Chapter 251 Brother and Sister Meet
Cai Zhiyuan looked at the two people who stood up.
Sophie's appearance is needless to say. Even though there are so many beauties in HTV, her appearance is still outstanding.
Lu Peide was wearing a light-colored shirt and trousers today. His figure was as straight as a pine tree, and between his sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, his tough temperament revealed a hint of gentleness.
No wonder his mother, after returning from her inspection, mentioned that she had run into Sophie and Chef Lu in Central and that they were a perfect match.
"The leaders just went upstairs." Lu Peide said, "Let's take a break first."
There was a double sofa and two single sofas in this area, and there happened to be a single sofa next to Cai Zhiyuan. He stepped forward, waved to call the waiter, and changed seats to stand next to Sophie. At this moment, the double sofa was behind them.
Sophie said, "You guys continue chatting, I'm going to the bathroom."
After Sophie left, Lu Peide moved two steps unnoticeably, sat in Sophie's seat, and said, "Let's sit down and talk." Then he sat down first.
At this time, Cai Zhiyuan faced two choices: either sit on the double sofa with Lu Peide, or sit on the single sofa alone. If he chose the single sofa, Lu Peide would sit on the double sofa with Sophie later. Thinking of this, he felt even more uncomfortable, and finally sat down.
The waiter came to take the order. Yue Ning ordered Coke and Cai Zhiyuan ordered American coffee. He said, "Two cups, please! Sophie is also used to drinking American coffee."
"Sophie only drinks one cup of coffee a day. She already had it this morning. Let's change to black tea!" said Lu Peide.
Cai Zhiyuan turned his head to look at Lu Peide, who smiled and said, "Why don't we wait for her to order herself?"
"Then let her order by herself." Cai Zhiyuan responded.
Lu Peide looked at Sophie who was walking over and said, "Sophie, I want black tea. What do you want to drink?"
"Just like you."
Lu Peide said with a hint of pride: "Two cups of black tea."
After Sophie sat down, Lu Peide began to talk about the conversation they had with the leaders on the way from the airport to the hotel. It was understandable that the leaders had concerns, and the purpose of their trip was to dispel these concerns.
The tea and drinks were served on the table. Sophie took a sip from the cup. Cai Zhiyuan asked, "Sophie, you only drink one cup of coffee a day now? I remember you used to drink it from morning to night."
"I used to be busy with work and needed to rely on coffee to stay awake. Now I can basically go to bed at 10 o'clock. There is no need to drink coffee continuously. I can just drink one cup a day to satisfy my craving." Sophie said with a smile.
Yue Ning looked at Cai Zhiyuan. What good could he say about his brother? Why did he have to bring up the past? Wouldn't it make Sister Sophie even more annoyed if he brought up the past?
Lu Peide was sharp-eyed. He saw the leaders coming downstairs and said, "The leaders are coming down."
Everyone rushed forward. In addition to the two chefs, there were three accompanying staff members. Lu Peide introduced them one by one, and Yue Ning and Cai Zhiyuan shook hands with them. Yue Ning said, "Leaders, the formal inspection will start tomorrow. Today, I would like to invite several industry experts to my Ningyan Restaurant to help give me some advice."
"Ningning, let's go to the Central store on the way. The leaders want to visit them." Lu Peide said.
"That couldn't be better! The leaders are knowledgeable and we welcome your valuable suggestions." Yue Ning responded quickly.
The group set off and first went to the renovation site of Ningyan Lu Mansion. At present, the renovation project has been basically completed, with only some finishing work left.
It is not easy to build such a restaurant in Central, where every inch of land is valuable. When you push open the door, you will see a blue-gray brick screen wall, in the center of which is carved a "pine and crane longevity" pattern in bas-relief technique; on the right hand side are four powerful characters: "Ningyan Lu Mansion".
Behind the screen wall is a courtyard, with a lotus pond in the center creating a waterscape, with gurgling water and koi swimming leisurely in the water. When you walk to the front of the main building, the floor-to-ceiling doors are all open, and the interior space is transparent and bright. The columns and beams retain the ochre color of the original wood. The most eye-catching thing is the "bamboo-bone rice paper lamp" hanging above the head. The lamp frame is made of purple bamboo bent into the shape of plum branches, and the lampshade is painted with exquisite fine brushwork ink painting.
"The 24 solar terms painted on the lampshades of the lamps in the hall were all created by our Miss Yue," Lu Peide introduced.
"Ms. Yue has such talent?" A leader couldn't help but admire.
Yue Ning smiled modestly and said, "I have been learning painting since I was young, and this just came in handy."
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows of the entire hall is the view of Victoria Harbour.
Yue Ning led the leaders up the stairs. Although the handrail columns had been installed, there was still space below. She explained: "These places need to be carved with patterns of spring, summer, autumn and winter. I looked for craftsmen in Hong Kong, but couldn't find a satisfactory one. Recently, I am contacting friends in Shanghai and Guangdong City to ask them to help find suitable craftsmen."
