Free Web NovelChapter 102: Chapter 102: Liang’s
"That’s true. If I had skills like that, I might be even more willful than him." ƒrēewebnovel.com
Li Yuexing thought about it and had to agree it was reasonable.
Skilled people were in high demand everywhere.
The man in the blue shirt returned shortly after leaving. "You’re the last table for today. My father is preparing, so please wait a moment."
"It’s fine, we’re not in a hurry."
Yun Zijin waved her hand. They weren’t office drones rushing to work; they certainly had time to wait for a meal.
Lu Yunque and the others had no objections. Good things take time. If the food came out too quickly, they’d suspect it was just pre-made.
"Sir, may I ask your surname?"
After observing the man in the blue shirt for a while, Sheng Hao finally posed the question. The man replied, "My surname is Liang, and my name is Qingzhu."
Liang Qingzhu found a spot in the courtyard and sat down, showing no intention of chatting with them further.
Fortunately, it wasn’t long before someone was heard calling Liang Qingzhu’s name. Liang Qingzhu got up and went to the back kitchen, emerging shortly after with a dish on a tray.
"This is meatball soup. Please have some to warm your stomachs."
Liang Qingzhu’s voice had a cool detachment to it. Such a tone wasn’t exactly the wisest choice for serving customers.
However, no one present said anything. They each picked up their bowls and chopsticks, ready to try the clear-looking soup.
"Whoa! Is this steamed meat under here?"
Li Yuexing had picked up the serving spoon, intending to ladle some soup, but ended up scooping out a piece of steamed meat instead.
"This is a classic dish from a G City-style ’flowing water banquet.’ You should try it."
Yun Zijin grew up in G City, but to be honest, she had rarely eaten this dish.
"Miss Yun, you’re from G City too?"
Hearing Yun Zijin’s words, Liang Qingzhu’s eyes lit up, and he interjected with excitement.
"I grew up in G City."
Although Yun Zijin had grown up in G City, she was, strictly speaking, from Dijing. After all, her true identity was the long-lost true daughter of the Dijing Xia Family.
"No wonder. People from out of town rarely know about this dish."
"Mr. Liang, I think someone in the kitchen is calling for you."
Just as Yun Zijin and Liang Qingzhu were about to get into a conversation, Lu Yunque spoke up with a timely reminder.
He wasn’t lying; someone in the back kitchen was indeed calling Liang Qingzhu’s name.
"Excuse me, I’ll go see what’s needed."
Liang Qingzhu apologized to Yun Zijin and turned to head toward the back kitchen.
"Zijing, is this your first time here too?"
After Liang Qingzhu left, Li Yuexing spoke up.
"Yeah, I saw a lot of people recommending it online, mostly with good reviews, so I called to make a reservation.
"Don’t be fooled by the simple surroundings. It’s really hard to get a spot. A lot of people come here because of its reputation."
’My timing for the call was perfect,’ Yun Zijin thought. ’Any later, and I probably wouldn’t have gotten a table.’
Not long after entering the kitchen, Liang Qingzhu came out again with a plate of white-cut chicken and a plate of fried fish.
Sixteen people have large appetites. Liang Qingzhu had probably told his father about the size of their party, so the portion for each dish was very generous.
By the time the last dish, a stir-fried seasonal vegetable, arrived, Li Yuexing and the others had once again successfully stuffed themselves.
"Zijing, are all the ’flowing water banquets’ in G City this delicious?"
’This makes me look like I’ve never seen the world.’
"Not really. You think it’s delicious because the chef at Liang’s is highly skilled. Real ’flowing water banquets’ aren’t usually this good.
"But with a ’flowing water banquet,’ you’re there for the atmosphere. Whether the food is good or not is secondary."
Both had their own unique characteristics, and Yun Zijin wouldn’t disparage either one.
"Then next time there’s a ’flowing water banquet,’ you have to invite me!"
’Li Yuexing really wants to try everything,’ Yun Zijin thought. ’I wonder who he got that curiosity from.’
"I don’t have many relatives or friends here. The last time I went to a ’flowing water banquet’ was with the orphanage director.
"If you really want to try it, you could find out who’s hosting a banquet, go in, give them a red envelope with some money, and just crash the meal."
G City is huge; someone’s always getting married or celebrating a baby’s first month.
"On second thought, never mind. Maybe some other time."
Although Li Yuexing was curious, he wasn’t so desperate for an authentic ’flowing water banquet’ that he would show up uninvited and pay just to crash a meal.
"There’s one last dish!"
When everyone was more or less finished eating, Yun Zijin produced a bottle of apple cider vinegar from somewhere. "The final dish: apple cider vinegar, essential for aiding digestion!"
Yun Zijin opened the bottle, poured a little into a cup for herself, and then poured some for everyone else.
The assistants and bodyguards helped themselves.
The moment Lu Yunque and the others caught a whiff of it, they recoiled.
’It smells incredibly sour. Is this really meant for human consumption?’
"Just try it. Once you get used to it, it actually tastes pretty good."
Yun Zijin downed the apple cider vinegar in her cup in one go.
Lu Yunque and the three others: ...
’What a true warrior!’
Li Yuexing, being the most curious, hesitated before taking a small sip. The sourness immediately made him grimace so hard you could have crushed a fly between his eyebrows.
"Zijing, forgive me, but I’m not blessed enough to enjoy this."
Li Yuexing put down his cup, clearly not intending to take a second sip.
"Alright then, if you’re not drinking it, just leave it. We’ll let our food digest for a bit, then head back?"
Because the kitchen had been slow to send out dishes, it was already past seven in the evening by the time they finished. They had to get up early for the site inspection tomorrow, so Yun Zijin didn’t plan a second round of activities.
"Let’s go back. We’ll talk after the site inspection is done."
Lu Yunque thought for a moment and didn’t object.
Sheng Hao and Fu Ze, of course, had no objections either. The most important thing for them right now was the site inspection and providing a preliminary design proposal.
Liang Qingzhu’s father never made an appearance. Once Yun Zijin’s group had rested enough, they informed Liang Qingzhu and left.
Lu Yunque had already arranged for the hotel to send cars. The moment they stepped out of "Liang’s," they saw three business vans parked in a nearby lot.
With the same seating arrangements as when they arrived, the group boarded the vehicles one after another.
Back at the hotel, the first thing Yun Zijin did was wash up before throwing herself onto the soft bed and quickly falling into a deep sleep.
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[Consumption Task: Host must spend ¥3,000,000.00 before midnight tonight. No restrictions. Task Reward: To be unlocked.]
In the morning, accompanied by the unique "wake-up call service" from Randomly Spend, Yun Zijin slowly opened her eyes. She subconsciously reached for her phone on the nightstand and saw it was already 7:30 AM.
They were supposed to gather in the first-floor lobby at 9 AM today. Yun Zijin didn’t linger in bed; she quickly got up, washed, and got ready.
At 8:00, hotel staff came to deliver breakfast. After eating, Yun Zijin went down from her room to the first-floor lobby.
It was already 8:50 when Yun Zijin came down, and Lu Yunque and the others were already there.
She was very satisfied that no one was late.
"Has everyone had breakfast? The inspection might involve a lot of walking, and you won’t be able to handle it without eating."
Before setting off, Yun Zijin had to confirm that everyone had eaten breakfast.
’A site inspection definitely involves walking. If they don’t eat breakfast, they’d be starving and faint before noon.’
"Yes, yes, we’ve eaten! The hotel delivered breakfast, so we all ate."
