Universe Infinite Canteen

Mike had hit a wall with Chef Wang and couldn't make a scene.

He wasn't familiar with Chef Wang, having only met her once at a company event, and his connection this time was through a colleague from another department.

Furthermore, Chef Wang was a state banquet chef and a kitchen consultant for a major hotel group, and as she had said herself, she and the Meiping Website were merely partners, so Mike couldn't force her to do anything she didn't want to do.

The Chef Wei who went with him this time happened to be her senior brother, and like Mike, he had little interaction with her.

As for the third observer, it seemed they had to go abroad on short notice, and the review department was considering replacing the observer, with no outcome yet determined.

Mike didn't know how long he would have to wait and wasn't sure if a replacement would be someone with a good relationship with him, so he planned to prepare a backup plan.

Due to his job, Mike had interviewed many impressive professionals over the years, some of whom he had even collaborated with and became friends with.

So, he opened his contacts list on his phone.

It's just a matter of putting a little pressure on a small restaurant, it doesn't even require the power of the Meiping Website. Find a few influential food bloggers to check out the place, point out a few flaws, and most restaurant owners wouldn't be able to withstand that.

It's best to find someone really critical, so that there wouldn't even be a need for any underhanded tactics; the blogger would just have to perform as usual.

Mike scrolled through his contacts—ah, Magic Seal would do, he had a good relationship with him.

Last time his family, of over ten people, visited City B, it was Mike who had arranged their reception, and he would likely agree to visit the restaurant.

Next up was Alpaca Cuisine—no, too slick. Every time they reviewed a restaurant, even if they encountered bad food, they were too diplomatic, with no real bite.

Shen Bo... Mike's eyes lit up, this one would do, this one was perfect!

Shen Bo was born in the 1930s and was now in his eighties, a renowned composer, host, producer, and also a gourmand.

And the older he got, the pickier he became.

In recent years, his comments had become increasingly outrageous, claiming that the old flavors had vanished and that not a single restaurant nowadays was worth eating in, saying that his dog cooked better than them...

He had been a judge at a food competition recently, and it was the final round no less.

In the end, he had barely taken fewer than ten bites throughout the contest; he encountered a lion's head meatball dish, sniffed it, and without even picking up his chopsticks, tossed it into the trash can with the plate.
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The first-class chef who cooked the dish had a breakdown on the spot, and if it weren't for other contestants holding him back, he might have charged at Shen Bo for a fight.

Afterward, when Shen Bo was interviewed and asked for his impression of the cooking contest, most people would have said something polite, especially since the organizers were standing right next to him.

But he answered that question with two words, "Pig feed."

The reporter, probably unprepared for such a scathing response, followed up with, "Mr. Shen, are you saying the staple dishes of this event left a deep impression on you?"

Shen Bo glanced at her, "It's all pig feed fit for swine, why bother going through so much trouble to rank them, to distinguish high from low, isn't it a waste of life? I'm just an old man now, and don't have many days left. Don't involve me in such contests in the future."

After finishing his statement, he left the meeting under the stunned gazes of the crowd.

Mike actually didn't like Shen Bo, mainly because the old guy was a bit too pretentious. Every time he was invited to an event, Mike had to be on tenterhooks, constantly worried that Shen Bo would suddenly lash out with some controversial remark, embarrassing everyone present.

But his fame was so great that often you couldn't not invite him, so whenever there was an event involving Shen Bo, Mike would generally make a point of dealing with it personally, taking great care to avoid any mishaps.

After a while, Mike had managed to become somewhat acquainted with Shen Bo, but since Shen Bo was haughty and had a nasty temper, directly inviting him to critically review a small establishment was out of the question; Shen Bo would surely not come, and would likely thoroughly berate him.

However, this didn't mean the task was impossible. Inviting the great Buddha Shen Bo was difficult, true, but not entirely out of the question; it just required a bit of strategy.

Mike already had an idea in mind, but he needed to reflect on the specifics a bit more.

As he continued browsing, another name caught his eye—Tang Rijie.

This name brought a gleam to Mike's eyes. Tang Rijie was another leading figure in the cutthroat world of food criticism, known as 'Little Shen Bo.'

Having been a chef before switching careers to become a food blogger, his basic skills were solid. As compared to other food bloggers who had switched paths midway, his restaurant exploration videos were more substantial and meaningful, and he was unsparingly critical when it came to former peers, often hitting the nail on the head.

His fan base grew rapidly as a result; in less than a year, he gained a million followers and was now marching towards three million.

Most importantly, Mike had a good relationship with Tang Rijie. The two had met during an East-West gastronomy cultural exchange event where Meiping Website was the biggest sponsor.

Back then, Tang Rijie had just started in social media, and his account wasn't that big, but Mike, a seasoned media professional, immediately saw the huge potential in him, and so made an early investment.

Using his industry connections, he recommended Tang Rijie for a documentary, effectively gifting him a wave of traffic. After the documentary became popular, Tang Rijie's account 'Spicy Detective Critic' also rode the wave, breaking through the 300,000-follower mark, thus accumulating an initial fan base.

Furthermore, unlike Shen Bo, Tang Rijie was known for his loyalty, particularly for people like Mike who had helped him early in his career, and he always remembered this favor.

When Tang Rijie received a call from Mike, he agreed without hesitation to visit the restaurant, promising to produce a video to fiercely critique Universe Infinite Canteen.

Mike had also reached out to Magic Seal, who agreed just as readily. However, Magic Seal later sent Mike the name of a spicy hotpot restaurant, saying it was a new venture of his own and hoping Mike would help promote it.

Mike frowned upon reading this. Of course, Meiping Website took commercial orders, but they weren't cheap; fees varied depending on the location, and even a small promotional post on a third-tier page started at 100,000 yuan.

Magic Seal was essentially angling for a freebie worth 100,000 yuan. But the problem wasn't too significant; proceeding with a commercial order was out of the question—Mike wouldn't put up his own money—but he could mention it in passing in another article, thus giving Magic Seal what he was due.

These were all major food bloggers. In addition, there were smaller bloggers with tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of followers. Mike didn't need to be polite with these people because they were the ones who needed him. A few subtle hints would be enough to see their performance.

After hanging up the phone, Mike felt much more relaxed. With these maneuvers, he was confident that Universe Infinite Canteen would soon feel the pressure and that some overly audacious fools would learn who they couldn't afford to offend.

By the time he made his entrance, everything would fall into place nicely, and he might even kill two birds with one stone by having Yu Yitong come to him for help.

However, this would also inadvertently confirm the complicated relationship between the two. Thinking of this, Mike started to feel irritated again. After that incident with the altered article, Yu Yitong had approached him several times, which made him suspect that there might be something going on between her and Ma Lu, making him view Ma Lu with increasing aversion.

This was the perfect opportunity to teach that shameless couple a lesson.