"What did the Catering Association say?" Cyril asked Ma Er Si, still fiddling with the flower snake in the leather sofa.
"The Stanley board said they are still verifying it and will notify us of the results." Ma Er Si said, bowing slightly.
"Verify? Does this kind of thing even need verification? Stanley seems to be short of money again and wants to get some money from us for expenses. Send him ten dragon coins and let him resolve this matter as soon as possible." Cyril curled his lips, his expression somewhat unfriendly, and said, "This Restaurant Mai Mi is up to no good. It's only been two days and they already have two dishes in the top thirty and four dishes in the top fifty. If this continues, more people will come to complain. It's really annoying."
"Okay." Ma Er Si nodded, then hesitated for a moment and said, "However, Second Young Master, if this restaurant made it onto the list based on its real skills, removing it directly from the list might cause some trouble."
"Real skills? Ha, real skills are the cheapest thing in the world. Do you think a small restaurant can compete with our Aden Square Merchants' Union?" Cyril curled his lip in disdain, lightly tapping the snake's head with his finger before pinching it. "Prepare 100 dragon coins. If Stanley can't handle it, send it directly to Warren. That old bastard has been taking a lot of money from us over the years, and he's getting harder and harder to feed."
"Do I need to ask the President for permission if it's 100 Dragon Coins?" Ma Er Si didn't nod immediately, but looked at Cyril and asked.
"Do you need to ask the President for permission to spend 100 Dragon Coins? It's just a small amount of money. Over the years, we've probably given the Catering Association no less than 10,000 Dragon Coins, haven't we?" Cyril looked up at Ma Er Si, his eyes narrowed slightly, and said in a cold voice, "Ma Er Si, you need to remember whose side you're on now. The President is old. From now on, I will be the president."
"Yes, Second Young Master." Ma Er Si bowed respectfully.
"How could this be... Could it be that the Aden Square Merchants' Union has been manipulating the food rankings in Aden Square all these years? How could they do this?" Outside the door, Gloria, wearing a black veil, took two steps back, staring incredulously in the direction of the president's office.
She had come specifically to see Jeffrey today. She had some thoughts about what she had said at the dining table, and wanted to tell Jeffrey in person.
But to her surprise, she overheard a conversation between Cyril and Ma Er Si that was completely beyond her imagination.
Although she disliked her grandfather who favored sons over daughters, but there was no denying that Jeffrey, who had built a vast empire from scratch in Chaos City in just a few decades, was indeed a legendary figure worthy of being written into the history of Chaos City.
The Buffett family's money shops are the envy of many, while the Aden Square Merchants' Union brings the merchants of Chaos City into the spotlight of the Nolan Continent, making them among the best.
Therefore, Gloria still admired and respected Jeffrey. However, hearing the conversation between Cyril and Ma Er Si made her see the darkness beneath the glory of the Aden Square Merchants' Union, and this contrast made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.
"Who's out there?" Cyril suddenly looked towards the door and called out.
Gloria's expression panicked, and she quickly lifted her skirt and turned to walk outside.
Ma Er Si opened the door and came out, just in time to see Gloria's profile disappear around the corner. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but his expression remained unchanged.
"Who is it?" Cyril put down the flower snake he was holding and asked Ma Er Si.
"Second Young Master, there's no one outside. May be it's that fat cat stealing food again." Ma Er Si closed the door and shook his head.
"No, I have to tell Boss Mai about this. The food at Restaurant Mai Mi is so delicious, and it even has magical effects. It wouldn't be surprising if it were in the top five. But now it's being removed from the list because of the Aden Square Merchants' Union's intervention. This is so unfair! This shouldn't be the Aden Square Merchants' Union." Gloria shook her head, glanced back at the towering Aden Square Merchants' Union headquarters building, slowly clenched her fist, her gaze hardening. She murmured to herself, "No, the Aden Square Merchants' Union shouldn't be like this. If this is the only direction it can take under Cyril's leadership, then I'll take back everything Father abandoned. Who says women are necessarily inferior to men!"
…
Mai Ge wasn't particularly bothered by the fact that the sweet and savory tofu pudding had made it into the top fifty, his goal was simply to have one dish in the top thirty, thus completing his mission.
During his afternoon break, Mai Ge visited Mo Bai's new blacksmith shop. The size and layout were similar to the old one, but the front showroom was smaller, while the back work area was larger, with the addition of a furnace and a larger forging table.
Lu Lu, shirtless, was meticulously wielding a large iron hammer under Mo Bai's guidance. A red-hot square iron block on the large forging table was visibly shrinking, and each hammer blow produced a muffled clang that seemed to vibrate one's eardrums.
"Hmm, not bad. Today you just need to forge this piece of iron into a thin sheet." Mo Bai nodded in satisfaction and swung the large iron hammer to continue hammering the long sword in front of him, which was already half-finished.
He hadn't originally planned to take on apprentices, but this big, simple-minded guy, though seemingly a bit dim-witted, impressed him with his earnestness and nimble hands. Boss Mai's suggestion seemed highly feasible, but producing a finished product that met his requirements would definitely take a lot of time. If the shop had more helpers, efficiency would improve significantly, and more time could be squeezed out to study the stability of the gunpowder.
"Boss Mo Bai, are you starting work today?" Mai Ge stood outside the door, feeling the heat emanating from him, and asked with some surprise.
He had already been astonished that the dwarven craftsmen had spent a whole day and night rebuilding the blacksmith shop yesterday, but he hadn't expected that Mo Bai would already be working with Lu Lu so soon after the reconstruction was completed.
"Oh, it's Boss Mai. We have a few orders that need to be fulfilled urgently. Now that we can start production, of course we can't stop." Mo Bai put down the hammer, stomped the ground with a smile, and said, "And this time I didn't have them dig tunnels. Once this batch of goods is finished, I'll go to the outskirts of the city and find a secluded place to conduct experiments."
"Hmm, that's good." Mai Ge nodded with a smile, surveying the blacksmith's shop. With Mo Bai's skills, plus the magical flames of this world, forging steel that met the requirements was quite promising. He could then discuss making a steam engine with him, that shouldn't be a problem.
"Alright, I won't disturb your work any longer." Mai Ge withdrew his gaze, said, and turned to leave. He had actually come to see if his neighbor, Mo Bai, was planning anything else. Hearing him say that, he felt much more at ease, at least he wouldn't have to worry about being blown up into the sky while sleeping at night.
"The sunshine is so nice." Mai Ge emerged from the blacksmith's shop, the warm autumn sunlight making him feel comfortable enough to close his eyes and take a nap. Looking at the countdown to the Tofu Pudding quest in his mind: 6/10, the much-anticipated roulette wheel seemed to be just around the corner.