Chapter 243 Bliss Came Mainly from Making Comparisons

He had come to Jingzhou to settle some personal matters. However, he coincidentally saw on Zhang Zuting’s Weibo that there was a good private kitchen in the city. That was why he decided to give it a shot.

Now, he was very unhappy with the way things were going

“Can I pre-order for tonight?” The young man tried hard to keep his cool.

The waiter looked apologetic. “I’m sorry, Sir. Someone has already booked us for tonight. Considering the time required to import the ingredients, you can make a reservation for tomorrow night or the day after tomorrow.”

The young man was now completely speechless. He glanced at the waiter and then at the menu, trying to swallow the urge to curse. Finally, he casually selected two dishes and soup from the menu.

“That’s it for now,” the young man said, handing the menu back to the waiter.

“Alright, Sir. Please hold on.” The waiter took down the order, grabbed the menu, and walked away.

The young man whipped out his cell phone, intending to search for the restaurant on consumer review sites. However, he did not find it. The restaurant’s location could not even be found on the map on his cell phone.

There was also a gentle reminder written on the sign on the table, which had his table number written on it. It said: ‘in order to fully appreciate the dishes, please do not take photos!

The young man thought about having to pre-order all the good dishes on the menu. All those that he did not have to pre-order were common dishes served in other restaurants as well. What’s more, all dishes were priced so highly.

“…Could it be that I’ve walked into a scam?”

The more the young man thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. Something about this restaurant felt strange.

His name was Xue Zhebin, and he was the only son of a coal boss named Xue Yuanqing. Put simply, he was a rich second-generation heir through and through. He was high-profile and flamboyant just like his father, and he did not shy away from showing the public that he was a parvenu.

Xue Zhebin was very rich. Naturally, he had eaten at many private kitchens before. He also knew that most of these high-end private kitchens had strange rules and regulations.

However, he had rarely seen a private kitchen with as many rules as this one had.

What made him even unhappier was the waiter’s attitude. He was always saying useless things in a polite tone. It was as good as not saying anything at all.

If this restaurant had not been decorated in such a high-class manner and had not been recommended so strongly by Zhang Zuting, he would have slammed the table and left by now.

Speaking of which, he was mainly here because his father-Xue Yuanqing-was one of Zhang Zuting’s fans. He had treated Zhang Zuting to several meals before. That was why Xue Zhebin followed Zhang Zuting’s Weibo and learned about this private kitchen.

Otherwise, he would not have found it.

“I’ll wait for a while more. If the food doesn’t turn up well, I will expose this place on Weibo!”

Xue Zhebin had principles; he would not malign good people. That was why he decided to wait and see.

If the two dishes he ordered were passable, he would make a reservation for the next day or the day after that so he could try their better dishes.

About half an hour later, the food that Xue Zhebin ordered was finally served. He had ordered fried prawns with Longjing, Braised Pork Belly Pyramid, and a soupy dishChrysanthemum Tofu.

There was very little on each plate. The food was not cheap at all.

“They’re not slow in serving the food.”

Xue Zhebin knew that the Braised Pork Belly Pyramid took longer to prepare. Not only did the chefs have to cut the pork, but they also had to braise it. Half an hour was quite a short time to take.

What’s more, while he was waiting for the food to be served, he had some light appetizers. They tasted quite good and successfully dispelled some frustration and anxiety he felt while waiting for his food to be served.

“We’ll soon find out whether this place is a scam.”

Xue Zhebin looked at the two dishes which the waiter served.

He had ordered the Braised Pork Belly Pyramid and Chrysanthemum Tofu on purpose. He knew full well that both of these dishes were the real test of a chef’s skills and techniques.

“Eh? It’s not bad.”

Just looking at the two dishes alone could make one’s eyes light up! To make the Braised Pork Belly Pyramid, the chef needed to cut a whole slab of meat layer by layer, from outside in. He could not break the slices and had to ensure they were of even thickness. Finally, he had to cut them into long, neat strips before putting them into a special mold to roll each layer up and arrange them into a pyramid.

