Chapter 017 Recruitment and Expansion
As soon as he was hired, Mario hurriedly found Lin Muqiu's residence and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
As Lin Muqiu's gentle voice fell, the door opened automatically.
He didn't have time to marvel at Lin Muqiu's magic power, and hurried in, "Sir, I want to tell you that Andrew and the others are all Bob's accomplices..."
However, before he could finish his words, he heard a familiar voice coming from somewhere in the room:
"Let's be honest for the first half of the month and see if we can get the formula."
In an instant, Mario was terrified because the voice belonged to Andrew and the others.
Looking closely, it turned out to be Lin Muqiu curled up on the sofa like a koala, holding ice jelly potato chips in his left hand and an ice stone in his right hand. The ice stone projected a screen, recording the conversation of several people inside clearly, and the sound came from the ice stone.
This person is quite leisurely and relaxed, as if he is watching a movie.
Seeing him coming, Lin Muqiu, whose cheeks were as full as a hamster, quickly swallowed the food in his mouth and asked, "What's the matter? Please tell me."
Mario suddenly felt that his reminder was unnecessary. It turned out that Lin Muqiu had been secretly monitoring those people for a long time.
He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He finally didn't have to worry anymore. With Lin Muqiu around, nothing would happen to him.
Then the next second, he heard a voice coming from the ice stone:
"If that doesn't work, we can start with Mario. Didn't Lin Muqiu admit it himself? That guy has the ability to replicate ingredients."
Mario: “…”
His expression tensed, and he quickly explained, "Sir, I can't possibly cooperate with them, let alone become part of their corrupt practices!"
Lin Muqiu stuffed another large mouthful of ice jelly into his mouth, as serious and earnest as a hamster, "No, you have to cooperate with them. I will teach you how to do it."
"What?" Now it was Mario's turn to be shocked.
"It's called, Mission Impossible."
*
For two days, nothing happened and the shop quickly got back on track, which made Mario, who was holding the ice stone, a little anxious.
Lin Muqiu promised that she would come after Bob's store was confiscated and then make him the branch manager.
Although Lin Muqiu's expansion methods really surprised him, he still tried his best to become the branch manager.
The days waiting for the bomb to explode were the hardest.
Things didn't turn around until one morning when he returned home from his night shift and was surrounded by a group of relatives.
An older aunt came over and said, "Oh my! Mario is so lucky! He actually hooked up with Lin Muqiu. We don't have to worry about anything anymore!"
Second Aunt sighed and said, "How can that be possible? Bob and Lin Muqiu have always been at odds. What if Bob secretly takes revenge on our Mario?"
"Oh! You're always saying depressing things!"
“…”
He saw that relatives who usually never cared about his family suddenly came to him today, and even called him "our Mario" affectionately, as if the people who used to mock his family's poverty were not these relatives anymore.
He got goose bumps all over his body.
Mario knew what they were up to, so he started crying poor, "Ah, what's the point of talking about marrying above my means? I just want to live a good life. Lin Muqiu treats me like a donkey every day. It's exhausting, and I haven't saved any money!"
After saying this, he spread out his palm, revealing faint bruises on it, obviously caused by prolonged use of knives.
Seeing a strange look in his relatives' eyes, Mario suddenly said, "You've come just in time! Aunt, why don't you lend me some money? You know my family's situation. I'm still in my internship and don't have any money at the moment. I'll definitely return it later..."
The eldest and second aunts suddenly became embarrassed. "Oh, it's not that the eldest aunt doesn't want to lend it, it's just that it's a summer disaster now, how can anyone have money?"
As soon as the topic of money was brought up, the relatives quickly became embarrassed, said a few polite words and left in a hurry.
After everyone left, Mario's mother, Vera, took his hand and said distressedly, "Mario, was Lin Muqiu really that cruel to you?"
"Yes!" Mario shouted fiercely, "It's better to work for Bob than for her!"
When the elder and second aunts, who were eavesdropping through the door, heard this, they smiled with satisfaction.
*
"Did he really say that? That Lin Muqiu is not as good as me?" Bob asked in a low voice.
Aunt Mario kept saying, "That's right! Compared to Lin Muqiu, you have a much better conscience!"
Bob: “…”
Why doesn't this sound like a good thing?
But fortunately, Bob didn't say much. He gave them some money and sent them away.
