The Mightiest Little Peasant c1-799

by Watermelonian, 西瓜星人

  He could easily track them down by the use of tracker jade talismans.

  However, after carefully considering the situation, Tang Hao did not do so.

  Stealing back the bronze jar would cause a violent reaction from the Ling family. He would rather give them a ray of hope and lull them into a false sense of security.

  From that afternoon onward, Haotian Co. Ltd. went on a recruiting frenzy. Meanwhile, Masculine Wind was picking up speed as well.

  Liu Yan, Liu Dajun, and the others pulled their connections and recruited new talent for the company. By the next day, they had gotten results. They managed to recruit tens of capable people.

  Some were from Westridge District, and some were from Provincial City.

  One of the more capable people that Liu Yan found was named Shi Yiwen. She was a university graduate from overseas. She had been working in another startup restaurant in Provincial City, whose success had brought her renown.

  Once she heard that person wanting to recruit her was one of the bosses of Magical Kitchen, she immediately agreed to it. She arrived at Westridge that afternoon to meet with Tang Hao.

  They met at Tang Hao’s office.

  Shi Yiwen was in her mid-thirties. She was dressed modestly and looked diligent. Tang Hao’s initial impression of her was that she was strong and capable.

  Shi Yiwen had managed a restaurant before, and the two could chat freely with each other. The recruitment interview went smoothly.

  Shi Yiwen had huge respect for the meteoric rise of Magical Kitchen. Now that she had the opportunity to manage a restaurant specializing in magical cuisine, she could not possibly refuse it.

  More people were recruited in the next two days. Every day, Tang Hao went around with Liu Dajun and the others to meet with various talents and recruit them to his company.

  Very soon, the core management team of the Divine Liquor Company was assembled. They found a manager named Yao Qing for the company. He was a manager of a liquor factory from another city.

  As for Masculine Wind Co. Ltd., they found a manager from Provincial City. His name was Lin Fuquan.

  That solved the problem of the core management team for the four companies.

  Chapter 348 - Planting Trees

  With all the core positions of the companies filled, registering the companies and constructing factories were next on the list.

  Everyone worked hard in the next few weeks. With the support from Secretary Qian and the connections in Provincial City, they managed to obtain their licenses at record speed.

  During the rare moments when Tang Hao was free, he either studied for his upcoming term exams or went deep into the mountains to tend to his plants.

  The ginseng and lingzhi plantation did not need much care, other than checking on the conditions of the plants once every few days. Tang Hao was most concerned about the Liquor Tree.

  The pond could store a lot of tree sap, but when the liquor factory eventually went into production, the pond would eventually run dry. One tree alone was not enough to supply his entire production line.

  He needed to prepare for the future.

  The Liquor Tree was not a normal tree as it was bred by cultivators. It did not bear any fruit or seeds. The only way to grow another Liquor Tree was by cutting.

  The process of cutting involved removing a part of the original plant which could be either a branch or a part of the stem, plant it in the soil, and obtain a sprout that would eventually grow into a tree.

  On the other side of the pond, Tang Hao cleared an area of land, used a hoe to loosen the soil, and watered it with water from the magical spring.

  Then, he also laid a leyline gathering formation around the area.

  The land was ready for planting.

  Next, Tang Hao climbed up the Liquor Tree.

  The Liquor Tree was almost six meters tall and was as wide as several arm spans. Tang Hao guessed that it must have been at least a thousand years old.

  The tree bark was glossy and golden in color. He could faintly smell the fragrance of liquor.

  Tang Hao nimbly climbed to the top of the tree and cut off fifty young twigs with a knife.

  He climbed down the tree. He did not immediately plant the twigs, but instead retrieved a big vat from his pocket dimension. It was filled with a black liquid.

  The black liquid was a fertilizing potion. It was concocted based on the Scripture of the Divine Herbalist. It sped up the growth of plant seeds.

  Tang Hao modified the formula so that it could apply to twigs as well.

  Using the black fertilizing potion on the Liquor Tree was not always going to be a success. It was not a normal tree after all. The fertilizing potion would always work on a normal tree though.

  He placed the twigs into the vat and soaked them for half a day. After that, Tang Hao removed them from the vat and planted them into the soil.

  Tang Hao clapped his hands satisfactorily after all that.

  Tang Hao went around the area and roughly estimated that he could fit one hundred Liquor Trees in the area.

  As long as a fifth of those twigs sprouted, then he would be satisfied. He would obtain ten Liquor Trees.

  He could repeat the process several more times and gather a total of one hundred trees. That should provide enough tree sap for the liquor factory once the trees matured.

  One hundred Liquor Trees should be enough to satisfy the market for Divine Liquor.

  For the next few days, Tang Hao spent almost half a day every day there to tend to the twigs.

  He read the Scripture of the Divine Herbalist one more time and employed all methods of accelerating the ripening and growth of the plants. He also fertilized the soil with serpent monster and sea dragon blood.

  Three days later, some of the twigs sprouted.