To make the Chrysanthemum Tofu, on the other hand, the chef would have to make bean curd-which resembled congealed fat-and cut it horizontally 108 times into fine strips. Again, he had to make sure the thickness of the strips was even. What’s more, the chef could not break a single strip. After that, he had to put the strips into a bowl of water and arrange the strips to resemble a Chrysanthemum flower. Xue Zhebin ordered these dishes because he wanted to see whether this restaurant lived up to its name or was a scam.

He ordered the fried prawns with Longjing just in case the Braised Pork Belly Pyramid and Chrysanthemum Tofu turned out horrible. At the very least, he would have a common home-made dish as a back-up.

However, to his surprise, the Braised Pork Belly Pyramid and Chrysanthemum Tofu far surpassed his expectations!

Both of these dishes tested the chefs’ knife skills. Only first-tier chefs who have trained their knife skills for tens of years could achieve this type of perfection.

What’s more, there was no limit to these dishes. For example, the thinner one cut the meat for the Braised Pork Belly Pyramid, the more layers there would be. Normally, the dish had to have nine layers to constitute a passable Braised Pork Belly Pyramid. However, the one in front of Xue Zhebin had a total of seventeen layers. Based on looks alone, this was much better than Braised Pork Belly Pyramids that Xue Zhebin normally saw. Xue Zhebin could not help but pick up his chopsticks to try a fried prawn. The fried prawn was tender and smooth, and it carried the fragrance of Longjing. Although this dish cost nearly three hundred yuan, Xue Zhebin thought that it was worth every cent.

He had tried this dish once before at a very good Chinese restaurant in Hangzhou City. It tasted very much like this one!

Then, he tried the Braised Pork Belly Pyramid and Chrysanthemum Tofu. The flavor did not disappoint him. Everything tasted perfect!

Coupled with the warm, comfortable environment in the restaurant, Xue Zhebin truly felt like he had misunderstood it in the beginning

In order to make dishes like that successfully, the restaurant had to hire the best chefs who were experts in Hangzhou delicacies from thousands of miles away. It was impossible for Jingzhou to produce talent like that.

More importantly, the dishes on the menu were not just Hangzhou delicacies; there were also many other types of dishes!

That meant hiring one professional chef alone would not be enough.

One could not attract a professional chef like that without enough money. After all, these chefs would be able to earn a fair amount from working in regular high-end restaurants in their own city. What’s more, they could look for restaurants closer to their own home. Why would they want to travel all the way to Jingzhou?

The owner of this restaurant must have been paying a huge amount to employ so many chefs.

Could he recover this expense?

Before this, Xue Zhebin had thought that the dishes on the menu were priced too high. After tasting the dishes, he realized that they were not highly-priced at all. Instead, they were quite cheap.

Could the owner of this restaurant recover his capital?

The main problem was that this restaurant was located in a desolate place. Marketing and advertising aside, there was not even a sign placed outside the main entrance. Until now, Xue Zhebin did not even know what this place was called.

It was about lunchtime now. Yet, in such a huge restaurant, Xue Zhebin was the only customer.

Was this restaurant incurring losses?

Xue Zhebin looked at the dishes and then at the waiter, still smiling next to him. Finally, he looked around the restaurant, at the outstanding dining environment, and the high-class, fine tables, chairs, and cutlery… “Could it be… there’s something illegal going on behind the scenes here?”

Xue Zhebin immediately became wary.

However, on second thought, that did not seem right.

The restaurant was not just an empty shell. Although there were no customers, the food they were selling was well worth its price. They were more on the expensive side, but the prices were still reasonable.

From various angles, the restaurant just looked like it was not well known. Nothing else was suspicious.

“I’ll come again tomorrow to see how the pre-ordered dishes taste. If they can still keep up the standard… I’ve really stumbled upon a treasure!”

In the kitchen of Ming Yun Private Kitchen…

Lin Canrong looked nervously at the waiter. “How did it go? Was the customer satisfied with our food?”

The waiter nodded. “Yes, it looks like he was quite satisfied.”

Lin Canrong heaved a long sigh.

That’s good!

There had not been any customers during this time. It was only the day before that they began to have customers, and there were only seven or eight since then at that. Among these seven or eight, some had been scared away by the menu. Others realized that all the best dishes had to be pre-ordered and left.

