Chapter 116 Golden Cabbage [Second Update]
10 PM.
Jin Yu Lou was still bustling with people.
As a long-established restaurant, Jin Yu Lou's exterior closely resembles its name. Golden spotlights illuminate the building, making the three-story structure appear like a landmark in the city from afar.
Such a large restaurant is never short of customers.
Especially during the winter months.
As the year draws to a close, with all sorts of gatherings, visits to relatives and friends, and New Year's Eve banquets, Jin Yu Lou rarely has a quiet time.
Just like tonight, the three floors were almost full, and the guests in the private rooms kept asking people to come out and order more food. The rooms, decorated in an antique style, not only had mahogany display shelves, but also a stream and a rockery in the middle of each floor.
Goldfish kept in flowing water wag their tails, and there is a device emitting white smoke nearby, adding a layer of enchanting mist to the already tranquil environment.
Inside a private room, a business dinner was underway, with toasts and conversation flowing freely. The client from Hong Kong Island had a shrewd appearance and spoke with impeccable eloquence.
The employee next to him watched as his boss frequently raised his glass, but the conversation kept circling around the topic. When he finally managed to get to the point, the guest always deftly deflected the question. Although the Hong Kong guest spoke fluent Mandarin, he possessed the characteristics of a coastal businessman: extremely focused on his interests. To secure a project, you had to offer him truly generous terms.
The assistant next to the Hong Kong businessman, though having a cold expression, was exceptionally adept at handling situations. Whenever someone at the table said something inappropriate, the assistant would quickly change the subject with a few polite words.
The employee glanced at his boss, whose anxious expression was barely concealed by a smile; his eyes were practically spitting fire.
Tsk tsk, it seems even an old fox can meet its match.
The boss clenched his fist under the table, still wearing a smile as he tried to get closer to the person.
"Manager Chen, please try this. It's Jin Yu Lou's signature dish, the Golden Cabbage."
The casserole is decorated with gold patterns on the outside, and when the lid is lifted, a fragrant aroma wafts out.
Chen Jiahe's lips seemed to naturally curve into a smile as he said amiably, "I've long heard of Jin Yu Lou's great reputation, but it's a pity I've never tasted it. I heard that this Golden Cabbage was once served at a state banquet? Then I must try it."
Manager Guo smiled and said, "There were no state banquets, but I happen to have a connection with Chef Jin from Jinyulou, so I know a little about this. Actually, Chef Jin and his two apprentices have been in charge of state banquets. Back then, Chef Jin's master was still alive, and he created several Huaiyang dishes that incorporated the strengths of various cuisines. Chef Jin worked in the capital for a few years with this skill."
After Manager Guo finished speaking, recalling the rumors about Manager Chen Jiahe's love of food, he generously offered to accompany him whenever Chen Jiahe came to eat. He then casually mentioned that reservations at Jin Yu Lou were difficult to obtain, and that he had a good personal relationship with the head chef there…
Chen Jiahe smiled, then suddenly changed the subject: "Manager Guo seems to know this place very well... Does Manager Guo know Wenji? I had the chance to try Wenji's dishes once, and I must say, this place is full of hidden talents, it left a deep impression on me."
Even after he returned to Hong Kong, he still kept thinking about it.
Upon hearing that the company had a project here, Chen Jiahe couldn't wait to take on the business trip. This unexpected move left his old rivals in the office completely bewildered, and they all secretly speculated about his true intentions.
Chen Jiahe thought to himself, there's no medicine for this. He just ate at every restaurant on Hong Kong Island and came to a sad conclusion.
That is, no matter whether it is an old brand or a restaurant with a century-old history, he strangely felt that the food he had eaten at Wenji was the best!
Chen Jiahe didn't know if it was the braised pork trotters rice that made the difference, or if he had actually tasted a delicacy in mainland China that he couldn't find anywhere else. Just as Chen Jiahe was doubting himself, his assistant Zeng, after accompanying him to a social event, suddenly remarked, "This braised fish and rice cake is not as good as Wen Ji's," which confirmed Chen Jiahe's judgment.
Assistant Zeng is not someone who cares much about food, and even he couldn't forget that meal, so Chen Jiahe had even less reason to refuse this business trip.
Even before the Lunar New Year, Chen Jiahe was still excited to travel from the more comfortable Hong Kong Island to the cold north after getting off the plane.
Assistant Zeng even stated that he had already booked a hotel. Instead of choosing the five-star hotel where they usually stay, he opted for a four-star hotel closer to Wenji.
Upon seeing the hotel address, Chen Jiahe laughed and jokingly asked Assistant Zeng if he had already booked the time for the private dinner.
