The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 458 Blind Box Packages
Ling Guangzhao wasn't exaggerating. As a native of Beiping and the current owner and former young master of Babaozhai, he truly knew Xia Murui very well.

To say how familiar they were or how much Xia Murui admired him would be pure boasting. In Ling Guangzhao's description, Xia Murui's temper became increasingly eccentric as he grew older; at least when he was a child, Xia Murui was much easier to talk to than he is now.

Ling Guangzhao used to play in Fenyuan when he was a child.

Fenyuan, hailed as the premier private restaurant in Beiping, was not actually a restaurant, but rather a complete, three-courtyard complex covering a vast area. Only one courtyard was open to the public; the rest was the living quarters of Xia Murui and his apprentice, Zhang Guanghang.

Fen Yuan opened very early, and it was already a very famous private restaurant in Beiping before Ling Guangzhao was born. In those days, people were not very wealthy, and even for a child from a family like Ling Guangzhao's, being able to eat at Fen Yuan a few times a year was considered spoiling the child.

At that time, Fenyuan's main customer base was foreign guests. In Ling Guangzhao's words, Mr. Xia was ruthless when it came to ripping off foreigners. The prices of the dishes were not doubled, but increased by 0. In the year 2000, a dish called Peach Blossom Sauce (rice crust with sauce) could sell for 1888 yuan to foreign guests, and they had to pre-order and grab it in advance. They made a fortune.

Compared to the vegetable prices back then, the current vegetable prices at Fenyuan are quite affordable. Ling Guangzhao even suspects that perhaps Mr. Xia felt he had earned enough money in the past to not be able to spend it all, and that money was just a number to him, which is why the vegetable prices haven't increased much.

Fenyuan hasn't raised prices for five years.

After listening to Ling Guangzhao's remarks, Qin Huai had only one thought: Old Mr. Xia really understands the psychology of diners. Back in the year 2000, a single dish of crispy rice at Fenyuan cost 1888 yuan, but now a table of dishes only costs tens of thousands of yuan on average. When people think Fenyuan's dishes are expensive, they will recall the "Peach Blossom Feast" dish from back then and comfort themselves that they have really gotten a good deal.

"Mr. Xia must be over 90 years old this year, right?" Qin Huai asked.

Ling Guangzhao was surprised that after saying so much, Qin Huai's biggest concern was Xia Murui's age. He was touched and felt that Qin Huai was a good person at heart, caring so much about the old man's health. He nodded uncertainly.

"There should be... Actually, we don't really know Mr. Xia's age. We only know that he is very old, and he himself may not be very sure. Many elderly people are like this; they can't remember their birth date, only a general range."

"In addition, Mr. Xia has no children and only Zhang Guanghang as his apprentice. He himself doesn't care much about birthdays. Anyway, I have never heard of him holding a birthday banquet... It seems that no one knows about it. This is normal. I heard my father say that Mr. Xia was originally from Beiping. He fled to Beiping when he was young because of the war, and returned to Beiping after the peace."

"He had no relatives and lived all alone, so he always had a rather withdrawn personality. I heard he didn't have any hobbies, except for making so much money. But Mr. Xia didn't enjoy it; it seems he used it all to buy houses, land, and antiques."

“Master Qin, you might not know this since you’re not from Beiping. About ten or twenty years ago, buying antiques was all the rage. My dad followed the trend and bought some, but he got ripped off badly. I heard from my dad that the number of pieces he bought was not even a fraction of what Mr. Xia bought. There are several rooms in Fen Garden that are specifically used to store those broken antiques that Mr. Xia bought, and nobody knows if they’re real or fake.”

"Old Mr. Xia bought the items but didn't play with them or ask anyone to look at them; he just left them in the warehouse."

"So, Master Qin, you asked me what I should be careful about when dining at Fenyuan. Actually, there's really nothing to be careful about. The only thing to be careful about is not wandering around. A few years ago, something strange happened. Two petty thieves heard from somewhere that the antiques in those rooms at Fenyuan were priceless. They used connections and spent a lot of money to reserve seats at Fenyuan for dinner. They lingered a bit during dinner, hoping to sneak into Fenyuan under the cover of night to steal things."

"As a result, they were caught on the spot by Mr. Xia. The two petty thieves in their twenties were no match for Mr. Xia, who was in his eighties or nineties. When the police arrived, they advised Mr. Xia not to rush to the front line to catch thieves at such an old age, lest he hurt his back."

"For this reason, Mr. Xia was particularly dissatisfied. He pointed at the two petty thieves and said that their thieving skills were not even half of what his junior apprentice had back then. How could they come in to steal things with such poor skills?"

"Everyone was curious about this for a while, wondering where Mr. Xia got his junior apprentice. We'd never heard him mention it, but we'd heard about his master. Apparently, he was Chef Chen from Taifeng Restaurant, whose whole family perished when Beiping fell to the Japanese..."

"The whole family perished?!" Qin Huai couldn't help but raise his voice, "How did they perish?"

