Chapter 83: Green Crab

Chapter 83: Green Crab

Before he knew it, summer was coming to an end. The weather turned from relentlessly hot to unpredictable. When it rained, looking out from Tuotu's CEO office, the city was shrouded in mist, with only a few skyscrapers rising above the sea of fog.

"Mr. Gu, there's news from Pang Ze. He said..."

"Tell him to stop sending updates. He should just do his job—I didn't send him there to be a spy."

"Yes." Assistant Wu said, "Regarding your transfer notice, the Netherlands headquarters said they haven't received your response yet."

Tuotu's European regional headquarters was in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Besides logistics, it also handled trade and precision manufacturing, with a broader scope than its domestic operations. It was the most important part of the old man's business empire.

On the desk lay Gu Hansheng's new business card—black with italicized bilingual text in English and Dutch, with Tuotu's international name, Atlas, stamped in gold in the upper right corner.

Going to Europe meant his resources and influence would grow. Once the news got out, everyone congratulated him, but he still hadn't replied to the confirmation email.

Without his confirmation, the transfer order would never be finalized.

The old man had ordered a custom-made new business card delivered to his office—a silent nudge.

Gu Hansheng stared expressionlessly out the window. The drifting mist mirrored his own indecision. If he went to the Netherlands and then came back, what would happen to the people and things he couldn't let go of?

From thousands of miles away, even just to catch a glimpse of Zhao Yu would mean over ten hours of travel. By then, how could he possibly compete with Zhuang Shubai?

Gu Hansheng snatched up his coat and headed out. The car drove across the bridge in the drizzle, arriving at the destination parking lot half an hour later.

He got out, opened a black umbrella, and walked toward Yinwanhui.

Construction barriers were covered with signs reading "Jinyan Grand Opening Soon," along with images of several dishes. Gu Hansheng watched from a distance and suddenly saw Zhao Yu walk out from inside. Rain immediately darkened patches of his T-shirt.

"Good work, everyone. I'll swing by later." Zhao Yu said goodbye to the foreman and hurried off into the rain.

Gu Hansheng started to follow, ready to offer his umbrella, when he saw Cao Xu approaching with one. Zhao Yu ducked under it, and the two of them walked off together, chatting and laughing.

Gu Hansheng followed them into a restaurant and sat at a table near the front, his back to them, with only a latticed window between them.

"When are your results announced?" Cao Xu asked.

"They said in about two weeks."

"I'm not worried about you. For now, you can only take the junior chef exam, but next year you can jump two levels. No need for intermediate—go straight for advanced. I'll use my connections."

"Master, isn't that a bit like forcing things?"

"I say you can pass, so you can pass. If it were some mediocre talent, I wouldn't pull strings for just anyone."

Gu Hansheng stared at the menu absentmindedly, thinking, So Zhao Yu already took the exam and did well.

They moved on to talking about the restaurant—which suppliers they'd found, what tableware they'd ordered. They'd seen some beautiful lily ceramic ornaments at the factory, and Zhao Yu wanted to give one to his master's wife...

It wasn't until the server came to take his order that Gu Hansheng absentmindedly ordered two dishes and continued listening to their conversation.

Through these exchanges, he got a window into Zhao Yu's current life.

What he was busy with, whether he was doing well, what troubled him, what made him happy.

Cao Xu said, "Oh, by the way, last time your doctor friend recommended a chiropractor for your master's wife. She's been feeling much better since seeing him. Thank him for me."

"Alright, I'll tell him at my next follow-up appointment."

"Your master's wife said he seems interested in you. What's going on there?"

"Huh? I..."

Seeing Zhao Yu's awkward expression, Cao Xu added, "I'm not asking because I have a problem with it. It's just that your master's wife said that doctor seems like a decent guy worth getting to know. She's quite eager and even thinking of setting you up."

Zhao Yu smiled noncommittally.

His relationship with Zhuang Shubai was growing closer every day. Whenever Zhuang Shubai had time, he'd come find him, sometimes helping out with something. They were like best friends, talking about everything.

By all logic, they'd already kissed, but Zhao Yu still felt something was missing. There was a clear line right in front of him. The longer they spent together, the more Zhao Yu felt his feelings for him were too lukewarm.

He hadn't figured out his own feelings and couldn't easily say anything to Cao Xu, so the topic just faded.

At the other table, the food arrived. Gu Hansheng leaned back in his chair, staring at the beautifully plated steamed sea bass on the table, with no appetite at all.

Was Zhuang Shubai really that good? Did everyone around Zhao Yu approve of him? That doctor is so scheming—what do they know?

Gu Hansheng gritted his teeth but didn't take a single bite.

Zhao Yu and Cao Xu left, but he remained seated, sitting in silence for a long time. Suddenly, he texted Assistant Wu: Reply to the Netherlands. Tell them I'm not going.

Assistant Wu: Shouldn't you let the old man know?

Gu Hansheng wanted to act first and ask forgiveness later, so of course he wouldn't let him tell the old man.

Even if Zhao Yu really ended up with Zhuang Shubai, who knew if he was really sincere? They weren't married—who knew if they'd break up? And even if they got married abroad, it wouldn't be legally recognized in China.

Gu Hansheng didn't want to just leave the country and give up on every possibility.

The result of acting first was that the old man called him in and chewed him out, berating him for being high-handed and stubborn.

