Chapter 34
Chao Youqian has been praised ever since he confessed that he is also selfish. Lang Xin is simply a hidden master of flattery. He has been talking about his strengths from the moment they first met as children to the present day, enumerating his advantages in detail, not letting him speak and staring at him with melancholy eyes, like a sad husky.
Unable to bear it, she leaned back in the car seat, a blush spreading across her cheeks as Lang Xin spoke. Glancing at the time, she saw it was almost time for dinner, so Chao Youqian quickly took the opportunity to interrupt, "Alright! I'm not selfish! Stop praising me. How about we grab a meal out tonight?"
Lang Xin's continuous outburst was intended to help him shake off his low mood. He smiled and said, "Chao Chao is truly outstanding. Come and see where we're going to eat next. I'll be your driver."
I haven't eaten out in over a month. City H is currently under regional lockdown, and some businesses in these areas are only open for takeout. Searching WeChat public accounts for restaurants offering dine-in options, I stumbled upon a renowned private chef offering set menus featuring dishes that are difficult to replicate at home.
This restaurant is well-known nationwide. The head chef, a former five-star hotel chef, works independently. As long as you can afford it, he can make you any dish. Chao Youqian had vaguely heard of this restaurant when he was in City B, but gave up because the wait for an appointment was several months.
Those who can secure a reservation are well-off, so customers flock from all over the country, even the world. Since the outbreak of Virus X, local epidemic prevention and control policies have varied, and intercity travel carries the risk of imminent lockdowns. This private kitchen saw a sudden drop in bookings, so to maintain a certain level of customer flow, they introduced set meals. Because epidemic regulations prohibit dining in groups of more than three, dishes are typically prepared for two or three people.
The set meal specifies the dishes, which makes it easier for chefs to prepare ingredients than the ordering system based on reservations. After all, many ingredients that require extreme freshness are difficult to transport during the epidemic.
There was just one set meal left for today, and Chao Youqian snapped it up quickly, his anticipation for the delicious food bringing a smile to his face. "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, Three-piece Duck, Lychee Pork, Wensi Tofu, Boiled Cabbage." Chao Youqian's heart soared with the names of these dishes, "We're so lucky!"
Seeing his mood improve from his previous low mood, Lang Xin felt even happier from the bottom of his heart. "Thank goodness you got it, otherwise you'd have missed out on a feast. Not every restaurant can order a table full of dishes like this. First, send the stuff in the trunk back to the villa and change clothes so you can go to dinner."
The land in the villa yard has been basically prepared. Professionals and professional equipment really make a difference. Aside from the original plank road and landscape in the yard, the rest of the ground has been transformed into fertile farmland, just like the black soil in Northeast China.
Now, we're planting mature fruits and vegetables directly, eliminating the need for reseeding. A professional team is constantly unloading rooted plants from a truck. As the sky darkens and the air becomes more humid, it's the perfect time to transplant.
Chao Youqian instructed Lang Xin to place the chicken coop in the corner of the yard so as not to affect the team's transplanting work. The hydroponic rack was assembled and taken into the elevator to be placed on the second underground floor. Anyway, there was a fill light and no need for sunlight.
The team continued to work in the yard. The two went upstairs to change their clothes and prepare to welcome the sumptuous dinner with full spirits.
The private kitchen is located not far from the villa, just over 20 minutes' drive away. It looks like a small manor. After entering, a special person will guide us to the private room, which is obviously not suitable for two or three people. The waiter, wearing a mask, smiled and said, "The epidemic situation is still quite serious. The maximum number of guests we receive per table each day is three. The extra chairs here will be moved for you later."
There was hand sanitizer on the service table at the door of the box. Chao Youqian squeezed out a pump of it. There was a little too much, so he applied some on the back of Lang Xin's hand.
The waiter seemed to misunderstand their relationship because of the overly natural action. "Today is Chinese Valentine's Day and our restaurant is giving couples a free dessert. Would you like any?"
Chao Youqian opened his eyes wide in shock, his beautiful pupils shrinking slightly: "Ah, we are not a couple, so let's not do that..."
The waiter hummed awkwardly a few times, said sorry to bother you and said the food would be served soon, and then hurried out.
"Today is Chinese Valentine's Day? I don't feel the festive atmosphere at all." Chao Youqian was also infected by the awkward atmosphere and changed the subject.
Lang Xin slowly wiped the hand sanitizer off the back of his hand and said with a smile, "Why, are you embarrassed to be a couple with me?"
Chao Youqian shook his head fiercely: "Xiao Xinzi, you are handsome and rich. You will make a fortune as your partner."
"Since you denied it so quickly, I really hope we're the couple the waiter just mentioned." Lang Xin observed Chao Youqian's expression as he spoke, "And I can get a five-star dessert for free."
He was choked by Lang Xin's halting speaking style and rolled his eyes at Youqian: "Why not call the waiter back? When did you say you were missing a dessert?" He used this eye roll to cover up the abnormal heartbeat when he only heard the first sentence.
