Chapter 1 He Suspects It’s a Black Shop

He came to Jingzhou to deal with some personal matters, but happened to see on Zhang Zuting's Weibo that there was a good private kitchen restaurant here, so he planned to come and try it.

But given the current situation, he was a bit annoyed.

"So, tonight, is it possible to make a reservation?" The young man tried to maintain his composure.

The waiter said apologetically, "I'm sorry, sir, someone has booked the entire venue tonight. Considering the time it takes to transport the ingredients, you can make a reservation for tomorrow night or the day after."

The young man was completely speechless. He looked at the waiter, then at the menu, and resisted the urge to complain, ordering two dishes and a soup at random.

"Let's just go with this for now." The young man handed back the menu.

"Okay, sir, please wait a moment." The waiter took the order and left with the menu.

The young man took out his phone and wanted to search for the restaurant on a review website, but couldn't find it. The phone map didn't even have the restaurant's location.

Not only that, but the small sign on the table with the table number also had a line of warm reminders: "In order to better experience the deliciousness of the ingredients, please do not take pictures!"

Coupled with the fact that the restaurant's menu listed so many good dishes, but all of them required a reservation, while the ones that didn't require a reservation were all ordinary home-style dishes, and the prices were still ridiculously high...

"...Could it be that I've run into a black shop?"

The more the young man thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. He always felt that this restaurant was a bit strange.

His name was Xue Zhebin, the only son of coal mine owner Xue Yuanqing. To put it plainly, he was a bona fide rich second generation. He was high-profile and flamboyant, and like his father, he never hesitated to display the image of a nouveau riche in front of everyone.

Xue Zhebin was very rich, so he had naturally eaten at many private kitchens, and he also knew that most high-end private kitchens inevitably had some strange rules.

But it was rare to see one with so many rules like this one.

What annoyed him even more was the waiter's attitude, always using a polite tone to say a few useless words, which was even worse than saying nothing at all.

If the restaurant's decor didn't look so high-end, and it hadn't been strongly recommended by Zhang Zuting, he might have already slammed the table and left.

Speaking of which, it was mainly because his father, Xue Yuanqing, was a fan of Zhang Zuting and had treated him to a few meals, so Xue Zhebin followed Zhang Zuting's Weibo and happened to see the information about this private kitchen.

Otherwise, he would never have come to the door himself.

"Wait and see. If the food isn't good later, I'll definitely post on Weibo to expose this place!"

Based on the principle of not wrongly accusing a good person, Xue Zhebin decided to wait and see.

If the two dishes he ordered were passable, he would make a reservation for tomorrow night or the day after.

After more than half an hour, the two dishes that Xue Zhebin ordered were served.

One was Longjing Shrimp, one was Pagoda Pork, and the other was a soup, Chrysanthemum Tofu.

The portions were small, but the prices were not cheap at all.

"Serving the food isn't slow, though."

Xue Zhebin knew that Pagoda Pork was a dish that took a long time to prepare. Not only did it have to be cut, but it also had to be steamed. Half an hour was already very fast.

Moreover, while waiting for the food, he had also eaten some snacks and side dishes, which tasted very good and relieved some of the anxiety of waiting.

"Whether it's a black shop or not will be revealed soon."

Xue Zhebin looked at the two dishes brought by the waiter.

He deliberately ordered a Pagoda Pork and a Chrysanthemum Tofu, because he knew very well that these two dishes tested the chef's knife skills and technique.

"Hmm? It's actually not bad?"

Just seeing the appearance of these two dishes at first glance gave people a sense of brightness!

Pagoda Pork required the chef to cut a whole piece of meat layer by layer from the outside to the inside, with each cut being continuous and of uniform thickness, and finally cut into a long, neat thin slice, then placed in a special mold and rolled up layer by layer to form a pagoda shape.

Chrysanthemum Tofu, on the other hand, required cutting a piece of tender tofu, as smooth as solidified fat, with one hundred and eight cuts horizontally and vertically, cutting it into a ball of thin shreds, evenly thick, and without a single one breaking. When placed in a bowl of clear water, it looked like a chrysanthemum blooming.

