Chapter 417: Ringing Ears
"Good afternoon, sorry to bother you, but may I ask…"
After stepping into the Culinary Association and glancing around inside, Qi Han quickly made his way to the reception desk. He was about to ask whether President Xuan Ye was available, but before he could explain his purpose, the receptionist on duty suddenly stood up in excitement.
"Hello, Boss Qi!" The receptionist greeted him with a warm smile. "Please let me know if there's anything you need."
If Mu Liufeng—who was currently upstairs discussing matters about Food Critique Magazine's collaboration with Vice President Zhang Heng—had seen this scene, he would definitely be quite upset, because when he asked earlier, this same receptionist hadn't been nearly as enthusiastic.
"Uh… hello." Qi Han scratched his head. "May I ask if President Xuan Ye is here?"
"You mean Lord Divine Ox Douluo?" The receptionist looked a little troubled. "Does Boss Qi wish to meet him? I'm afraid you might not know—although His Excellency is the president of the Culinary Association, he only appears publicly once every three years, during the Food Festival. So you'd probably have to visit the Sea God Pavilion to find him."
"I see." Qi Han nodded in understanding before continuing, "In that case, who is currently in charge of the association?"
"The Culinary Association is managed in rotation by several vice presidents," the receptionist explained. "Since our association doesn't usually have that much day-to-day business—mostly just settling disputes related to cuisine—we don't require a large staff."
"At the moment, Vice President Zhang Heng is handling affairs. He's in a meeting upstairs right now."
"Zhang Heng?" Qi Han furrowed his brows in thought. Soon, an image of a chubby middle-aged man surfaced in his mind. He did have some impression of this person—one of the regular patrons of Han Shi.
"Then I'll go speak with Vice President Zhang Heng," Qi Han said. "Since he's in a meeting, I'll wait here for now."
"Of course, of course. Please have a seat here." The receptionist hurriedly brought over a stool and poured him a cup of tea. "I'll go inform Vice President Zhang right away."
"Ah, no, that's not necessary." Qi Han quickly raised his hand to stop him. "Since he's discussing official matters with someone, I can just wait."
After all, he was here to ask a favor from the Culinary Association, so he wanted to be polite.
"That won't do." The receptionist chuckled. "Don't worry, Boss Qi—anything related to Han Shi is the Culinary Association's top priority. Vice President Zhang definitely won't mind."
"This…" Since the other party insisted, Qi Han couldn't refuse further. He smiled gratefully. "Then I'll trouble you."
"No trouble at all, just a small matter."
…
Inside Vice President Zhang Heng's personal office at the Culinary Association, Zhang Heng and Mu Liufeng were chatting cheerfully.
"Mr. Mu, though I live here in Shrek City, I buy every issue of Food Critique Magazine," Zhang Heng said with a hearty smile, patting his round belly. "It's one of my favorite magazines. So as for your proposal—I'm all for it."
"That's an honor for Food Critique Magazine," Mu Liufeng replied, his smile widening. He hadn't expected his negotiations in Shrek City to go this smoothly.
"There's no need to be so formal," Zhang Heng waved a hand. "My wife's hometown is in Star Luo City, so I suppose we can call ourselves half fellow countrymen. Anyway—let's get down to business. We can finalize the details of the collaboration between Food Critique Magazine and the Culinary Association."
"Of course, that's no problem at all." Mu Liufeng nodded, just about to continue when a knock suddenly came from the door.
"Hmm?" Zhang Heng looked up at the wooden door, frowning in slight confusion.
The receptionist should've known he was in a meeting—why would they knock now?
"Come in!"
Creak
The door opened, and the receptionist stepped inside with an apologetic look.
"Vice President Zhang, sorry to interrupt you—"
"Let's skip the small talk," Zhang Heng waved his hand. "Just tell me what it's about."
"Of course." The receptionist was long familiar with Vice President Zhang's straightforward temperament, so he quickly explained Qi Han's visit in full detail.
"Huh?" Zhang Heng's face showed a flicker of surprise. "Boss Qi is here?"
He was a longtime patron of Han Shi, and anything related to that restaurant was practically top priority for the Culinary Association of Shrek City. So upon hearing Qi Han's name, Zhang Heng's first instinct was to go meet him right away.
But then he turned to see Mu Liufeng sitting beside him and hesitated.
He hadn't finished discussing business with Mr. Mu yet…
"Why don't you see young Boss Qi first," Mu Liufeng said with a good-natured smile, noticing Zhang Heng's dilemma. "I can come back another time to discuss the details."
"Oh, no, that won't do." Zhang Heng shook his head firmly—he was the kind of man who liked to finish what was on his plate for the day. "Xiao Li, go and bring Boss Qi up here."
"Understood, Vice President Zhang Heng." The receptionist nodded and left the office.
Turning back to Mu Liufeng, Zhang Heng smiled apologetically. "Mr. Mu, please wait here a moment. Once I've spoken with Boss Qi, we'll continue."
"No problem, no problem." Mu Liufeng paused for a moment before asking, "Would it be alright if I listened in? I'm rather curious what brought Boss Qi here."
"Hmm…" Zhang Heng rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I can ask him. If he doesn't mind, then it's fine by me."
"Much appreciated." Mu Liufeng smiled and nodded.
…
"This way, Boss Qi." Xiao Li led Qi Han down the corridor toward Zhang Heng's office.
"Alright."
As he climbed the stairs, Qi Han still felt a bit bewildered.
He'd barely had a few sips of tea before the receptionist suddenly came running down to tell him that Vice President Zhang Heng had set aside his ongoing meeting just to meet him first.
The Culinary Association sure was enthusiastic about him, huh.
Soon, Qi Han stepped into Zhang Heng's office.
The moment he entered, surprise flashed across his face. "Chief Editor Mu?"
The person who'd been discussing business with Vice President Zhang Heng turned out to be none other than Mu Liufeng himself.
Mu Liufeng didn't say anything, merely smiled and nodded. Zhang Heng, on the other hand, spoke up immediately. "Boss Qi, would you mind if Mr. Mu listened in? If you'd prefer privacy, we can use the office next door."
"Uh… no need for that." Qi Han thought about it for a moment. What he was about to discuss wasn't exactly a secret, so he nodded readily. "Actually, maybe Mr. Mu could even lend a hand."
"Oh?" Mu Liufeng, who had been quietly sipping his tea, set down his cup at once. "What do you mean?"
"Well…" Qi Han took a moment to gather his thoughts, then said, "I intend to publicly teach how to cook egg fried rice."
The office fell into a strange, stunned silence.
It took quite a while before Zhang Heng finally gave his head a vigorous shake, as if to snap out of a daze. "Boss Qi, I think I might've just had some ringing in my ears—I didn't quite catch that. Could you… repeat it?"
On the other side, Mu Liufeng silently lifted his cup, intending to take a calming sip of tea—but as soon as he did, he realized both his hand and the cup were trembling uncontrollably.
Surely… he must've misheard that too, right?
"I said," Qi Han repeated more firmly this time, "I'm going to publicly reveal the method for making egg fried rice."
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