“Uncle Shu, do you mind taking the account books of the restaurant while Auntie Jiao Jiao assists the customers to leave the restaurant. We will close this place immediately,” Shen Lingqing said with finality.
Fu Shuren and Jiao Jiao moved at once, excusing themselves from their miss to follow her command while Qiao Lian remained on her seat to accompany Shen Lingqing. It was obvious that this wouldn’t be a good news for the Zhang brothers.
“Miss, do you mind showing me the way? Our Miss Qing hates it when she’s kept waiting for too long,” Fu Shuren asked the same waitress who had assisted them earlier. Since Shen Lingqing was decided to start with a clean slate, it was only natural for her to get rid of the root problem.
“Y-yes…” The young woman stuttered and nervously gave Shen Lingqing a last look. She was afraid that all of them would lose their jobs today, considering the rumors of what the demon princess had done to the other restaurant in the past.
The restaurant was immediately filled with murmurs from the crowd as they wondered what would happen next. It seemed that The Savory Alley had attracted the attention of the demon princess, which only meant the future of this restaurant didn’t seem so bright after all.
To think that the Zhang brothers would dare to use the name of the Shen family like that and compare themselves to Oriental Bliss, weren’t they digging their own graves? Now that Shen Lingqing was here, would they still have the face to deny what they had done—when she already witnessed it herself?
The patrons shook their heads and left the restaurant one by one. They weren’t sure if The Savory Alley would permanently close down or not. However, considering what kind of offense they’ve done today, they wouldn’t be surprised if SY Holdings chose to close it down for good.
The Zhang brothers could only blame themselves for personally offending Shen Lingqing. None of these would have happened if they didn’t dare to use the Shen family’s name in vain.
Fu Shuren returned with several books in his hands, placing them on the table next to Shen Lingqing for her to review. Once the patrons and the customers left, Jiao Jiao returned to their miss’s side, waiting for Shen Lingqing’s next orders.
“Get everyone here. I have an announcement to make.” Shen Lingqing’s face was one with dissatisfaction as she looked around the restaurant before taking the most recent account book, seeing the discrepancy and tampered notes.
The staff of the restaurant came and lowered their heads, some in shame while the other nervously anticipating them being fired on the spot by the Shen princess. It was obvious that she wasn’t pleased with what she had seen today. Although they’d disagreed on how the Zhang siblings ran the restaurant after it was acquired by the Shen family, they were in no position or had enough power to stop the two.
“Let me introduce myself again. I’m Shen Lingqing, the newest director of finance of SY Holdings. My father sent me here to oversee this place. From this day forward, I’m also the manager of this restaurant.” Shen Lingqing’s voice was cold and stern, enough to instill her authority over her subordinates.
Qian Lian then handed the profile of each of the staff to her, knowing what she wanted to do next. She was going to make a massive clean-up before deciding which of the several changes to make to the restaurant.
“Zhang Yong, Zhang Yan—obviously, the two of you are fired.” Shen Lingqing glanced in their direction with such coldness in her eyes, forbidding them to say anything in retort. Her presence was not only frightening but also intimidating, but Zhang Yong wouldn’t accept her as his superior.
“You can’t just do this to us.” He yelled, his arm extending as he dared to grasp Shen Lingqing with his bare hand. The humiliation he suffered because of her was enough to drive him with rage.
However, even before he could manage to lay a hand on the demon princess, Qiao Lian suddenly appeared in front of him, painfully twisting his wrist until the bones shattered with a loud crack. Zhang Yong had fallen to the ground, not believing that he was ultimately ruined.
The piercing scream that followed was enough to warn the remaining staff that Shen Lingqing wasn’t a person one could easily mess up with. Qiao Lian might have looked weak, and she always sported a smile on her face. However, that image could immediately vanish without a trace when it came to Shen Lingqing’s safety.
“Hey, Old Man. I didn’t know you can be this stupid. Didn’t you just say earlier that the Shen family isn’t something we can afford to offend?” Qiao Lian said with such tone that Zhang Yan’s face blanched into horror while Shen Lingqing yawned behind her hand in boredom.
Fu Shuren could only sigh as he watched Qiao Lian. She was very much like Zhang Qing when the latter was younger. Like her mother, Qiao Lian had this intense need to protect her miss at all times and would never allow anyone to bully her.
People who mistakenly look down on Shen Lingqing and Qiao Lian would suffer and regret doing it in the end. Moreover, even if Qiao Lian wasn’t by her side, it didn’t mean the Shen princess wouldn’t be able to defend herself from this kind of physical attack.
“Take them away.” Fu Shuren heard Shen Lingqing say as she continued reading the account books after she was done reviewing the profiles of the staff. “Blacklist them within the capital. Whoever hires them, let the company know that they are making an enemy out of me.”
Shen Lingqing wasn’t that dumb to use her family to bully someone. There were so many things she compromised and sacrificed growing up just because she was the daughter of two prominent people within the capital.
For the longest time, the struggle to break free from her parents’ shadow had been looming over her persona. People looked at her—respect her—not because of her capabilities but because of who her parents were… and Shen Lingqing hated that.