Assistant Zeng: "Wenji no longer serves private kitchen dishes. They say they change the menu every day, for lunch and dinner."
This was an unexpected delight. Chen Jiahe hadn't expected to be able to eat Wen Ji's dishes every day. Judging from Assistant Zeng's excitement, it was clear that the two of them would enjoy a feast during this trip to the mainland.
But soon, he couldn't laugh anymore.
After leaving the airport and arriving at the hotel, an old acquaintance was waiting for him. Chen Jiahe originally thought it was just a meeting with an old friend, but to his surprise, the other party brought quite a few people with him.
The implication was that they were introducing the company to Chen Jiahe.
Chen Jiahe never expected things to turn out this way. He took a deep look at his friend, realizing that the friendship had been repaid with cash at this moment. After the meal, the debt of gratitude was settled, and the relationship would never be the same again.
The company was small and disorganized. Chen Jiahe said he had just arrived in the country, but the other party still warmly offered to welcome him.
The table we booked was at Jinyulou.
Chen Jiahe had no choice but to go upstairs with his assistant to change clothes, and the group arrived at Jinyulou.
Throughout the meal, Chen Jiahe was busy dealing with the other party's offensive, since he hadn't even seen the other party's qualifications or documents, so there was really nothing of substance to discuss.
There's nothing more to say but the food.
The "golden cabbage" that Manager Guo introduced is actually a soup dish.
The soup base is made with dried shrimp and scallops, and you can faintly taste the flavor of pork fat and ham. There are also ham and pork belly in the soup, along with Chinese cabbage and firm tofu. On top of the soup is a layer of fried egg floss and quail eggs.
Chen Jiahe took a bite and exclaimed, "It tastes just like the dishes from Lui's Restaurant in Hong Kong!"
Manager Guo hadn't recovered from Chen Jiahe's previous question. What Wenji? He'd never even heard of it. While he was wondering if he'd missed some newly opened restaurant in the city, Chen Jiahe had already moved on from the topic.
Manager Guo was a beat slow, but quickly replied, "No wonder everyone says you're an expert. One of Chef Jin's junior apprentices later went to Hong Kong Island and is said to be working at Lu's Restaurant."
Chen Jiahe scooped up a bowl of golden cabbage and savored it slowly.
This soup looks like a home-style dish, but it's actually very flavorful. When eating this dish, the meat is more like a side dish; the main ingredients are cabbage and tofu.
The name "Golden Cabbage" is indeed fitting for the main ingredient of this dish.
The cabbage was fresh and sweet, and the tofu had a rich bean aroma. Chen Jiahe gave it an eight out of ten in his mind.
Although Master Jin is the head of Jin Yu Lou, his skills are not as good as his junior apprentice's.
The egg floss in this soup was too oily, not drained long enough, and contained too much animal fat, making the soup not refreshing enough.
Chen Jiahe only drank one bowl before putting down his chopsticks. This dish of golden cabbage was already the best of the evening. In Chen Jiahe's opinion, no matter how expensive the ingredients were, the other dishes were all lacking in quality.
Manager Guo was like a cat on a hot tin roof. If he couldn't turn things around tonight, Chen Jiahe, that old fox, would probably take matters into his own hands. In desperation, he had no choice but to bring up Wenji again, which he had mentioned earlier.
"I apologize for my ignorance regarding the Wenji restaurant you mentioned earlier, but I don't know which one it is?"
Chen Jiahe said with a smile, "I was just mentioning it casually. It's a small shop, so it's understandable that you didn't know it..."
"Are you referring to Wen Ji Restaurant across from Qunying Middle School?"
Manager Guo looked at Xiao Lu, a junior employee sitting at the end of the table. Xiao Lu was in his twenties and had just graduated from university this year. He didn't look like a professional even though he was wearing a suit. He was just bringing people here to make up the numbers.
But this guy, who was just there to make up the numbers, mustered up his courage and spoke up: "If it's Wen Ji across from Qunying Middle School, then I know... I also graduated from Qunying Middle School. I went back for the school's anniversary celebration a while ago."
Chen Jiahe didn't mind the young man's interruption at all, and was quite interested when he heard it: "Oh? That's quite a coincidence. It's been half a year since I last came here. I wonder if Wenji has changed in the past six months?"
Xiao Lu scratched his head: "Quite a change... They expanded the storefront, now it's two rooms. It's just that they always make a lot of dishes only once and then take them off the menu, and they always close down. Before, my...girlfriend loved their persimmon cakes, but they only sold them for a little over two months before saying they ran out of persimmons and would make them again next year...and fried shrimp balls, braised pork belly, spicy beef noodles..."
Chen Jiahe suddenly became interested in talking: "What do persimmon cakes look like?"
