Yu Yue Fang.
The original signboard of the Zhao family's Small Fish Pancakes had long been taken down, replaced by a brand-new wooden plaque engraved with the three characters "Yu Yue Fang" in an elegant, classical font that carried the charm of Jiangnan's water towns.
Since taking over the restaurant, Liu Yutong had immediately ordered the sign to be changed.
Though the name was new, the signature dish remained unchanged—the small fish pancakes that locals adored.
When signing the transfer agreement, Liu Yutong hadn’t forgotten to have Zhao Tianyi secure the secret recipe for the dish.
Sure, the original chef already knew how to make it, but what if something happened?
It never hurt to have a backup plan.
After taking over the thriving restaurant, aside from renaming it, Liu Yutong had also tasked Yun Cheng with improving kitchen staff benefits and hygiene standards.
While the food was excellent, the kitchen environment left much to be desired.
A major overhaul was necessary.
Nearly all the waitstaff had been replaced with her own people, mostly vocational high school students recruited internally.
Their uniforms were standardized—red shirts paired with dark blue aprons, each adorned with a small fish-shaped badge, giving them a neat and professional look.
Additionally, Liu Yutong had instructed the head chef to establish a culinary research center within the restaurant. During off-peak hours, they were to experiment with and refine dishes, optimizing everything except the signature item.
Every dish had to be taste-tested by the entire staff, and only those approved by over 90% could make it onto the menu.
Though the standards were higher, wages had also increased significantly.
Naturally, with better service and food quality, customer satisfaction improved, and business became even more booming than before.
Of course.
Such success inevitably attracted the attention of certain troublemakers.
At this moment, during what should have been peak dining hours, the restaurant was eerily quiet.
A rather handsome man, accompanied by a dozen thug-like figures, had taken over the dining hall.
The thugs were dressed casually, some with their collars open to reveal exaggerated tattoos, gripping bats and clubs with hostile expressions.
"Where’s your boss? Did she drop dead on the way here or something? Why isn’t she showing up?"
"We found a hair in our food, and you’re not even going to address it?"
"Damn thing’s even curly—disgusting!"
"Listen here, if you don’t give us an explanation, we’ll make sure this place shuts down. We’ll come here every day to cause trouble, and we’ll report you to the Market Supervision Bureau! See how long you last!"
The man looked refined and scholarly, but his actions were anything but—more like a petty gangster.
"You say there’s a hair, but how do you prove it came from our restaurant?"
One of the waiters couldn’t hold back and retorted, "Look around—do any of us have curly hair?"
If they weren’t outnumbered and if the young mistress hadn’t strictly forbidden causing scenes in the restaurant, they would’ve already thrown hands.
Deng Zheyan faltered slightly but stubbornly insisted, "Maybe it fell in when your chefs were cooking!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the kitchen door slammed open, and four or five furious chefs stormed out.
"You’ve got some nerve, pinning this on us!"
The new boss had set rules—if there were no issues with the food or hygiene, they’d get a monthly bonus.
But if problems arose, they’d face fines.
The fines weren’t much, but the bonuses were substantial. With these troublemakers around, they might lose out on that extra cash.
So, overhearing this guy blaming them? No way they’d take it lying down.
Deng Zheyan scoffed, "Who’s pinning anything? Just because you’re wearing hats now doesn’t mean the hair wasn’t yours. Maybe you just put them on!"
Before he could finish, the chefs yanked off their hats, revealing shiny bald heads.
"Damn it, we don’t even have hair! What else you got to say?"
"You’re clearly here to pick a fight. Don’t you dare leave—wait till the boss gets here. Let’s see how she deals with you!"
Truth be told, when the restaurant changed hands, not all of them had planned to stay.
The previous owner had even reached out, hoping they’d jump ship.
But after a certain burly man showed up with a dozen tough guys, their attitudes shifted instantly.
Changing jobs was one thing—getting jumped in an alley was another.
Besides, the new boss treated them well.
Not only had she raised their wages, but she’d also promised future opportunities to become head chefs at new chain locations.
Normally, a place like this didn’t have "head chefs."
That title was reserved for high-end restaurants, where chefs had to master Western cuisine and fancy plating to seem more prestigious.
But they were just home-style cooks—hardly the type to climb that ladder.
Still, every chef had dreams.
If this place really became a famous chain, their status would rise with it.
Then, when asked about their profession, they could proudly say, "I’m the head chef at XX Restaurant."
Deng Zheyan brushed off their threats without a care.
"I don’t care what you say—today, your boss is giving me an explanation!"
He’d paid for intel and knew the owner was just some young girl.
He had to admit she was sharp and ambitious, but at the end of the day, she was just a kid—nothing to worry about.
Thinking about what he’d learned made Deng Zheyan grit his teeth.
When he’d returned home from university for break, he’d heard the awful news from his aunt’s family—his cousin had been arrested before her college entrance exams. Not only would she miss the test, but she might also serve three to five years, ruining her future.
Worse yet, the family restaurant had been sold off.
The first part hadn’t bothered him much. Though he pretended to care about his cousin, deep down, he felt nothing.
Adults had to face the consequences of their actions.
What truly concerned him was the restaurant.
His aunt’s place had been so successful, yet they’d never considered expanding. It drove him mad.
As a young man determined to build a business empire, Deng Zheyan had always dreamed of making his mark.
In his past life, he’d succeeded.
His first entrepreneurial venture began with his aunt’s restaurant.
By franchising her establishment, he secured the secret recipe for its signature dish, opened several chain stores, and earned his first pot of gold.
Later, through scheming and playing multiple women who had fallen for him, he climbed his way to becoming a business tycoon worth billions.
In this life, when Deng Zheyan returned home for vacation, his goal was to obtain that coveted secret recipe from his aunt’s restaurant to kickstart his dream of a commercial empire.
To his dismay, as soon as he arrived back in the county, he received the devastating news that the restaurant had been sold.
Worse yet, his uncle laid down two conditions for any future collaboration.
If he wanted to open a restaurant together, he had to choose:
Either find a way to get his cousin out of trouble,
or sabotage Yu Yue Fang.
