118: Chapter 119 The Chef Admits His Mistake
An Xin was magnanimous, which made Qi Yueling breathe a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, sir, for your understanding regarding the Restaurant. We will reform the interior of the Restaurant as soon as possible and improve our service."
Qi Yueling's attitude was impeccable.
CEO Hai hung up the phone, took the internal elevator, and went straight to the kitchen.
Ai Mi was packing up top-tier ingredients stolen from the accounts.
He planned to use these ingredients to make a candlelight dinner, wanting to enjoy it with Meng Yaning in the evening.
Just as he finished packing the prepared ingredients into the thermal box, the kitchen door was opened with a key.
CEO Hai had a stern face, and the man's sharp gaze landed on Ai Mi's thermal box.
"Chef Ai Mi, what kind of good things do you have in this box?"
CEO Hai's voice made cold sweat break out on his back.
"I am developing a new dish. Inside are some ingredients I bought with my own money."
Ai Mi forced himself to stay calm and made up an excuse.
If CEO Hai could be fooled by a single sentence, he would have been replaced long ago.
Hiring him originally was because of his talent, but over these three years, the Restaurant's chef team had already been cultivated, and Ai Mi was no longer as valuable as he had been three years ago.
The Restaurant could exist without Ai Mi, but Ai Mi could not afford to lose this job.
He had betrayed his former company by leaving the Michelin Restaurant.
If he were fired by his current company as well, any HR with a brain would not dare to hire such a head chef to work in their Restaurant.
"Oh, is that so? Then I need to check the dining losses. Ai Mi, I hired you with a high salary because I valued your skills. Now, this skill is no longer unique to you, and you are no longer an employee who must be kept."
CEO Hai's gaze was icy, making one's back turn cold.
"I don't quite understand what CEO Hai means."
"How do you explain the missing Australian lobster and Grade A Wagyu beef? Don't tell me you bought the ingredients from the company? Finance hasn't received any record of your expenditure."
CEO Hai could not tolerate any wrongdoing.
He directly pointed to a chef and had him remake the menu for Room 101.
"Xiao Zhang, please take the new dishes to the guests and, by the way, pass on a message that the chef who is apologizing will arrive in ten minutes."
Xiao Zhang took the tray and left.
Xiao Zhang left Ai Mi a look that said, 'good luck to yourself.'
He didn't take Ai Mi seriously at all.
The other chefs in the kitchen all looked at Ai Mi with unfriendly eyes.
This team of Chinese chefs was carefully selected by CEO Hai.
They were all people of reliable character.
"I want to report, CEO Hai; he has repeatedly stolen ingredients from the Restaurant."
"The high-end ingredients were always distributed based on favoritism; Ai Mi and the head Waiter had private dealings and repeatedly used their positions to seek personal gain. We wanted to report it but never found the opportunity. He has repeatedly threatened us with our performance bonuses."
These chefs working at the Restaurant were all struggling people with elderly parents and young children to support.
If their wages were deducted, they would be unable to pay their mortgages.
Their children would have no money for school.
"I apologize. For the past two years, I have been busy expanding overseas operations and haven't managed the kitchen properly. It is my dereliction of duty. I have disappointed you all. Thank you for not abandoning the Restaurant. Once the trash is cleared out, I will give everyone a thank-you bonus of 50,000 yuan."
"CEO Hai, we signed a labor contract; you cannot just fire me. I can hire a lawyer to sue you."
Ai Mi was anxious; he was afraid of losing his job.
"Sue me? Fine, I'm not afraid. I have plenty of evidence here of you misappropriating public property. We can argue it out in court. I don't mind spending a lawyer's fee on you. In China, the penalty for misappropriating public property is not light!"
CEO Hai sneered.
Ai Mi's body trembled.
"CEO Hai, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I am willing to compensate for the company's losses. Please, don't sue me."
"You offended my client. When do you plan to apologize to him?"
The man's eyes turned cold.
He realized that he had been played by Meng Yaning.
In order to keep his job, Ai Mi tried hard to suppress his anger.
"I will go to Room 101 now to apologize to the guest."
Only now did Ai Mi realize the true identity of the guests in Room 101.
They were not poor losers; they were low-key super-rich.
Passing by Qi Yueling, Ai Mi heard her describing the luxury car.
Chef Xiao Zhang did not remove the bad food but left it on the dining cart, waiting for Ai Mi to come and use it for his apology.
The whole room of people waited for Ai Mi for ten minutes before he finally arrived.
Ai Mi pushed open the door nervously.
"I'm sorry, sir."
Ai Mi bowed to An Xin to apologize.
"Why are you apologizing to me? Didn't you say your food wasn't a problem? If others posted this action of yours online, what would they say about our great China?"
An Xin's cold voice made cold sweat break out on Ai Mi's back.
"Sir, your sense of taste was not wrong. The mistake was mine; I lined my own pockets by stealing your ingredients and using near-expired meat to pass off as high-quality. I am guilty. God has already punished me. I came here to apologize to you and beg for your forgiveness."
An Xin threw a set of cutlery at him.
"Finish eating all of this, and I will give you a chance."
Ai Mi picked up the cutlery An Xin threw over, his gaze falling on the rotten meat covered in heavy sauce.
A feeling of nausea churned in his stomach.
These ingredients were ones he had picked out from the waste bin.
Ai Mi's brain had not forgotten the sour, rancid smell of the spoiled meat.
As a chef, it was impossible for Ai Mi not to know that eating too much of this meat would be harmful to his health.
"Eat! Don't you dare even eat a bite of the food you made yourself?"
An Xin's gaze was extremely oppressive.
Under pressure, Ai Mi picked up the cutlery and cut a piece of Wagyu beef.
When he processed this Wagyu beef, it was only slightly pale in color, and the smell wasn't as pungent as the other ingredients.
Ai Mi cut a piece, endured the nausea, and put it into his mouth.
The sour taste of the rotten meat made his throat feel extremely resistant.
An Xin's first bite of the Wagyu beef was just as disgusting.
He didn't chew; just touching the meat with the tip of his tongue made him feel disgusted.
He used a whole case of mineral water to rinse his mouth.
"Go on and eat!"
Ai Mi wanted to spit out the food in his mouth.
"This is the top-tier Wagyu beef you made; how can you spit it out?"
An Xin's words made Ai Mi stop his movements.
He covered his mouth and, enduring the nausea, swallowed the steak.
"I've already eaten it; sir, you can calm down now, right?"
"You think just one bite will make me calm down?"
An Xin's gaze fell on the food on the dining table.
Ai Mi picked up the fork again, skewered a piece of meat, and swallowed it without daring to chew.
Looking at the full cart of food, Ai Mi's stomach churned violently.
He was disgusted and wanted to vomit.
But he didn't dare to vomit. Ai Mi gritted his teeth, picked up the cutlery, and ate the expired food bite by bite.
An Xin just watched him coldly.
Under the intimidation of An Xin's gaze, Ai Mi's fork did not dare to stop.
An Xin had checked with the Waiter, Qi Yueling, and learned that this was not the first time Ai Mi had done such a wicked thing.
Ai Mi held onto the dining cart, his steps unsteady.
His belly was distended, and his hand holding the fork was trembling slightly.
He spent an hour eating the whole cart of expired food.
An Xin admired Ai Mi for being a ruthless person.
"Is this food edible?"
"No."
Ai Mi answered, enduring the nausea.