At the Catering Association headquarters, the building had just been rebuilt a few years ago. It was a grand and magnificent building, but the atmosphere in the building was a little tense. All of the Catering Association staff members were looking at the guards of the city lord's castle walking in and out of the building with confused and panicked expressions. They hadn't been arrested, but they had been restricted from leaving the building.
"Did you ever think that a day like this would come?" On the second floor, Robert looked at Warren, who seemed to have aged 10 years overnight with a head full of white hair.
"I thought about it 10 years ago, but nothing had happened for so many years, so I was hoping for a fluke. Who would've thought that it would come anyway?" Warren rested his hands on the railing as he looked down at his panicked subordinates. He looked at the Catering Association building that had been built according to his vision, and a wry smile appeared on his face.
Robert also looked down and was silent for a moment before asking, "Do you regret it?"
"Why would I?" Warren's smile faded as he stood up straight and raised a hand with a proud expression. "Look at this grand building, look at those Catering Association staff members, and the huge statue outside the building. I brought all of these things here. Countless customers come to the restaurant every day based on the Aden Square food rankings, so why would I regret it? Even if I didn't have the city lord's castle, I would've been able to do the same in five more years. "
Robert looked at Warren and was silent for a moment before asking, "Do you think the president would look forward to a Food Association like this?"
"Perhaps …" Warren's expression stiffened as he slowly turned to look at Robert. He suddenly felt as if he could see a hint of familiarity in Robert's eyes, and he hesitated for a moment before asking, "Who are you?"
"President Lorry is my grandfather. You should've met me when I was a child." Robert also looked into Warren's eyes.
"How … How is that possible?!" Warren stared at Robert with incredulity as if he had heard something extremely absurd.
"My grandfather founded the Food Association, but my father wasn't interested in it, and he didn't allow me to come into contact with it. After that, my grandfather handed the Food Association over to you, and he passed away the following year. After that, my family didn't have any contact with the Food Association. However, I promised my grandfather that I would keep an eye on the Food Association before he passed away, so I've been keeping an eye on it this entire time.
"President, you really are a genius. The rapid growth of the Catering Association has exceeded everyone's expectations. Even my grandfather couldn't have imagined that his idea of making it easier for everyone to find delicious food would become such a massive association. However, he definitely didn't want to see the Aden Square food competition rankings become like this, where people can rely on money to climb up the rankings instead of relying on delicious food. The current Aden Square food competition rankings has completely deviated from his original vision and philosophy, and that's not right, "Robert continued with a calm expression.
"So you came to the Catering Association last year just for this day?" Warren clenched his fists.
"I've suggested to the president many times that if the president could rein in the horse at the edge of the cliff, I wouldn't want to see such a scene either. The Food Association is the fruit of my grandfather's blood, sweat, and tears, but it's also the fruit of the president's blood, sweat, and tears. During the early years of the Catering Association, you used the Aden Square food competition rankings to propel the Catering Association into a period of rapid development. These are all undeniable contributions to you. " Robert shook his head, and a stern expression gradually appeared on his face as he looked at Warren.
"However, the president has never listened to even a single word of my advice. The statue at the entrance of the Catering Association is still engraved with the slogan, 'All for the sake of good food!'. How ironic is that to be erected at the entrance of the Catering Association now? Do you still remember the promise you made to that old man all those years ago? Do you still remember your original intentions? Do you still remember the promise you made when you signed the agreement with the city lord's castle? What have you been doing all these years? Before the Catering Association falls into a bottomless abyss with you, I'm going to stop it and get it back on the right track. "
Warren looked at the determined expression on Robert's face, and his clenched fists slowly relaxed. All of the energy in his body seemed to have dissipated, and he placed his hands on the railing again as he cast his gaze into the distance. The grand building was teetering on the verge of collapse, as if it would collapse at the slightest push. The restaurant empire that he had built over half of his life was crumbling right before his eyes.
"To be honest, I didn't think that things would turn out like this, either …" A self-deprecating smile appeared on Warren's face as he looked at the statue at the entrance of the building, and continued, "In the beginning, I only wanted to build a headquarters for the Catering Association, but I didn't have the money, so I began to think about how I could earn money. Selling tickets was clearly a good way to do that.
After that, some restaurants tried to bribe me in order to get onto the rankings, but I refused them in the beginning. I couldn't just take whatever they wanted. After all, the Aden Square food competition wasn't something that could be tainted by money.
"However, one day, I discovered that no one would actually care even if I took the money. All I had to do was change a spot on the rankings board, and the money I received from doing that was even more than what I could earn from selling tickets. I gave a portion of the money to the association, and I could keep a portion for myself. It was all up to me to decide how much I wanted to keep.
"After that, the Aden Chamber of Commerce came to me. President Geoffrey was indeed a sly old fox, but he also knew how to take advantage of the rules in a more natural manner. Even though the money was less than if I had just taken the money from him, the rankings board did indeed look better this way. "After that, Cyril took over the F&B department of the Aden Chamber of Commerce. He was even more generous than Geoffrey, but he also had more demands, so he basically controlled the entire rankings board.
"I knew the risks involved, but every time I saw the boxes of dragon coins that were delivered to my office, I couldn't bear to send them back. The Aden Square food competition was like a sailboat that had gone out of control during a storm. From that moment on, I no longer had any control over it. I couldn't give it any direction, I couldn't control its speed, and I couldn't even set the rules. "I was still the president of the Catering Association, but I knew that I was just a puppet controlled by money. When they needed me to do something, all they had to do was deliver the money to my office.
"I couldn't refuse. I couldn't make up my mind, and I didn't dare to refuse. Compared to the Aden Chamber of Commerce, the Catering Association was like a child that could only babble and learn how to speak. After I let it in, I was completely powerless to fight back. I could only make myself forget what my original intentions were. Every day, when I entered the office, I didn't have to look at the words engraved beside the statue. I told myself that I deserved all of this. "
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