"Your third uncle said Tuotu had a joint project with heavy upfront investment. You canceled it and withdrew funds for no reason, screwing up the whole project. Is that true?"

Gu Hansheng remained composed: "I don't know what Third Uncle exaggerated, but the upfront investment wasn't actually that large. I figured the project didn't have good prospects, so I pulled out in time. That shouldn't be a problem."

"Do you think I'm too old and confused to think straight?" The old man banged his cane on the ground. "When people told you not to do something, you insisted. When they told you to invest more, you pulled out! Then what's the point of the strategy department? Being so high-handed is ridiculous!"

He was referring to Gu Hansheng's partnership with Chen Li. Even though Gu Hansheng had pulled the funding to take down Chen Li, Tuotu hadn't lost much—otherwise, the old man would have stepped in long ago.

What the old man was truly angry about was Gu Hansheng not going to Europe, using past grievances as an excuse to chew him out.

Gu Hansheng listened without saying a word in his own defense. When it was over, the old man added, "At the end of the month, the European regional manager is bringing a team over for meetings. You'd better be there!"

"Yes."

After the scolding, Gu Hansheng stood, adjusted his jacket, and walked out without looking back.

In the entire Gu family, even Gu Hong's generation feared the old man, walking on eggshells after every scolding. But Gu Hansheng couldn't care less.

He was no longer the overlooked young man he once was, but the powerful Mr. Gu with real authority. Others feared the old man taking back power, but the old man feared he didn't crave it enough—trying to provoke him into crushing competitors and keeping the Gu business empire thriving.

Precisely because Gu Hansheng understood everything, he could do as he pleased.

...

The renovation of Jinyan was completed on schedule. To align with Yinwanhui's commercial development strategy, the Chinese restaurant blended in Western-style elements. The overall color scheme was cream and white, with no recessed ceiling lights—only small pendant lamps hanging above each table, with frosted glass shades that cast a warm glow.

A half-spiral staircase leads to the second floor, where the private rooms are even more serene and elegant.

As preparations for the opening were steadily falling into place, Manager Pang Ze came on board ahead of schedule, starting to train the waitstaff. The kitchen also hired three additional cooks.

After everyone got off work in the evening, Manager Pang walked into the kitchen holding the menu and asked, "Boss, I noticed some ingredients on the menu haven't been delivered yet. Should we chase them up?"

Neither the master nor the apprentice reacted at first. Zhao Yu dumped a basket of clams into a basin to soak, looked up, and asked, "Which boss?"

"Aren't you both the bosses?"

Zhao Yu and Cao Xu exchanged a glance and laughed.

"Manager Pang, just call us Chef Cao and Chef Zhao, okay? I'm not used to being called boss," Cao Xu said, wiping his hands as he stepped forward to look at the marks on the menu. "These ingredients have to be super fresh, so we had them delivered tonight."

After finishing what he was doing, Zhao Yu called the seafood supplier to double-check, and they said the truck was on its way and would be there soon. So the three of them sat down to rest for a bit.

Cao Xu cracked open a beer and grabbed two glasses, pouring one for himself and one for Pang Ze.

Zhao Yu said, "Master, why are you showing favoritism?"

Cao Xu pulled out a bottle of soy milk from under the table. "Didn't Dr. Zhuang tell you to quit drinking? And you're supposed to watch what you eat for the next six months. Sit down and rest a bit."

Zhao Yu pulled out a chair and sat down, resting one arm on the back of the chair and picking up the soy milk bottle with the other. He sighed, "How am I supposed to toast with you guys when I'm holding this? At a banquet, I'd be stuck at the kids' table."

"You were never this cheeky before."

Zhao Yu grinned, then lowered his head to look at the carved characters "Jin Yan" on the corner of the table.

Back then, after Guo Lin passed away, the restaurant full of memories was sold off, and everything most precious to him in this world was lost. The confusion, the pain, the helplessness—it was all still fresh in his mind.

The money he'd saved for Guo Lin's treatment, plus what she'd left him from selling the restaurant, eventually became his startup capital.

He couldn't help wondering if Aunt Guo, somehow, could see how he'd changed and that he'd finally made his dream come true.

If Aunt Guo were still around, today would've been even more perfect.

The boy who once sat huddled at the restaurant door in the rain, bruised and battered; the broke kid who had to steal even ten bucks; the young man who yearned to be loved—he had now grown into someone who could stand on his own.

He didn't need anything from anyone anymore—he'd found his own purpose in life.

When Pang Ze proposed a toast, Zhao Yu looked at the beer in their glasses and said, "I'm embarrassed to even raise this," before shamelessly clinking his soy milk against their beers.

...

Half an hour later, the fresh seafood truck finally arrived, and they went out to inspect the goods.

When the doors opened, the boxes of fresh fish and shrimp they carried out were all fine. Finally, they hauled out a box of wild green crabs. Zhao Yu crouched down to examine them closely, but caught a strange smell.

"Master, come take a look." Zhao Yu turned on a flashlight for a closer look—all thirty crabs were completely still.

Cao Xu touched one of the shells with his finger and immediately his expression changed. He asked the driver, "How come all the crabs in this box are dead?"

"What?! That can't be!" The driver was shocked. He stepped forward to look and quickly said, "They were all alive when we loaded them on the truck! I'm just the driver—I never touched the goods inside!"