"What is it ?" Rohini asked , surprised and excited both at the same time.
"U know it" Priyanka looked confident and that unique smile had not left her face.
Soon after all the other employees were called back into Priyanka's cabin and she said aloud
"Forget everything u all heard over the call. We have a new thing to start..."
"Mam are we going to work more with that offer ?"
"Yes we are... And we will succeed this time"
"Mam but how ?"
"The Four - Way Technique..."
"The Four - Way Technique !?" There was a slight commotion in the room. Rohini seemed to understand where this was going. Priyanka said aloud in a commanding voice
"Saam. Daam. Dand. Bhed."
There was complete silence across the room. Everyone seemed to be adapting as to what this new policy could be.
"Ur not thinking that..." Rohini said quite excited and astonished.
"Yes I am..." Came a reply from the very confident Priyanka.
"Mam could u pls explain..." Kabir said timidly.
"Sure... Saam , Daam , Dand , Bhed is the Four - Way Technique used since the ancient times to deal with brats or I should say Kharoos Momowalas like that one.." Priyanka clenched her teeth and there was a slight laughter across the room... Nevertheless she continued "We Persuade (Saam) , Purchase (Daam) , Punish (Dand) and Exploit one's weakness (Bhed) to get our work done..."
"Ok... So how will we do it ?" Rishi asked curious.
"I hv my plans ready... Firstly we'll start off with Saam i.e. Persuade..." A bright glow was found on Priyanka's face.
Reyansh's Side :
After completing the morning chores as usual , Reyansh came out of the house to go for work. At the door he met Swastika who had also come out so as to leave for college.
"Hi..." Reyansh said wanting to start a conversation.
"I don't intend to talk about anything unnecessary with anyone..." She said while putting her phone inside her bag. She was about to leave when Reyansh called out
"Swati... Kitne din hogye tune bhaiyaa se baat nhi kiya... Aj college k baad dono bhai - behen milke chaat pe guppe lagaye !? Mein teri fav evening snack bhi banaunga..."
"I don't consider u as my bhaiyaa... And don't act as if we hv a great brother - sister relationship..." Swastika said coldly and went away.
Reyansh sighed sadly and started in the opposite direction
Reyansh's POV :
I knew the reply would be something like this but try krne me kya harz h...
Anyways I started running as I was late for work.
I ran the eatery in the evening as that was the best relaxation time for people and all the customers come to the beach mostly during that time. During the morning hours I work part time at some cafes and restaurants to make money.
I do take orders in the morning but hardly anything comes... But if they do I prepare the order at home and deliver it to them...
Today when I got the call I thought it could a order but who knew it would be Nakchari Madam...
I don't understand y they r after me... If she doesn't like my food then what's all the stuff with the offer...
Sheesh ! I guess I should just stop thinking about them...
I came to a hault near the main road waiting for the light to turn green when I noticed a stall set up at one side of the road. It looked like a cooking competition was being held there.
Out of my curiosity I went near it.
"Come ! Come ! All who dare to enter in this majestic fair... We have come from land afar to find the man crafted with qualities hazar... To ayeye , ayeye aur iss once in a lifetime competition ko jitne ka saubhagya leke jaiye... Ayeye ayeye..." A man wearing a black coat was excitedly calling and attracting crowds...
Many people had gathered around to see what was going on and some were even signing up.
"Ayeye ayeye aur apna kismat baniye... Winning prize 10,000 Rupees..."
This caught my attention. Since it was cooking I went up and signed for it.
It felt a bit weird as the person who was shouting put up a creepy smile on seeing me , but I didnt care.
A task was assigned to everyone of us. Each one of us had to make Pasta within 60 minutes. It felt like a joke to me but also felt suspicious... Y would someone offer ten thousand rupees just for making pasta !?
I started cooking without any further delay and it took only 30 mins... I was done , and so was every one else...
Two people covered in complete black formals came and took up everyone's dish for tasting.
They took one dish after another but did not give any judgment nor did they have any expression on their faces...
It was a matter of time before they came to taste my dish ; They took the first bite and broke into praises
"Wow... Fabulous... I haven't eaten a better pasta than this..."
Everyone was looking at me in awe. I knew that I cooked well but this seemed unrealistic... I hadn't even put the proportionate amount of salt and spices , intentionally... I had a suspicious feeling from the beginning and now it was confirmed... There was definitely something wrong with this setup. I raised my voice to protest
"Sir , I..."
"Say nothing young man... U r the true gem of the cooking world.."
"This is..."
"We hv been searching for u only... Since u hv won this competition u will b awarded with the prize money and..."
"This is absolutely fake... I don't want ur prize money... Tell me who r u..." I said in a serious voice.
"And also u hv the opportunity to become the head chef to our resort..."
"I want an... Wait... What !? Head chef ? Resort ? Wai...wait... R u guys from the Ryankoi Enterprise ?" I questioned realizing all this was previously planned...
"Yes sir we r... And by winning this competition u hv to become our head chef." They said trying to reason with me.
Everyone in the surrounding was looking at the scene , confused.
"Excuse me... U had mentioned about the winning prize money but not about any condition like this..."
"We didnt but it was already written on the poster." They said indicating the poster that was set up in front.
I scanned it from top to bottom and finally found the writing at the bottom near the end. It was so small that I couldn't even figure out all the words...
"How do u call that written !? Its barely visible...."
"But we did include it and by winning this competition u hv to agree to this term as well..."
"I don't want ur prize money. Distribute it among the other participants... Anyways the judging was a partial one..." I started to make my move , out from the place when they called back...
