Chapter 225: Tax Thief

After hearing Li Xiao’s critique, the livestream chat instantly exploded.

“Is it really that bad?”

“I was thinking of going to try it later, but I didn’t expect it to be this terrible. Guess I’ll eat something else.”

“I live nearby. I used to eat there all the time, but after they changed chefs, the flavor just isn’t what it used to be.”

“I’ve been a few times before and never noticed this problem.”

“I noticed it the last time I went. I thought something was wrong with my own taste buds.”

“What a shame. It’s really not as good as it was before.”

“Cantonese cuisine is all about the chef. The moment you switch chefs, all sorts of problems can pop up.”

…

「In the back kitchen.」

Listening to Li Xiao’s evaluation, Old Yu’s brow furrowed slightly.

He strode over to the proofer and took out a ball of already-proofed dough.

The moment his fingers pressed into the dough, his expression turned foul.

This ball of proofed dough in his hand offered no resistance whatsoever. With just a light press, his fingers went straight through the entire thing.

As a veteran chef who had toiled away in kitchens for over a decade, he immediately knew something was wrong.

He tossed the dough back into the proofer, then whipped his head around and roared at someone:

“Lu Sangui, get your goddamn ass over here!!!”

The kitchen was incredibly noisy, but Old Yu’s roar was so piercing it cut through all the racket and echoed throughout the entire space.

In the distance, a chef who had been hiding in a corner scrolling through videos on his phone jolted.

Hearing the head chef of the dim sum department shout his name so loudly, his heart skipped a beat as a terrible premonition washed over him.

He quickly stuffed his phone back into his pocket and hurried over to Old Yu.

Seeing Old Yu standing furiously beside the proofer, Lu Sangui felt a knot of nervousness in his stomach. He asked cautiously:

“What’s wrong, Boss? Is there a problem?”

Although it was a question, he already had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

Seeing the man still playing dumb, Old Yu let out a laugh of sheer exasperation.

With a trembling finger, he pointed at the dough in the proofer and asked angrily:

“You have the nerve to ask me what the problem is?”

“You’ve been making pastries for nine years, haven’t you?”

“Don’t tell me you can’t see what’s wrong with this dough!”

Seeing that his boss had already pinpointed the issue, Lu Sangui didn’t dare to keep playing dumb.

But as a wily old hand in the workplace, he certainly wasn’t going to give up without a fight.

He immediately put on an expression of sincere panic.

“Boss, this is definitely my fault, but I couldn’t help it.”

“I wasn’t feeling well today, and I accidentally added a little too much baking powder. By the time I realized it, it was too late to make a new batch of dough.”

“So… I just had to go with it. I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal, so I didn’t dare tell you.”

Listening to his explanation, Old Yu’s brows knitted together tightly.

Ordinarily, he might have believed him.

But he had just seen numerous viewers commenting that Taotaoju’s pastries were much worse than before.

If he still believed him now, he’d be a complete fool.

The previous pastry chef had been poached by another restaurant with a high salary a few months ago.

Afterward, this guy, Lu Sangui, took over his position. Thinking back, the timing lined up perfectly.

The moment this guy took over as the pastry chef, everyone immediately noticed a problem with the pastries.

It didn’t take much thought to figure it out.

‘To make his job easier, the guy deliberately increased the proportion of baking powder in the dough.’

‘This would make the dough extremely soft, and thus easier to work with when making the pastries.’

‘While softer dough made the process easier, the consequence was that the steamed buns came out limp and loose, with absolutely no chewiness.’

Old Yu stared coldly at Lu Sangui.

“Save your explanations. We’ve already had many customers complain that our buns are much worse than before.”

“Now, pack your things and get out. I don’t want to see you again!!”

Hearing this, Lu Sangui’s eyes went wide.

He never would have imagined that slacking off a little would get him fired on the spot.

Stunned, Lu Sangui scrambled to argue his case, hoping to salvage the situation:

“Old Yu, I’ve worked here for so many years, and I’ve always been dedicated.”

“This was just an accident! You can’t just let me go like this.”

Old Yu’s gaze grew even sterner.

“Lu Sangui, your mistake didn’t just affect one bun. It damaged the reputation of our Taotaoju.”

“This isn’t a simple accident; it’s a matter of professional integrity.”

When Lu Sangui saw that pleading was useless, he lost control and started throwing a tantrum, loudly demanding compensation:

“I’ve worked here for so many years, you have to compensate me!”

“I’ve worked here for a full eight years.”

“Even if you’re firing me, you have to give me nine months’ salary as severance!”

Old Yu watched him with a deadpan expression, then replied calmly:

“Severance? The financial losses and reputational damage you’ve caused by cutting corners far exceed any so-called severance pay.”

“If you really want to play hardball with me, I could always consider holding you financially responsible.”

At these words, Lu Sangui’s face instantly turned pale, and his arrogant attitude deflated.

He realized that if Old Yu actually pursued it, he could be in much bigger trouble.

After all, Taotaoju was a big company, with more than a dozen chain restaurants.

Besides, he knew perfectly well that he was in the wrong. If they really came after him, it could get very messy.

At that moment, he was filled with regret.

He had thought he could lighten his own workload by simplifying the process, never imagining that his actions would ultimately cost him his job.

After a moment’s thought, he weighed the pros and cons.

“I… I know I was wrong, Old Yu. Please, I’m begging you, don’t pursue it.”

Lu Sangui’s voice trembled as he finally realized the gravity of his actions.

Old Yu looked at him and sighed.

“Lu Sangui, I never denied your skill. But for a chef, what’s more important is respect for the food and the customers.”

“I won’t pursue it this time, but you must leave Taotaoju immediately.”

Lu Sangui nodded weakly, silently packed his things, and left Taotaoju in disgrace.

Meanwhile, Old Yu immediately arranged for the chefs under him to make a new batch of dough and destroy all the semi-finished products that had already been made.

Before, out of trust for a long-time employee, he hadn’t inspected things properly.

Now that he knew about the problem, if he buried his head in the sand like an ostrich and pretended not to know, then the fault would be his.

Li Xiao had no idea that his critique had just helped Taotaoju remove a fatal cancer.