Chapter 51 - Chapter 51: Chapter 051: Chase Away

Chapter 51: Chapter 051: Chase Away

Translator: 549690339

This Chang Yuanda sure has a loose tongue, revealing everything the moment he opens his mouth.

“You can’t possibly say that all this was for our Fushun Tower, can you?” Zhang Yongchang’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Most people in the restaurant were afraid of Zhang Yongchang, including Li Fang. He seldom dared to argue with him in normal times, let alone now when Li Fang was already upset, sweat was pouring from his forehead.

“It seems to me that all the things you said earlier were just made-up stories. You pretended to think about Fushun Tower, lied to the young girl and then feared that the matter might be exposed. You thought that if you undermined Chang Cafe’s business, they would be furious at you, and you dared not tell them the truth. But later, you became afraid that the tofu stall was getting better and might find out the truth sooner or later, so you went to Chang Yuanda and tried to get him to drive the girl away. Then you could rest easy.”

“Unfortunately, Chang Yuanda had no idea and came to consult me. As a result, 1 took a liking to the tofu from the tofu stall and gave up on Chang Cafe. Then I recalled the unique taste of the braised tofu that day. You feared that it could implicate you, so you made up a bunch of stories to clear yourself and to play the good guy.”

“Did I spell it out right?”

Zhang Yongchang asked, looking intently at Li Fang.

His gaze was as sharp as a knife, making Li Fang feel as if he had been stabbed all over.

Everything he said was accurate. Combined with Zhang Yongchang’s questioning, Li Fang was so scared that his legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground.

“Fine, 1 don’t need to ask any further. I am pretty sure what happened.” Zhang Yongchang stood up, clapping the dust off his hands from peeling sunflower seeds. “Thinking too much can be dangerous. They might stir trouble in the restaurant. Shop manager, if it’s not possible, just fire him.”

“Well…” Feng Yongkang hesitated for a moment, glancing at Li Fang.

Li Fang had worked as a waiter in the restaurant for some years. Overall, he had no obvious flaws, and was very lively. He was handy to have around the restaurant. If Li Fang were laid off, although finding a replacement wouldn’t be a problem with the wages offered by Fushun Tower, finding a suitable replacement could be challenging…

Feng Yongkang hesitated and looked at Zhang Yongchang again.

Seeing this, Li Fang knelt to the ground and tearfully said, “Shop manager, Uncle Chang, I admit that I was wrong this time. At the beginning, when the tofu seller approached me and gave me some money just to help sell tofu, I saw the benefits and pocketed the money in secret. I even thought of earning some more in the future…”

“I was indeed blinded by greed. I am ready to accept your punishment, shop manager, and I fully understand my mistake. Nor would I dare to repeat it. But at that time, I forgot to bring back the tofu I had put in the kitchen. 1 was afraid that if Uncle Chang found out, he would penalize me, so I kept it a secret all the time. Just now, I was also momentarily confused and wanted to keep it a secret”

“All these were mistakes I made because I was confused. I know 1 was wrong. Please, shop manager and Uncle Chang, let it go this time. Dock me half a month… no, a full month’s wages is fine!”

“I won’t dare to do it again in the future…”

Li Fang was sobbing uncontrollably, his speech intermittent. “Shop manager, although I made a mistake this time, overall I didn’t cause any loss to our restaurant. As a reward for the honest work I used to do in our restaurant, could you just let it go this time, please?”

Feng Yongkang was even more uncertain now, his mind fluctuating.

Zhang Yongchang, however, glanced sideways at Li Fang, showing his disgust. “This time is not enough?”

“When you add it all up, it hasn’t been just once, right? Each time you were only thinking of yourself, not caring about others, which is why you’re constantly lying.”

“And you’re so scheming that you took advantage of others and drove a perfectly good businesswoman away for your own self-interest. Your intentions were far from kind. In the end, you even tried to turn black into white, to gain some benefits?”

“Wow, with such a heavy mind, I’m afraid that in the future if something happens, you would only think about yourself, regardless of others.”

“Shop manager, we really can’t keep such people.”

“But, brother…” Feng Yongkang looked at Li Fang, still somewhat hesitant. “He has been working here for a long time. If it’s just for an outsider’s sake… it’s not really worth it, don’t you think so, brother?”

It seems he was being rather harsh. People in the restaurant might think he was being harsh and reluctant to work properly in the future.

“Not worth it?” Zhang Yongchang raised his eyebrows. “Okay then. If the manager thinks it’s not a big deal, then there’s nothing much I can do. It almost made me lose such delicious tofu, which obviously makes me unhappy.”

“If the shop manager thinks it’s not worth it, and wants to keep this employee, then keep him.”

Although Zhang Yongchang was clearly not happy, he softened his stance, which immediately lifted Feng Yongkang’s spirits.

But then Zhang Yongchang said, “If the shop manager thinks what 1 said is not important, then I don’t see any reason to continue working at Fushun Tower. 1’11 pack my things and leave. As for the chef at Fushun Tower, shop manager can find someone else.”

Having said that, he rolled up his sleeves as if ready to leave.

Upon seeing this, Feng Yongkang’s face blanched.

Fushun Tower was considered a big restaurant in town, but the business was indeed lacking. It couldn’t compete with Ruyi Pavilion. It was only after he took great pains to invite Zhang Yongkang to be the chef that the business gradually improved and grew vigorously.

It can be said that a large part of Fushun Tower’s business success is due to Zhang Yongkang.

That’s why Feng Yongkang respected Zhang Yongkang so much. Any request he made in the restaurant that could be accommodated, Feng Yongkang always complied without a second thought.

Although Zhang Yongkang was a little stubborn, he was diligent and honest in his work. During his many years of working at Fushun Tower, he seldom bragged about his achievements, was very polite to him as the manager, and never burdened him with any kitchen affairs. Feng Yongkang respected him even more.

Feng Yongkang once thought that Zhang Yongkang would stay in Fushun Tower until he retired.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yongkang uttered such a sentence at this moment.

Just for a piece of tofu, and for an outsider.

Despite the shock, now that Zhang Yongkang had said so, Feng Yongkang had no choice but to make a quick decision.

Without even glancing at Li Fang, Feng Yongkang hurriedly stopped Zhang Yongkang, whose face was gloomy. “Brother, calm down. What’s the point of making such angry remarks? We’ve known each other for so many years, why would you say such things over a disagreement?”

“If you think the employee is not capable, we can replace him, but you absolutely can’t leave..”