Chapter 16 16 Suspicious Character Setting/Taianyu
Compared to Ji Qingzhi's doubts, Yan Si acted more like the owner. She looked up at the decoration inside the store, then frowned and commented: "The decoration is too simple."
Ji Qingzhi was so angry that he laughed: "So? What does this have to do with you?"
Yan Si clicked his tongue twice, then sighed: "Qingzhi, you know what? If you could change your temper, your position in the circle wouldn't be so embarrassing."
At the beginning, Yan Si was still very optimistic about Ji Qingzhi, but unfortunately she had a stubborn temper and didn't understand the ways of the world, so all the resources she had negotiated were snatched away by others.
"Ms. Yan, you're affecting my business." Ji Qingzhi snorted coldly. His resources were getting worse and worse, wasn't it because he was unwilling to cooperate with her to attend various dinner parties? Now she knows how to pass on the blame.
"Qingzhi, look, you are still so impatient." Yan Si looked helpless, as if the previous quarrel between them had never existed at all.
Ji Qingzhi rolled her eyes and said, "Ms. Yan, if you love to preach, why don't you apply for the position of neighborhood committee director?"
Yan Si suppressed his anger and tried to maintain a gentle tone: "Qingzhi, I came to you today about the contract. I was not thoughtful last time. Now I have specially applied for a B+ contract for you from the company."
At the beginning, Yan Si actually didn't have such plans, but as Song Panyan's variety show effect was not as good as expected, Yan Si regretted it a little. What made her make up her mind was that after the video of Song Panyan bullying an amateur was exposed, she was too impatient. Compared with Ji Qingzhi, Song Panyan was more suitable for the black and red route, so she planned to re-sign Ji Qingzhi and reposition her character.
"Sorry, I'm not interested." Ji Qingzhi refused without even thinking.
"Qingzhi, don't rush to reject me. Once you get the B+ contract, I will be able to help you get the role you wanted before." Yan Si looked confident of winning. After all, she knew how much Ji Qingzhi liked that role.
"Ms. Yan, did you misunderstand that I only released the recording about the variety show last time? I didn't release other things because I have more important things to do than dealing with you. Do you understand what I mean now?" Ji Qingzhi looked at Yan Si with disgust in his eyes.
At the beginning, she was full of gratitude to Yan Si. After all, it was she who brought her into the circle. However, as the way she fought for resources for herself began to differ, the two had disagreements. At that time, she still had no resentment towards Yan Si. After all, people with different ideals cannot work together. It was not until Yan Si allowed the groundless scandal about her to spread in order to promote others, and even took away her account and did not allow her to clarify, that she became completely disappointed with Yan Si and began to preserve evidence.
"Ji Qingzhi, you must know that if you miss this opportunity, there will be no next time. Isn't this hype between you and that amateur just for this?" Yes, Yan Si also believed that the anti-counterfeiting Liu Ying was arranged by Ji Qingzhi herself. It must be said that she made the right move. At least now her popularity among the public has begun to show signs of changing. If she buys a few more hot searches, she will be able to reverse her popularity among the public.
Ji Qingzhi looked at Yan Si who was chattering non-stop, and said sincerely: "Miss Yan, if it was you, after finally jumping out of the fire pit, would you jump in again?"
She really didn't understand where Yan Si got the confidence from, thinking that she would sign a contract with her as long as she was given a B+ contract.
"Ji Qingzhi, you don't have to reply to me now. I'll give you three days to think about it." Yan Si glanced towards the kitchen and said meaningfully, "Come to think of it, we've been working together for more than eight years, and I didn't even know you were such a good cook."
Hearing the threat implied in her tone, Ji Qingzhi couldn't help but raise his lips: "No need to wait three days, I'll give you the answer now, I refuse."
Without waiting for Yan Si's response, he continued, "Please go back, Miss Yan."
"Have you signed with another company?" Yan Si couldn't help but frown. In her opinion, it was impossible for Ji Qingzhi to really retire.
This time, Ji Qingzhi didn't even bother to look at her. She didn't know where she got the confidence from, thinking that she would jump into the same fire pit twice in a row. At this time, a new message came in on her mobile phone. She took a look and found that it was Jiang Wei.
Jiang Wei said in the message that their department’s dinner party was planned to be held at Ji’s Restaurant, and asked her if it needed to be booked in advance?
Ji Qingzhi [Need, I can prepare the dishes\picture\]
After seeing the menu she sent, Jiang Wei forwarded it to the department’s small group and asked everyone to discuss the menu for the dinner together. Thanks to Luo Kun, everyone knew Ji Qingzhi’s previous identity as an actor. Watching excitement and seeing the novelty is in the genes of Chinese people. Everyone wants to compare the difference between an actor or a chef face to face.
