39: Chapter 39 Top Chef Oversees Kitchen, Multi-Million Dollar Purchase Order Shocks the Entire Internet

The door was pushed open.

The rich aroma of butter-seared meat, mixed with the fresh sweetness of seafood, flooded directly into Director Li's nose.

"Gulp."

He maintained the posture of pushing the door with both hands, his entire body frozen in place.

The Labor Bureau Officer following behind him poked his head out.

"Holy crap..."

The officer blurted out.

Eight 8K high-definition cameras slid smoothly into the main entrance on tracks.

On the mobile screens of five million viewers across the internet, the image became instantly clear.

This was not the corrugated iron shed filled with flowing sewage and swarming flies that they had imagined.

Inside the massive space of over a thousand square meters, non-slip marble tiles were laid out. Overhead, there was an entire row of bright, anti-glare pendant lights.

Hundreds of solid wood dining tables were polished until they reflected light.

At the very back was an open-concept kitchen, where over twenty people dressed in snow-white chef uniforms were busy working.

Steam rose into the air.

The camera's telephoto lens aimed directly at the food pickup area.

At the first stall on the left, Boston lobsters were piled up like a small mountain, steam rising from their bright red shells.

At the second stall, tomahawk steaks were sizzling and dripping with fat. A chubby chef was using large tongs to flip the meat.

At the third stall, thick-cut salmon belly strips and tuna were spread across a bed of ice.

Next to it, a long row of fresh juice machines was also set up.

In the livestream room with five million viewers, the comments section froze for a full ten seconds.

Then, the entire screen exploded with text.

"Am I blind? Is this the legendary pyramid scheme den where they supposedly eat slop?"

"That lobster claw is bigger than my face! You call this eating moldy, rotten vegetable leaves?"

"What kind of pyramid scheme serves tomahawk steaks! I want to go too! Tell me the address!"

"This is staged! It's absolutely staged!"

Director Li snapped back to reality and turned his head to stare intensely at Lu Chen.

"Lu Chen! Did you get wind of this in advance?"

Director Li demanded sternly, "Putting on such a show must have cost you quite a bit, right?"

Lu Chen pulled his hands out of his pockets.

"Director Li, food is made to be eaten. You call this a show?" Lu Chen's tone was calm.

Director Li sneered.

"Suddenly bringing in such high-end ingredients to create the illusion that your meals are good—do you think you can fool our joint law enforcement team?"

Director Li waved his hand. "Go to the back kitchen and bring the person in charge over here!"

Two SWAT officers strode forward.

Lin Dayong was still holding a meat-cutting knife. Seeing the police approaching, he casually put the knife down, wiped his hands on his apron, and strode out to meet them.

"Officers, are you here to eat or to conduct business?" Lin Dayong's voice was loud.

Director Li looked Lin Dayong up and down.

"Are you the chef here?" Director Li asked.

"I am the executive chef of the Chenguang Electronics Factory kitchen, Lin Dayong." Lin Dayong stood up straight.

"Do you usually cook this for the workers?"

Director Li pointed at the lobster and steak on the stalls.

"Yes," Lin Dayong replied righteously.

"Nonsense!"

The Section Chief of Industry and Commerce stepped out from the side.

"Lobsters this big sell for hundreds of yuan each at restaurants outside. You have over four hundred students and over a thousand workers here—do they eat this for every meal? Do you take me for a three-year-old?"

Lin Dayong frowned.

"I don't just cook lobster for them. The day before yesterday, I steamed six hundred leopard coral groupers, and the day before that, I stewed eighty pots of soft-shell turtle soup."

Lin Dayong's tone was a bit aggressive. "Just because you haven't eaten good food, don't come here doubting my professionalism."

The Section Chief was so angry his face turned red.

"What is your name? Take out your ID card and professional qualification certificate!" the Section Chief scolded.

Lin Dayong fished a few cards out of his pocket and slapped them onto the dining table nearby.

"This is my health certificate, and this is my special-grade chef certificate."

Lin Dayong pointed his finger at the last gold-stamped card.

