Song Tan's Notes

Chapter 1667. The Chef Arrives
As July arrives, temperatures rise sharply, and it's difficult for them to drop at night.

Going out at this time requires a lot of courage, otherwise you'll melt as soon as you step out of the air-conditioned room.

But it doesn't matter!

Moreover, Qin Yun and the others coincidentally drove the biggest car in their family—it didn't matter whether it was expensive or new, as long as the trunk could hold a lot.

You have to be incredibly good at pretending!
Only Yunfeng hesitated: "The temperature is also very high in Yunqiao Village, and the elderly in my family don't want to go. It's just the three of us. I'm considering whether to buy high-speed rail tickets..."

He lives in Beijing and it took him almost ten hours to drive here, so it must have been quite tiring.

As for taking a plane... Cloud City is too small; it doesn't even have an airport.

Qin Yun was heartbroken: "There are only three people! If you had driven an SUV, wouldn't half of the car have been used to carry things?"

"Exactly!" He was also incredibly envious: "If we take the high-speed rail, what if Lu Chuan arranges for us to bring vegetables and fruits? How are we going to pack them?"

"And also, Lu Chuan hired a chef to provide us with three meals a day. What kind of ingredients are they using? Are you really not bringing any elders?"

Yunfeng:......

It's not that he doesn't want to persuade them, but the two sets of elders are currently fighting over that tea. He received a whole ounce of tea from Lu Chuan this year, and he didn't keep a single ounce. Being caught in the middle as a son-in-law and a son is not easy!
But Lu Chuan mentioned a teahouse in the mountain city that only internal members are eligible to buy a limited quantity of that tea, which costs hundreds of thousands of yuan per kilogram!

If an elderly person likes this but can't afford it... wouldn't that be incredibly frustrating?

Therefore, he hesitated:
"Isn't it inappropriate to eat and take things from his girlfriend's house?"

Qin Yun and He Kuang said in unison, "Those with thick skin can eat their fill! Those with thin skin won't get any!"

Anyway, Lu Chuan won't let his girlfriend suffer, so as his brother, it wouldn't be right not to stab him in the back, right?

In short, it's your choice!

By the time Lu Chuan received the news, the three of them, along with their families, had already gotten on the highway.

Lu Chuan:......

He had no choice but to tell Lu Jing again, "Mom, my editor is bringing both sets of parents over. Let's lock up two more expensive rooms."

Lu Jing exclaimed with delight, "Oh my, it's rare for your friends to come, so many people! It's a good thing you hired a chef—when will the chef arrive?"

Their guesthouse didn't have a proper large kitchen. With three families and seventeen or eighteen people, cooking with small pots wouldn't be efficient, so they temporarily built a simple shed in the corner of the backyard and converted a wood-fired stove.

Cooking in the summer is a chore, so we installed an air conditioner—we'll cool off for as long as we can.

But chefs need to adapt to these habits, so it's not good to arrive later than the guests.

Lu Jing is urging them now because she estimates that the guests should arrive tonight.

Lu Chuan checked the time: "Boss Chang said the internal selection process was delayed by two days. The other party set off this morning with an apprentice, but they should be arriving soon."

As a chef, he always needs to bring his own tools when he goes out, many of which are heavy and contain metal. Therefore, he did not choose the high-speed rail, but instead had his apprentice drive him.

I set off early in the morning and should arrive around 10 o'clock. I'll have a good lunch break to prepare a few dishes for the bosses to taste, and then I can officially start my job in the evening.

On the road leading to Yunqiao Village, the 30-year-old apprentice sighed:

"This trip was really tough."

Money is a small matter. Craftsmen like them receive profit sharing from their boss's business and don't really care about the extra month's salary from this business trip.

But could this be an outsider?
This is a sacred place for supplying vegetables, carefully selected by Master Qian!

The boss would stroll around the kitchen every day, complaining that there weren't enough dishes, and grumbling about how Boss Song wouldn't sell him that one. He muttered and grumbled, just like a divorced wife whose dowry had been stolen.

Sure enough, the chefs had long yearned for such a place.

They're just low-key, and the group of salaried employees can't just come and bother them.

Now there is a legitimate opportunity—

That was a real challenge, requiring a lot of brainpower and overcoming numerous obstacles!

Master Chai, sitting in the back seat, beamed with pride: "Of course! If it weren't for your master's ability and thick skin, we wouldn't have had this opportunity."

"Be bold when you go, and make sure you don't repeat any dishes. Try to use every single ingredient."

Although their Chang Le Ju restaurant has a sufficient supply of vegetables, not every chef can use vegetables that meet their preferences every day.

For example, if you want to make garlic lettuce, the lettuce is good enough, but there isn't enough garlic, so you can only use regular garlic...

Isn't it heartbreaking?
This is so heartbreaking!

We recently gave them a lot of baskets of sweet potato leaves, which they used to make steamed sweet potato leaves and sweet potato leaf buns... The guests ate them with great relish!

Just as I was thinking that this thing had a high yield and shouldn't have trouble selling, the sweet potato leaves suddenly stopped growing.

Upon inquiry, it was learned that the sweet potato stalks they harvested were used to make pickled vegetables, which were then sold online, and the quantity was already sufficient.

The second crop hasn't grown yet.

As for the rest... the rest were picked over because they weren't pretty, or they were old, or they had holes, so they were used to feed pigs and chickens.