Soon everyone had discussed the dishes. Jiang Wei looked over and saw that Luo Kun hadn't spoken. Puzzled, he slid his chair forward and saw someone typing away on the keyboard.
"What's so urgent? Let's decide on the dishes for the dinner first." Jiang Wei contacted.
“No, wait until I finish sending this message.” Luo Kun didn’t even turn his head. Today, Gardenia will not admit defeat.
Looking in front of his screen, Jiang Wei frowned: "So you are battling with them online?"
"Yes, I am always very careful on weekdays, and today I finally got rid of this anger." Luo Kun said as he moved his fingers. He had typed too much just now.
"Okay, do you have time to check the menu now?" Jiang Wei thought about it and decided not to say anything that would spoil the fun.
"Right away. By the way, Lao Jiang, do you think I can take a photo and get an autograph then?" Luo Kun suddenly became expectant.
"I don't know." Jiang Wei shook his head. As far as he knew, Ji Qingzhi was a person with a strong sense of boundaries, and she might not agree to taking photos and signing autographs now.
"Okay." Luo Kun felt a little regretful, but he also knew that Ji Qingzhi's choice to retire meant returning to the life of an ordinary person. The only thing that hurt him was why he didn't know earlier that Jiang Wei and Ji Qingzhi were neighbors.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Jiang Wei saw his somewhat resentful look and asked in a puzzled tone.
"Brother Wei, you are so tight-lipped. If it were someone else, they would have shown off to everyone knowing about it long ago." But thinking from another angle, Ji Qingzhi must be a good person herself, so the people around her will protect her and not exploit her.
"Okay, hurry up and order the menu and send it to me." Jiang Wei urged, wondering whether he should tell Ji Qingzhi about this.
*
After Liu Ying's live broadcast, there was quite a lot of controversy about Ji Qingzhi's retirement and inheritance of the restaurant, or it could be said that there were many doubts. But it must be said that the dishes that appeared in the live broadcast room did attract a lot of people, including Ji Qingzhi's black fans, so as soon as Yan Si left, two young girls came over according to the navigation.
"What would you like to order?" Aunt Liu appeared with a menu.
As a fan of Song Panyan, Shu Xin is also an out-and-out foodie. She was originally watching the live broadcast room of "I love sweet and sour pork", intending to severely mock Ji Qingzhi's hype. However, she was first struck by Ji Qingzhi's bare face, and then she was drooling over the braised lion head. After some ideological struggle, she finally decided to try it herself, after all, she was really close to here.
Yuan Xuan is her cousin, and she just happened to come to see her today. She thought that if people really knew about it, she would say that she came to accompany her cousin.
"Let's have the braised lion's head first," Shu Xin ordered the braised lion's head without looking at the menu. This dish is her favorite, but she has never eaten the authentic one after trying so many restaurants. I hope she won't be disappointed today.
"Then I'll have something spicier, a Tai'an fish, and a vegetable and tofu soup." Yuan Xuan handed the menu to Aunt Liu. When she turned around, she saw Shu Xin's sneaky look. She was a little confused: "What are you doing?"
"It's okay." Shu Xin shook her head. She was looking for Ji Qingzhi just now, but she couldn't see him after searching around. For a moment, she didn't know whether she should be relieved or disappointed.
"Are you really okay?" Yuan Xuan looked at her suspiciously.
"It's really nothing, I'm just hungry." Shu Xin had just finished speaking when she saw Ji Qingzhi pushing the door open from the back door. She couldn't help but pause for breath. Oh, she met her family's Pan Yan's biggest rival. It was because she terminated the contract without reason that Pan Yan was implicated.
Yes, Song Panyan, whose performance on the variety show was not impressive, privately found someone to reveal the "truth". Because of Ji Qingzhi's inconsistency, Song Panyan, as a junior sister in the same school, would naturally be targeted by the program crew and was unwilling to be given more shots.
Ji Qingzhi took the menu handed over by Aunt Liu and glanced over there casually, and saw the same hairpin on Shu Xin's head as Song Panyan. Well, it seems that her publicity today was still effective, at least the anti-counterfeiting forces came in waves.
She first prepared the ingredients for the Tai'an fish, cutting the silver carp delivered this morning into even-sized pieces, and then marinated them with salt and sweet potato flour, making sure that every piece of fish was covered with sweet potato flour.
