That day, Wang Xiaoqiang loaded a truck with freshly harvested vegetables and headed to the Dihao Hotel Grand Hotel in the Provincial Capital.

After arriving at the kitchen of the Dihao Hotel Grand Hotel, he didn't see Wang Dakui. When the kitchen staff saw Wang Xiaoqiang, they greeted him and immediately went to look for Wang Dakui. However, the staff member took a long time and still hadn't returned, leaving Wang Xiaoqiang somewhat disappointed.

Fortunately, at that moment, a female kitchen worker brought over a chair for Wang Xiaoqiang to sit on, so he sat down to wait for Wang Dakui.

The staff member who went looking for Wang Dakui returned after a while, gasping for breath and with a guilty face, he said to Wang Xiaoqiang, "Boss Wang, I'm really sorry, Chef Wang isn't available today; he's with the boss right now!"

"Could it be there's some trouble?" Wang Xiaoqiang saw that the staff member's expression was very distressed, so he asked immediately.

The staff member lowered his voice and said, "Something happened at the hotel today, and it's somewhat related to you..."

"Oh? I really need to hear this, what exactly happened?" Wang Xiaoqiang raised his eyebrows as he spoke.

The staff member said, "Boss Wang, I hope you don't take it amiss, but it's all because of your Reeve's Shad..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiaoqiang's heart sank, and seeing that the staff member hesitated, he frowned and said, "Stop beating around the bush and just tell me!"

"This is what happened..." the staff member recounted the whole story to Wang Xiaoqiang.

It turned out that since Wang Xiaoqiang's live Reeve's Shad was introduced at the Dihao, it had indeed sparked a surge in the hotel's business. However, it also brought a lot of trouble to the Dihao Hotel because the quantity of Wang Xiaoqiang's Reeve's Shad was limited and simply could not meet the demands of all the guests.

Moreover, as the Reeve's Shad in Wang Xiaoqiang's fishpond was depleted, stopping the supply to the Dihao, the hotel faced even more problems. Guests who came specifically for the live Reeve's Shad, upon hearing that there was none left, were greatly disappointed and, of course, would not be pleased.

Especially prominent figures in the Provincial Capital who would then use their influence to embarrass the hotel,

Fortunately, Boss Feng's Reeve's Shad was still being supplied, just managing to pacify some of the guests. However, discerning gourmets could immediately taste whether it was live or dead Reeve's Shad, just like how today these three guests insisted on having live Reeve's Shad. Before cooking, they demanded to see the live Reeve's Shad brought before them to inspect.

Obviously, the hotel couldn't present live Reeve's Shad, so these three individuals made it difficult for Lobby Manager Xia Mi, saying that if she couldn't bring live Reeve's Shad, she had to drink with them. Xia Mi reluctantly agreed to avoid further conflicts, but unexpectedly, those three began forcing drinks on Xia Mi and also started to make advances towards her.

Xia Mi, being the lobby manager, was not a bar girl and refused to comply. She retaliated by throwing a cup of wine in one of their faces. The man immediately became enraged, slapped Xia Mi, and demanded that she kneel to apologize, otherwise, he would not let the matter rest.

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiaoqiang stood up furiously and said, "Is there no law anymore? Why didn't you call the police?"

The expression of fear appeared on the staff member's face... "The boss didn't allow calling the police. Firstly, because Xia Mi was at fault, and secondly, these three people are very powerful, not the type we can afford to offend..."

"Who are these people that they are so untouchable?" Wang Xiaoqiang asked indignantly.

"Boss Wang, you might have heard of the Qiao Family in the Provincial Capital..." the staff member hinted cautiously.

"The Qiao Family? Not sure, are they some government officials?"

"There aren't any officials among them, but they have connections everywhere, their influence is immense. They might not have any official power on the surface, but their hidden power is extremely formidable.

Ordinary people don't dare to provoke them, not even government officials..." Although there was no one else around, the staff member was still so cautious as if afraid of being overheard, his voice trembling as he spoke, clearly revealing his fear of the Qiao Family.

"Ah, no wonder Xia Mi didn't ask Xu Qingxue for help. It's the underworld they've offended. Maybe he didn't want Xu Qingxue to get involved in this muddy water..." Wang Xiaoqiang pondered for a moment then said to the staff member, "Take me to see it."

"Boss Wang, you really shouldn't go!" The staff member waved his hands repeatedly, "You should be avoiding them at all costs, don't bring trouble upon yourself!"

Wang Xiaoqiang was not a troublemaker. In business, he believed in making money harmoniously and feared offending people. Normally, he wouldn't want to intervene, nor should he, but thinking of Xia Mi, regardless of whether Xia Mi had any intentions towards him, she had helped him in the past.

Moreover, every time he visited, as soon as she saw him, she would courteously buy water and cigarettes with her own money to treat him. Based on this kindness alone, if he did nothing, Wang Xiaoqiang would feel uneasy. After a brief contemplation, he resolutely waved his hand and said, "I can't manage that much, take me there!"

"Boss Wang, you, you actually want to go!" The staff member looked worried.

"Enough talk! Lead the way."

Seeing that Wang Xiaoqiang had made up his mind to go, the staff member then led him into the most luxurious private room of the Dihao Hotel — the Emperor's Hall.