Xue Zhebin ordered this dish and soup mainly to see if this restaurant lived up to its name and if it was a rip-off.

As for the Longjing Shrimp, it was mainly because he was worried that the Pagoda Pork and Chrysanthemum Tofu wouldn't taste good, so he ordered a home-style dish as a safety net.

But to his surprise, the Pagoda Pork and Chrysanthemum Tofu exceeded his expectations!

These two dishes mainly tested knife skills, and it took decades of hard work by a top chef to achieve perfection.

Moreover, these two dishes had no limits. For example, the thinner the Pagoda Pork was cut, the more layers it would have. Generally, cutting it to nine layers was considered qualified Pagoda Pork, but the one served here had already been cut to seventeen layers, which already surpassed those common Pagoda Pork in terms of appearance.

Xue Zhebin couldn't help but pick up his chopsticks and first tasted a shrimp.

The shrimp was tender and smooth, and it also had the fragrance of Longjing tea. Although this dish cost nearly three hundred yuan, Xue Zhebin felt it was worth it.

Because he had eaten this dish in a very good Chinese restaurant in Hangzhou, and the taste was very similar to this one!

He also tasted the Pagoda Pork and Chrysanthemum Tofu, and the taste did not disappoint him. Everything was just right!

Coupled with the warm and comfortable dining environment, Xue Zhebin felt that he might have really misunderstood this restaurant.

To make these dishes, they must have gone to great lengths to invite a gold medal chef who specializes in Hangzhou cuisine. It would definitely be impossible to find such a person in Jingzhou.

More importantly, the menu didn't just have Hangzhou cuisine, but also many other dishes!

It was definitely not enough to hire just one chef.

Such chefs definitely couldn't be hired for less money. After all, they could earn a lot in high-end restaurants in their local areas, and they were also close to home. Who would be willing to run all the way to Jingzhou?

Keeping so many chefs was a huge expense.

Could they earn it back?

Previously, Xue Zhebin felt that the prices of the dishes on the menu were too expensive, but after tasting them, he felt that they weren't expensive at all, but rather a bit cheap.

Could they really recover the costs?

The main reason was that this restaurant was too unknown. Not to mention publicity and advertising, there wasn't even a sign at the door. Even Xue Zhebin still didn't know the specific name of the restaurant.

It was currently the standard lunch time, but in such a large restaurant, Xue Zhebin was the only customer.

Wasn't this a pure loss?

Xue Zhebin looked at the dishes, then at the waiter smiling beside him, and then at the elegant dining environment and high-end, exquisite tables and chairs...

"Could it be... there's some illegal or criminal activity going on here?"

Xue Zhebin was instantly alert.

But thinking about it carefully, it didn't seem right.

The key was that this restaurant wasn't just an empty shell. Although there weren't many customers, the things they sold were genuine, and the prices were a bit high, but still within a reasonable range.

Judging from various signs, this restaurant was simply just not well-known, and there were no other suspicious points.

"I'll come again tomorrow and see what the dishes that require reservations are like."

"If they can maintain this level... then I've really struck gold!"

...

In the kitchen of Mingyun Private Kitchen.

Lin Canrong nervously asked the waiter, "How is it? Is the customer satisfied with our dishes?"

The waiter nodded. "Yes, he seems very satisfied."

Lin Canrong breathed a sigh of relief.

That was good!

There hadn't been many customers during this period. Only seven or eight customers had come since the day before yesterday.

But some were scared away after taking a look at the menu, and some asked for a long time and found that many good dishes required reservations, so they also left.

Only two or three people actually stayed to eat, but they all ordered very home-style dishes. Although it could be seen that they were quite satisfied with the taste of the dishes, they probably wouldn't come again in the short term.

Because the pricing was too expensive, it had obviously exceeded their affordability.

