He thought for a while and said, “Sis Yan, we should start expanding the company. We’ll pour all our finances into expansion efforts. We’ll have to hire more people. We need talent.
“If you know anyone capable, headhunt them. After this, we’ll also set up two more companies.”
Liu Yan was surprised. “What companies?”
“A liquor company, and a restaurant,” Tang Hao said grimly.
Liu Yan furrowed her brows. She understood the restaurant part; President Tang must want to start his own restaurant to promote magical cuisine. She could not understand the liquor part though.
Since when did President Tang learn to brew?
“I know many capable and talented people, but they’re all employed under many big corporations in Provincial City,” Liu Yan said.
“Recruit them over, no matter how much money it takes! We’re not short of money, but we are short on talent. Don’t worry, Sis Yan, your salary will be raised accordingly as well. Without you, our company wouldn’t have seen such growth and profits,” Tang Hao said.
Liu Yan smiled. “I’ll have to thank you in advance, President Tang. I’ll give it a shot. I should be able to recruit a few.”
“Thanks, Sis Yan. Right, let’s go for lunch together at noon. I’ll get Big Bro Liu and the others too. I’ll try to invite Secretary Qian and the District Mayor if I can.”
Liu Yan was shocked.
‘Inviting the Secretary and the District Mayor? President Tang is planning something big!’
“Right, take this and get some good food for everyone,” Tang Hao handed her the ten thousand yuan.
The people standing outside the door cheered.
“Thank you, President Tang!”
After Liu Yan left the room, Tang Hao sat down, picked up his phone, and called Liu Dajun, Secretary Qian, and the other important people, to invite them to Beyond Heavens Restaurant for lunch at noon.
Then, he took out his mobile phone and gave Master Chef Ding a call.
Chapter 346 - Makings of A Conglomerate
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The call was soon picked up, and Master Chef Ding’s voice was heard.
“Hey, Lil Bro Tang! Is there anything? I’m a little busy now!” Master Chef Ding shouted.
In the background, the sound of pots, bowls, and woks clanging could be heard. Evidently, the master chef was in the kitchen.
Tang Hao briefly explained the encounter with the Ling family earlier.
“F*ck their mother! This is ridiculous! They’re animals!” Master Chef Ding was furious in an instant. “If it’s not for you, Lil Bro Tang, then how could there be such amazing magical cuisine? Magical Kitchen won’t be as popular as it is now.
“The prescription is yours, and the menu is a joint effort between you and me. What did Tai An do? They opened a restaurant. Who the hell doesn’t know how to open a restaurant?
“Now that the restaurant is popular, they’re going to burn bridges, and they want you to hand over your prescription too. How convenient!” Master Chef Ding scolded and cursed angrily.
In the background, the sounds of cooking slowly ceased when the other chefs heard him.
“What? Who’s burning bridges?”
The chefs crowded around Master Chef Ding and shouted.
“It’s Tai An. They want to remove Lil Bro Tang from the picture and want to steal his prescription!” Master Chef Ding said angrily.
“What the hell? Are they even human?”
“Is this President Ling’s doing?”
The chefs started shouting and cursing loudly.
“Lil Bro Tang said that it’s not President Ling. It’s an internal decision by the Ling family. Don’t blame President Ling, she’s being put in a difficult spot too.
“The Ling family has appointed another person to handle Magical Kitchen. It’s President Ling’s brother. He’s at Westridge now and he had just left Lil Bro Tang’s office after threatening him.”
The chefs once again grew agitated and started shouting.
“What? He’s threatening Lil Bro Tang? Is the Ling family full of animals?”
“I’m not going to work here anymore! This pisses me off!”
“This incident is very disturbing, Big Bro Ding. What is Lil Bro Tang saying? If he’s splitting up with Tai An, I’ll quit here and follow Lil Bro Tang.”
“Right! We’ll follow Lil Bro Tang! I’m not going to work for a bunch of animals!”
“Don’t be hasty, let me ask Lil Bro Tang,” Master Ding said, then returned to the call, “Do you hear that, Lil Bro Tang? Everyone is supporting you.”
“If that’s how the Ling family wants to play, then I’m not collaborating with them anymore. I plan to open my own restaurant, and I’ll be making preparations for that soon.”
“Alright, we’ll follow you!” Master Chef Ding said.
Then, he turned to shout at the chefs, “Alright, brothers, we quit!”
“Right, Master Chef, remember to bring the bronze jars along with you. There should be four of them left,” Tang Hao said.
Master Chef Ding was surprised. “Indeed, there’s only four left. Tai An took one of them away this morning.”
