The first thing I did was to find out

第460章夏老师傅今天心情有这么不好？

Good news! For some reason, there was no traffic congestion in Beiping today, and Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an arrived at Fenyuan without any problems.

The bad news is that the two of them arrived too early, at 5:24.

Having never eaten at Fenyuan before, nor ever in a courtyard house, Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an, facing the tightly closed gates, naturally lacked the confidence to knock. They could only linger, hesitate, and scout the area in front of Fenyuan, looking like two clumsy thieves preparing to make a big splash there that night.

"How about we take a walk around the area first? I saw a place selling sesame seed cakes on the way here. Why don't we go over and buy one?" Qin Huai suggested.

Zhao Cheng'an waved the menu on his phone screen with exasperation and said, "Qin Huai, can't you be a little more sensible? We're about to open a blind box and have a big meal, and you're still eating pancakes. But I saw a convenience store on the way here, so we can go there and buy two bottles of Coke."

"Cola causes gas, and drinking too much makes me lose my appetite."

"After being hungry all day, eating a sesame seed cake before a meal will make me feel full."

The two food-eating duo disagreed on whether to buy sesame cakes or cola first, which led to a conflict. Just as the two bumbling thieves were about to have a heated argument in front of Fen Garden, the door opened.

Zhang Guanghang made a dazzling entrance dressed in a very basic and ordinary chef's uniform, holding a menu in his hand, just like a waiter who had just started working.

Whether it was because of his height or because his modeling skills were up to par, Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an couldn't help but think that Zhang Guanghang's ordinary chef's uniform looked like a new fashion show outfit from this year.

"Mr. Qin Huai and Mr. Zhao Cheng'an, is that right?" Waiter Xiao Zhang casually wrote down two names on the order form. "You two have reserved a set meal for two for 6 pm tonight."

"Yes, yes, yes," the two said in unison, "We're too early."

"Please come in." Zhang Guanghang stepped aside and gestured for the two to enter.

The two stepped inside very cautiously, looking around. They discovered that Fen Garden was indeed a proper courtyard house, much larger than they had imagined, and they immediately switched into the mode of Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden.

"There are flowers."

"Yes, yes, look, there's still grass over there."

"And there's a rockery."

"Is there a pond inside?"

“There’s a small pond, but it’s not open to guests. It’s where my master keeps a few fish that he likes to eat. You can catch and eat them as you please,” Zhang Guanghang said.

Zhao Cheng'an excitedly said to Qin Huai, "There's fish! Do you think I'll be able to eat braised silver carp with oil today?"

Zhang Guanghang didn't say anything, but silently made a note of it before leading the two of them to their seats.

Fenyuan is located in a courtyard house. It may be a gimmick deliberately created by Xia Murui, or it may be that Xia Murui just happened to buy this courtyard house and thought that since it is so big, and he would live in it anyway, he might as well open a restaurant in one section, saving him the extra money to buy another restaurant building.

Therefore, the dining area has no fancy or special decorations. It is simply a place where there should be antique shelves and furniture, with dining tables placed in the same size, eight-immortal tables, no bigger.

No wonder Fen Yuan doesn't accept large tables for more than 6 people. Even 6 people can barely fit at this eight-immortal table, let alone more.

"You two are the first guests to arrive. Please have a seat and rest for a moment. There are no waiters in Fenyuan. If you need tea, you can go over there to refill your cups." After saying this, Zhang Guanghang went into the kitchen to continue his work, leaving Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an to continue observing.

There are five square tables in the main hall, and further in there are separate private rooms. Because the main hall is full of tables, there is no extra space to put additional decorations, making it look a bit simple, like a rural banquet.

However, considering that this location is a courtyard house within the Second Ring Road of Beiping, this simplicity can also be seen as the epitome of simplicity.

Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an really wanted to wander around, but they were afraid of breaking the rules and accidentally wandering into the residential area before they could even eat, only to be kicked out by Xia Murui.

Being kicked out would be a better outcome. If Xia Murui had caught them on the spot, taken them to the police station, and called Ling Guangzhao to bail them out, Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an would have become famous in the Beiping chef circle.

Even after many years, people will still bring it up and remember how many years they were sentenced to.

The two of them could only keep talking with bold eyes, careful movements, sullen postures, and low voices.

"Wow, I've always heard people say that Fenyuan is located in a courtyard house, but I didn't really understand it. When we walked in with Zhang Guanghang just now, did you keep track of the time? It took us three minutes to walk from the gate to here!" Qin Huai exclaimed in a tone of naiveté. "Three minutes is enough to walk around my house four times."

“Yes, yes, look at this table. It’s rustic, simple, and elegant. It’s obviously made of good wood.” Zhao Cheng’an, who had never seen anything like it before, secretly touched the table a few times.

