Chapter 84: Detour to Yinwan Hui

Chapter 84: Change of Route, Heading to Yinwan Bay

All thirty wild green crabs had died. Whether they died before loading or during transit, hashing out who was at fault would drag on endlessly.

Pang Ze said, "Chef Zhao, please film a video to document this first and keep the crabs for later claims. I'll call the supplier now to see if we can get another box of green crabs shipped over right away."

With that, he turned and walked off to make the call.

Cao Xu stared at the box of dead crabs and shook his head with a sigh. "These are top-tier butter crabs from the peak season. Even if they're out there, we might not be able to get our hands on them right away."

Sure enough, Pang Ze came back from his call with a grim look on his face. "They said they don't have any more green crabs of that quality right now. The soonest they can get more in is tomorrow night. Can we swap in a different kind of crab?"

"No." Cao Xu refused outright, pointing to the sign by the door. "This is our signature dish. How can we sell something that's not what we advertise? Better to have nothing than to cut corners."

"If that's the case, we'll have to pull this dish from the menu tomorrow," Zhao Yu said.

Pang Ze shook his head. "I've already promoted this dish in our pre-opening marketing, and it's gotten a lot of buzz online. People are definitely going to come in for it tomorrow. Pulling it at the last minute would be bad for the restaurant's rep. Ugh."

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, they each split up to hit up different suppliers, hoping to find one that could provide the crabs on short notice.

Pang Ze made two calls and came up empty. After thinking it over, he walked a little farther off and called Gu Hansheng. Tuotu had a cold-chain logistics division—maybe they had connections in this area.

Even though Gu Hansheng had told him not to leak anything, at a moment like this, Pang Ze couldn't afford to care.

...

The head of Tuotu's European office flew into China with a team of executives for a work meeting. The meeting was scheduled for nine o'clock the next morning.

Even though Gu Hansheng wasn't interested in going to Europe anytime soon, this meeting was still a big deal for him.

Damien, the head of the European office, was a prideful guy who wouldn't easily accept some newly appointed president. If Gu Hansheng wanted to take the reins later, he had to earn their respect first.

So he'd prepared carefully, handpicking an elite team for the meeting to make sure they'd have the upper hand in any power plays.

He worked late into the night. Gu Hansheng rode the elevator down, his footsteps echoing in the empty lobby.

The moment he stepped out of the Tuotu building, his phone rang—it was Pang Ze.

"Mr. Gu, sorry to bother you this late, but I've got an urgent situation and need your help."

Gu Hansheng stopped mid-step, a flicker of hope in his eyes. "Zhao Yu... is asking for my help?"

"He doesn't know. This was my call."

Gu Hansheng's face fell again. "What's going on?"

Pang Ze laid out the whole situation. Gu Hansheng mulled it over for a moment. "Let me ask around."

He made a few calls on his way to the parking lot, then sat in the car waiting for replies. Eventually, he found out that a fishing village where saltwater and freshwater met raised this kind of green crab. They weren't wild-caught, but the quality was good enough for any restaurant's signature dish.

Pang Ze immediately told Cao Xu and Zhao Yu the good news, but as Gu Hansheng had asked, he didn't mention his name.

Zhao Yu said, "Master, I'll go with Manager Pang. We'll try to make it back before we open at ten."

Cao Xu nodded. "Drive safe. I'll hold down the fort here."

Pang Ze drove Zhao Yu to the fishing village. It took three hours to reach the dock, but the ferry to the island had already stopped for the night.

In the distance, the sea shimmered under the moonlight, and the lights on the island's hilltop seemed to point the way—yet felt impossibly far.

"My bad," Pang Ze sighed. "I didn't think there'd be no ferry at this hour."

"Let's check the village. Maybe we can borrow a boat."

Ready to try anything, they were about to split up to look when a roar suddenly came from the sea. A bright beam of light swept over them, and a speedboat pulled up to the dock.

"Hey! You guys need a boat?" the man on the speedboat shouted.

"Yes!" Zhao Yu stepped forward, puzzled. "How did you know?"

"It's... someone sent me to come get you. Hop on quick."

Pang Ze immediately understood what was happening. "Must be my friend's doing. Let's go."

Zhao Yu didn't think twice.

The speedboat tore through the waves, the wind whipping Zhao Yu's clothes. He kept his eyes fixed on the island lights as they drew closer, until they hit the beach.

The moment they got off the boat, another man came up. "I'm the village chief. You're here for the green crabs, right? I've already got the fishermen out catching them. Follow me."

Everything went suspiciously smoothly. No wasted talk—everyone showed up right on cue.

The two followed the village chief to the farm, where three or four fishermen were busy hauling in crabs, loading them into baskets, and carrying them to shore.

"Don't worry, our crabs are top-notch. I told them to pick out the big ones for you," the village chief said.

Zhao Yu picked one up to check. The quality wasn't just good—it rivaled the premium butter crabs they'd ordered. The price had to be steep.

But before he could even ask, the village chief added, "And don't worry about the price. Five hundred a crab for the eight-liang ones."