  Tang Hao was ecstatic when he saw the tender, green sprouts. The feeling that his hard work paid off was the best sensation in the world.

  He carefully tended to those sprouted twigs, preparing to transplant them when they were slightly bigger.

  Some more twigs sprouted in the next two days. He yielded a total of eighteen sprouts from the fifty twigs.

  Tang Hao carefully transplanted them to the other side of the valley.

  The next day, at about five o’clock in the morning, Tang Hao left for Provincial City to take his term exams at the university.

  According to his schedule, the exams were spread throughout the entire week.

  After taking the day’s exam in the morning, Tang Hao went to Imperial Kitchen at noon.

  He saw many people sitting inside. They were regulars of Magical Kitchen.

  “Hey! Boss Tang!”

  They stood and greeted Tang Hao when they saw him coming in.

  “We’re all on your side, Boss Tang. The Ling family has gone overboard. They’re underhanded for burning bridges once they see profits.”

  “Hey, Boss Tang, how about… you start your own restaurant? Imperial Kitchen is too small. I can’t bring all my guests here.”

  Tang Hao replied with a smile. “Thank you for all your support. We’re still weighing that possibility. You will be informed once there are updates.”

  Tang Hao could not say that preparations for a new restaurant were already underway. He did not want the Ling family to know about it and sabotage them.

  The Ling family must be feeling desperate. Magical Kitchen had been closed since nine days ago, and every day they remained closed was a blow to their reputation. They must have also found no progress with cracking the secret of the qi gathering jar.

  Under those circumstances, they could not tolerate Tang Hao opening a new restaurant.

  After chatting with them for a while, Tang Hao went into the kitchen and met Master Chef Ding and the rest.

  “You’re here, Lil Bro Tang!” Master Chef Ding came over and greeted him.

  “Right, we’ve met with Manager Shi earlier. She’s quite ambitious. She wants to open up six restaurants at once,” Master Chef Ding
said, a little surprised.

  Tang Hao smiled. He knew all that; Manager Shi had already discussed the ideas with him.

  Manager Shi planned to take the market by surprise to gain a foothold in Provincial City. That was why they needed to open one main restaurant and five branches simultaneously.

  Manager Shi was the manager of a restaurant chain before, and she was well-connected to other restaurateurs. She managed to pull her connections and recruit many people to work in all the restaurants.

  With the support from Vice Governor He, all the licenses and inspections were cleared at record speed.

  “She is quite an aggressive manager. She’s even asking us to recruit as many people as we can. We’ve contacted many of our old friends from the culinary academy. That should be enough to fully staff all six restaurants,” Master Chef Ding said excitedly.

  “Thank you for your hard work!” Tang Hao said with a smile.

  After leaving Imperial Kitchen, Tang Hao immediately went to look for Shi Yiwen to be updated with progress reports.

  Tang Hao traveled between Westridge and Provincial City every day. He tended to the young sprouts while he took his term exams at the university.

  Finally, the term exams were over, and the university was closed for winter break.

  On his way back to Westridge, he brought Liu Bingyao and Cao Fei along.

  Another seven days passed in the blink of an eye.

  In those seven days, Tang Hao grew more than thirty sprouts with cutting. With the earlier batch of sprouts, he had more than fifty Liquor Tree sprouts in total.

  All the sprouts survived and grew rapidly under his care. They thrived with the guidance of the Scripture of the Divine Herbalist, and also with the nourishment of serpent monster and sea dragon blood.

  Good news came from Masculine Wind. The construction of the factory had been completed. Production lines were operational and the first batch of the aphrodisiac was produced.

  Many distributors around the country had been keeping an eye on the aphrodisiac. Orders came in like snowflakes in a blizzard.

  The factory for Divine Liquor Company had started construction. It would only be completed after the Spring Festival.

  Meanwhile, after about three weeks of preparations, the restaurants in Provincial City were finally open for business.

  Chapter 349 - Clash of the Titans

  The name of the restaurant was New Magical Kitchen.

  The location of the restaurant was in the city center, about a ten-minute walk from the original Magical Kitchen.

  Preparations for the restaurant were done in secret. They only publicized its existence one day before opening, and they also ran an aggressive Internet advertising campaign.

  The restaurant featured authentic magical cuisine with the original crew of chefs from Magical Kitchen. It immediately sent shockwaves across the Internet.

  The next morning, banners and flags were seen flying in front of the restaurant. The scene was festive.

  Luxury cars stopped in front of the restaurant one after another. Old Master Luo and the other regulars arrived, save for those who felt that it was inconvenient to show up because they were close to Tai An Group.

  Many journalists from the media and writers from various food and lifestyle magazines were invited to the opening ceremony.

  The public square in front of the restaurant was packed with people by ten o’clock. Many people heard of the news and joined the crowd which almost spilled onto the road.

  Tang Hao had tasked Shi Yiwen with organizing the opening ceremony. He was seated in the middle of the crowd.

  At half-past ten, the opening ceremony was about to start.

  Upbeat music started playing. The atmosphere in the public square became more festive than ever.

