"My husband asked you to come here to inquire about your master," Jiang Qingcheng said in a friendly manner.

"Looking for my master? What do you need my master for? I'll tell you everything I know, please speak freely!" The chef was slightly taken aback and said with some surprise, thinking that the big boss was looking for him.

"I've heard that your skills were taught by your master. Your master's skills must be even better than yours. Is that true?" Gu Changqing said with a faint smile and a calm expression.

"Yes, my skills were indeed taught by my master, and his skills are far superior to mine," the chef said with a slight smile.

"With your words, I am relieved. I would like to invite your master to be my private chef. Where does your master live? Please take us to his house!" Gu Changqing said happily.

"No problem, as long as the manager agrees, I can take you to my master's house right now!" The chef replied without hesitation, agreeing without a second thought.

Gu Changqing turned to look at the shopkeeper, who immediately smiled and said, "I have no problem with that either. I'll give you a day off today, and you'll still get paid. You can do whatever you want, even if you go now, I have no objection."

"Thank you so much, boss! You're awesome! I'll definitely keep up the good work when I get back," the chef said, overjoyed.

He didn't expect it to be so good, so easy, that he was given a day off so he could finally rest.

What he didn't know was that the shopkeeper wasn't doing it for him, but for himself. If he offended that big shot, the consequences would be unpredictable. Compared to a day off, what was a day off? Whether it was ten days off or 100 days off, he would still give it to the big shot if he needed it.

The chef then took Gu Changqing and Jiang Qingcheng to his master's house, and after a short while, they arrived at their destination.

"My master's house is almost here. I forgot to tell you that my master has a bad temper. If I offend you with my words, please forgive me!" the chef said somewhat nervously.

"Don't be afraid. We're not monsters, we don't eat people. As long as your master doesn't go too far, we won't do anything to him. Besides, our purpose is to hire him as our private chef, not to cause him trouble," Jiang Qingcheng explained gently with a slight smile.

Jiang Qingcheng was speechless when she heard the chef's words. The manager must have said something to him that made him think she and her husband were not easy to get along with.

When Gu Changqing and his two companions arrived at their destination, they could hear several people making a ruckus from afar.

"You old bastard, hurry up and pay back the money! If you don't pay back the money today, I'll chop off your son's hand right now! If you don't pay back the money within the stipulated time, don't blame me for being ruthless and making sure you never see your son again. When you're old, you'll have no one to rely on and no one to take care of you in your old age!" A rude male voice said, cursing.

"Father, save me! I can't live without hands!" came a childish voice pleading for help.

"What are you yelling about? I have no money left. Even if you kill my son today, I still won't have any money to pay you. Your interest is so high that it keeps snowballing. Even if I sell the house, I still won't be able to pay it off. You might as well just kill me now. I'm completely broke now, I don't have a single penny left!" Another voice said with a hint of desolation and helplessness.

"Don't think we wouldn't dare. If you don't hand over the money today, I'll chop off your son's hand right now, so he won't gamble again." The man's voice rang out again, his words full of threat and provocation.

"Let's see who dares to lay a finger on my master!" Just then, the head chef rushed out and said angrily.

"Where did this brat come from? Get the hell out of here, or I'll beat you up too!" The man in black said disdainfully, once again showing his arrogance.

"Want to play the hero? Sure, since you call him master, then you have the guts to pay back the money for him, and we'll release your master and his son," another man in black said disdainfully.

"Fine, I'll pay you back. How much? I'll give it to you right now. After you pay, get out of here!" the chef said angrily.

"No more, no less, a total of ten thousand top-grade spirit stones." The leader of the men in black smiled smugly and said arrogantly.

"What? So much? Master, do you owe this much?" The head chef looked surprised and asked the master chef.

"I only borrowed a thousand spirit stones, but somehow it ballooned to ten thousand!" the master said helplessly.

"Isn't this just usury? The more you borrow, the more you get. But I don't have that much money on me today. I'll pay you back a thousand first, and you can release my master and the others!" the chef said directly.

He knew he couldn't afford to offend this kind of person, so he could only take it one step at a time.

"I thought you were something special, but it turns out you're only this capable. You can manage a thousand spirit stones, but you'll still have to pay back ten thousand in half a month!" the man said arrogantly and disdainfully.

"Don't give them the money. What's the difference between giving it to them and throwing money down the drain? Half a month later, he came back and asked me for another 10,000 top-grade spirit stones. The interest is snowballing too fast. It's a bottomless pit!" Upon hearing this, the master's expression changed, and he quickly stopped him.

"Master, I know you don't want to owe me a favor, but how could I stand idly by when I've encountered something like this? Everyone has their difficult times, this is nothing, it will pass." The chef said calmly.

"No, you absolutely cannot give them this money. I'm going to fight them to the death today. Unless I die, I won't give them a single penny. I've paid back so many times, all my money has gone to pay off debts, but I still haven't been able to fill this hole. I can never pay it all off, it's endless. I've had enough. If you have the guts, kill me today, and I'll finally be free." The master said with a look of utter despair.