Lang Xin poured tea into their cups and pretended not to notice Chao Youqian's slightly red ears. He had been patiently boiling the frog in warm water for so many years and was not in a hurry to attack the city or capture the stronghold. He just let Chao Youqian slowly open up.
"I'm going out for a walk." Chao Youqian said and walked out of the box.
The private kitchen has a fairly large garden, which offers nice views even in such hot weather. All the flowers used are heat-resistant. Although the colors are not bright, the flowers are in clusters and emit a pleasant fragrance. The owner's good intentions can be seen everywhere.
As night fell, the temperature in the garden dropped even lower, feeling around 30 degrees Celsius. Chao Youqian walked slowly on the path, puzzled by his pounding heart. He had heard more direct teasing before, but he had never felt this uncomfortable. Could it be that he really had different feelings for Lang Xin?
Recalling everything that happened after he met Lang Xin, he had no brothers or sisters in his previous life, so in this life he treated Lang Xin as his younger brother, even though this naughty younger brother quickly grew taller than him and took care of all the trivial matters in his life.
Chao Youqian was surprised to find that Lang Xin had long been inseparable from his life. Lang Xin figured in all his future plans. He had never even thought about the future without Lang Xin.
His mind was a mess. Did he really have feelings for Lang Xin, the man he had known since childhood? He paced around the garden like a headless fly, not realizing how much time had passed. He only came to his senses when Lang Xin patted his shoulder.
"The food is ready, let's go back to the private room. It's still hot outside and you're sweating." Lang Xin wiped the few drops of sweat from his face. The tissue paper was the brand he always used. It was very soft and did not prick the skin. He never brought tissue paper with him when he went out because Lang Xin would definitely prepare them.
Chao Youqian nodded dazedly. He had always been able to relieve stress on his own. In the past, he was a problem-solver in the Mathematical Olympiad class, and in this life, he was torn apart by the bloody struggles of a wealthy family. This unexpected emotional shock would not make him feel entangled for a long time.
Back in the private room, the cool air conditioning brought a refreshing feeling. Chao Youqian sighed, "How would we have survived this scorching summer without air conditioning? How did people in the past get through the summer without it? Air conditioning is truly a great invention!"
Lang Xin took out a wet wipe from her bag and wiped Chao Youqian's hands again. "Maybe it wasn't this hot before. It's just that extreme weather has increased over the past decade or so. Do you remember the winter of our last year of high school? Hong Kong Island even had its first snow in history."
Chao Youqian chuckled. "How could I not remember? As soon as get out of class was over, the whole school ran to the playground. The snow was only a few millimeters thick, and everyone scraped it off the ground and made small snowballs."
"The last little snowman was put in the school refrigerator until the end of the semester."
After the conversation, Chao Youqian had completely calmed down. He and Lang Xin still had plenty of time in the future anyway, so he just let things take their course. He learned one of Lang Xin's strategies for conquering him without any instruction.
A new waiter was used to serve the dinner, probably to avoid the awkward atmosphere in the private room.
From the moment he took his first sip of the soup, Chao Youqian was certain that today's meal would be absolutely delicious. The production process of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is complicated, and there are countless subtle steps involved, so even with top-notch ingredients, the resulting soup may not necessarily be of the highest quality.
The soup of this private chef is very well blended, with various ingredients complementing each other, smooth and rich, leaving you with an endless aftertaste after every bite.
Three-piece duck is also a complicated dish. As a well-known Huaiyang dish, three birds, domestic duck, wild duck and pigeon, are cooked with bamboo shoots, ham and mushrooms through a series of blanching and stewing steps. The domestic duck is wrapped with wild duck, and the wild duck is wrapped with young pigeon. It is fresh and crispy, soft and tender.
There are no lychees in the dish; the name comes from the pork cooked to resemble them. The chef uses fresh and crispy water chestnuts, which, when eaten with the fried pork, create a delicious, sweet, sour, and crispy dish.
The difficulty of making Wensi tofu and boiled cabbage is well known to everyone. The tofu is as thin as a thread and melts in the mouth, and the broth of boiled cabbage is fresh, fragrant and mellow, which makes people feel relaxed and happy when eating it.
The rice served with the dish is Wuchang rice, which is said to be steamed with special mountain spring water. It is soft and glutinous with distinct grains. The aroma of rice fills the air as soon as the lid of the wooden barrel is opened.
Three of tonight's four dishes and one soup were among the top ten national banquet dishes, and the chef's skills were worthy of the title. After eating, Chao Youqian finally understood the source of this restaurant's fame. No wonder it had such a long reservation list.
One advantage of eating in a private kitchen is that you can communicate with the chef easily. Chao Youqian suppressed the urge to burp and asked the chef if his rice could be sold. After thinking about it, he shamelessly asked if he could order ready-made dishes to be delivered to his door, and the price would be doubled.
The head chef of this private kitchen looked to be in his thirties or forties, and his thinking was quite up to date. He did not feel offended, but instead had a detailed conversation with him. This was when he truly realized that the price of a meal exceeding ten thousand yuan was the most worthwhile aspect.
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