Ouch!

The kitchen was filled with sighs and groans that day; everyone wished they could stand in front of Boss Chang and wag their tight-lipped mouths.

Let's carefully select and tidy them up! The broken pieces can be used to make steamed buns, and the old ones can be kneaded again and made into pickles!

How can you feed pigs and chickens like that?

This made Boss Chang very angry: Is it because he doesn't want to bring it over?

Then he asked everyone, "If the pork, beef, mutton, chicken, and duck that were delivered weren't fed these things, would they taste good?"

Only then did everyone stop their efforts.

Sigh! For a chef, not having good ingredients is like a cultivator not having the Foundation Establishment Pill – it's incredibly frustrating.

And now...

The 50-year-old, strong, and sturdy Master Chai thought to himself with great satisfaction:
【Yunqiao Village, here I come!】

While doing so, he didn't forget to ask his apprentice:
"I told you to buy a new phone, did you buy it? You young people know how to use it, remember to take good pictures and send them to our group."

Although the apprentices are not yet eligible to receive profit sharing, they have been trained by their master and are at an age full of ambition.

He said smugly at that moment:
"Master, don't worry! I guarantee they'll be drooling over it in the group chat every day."

"I heard there's a Master Song here who's good at cooking country dishes, no less so than Master Qian. I'll go and learn from him when the time comes."

Yeah!

The craftsman was very satisfied.

"Master Song is good at cooking wild mountain vegetables, but I heard he's not very good at making the popular desserts these days. If you have the chance, try to coax some of their meat, eggs, and dairy products into making some too."

"Isn't it almost Mid-Autumn Festival? Show off your skills with all kinds of mooncakes, like those with molten custard filling and all sorts of other fillings."

"If you like the food, you can invite us again next time you have the chance."

The master and apprentice dreamed about the future and made plans in the car, their dreams coming true.

Meanwhile, Boss Chang called over some people, and didn't forget to boast to Song Tan—first he mentioned that he had sent a capable assistant, and then he talked about the criteria he had carefully selected.

“This Master Chai is in excellent health and can endure hardship. He has no problem tending the large stove in the countryside. I gave him a high-temperature allowance.”

"Especially since he experienced poverty in his childhood, just like our Chef Song, he is particularly good at making use of ingredients. From the tip of the leaf to the root of a vegetable, as long as it is not inedible, he can make use of it, and the taste is not bad."

In the countryside, especially in the Song family, this is a very admirable advantage.

So after much deliberation, I decided on him this time.

Although Boss Chang's true intentions were not what they seemed, Song Tan still appreciated his kindness. After thanking him, she asked him:
"The eagle-beak peaches are almost ripe. I'll just have your truck transport them back then, and you can handle the packaging yourself."

Boss Chang's spirits lifted.

It wouldn't be appropriate for him to pack more of this fruit—but setting aside a portion for his own members would be perfectly fine.

Chang Le Ju's membership cards are incredibly popular right now, as they are in limited supply and extremely difficult to obtain online.

Many customers who bought basic cards and then resold them at a higher price found themselves regretting their decision as the price continued to soar.

I never imagined that one day, a membership card for a restaurant that doesn't even have a Michelin star rating could become so valuable.

……

At 10 a.m., Master Chai and his apprentice parked their car steadily in front of the Fairy Tale B&B.

As soon as he got off the bus, Master Chai's eyes lit up:
"Wow! This hotel is beautifully decorated!"

In this hot weather, many rose bushes have bloomed into a large, flat patch, looking lively from afar but a complete mess up close.

However, the blue plumbago, oak leaf hydrangea, and panicle hydrangea that Lu Chuan carefully tended were vibrant clusters of blue, light blue, milky white, pink, and green.

Furthermore, in the shaded areas, numerous begonias of various colors are paired with a variety of green plants such as caladiums, creating a surprisingly vibrant effect due to the harmonious transition of colors.

The green dragon feather maple swayed in the wind, and the tall olive trees provided shade for the large clusters of blooming hostas in the corner.

The teahouse at Chang Le Ju was also carefully planned. Master Chai has often visited many high-end hotels and has a great sense of aesthetics.

Looking at these thriving and vibrant flowers and trees, I couldn't help but nod in approval:
"This boss is really dedicated."

Owners who are willing to put their heart into plants usually also have high requirements for ingredients.

This is exactly what they're looking for!

Wonderful!

Master Chai was happily packing his things in the trunk with his apprentice when the door opened and a young man walked out from the depths of the flower corridor.

Upon seeing him, the other party immediately smiled and said, "Master Chai, Master Zhou, thank you for your hard work."

Oh my god.

Master Chai and his apprentice were stunned for a moment, thinking that no wonder the boss was so confident that working here would allow them to get all of Boss Song's ingredients!
That makes perfect sense!
A young man this handsome should be eating abalone, shark fin, and bird's nest—no way!
Eat those sweet potato leaves that have everything you could want!
Spicy and fragrant garlic!

There were also those limited-edition tender water chestnuts and small lotus pods that were only available for a small taste...

Oh my!

The apprentices got excited: "Master, do you think he can get me a bucket of milk right now?"

Master Chai snorted and scolded his apprentice, "What are you saying!"

"He's so handsome, you take two buckets first. You can negotiate the price for the last one."

I'm coming!