“Then bring the four with you. The bronze jars aren’t part of the contract. Tai An won’t be able to touch you,” Tang Hao said.
“Alright, let’s bring them all! Let’s go, brothers!” Master Chef Ding yelled again.
After the call ended, Tang Hao smirked coldly.
Without Master Chef Ding and the bronze jars, Magical Kitchen could not operate. That should take the wind out of the Ling family’s sails.
He thought for a while, then picked up his mobile phone and planned to give Old Master Luo a call.
However, the phone started ringing. It was from Old Master Luo.
“Hey, Grandmaster Tang, what the hell is going on with your restaurant? Why are all the chefs leaving all of a sudden? The restaurant is a mess now! I want my Eight Treasure Soup!”
“I’ve parted ways with Tai An. I’m no longer in Magical Kitchen!” Tang Hao said.
“What? Wasn’t everything just fine? How could this be?”
“Tai An is too greedy. They want to take over my shares of the restaurant.”
“Are they out of their mind? How dare they cross you!” Old Master Luo could only find it ridiculous.
Grandmaster Tang had supernatural abilities. Furthermore, he was very closely connected to the He family and even brought down the previous province leader. The Ling family must have lost their minds to find trouble with him.
Then, he understood what happened. The Ling family must be unaware of Grandmaster Tang’s abilities. They could not withstand the allure of money and thought that Grandmaster Tang was a pushover.
“Hah, the Ling family is a bunch of idiots!” He mocked, but soon, he became worried. “Grandmaster Tang, if you and the chefs have left Magical Kitchen, where can I eat your food?”
After tasting magical cuisine, everything else was tasteless.
“You can go to Imperial Kitchen. Master Chef Ding and the other chefs will be operating from there in the meantime. I was just about to call you to ask you for help in looking for a suitable spot near Magical Kitchen for a new restaurant,” Tang Hao said.
“You want to start your own restaurant? Alright, I’ll survey a suitable spot for you. You should reopen soon. Otherwise, I won’t have a place to eat.”
After ending the call, Tang Hao brought Liu Yan and Han Yutong to Beyond Heavens Restaurant.
They waited a while before Liu Dajun and the others arrived one after another.
Secretary Qian as well as the newly installed District Mayor Liu arrived.
They exchanged some pleasantries and sat down around the table.
When everyone was there, Tang Hao stood up and briefly recounted the earlier incident.
Liu Dajun and the others immediately looked indignant.
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��Because of that, I plan to expand the company as fast as possible in the short term. Haotian Co. Ltd. needs to grow in size, and Masculine Wind Co. Ltd. needs to pick up speed. After this, I also plan to start a liquor factory and a restaurant.
“The restaurant will specialize in magical cuisine. If the Ling family doesn’t want to collaborate with me, then I can start my own restaurant. As for the liquor factory, I’ll let you all taste my specially brewed liquor later.
“We do have the finances to expand rapidly, but we don’t have enough talent. That’s why I’m requesting you all to use your connections and recruit anyone capable that you know. I’ll hire anyone who has talent and capabilities. Masculine Wind needs more people, and the two new companies all need people.”
Everyone exclaimed in surprise after they heard that.
“Starting two companies at the same time? You’re putting everything in, Lil Tang]!” President Li exclaimed.
“I think that works. We need to be this fast to take over the market by storm. We’re not short on money. We can combine the four companies into one Haotian Group. Don’t you think that sounds so cool?” Liu Dajun said with a smile.
“Haotian Group? That’s great!” Secretary Qian laughed.
With more companies, the economy of the district would grow, and he, as the district secretary, was happy about that.
If a big group of companies was formed in Westridge during his term as the secretary, he would share the glory as well.
District Mayor Liu nodded. He had studied and researched Haotian Co. Ltd. before. Within months of operation, it had already recorded hundreds of millions in profits. Its growth was unmatched and showed no signs of stopping.
He also heard that Masculine Wind Co. Ltd. would be manufacturing male health products. The effects of the products are said to be amazing as well.
The restaurant would specialize in magical cuisine. He saw on the Internet that magical cuisine was incredibly popular.
If the three companies were already so amazing, then the liquor factory would not be any worse either. Haotian Group would be a formidable entity in the business world once everything was put in place.
Chapter 347 - Recruitment Frenzy
Everyone in the room agreed to Tang Hao’s suggestion.
Some of them even looked impatient.
Once the group of companies was established, they would be operating on a different, unprecedented scale. They would be the biggest conglomerate in Westridge District.