"It seems to be made with persimmon dough, the outside is persimmon flavored, and the inside is filled with brown sugar, sesame, peanuts, and osmanthus. They make it fresh in the morning, and the filling is molten when you bite into it. They also sell fresh meat pancakes, but you have to get there early if you want to eat them, otherwise they won't sell them. I used to queue up every day, but I still sometimes couldn't buy any..."
...
As Manager Guo watched Xiao Lu and Chen Jiahe get more and more into their conversation, Assistant Zeng, who had a cold face, didn't interrupt at all. He even refilled Manager Chen's tea and then casually poured a cup for Xiao Lu as well!
Manager Guo couldn't sit still any longer. He used the excuse of going to the restroom to go outside and immediately called HR: "That Xiao Lu! How did you hire him?"
The HR, still confused, thought Xiao Lu had made a mistake and quickly explained that she was reliable and conscientious, and that's why they needed a recent graduate. Although Xiao Lu didn't graduate from a top university, she still had a full-time bachelor's degree. What happened? Did she make a mistake while accompanying a client tonight? She's not even finished her internship yet; should they fire her?
Manager Guo: "...Don't say anything more, just get Xiao Lu officially hired, and then give him a raise of 1,000 yuan."
Just based on what Xiao Lu said tonight, it proves that this kid has this kind of luck!
It's true that only a blind cat can stumble upon a dead mouse; when luck comes, there's no one to complain to.
Back in the private room, Manager Guo found his rhythm and discreetly observed the dishes for the evening, realizing that Chen Jiahe hadn't eaten much.
This old fox praised it for so long without even touching his chopsticks; he just thinks Jin Yulou is no good.
Since you say Wen Kee is good, then I'll order from Wen Kee!
Manager Guo had already decided to cater to their interests, enthusiastically joining the conversation and making the whole place even more lively.
Chen Jiahe heard Xiao Lu say that Wen Ji was incredibly greedy, and he was surprised that Wen Ji had developed so quickly in just six months!
Persimmon cakes, braised pork belly, salted egg yolk dumplings...
Although he likes seafood, it doesn't mean he won't eat other dishes!
Oh my god, I don't even know if I can still get it now.
Xiao Lu is a very honest person. After introducing Wenji, he even offered to say that he had special connections.
Chen Jiahe looked at Xiao Lu as if he were a family member: "What special channels?"
Manager Guo was coughing desperately, but Xiao Lu didn't seem to care at all.
“My girlfriend and her friends often go to Wen Ji. There’s a group chat in that group where they keep you updated on when Wen Ji opens, when new dishes are served, and occasionally someone who has to leave while waiting in line will transfer their spot in the group, but they’ll have to pay a little extra.”
Xiao Lu excitedly took out her phone: "I'll bring you in!"
Chen Jiahe took out her phone and joined the group called "Sisters, Eat Your Fill Before You Diet".
Welcome to the group chat, "Chen Jiahe"!
Manager Guo: ...
You should at least add your own contact information!
Fortunately, Chen Jiahe was a sensible person and took the initiative to thank Xiao Lu and exchange contact information so they could meet up for a meal later.
Manager Guo finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After seeing Chen Jiahe off, Manager Guo did two things.
One thing was that after scolding Xiao Lu, he promised to give him a permanent position and a raise, and then he would be given special permission to contact Chen Jiahe privately. No matter what brand of business it was, as long as Chen Jiahe was appeased, all expenses would be reimbursed and he would receive an extra subsidy!
"Kid, this is a good opportunity. Chen Jiahe is a difficult person to deal with. The project will take a long time, several months. No matter if our company is big or small, as long as you make a little money, I will give you credit for your performance."
Manager Guo sighed, "It's because you young people have more exposure to the world and are quick-witted."
Otherwise, we'll be completely lost tonight, unable to start a single conversation, and we'll just have to pretend we never ate anything after we finish.
Although there's no progress yet, with the small path serving as a bridge, there's still hope for a turnaround.
Xiao Lu was caught off guard when a huge windfall suddenly hit him on the head. He was dizzy and when he woke up, his ears were red with excitement. He called his girlfriend and stammered that it was all thanks to her.
"Baby, thank you so much for letting me go buy you food!"
If I hadn't gone there so often, how could I have gotten to this point where we started talking tonight?
After giving his employees a raise, Manager Guo turned around and went to find an old acquaintance.
Chef Jin was in the kitchen watching his apprentices cook. There were three Chef Jins in the restaurant, named Da Jin, Er Jin, and San Jin in order.
Manager Guo is acquainted with Master Jin.
Manager Guo looked at Master Jin with a regretful expression: "Brother, do you really not see what's going on outside?"
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Author's Note: Making up for last night's second update
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