Chapter 328: Who is It?

Cyril was still playing with the same colorful snake as he sat on the leather sofa. He turned to Mars, and asked, “What’s the Catering Association’s response?”

“Board Member Stanley says he’s still verifying the events, and that he’ll notify us once a conclusion is reached,” Mars’s replied with his head bowed.

“Verification? What kind of verification is required? Looks like that Stanley is trying to extort us for more money again. Give him 10 dragon coins, and tell him to resolve this matter as quickly as possible.” Cyril pursed his lips with a dark expression, and said, “That Mamy Restaurant is a thorn in my side. It’s only been two days, and they’ve already got four dishes in the top 50, two of which are in the top 30. If things continue like this, there will be more and more people filing reports, which will be very annoying.”

“Yes.” Mars nodded. He then hesitated momentarily before continuing, “But, Young Master, what if they secured those rankings with actual skill? If we remove them from the rankings board, it could result in some negative repercussions.”

“Actual skill? Heh, how much money is that worth? Are you telling me that a mere restaurant can stand against our Chamber of Commerce?” Cyril pursed his lips with a disdainful expression. He tapped his finger on the snake’s head before grabbing it by the head, and commanded, “Prepare 100 dragon coins. If Stanley can’t resolve this issue, then give it to Warren. That old fart has been taking a lot of money from us these past few years; it’s becoming more and more difficult to satisfy him.”

“100 dragon coins? Should I consult with the president?” Mars didn’t immediately nod and agree as he usually did.

“Why would you consult the president over 100 dragon coins? It’s just an insignificant sum. The money we’ve used to bribe the Catering Association in the past few years is no less than 10,000 dragon coins, right?” Cyril looked at Mars with narrowed eyes, and said coldly, “You have to remember whom you’re serving. The president is already an old man; I will be the future president.”

Mars bowed his head, and replied respectfully, “Yes, Young Master.”

“How could this be… Does that mean the Chamber of Commerce has been fixing the Aden Square food competition for all these years? How can they do that?” Gloria was standing outside the door with a black silk hat on her head, and she took a couple of steps backward as she stared at the president’s chamber in disbelief.

She had come to find Jeffree as she had come up with a few ideas regarding what they had discussed over the dining table, and she wanted to tell him about those ideas in person.

However, she had just overheard that conversation between Mars and Cyril, and it had tipped her world over on its head.

Even though she didn’t like her sexist grandfather, she had to admit that Jeffree was truly a legendary man. He had started with nothing, but created an enormous estate for himself in Chaos City in a short few decades.

The Buffett Family’s banks were quite powerful, but the Chamber of Commerce was just as, if not more, powerful.

As such, there was reverence and respect for Jeffree in Gloria’s heart. However, the conversation between Mars and Cyril had revealed the dark underbelly of the glorious Chamber of Commerce to her, and the stark contrast was quite a jarring blow to her.

Cyril suddenly turned toward the door, and exclaimed, “Who’s there?”

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A panicked expression appeared on Gloria’s face, and she hurriedly picked up the hem of her dress before scurrying away.

Mars opened the door just in time to see Gloria disappear around the corner. A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes, but his expression remained unchanged.

Cyril put down the colorful snake in his hand, and asked, “Who was it?”

“Young Master, there’s no one out there. Perhaps it’s that fat cat coming to steal food again.” Mars closed the door, and shook his head.

“I have to tell Mag about this. Mamy Restaurant’s food is so delicious, and has such miraculous effects; it wouldn’t be strange at all even if they could dominate the top five on the rankings. If the Chamber of Commerce removed them from the rankings board, then that would be way too unfair. This is not what the Chamber of Commerce should be about.” Gloria shook her head, and looked back at the mighty Chamber of Commerce building before slowly clenching her fists. A determined expression appeared on her face, and she murmured to herself, “This is not what the Chamber of Commerce should be. If this is the direction that Cyril is going to take it, then let me pick up everything that Father has put down. Who says women can’t do as good of a job as men?!”

…

Mag wasn’t that surprised about his sweet and savory tofu pudding breaking into the top 50. His target was only for one dish to enter the top 30 as that would satisfy the mission’s condition.

After a brief rest, Mag visited Mobai’s new forge. It was about the same scale as the old forge, but the display hall up front was a little smaller, while the working area at the rear had been expanded. At the same time, a new smelting furnace had been added, as well as a larger anvil.

Lulu had stripped off his shirt, and was swinging a large iron hammer under Mobai’s instructions. The red-hot piece of metal on the anvil was shrinking at a rate that was discernible to the naked eye, and a dull thump that caused his eardrums to tremor erupted with each and every hammer blow.

“Not bad. Your task today is to hammer this piece of metal into a thin sheet.” Mobai nodded with satisfaction, and he also began to swing his hammer to strike a half-complete longsword laid out in front of him.

He’d had no intention to hire an apprentice, but Lulu won him over. He appeared to be a little dumb and clumsy, but he took his work very seriously, and was surprisingly quite clever with his hands. As such, Mobai was quite satisfied with his decision. There was a good chance that the cannon Mag had suggested to him was practically viable, but he would require a lot of time to craft a satisfactory prototype. If he could hire a helper in his forge, production would undoubtedly become a lot faster, thereby giving him time to work on the stability of his explosives.

“Boss Mobai, are you starting work already today?” Mag stood at the entrance, and was a little surprised as waves of heat surged toward him.

The fact that those dwarven craftsmen had rebuilt the forge in a day and night was already very shocking to him, and he was also quite surprised to find that Mobai and Lulu had already started working.

“Hey there, Mag. We have a few urgent orders, so there’s no reason not to get started on those.” Mobai put down his hammer, and smiled as he said, “Also, I didn’t ask them to excavate an underground tunnel this time. I’ll go to the outskirts of the city after I finish this batch, then do some experiments in a secluded area.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Mobai nodded with a smile. He looked around at the forge with an expectant gaze. With Mobai’s skills, in conjunction with the magic flames of this world, it would be quite possible to refine steel to a satisfactory degree. When that time came, he could also discuss building a steam engine with him.

“Alright, then I’ll leave you two to it,” Mag said before leaving. He had actually visited to see if Mobai intended to continue his explosives experiments in the forge. As such, he was very relieved with the answer that Mobai had given him. At the very least, he wouldn’t have to be worried about getting blasted to death in his sleep.

The sun is really nice today. The autumn sun shone down upon him, making him feel languorous. He looked at the tofu pudding mission counter in his mind, which showed: 6/10. The highly anticipated wheel was about to arrive soon