While plating cold dishes in the kitchen, Zhang Guanghang looked up at the monitor and silently complained to himself: It is indeed good wood, rosewood, but it is just ordinary rosewood. Back then, my master was cheated by a middleman and bought it at the price of Hainan rosewood.

Zhang Guanghang continued working without showing any outward signs, but his gaze shifted from the monitor to Xia Murui's face.

Zhang Guanghang keenly noticed that his master was staring at the monitor the whole time. Although he could only see the back of his master's head and not his expression, he could tell from his master's back that he was focused on watching the monitor.

The meat simmering in the pot on the stove not far away was ready, but Xia Murui seemed oblivious, still looking up at the monitor.

Fen Garden does not have a dedicated monitoring room; there are only two places where surveillance footage can be viewed: the kitchen and the room opposite Xia Murui's bedroom.

There are only three screens in the kitchen, used to monitor the dining area. When Xia Murui was young, she was incredibly resourceful, capable of doing the work of five people, and could easily manage Fen Garden without hiring anyone.

Now that Xia Murui is older, his energy is not as good as before. He and Zhang Guanghang are actually struggling to manage Fenyuan. However, Xia Murui is used to not hiring waiters or kitchen helpers. In order to better take care of the dining area, Xia Murui installed surveillance cameras.

If guests need anything, feel the food doesn't suit their taste, or have other matters they don't know where to find the chef, they can wave at the monitor, and Xia Murui will go out when she sees it and has time.

Normally, Xia Murui wouldn't look up at the monitor. He would just glance at it casually while cooking, and under normal circumstances, he didn't need to watch the monitor.

If Zhang Guanghang is at Fenyuan, he will monitor the surveillance footage. If Zhang Guanghang is not at Fenyuan, Xia Murui may only serve 6-8 tables of customers a day, and sometimes she may even close down, as there are so few customers that she does not need to monitor the surveillance footage.

But today, Xia Murui would frequently glance at the surveillance camera, sometimes for four or five seconds at a time.

Zhang Guanghang didn't say anything, just kept working quietly, and when he needed to remind someone, he would say, "Master, the meat in the pot seems to be almost cooked."

Xia Murui turned away and went to the stove to prepare the braised meat. When he turned around, Zhang Guanghang could see his expression, an expression he rarely saw on Xia Murui's face.

He felt a little surprised, a bit happy, but mostly nostalgic, wistful, and a complex mix of emotions he couldn't quite describe.

Zhang Guanghang hadn't seen these expressions on Xia Murui's face for many years.

Ever since Xia Murui contacted the descendants of the Li family, wanting to buy back Taifenglou at three times the market price but was refused, and after trying to buy it every year only to be rejected every year, Xia Murui has rarely been happy.

Having lived to this age, Xia Murui rarely encounters anything that surprises him. After all, he has seen, experienced, and heard of most things in this world; there are very few things he has never heard of or seen before.

The melancholy and nostalgia often seen in the elderly were rarely observed in Xia Murui, as Zhang Guanghang had always thought. Zhang Guanghang believed this was because his master had been alone for many years, utterly isolated since returning to Beiping, without any close friends, acquaintances, or descendants of old friends. Therefore, he had nothing to be melancholy or nostalgic about. Zhang Guanghang had always considered his master a very individualistic, aloof, and short-tempered old man, yet also a very warm-hearted one.

His master was omnipotent, never wavered, rarely hesitated, and never regretted.

Then Zhang Guanghang detected doubt and disbelief in his master's voice: "Xiao Hang, do you think people have an afterlife?"

Zhang Guanghang: ?

When did his master become a philosopher?

Just as Zhang Guanghang was wondering how to answer the question, Xia Murui's next sentence pulled him back to reality from the world of philosophy.

"Are you having dinner tonight? I remember when you came back to China last month you said you were eating too much oily food and needed to lose weight. It's really not good to eat 'Wanfu Meat' at night. You should give your portion of Wanfu Meat to the guests."

"You just said the guests wanted to eat braised silver carp with oil, right? We happen to have some silver carp. Could you prepare the fish in a moment?"

Zhang Guanghang: ...

"Yes, Master." Zhang Guanghang obediently replied and continued working, starting to think about what to eat after work.

Zhang Guanghang had a premonition that if the two guests outside said that there were not enough vegetables in today's set meal, the last dish of his dinner, oyster sauce lettuce, would be served to them.
.
Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an, who were whispering around the octagonal table, were completely unaware that because of them, a handsome man in the kitchen had lost his dinner.

The two were still whispering to each other.

However, the topic of conversation shifted from why Fenyuan, a large place, didn't hire a single waiter to whether Zhang Guanghang's chef's uniform was custom-made or simply because he was tall and had a good physique, so any ordinary clothes looked particularly good on him.

