According to Mo Chaoyun, the current online reviews for Qingping Tea House were deliberately manipulated.
It was Zhang Qikun.
First, to increase the traffic to Qingping Tea House, he deliberately created a topic: polarized reviews.
Achieving this was surprisingly simple.
Zhang Qikun played games with the ingredients.
He alternated between using high-quality and inferior ingredients.
For instance, on the first day, the dishes were prepared with excellent ingredients. After meticulous preparation by the chefs, they naturally garnered unanimous praise from the customers.
On the second day, however, extremely cheap or leftover ingredients were used. This not only saved costs but also guided customers to leave negative comments.
This cycle created the polarized review situation.
As a result, Zhang Qikun's restaurant naturally attracted significant attention. More and more customers seeking the truth would visit.
Even Nangong Qianyu, an influencer with millions of followers, was drawn to the scene by the public opinion.
It was evident that Zhang Qikun's series of behind-the-scenes operations were indeed successful.
This was because he understood better than anyone that what the culinary world lacked were not good restaurants, but restaurants at the center of traffic.
Only by doing so could they entice people's curiosity and draw them in to investigate.
Therefore, Zhang Qikun managed to enhance Qingping Tea House's fame by creating trending hot topics.
However, despite all his calculations, he never expected that a young chef's passion for food would disrupt his plans.
"Boss Zhang truly has a way with things!"
Setting aside Zhang Qikun's actions, one had to admit that his grasp of human psychology was indeed impeccable.
Ye Ming was quite shocked by this.
But in Nangong Qianyu's eyes, Zhang Qikun's actions were a desecration of cuisine.
"To me, a restaurant is a place for people to peacefully enjoy food," Nangong Qianyu said, looking at the slumped Zhang Qikun. A hint of sorrow suddenly arose in her heart. "If it becomes a place solely to satisfy people's curiosity, can it still be called a restaurant?"
Having been in the food review industry for so long, Nangong Qianyu had encountered restaurants employing similar tactics.
However, those restaurants typically attracted customers by showcasing their signature dishes.
Zhang Qikun's extreme approach was, in her experience, a first.
This was why Nangong Qianyu felt saddened.
She feared that as time passed, those in the food industry might gradually forget the essence of cuisine.
Food brings happiness and satisfaction.
Not just profit.
"Ye Ming, let's go!" Nangong Qianyu's mood was somewhat somber.
"Alright!"
Ye Ming gently took her hand, turned to Mo Chaoyun, and said, "You come with us!"
If they abandoned Mo Chaoyun, the consequences would be imaginable.
Of course, Ye Ming wasn't taking him along solely for protection.
After Ye Ming and the others left, Zhang Qikun struggled to stand up.
He glanced at the supervisor, who had fainted, his expression extremely grim. Then, he took out his phone and dialed a number he usually avoided.
A moment later.
"What is it?" a deep, middle-aged voice replied from the other end of the line.
"Master Shang, our restaurant's operational model has been discovered," Zhang Qikun said, his voice laced with anxiety.
After Zhang Qikun finished speaking, the person on the other end remained silent for a long time before replying with a single word: "Who!"
From that single-word response alone, Zhang Qikun felt a chill.
But he dared not conceal anything and truthfully replied, "It's... it's the popular female influencer with millions of followers, the culinary investigator – Qian Xun!"
"What did you say? Who?" the voice on the other end became agitated.
"It's... it's Qian Xun!"
Zhang Qikun's legs began to tremble.
"Useless! All of you are useless!"
The person on the other end exploded in anger. "If she finds out we are behind you, I will kill you!"
"No... no! I... I didn't expose you!" Zhang Qikun hastily assured.
But at this moment, a figure suddenly flashed in his mind!
Mo Chaoyun!
Could this young chef, who had worked in his restaurant for two years, know something?
Thinking of this, Zhang Qikun's back suddenly grew cold.
If the other party truly knew something, then...
"It's best if you didn't," the person on the other end also breathed a sigh of relief. He instructed, "This matter is of great importance. I need to report it to Young Master. As for your restaurant, figure out how to clean up the mess yourself. But remember, if our identities are ever discovered, you will be the first to die!"
With that, Zhang Qikun heard a dial tone.
The other party had directly hung up.
"Hiss!"
Zhang Qikun took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. "Mo Chaoyun, you brought this upon yourself. Don't blame me for being heartless!"
Zhang Qikun was unsure if Mo Chaoyun knew any secrets. But to ensure everything was foolproof, Zhang Qikun had to secure a fallback for himself.
...
After walking out of Qingping Tea House, Nangong Qianyu simply held Ye Ming's arm quietly, not saying much.
It seemed her mood still needed some adjustment.
"You stood up to accuse Zhang Qikun, aren't you afraid of his revenge?" Ye Ming turned to Mo Chaoyun behind him and asked.
Hearing this, Mo Chaoyun gave a wry smile. "I didn't have the courage to speak out originally. But in the end, didn't you give me the courage!"
"Hahaha!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Ming chuckled. "If you didn't have that persistence for food in your heart, even with me stepping in, it would be useless."
"Mm!"
Nangong Qianyu also nodded in agreement.
"I just felt that if I didn't stop it, something bad would happen sooner or later," Mo Chaoyun said solemnly. "Because the ingredients the restaurant has been using recently can no longer be described as just cheap. So, when I heard you were coming, a spark of hope ignited in my heart."
Although Mo Chaoyun had been conflicted at first, he ultimately chose to step forward.
"Thank you!"
Nangong Qianyu thanked him sincerely.
"It's... it's nothing!" Mo Chaoyun seemed a bit embarrassed.
At this moment, Ye Ming suddenly stopped, looking at Mo Chaoyun with a very serious expression, and solemnly said, "I have a question for you, and I hope you'll answer me truthfully!"
"Ah! This..."
Faced with Ye Ming's sudden seriousness, Mo Chaoyun was a little caught off guard.
Nangong Qianyu was also somewhat surprised.
"Brother Ye, you can ask!"
Since Mo Chaoyun was a year younger than Ye Ming, he simply changed his address.
"Do you have an older or younger sister?"
Ye Ming asked this because he sensed a trace of "spiritual" energy from Mo Chaoyun.
However, this energy was not emanating from Mo Chaoyun himself.