  Suddenly, a line of black cars drove in from one end of the road.

  The cars approached the public square and stopped not far away. The doors to the cars opened, and bodyguards in black suits stepped out.

  More and more people got out. Next were people dressed in suits and leather shoes and carrying briefcases.

  From the three cars in front, a group of people in their forties and fifties stepped out. Ling Rui was together with them.

  Ling Rui glanced at the restaurant after he got out of the car. His eyes flashed with malicious intent.

  ‘That Tang kid is utterly despicable. How dare he exhort Master Chef Ding and the others to leave while taking the bronze jars with them? Magical Kitchen could not operate because of him.’

  The Ling family was caught off-guard by that move.

  They had expected the kid to continue operating Magical Kitchen even if he did not want to hand over his shares. They would continue analyzing the bronze jars, and when they managed to find the secret, they would kick the kid out of the picture.

  They did not mind the fall out with the kid, as long as they had one of the bronze jars in their hands.

  However, they did not expect that the chefs would follow the kid to the new restaurant while bringing along the other four jars with them.

  He nearly popped a vein when he heard the news.

  He reacted even more violently when he heard that the kid had secretly prepared to open a new restaurant.

  It would be bad news for them if the kid’s restaurant was operational. By the time they knew how to replicate the bronze jar, it would already have been too late.

  “Did you think you’ve managed to fool us? Don’t even dream that you can open the restaurant today.”

  He grunted coldly with a vicious expression on his face.

  He turned around and greeted someone in the car. “Father!”

  A man in his fifties came out of the car. He was tall, thin, and had a sharp gaze. His demeanor was rather intimidating.

  That person was Tai An Group’s previous president, Ling Mingshan.

  Ling Mingshan looked toward the public square after he got out of the car. “This restaurant seems to be very popular. There are so many familiar faces.”

  “Father! That kid shouldn’t have been this influential. They must be here just because of the magical cuisine. When we reopen our restaurant, our crowd will definitely be many times bigger than this,” Ling Rui said.

  Ling Mingshan nodded.

  He thought that someone from a small district could not have wielded that much influence. It all depended on that magical cuisine.

  He had tried the magical cuisine before, and it was indeed as magical as its name suggested.

  That had strengthened his resolve of dominating the market with magical cuisine.

  His gaze became colder as he looked at the public square.

  “Let’s go!” He ordered his people. With him walking in the lead and the group of people in black suits following behind, it was quite the spectacle.

  A commotion started in the public square.

  “It’s the people from Tai An Group!”

  “Oh my god! That’s Ling Mingshan! He’s here!”

  Everyone was surprised.

  They heard about rumors about the enmity between Tai An Group and the newly opened New Magical Kitchen.

  Tai An Group could not tolerate the presence of New Magical Kitchen. Even Ling Mingshan, who had retired behind the scenes, made his appearance.

  “These bastards are shameless!” Master Chef Ding, sitting together with the other chefs, cursed under his breath.

  Some of the guests were not happy when they saw the people from Tai An Group closing in.

  They had waited a long time for New Magical Kitchen to open because they missed the food. Now that Tai An Group arrived with the evident intention of causing a scene, they might not be able to enjoy a meal in peace today.

  Tang Hao sat there impassively.

  President Ling had told him about the news since yesterday night.

  “Who’s the boss here? Come here now!” Ling Mingshan roared loudly as he came near. “The name of your restaurant is New Magical Kitchen. That is an ob
vious infringement of a Tai An Group trademark.

  “Magical Kitchen belongs to Tai An Group, and the prescriptions belong to Tai An Group too. No one can even dream of stealing it from us.

  “Also, where’s that Tang kid? He has ripped up the contract, which is a clear breach of terms. I am here to serve him legal papers today. All you chefs won’t be spared too. Tai An Group will sue you until you are bankrupt!”

  He waved his hand, and the group of lawyers came from behind.

  The public square was instantly filled with loud curses and shouts.

  The chefs could not take it anymore. They stood up from their seats and started cursing loudly as well.

  “Don’t you have any shame, you Ling bastard? You’re the one who’s burning bridges, but you’re playing the victim here.”

  “We burned bridges? Do you have any evidence? If you don’t have any, then you’d better watch your mouth. I can sue you for slander,” Ling Mingshan said coldly.

  “You…” The chefs were furious.

  Ling Mingshan smirked condescendingly.

  The group of uneducated boors was no match for him. He would sue the pants off of anyone who would stand in Tai An’s way.

  “You want to open a restaurant with Tai An’s property? Let me tell you, there’s no chance!” Ling Mingshan waved his hand again, and his bodyguards spread out and formed a wall.

  “There is only one option for you today. Shut the restaurant down this instant!” Ling Mingshan said coldly.

  The commotion in the public square became louder.

  “This is utterly shameless. That Ling Mingshan is just like before.” Everyone was indignant.

  Ling Rui, standing behind his father, was happy when he saw the scene. He looked around the crowd and yelled, “Get out here at this instant, Tang kid! Are you a coward now?