Only two or three people remained behind to try the other dishes. However, all of them ordered common home-cooked dishes. Although it was obvious that they were satisfied with the food, Lin Canrong guessed that they would not return in the short-term.

The food was too expensive. It was obviously more than they could afford.

That was obvious from their orders. The cheapest dish here cost about fifty to sixty yuan. Even if one ordered only common home-cooked dishes, the average cost per person could easily add up to about a hundred yuan.

This amount of money could buy a lot of food in Jingzhou.

Thus, even if the chef’s standards were high, and the ingredients were good, and the dishes were much more delicious than other restaurants; it was still far more expensive than the average person could afford.

Yet today, when Xue Zhebin stepped in, Lin Canrong set his eyes on him.

It was obvious that he was a rich man.

Xue Zhebin had proved this point as well. He spent more than 300 yuan on fried prawns with Longjing and more than 260 yuan on Braised Pork Belly Pyramid. This meal would easily cost him 600 to 700 yuan.

If this rich customer walked away satisfied with the dishes he had been served, Ming Yun Private Kitchen would have hope of becoming popular! After all, Ming Yun Private Kitchen’s target audience was not ordinary people but ballers. Ballers’ feedback would be the most important. Once he heard that the customer was satisfied, Lin Canrong heaved a sigh of relief.

He was now the branch manager. There was no need for him to personally cook. However, the professional chefs in the kitchen were all interviewed, selected, and bought over (using Boss Pei’s money, of course) by him. Now that the dishes had proven satisfactory to customers, Lin Canrong felt proud.

“Branch Manager, the customer has settled the bill and left. He made a reservation for dinner tomorrow!” The waiter ran in excitedly, reporting the good news. “Very good!”

Lin Canrong finally let go of the anxiety clutching at his heart.

Before this, Boss Pei had told them not to worry about publicity, but Lin Canrong could not relax.

Yet, customers had been visiting the restaurant now and then. There were even such rich ballers coming to try their food. It was obvious that the marketing work was being done in an orderly manner this entire time!

Indeed, everything was in Boss Pei’s plan.

From now on, he would just have to follow Boss Pei’s instructions. He had to ensure each dish was cooked well and the service was top-notch. Ming Yun Private Kitchen would become popular one day!

Ming Yun Private Kitchen’s chefs and waiters were suddenly filled with hope.

“Achoo!”

Pei Qian sneezed, then rubbed his nose, and put down his controller. He checked the time; it was almost 5 PM. He still had to host Qiao Liang at Ming Yun Private Kitchen that night. At the same time, he had to comfort his broken soul.

After being tortured all day, Pei Qian really wanted to check on how Teacher Qiao was doing

He arrived at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. Quietly, he proceeded to the second floor and observed Qiao Liang who was in the corner of the cafe.

He noticed that Qiao Liang’s face was ashen, and he was focusing intently on the screen. He was clutching his controller with both hands, and he would lean to the side from time to time. It was almost like he was playing a motion-sensing game.

All of a sudden, his body trembled violently; and he was stunned.

The screen had gone gray.

Qiao Liang’s expression turned from one of astonishment to vexation, from vexation to helplessness, and from helplessness to a blank. He set his controller down on the table and raised his head slightly to look at the ceiling. It was almost like he was questioning the purpose of his existence.

Seeing Qiao Liang’s expression, Pei Qian immediately felt much better. The corners of his mouth twisted up in a slight smile.

I haven’t wasted my money!

Inviting Teacher Qiao to Jingzhou had been the right choice indeed!

Pei Qian was worried at first because he was not a masochistic gamer. He did not know if he would be able to persevere in Repent and be Saved. If he did not manage to win the game in the end, he would have no choice but to lower the difficulty of the game or postpone publishing it. Wouldn’t that have been a hindrance?

Yet, now, Pei Qian found the motivation to persist—Teacher Qiao!

No matter how tough it was, seeing Teacher Qiao suffer more than him gave Pei Qian newfound hope and motivation!

After all, Pei Qian had a Pudu with him as he played the game. Teacher Qiao only had an ordinary weapon as he faced endless dangers.

That was why it was said that things like bliss came mainly from making comparisons!

For now, Pei Qian felt bliss like he had never felt before!