Wei Jia sat on the chair. Li Shiyan finally set aside his papers and gave her his full attention.
"Before we begin, I want to ensure you understand the gravity of your situation. Your stall has been closed indefinitely. Your family's financial condition isn't good. Your brother's educational future is uncertain. You have no income, no prospects, and no leverage."
Each word was delivered like a chess move. Wei Jia meet his gaze without flinching.
"I understand."
"Good." Li Shiyan reached for the document lying between them and slid it across to her. "Then let's discuss your solution."
EXCLUSIVE CULINARY CONSULTANCY AGREEMENT
"You will serve," Li Shiyan explained as she began reading the document. "as my personal culinary consultant for the National Cuisine Heritage Project. The position comes with a generous salary, comprehensive benefits, and the resources of my entire organization at your disposal."
Wei Jia's eyes moved down the page, her heart sinking with each clause she encountered. The terms were suffocating:
Exclusive commitment to Tianxia Group projects, prohibition from any outside culinary activities, mandatory relocation to company housing, surrender of all intellectual property rights to any recipes or techniques developed during the contract period.
"Five years. You want me to sign away five years of my life."
"I want you to sign away five years of your career," Li Shiyan corrected. "Your life, as you'll discover, will be considerably improved by the arrangement."
Wei Jia continued reading, her hands beginning to tremble as the full scope of his trap became clear. The penalty clause was written in the language so technical she had to read it three times to understand its implications.
"If I break this contract,I owe you five million yuan in damages?
"Compensation for training costs, lost productivity, and breach of exclusivity," Li Shiyan explained with the casual tone of someone discussing the weather.
"This isn't a job offer," Wei Jia said, setting the contract down. "This is slavery with a salary."
"This is an opportunity, Miss Wei. An opportunity to work with unlimited resources, advanced technologies, and the best culinary minds in the industry. An opportunity to influence food policy on a national scale instead of serving noodles to taxi drivers."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then you return to your closed stall, your mounting debts, and your increasingly limited options. The choice is entirely yours."
Wei Jia stared at the contract, her mind racing through calculations that all led to the same conclusion. She was caught between accepting a golden cage and watching her family slide into financial ruin.
"Of course," He continued, reaching for another folder, "your decision might be influenced by a more complete understanding of your current circumstances."
He opened the folder revealing documents that made her blood boil again. There were bank statements, medical bills, school records, loan documents.
"Your father's medical expenses from his heart surgery last year, is still pending. The interest alone is accumulating faster than you can manage."
"How did you…"
"Your brother's tuition for his final year of high school," Li Shiyan continued without acknowledging her question, "plus the university entrance exam preparation courses for a decent future are quite expensive for a family in your financial situation."
He had dissected her entire life, understanding exactly which pressure points would be most effective in breaking her. Wei Jia's hands clenched into fists in her lap, her nails digging into her palms hard enough to leave marks.
"You ba***d," She whispered. "You have no right…"
"I have every right to understand the full scope of our potential business relationship," Li Shiyan replied. "My offer is simple: your freedom and talent, entirely at my disposal for the next five years, in exchange for your family's complete financial security."
He was offering her everything she had ever wanted for her family, wrapped in the chains that would cost her everything she had ever wanted for herself.
"All you have to do is prove that you can do better than molecular gastronomy and algorithmic flavor profiles. Put your passion and soul against my science and methodology. Show me that traditional cooking can compete with technological innovation. Prove that heart and soul can deliver better results than measurement and control or watch your family lose everything while you maintain your principles in poverty."
"You want me to be your pet chef. Your performing monkey who dances for scraps while you prove that money and power can buy anything, even someone's soul."
"I want you to be my proof of concept. Proof that even the most passionate adherent to traditional methods will ultimately choose security over principles when the stakes are high enough."
He gestured toward the contract with his hand.
"The question, Miss Wei, is whether you care more about your pride or your family's future."
Wei Jia looked down at the document that represented five years of her life. She thought harder but realized she had no way out. When she finally picked up the pen he had placed beside the contract, her hand was steady. But inside, she felt something beginning to die.
The signature felt like signing her own death warrant. Li Shiyan watched her sign with the satisfaction of a predator that had successfully cornered its prey.
The moment she set down the pen, his assistant entered inside with a keycard, a tablet displaying a detailed schedule, and an envelope of official documents, all within seconds of the contract's completion.
"Welcome to Tianxia Group, Miss Wei. Ms. Zhou will handle your orientation and show you to your new workspace. I trust you'll find the facilities adequate."
"Your schedule begins immediately," Ms. Zhou explained. "Mr. Li prefers his consultants to dive directly into their assignments rather than waste time with excessive orientation."
"Your laboratory is on the 42nd floor," Ms. Zhou explained as they rode the elevator in silence. "Best equipment, unlimited budget for ingredients and supplies, access to our complete research database. You'll find it quite different from your previous workspace."
