Chapter 1756: Huo Zhenteng Plays More Tricks

Chen Family Village.

The air above the Gu Family home was filled with the fragrance of food, yet today, Gu Zhihao was not the one cooking to entertain guests.

Instead, the guest had brought his own ingredients and the kitchen tools he was accustomed to using, coming to the Gu Family home to show off his skills!

The guest was Huo Zhenteng, who was bustling about in the kitchen with great enthusiasm; aside from the things he brought himself, he was also very handy with the Gu Family's own items, knowing exactly where every seasoning was kept—one look and it was clear he hadn't just been here once or twice.

Gu Zhihao sat in a chair, comfortably crossing his legs and smoking the fine cigarettes Huo Zhenteng had brought.

He felt very smug inside, yet his words were polite: "How could I be so rude? Every time you come, you're the one cooking, and I just sit here and eat..."

When it came to saying pleasant things, Huo Zhenteng was better at it than him.

"Look at what you're saying; I come here to test new dishes and have you give me pointers and critiques. It's only because of our relationship that you'd offer a few words of advice; if it were anyone else, they wouldn't even be qualified to cook for you..."

Flattery will get you everywhere.

The words made Gu Zhihao laugh so hard his eyes crinkled into slits.

For some time now, Huo Zhenteng and Gu Zhihao had been getting along famously; he would come every two or three days, and he never arrived empty-handed.

He was also very good at talking and particularly skilled at catering to others' preferences, so in a short time, the two were getting along like brothers.

Shi Yuke was a bit worried, and she had reminded her husband to be on guard against Huo Zhenteng and not to confide in him.

"I know, don't you worry. I will absolutely never hand over the recipes to him; no matter what happens, I won't give them to him."

Shi Yuke:...

He thought the recipes were Huo Zhenteng's only goal, not realizing there was much more about him that could be exploited, not just the recipes.

The two were chatting heatedly in the kitchen when Shi Yuke walked in and asked Huo Zhenteng: "Isn't business at your restaurant good lately? Why do you always have time to run over here? Does Zichen know?"

He caught the threat in her words, and his heart sank.

Yet his face remained smiling: "Look at what you're saying. I come here to see my junior fellow apprentice, how could the boss not know? President Sheng knows all about it; it was he who sent me here. You don't understand the restaurant business, but my junior fellow apprentice does. High-end restaurants have to launch new dishes every month; if things always stay the same, customers will get tired of eating them after a few times and never come back."

To prove he wasn't lying, he even handed over his phone: "If you don't believe me, ask President Sheng and see if I'm lying."

Words between adults cannot be spoken too bluntly.

Leaving no room for retreat is also not good.

With things said to this point, and given his demeanor, it didn't look like he was lying, so the matter was dropped, and Shi Yuke didn't end up making the call to verify.

Soon, the dishes were all prepared.

After they were served on the table, Huo Zhenteng earnestly asked his junior fellow apprentice for his opinion, humbly seeking guidance.

It had to be said, this routine suited Gu Zhihao's tastes perfectly; he loved the feeling of being looked up to, but such opportunities were rare.

Huo Zhenteng catered to his preferences, greatly satisfying his vanity.

He pointed out a few shortcomings, and Huo Zhenteng recorded them seriously in a notebook, repeatedly stating he would change them upon returning.

Once the flaws and issues were pointed out, all that remained was to eat!

Although Huo Zhenteng was a person of questionable character, it had to be said that his level of cooking was truly excellent; with good food, there naturally had to be good wine to accompany it, chatting as they ate.

Shi Yuke didn't like listening to them talk—one flattering, the other so flattered he didn't know which way was up...

She found an excuse to go out, which provided the perfect opportunity for Huo Zhenteng to carry out his plan.

"Junior fellow apprentice, your Resort is becoming more and more prosperous; I really envy you, a business genius."

"That's right."

Gu Zhihao puffed out his chest with great pride and said: "I'm a late bloomer. The Resort was started late; if I had been made Village Chief a few years earlier, our village would have been world-famous long ago..."

These words were all things Huo Zhenteng said on purpose to coax him into being happy.

After hearing them enough, he believed them, truly thinking it would be that way.

Huo Zhenteng listened quietly, occasionally chiming in that he was right!

Seeing the timing was ripe, he said: "Junior fellow apprentice, since the Resort has already developed so well, why don't you take it to the next level? Make the Resort a famous project throughout Jiangzhou."

"I see others building a brand image, you should build one too."

Gu Zhihao asked: "How do you build one?"

He was just short of asking outright: "What is a brand image?" These terms sounded so fresh.

Huo Zhenteng said: "It means hiring a celebrity to endorse it, using the celebrity's image to attract traffic and drive the development of the Resort."

He had originally been full of enthusiasm, but now, upon hearing about hiring a celebrity, he immediately became like a deflated ball: "This idea is good, but celebrities are too expensive; we can't afford to hire one."

In the village, whenever there was a wedding or a funeral, hiring a stage troupe from the neighboring village to perform local opera for two days cost several thousand yuan.

Let alone hiring a celebrity for an endorsement.

Although Gu Zhihao had never hired a celebrity, he had heard of their prices; their appearance fees were often in the millions, and he couldn't afford that!

Huo Zhenteng said: "My niece is a big celebrity, and she is willing to endorse your village for free, but she has one request."

"What request?"

Doing an endorsement for free—such a good thing, it was normal to have a request; as long as the request wasn't too excessive, he could agree to it.

"She used to be the girlfriend of your nephew Zihan, but later the two had a misunderstanding and broke up. Later on, Zihan had a new girlfriend, but my niece has always liked him, and she knows Zihan still has feelings for her in his heart..."

He was spouting nonsense, calling a deer a horse.

But these things were not important; what was important was that Gu Zhihao believed it!

He immediately expressed his desire to "help others achieve their goals" by "clearing up the misunderstanding" between the two children and bringing about a beautiful union.

Huo Zhenteng asked him to help keep it a secret; no one could be told about this, not even his wife.

In case the two didn't end up together, he had to think about his niece's reputation.

Gu Zhihao agreed, and he agreed very readily.

Film Academy.

Zihan received a call from his Xi Fu: "Come to my house; there's something good."

Zihan laughed: "Xi Fu, you dialed the wrong number. I'm Zihan, not my older brother."

"I know it's you. I didn't dial the wrong number; I'm looking for you."

Zihan asked curiously, "Oh, you need something from me?"

"That's right, is that not allowed?"

As someone with high emotional intelligence, Zihan would certainly not say it wasn't allowed when answering such a question!

"Allowed, allowed, of course it's allowed. Please go ahead and tell me what you need. I have to head to the company; if I'm late, my dad will get angry."

"Just say you're coming to see me to help build some momentum, okay? I've hired people to advertise the Resort, and I want you to help me oversee it. Can you do that?"

Taking photos and being a spokesperson for the Resort—how could that be considered something for her own benefit?

Zihan didn't quite understand, but she agreed: "Alright, I'll be there very soon."

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