Back to 1984: I built a chicken farm on a barren mountain.

Chen Wenfeng was thinking about Zheng Xuejiao, so he sent Hou Laizi to buy a pound of pork from Zheng Dali every day.

Hou Laizi lived up to his mission, going to buy meat on time every day like clocking in for work, which made Zheng Dali wonder if this Laizi had taken a liking to his daughter.

For several days in a row, there was no movement at Zheng Dali's house.

Chen Wenfeng felt a little relieved. He figured that even if Qin Xiaofen took some action, it wouldn't be so quick. He just needed to keep an eye on things.

Once the mushrooms on Jiming Mountain were almost dried, Chen Wenfeng arranged for Zhou Zhiming and Niu Er to go to the county town with him to deliver the goods. Fearing that Wu Jiajun might ask him to stay overnight, he instructed Hou Laizi before leaving to call the Zunxi Jiuzhou Hotel in the county town immediately if Qin Xiaofen took any action.

After Chen Wenfeng gave repeated instructions, he finally let Niu Er drive the cart and set off.

The autumn sun is warm but not scorching, and the autumn air is crisp but not dry. Ox carts clatter along the country dirt roads, with cornfields lining both sides. In some sunny fields, the corn is already ripe, and occasionally you can see farmers picking corn and harvesting corn stalks.

For this land at the foot of the Yanshan Mountains, autumn is the most bountiful season. The corn, sorghum, and millet in the fields are ripe, and the apples, persimmons, chestnuts, and walnuts in the orchards have all borne fruit. The vegetables in the gardens have not yet been touched by frost, the dates in the mountains are sweet and sour, and the rabbits in the grass and the fish in the river are at their fattest.

Chen Wenfeng thought that he should take advantage of the abundance of fruits and vegetables now to dry more vegetables and fruits, so that there would be more food to eat in winter. In addition, he should also prepare more firewood.

Since the three of them were not in a hurry, it was already noon when they arrived at the Kyushu Hotel in their oxcart.

As usual, the Zunxi Jiuzhou Hotel was bustling with diners coming and going.

Seeing Manager Li standing at the door, greeting guests with his standard professional smile, Chen Wenfeng thought to himself that Manager Li was truly the soul of this restaurant!

Manager Li spotted Chen Wenfeng from afar. After all, he was not only familiar with Chen Wenfeng, but more importantly, the sight of an oxcart arriving at the restaurant entrance was quite conspicuous.

"It's been a long time, Mr. Chen!" Manager Li greeted him with a smile.

Chen Wenfeng jumped out of the car, grabbed Manager Li's hand, and said:

"Manager Li, it seems like there are an unusually large number of people eating here today. Looks like Brother Wu will have to give you a raise again!"

Manager Li smiled but did not refute, and said:

"To be honest, wages have really increased."

"Oh?" Chen Wenfeng said politely, but it turned out to be true. He continued, picking up where Manager Li left off:

"Then you have to treat us today!"

"I have to treat you today, because my raise is related to you too!"

Manager Li, a mysterious smile on his face, pulled Chen Wenfeng inside. Chen Wenfeng beckoned Zhou Zhiming and Niu Er to follow. Niu Er said:

"Brother Feng, we left in a hurry today, and the scalpers haven't even had a drink of water yet."

Chen Wenfeng said to Manager Li:

"Manager Li, please have someone give our big yellow ox some water, with a handful of salt in it. Niu Er, you keep an eye on things for a while, then come find us on the third floor later."

"Mr. Chen, don't worry, I've arranged everything. Please come inside and have a seat!"

Manager Li led Chen Wenfeng up to the third floor, to the same room, with Zhou Zhiming following behind.

Wu Jiajun wasn't here today, so Manager Li acted as a part-time host. He told Chen Wenfeng and the others to sit down while he arranged for someone to prepare water and salt for Niu Er, and also instructed the kitchen to cook.

After a while, Manager Li brought Niu Er in, and the four of them sat down in turn.

Manager Li spoke first:

"Mr. Chen, Mr. Wu isn't here today, so I'm representing both Mr. Wu and myself. Let me treat you to a good drink. What would you like to drink?"

Chen Wenfeng said:

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do. You've always been the one making the arrangements, so let's do it your way today."

"Then let's drink Moutai. I love the flavor of this soy sauce."

"Okay!" Chen Wenfeng said to Zhou Zhiming and Niu Er:

"You can have a little, but Niu Er can't drink too much; he still has to catch the carriage back!"

Although driving an oxcart wasn't afraid of drinking, and drunk driving wasn't checked these days, Chen Wenfeng always remembered the first time he got drunk at the Zunxi Jiuzhou Hotel and got lost, encountering Shen Wanjun.

Niu Er didn't particularly like drinking, and after hearing Chen Wenfeng's words, he was even more eager to drink less, because his only goal was to eat. Zhou Zhiming felt the same way.

"How are Shen Xiaoxia's steamed buns selling here?"

Chen Wenfeng then thought of Shen Wanjun's cousin, Shen Xiaoxia, and how shrewd she was. Moreover, it was Chen Wenfeng who recommended Shen Xiaoxia and her husband to cooperate with Jiuzhou Hotel.

"I was just about to tell you about this!" Manager Li said, his interest piqued when Chen Wenfeng mentioned Shen Xiaoxia.

"You wouldn't believe it, this couple, one's a smooth talker and the other's incredibly capable, their steamed buns have practically become a restaurant specialty. Now, every customer who comes for lunch or dinner orders some buns to take home. Even those who don't come for dinner often just buy buns. I was just telling Shen Xiaoxia the other day, the buns are selling so well now, people who don't know better would think the restaurant started out selling buns!"

Chen Wenfeng knew that this was something Shen Xiaoxia and her husband could do. The couple came from a state-run restaurant and brought with them their skills and intelligence; they couldn't go wrong no matter what they did.

Manager Li suddenly changed the subject and mentioned Shen Wanjun:

"Mr. Chen, do you know what Shen Wanjun is doing right now?"

"Shen Wanjun, isn't she helping Shen Xiaoxia?"

"She was helping Shen Xiaoxia, but now I've stolen her away, hahaha!"

"Oh?" Chen Wenfeng asked, intrigued.

"Does she belong to the hotel now?"

"Yes, and at a high level. Usually, I would decide on the staff for the restaurant, but Shen Wanjun was the one that General Manager Wu ultimately decided on."

"Is this an important task entrusted to him?"

"More or less." Just then, a waiter entered and said, "..."

"Brother Li, the dishes are all prepared, shall we serve?"

Manager Li replied:

"Go ahead, no need to wait. Oh, and bring me my bottle of Moutai."

The waiter went downstairs after hearing this. Manager Li continued:

"Jiuzhou Hotel has now become a mountain produce group. Actually, it was Shen Xiaoxia who reminded us that since the hotel has no shortage of customers, we might as well sell some things. Just then, Mr. Chen sent us some 'Dengdaoshan' (a type of mountain snack), so we fried it, packaged it in small bags, and tried selling it. It sold quite well. With the profit from selling the buns, it's equivalent to an increase of one-third in the average order value."

As they spoke, the waiter brought out all eight dishes. Chen Wenfeng noticed that these eight dishes looked strangely familiar. He saw them laid out on the table:

Braised ribbonfish, local roast chicken, pine nut sausage, shredded pork with green peppers, braised pork knuckle, stir-fried pork kidney, stir-fried greens, and cucumber salad.

Aren't these the same dishes I ate the first time I came to Kyushu Hotel?