Chapter 36 Are you free tonight?
Walking out of the office, Pei Song breathed a sigh of relief.
Although someone was trying to trip him up from behind, at least Zhou Feng was sensible.
He took out his cell phone and found a message from Shi Yanchen: "Are you free tonight?"
Pei Song stared at his phone in a daze for a while. After what happened today, he also wanted to meet Shi Yanchen and hear what this always calm man had to say.
In the evening, the two met at a small restaurant. The decoration here was very ordinary, but every dish was authentic.
"How was the conversation today?" Shi Yanchen poured Pei Song a cup of tea.
Pei Song recounted what happened: "To be honest, Zhou Feng's way of handling the situation was beyond my expectations. He did not question me because of those rumors, but instead gave me more trust."
"It seems that he is quite sensible." Shi Yanchen nodded.
Pei Song frowned: "I always feel that this matter will not be so simple, Liu Yan will not give up easily."
"Are you scared?" Shi Yanchen looked at him.
"I'm not afraid, I just feel a little tired." Pei Song shook his head, "I'm doing serious work, but I have to be on guard everywhere."
"This is the workplace," Shi Yanchen said. "Real strength will not be devalued because of other people's calculations."
"The most important thing now is to implement the reform plan well." Pei Song said, "I have formulated a detailed implementation plan and plan to advance it in three stages. The first stage will start with the improvement of the signature dishes..."
Shi Yanchen looked at him as he planned seriously, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly: "This is the Pei Song I know."
As the two of them ate and chatted, Pei Song felt much more relaxed.
"By the way," Shi Yanchen suddenly said, "I have to go back to Country D the day after tomorrow."
Pei Song paused as he held the chopsticks: "The plane ticket I saw before was for the day after tomorrow?"
"Well, it may take a week." Shi Yanchen glanced at him, "This period of time is exactly the critical period for the advancement of the plan. You must seize the opportunity."
Pei Song nodded, feeling an inexplicable sense of loss in his heart.
As if seeing his worry, Shi Yanchen said softly: "I'm always here."
These five simple words warmed Pei Song's heart.
No matter what difficulties he encountered, he was not fighting alone.
The project implementation plan was still on the table, and Pei Song decided to go back and continue to improve it.
He wants to use his strength to tell everyone that he relies on real talent and knowledge, not on anyone's favoritism.
On the first day after Shi Yanchen left, Pei Song devoted himself to the project.
He called a team meeting and explained in detail the implementation plan of the reform program.
"In the first phase, we will start by improving our signature dishes." Pei Song wrote down the timeline on the whiteboard, "We need to complete the innovation of eight signature dishes within this month. Each dish must retain the essence of traditional craftsmanship while creating something new in taste and presentation."
Liu Yan sat in the corner and watched coldly: "Manager Pei is really thoughtful, but I don't know if Mrs. Zhao agrees? After all, these are all inherited skills."
"Grandma Zhao has already agreed," Pei Song said calmly, "and she will personally guide us to ensure that each modified dish meets traditional standards."
Liu Yan's face changed. He didn't expect that Pei Song had already laid the groundwork.
After the meeting, Liu Yan stopped a new assistant and asked, "Brother, can you help me?"
"Brother Liu, please tell me."
"Go to the kitchen and take a look at what ingredients they use to improve the dishes." Liu Yan handed over a pack of cigarettes, "It would be best if you could take a few photos."
The assistant hesitated: "This is not a good idea..."
"What are you afraid of? It's not like I'm doing anything bad." Liu Yan patted him on the shoulder. "I'm just concerned about the project."
The next day, Pei Song was tasting food in the kitchen when he noticed someone taking pictures furtively in the corner.
"Xiao Wang, come here." He waved.
The assistant came over awkwardly: "Manager Pei..."
"Liu Yan asked you to come?" Pei Song asked.
The assistant lowered his head as a sign of agreement.
Pei Song was not angry, but smiled: "Since you want to know, why do you have to be so sneaky? Come, let me show you how we improved this drunken crab dish."
He explained each step in detail, from the selection of ingredients to the cooking temperature.
The young assistant was so absorbed in listening that he completely forgot that he was here to "visit the set".
"I also sent a copy of your Jin Shang Xuan reform plan to Mrs. Zhao," Liu Yan said with a smile at noon that day, "She must be very concerned."
Pei Song was stunned for a moment, then realized that this was an attempt to sow discord between him and Boss Lady Zhao.
But what he didn't expect was that the next day, Boss Lady Zhao came to the company in person.
"I heard you've started to improve the dishes?" The old man said angrily, "Let me take a look."
Liu Yan's eyes lit up, and he quickly came over: "Grandma Zhao, you came at the right time. Someone wants to change the traditional recipe, but that's not okay."
"Oh?" Mrs. Zhao looked at Pei Song, "Let me see what you have changed."
Pei Song brought out several trial dishes and explained in detail the ideas behind improving each dish.
"For example, for this drunken crab dish, we used a special rice wine cellar to make the wine aroma more intense. We also adjusted the marinating time to make the crab meat more tender."
Mrs. Zhao took a sip and her eyes lit up: "This wine smells good... is it daughter's red wine?"
"Yes," Pei Song said. "I looked up the history of Jin Shang Xuan and found that they used this kind of wine in the early years, but later they changed the formula probably for cost reasons. I think since we want to revive tradition, we might as well bring back the best ingredients."
"Good!" Mrs. Zhao slammed the table, "This is called improvement! It's not about changing the recipe, it's about restoring tradition!"
Liu Yan didn't expect things to develop in this direction, and his face turned ugly.
"Grandma Zhao, but this will increase costs significantly..." He tried to save the situation.
"Cost?" Mrs. Zhao glared at him. "Jin Shangxuan has been able to achieve what it has today because of its insistence on quality. Those who change the recipe just to save money are the ones who are really destroying the brand!"
After that, she turned to Pei Song and said, "Xiao Pei, I'll come here every day these days to teach you these old skills."
Liu Yan stood aside, his face turning pale and blue.
On the fourth day, an unexpected visitor came to Jin Shangxuan.
"Michelin judge?" Pei Song looked at the foreigner in a well-dressed suit in front of him with some surprise.
"Yes, we are secretly visiting Chinese restaurants in City C." The other party said in fluent Chinese, "I heard that Jin Shangxuan is undergoing innovative reforms, so we came to take a look."
Pei Song knew this was an opportunity: "Would you like to try our innovative dishes first?"
"Wait." Liu Yan suddenly interrupted, "Shouldn't we invite Mr. Zhou to this important occasion?"
"No need." Pei Song was confident, "Let the food speak for itself."
He had the kitchen prepare eight revamped dishes, each blending tradition with innovation.
The judges took notes while tasting.
"It's great!" the judges praised. "It completely retains the soul of Chinese cuisine, while adding modern elements. Especially the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, the layers of the soup are amazing."