The Dinghao team was expelled, and although the broadcast made it known to everyone, it stirred no waves.

After all, this was the finals of the Huaxia Gourmet Grand Prix, where strong teams from all over the national provinces gathered. The vast majority of people didn't even know where the Dinghao team was from, so no one really cared about this matter.

At eight in the morning, the breakfast segment competition ended.

Under the supervision of the notary office staff, the exchange coupons began to be verified.

Datong River's mixed egg flower porridge actually garnered more than two hundred and seventy exchange coupons, making it clearly effortless to advance into the top thirty-two.

But the French chef Adrian was rather unfortunate; his carefully prepared breakfast received only one exchange coupon, and it was the one he put in himself.

This made him very disappointed.

But as the boss, Shen Qiang still encouraged him.

After the competition, Shen Qiang tasted his toasted bread, paired with sweet jam, and found it tasted great.

However, this is Huaxia, where people's dietary habits won't change noticeably just because of a competition.

When the results were announced, Shen Qiang took a look.

The breakfast competition, Datong River's team ranked ninth.

The top ten winners for breakfast were all porridges, followed by buns, wontons, noodles, and pastries.

Of course, some participating teams also prepared porridge, but they too failed to make the cut.

Thus, Lv Shuyao's father's culinary skills were still praiseworthy.

The defeated teams, each team member, automatically advanced to become public judges, using exchange coupons to taste the food from other competing teams.

It should be considered a consolation prize.

The winning teams, on the other hand, had to start preparing for the noon lunch competition immediately.

At this moment, having just received a call from his wife, Lv Shuyao's father, looking extremely disheartened, came to find Shen Qiang, "Boss, I'm sorry, I've caused trouble for Datong River because of me."

Hearing this, Shen Qiang smiled, "Don't take it to heart, Datong River won't fall just because others try to sabotage us."

"If it weren't for me, Boss Zhang wouldn't have …" Lv Shuyao's father felt guilty.

Shen Qiang interrupted, "Uncle Lv, don't overthink it. In fact, in any industry, if we want to survive, we must compete with our peers. We fear no one. If we encounter threats and just hide or shrink away, we'll never succeed."

Looking at Lv Shuyao's father, whose eyes were filled with gratitude, Shen Qiang smiled and said, "So, in the current situation, you don't need to think about anything else; your job is to lead Datong River to achieve good results. Leave everything else to me."

"But …" Lv Shuyao "I still want to apologize."

Shen Qiang smiled again, "You really don't need to say sorry, because you did nothing wrong. Trust me, Datong River will never fall because of his threats. Let's fight back with good results against those who threaten us, because Datong River will become a world-renowned top-notch restaurant."

Immediate fire blazed in the eyes of Lv Shuyao's father.

"Don't worry, boss, I will give it my all!"

"Just call me Shen Qiang."

Once back at the booth, Lv Shuyao's father and the French chef Adrian, began carefully preparing for the lunch competition.

Having strolled around a bit, Shen Qiang didn't wish to stay at the noisy competition site, and soon returned to his room.

The focus was on understanding the situation of Dinghao Hotel.

Dinghao Grand Hotel, located in Provincial City, is considered a top-tier hotel and has been in business for sixteen years. Therefore, local businessmen who frequently mingle in Provincial City generally know a bit about the owner of Dinghao.

The chubby owner is named Zhang Han, born into a wealthy family with a shrewd mind. In his youth, he dipped into social ventures, managing an arcade, a billiard hall, and a roller-skating rink, before opening a motel beside the national highway that could accommodate large trucks for parking and lodging.

He was clever.

He hired many dressed-up prostitutes who, flaunting their finery, solicited customers roadside, which at the time, brought in good business.

He made a lot of money.

Latter on, the area was designated as a new district, and somehow, Zhang Han got wind of this beforehand and bought a lot of residences. After the land was requisitioned, he became wealthy.

It was just the time when enterprise reform was happening.

During the sale of state assets, Zhang Han bought what used to be the state-owned Red Flag Hostel.

Upon acquisition, he boldly demolished the existing four-story red brick building and constructed the current Dinghao Grand Hotel on the same site.

Not only was the design futuristic, but its lavish decorations and steep pricing caused quite a stir at the time, even being considered the best hotel in Provincial City for a while.

Even after sixteen years, Dinghao is still top-notch in Provincial City.

Besides that,

Zhang Han also has investments in many other fields besides hotels.

These are primarily focused on mining, real estate, and logistics.

These areas face harsh competition, and conflicts often erupt over business matters.

So, as for Zhang Han's background, whether it's dark or not, it's somewhat grey, straddling the line between legality and illegality. Publicly, he is a legitimate businessman, a good friend and even partner to many political figures, but privately, he rubs shoulders with many underworld figures, calling each other brothers.

In such a case, forcibly moving against him would surely entangle many people's interests and lead to a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Thus, to take over Dinghao Grand Hotel without bloodshed, the most crucial thing is not to harm the interests of unrelated parties.

After all, cutting off someone's livelihood is akin to killing their parents.

Private grudges, no matter how they are settled, are not excessive; however, causing public outrage would not be worth it.

Shen Qiang was considering the matter of Dinghao.

Meanwhile, the culinary championship proceeded smoothly.

During the lunch contest, the French chef from Datong River, eager to redeem his earlier embarrassment, directly brought out the Truffle Steak.

With that, he ranked second in his division, smoothly making it into the top sixteen.

This achievement indeed made everyone present look at him with new eyes.

By the dinner contest, with only sixteen teams left, competition became extremely fierce.

Not only that, but every participating team had to prepare a banquet for ten tables to satisfy all the public judges present. Under these circumstances, each team had to ensure both quality and quantity.

Lv Shuyao's father was undoubtedly skilled in this area. Under his direction, Datong River Restaurant during the dinner contest served a banquet for ten tables, seating one hundred thirty-nine people, and secured the ninth place in that round and eighth place overall, safely advancing to the top eight of this edition of the Huaxia Culinary Championship.

Less than two minutes after the results were announced, Shen Qiang received a call from Miss Beautiful Demon Fox Chu Qing.

"Congratulations, Shen Qiang. Datong River has indeed smoothly made it to the top eight. To celebrate, I'd like to host a dinner at my home tonight, modestly extending the hospitality of a hostess. I hope you won't refuse."

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