After a while, Liu Dajun furrowed his brows. “You’re right that we don’t have enough people. Masculine Wind is still struggling to fill its vacancies.”
“That’s why I’m requesting everyone here to use their connections to find talents,” Tang Hao said, “As long as the person is capable and talented, we ought to hire them whatever it takes.”
“Alright! We’ll think of a way.” President Li nodded. “Right, Lil Tang, where’s the liquor? I didn’t know that you’re a brewer as well! Come let us try it.”
“There’s no rush, Big Bro Li!” Tang Hao smiled gently. He retrieved a wine jar from under the table and placed it on the table.
“What liquor is this?” Divine Li asked.
“This… I call it Divine Liquor,” Tang Hao said with a smile.
“Divine Liquor? That’s quite a bombastic name,” Liu Dajun said.
Tang Hao did not reply. Instead, he opened the jar and a thick and fragrant smell of liquor filled the room.
Everyone trembled when they smelled the liquor. Their eyes opened wide with shock.
“This… This fragrance…” Liu Dajun’s eyes were staring unblinkingly at the wine jar. His eyes were brimming with shock and incredulity.
What liquor was that?
The smell of the liquor alone was enough to intoxicate one. Liu Dajun was fond of alcoholic drinks and had tasted many types.
However, he had never tasted anything so amazing before.
President Li, President Huang, and the others stood up from their seats. Their eyes were sparkling as they stared at the wine jar.
“Quick! Let us try the liquor!”
They were almost drooling.
Even Liu Yan, who did not drink regularly, almost could not hold back.
The liquor was not as aggressive as baijiu but had a fragrance like a fruit liqueur. Its unique fragrance mesmerized everyone in the room.
“Don’t worry!” Tang Hao smiled. He took the wine jar and first poured a cup for Secretary Qian. Then, he continued pouring the wine jar for the rest in the order of seniority until everyone had a cup.
He had diluted the plant sap so that normal people could drink it. A person with a high capacity for alcohol could drink ten cups without any problem.
Secretary Qian brought the cup close to his nose and took a small whiff. He closed his eyes and was instantly entranced.
The smell alone was enough to intoxicate him even before he tasted a single drop.
“This is fine liquor!”
A while later, he opened his eyes and took a small sip.
His eyes opened wide abruptly. “Oh… Oh my god! This is incredible!” He cried out.
Then, he lifted his head and gulped down the liquor.
He placed the cup on the table and exhaled contentedly.
“That was awesome!” Secretary Qian shouted. Then, he blushed because it was rather inappropriate for a district secretary to behave like that.
He turned to look at other people and realized that his reaction was considered unremarkable.
The people who drank the liquor looked as though they were possessed.
“Another cup! No, another jar!” Liu Dajun and the others yelled excitedly as they banged the cups on the table.
Tang Hao brought out a few more jars of liquor for everyone to enjoy.
Soon, they began to appear tipsy.
“This is fine liquor! It’s too f*cking delicious! It totally deserves the name of Divine Liquor! How much more of this stuff do you have, Lil Tang? Give me a truck of that stuff. I’ll drink it every day,” Liu Dajun said drunkenly while hugging the jar.
Secretary Qian and District Mayor Liu were government officials. They had to show some restraint.
They occasionally took sips from their cups, though they seemed very impressed as they looked at the golden liquid.
They were expecting that the liquor was going to something special, but they did not expect that it was so amazing. Any other alcoholic drink would tasteless after drinking Tang Hao’s brew.
The Divine Liquor was truly the king of all drinks. No other drink could be its match.
Moreover, the market for alcoholic drinks was very big.
“You ought to build the liquor factory as big as you can. We can make it a national brand,” Secretary Qian said excitedly.
“Right, you should build a big liquor factory so that it can be one of the industry leaders of Westridge District,” District Mayor Liu said.
An industry leader not only could stimulate the local economy but also could increase the fame of Westridge District.
The lunch lasted for more than an hour, during which Tang Hao discussed many important issues with Secretary Qian and the others.
After lunch, everyone parted ways satisfactorily.
Back at the company, Tang Hao received many calls, among them were from Liu Bingyao and He Yifei. They all asked about what happened to Magical Kitchen.
The Internet exploded with discussions about Magical Kitchen.
Meanwhile, there was no sign of activity from the Ling family. They must be hoping that cracking the secret behind the bronze jar would allow them to turn the tables.
Actually, Tang Hao could have easily tracked down the bronze jar if he wanted to. Ever since the jars were stolen for the first time, he had added more qi signatures to them.
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