Chapter 322 Means
Ever since he had a disagreement with Xu Qing, Shen Cong made up his mind to deal with Xu Qing.

Even though he felt it was a pity, he could not allow Xu Qing to stand in the way of his ideal.

Especially Xu Qing actually said that he wanted to take away the legendary kitchen utensils.

This was something he absolutely could not tolerate.

It felt like a piece of flesh was being scraped off his heart, causing him to feel so painful that he could hardly breathe.

The legendary kitchenware must stay in Shanghai!

He would make sure of it no matter what.

At the same time, he is the president of the Grand Union and the most prestigious person today.

Xu Qing was just an outsider with no roots, a fish on the chopping board, to be dealt with at will.

Perhaps those pedantic and naive chefs would have something to say. After all, Xu Qing was the hero who won the cooking competition, and dealing with him lightly would cause controversy.

Then let's destroy his reputation first and make him the target of public criticism.

If we magnify his flaws infinitely and focus people's attention on them, they will naturally subconsciously ignore his good side.

In this regard, Shen Cong, who is good at manipulating public opinion, is very skilled.

What if Xu Qing has no stain?

That's very simple, just guide one out.

Xu Qing’s age is a huge controversy. It is hard to imagine that he has such amazing deeds and achievements at such a young age.

Behaviors that are unimaginable and beyond comprehension will give people a sense of unreality, making it difficult for people to believe them all, and there will always be some doubts in their hearts.

This doubt only needs a little manipulation and adding "reasonable" logic to it, in order to completely change Xu Qing's reputation.

As for what is "reasonable" logic, it is of course those dark things, collusion between top and bottom, conspiracy and intrigue, and collusion between inside and outside.

He could say that Xu Qing becoming the youngest top chef in history was a conspiracy of the Imperial Kitchen. They needed a good signboard, so they deliberately let Xu Qing pass, so that he could become a top chef at such a young age.

Otherwise, why did those who had higher qualifications, more experience, and had studied cooking for longer than him all fail, while only he succeeded?
Is it just because of talent? I'm afraid it's not that simple...

When people encounter unreasonable things, they will subconsciously look for rationality for them. This so-called "rationality" in most cases depends on personal life experience and knowledge.

Everyone has different life experiences and insights, but most people have experienced or heard of bad things to a greater or lesser extent.

Therefore, in the minds of many people, when unreasonable things happen, it means that there must be some unspeakable secrets hidden behind them.

This is a common human trait.

There are so many unreasonable things happening to Xu Qing, so many of them exaggerated and coincidental, which makes him the best breeding ground for conspiracy theories.

Coupled with Shen Cong's home advantage, his connections and current reputation, if he wants to slander someone, that person will have no chance of turning things around.

And when Xu Qing's reputation is ruined, it will be natural for him to take back the legendary kitchen utensils from Xu Qing. This will naturally be what everyone wants, and even the most naive chefs will not have any objection to this.

Even if they have opinions, Shen Cong has the confidence and means to keep them to themselves.

To be honest, Shen Cong didn't want to use this method. He didn't want his relationship with Xu Qing to become so strained that it was irreparable.

But Xu Qing left him no choice, he had to do this.

Shen Cong felt regretful in his heart, but he did not hesitate at all in his actions.

He immediately called his confidants and arranged things for them.

Although they didn't know why Shen Cong wanted to deal with Xu Qing, since Shen Cong had ordered them to do so, they could only do it. A qualified confidant did not need to use his brain to think, they only needed to be a ruthless machine and act according to instructions.

But before they could take any action, something happened that Shen Cong had not expected.

Longzhen Restaurant reopened.

This is nothing strange. Since the mysterious man was defeated by Xu Qing, Chef Tang no longer has to stay at home all day trying to avenge his previous defeat. It is only reasonable for the closed Longzhen Restaurant to reopen.

But he was surprised by the enthusiasm of the people.

As soon as people heard that Longzhen Restaurant had reopened, a long line formed in front of the door before dawn, and the line was so long that there was no end in sight.

Many people were coming from all directions, as if everyone in the city knew that Longzhen Restaurant had reopened overnight.

This has never happened before.

What is even more frightening is that according to investigations by close associates, there was no one deliberately inducing this. It was a completely spontaneous action by people. They spontaneously told each other, spontaneously gathered together, and spontaneously looked forward to the moment when Longzhen Restaurant would open.

How is this possible?
How could a mere reopened restaurant attract so many people?

Even if Longzhen Restaurant is the most famous restaurant in Shanghai, and even if Chef Tang is the best chef in Shanghai, it shouldn't be like this!
Shen Cong inexplicably felt a sense of crisis, a sense of panic that things were out of control.

So he disguised himself, blended into the crowd, and tried to find out what was going on.

“Why are there so many people queuing?”

"Of course I want to taste Chef Tang's cooking!"

Passersby said as a matter of course.

Shen Cong asked in confusion: "Wouldn't it be the same if we went to other restaurants to eat? Why do we have to queue up at Longzhen Restaurant?"

"I used to think so, but after eating at other restaurants, I felt that the taste was not right. The dishes were either too salty or bland, or not crispy when they should be, or not tender when they should be. There was always something wrong. I used to go to Longzhen Restaurant to eat, and the feeling was not so clear, but these days when Longzhen Restaurant closed, I felt something was wrong, not only the taste was wrong, but my whole body was wrong."

These words immediately resonated with others.

"You're right! I can't get motivated to work without Chef Tang's food these days. I used to look forward to meal time the most every day, but now I don't even look forward to it anymore. I'm so tired every day, and I feel like life is meaningless."

"Me too. I've been going to restaurants all over the city these days, trying to find a replacement, but the more dishes I try, the more I miss Chef Tang's cooking. The more I miss it, the more I feel that no other restaurant can compare to Longzhen Restaurant."

"That's why they say Chef Tang is the best chef in Shanghai! No one else can compare to his cooking skills!"

"Hey, you guys think that even such a great chef like Tang lost to that mysterious person, how powerful must that person be!"

"Hey, he's not the most powerful one. The most powerful one should be the boy who defeated the mysterious man. It would be great if I could taste the cooking skills of that boy."

"Just dream on. He is a great chef invited from outside, not the head chef of a Shanghai restaurant. How can he cook for you?"

"Well, that's all I'm saying..."

Listening to everyone's discussions, Shen Cong refreshed his understanding of Chef Tang.

I never expected that Chef Tang has quietly gained such a high reputation among the people.

Fortunately, Chef Tang himself does not care about power, otherwise, with his reputation among the people and his excellent cooking skills, he might have a chance to fight for the position of president.

These words reassured Shen Cong that people were just coming to eat and had no other intentions. Therefore, although the number of people was exaggerated, they were just a group of scattered sand and posed no threat to him.

The doubts in his mind were answered, but Shen Cong did not leave immediately, because everyone's words made him interested in the dishes made by Chef Tang.

Come to think of it, he hadn't tasted his elder brother's cooking for a long time.

(End of this chapter)