The Emperor's Hall was four times the size of a normal private room, exceptionally large, and its decoration was extremely luxurious. The cost of booking the Emperor's Hall was expensive, but not unreasonably so, because it was not intended for profit but rather built by the hotel to build connections with the powerful and influential, accessible only to certain people with status and position.

At this moment, in the central position of the Emperor's Hall, on a large lazy Susan, there was a table laden with expensive dishes. At the table, three people were sitting: a young man about thirty years old, sporting a buzz-cut, wearing a flowery shirt.

However, at this moment his flowery shirt was stained with a large patch of wine, making the shirt cling wetly to his skin, resembling a pool of blood. The young man was quite handsome, but his excessively pale complexion and delicate features took away the manliness from his face, adding a feminine softness instead.

Behind the young man stood two tall and burly men about one meter ninety in height, wearing black vests, their exposed muscles coiled like dragons, clearly identifiable as bodyguards at first glance.

Across from the young man sat a Japanese man, and to his left was an American. On the right was the general manager of Dihao's branch, Zeng Jiye, with Wang Dakui and Xia Mi standing next to him. Xia Mi's face bore a clear slap mark, and her charming face was streaked with tears.

"Young Master Qiao, please do me a favor today, and let Manager Xia off just this once. Today's bill is on the house, completely on the house!" Pu Jiye bowed and scraped, his voice full of obsequious flattery.

"Your face, what's your face worth," the young man known as Young Master Qiao said with a face full of anger, his lips twitching occasionally, pulling into a smile that was both mocking and sinisterly threatening. "This scumbag must kneel down and beg for mercy, and we also want to eat live Reeve's Shad... President Tanimoto, Mr. Jason, what do you say?"

The Japanese sitting opposite and the American at his left nodded and said, "Of course! We came here today to eat live Reeve's Shad..."

"Young Master Qiao, wasn't it agreed that if Manager Xia accompanies the drinking, we wouldn't eat live Reeve's Shad!" Zeng Jiye argued with a pained expression.

"True, I did say that, but Manager Xia not only failed to accompany us properly, she also splashed wine in my face. Can this even be called accompanying for drinks? It's totally disgusting me..." Every time Young Master Qiao thought about the first time someone threw wine in his face, he became uncontrollably angry, pointing at Zeng Jiye and yelling through clenched teeth: "Zeng!

Listen to me, if this scum doesn't kneel today, you can forget about keeping your hotel open!"

Zeng Jiye's body trembled at those words; he knew that the threat was not an empty one. Old Master Qiao, Qiao Ronghuan, started in the underworld, and even though he now had his own company in public, he couldn't change his underworld nature. Sometimes, to crush a competitor, they would stop at nothing.

If the Qiao family really wanted to target the Dihao Grand Hotel, even the chairman of Dihao coming in person wouldn't help—after all, a powerful dragon cannot suppress a local snake. The Qiao family had been entrenched in the Provincial Capital for so many years; their influence was overwhelming, and targeting your hotel would be easy for them.

The young Master Qiao in front of him, Qiao Xiaotian, Qiao Ronghuan's son, was truly a spoiled brat, always stirring up trouble. People usually avoided him, and now that Xia Mi had splashed wine on his face, he would certainly not let it go. Seeing this, Zeng Jiye could only think of the greater good and sacrifice Xia Mi, thus he turned his gaze towards her.

Seeing her boss's gaze, Xia Mi understood what he meant; her body shuddered involuntarily, and she firmly bit her lip, shaking her head vigorously.

"Manager Xia, I really can't do anything about this situation. Please think about the hotel..."

Xia Mi continued to shake her head, her face streaming with tears.

Wang Dakui was standing to the side, and his heart ached to see a woman pushed to this extent, but he did not dare to say much. Besides, as a chef, speaking up wouldn't solve the problem anyway.

"Xia Mi, you're not a child anymore, how can you be so unthinking? Some things, it's not about whether you want to do them or not, and similarly, there are things that you can't refuse to do just because you don't want to do them..." Seeing that Xia Mi was unwilling to make the sacrifice, Zeng Jiye also became very annoyed.

He thought, 'It's just a lobby manager position, and it's me who lifted you up to this role. Now that the hotel is in trouble, you refuse to make any sacrifice, and you were the one who caused this problem; it should be you who resolves it.'

Xia Mi was reluctant to give up her position as the lobby manager, which she had climbed up to from being just a waitress, but compared to her dignity, she quickly weighed her options and firmly decided to maintain her dignity.

"I, I quit. I won't be the lobby manager anymore!" Xia Mi said and ran towards the door as if to escape.

"You're quitting, you're quitting but you still have to kneel," Qiao Xiaotian finally revealed his dark nature, nodding to the two bodyguards behind him.

The two burly men, seemingly clumsy but actually very agile, darted forward quickly, reaching out their large hands and catching Xia Mi's arms before she could escape through the door.

"Ah, what are you doing, let go of me..." Terrified, Xia Mi screamed.

"Get that scumbag over here, kneel her down before me..." Everyone knew that the Qiao family had two incredibly beautiful daughters, and of course, they also knew they had a son who both coveted beauty and liked to demean women. Seeing that Xia Mi had a voluptuous figure and after drinking a couple of glasses of alcohol, Qiao Xiaotian was seething with anger... (To be continued.

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