“Zhong Xiang, this is a golden opportunity. You must think carefully,” the host tried.
Zhong Xiang looked at the Second Young Mistress and Wang Mingde, his eyes softening. “My decision is final. This win is not my personal success. It is the credit of all the people in the Heavenly Residence, especially the Second Young Mistress. If it wasn’t for her advice and encouragement, I wouldn’t be standing here.
“I believe that every cook here who has not yet risen to ranks can understand me. Regular cooks are in the kitchen earning meager wages, doing the dirtiest and most burdensome tasks. The chefs are always staring at us maliciously, scared that we’ll steal their recipes. They talk down on us because we’re not on the same level as them.
“So, I always wanted to rise and become a chef. However, for someone mediocre like me, that was just a pipe dream until Li Yao, or the Second Young Mistress came. She has never once looked down on us. She treats us as brothers and is never stingy with her recipes. She taught us to enjoy cooking and she let us hone our skills. Under her leadership, everyone at Heavenly Residence improved. We started to think of Heavenly Residence as our second home. Even if we do so much work to the point of exhaustion, we are happy.
“I don’t want to leave this warm and happy home and the guys who persist with me every day. I hope to work with them to create more delicious food and complete our dreams together,” Zhong Xiang said. “Please forgive me.”
Everyone was speechless, not because Zhong Xiang gave up, but because he likened Heavenly Residence to a home that was warm and happy. For the cooks who were still struggling in a bad working environment, it was unimaginable to them.
Just exactly who was this Second Young Mistress? Was she even real? How could there be someone so generous and kind?
The other cooks were really jealous. They were even thinking of going to Heavenly Residence tomorrow to see if they’re still hiring.
Xia Chunyu looked over at Yaoyao and saw that there were tears in her eyes. He smiled and said softly, “Your crew loves you.”
“Zhong Xiang is good, but the real good person here is Yaoyao,” Little Jing said.
“That’s why I decided to be her friend the first time I met her,” Zhao Qixuan chimed in proudly.
Xia Chunyu rolled his eyes. Not to be outdone, he said, “When I first met Yaoyao, I decided to marry her.”
This fueled Little Jing’s jealousy. If he had met Yaoyao first, he would’ve done the same thing.
Ye Jiayao wasn��t paying any attention to them. She was still trying to recover from her shock. She didn’t expect Zhong Xiang to stay. She also didn’t expect him to say such a heartfelt passage.
Since the first place chose to quit, the qualification for entering the imperial kitchen was postponed. The contestant in the fourth place was extremely excited. He desperately wanted to work for the imperial kitchen.
When Zhong Xiang joined the group, Wang Mingde immediately gave him a big hug. He said, “You’re a good brother!”
“I think the salary from the imperial kitchen may be less than what Second Young Mistress would be paying me,” Zhong Xiang joked.
Ye Jiayao responded, “We’ll have to talk about your new pay, Zhong Xiang.”
Zhong Xiang shook his head and hurriedly said, “No, no, Second Young Mistress, I was only joking.”
“You won the cooking competition. I need to hire you as a chef now, otherwise, other restaurants might beat me to it,” she said with a smile.
Xia Chunyu said told everyone, “Let’s go! We’re going to put two tables of banquets in Heavenly Residence to celebrate Zhong Xiang.”
Zhao Qixuan and Little Jing promised to come later, while Xia Chunyu returned home to inform his mother that they’d be eating outside tonight.
Ye Jiayao and the others returned to the restaurant.
Everyone at Heavenly Residence was on pins and needles. They wanted to watch the competition and cheer for Zhong Xiang, but unfortunately, they couldn’t abandon the restaurant.
“They’re back, they’re back! Second Young Mistress and Zhong Xiang are back!” Ah Xing exclaimed as he ran into the kitchen.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and rushed out to meet them.
“Second Young Mistress, Zhong Xiang, how was it?” Deng Haichuan asked urgently.
Ye Jiayao and Zhong Xiang smiled.
Wang Mingde excitedly said, “He won the first place!”
Everyone started cheering and clapping, jumping up and down in excitement.
“Brother Xiang, you are so excellent!”
“Brother Xiang, you’re unbelievable!”
“Heavenly Residence is going to be famous again!
“This is so wonderful, I want to cry!”
Watching his brothers cheer for him, warmed Zhong Xiang’s heart. Of course, giving up the opportunity to work for the imperial kitchen was hard, but just one look at these guys and he knew that he made the right decision.”
“Is Zhong Xiang going to work for the imperial kitchen now?” asked Cui Dongpeng.
Suddenly, everyone quieted. They may have wanted him to win, but they didn’t want him to go. Big Brother Yao has become the Second Young Mistress now. Although she would still come to Heavenly Residence every day, they couldn’t laugh and work with her as they did before. Now that Brother Xiang would be going to the imperial kitchen, they would lose another one of their crew.
Ye Jiayao teased, “I thought you wanted him to get in the top three so he’d be qualified to work for the imperial kitchen? Why are you sad now?”
Deng Haichuan said, “Yeah! Everyone, we should be happy that Brother Xiang is a royal chef now!”
Cui Dongpeng added, “Brother Xiang, do your best and strive to be a first-class chef in the future. We are all rooting for you!”
Zhong Xiang laughed. “Second Young Mistress, don’t play tricks on them.”
Ye Jiayao chuckled.
“Brother Xiang has refused to work at the imperial kitchen. He wants to stay in Heavenly Residence for all of us,” Wang Mingde explained.
They were dumbfounded.
Brother Xiang refused? He worked hard to get that first spot! Although the Second Young Mistress guided him, he still earned that place! Why would he give up his dream?
“Brother Xiang, is this true?” Cui Dongpeng asked in disbelief.
Zhong Xiang nodded and joked, “What? Do you not want me to stay?”
Suddenly, everyone rushed to hug Zhong Xiang, laughing and cheering excitedly.
Ye Jiayao looked at the scene in front of her and her eyes started to water again.
These people were her brothers. When she had no one, they accepted her. They gave her a sense of belongingness.
They have put their hopes in her and she silently vowed that she would do everything she can not to fail them.
The Heavenly Residence belongs to all of them.
The evening celebrations were definitely the biggest party in the history of Heavenly Residence. Even Ye Jiayao personally cooked a few of the dishes.
The overflowing food and wine put everyone in a good mood.
In the upstairs private room, Xia Chunyu and the others listened to the lively commotion downstairs and smiled.
“I am finding the folks here more and more interesting. It’s really a matter of Yaoyao’s management. She united such a rowdy group of people and earned their trust and loyalty. If my men can do their work and be loyal, I will worry about nothing,” Zhao Qixuan said.
Xia Chunfeng snorted. “You should be content! They work well for you, don’t they?”
“He’s right. What you need to work on is making us a fortune,” Little Jing said. The last time he tried to get Yaoyao out of a contract, he discovered that he was actually poor.
Zhao Qixuan said, “No problem! With our combined efforts, we can sweep the world. Susu’s our manager so we do what he says.”
Little Jing and Chunfeng looked at Su Yi.
Little Jing asked, “Susu, do you think we can work together? We don’t have a big capital, though.”
Su Yi answered, “I’ve been planning a business venture recently, but I’ll have to look again. If we are going to be partners, you must be sure about this. We’ll discuss more once you’re certain.”
“What business is it?” Chunfeng asked curiously.
“Border Trade.”
Xia Chunfeng frowned and immediately thought of the imperial court’s plan to open a border trade with South Vietnam. It hasn’t been finalized yet and very few people knew about it.
Zhao Qixuan smiled.