Ling Guangzhao: ? Master Qin's focus is really strange.

“I don’t know about that. That happened so many years ago. I don’t even know if my grandfather was born when Beiping fell.” Ling Guangzhao said that this involved his blind spot in knowledge. “I haven’t finished what I was saying yet. It’s all because of those two petty thieves. Originally, Fenyuan didn’t have any business hours. It was just open for lunch and dinner. The number of tables booked would be used to tell Mr. Xia what time he would arrive.”

“Since the theft, Fen Garden has only been open until 9:30 p.m., because Mr. Xia is too lazy to watch the surveillance footage any later.”

"Those two petty thieves are really stupid. What's the point of coming to steal at night? There are surveillance cameras in Fen Garden, and those cameras are night vision cameras."

Qin Huai subconsciously looked at Zhao Cheng'an, who had long since entered "slacking off" mode and didn't want to do any work. When he saw Qin Huai suddenly looking at him with a complicated expression, he thought that he had been too open about slacking off and had reached the point of ruining the reputation of Zhiweiju's "King of Rolls" outside, so he quickly started working.

As Zhao Cheng'an started kneading the dough, he noticed that Qin Huai was still watching him.

"What's wrong?" Zhao Cheng'an asked.

"It's nothing, I just wanted to ask what you thought of all this," Qin Huai said.

Ling Guangzhao: ? Wasn't he just talking about ordinary gossip? Is it really necessary to give feedback after listening to gossip at Zhiweiju? Is it really that strict?

Tong Deyan: He really has a hard time judging whether Qin Huai or Ling Guangzhao is more mentally unstable, because both of them are too naturally gifted.

"What could I possibly think? I know everything Ling Guangzhao just said," Zhao Cheng'an said smugly, with a look that said: You didn't expect that, did you? Even though I'm far away in Hangzhou, I know about the gossip in Beiping.

"Those two stupid thieves were sentenced to one year and three months. That incident even made the news back then. Sister Yan used this incident to educate me, telling me to buy less art and paintings. Even someone as rich as Mr. Xia could be swindled out of his entire fortune buying antiques. I shouldn't be swindled out of my little money."

"How can that be the same? This is an investment!"

"Why don't you open the software and take a look at those stock funds that are a dismal green?"

"Qin Huai, sometimes you really say the ugliest things."

The two of them silently focused on making desserts, while Ling Guangzhao stayed by their side, watching. It was unclear whether he could understand what they were doing. The atmosphere in the kitchen became very quiet for a moment.

It was Tong Deyan who broke the silence.

Tong Deyan carried a plate of freshly cooked and steaming hot stir-fried double crispy dish directly to Qin Huai and placed it on his cooking table: "You haven't come to Babaozhai since you went back yesterday. I think you must have something to do. I didn't ask you on WeChat."

"Yesterday's vegetables were too cheap for Ling Guangzhao, so you'll have to make do with what you eat in the kitchen today."

Although Tong Deyan said this, his face clearly said, "You'd better give me a reasonable explanation."

Qin Huai: ...

Oh no! I was so excited after watching it yesterday that my mind was filled with the idea that Xia Sheng was actually Xia Murui, and I forgot that I was supposed to come to Babaozhai for dinner.

"Master Tong, I'm so sorry." Qin Huai quickly apologized. "I suddenly got a new recipe yesterday, the one for the yam cake I'm making now. I was so excited that I kept studying the recipe and forgot about dinner."

Hearing Qin Huai say this, Tong Deyan's expression softened considerably. As an excellent chef specializing in hot dishes, Tong Deyan could understand how someone could become so engrossed in studying a good recipe that they would forget about other things.

"This recipe is excellent. You'll know once you taste it after I make the yam cake."

"Mm." Tong Deyan nodded, pointing to the stir-fried double crispy snack, "Eat it while it's hot."

"Alright." Qin Huai picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a large mouthful, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed with a satisfied expression. Ling Guangzhao, adhering to the principle of "I'm the boss, I'm already here, what's wrong with eating a couple of bites?", also started eating right there.

"What time and place did you book at Fen Garden tomorrow?" Tong Deyan asked.

"6 p.m."

"What dishes did you order?"

"I don't know about that; it was Master Zhou who made the appointment for us."

"My master didn't order any dishes. Fen Yuan's signature casserole shark fin is limited to three servings a day, Wanfu pork is limited to eight servings, clear soup willow leaf swallow's nest is limited to six servings, and braised sea cucumber with scallions is limited to twelve servings. My table and Qin Huai's table were originally added by connections, and we couldn't get any of the limited dishes. Mr. Xia didn't charge us for the extra table because of my master, and recommended that my master book a set meal for two. It's 18000 per person, 36000 for two people. He guarantees that the set meal will have no less than five dishes, and it will definitely include signature dishes like sweet and sour carp and braised pork intestines. So my master booked the set meal for us."

