The ice of the Ice Hell Plains is by no means ordinary!
Anyone with some life experience knows that once food is stored in a refrigerator and then taken out, it will lose its flavor.
There is also a huge difference in taste between fresh meat and thawed meat.
So, on Blue Star, there was a complete cold chain logistics system to store meat in refrigerated trucks at minus two degrees Celsius to ensure its quality.
Zhang Wei said, "If meat is frozen at around minus twenty degrees Celsius, how long will its shelf life be?"
This question was very professional.
Tang Zhihun said, "Isn't the shelf life infinite? I've been preserving ingredients with ice cubes since before the ice plains, for decades on end."
"No."
"Only the Ice Hell Plains are like this!"
Zhang Wei listed the data: "Preserved at minus five degrees Celsius, pork will become completely tasteless within 6 months, and even its internal energy will be lost by 30%."
"At minus twenty degrees Celsius, this period will be extended to two years."
"At minus forty degrees Celsius, three years."
"Logically speaking, the Ice Hell Plains at minus seventy degrees Celsius can only preserve the freshness of meat for about 15 years."
"After this time, the meat is still meat, but its quality is no different from trash."
"But the Gourmet Display Case is different. Even fresh, tender fruits stored inside look as good as new after fifty years! Their taste doesn't change at all with time!"
Zhang Wei believes that the Ice Hell Plains is one of the miracles of this great gourmet era.
It possesses the ability to preserve the deliciousness of ingredients almost infinitely.
Although not as good as the time stagnation in the right side hall, it is still very good.
In the manga, the Gourmet Display Case gathered ingredients stored by ancient gourmets for thousands of years. Without this attribute, the frozen ingredients would have long turned into garbage, and the Century Soup would not have been created.
The formation of the Century Soup was due to the methane impact from below the Ice Hell Plains, which extracted the deliciousness and essence of the ingredients in the Gourmet Display Case.
How could ordinary ice form such a magical effect?
Based on this situation, Zhang Wei had a bold idea!
"I want to turn the Great Ice Glacier into a place no less than the Northern Chefs' Feast!"
"Or, the next Northern Chefs' Feast will be held in the Great Ice Glacier!"
"Using the Great Ice Glacier's preservation properties, turn it into a transfer and storage station for ingredients, similar to an ingredient bank! Let all chefs flock here and store the top-tier ingredients they obtain in our bank, and we will charge a portion of the ingredients as a management fee."
"Wouldn't this be much faster than your sluggish collection and storage methods?"
Zhang Wei asserted that Xi Feng and others had not developed the true use of the Great Ice Glacier.
And according to the original work, this place was indeed jointly built by ancient gourmets, not a small organization.
The people present were all stunned by Zhang Wei's vision.
"Gourmet Bank?"
"It can be played like that?"
"But speaking of which, it seems to have potential!"
"Let all the gourmet hunters in the world be laborers, collecting ingredients for us, and we just need to manage it!"
At that time, they would be so tired from collecting preservation fees!
Tang Zhihun said, "How dare you tell us such an idea? After all, you haven't obtained the Great Ice Glacier yet! What if we plagiarize..."
Tang Zhihun stopped halfway.
With Zhang Wei's current momentum, he was the one who plagiarized others, who would dare to lay hands on his ideas.
Do you think the Great Gourmet Era is a society governed by law?
What prevails here is the naked law of the jungle!
Xi Feng said hoarsely to Tang Zhihun, "This concept is indeed brilliant, but only Zhang Wei can achieve it."
"Gourmet Bank... We don't have enough strength to deter those with ill intentions!"
"If we really develop according to Mr. Zhang Wei's idea, it will inevitably attract countless behemoths, and we won't be able to handle them."
Xi Feng turned to Zhang Wei and said, "I admit, the idea of a Gourmet Bank is truly ingenious. Following this method, the scale of the Gourmet Display Case would likely expand a thousandfold!"
"Your terms are also very tempting, and your management and planning are better than mine. I can't find any reason to refuse your proposal."
Zhang Wei was not surprised.
This outcome was inevitable.
The Great Ice Glacier would eventually belong to him.
Tang Zhihun said, "But why would chefs flock to the Great Ice Glacier from afar? And why would they trust you?"
"You know that any bank-like institution needs trust and substantial financial resources the most!"
Without sufficient financial backing, how can you make people believe that you are not tempted by mountains of wealth?
Is it just based on reputation?
That can only be one aspect.
Zhang Wei waved his hand, "What do you think of this?"
Salt essence!
Each gram costs between 4,000 and 6,000 Beili. Even a small amount can elevate the taste of food to a whole new level.
Each kilogram costs four to six million.
Besides the high price, the biggest advantage of salt essence is its large demand and high consumption. However, its production is extremely low, and it is in short supply.
"I will use salt essence as insurance. If there is any problem with the stored premium ingredients, compensation will be made in salt essence according to the insurance amount. I don't think anyone will refuse."
Some might even hope for problems.
In order to obtain a large amount of salt essence.
After all, this thing is said to be worth thousands of Beili, but there is nowhere to buy it.
Tang Zhihun questioned, "According to your concept, for a Gourmet Bank to become large, it would require billions of cash. Converted to salt essence, it would require at least one to two tons!"
Tang Zhihun was shocked by his own words!
The entire Northern Region's annual supply of salt essence is only tens of kilograms.
What does one to two tons mean?
The four major salt merchants supply the entire continent with salt essence, a total of only 8 tons per year.
And these eight tons of salt essence require hundreds of thousands of laborers, a hundred times more than the Great Ice Glacier.
Zhang Wei calculated his current salt essence reserves. The daily output is about 13 kilograms, accumulated for less than 50 days...
650 kilograms.
There is still a considerable distance to the so-called two tons.
Zhang Wei said, "You can rest assured about this. After the war in the Cloud Country is resolved, I should be able to provide about a ton of salt essence."
"Moreover... at that time, as the highest-level chef, I will have the right to allocate a portion of the war spoils. If all my contributions are converted into ingredients, I believe it will be enough."
Just saving Lang Tu cost Zhang Wei about 500 million, and when all other things are considered, it shouldn't be a problem to gather tens of billions.
Once the Gourmet Bank is established, Zhang Wei can obtain a lot of top-tier ingredients through trading alone.
Moreover...
"According to my vision, the Gourmet Bank will become the largest ingredient distribution center in the Northern Region and surrounding areas, which will inevitably attract many chefs."
"With chefs, gourmet hunters and gourmet merchants will also flock here. At that time, besides storage, various transactions can be conducted."
"And I can organize various chef competitions in my name. The income from ticket sales will far exceed the prize money."
"Also, my chef academy will be located there!"
One idea after another came out of Zhang Wei's mouth.
No matter which one, it made the people of the Northern Region deeply amazed.
Under their witness, a culinary capital of the Northern Continent was slowly rising!