We're all chefs, and we usually have to wear staff uniforms, so we wanted to improve our image in that regard.

As we chatted, the food was served.

"Spiced peanuts, tofu with scallions, and jade fan, please enjoy." Zhang Guanghang, whose expression had been relatively gentle, inexplicably transformed into a cool and aloof handsome man. He coldly placed the dishes on the table, turned around, and left without looking back.

Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an were both stunned. Qin Huai even glanced at the time and found that it was only 5:37.

Zhao Cheng'an's voice trembled, and tears almost fell from his eyes: "I was so stupid, really."

"I only knew that being late might upset Chef Xia, but I didn't know that being early would also upset him. Our set meal only has 4 to 5 dishes, and three of them are cold dishes: tofu with scallions and fried peanuts. Will we be able to have any hot dishes today?"

Faced with Zhao Cheng'an's pessimism, Qin Huai was much more optimistic, mainly because the three cold dishes had already been served and there was no other way but to be optimistic.

Qin Huai calmly picked up a peanut with his chopsticks, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it: "The peanuts are quite delicious, a perfect dish to accompany alcohol. It's a pity that neither of us drinks. They're deep-fried and sprinkled with salt and sugar. Just the control of the heat alone makes this plate of peanuts at least B+ grade. You really can't find this anywhere else."

"Can't you stop having an episode at a time like this?"

Qin Huai glanced at Zhao Cheng'an: "Do you have any other ideas?"

Zhao Cheng'an channeled his grief and anger into his appetite, picking up a small piece of tofu mixed with scallions. Upon tasting it:

"Fuck, it's delicious!"

It's clear that Zhao Cheng'an's mental state isn't very good right now; he's been infected by Zang Liang.

"Qin Huai, you must try this scallion tofu! It's absolutely amazing! I've never had such delicious scallion tofu in my life. Why isn't this scallion tofu Fen Yuan's signature dish? It could totally be one! Try it and tell me what level this scallion tofu would get in your game system."

Qin Huai took a bite and wasn't entirely sure: "From B+ to A."

Zhao Cheng'an took another bite of the Jade Fan and frowned: "This dish used to be a signature dish. Has Master Xia stopped making it for many years? I feel that this dish is not as good as tofu with scallions."

Qin Huai also picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, first eating the bok choy, then the magnolia petals, and finally the shiitake mushrooms, and commented: "It seems a bit lacking. Is it because this dish is mainly sold for its presentation, so the preparation is a bit perfunctory? Plus, Master Xia isn't in a good mood today, so he just made it casually."

"Sigh." Zhao Cheng'an sighed deeply. "Let's eat. We were just unlucky to run into Master Xia in such a bad mood. We were just joking about ordering a set meal and getting tofu with scallions, but we actually got to eat it."

The two of them ate one bite at a time, quickly finishing off the scallion and tofu salad. Then they focused on the fried peanuts, and finally ate the jade fan casually.

Xia Murui was watching the surveillance footage in the kitchen, her brows furrowed as she asked Zhang Guanghang, "Do young people these days eat this much? Or did they look really hungry when they came in? It's not even 5:50 yet, and they've almost finished all three cold dishes."

Zhang Guanghang said, "When I opened the door, I heard them say they wanted to buy sesame seed cakes."

"Baked flatbread?" Xia Murui asked in confusion. "You like baked flatbread? Just like when you were a kid, you only like to eat all sorts of random things. The oven for making baked flatbread is in the warehouse, and it can't be cleared out for a while. How can we have time to make baked flatbread for them today?"

Zhang Guanghang: ?

Master, when will you become so agreeable that you can cook whatever the customer wants?
Xia Murui glanced at the ingredients that were almost ready and said helplessly, "Forget it, since they can eat so much, I'll just cook them a couple more dishes. It's not good to just eat cold dishes."

"Xiao Hang, cut them a fruit platter and serve it first. I'll just stir-fry a couple of dishes."

"Okay Master."

Three minutes later, Zhang Guanghang coldly served an exquisite fruit platter, put it down without a word, and left.

Qin Huai & Zhao Cheng'an: ...

Even someone as optimistic as Qin Huai can't be optimistic now.

"How many dishes are in our set meal again?" Qin Huai's voice was trembling.

"4...4 to 5."

"This is already the fourth course." Qin Huai looked at the exquisite fruit platter. "I've learned my lesson. I won't come this early next time."

"Eat."

The two of them took turns eating, one a piece of watermelon and the other a piece of cantaloupe, resigned to their fate.

Xia Murui, who was heating up a wok in the kitchen, preparing to stir-fry two dishes: ?
Are you that hungry? You're wolfing down your fruit platter.
What's wrong with Ling Guangzhao? He's holding an exchange meeting but not providing meals for the participants?

(End of this chapter)