After a few minutes, they came out of the elevator and entered the laboratory. The laboratory that would serve as her kitchen for the next five years was everything she despised about corporate food culture. The space had white walls, white floors, white equipment, white lighting.
Digital displays showed precise temperature readings, humidity levels, and air quality measurements. The equipment was more sophisticated than anything she had ever imagined. There were devices that could measure molecular weights, analyze chemical compositions, and control cooking processes.
"Your workstation," Ms. Zhou said, gesturing toward a setup that looked more like a surgical room than a cooking area. "Everything is networked and monitored for safety and quality control. All your activities will be logged automatically for analysis and optimization."
Wei Jia stared at the workspace, realising that even her cooking would be subject to Li Shiyan's systematic control. Every technique she used, every ingredient she selected, every creative decision she made would be recorded, analyzed, and potentially criticized by these people.
"Is there anything else you need to get started?" Ms. Zhou asked.
"My family," Wei Jia replied. "My brother needs to know where I am, and that I'm okay."
"Of course. You'll receive a company phone within a hour. Limited personal use is permitted during designated break periods."
Even her communication with her family would be regulated, monitored, controlled. Wei Jia nodded, too emotionally exhausted to fight another battle.
After Ms. Zhou departed, Wei Jia found herself alone in the laboratory. There were no market sounds, no customer chatter, no sizzling woks or shouted orders.
A large monitor mounted on the wall turned on, displaying the Tianxia Group logo before transitioning to her first assignment.
ASSIGNMENT 001: TRADITIONAL DISH OPTIMIZATION
Objective: Recreate and log the precise molecular breakdown of traditional Mapo Tofu
Target Parameters:
- 72 hour shelf stability at room temperature
- Consistent flavor profile across batch variations
- Scalable production methodology for industrial implementation
- Complete nutritional analysis and optimization recommendations
Deadline: 48 hours
Note: All variations and failed attempts must be documented for analysis. Efficiency metrics will be tracked and evaluated.
Mapo Tofu was one of her grandmother's signature dishes, a creation of love and tradition that told the story of Sichuan grandmothers who had fed their families with whatever ingredients they could find.
Wei Jia sat on the chair, staring at the instructions that reduced one of her culture's most beloved comfort foods to a series of chemical compounds and shelf life requirements. Li Shiyan had won completely. He had taken her passion, her creativity, and turned them into corporate assets to be optimized for profit and efficiency.
The screen waited for her to begin, its digital countdown timer already ticking away the hours. With trembling hands, Wei Jia began to research the molecular structure of the dish.
The phoenix had been caged. And she wasn't sure it would ever learn to fly again.
Wei Jia was still staring at the molecular breakdown requirements when the laboratory door swished open. She looked up and saw a beautiful woman entering. She was tall and elegant. She wore a designer chef's coat that was both professional and fashionable. The coat had the Tianxia Group logo in elegant embroidery, and an additional insignia that suggested senior rank within the organization. She was someone with real power.
Her smile was bright, welcoming, and completely artificial. But her eyes remained cold, calculating, studying Wei Jia.
"You must be the new consultant. I'm Su Mingyi," She introduced herself, extending a perfectly manicured hand in greeting. "Head of Culinary Innovation for the Heritage Project. I suppose that makes us colleagues now."
Wei Jia accepted the handshake, noting immediately that Su Mingyi's grip was firm, controlled.
"I've heard so much about your dramatic performance at the Expo," Su Mingyi continued. "I know it must have been difficult moving from such rustic working conditions to our best facilities. The equipment alone probably represents more technology than you've worked with in your entire career."
Before Wei Jia could answer, she moved closer to Wei Jia's workstation.
"Ah, Mapo Tofu optimization. One of my favorite challenges when I was starting out here. The trick is learning to separate the essential flavor compounds from the unnecessary emotional associations that traditional preparations tend to accumulate over time. I'm sure Mr. Li explained the importance of this project. The Heritage Project isn't just about preserving traditional dishes, it's about evolving them for modern needs with the qualities that make food truly valuable in today's world."
"And what about the qualities that make food meaningful? The connections to family, to culture, to…"
"Oh, you still think like a street vendor," Su Mingyi interrupted with a laugh. "How naive. You'll learn, of course. Mr. Li has a way of educating people about the realities of professional food development."
Su Mingyi glanced at her watch and smiled with artificial warmth.
"Well, I should let you get started on your assignment. We're all very curious to see how traditional street food techniques adapt to corporate quality standards." She paused at the laboratory door, and looked back with an expression that was no longer trying to hide its calculating coldness.
"Welcome to Tianxia, Wei Jia. I have a feeling we're going to become very well acquainted over the next five years."
The door shut behind her, leaving Wei Jia alone with the realization that Li Shiyan's systematic destruction of her independence was just the beginning. She now had powerful enemies in this corporate world.