108 Sabotage (1/2)

Everyone shared laughs and stories as the first pot of flour layer was made. Zhong Xiang was responsible for the filling while Wang Mingde was in charge of pressing it into shape.

”It looks delicious,” Helian Jing commented, drooling as he stared at the exquisite looking mooncake.

If only it weren't needed to be frozen, he would've finished a few already.

Ye Jiayao checked the finished products to pick out all those who weren't up to her standards. Luckily, Zhong Xiang's technique was so good that there were almost no failures.

”Put them on plates and freeze them,” she ordered once she was done with her inspection.

The first 100 batch needed to be put in iceboxes.

”How long do I have to wait before I can eat it?” Helian Jing asked, sounding a little desperate.

Ye Jiayao resisted the urge to smile at how cute he was. ”You'd have to wait at least half an hour, Little Jing.”

Helian Jing nodded acceptingly and brought a chair over to sit by the icebox.

The team then went on to cook the second pot of sticky rice powder.

When the half-hour mark passed, Helian Jing started pushing them for a taste. Cui Dongpeng went to open the icebox for the Young Royal Highness and immediately backtracked.

He yelled, ”Brother Yao, come here! Something's not right!”

Everyone stopped what they were doing and crowded around him.

Ye Jiayao took out a moon cake and noticed that it wasn't as round and clear as the ones they made before. It was all dried up and some places were even cracked. It was easily broken in half and not as stretchy like before.

”It cracked? How? Why?” Zhong Xiang exclaimed.

”Was the recipe wrong?” Wang Mingde muttered questioningly.

”How could that be? We tested the recipe so many times and it succeeded every time,” Deng Haichuan said.

Was there something wrong with the ingredients?

Ye Jiayao shook her head. ”Check the ingredients, we must find the cause of this.”

Helian Jing picked up one of the defective mooncakes and said, ”I'm sure it'll still be very delicious.”

”No. It has to look good and taste good,” Ye Jiayao said. She was hoping to catapult mooncakes into fame so she has to make their debut nothing less of spectacular.

Everyone split up to look for what might have been the cause, but no one could find anything. They all turned to Ye Jiayao, not knowing what to do.

Ye Jiayao frowned as she stared at the second pot that was about to be ready.

They've run through this recipe numerous times so that wasn't the problem. They all tried to find what faulty ingredients caused this, but they found none. What the f*ck is the problem here?

”Put this batch in the freezer and test it. Don't make any more until these come out.” If they turned out to be the same, it meant that somehow, something went wrong with the recipe.

The lighthearted talks and laughter that was previously running in the kitchen disappeared. Everyone was now looking at the icebox with wariness and apprehension. Every second of the wait was filled with tension and anxiety.

Helian Jing had never seen Yaoyao looked this worried before. ”Yaoyao, don't worry too much. I think that looks okay like that.”

Ye Jiayao knew that even if looked like utter horse crap, Little Jing would still tell her that it was the most appetizing thing in the world. She knew that she could present these as it was and she would still get paid in full. However, she wasn't wired like that. She had worked long and hard at this and she'll be damned if it wasn't going to look perfect.

”Little Jing, can you please give us a few minutes? My mind is in chaos right now,” Ye Jiayao told him.

Helian Jing wanted to protest, but Deng Haichuan said, ”When we find the problem, we'll inform you, Young Royal Highness.”

Helian Jing reluctantly left the kitchen.

”Time's up,” Zhong Xiang called out.

They opened the lid and took the mooncakes out.

”Hmm? This batch is fine!” Deng Haichuan announced happily.

Ye Jiayao tried one and smiled.

”Two batches of mooncakes, same recipe, same process... but one came out differently. It only meant that the previous ingredients we used had problems,” Ye Jiayao concluded.

Zhong Xiang frowned. ”But they're the same batch of ingredients! If some are faulty, they should all be faulty.”

Ye Jiayao had a cold look in her eyes when she suggested, ”What if someone did something to it?”

Everyone was shaken.

Ye Jiayao continued, ”Brother Xiang and Wang Mingde bought the ingredients together and I trust them.”

”We checked the ingredients before and they were all fine,” Wang Minde said.

”The first batch used ingredients from the top of the pile. It's obvious that someone did things to the top of the stack. Our ingredients are kept in the kitchen so everyone can see it as they walk in and out. They couldn't have done it during the day so they probably did this at night. Think. Who would do such thing?” Ye Jiayao asked.

Ye Jiayao felt anxious. Why would anyone do this? Was he jealous? Angry? Regardless of his motive, she had to pull this bastard out. She can't risk accepting huge deals like this when someone's out there just waiting to sabotage her.

”I really don't know anyone who would do this,” Zhong Xiang said helplessly, shaking his head.