Chapter 346

Two more days had passed when Tong Xuelu received a notification from the Commerce Department asking her to report to Minister Lin’s office.

Tong Xuelu was not surprised at all when she learned of it.She arranged the matters of the restaurant and made sure she was presentable before she headed over to the Commerce Department.When she arrived there, Secretary Zhuo was currently at chairman’s office and she didn’t know when he would be back.Tong Xuelu had no problem with that. She pulled out a small bag of beef meatballs and said, “Have you ever tried the beef meatballs at our restaurant, Secretary Zhuo? Would you like to try one?”In modern days, it would be very strange to visit someone with a bag of beef meatballs.At this current time, however, food was precious, especially tasty ones.Secretary Zhuo had a straight face earlier but, after smelling the beef meatballs, she could no longer maintain her stern look. “It’s alright. Save them for yourself, Manager Tong.”Tong Xuelu pulled out a skewer of beef meatballs and handed them over. “It is alright, Secretary Zhuo. Give it a try for me and let me know how I can improve them.”A skewer had two beef meatballs, cut into four. Looking at the beef meatballs in front of her, Secretary Zhuo was unable to turn Tong Xuelu down a second time.She took them from Tong Xuelu and took a bite. “No wonder so many people loved your malatang. This beef meatball had such good texture!”Tong Xuelu smiled and said, “I am glad you like them. Oh right, did Minister Lin mention what this meeting is about?”Secretary Zhuo looked around and said in a low voice, “After you’ve attended the meeting last time, a few managers of the other restaurants came looking for Minister Lin. I overheard a little when I brought the tea in. I think they want you to cough out the recipe for your malatang and share that with everyone else.”Having said that, Secretary Zhuo quickly added, “Don’t slip when you go inside in a little bit. And don’t say I was the one who told you about it.”Tong Xuelu gave her a very appreciative look. “Don’t worry, Secretary Zhuo. How could I rat you out after what you have done for me? I will be sure to make you something good when you visit our restaurant next time!”Secretary Zhuo smiled again when she heard that.Ten or so minutes later, Minister Lin finally returned.His brows furrowed and he appeared to be weighted down by something on his mind.Tong Xuelu smiled and walked up to him, “How are you, Minister Lin?”Minister Lin seemed to have just noticed her. “You have arrived, Manager Tong? C’mon in.”He walked inside his office as he spoke. Secretary Zhuo quickly got up and brought them two glasses of water.Minister Lin sat down on the couch and pointed at the chair across from him. “Have a seat, Manager Tong.”Tong Xuelu sat down and asked, “Is there something that I can help you with, Minister Lin?”Minister Lin picked up a ceramic mug, took a sip of water from it, before he said slowly, “Manager Tong is so successful at her young age and the restaurant is getting more and more popular under your management.”Tong Xuelu smiled and said, “All because I have a great leader like Minister Lin!”Minister Lin smiled and said, “When I attended my meeting recently, our Commerce Department was criticized severely by our leaders that our performance had no improved one bit in the last 10 years. I was so embarrassed that I blushed.“Then it dawned on me that Manager Tong was able to turn her restaurant around in just two weeks’ time. Just imagine that. If all of the government-operated restaurants in Capital City sell malatang, the Commerce Department wouldn’t need to worry about our performance anymore!Here we come! Those who wanted to cheat her out of her recipe.Tong Xuelu was displeased about it but she put on a shocked look. “Oh, I see. Minister Lin would like to buy spice packets from our restaurant. That would work, but that would also increase our work load.“Of course I am more than happy to devote all my time and energy to our country but I am holding down the roles of both the chef and the manager of my restaurant. In addition, I trust that Minister Lin had heard about my family situation.“Both my parents had passed away and my siblings are young. As their oldest sister, I am going to need to spend a lot of time on taking care of them. I wish I could help. I feel awful not being able to help Minister Lin!”Having said that, she started dabbing away her tears.