It could be seen from the dishes they ordered that even the cheapest vegetables here cost fifty or sixty yuan, and even if they all ordered home-style dishes, the per capita consumption would be heading towards more than one hundred yuan.

In Jingzhou, you could eat a lot of good things for this price.

Therefore, even if the chef's skill was high and the ingredients selected were better, making these dishes much tastier than those in outside restaurants, it still exceeded the affordability of most ordinary people.

But today, as soon as Xue Zhebin came in, Lin Canrong had been staring at him.

It could be seen that this guy was not short of money.

Xue Zhebin's ordering also confirmed this point. The Longjing Shrimp he ordered was more than three hundred yuan, and the Gold Medal Pagoda Pork was more than two hundred and sixty yuan. This meal would easily add up to six or seven hundred yuan.

If this customer who didn't lack money could be satisfied with these dishes, it would mean that Mingyun Private Kitchen had hope of becoming popular!

After all, Mingyun Private Kitchen was not targeting ordinary people, but tycoons, and the feedback from tycoons was the most important.

Hearing that the customer was satisfied with the dishes, Lin Canrong also breathed a sigh of relief.

He was now the store manager and no longer cooked himself, but the chefs in the kitchen now were all personally interviewed, selected, and poached at a high price by him (of course, with Boss Pei's money). Now that the dishes had been affirmed, Lin Canrong would of course feel a bit proud.

"Manager, the customer has checked out and left, and has also made a reservation for dinner tomorrow night!" A waiter ran over excitedly to report the good news.

"Very good!"

Lin Canrong's hanging heart was finally put down.

Previously, Boss Pei told him not to worry too much about publicity, and Lin Canrong was still a little worried.

But recently, seeing people coming one after another, and even such a wealthy tycoon coming to eat, it showed that the publicity work was being carried out in an orderly manner!

Sure enough, everything was within Boss Pei's plan.

Next, as long as they followed Boss Pei's instructions and carefully prepared each dish and service, Mingyun Private Kitchen would definitely become popular soon!

The chefs and waiters of Mingyun Private Kitchen were also instantly full of energy.

...

...

"Ah-choo!"

Pei Qian sneezed, rubbed his nose, and put down the controller.

Looking at the time, it was almost five o'clock in the afternoon.

Tonight, he would also be holding a welcome dinner for Qiao Liang at Mingyun Private Kitchen, and also soothe his wounded heart.

Having been abused all day, Pei Qian now really wanted to see how Old Qiao was doing.

He came to Moyu Internet Cafe.

Pei Qian quietly went up to the second floor and observed Qiao Liang, who was sitting in the corner.

He saw that Qiao Liang's face was pale, and he was intently staring at the screen, clutching the controller tightly with both hands, and his body was occasionally leaning to the side, as if he was playing a motion-sensing game.

Suddenly, his body trembled violently, and his whole body froze.

The screen had turned gray.

Qiao Liang's expression changed from astonishment to annoyance, then from annoyance to despair, and finally from despair to blankness.

He put the controller on the table and looked up slightly at the ceiling, as if he was questioning the meaning of life and his own existence.

Seeing Qiao Liang's expression, Pei Qian felt much better, and his face was filled with smiles.

The money was well spent!

Inviting Old Qiao to Jingzhou was indeed the right choice!

Pei Qian was originally very worried, because he was not a masochistic player, and didn't know if he could persevere in *Turn Back is the Shore*.

What if he couldn't complete the game in the end and had to lower the difficulty or postpone the release, wouldn't that be a big deal?

But now, Pei Qian had found the motivation to persevere, and that was Old Qiao!

No matter how bitter or difficult it was, as long as he could see that Old Qiao was more bitter and difficult than him, Pei Qian would instantly be full of motivation again!

After all, Pei Qian had a "Salvation" weapon when playing the game, while Old Qiao could only dance on the tip of a knife with ordinary weapons.

Therefore, the feeling of happiness was mainly based on comparison!

Pei Qian felt that he had never been so happy before.