"This is my two-star chef certification issued by the French Michelin Association."

The Section Chief was stunned. He lowered his head to look at the card.

It was covered in French he couldn't read, but the Michelin logo was very clear.

"A two-star Michelin chef?" Director Li's voice rose.

The camera lens zoomed in instantly, giving the card a close-up shot.

The livestream room went crazy again.

"Holy crap! Hiring a Michelin chef to serve boxed meals to factory workers?"

"Is this factory still hiring? I've been out of college for five years; is it too late for me to go now!"

"The pyramid scheme leader really went all out!"

Director Li's face turned livid as he looked at Lu Chen.

"Lu Chen, you're really something. To handle an inspection, you even hired a Michelin chef to act as a performer."

Director Li gritted his teeth. "You're really playing the part. These ingredients today must have cost hundreds of thousands, right?"

"Director Li, you don't believe this is the norm?" Lu Chen asked.

"Nonsense! Which factory can afford this kind of meal standard? These workers couldn't even earn back the cost of their meals after working for a month!" Director Li stated firmly.

Lu Chen turned his head and glanced at Old Zhou.

"Go get the kitchen's inventory ledger. And bring the financial payment vouchers as well," Lu Chen ordered.

Old Zhou gave an affirmative response and trotted into the kitchen office.

In less than two minutes, Old Zhou ran out clutching three thick, hard-covered folders.

Thud.

Old Zhou slammed the folders heavily onto the dining table.

"Director Li, see for yourself. This is the procurement order for the last month; the daily delivery lists are all here."

Old Zhou panted heavily. "The one at the bottom is the bank payment transaction receipt. It's a corporate-to-corporate account, and every transaction has the stamp of the Jiangcheng City Industrial and Commercial Bank."

Director Li walked over with a cold face and opened the first folder.

His fingers quickly skimmed over the pages.

"May 12th, six hundred jin of Australian lobster, four hundred jin of tomahawk steak, payment of 280,000."

Director Li turned the page.

"May 13th, five hundred leopard coral groupers, three hundred jin of imported Wagyu beef, payment of 320,000."

"May 14th..."

Director Li's hand became increasingly stiff.

The action of turning the pages changed from fast at the beginning to carefully flipping them one by one.

He opened the bank transaction record book underneath.

It was a thick stack of paper, densely covered with red bank stamps.

Hundreds of thousands in payments were clearly transferred to various high-end fresh food suppliers every single day.

This had continued for a full month.

The dates were continuous every single day, leaving no room for any fabrication.

The Labor Bureau Officer leaned over to take a look.

"Director... this account is real."

The officer lowered his voice, his voice trembling.

Director Li slammed the ledger shut.

He looked up at Lu Chen, his eyes full of confusion.

"Lu Chen, what are you even trying to achieve?"

Director Li raised his voice. "Spending 300,000 every day to feed workers? And it's free meals without deducting food expenses?"

"I just want them to eat happily," Lu Chen replied indifferently.

Meanwhile.

On the top floor of the Tengfei Electronics headquarters.

The red wine glass in Wang Teng's hand cracked with a snap as he squeezed it.

A few drops of red wine splashed onto his navy blue suit.

PR Director Sun Zhi was holding a tablet, his eyes wide as saucers.

"President Wang... this... is Lu Chen out of his mind?"

PR Director Sun Zhi stammered, "Hundreds of thousands in food expenses every day, that's over ten million a month. Did he take all the money from selling the factory just to buy lobster for the workers?"

Wang Teng's chest heaved violently.

"This is illegal fundraising! He is definitely using money obtained through fraud to put on a front!"

Wang Teng roared, "This doesn't fit normal business logic at all!"

"But President Wang, the sentiment online has changed," PR Director Sun Zhi said, handing over the tablet.

On the screen, the comments that were originally all insults had now turned into worship.

"Even if this kind of boss is running a pyramid scheme, I'll accept it! Lock me up for life!"

"Sorry, I was a little loud with my insults earlier."

"Eating Wagyu and lobster every day for a month—you call this exploitation? Please, come and exploit me!"