When the couple arrived at the shop, their family was already waiting: Grandpa Jiang, Grandma Zhou, their son Zhou Zhou, Jiang Liu's older brother Jiang He, and his wife Cui Mingyue.
The family of seven was seated right next to the aquarium, and little Zhou Zhou was drooling over the fish tank.
"Grandma, are we having tea eggs today?"
In the ancient town of Jiangzhou, Xiaoming Zhouzhou, the chubby boy, smacked his lips reluctantly, as if the lingering aroma of the tea egg still lingered in his mouth.
Grandma Jiang smiled and pinched her grandson's cheek:
"Zhou Zhou, we're not having tea eggs today. We're going to eat something even better than tea eggs!"
"Huh? There's something even tastier than a tea egg? That can't be right."
The chubby boy scratched his head and couldn't help but look around the restaurant.
For a child, the tea eggs they used to eat at breakfast stalls were the most delicious thing in the world. How could there be anything better?
Everyone at the table laughed, but Jiang Liu's brother, Jiang He, paid more attention, glancing around and nodding.
"Dad, Mom, you know what, this restaurant we booked this time looks pretty good. Did they have someone design the decor?"
Jiang He runs an interior design company in Beijing, so he immediately recognized that these green plants were unlike anything he had ever seen before in the market, and couldn't help but mutter to himself.
"No matter how nice the decor is, it's all for nothing if the food doesn't taste good. I've heard that there are flashy trendy restaurants everywhere now, with ridiculously high prices and terrible food."
Cui Mingyue's makeup was exquisite, and her skirt and trousers outfit was neat and capable. She started to be picky as soon as she opened her mouth:
"Look at how the seafood section is mixed with the dining area. I don't know if the hygiene and fire safety standards are met. And these green plants, if they get infested with bugs and fall down, it will definitely affect the guests' dining experience. If you ask me, old-established restaurants are still the best. The food is good and the hygiene is guaranteed, right? Look at Quanjude and Taihelou in Beijing. They are not so unconventional. They are nearly a hundred years old."
As soon as she said that, Jiang Liu fell silent, turning to look at Grandpa Jiang and Grandma Zhou. Li Ping, who couldn't stand Cui Mingyue's attitude, immediately retorted:
"Sister-in-law, I don't like hearing that. This is the restaurant Dad specifically requested. What's wrong with us, the younger generation, going along with the elders? People who know you say your family owns a restaurant and you're a bit picky about food, but people who don't know you might think you look down on us, right?"
They keep talking about "Beijing" and "old-established restaurants," and before even eating there, they've already found a whole host of faults. To put it bluntly, they just think they're superior to everyone else.
Cui Mingyue's expression darkened; she hadn't expected this to be the place Grandpa Zhou had specifically requested.
Seeing that things were getting out of hand, Jiang Liu quickly tried to smooth things over by beckoning a waiter over.
"Waiter, we'd like to order!"
Xu Milu happened to be passing by and immediately spotted Zhou Dama, an old acquaintance. She took the teapot from the waiter and went over.
...
...
Holding a cup of hot tea, Cui Mingyue's complexion improved a little, but when she heard Aunt Zhou say that Xu Milu was the boss, her scrutinizing gaze fell on Xu Milu.
She's too young; in her father's words, he can't protect her.
Xu Milu glanced up as if sensing something, saw the scrutiny in Cui Mingyue's eyes, and simply smiled:
"Our restaurant doesn't have a menu, only set meals, priced at 1,800, 3,800, and 9,800. The dishes are different every day. Since there are six of you, I suggest you order the 1,800 family set meal, which includes two cold dishes, four hot dishes, two desserts, and a soup. Is that alright?"
I've never seen such a novel way of ordering food before.
Grandpa Jiang immediately became interested: "What kinds of dishes are those?"
Xu Milu flipped through the tablet in her hand and began to recite the names of the dishes one by one:
"Cold dishes include purple seaweed salad, preserved egg and tofu, hot dishes include braised pork in Shaoxing wine, sweet and sour spare ribs, and stir-fried small river shrimp with chives and chili. Desserts include steamed millet with egg and pumpkin, grape sorbet, and a seaweed and egg drop soup."
Some of the dish names sounded familiar, but others were completely unfamiliar. This time, Cui Mingyue was smarter and asked:
What's the difference between the 3,800 yuan package and the 9,800 yuan package?
Xu Milu pointed to the glass tank in the fresh food section, where abalone the size of an adult's fist stood out prominently:
"Actually, there's not much difference. The 3,800 set meal has a larger portion, with an extra steamed fish, a fruit platter, and a dessert. The 9,800 set meal is based on the 3,800 set meal but adds a soft-boiled abalone."
Cui Mingyue then noticed the enormous abalone in the fish tank and was somewhat incredulous:
"Such a large abalone?? Is this California red abalone? No, that's not right. California has completely banned the harvesting of red abalone. Even within the US, very little reaches the market, let alone domestically—"
Her family runs a restaurant business, so she knows better than anyone that abalone is not rare, but large abalone is.
Abalone is graded by size. The term "heads" usually refers to the number of abalone per pound. "Ten-head abalone" means ten abalone weighing one pound, and "three-head abalone" means three abalone weighing one pound. These are quite expensive. Even rarer are "double-head abalone" and "single-head abalone," which are extremely rare and are considered priceless.
The saying goes, "A double-headed abalone is priceless," but Cui Mingyue never expected to see so many live single-headed abalone in this city, just like that, brazenly placed in aquariums for people to admire.
Last year, a single abalone was auctioned off for a staggering 110,000 yuan!
The boss is either an idiot or has too much money to burn.
Before Cui Mingyue could ask any further questions, she eagerly began to speak:
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