Upon hearing Zhao Cheng'an's words, Tong Deyan and Ling Guangzhao's expressions became somewhat complicated.

"What's wrong?" Qin Huai asked.

Tong Deyan remained silent. Ling Guangzhao organized his thoughts and explained in a more tactful manner: "Fenyuan has been offering this set menu for five or six years now. In the past few years, many customers liked to order this set menu because the dishes were not fixed and depended mainly on Mr. Xia's mood and performance. Sometimes Mr. Xia would introduce new dishes and put them directly into the set menu, and sometimes when Mr. Xia was in a good mood, he would increase the set menu from five dishes to eight dishes for the customers."

"But these past two years... Mr. Xia hasn't been in a good mood, which has led to the set meal..."

Qin Huai quickly answered: "The cost-effectiveness is very low."

“Yes.” Ling Guangzhao nodded. “But Master Qin, you’re adding tables and cutting in line, so ordering a set meal is normal. If Master Xia is in a good mood, the set meal might include signature dishes like braised pork belly or shark fin soup.”

"Is this really the case?" Zhao Cheng'an asked curiously.

“Yes,” Tong Deyan said. “But only once. It was a businessman from the south who was in the soy sauce business. It was his first time eating at the branch, and he didn’t know the proper etiquette. He ordered a four-person set meal. As it turned out, there was a problem with the delivery of ingredients to Fenyuan that day, and there were some dishes missing. Mr. Xia saw that this was the first time the customer and didn’t want to ruin Fenyuan’s reputation, so he put the shark fin soup he wanted to eat that night into the set meal. That incident caused quite a stir at the time.”

"The guest who came after that became a regular at Fen Garden."

Qin Huai: ...

He seemed to know which soy sauce business owner it was.

As expected of you, Boss Han. Your assistant, Wen Yaoyu, is so capricious. Even opening blind boxes with such a low drop rate, you still managed to get super limited edition items that would otherwise be impossible to include.

Ling Guangzhao said earnestly, "Master Qin, it was a good experience for you to try the set meal at Fenyuan for the first time. I have some connections here, so why don't you stay in Beiping for a few more days? If Master Zhao is too busy, he can go back first. Master Qin, you can stay a few more days, and I will help you reserve a table at Fenyuan. I guarantee that you can eat the real signature dishes."

Zhao Cheng'an: ? ? ?

Mr. Ling, why did you say such hurtful things to my face?

Qin Huai smiled and said, "Mr. Ling, we've already booked our return tickets. If there's a chance, we'd appreciate it if you could help us book a table at Fenyuan next time we come to Beiping."

Ling Guangzhao: QAQ
Master Qin, why are you so stubborn? The corner of the wall is so solid that I almost wore out my hoe, but you still won't let me pry it open.

Who exactly works at Zhiweiju and Huangji?

Ling Guangzhao could only eat the vegetables in sorrow, turning his grief and anger into appetite. Towards the end, he felt that eating alone was not enough, so he served himself a bowl of rice.

After Tong Deyan's signature tofu was cooked, Qin Huai's yam cake was also successfully cooked.

[Yam Cake Grade A]

Qin Huai was not surprised to see this level.

Chen Qiusheng's video tutorials were very detailed, and Qin Huai watched them very carefully. In addition, yam cake itself is not very difficult to make, so Qin Huai can easily achieve an A grade in making the desserts that he is relatively good at now.

It's quite normal to get an A on the first try.

After all, Master Qin is not the same Master Qin as before; he's now Master Qin Plus.

The batch of yam cakes Qin Huai made had names on them. Although they didn't reach A+ grade and had no buffs, having names was useless. But Qin Huai didn't care; he was determined to put the names on them.

Qin Huai took a small bite of the yam cake.

It's very light and soft, making it perfect for kids who don't have a sweet tooth.

It's a pastry that you won't get tired of eating, and you can eat it all the time.

"Qin Huai, what do those two characters on your yam cake mean?" Zhao Cheng'an asked, holding the yam cake and pointing to the name on it. "Chen Sheng, why did you put those two characters on the yam cake? Is this a brand of yam cake? Or are you planning to follow Master Zheng's example and create your own pastry brand called Chen Sheng?"

"Never mind that, just eat," Qin Huai said. "I like to practice my calligraphy on pastries."

Zhao Cheng'an didn't understand, but he ate it anyway.

Under Qin Huai's gaze, Zhao Cheng'an took a bite of half a yam cake and made a satisfied sound: "Mmm, Qin Huai, you really kept this a secret from us! How come we've never seen you make yam cakes before, and they're so delicious?"

"Because this is something I just learned."

"Haha, who would believe that?"

Ling Guangzhao: I believe you.

Waaaaaah, Master Qin, I can believe you!
This yam cake is so delicious, please, let me dig a hoe!
Just one hoe!

I have connections with Fen Yuan, I really do! I have connections with Fen Yuan! I can get them dishes like shark fin soup, braised pork belly, and clear soup with willow leaf swallow's nest.

(End of this chapter)