「Fishing Platform Building No. 2.」

The chefs had just finished their dinner and were now busy preparing the meals booked for the evening.

Dressed in his white chef's uniform, Xie Baomin made a round in the kitchen. Bored, he took out his phone to watch the new video his junior brother had posted today. He couldn't help but chuckle, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, my junior brother is getting really creative with his fun these days."

The method for making Watermelon Curd wasn't anything special; it was so simple that just about anyone could learn it by rote. But his junior brother had somehow used this technically simple snack to show off his love life, and in a way that wasn't off-putting, which was quite interesting.

As he was watching, his wife, Su Peipei, sent him a message:

"Look how romantic Junior Brother and his wife are. And you? All day long, all you do is complain that this dish isn't tasty or that person doesn't understand cooking."

Xie Baomin sighed helplessly and typed a quick reply to his wife:

"How about I make Watermelon Curd for you when I get home tonight?"

"It's not about the Watermelon Curd; it's about their romantic gestures! Look at Master. To make his wife happy, he created Qingshui Furong. Junior Brother, to make his fiancée happy, made Watermelon Curd with her. And you? All you do is drag me to the Fishing Platform to freeload, making me too embarrassed to even go anymore..."

Upon reading this message, Xie Baomin muttered under his breath, "What's wrong with freeloading? Eating and drinking for free without spending a dime, and she's still not satisfied?"

He replied:

"I'll have a surprise for you when I get home tonight."

"A surprise? Last time you said that, you stole half a roast suckling pig from Building No. 10 for me. Which building are you planning to steal from this time?"

Xie Baomin chuckled. "I won't steal this time. It's really a surprise."

After sending the message, he pocketed his phone and strolled over to the storeroom.

In the storeroom, rows of shelves were neatly lined with various long-lasting ingredients and many common dried goods. Thoughtfully, several baskets were placed beside the shelves for the kitchen staff to use when collecting ingredients.

Xie Baomin picked up a basket and walked among the shelves. After searching for a while, he selected a basket of fairly round red beets from the rearmost shelf.

It's a root vegetable similar to a radish, with a fiery red color. It's not commonly used in Chinese cuisine, generally only chosen to color desserts or when a dish needs a splash of color.

However, in Russia, red beets are comparatively more popular. Beet Soup, made from red beets, is even honored as their national dish.

Carrying the basket out, Xie Baomin rinsed the red beets thoroughly.

After letting them drain, he placed them on an unused workbench, then fetched his kitchen knife and cutting board.

With his preparations complete, he placed a red beet on the cutting board. Taking his knife in his right hand, he focused intently on carving a rose into the beet.

They had been married for nearly twenty years, and this was the first time he'd heard his wife complain like this. If you say I don't understand romance, then I'll let you experience a chef's romance...

Busy at work, a commotion erupted at the kitchen door.

"Old Xie, you scoundrel, get out here!"

"I was wondering why you suddenly wanted to swap staff with us! So, you were planning to screw us over, huh? Do you even have a conscience?"

Soon, an enraged Qiu Zhenhua and his boss, He Baoqing, stormed into the kitchen. Spotting Xie Baomin, they strode purposefully towards him.

As they approached, Qiu Zhenhua saw a trickle of red liquid dripping from the knife in Xie Baomin's hand and froze for a second. "Old Xie, don't try to threaten us by self-harming!"

Xie Baomin stopped his work and looked at them. "Qiuqiu, Boss, what's up with you two?"

Qiu Zhenhua said, "Stop playing dumb. You traded Shu Yun to me for Gu Junli. Didn't you know Shu Yun was about to resign these past couple of days? Trading someone on the verge of quitting for our Building No. 6's front desk manager—no normal person would do such a thing, right?"

He Baoqing chimed in, "And Qin Wei too! I thought it was odd. Why would you be willing to trade Qin Wei, a pastry chef? Turns out you knew he was going to resign. That's really low, man. And I actually considered you a brother."

The two of them spoke over each other, insisting Old Xie give them an explanation. Otherwise, they'd go to the Dining Department director's office and have him judge the matter.

"What? Shu Yun and Qin Wei resigned?"

The moment Xie Baomin heard his star employees had resigned, his face contorted with anger. He grabbed his kitchen knife and slammed it onto the cutting board. "Qiu Zhenhua! He Baoqing! Neither of you are leaving Building No. 2 until you explain this clearly! When we swapped staff, you both swore you'd treat them well. And what happens? They resigned barely a week later! Setting aside the facts for a moment, just how much did you two make my people suffer?!"

This sudden counter-accusation left Qiu Zhenhua and He Baoqing, who had come to question him, completely stumped.

What was happening? We hadn't even started questioning him, and he was already turning the tables?

Qiu Zhenhua looked at Xie Baomin and said, "Stop trying to fool me. Shu Yun is a star manager at our Fishing Platform. Would I mistreat her? You definitely knew she was resigning! No wonder you gave me that tea the other day. So that was your scheme all along!"

Tea? Damn it, he scammed Old Qiu and even gave him tea, but I didn't get anything! Old Xie, you dog, aren't you playing favorites a bit too much?

He snapped at Old Xie, "Qin Wei had it even better with me! He'd only been at Building No. 1 for two days before he started trading his future leave with colleagues—swapping days from next month all the way to the Spring Festival! He and Wei Qian have practically scammed every single chef in our Building No. 1 by now..."

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