Then he said to Andrew: "Then you can secretly go and talk to Mario in a few days."
"I think in a few days, everyone will be fed up with Lin Muqiu." Andrew gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it, she's such a piece of shit. I was wondering why she wasn't worried about the formula being stolen, because she didn't even let us have access to it."
Ampere on the side echoed, "Yeah! When we go to her place, we just chop potatoes, fry potatoes, and rub cloth bags all day long. There's nothing else to do! And she said she wanted to give Mario more, but in reality, she only let him do the rough work and buy ingredients, and she'd dock his salary if he disagreed."
After saying this, he spread out his red and bloody palms, shaking with anger, "I think Lin Muqiu did this on purpose! She knew who we were and tortured us on purpose!"
After hearing this, Bob's frown relaxed. "Okay! That's great!"
"What's good?" Andrew and Ampere looked at him as if he were a fool.
Bob laughed and said, "Since she's not a good person, it's easy for Mario to rebel, isn't it?"
Hearing this, Andrew and Ampere's brows relaxed even more.
*
The duo who were running towards each other finally took action late one night.
One night when Lin Muqiu was away, Mario was complaining about Lin Muqiu without reservation, and Andrew finally couldn't bear it anymore and took action.
They carried Mario to Bob's restaurant for dinner.
Mario sat next to them, nervously snapping his fingers together. "That's not good. Aren't we Lin Muqiu's employees?"
"What's the matter!" Andrew waved his hand, "Come on, drink!"
After saying that, he pushed the wine in front of Mario. After several times, Mario agreed. When they were drunk, Bob took the opportunity to join in their conversation when he brought them food.
After three rounds of drinks, Bob asked casually, "Mario, are you willing to be controlled by others?"
Mario was drunk and dazed: "What do you mean? But what else can we do besides this?"
"You have the skills to cook and can taste what's added to the recipe. If you open a shop with us, wouldn't that be a powerful combination?"
Upon hearing this, Mario stood up nervously. "But as someone who buys raw materials, if I leak the formula, I'll go to jail..."
"Isn't she just using this rule and her status as an ice mage to bully others?" Bob added, adding, "Besides, didn't you say at the time that you could taste the ingredients? If that's the case, there's no guarantee that others won't be able to taste them and suspect you."
"But..." Mario pretended to hesitate, "What if it fails?"
"There's no such thing as failure," Bob patted him on the shoulder. "I've never failed before."
"You still..." Mario looked shocked.
"Well, these are all necessary business tactics," Bob said nonchalantly. "You know, running a business is not easy. There are many tricks."
Hearing this, Mario sneered in his heart.
It turns out that this person also knows that opening a store is not easy. He can squeeze out other stores by just snapping his fingers and engaging in malicious commercial competition.
But for others, that is their entire savings.
This man has done so many evil things that he has even forgotten that he once squeezed out his shop.
That's right, he was just the least noticeable one among the people he had ever messed with.
Seeing his thoughtful expression, Bob used his trump card, "Don't forget, your mother still needs treatment."
Mario looked flustered. "Okay, I'll work with you, but I have to make it clear upfront. She only lets me purchase the raw materials each time, but doesn't tell me the ratios. I can't guarantee I'll be able to match them. It takes time and trial and error."
A smile appeared on Bob's lips, and he nodded in agreement, not taking it to heart at all.
With coercion and inducement, there is no goal that cannot be achieved.
*
Late one night, Bob finally received a secret visit from Mario and Andrew.
Mario came hurriedly with the raw materials like a thief, and Andrew covered for him and finally handed the recipe to him.
A glint of joy flashed in Bob's eyes, and then he started to work attentively according to the proportions.
Now put [Cold and Sour Lemongrass Thistle] in it, and added many other spices. Bob took a look and found that most of them were common seasonings in the magical world, so there shouldn't be any big problems.
Gradually the fragrance spreads, making people intoxicated.
This is similar to the ingredients made by Lin Muqiu, and the taste is very similar.
Bob's mind suddenly moved, and he quickly followed the recipe, adding fine flour and mashed potatoes. He thought that Lin Muqiu's ability was just so-so, and the recipe for potato balls was not difficult.
Then the next second, the cauldron exploded into the sky like a firework, and fragments were sprayed all over the ground.
In an instant, the fragments of the cauldron mixed with stove ash crashed onto his face, leaving three black lines on his face.
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