her?

“Yes, that must be what she meant.”

Shui Miao made up his mind. He decided to return to the hotel immediately and plan carefully before those managers arrived.

More than ten minutes later, Shui Miao returned to the hotel.

The first thing he did upon returning was to gather everyone who knew about his new appointment as the restaurant manager, asking them all to keep it a secret and not reveal that he was now the manager. He wanted to stage a little play for the other department managers at lunch. Seeing Shui Miao acting so mysteriously, everyone was curious about what he was planning. They found it amusing and nodded enthusiastically, promising full cooperation.

Then, Shui Miao went to see Chef Bi, the head chef.

Chef Bi was a local man in his fifties, slightly overweight, usually smiling, and a very nice person.

The food and beverage department consisted mainly of the kitchen and the dining area. If one had to prioritize, the kitchen was more important. After all, imagine a big hotel serving bad food—no matter how good the service, it would be useless. But if the food was delicious, even if the service was slightly lacking, customers would still tolerate it.

Therefore, to manage the food and beverage department well, the kitchen was the key.

Shui Miao had worked at the hotel for two years and understood the kitchen deeply. He knew its importance and was familiar with each chef’s skills and personalities. Although Bi was the head chef, he rarely took charge, preferring a quiet and peaceful life. As for his skills, Bi belonged to the traditional school—solid but outdated, neither particularly good nor bad.

“Oh, Xiao Shui is here!”

As Shui Miao pushed open the kitchen door, he saw Chef Bi sitting on a chair smoking.

Smoking wasn’t allowed in the kitchen area.

Chef Bi quickly threw away the cigarette, stepped on it with his foot to put it out, and smiled as he approached Shui Miao.

In the past, although Bi always smiled, he rarely spoke to the waiters. When he had free time, he would read newspapers and chat with Lao Huang about stocks. Lao Huang was in charge of ingredient procurement, a good old soul, talkative and straightforward. Shui Miao liked asking him questions. Today, knowing that Shui Miao had been promoted to food and beverage manager, Bi clearly acted unusually, showing unusual respect toward Shui Miao.

“Uncle Bi, what’s wrong? Do you have something on your mind?”

Shui Miao immediately sensed that Bi had something troubling him, for normally Bi never smoked, let alone in the kitchen.

“Hehe, you’ve seen right through me. There is indeed something I want to discuss with you. Come, let’s talk privately…” Bi smiled and led Shui Miao to the break room nearby. “Xiao Shui, there’s something I’ve wanted to discuss with Huang Fei for a while, but I never got the chance. Now that you’re the manager, I can finally speak up. But please don’t think I have any complaints against you. You’ve been here for two years, and I know you’re a good kid. I really want to help you, but I’m just too old and weak now.”

“What do you mean, Uncle Bi? Are you planning to leave our hotel?”

Shui Miao sensed the implication in Bi’s words and felt a shock, never expecting that the reliable Uncle Bi would have problems.

Bi nodded. “There are two reasons. First, I’m old now, and I can’t come up with new dishes or bring any new potential to the hotel. Holding this position is holding the hotel back. Second, my daughter’s business abroad has grown, and she’s repeatedly called, urging my wife and me to go over and help take care of the grandchildren. I hate to leave my apprentices behind, so I’ve been delaying. These are all true words—if you don’t believe me, I can show you the text messages.”

Bi took out his phone and showed Shui Miao the messages from his daughter, each one begging him to come abroad to take care of the grandchildren.

Shui Miao was silent for a moment before saying to Bi, “Uncle Bi, if you really want to go, I naturally won’t stop you. Family reunions are a very happy thing—I can only wish you happiness. But may I ask, if you leave, will the other chefs in the kitchen stay?”

“Xiao Shui, you know, the real reason I haven’t left yet is precisely because I’m worried about them!” Bi held Shui Miao’s hand and sighed. “You don’t know—there are factions in the kitchen world. If I leave, my apprentices will have to join other factions. Understand, once they join other factions, they won’t have an easy life anymore. That’s exactly why I’ve been so troubled.”

“What kind of unreasonable rule is that? Do I need their permission to hire chefs?”

Shui Miao was shocked, never expecting such unreasonable traditions in the kitchen world.

“I’m afraid so. They’re ruthless—they can even kill people!”

Bi said fearfully.

“…”

Hearing this, Shui Miao was taken aback. It seemed that even his position as the food and beverage manager wouldn’t be easy to hold.