Zhao Yu was stunned. He was desperate for the crabs, and the village chief still wasn't gouging him. This farm sat on natural brackish water, something no other farm could match—they could easily charge a thousand a crab.

Just as Zhao Yu started to get suspicious, Pang Ze said, "Chef Zhao, my friend must have put in a good word. When he handles things, you can be a hundred percent sure."

"Your friend's gone out of his way to help—we really owe him one." Zhao Yu set aside his doubts. "Village chief, I'll take thirty. I can transfer the money to you right now, but if it has to go to a business account, that'll have to wait until morning."

"Just pick what you need and take them. No rush on the payment."

Zhao Yu smiled, amused. "Not worried I'll skip out on the bill?"

The village chief laughed. "Not one bit!"

Pang Ze figured the village chief wasn't so bold—someone had probably already fronted the money.

Zhao Yu carefully picked out thirty crabs of nearly identical size, packed them up, and got back on the speedboat. By then it was six in the morning, and dawn had already broken.

The ride here had been at night, a smooth three hours. Heading back during morning rush hour would probably take longer, but if they pushed it, they could still make it before ten.

After Zhao Yu and Pang Ze left, another speedboat came around from the other side of the island.

"Mr. Gu, come by anytime! You're always welcome!" the village chief said with a grin as he walked the man to the shore.

The reason he was so happy to see Gu Hansheng was that the crabs "sold" for five hundred each had actually gone for fifteen hundred, and every worker today had pocketed two thousand in cash. Who wouldn't roll out the red carpet?

Assistant Wu said, "Mr. Gu, we're going to be late for the morning meeting. Old Gu is going to be there too."

"I know." Gu Hansheng hopped onto the speedboat, facing the morning breeze as he gazed at the coastline.

The meeting was no big deal. Delaying the restaurant's opening was what actually mattered.

He could've handed this off to Assistant Wu, but he didn't trust anyone else with it.

Gu Hansheng hadn't even made it to Tuotu before the meeting wrapped up, and word was that Old Master Gu stormed out with a dark look.

At this point, Gu Hansheng didn't bother dwelling on the old man's attitude. Instead, he said calmly, "Change of plans—head to Yinwan Hui."

Half an hour before opening, Zhao Yu hustled the green crabs back to Jinyan.

On opening day, every seat was packed, and half the private rooms upstairs were already booked. Pang Ze was a hell of an operator—even with that crowd, he kept the place running like clockwork.

When Gu Hansheng walked in, Pang Ze was right there to usher him upstairs to a private room and hand him a menu.

Gu Hansheng flipped through the menu but skipped the signature green crab. Instead, he looked at the various dishes on the following pages.

"Fisherman's Fire and Sinking Fragrance? That's a nice name." Gu Hansheng looked at the dish image—a delicately plated silver smoked pomfret. Just from the plating in the photo, he could tell this was Zhao Yu's work.

Even though he'd trained under Cao Xu, Zhao Yu had carved out his own style—beyond the fine craftsmanship, there was a loose, spontaneous artistry, like a whim that just made it onto the plate.

Gu Hansheng ordered six dishes—the smoked fish, stir-fried green romanesco, blue lobster, and more.

Pang Ze said, "Mr. Gu, would you like to specify which chef prepares them?"

Technically, Jinyan didn't offer that kind of service. Gu Hansheng drummed his fingers on the table, tempted. But after a moment's thought, he said, "No need."

He could pull rank if he wanted, but he knew the kitchen was slammed, and Zhao Yu would be buried.

When the ticket came back to the kitchen, Zhao Yu glanced at it and froze.

For a chef, every dish carries a memory, and these six—of all things—each brought one person to mind, because he'd cooked every single one for that same person.

"Chef Zhao, you okay?" a kitchen worker asked.

"Nothing." Zhao Yu clipped the ticket up and turned to grab the marinated silver pomfret.

Within ten minutes, the first dish—Fisherman's Fire and Sinking Fragrance—was carried into Gu Hansheng's private room. Looking at the golden fish pieces, his mind flashed back to the first time he'd tasted Zhao Yu's test dish—the fish had been fried a touch too long back then, but it still tasted good, and it only got better from there.

Next came the stir-fried green romanesco. The first time they'd gone grocery shopping together, Zhao Yu asked if he liked it, saying it was also called Roman cauliflower.

That day, they bought blue lobster and monkfish...

All six dishes came out one by one, but the one plating them for him wasn't Zhao Yu anymore.

Gu Hansheng picked up his chopsticks without a word. Every dish tasted familiar, memories flashing vividly before him, as if nothing had ever changed.

He ate until he couldn't anymore, the leftovers going cold, yet he stayed put.

At three in the afternoon, the lunch crowd trickled out, and he finally made his way downstairs. In the empty hall were a few servers, but none of the chefs had come out.

The one he wanted to see was always so hard to catch, and his hours of waiting had been for nothing.

"Mr. Gu, would you like to get a membership card?" Pang Ze approached with a smile. "We can upgrade you to a black card member, with chef-special dishes."

"Which chef?"

"You can specify."

On the first day of the new restaurant's opening, Pang Ze smoothly secured a substantial deal.