Gourmet: The Master Chef Just Wants to Leisurely Set Up a Stall - Chapter 70

“What do we do? What do we do? I’m so panicked right now! Without my fried skewers, I’ll die crying!”

“Fried skewers! Don’t touch my fried skewers!! (twisting) (screaming) (slithering along the wall in sticky motions) (rolling) (hissing) (standing up) (falling down) (splitting apart) (attacking indiscriminately)”

As the group chat descended into madness with people freaking out, a sudden flash of inspiration hit Li Donglai.

“I’ve got it! Keep talking nonsense, everyone. The boss is really busy right now. When there are too many messages, she can’t keep up! Sometimes when we pick up our orders, she even asks if there’s anything important she missed. Let’s all just shut up and start spamming the chat!”

“Group leader, you’re the best! The boss definitely doesn’t have time to read through all the messages. I’ve seen her check them quickly while setting up her stall.”

“That’s right! I remember that too. Let’s spam away, comrades. If we spam enough nonsense, she won’t be able to see anything important!”

“I cried for four hours, crashed into walls 16 times, slashed my arms 397 times, hallucinated twice, slapped myself 79 times, nearly died once, and only just woke up to realize how dark it is outside again. I don’t understand why you didn’t duo with me at my peak!”

“If I disappeared one day, would you miss me? Would you at least ask, ‘Where’s Dad?’”

“(animated emoji) (animated emoji)”

“My dear Zhanbo: By the time you read this letter, I’ll already be on my way to the airport. Please forgive me for changing my flight. I knew that if I saw you all, I wouldn’t be able to leave. I can’t bear to part with any of you, especially you. Zhanbo, in the past, I didn’t understand what love was. Love is when you fall for someone and give up your own freedom for theirs. Love is when you change your life to fulfill their dreams. Love is when you’re willing to let go, leaving behind the best memories and blessings… Love, Wanyu.”

The group chat exploded into a flurry of gibberish. As the messages kept scrolling nonstop, Li Donglai finally breathed a sigh of relief, though inwardly he was going just as crazy as the rest of them.

(Praying hands) (Bowing to Buddha) (Hands clasped together), **Dear Boss, please be extra busy today!**

…

At that very moment, Guo Gaoang sat in front of his computer, feeling a twinge of guilt as he rubbed his nose.

He had been the one who invited those two trolls into the group.

He was part of a small group of bloggers who often explored new restaurants together. Sometimes they’d split costs when visiting new places, and other times they’d be invited by businesses for collaborations. They’d use the group chat to exchange information and coordinate visits.

Those two trolls were people he had invited from that group.

After trying Zhao Xiaojing’s fried squid one day, Guo became completely hooked on her skewers. Every time he came home, he eagerly reheated some skewers—whether it was for an afternoon snack, a late-night meal, or while watching TV; he just couldn’t stop eating them.

Before he knew it, he had devoured ten pounds of skewers all by himself. That’s when he remembered he was supposed to shoot a video review for the restaurant.

Coincidentally, a fellow blogger in the group asked him if there were any good places to eat recently, so Guo shared the scoop and suggested they order some skewers together to make a video.

Who would’ve thought that this blogger would then invite two newcomers from the group—supposedly some rookies in the industry—to tag along?

Guo Gaoang had a decent relationship with that blogger, so he agreed to bring them along without much thought. After all, it was self-funded. He went ahead and added them all to the fried skewer group.

But before the blogger could even say a word, those two newcomers caused an uproar in the group, leading to this entire mess.

Rubbing his temples in frustration, Guo had no idea how to fix this.

Those newcomers were full of negativity—they’d cursed everyone out and then left. But Guo still wanted to buy more skewers!

By the time he saw the messages in the chat, it was already too late—the group had turned into a battlefield. He tried to calm the two newbies down, but instead of listening, they cursed him out and blocked him.

In a panic, Guo sent a long apology message to Zhao Xiaojing.

And now, after seeing the group leader’s recent announcement, he realized he’d made things even worse!

Guo sighed heavily as he watched the flood of nonsense messages scroll by in the chat. He wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

What should he do now? The plan was to prevent Zhao Xiaojing from finding out, but he’d already apologized to her. What if she saw his message and went back to read through the chat logs?

Why did he agree to bring two strangers into the group? Why had he been so quick to share everything with his old classmate? He felt terrible for ruining all the hard work his fellow group members were putting into spamming the chat!

After thinking things over, Guo decided not to mention this in the group chat and quietly added Li Donglai as a friend.

**“???????”**

After hearing Guo’s full confession, Li Donglai responded with a string of question marks.

“Dude, are you kidding me? Your sabotage is faster than our spam?!”

“You seriously have a knack for making things worse!”

“I’m not telling *anyone* about this! My job as group leader is officially over!”

“Why did you even bring people you didn’t know into the group? Do you *want* the group to fall apart? Are you *trying* to make sure Boss stops selling skewers?”

Li Donglai was fuming as he fired off message after message.

Guo shrank back as he read the angry texts, apologizing profusely.

“I’m really sorry, group leader! I’ll go apologize to Zhao personally tonight—it’s all my fault. I never expected things to get so out of hand. Group leader, I’m truly sorry!!”

“I’ll explain everything to Zhao tonight. I’ll also talk to the blogger who recommended those guys and make sure they never pull this kind of stunt again!”

“I’ll beg Zhao for her forgiveness, and if she doesn’t forgive me, I’ll drag my brother into this too—we were classmates back in school. Hopefully, she still remembers me!”

“You and Boss were classmates? How close were you?”

“Yeah… we were just classmates…”

“…”

“Are you serious right now?”

“Well, give it a shot—there’s no other option at this point. I’ll come with you tonight—I need to pick up some skewers anyway.”

Li Donglai found himself laughing at Guo’s absurd responses despite his anger and sent a few more messages.

But since Guo seemed genuinely remorseful and had immediately apologized, Li Donglai softened his tone.

The two arranged to meet later that evening after everyone had picked up their orders. They planned to explain everything to the boss then.

After putting down his phone, Guo sighed in exhaustion.

He had been in this line of work for two years—just barely scraping by as a small-time blogger. He had made some money here and there, but it wasn’t enough to fully support himself.

Fortunately, his family was wealthy and didn’t require financial support from him. In fact, they occasionally provided him with financial help, allowing him to continue pursuing his passion without too much worry.

Maybe in a few years, if things didn’t pan out with his current career, he’d rely on his family connections to find a stable job.