"For distributing this money among the other participants , u need to accept our offer..."
"Ahh... With just how many reasons hv u guys come to persuade me !?"
"We can bring up a thousand if necessary..." One of them said with a creepy smile...
"Ok.. Give me the money..."
"Huh !? Do u give up ? Well if thats the case u need to also agree to our offer... Do you agree !?" They said thinking they hv succeeded in convincing me...
"Just give it..."
They seemed hesitant at first but then slowly handed me money...
As soon as the notes touched my skin , I quickly ran to where the other participants were standing , handing it one of them said "Distribute it among urselves..." and then started to run in the opposite direction towards the main road...
I could hear the people shouting behind
"Hey! Hey u cannot go like this... U hv to agree to our offer if u hv taken the money..."
I shouted back at them with a mischievous smile , standing at the edge of the footpath
"I never said I would accept the offer as well..."
I heard them making sounds of disappointment and ran away to the other side of the road...
Priyanka's Side :
Priyanka was doing some paper work when she heard a small knock at the door. Followed by the knock Rishi entered the cabin.
"Mam we failed... He did not accept the offer and also managed to escape us..."
"That's ok... Proceed with Daam , Purchase him..." Priyanka said delivering a cunning and confident smile to Rishi
Reyansh's Side :
Reyansh was heading towards a restaurant where he used to work until lunch time. His first few hours were devoted to a café where he served as a waiter and as a cook as well...
Reyansh's POV :
I entered the restaurant through the kitchen door as usual and was greeted by all my fellow cooks.
"Kya Reyansh , aaj der ho gyi ? Café me bohot log the kya !?" One of the asked smiling at me.
"Re puch mat... Café m bhi late se pohucha tha..."
"Kyu ? Overslept ?"
"Re nhi... Kuch prblm aa gyi thi... Anyways kaam start krte h..." I said going towards the cabinet to get the spices. "Wese bhi late ho chuka h..."
We started working. The restaurant was always buzzing at this hour so we did not get much rest between dishes...
The other cooks felt like my family. They never let me do too much if they ever found me exhausted. I always spent a great time in their company...
After a few hours of work , I was done and bidding everyone a sweet bye , I came out of the restaurant.
I started my walk towards home through a deserted street. The street was usually deserted this time as most stalls at the sides were closed as it was lunch time for them. I never really found people in the street at this hour.
After a few mins I noticed a group of four men walking straight towards me. It felt as if they were coming for confronting me.. I kept my gaze on the surroundings and continued to walk without looking at them. Our distance was gradually decreasing and it was not late before I found myself in between them, seperating the group into two.
As I was about to pass them I felt a pull on my arm , a hand around my shoulder and a tug on my shirt. I found myself completely seized by the four hulks. One of them whispered softly in my ear
"Come with us over there... Now..."
I did as they told me too , not wanting any issue to occur. If they were robbers or something , they would hardly gain anything by capturing me....
But they didn't seem like robbers or thieves...
They took me to a dark part of the street and tossed me by the wall...
"Uh.. I don't know you guys.. I don't know what u want from me... But if ur looking for money , I can say u got the wrong guy..." I said initiating a conversation.
"We dont want ur money..."
"I don't even have any jewels or expensive accessories..."
"We don't want any of those..." A guy said irritated.
"We have come to purchase you..." Another guy said in a serious tone.
Something clicked inside me...
"Re u guys by any chance from the Ryankoi Enterprise !?"
"Yes we r..."
"As I thought..." I said quite annoyed. "What do u guys want now !? And what the heck do you even mean by purchase !? Do I look like a toy or something... ?"
"We r buying u... And after we do so u will hv to work as our head chef..."
"Oh !" I showed some fake enthusiasm and then continued sarcastically "Buy me !? How ? Listen... I won't go with u guys even if u give me a thousand , million , billion rupees..."
"Huh.. We knew that..." One of them threw a small laugh and said "Our madam had already sensed this and so she changed the plan..."
"Yeah she really is madam... Nakchari Madam." I muttered under my breath.
"See all this..." A guy handed me some pamphlets.
"These r some best plots , suitable for your eatery as well as residence."
I took a quick look at them.. The plots were really nice and big. Suitable for 3-4 eateries like mine... But these could not blind me.
"In addition we also offer you with ten brand new shops..."
"Are they really serious !? Ten new shops... I could open a chain of restaurants with them..." I thought
"Also two large bungalows at the country side..."
"Two bungalows !? Agar Maa aur Swati ko pata chala to wo kitne khush honge... Living in a big bungalow has always been their dream..." My thoughts were running wild.
"So do u accept this offer ?" They asked confidently.
I closed my eyes. A wave of questions and thoughts broke inside me.
My family's happiness if they got to live in that bungalow.
How happy our lives would be when all the income from the ten shops would come to us. All the financial problems would be sorted.
We would hv lived our lives easily and happily without any tension...
Freedom from all worries... But...
My father's shop... His last wish to see it grow... To see it prosper...
I knew the answer...
I opened my eyes. The answer was flickering in them.
"See... I'm really honored that everyone from your company has considered me worthy of so much importance... I really respect all ur deals and offers... But it is not possible for me to go anywhere leaving my eatery... This isn't about "'mine"' , "'my shop"' or something like that ; but my most precious possession... It was someone's dream to see me successfully working there , and that someone is the one who is the most closest to my heart... I... I cannot lv the place even if it costs the world to me... I'm sorry..."
And with that I left the place without wanting or caring to hear their reply...