Sludge suction system

In just six months, Gao He's business had become the number one in Baocheng. His ambition was still not satisfied, and he set his sights on the Huang family, one of the top ten families.

Night fell over Baocheng, moonlight spilled onto the streets, and all was quiet. Gao He stood in the shadows, his gaze fixed on the entrance of Huang's Restaurant. He had already spent a great deal of effort and money to realize his plan.

In an inconspicuous little tavern in Baocheng, Gao He secretly met with Huang Qiang, a servant of Huang's Restaurant. Huang Qiang was a greedy and gambling man who already owed the gambling den over a hundred taels of silver. Under Gao He's enticement, he quickly agreed to his demands. Gao He took out a heavy cloth bag from his pocket, filled with silver. He handed the bag to Huang Qiang and whispered, "As long as you do as I ask, this silver is yours."

Huang Qiang took the cloth bag, a greedy glint in his eyes. He carefully opened it and counted the silver inside—a full three hundred taels. This was more than enough to pay off his gambling debts. He said excitedly, "Don't worry, Young Master Gao, I will do as you instruct." Gao He nodded in satisfaction and continued, "When you purchase the sauce ingredients, replace the fresh ones with moldy ones. Remember, you must do it discreetly."

Huang Qiang nodded repeatedly and said, "Don't worry, Young Master Gao, I will do it flawlessly." Gao He then added, "After it's done, I will give you a generous reward. But if anything goes wrong, you know the consequences."

After leaving the tavern, Gao He arranged for his men to secretly monitor Huang Qiang's movements. He knew that no link in the chain could go wrong.

Following Gao He's instructions, Huang Qiang mixed moldy materials into the raw materials he purchased. These materials were then sent to the restaurant's kitchen, beginning a silent act of sabotage.

In a corner of the kitchen, Chef Afu was preparing a sauce. He picked up some ingredients but noticed they emitted a strange smell. Afu frowned, examined them closely, and discovered that the ingredients were moldy.

Afu wanted to throw away the moldy materials, but Huang Qiang stopped him. Huang Qiang said in a low voice, "This is what Young Master Gao ordered, don't meddle in other people's business." After saying that, he stuffed a heavy silver ingot into Afu's hand.

Left with no other choice, Afu had to follow Huang Qiang's instructions and mix the moldy ingredients into the sauce. The originally delicious sauce became extremely unpalatable because of these moldy ingredients.

Upon learning of the problem with the sauce, Huang Yulin rushed to the kitchen. He tasted it and his face turned grim. He realized that someone had deliberately sabotaged the sauce's ingredients, but he didn't know how to investigate.

Huang Yulin wanted to find out the truth, but he discovered that he couldn't find any evidence at all. He could only watch helplessly as the restaurant's business deteriorated, and customers complained about the quality of the sauces.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Gao He began to spread the word in Baocheng. He told other merchants that there was a serious problem with the sauces from Huang's Restaurant and that they were not allowed to buy any of Huang's Restaurant's products.

Huang Yulin wanted to sell the restaurant, but found that no one was willing to buy it. He was in a predicament and could only watch helplessly as Gao He gradually devoured his family business.

Finally, Huang Yulin had no choice but to sell the restaurant. Gao He bought Huang's restaurant at a very low price and brought it under his control.

On the streets of Baocheng, Gao He stood at the entrance of Huang's Restaurant, filled with a sense of accomplishment. He knew he was one step closer to success. Meanwhile, the Huang family, under his machinations, had utterly declined.

Gao He's ambitions grew ever larger, and he was no longer satisfied with Baocheng.

The market in Jiangcheng was bustling with activity, and Liu's Noodle Shop was especially busy amidst the throngs of people. Liu Jincheng was directing his employees to prepare for customers, completely unaware that danger was lurking nearby.

Gao He sat in his study, his eyes cold and sinister, plotting an extremely vicious scheme. He summoned his trusted steward and said with a gloomy face, "Recruit a group of thugs and have them cause trouble at Liu's Noodle Shop in Jiangcheng. Make it as big a scene as possible, scare away all the customers." The steward obeyed and quickly gathered a group of ruffians.

A few days later, this group of burly men stormed into Liu's noodle shop. The leader shouted at the top of his lungs, "These noodles are terrible, yet they dare to sell them for such a high price! It's a total rip-off!" With that, he casually threw the pastries on the table to the ground and kicked over the tables and chairs.

Liu Jincheng quickly stepped forward to stop him: "Gentlemen, let's talk this out, why are you acting like this?" The big man snorted disdainfully: "Hmph, your pastries are garbage, and you still dare to make us pay for them!"

After that, such people would come to cause trouble every now and then. Liu's noodle shop's business plummeted, and Liu Jincheng was extremely anxious. He went to the government office to report the case, hoping that the government could uphold justice.

However, the officials dealt with him perfunctorily. It turned out that Gao He had already bribed the officials. One official secretly told Liu Jincheng, "We can't handle this matter; you'd better resolve it yourselves."

Liu Jincheng left the government office with no choice but to leave, his heart filled with despair.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Gao He devised another wicked plan. He sent people to spread rumors near Liu's noodle shop, saying that the steamed dishes there were unsanitary and the ingredients were problematic. Upon hearing this, the people avoided Liu's noodle shop like the plague.

The people of Jiangcheng were all talking about it, and Liu's Noodle Shop's reputation was getting worse and worse. Liu Jincheng looked at the predicament before him, feeling helpless.

Gao He also arranged for his men to secretly monitor the Liu family's every move. He discovered that the Liu family had started borrowing money everywhere in order to maintain their business. Gao He then took the opportunity to have his men pose as loan sharks and provide the Liu family with high-interest loans.

To keep their business afloat, the Liu family was forced to turn to underground money lenders and borrow money at exorbitant interest rates. However, they were unaware that this was a trap set by Gao He. Gao He deliberately drove up the interest rates on the Liu family's loans, making it impossible for them to repay.

Soon, the Liu family's business fell into difficulties. Liu Jincheng looked at the situation before him, feeling helpless.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Gao He led his men to Liu's noodle shop. He said to Liu Jincheng, "Boss Liu, your business is failing. Why don't you sell your assets to me? I can give you some money so you won't end up with nothing."

Liu Jincheng looked at Gao He, his heart filled with anger. He knew that Gao He was behind all of this, but he was powerless to resist.

Ultimately, Liu Jincheng had no choice but to sell the Liu family's assets to Gao He.

Meanwhile, inside Fangtian Pavilion, Fang Xiaobei was engrossed in handling affairs when Xiao Zha hopped over to her feet and suddenly spoke up: "Host, I have important news. Gao He's recent actions have been extremely ruthless. First, he bribed the servants at Huang's Restaurant to make sauces with moldy ingredients, causing Huang's Restaurant's business to plummet and forcing them to sell their assets at a loss. Then, he sabotaged Liu's Noodle Shop, sending a group of burly men to cause trouble and bribing officials, resulting in the Liu family's business suffering a dismal loss."

"It seems that only by winning the title of God of Cookery as soon as possible and unifying the food industry of the Lemongrass Kingdom can I thwart Gao He's ambition and complete my revenge!" Fang Xiaobei knew that time was of the essence, and there wasn't much time left until this year's culinary competition. She paced back and forth in Fangtian Pavilion, calculating her plans.

"Xiao Zha, I'm going into seclusion to prepare for the competition. Don't let anyone disturb me for the next two months." Fang Xiaobei's eyes were firm as she turned and walked into the room.

She closed the door, took a deep breath, and began to organize her understanding of food. "I must go all out in this competition; I must win the championship," she muttered to herself.