While wrapping the flour, she was still distractedly thinking about whether she should build a small fish pond in the backyard. The well water contains vitality, so there is no need to worry about not being able to keep the fish alive.
While the fish fillets were marinating, she started chopping the meat filling to prepare the braised lion's head. She had just made it in the morning, so now she was even more adept at it. After the braised lion's head was ready, it was time to marinate the fish fillets.
Heat oil in a pan and start frying the fish pieces. When the surface of the fish pieces becomes crispy, you can scoop them out and put them on a plate for later use. Leave a little oil in the pan to stir-fry the ingredients. Add bean paste, ginger slices, crushed garlic, dried chili segments and Sichuan peppercorns and stir-fry. Add water when the aroma comes out. Bring the ingredients to a boil over high heat, then add the fried fish pieces and turn to low heat. After fifteen minutes, when the sauce in the pot begins to dry up, add a little salt and chicken stock, sprinkle with chopped celery and serve.
Shu Xin kept looking at Ji Qingzhi who was busy inside through the glass door, then lowered her eyes to stare at her phone and read the various conspiracy theories in the group. She really wanted to reply that the chef was indeed Ji Qingzhi himself, but in order to avoid trouble, she directly exited the group message.
"What's wrong with you today? Why do you act weird?" Yuan Xuan was a little puzzled.
"It's okay, the food is served, let's eat first." Shu Xin shook her head. Even when she saw the braised lion head coming up, her mood didn't get better. Thinking about how the big fans had just led everyone in the group to believe that this must be Ji Qingzhi's hype, she couldn't help but wonder, did the big fans in the past also use guiding words like this, directly accusing the other party without verification?
These big fans are all connected to Song Panyan’s staff, so in other words, does Song Panyan really know nothing about it? Song Panyan's external image is that of a simple, harmless rich girl, but now Shu Xin can't help but begin to doubt this image.
"Wow, this braised lion's head looks good. It should be better than the ones you ordered before." Yuan Xuan likes spicy food and is not very fond of dishes like braised lion's head.
"It smells good, too." Shu Xin quickly blocked out the messy thoughts in her mind. She took a bite of the lion's head, and then her eyes lit up. She finally understood why I Love Sweet and Sour Pork had to apologize to Ji Qingzhi.
At this time, the Tai'an fish was also ready. The spicy smell could be smelled from afar. Yuan Xuan was also eager to try it. The red oil made Shu Xin swallow her saliva: "Sister, are you really not afraid of spicy food?"
"It looks spicy, but it's actually not that spicy. Do you want to try a piece?" Yuan Xuan invited.
"Let me try it?" She finally did not refuse the piece of fish that looked spicy and fragrant.
After taking a bite, she was a little surprised: "Is this fish fried?"
She didn't know what the outer layer was, but it was covered in soup and tasted fragrant and spicy. The fish inside was tender and delicious. It was the first time she felt that fish could be so delicious.
"Yes, fry first and then boil. I love it." Yuan Xuan said as she put another piece of fish into the bowl.
Shu Xin no longer resisted the Tai'an fish. After eating a few pieces, she felt sweat on her back and forehead. She reached out to take the hairband on her wrist and tied her hair up so that she would not feel so hot. What she didn't notice was that when she tied her hair, the hairpin on the side got caught on the sleeve. The thick knitted jacket she was wearing today was most likely to get caught on things.
When the vegetable and tofu soup came, it was served with a small dipping saucer. Yuan Xuan glanced at the saucer and said, "This looks delicious. It makes me want to eat tofu pudding. How about to have tofu pudding hotpot tonight?"
"I'm fine with anything." Shu Xin nodded. She used the empty bowl next to her to fill a bowl of soup. The soup had the flavors of tofu and vegetables, making her want to drink two big bowls.
The two sisters barely touched their rice. They ate up all the braised lion's head and Tai'an fish, and also ate most of the vegetables and tofu in the vegetable and tofu soup. Yuan Xuan rubbed her bloated stomach and asked curiously, "Xinxin, where did you find this treasure shop? It tastes really good."
"A friend recommended it to me." Shu Xin said vaguely.
She was afraid that Yuan Xuan would ask another "shocking" question, so she hurried to the front desk to pay the bill. She scanned the QR code to pay and turned to leave, but Ji Qingzhi stopped her unexpectedly. She paused, and thousands of possibilities flashed through her mind. Then she saw Ji Qingzhi pointing at the hairpin next to the QR code with curved eyebrows and said, "You dropped something."
Shu Xin's eyes fell on the same hairpin as Song Panyan's next to the QR code, and then she was stunned. At this moment, she had only one thought in her mind: it's over.
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