"Is it wood carving?" a leader said, "I'll call you later and introduce you to the master craftsman from Dongyang, Zhejiang, who worked with us on the renovation of the State Guesthouse. As long as it's Chinese style, there's nothing they can't do if you ask for it."
"That's great, thank you so much!" Yue Ning was overjoyed.
The upper floors are all independent private rooms, each with a unique theme. The corridor displays porcelain, handicrafts, calligraphy and paintings purchased by Yue Ning from the Friendship Store in Guangdong City, as well as embroidery and brocade products donated by the Silk Import and Export Company at the Spring Fair.
Yue Ning pointed to the photo frame on the wall and said, "This piece of Jiangyahaishuituanhuazhuang satin came from Suzhou. I used it to make a coat, and I framed the remaining fabric for decoration. It's really beautiful."
The leaders also nodded and said: "These traditional handicrafts in our country are indeed good! But they are declining now."
Yue Ning pushed open the door of a private room. The wall was decorated with fine-brush flower and bird paintings from the Song Dynasty, and the lively postures of flowers and birds were vividly displayed on the wall. The design of the box combined rattan chandeliers with hidden light strips not only ensured sufficient lighting, but also created a simple and elegant atmosphere.
"Each box is divided into a rest area and a dining area." Yue Ning pointed to an area outside and said, "There is a tea table here. Guests can enjoy tea tasting here while dining."
A leader smiled and said to Lu Yongding: "Old Lu! A restaurant like this is worthy of your family's reputation of 'Hanlin Family, the best in the capital'."
The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously. Lu Yongding had experienced a special era and knew that if it weren't for his elder brother's military medals, this eight-character name would be enough to crush the entire family. It had only been a few days, and he didn't dare to take on this name.
He hurriedly said: "Lu's cuisine only shows its origin. Lu's cuisine belongs to the people, just like the brocade on the wall just now. It is a skill that has been passed down."
Yue Ning understood the meaning of Chef Lu's words and quickly replied, "One should never forget the well digger when drinking water. We craftsmen value inheritance. Brother Lu is willing to teach his skills to other chefs without reservation. In the future, this restaurant will also be managed by him. He will be the head chef, and with his name, more people will know about Lu's cuisine. Let's go to Ningyan Restaurant. I will introduce the rules of teaching skills in Baohualou to several leaders."
After visiting the Ningyan Lu Mansion, the group went to the Ningyan Restaurant. Only Yue Ning and Lu Peide were required to accompany them on this visit. Sophie went to the office, and Yue Ning asked Cai Zhiyuan to go to his office for tea.
At this time, there was still a quarter of an hour before the evening market opened, and all the front office service staff had arrived at their posts and were checking their appearance. The front office manager summarized the gains and losses during the lunch market inspection.
After Yue Ning introduced the front office, he went to the chef introduction column and explained their chef training rules. The leader looked at Lu Peide and praised him, "Little Lu, you are really young and promising!"
"It is also thanks to Ningning that she gave me the opportunity. When I first arrived in Gangcheng, no big restaurant was willing to hire me. Only Shou Bo's noodle stall took me in." Lu Peide said with emotion.
"I have always felt that among the new generation of chefs in our State Guesthouse, Xiao Lu has the most exquisite skills and is a modest and prudent person. He will definitely take on important responsibilities in the future. What a pity..." The leader sighed slightly.
Yue Ning looked at Lu Yongding and said, "Leader, how many apprentices does Chef Lu have in Beijing? Beijing is not short of inheritors of Lu's cuisine, there are so many talents that they are almost overflowing, but Beijing lacks inheritors of southern Cantonese cuisine. I will recommend someone to you later."
"Who is it?"
Yue Ning pointed to the photo on the wall and said, "Luo Guoqiang, the grandson of the late chef Luo Changfa of Yuecheng Fuyunlou."
Yue Ning has been with Luo Guoqiang for a long time. She found that Luo Guoqiang's cooking skills have improved rapidly, but in her opinion, if he is allowed to manage a store alone, he is too soft and unsuitable for management. In particular, Fuyunlou has many internal problems and urgently needs reform. She hopes that Zhang Junming, a native of Gangcheng, will sort out the general situation first, and then Ma Yaoxing will take over the management. In this case, how can Luo Guoqiang become the successor of Fuyunlou? He is the grandson of Luo Changfa and has good skills, but in the end he has to work under Ma Yaoxing. He must feel wronged.
Now that the leaders of the State Guesthouse are visiting, Yue Ning hopes to secure an opportunity for Luo Guoqiang to study at the State Guesthouse, so that he can further improve his cooking skills with the top chefs in the country. In this way, for Luo Guoqiang, he will have a better learning opportunity and it will be a great honor to serve at the State Guesthouse as a chef for state banquets. For the State Guesthouse, the addition of a chef like Luo Guoqiang who has rich experience in communication with the outside world can also inject fresh vitality into the team.
Yue Ning began to talk about her opportunity to cooperate with the Second Commercial Bureau of Yuecheng.
"That's right, that's right! This exchange meeting ended successfully, and the catering sector received the most praise. The Second Commercial Bureau of Guangdong City also emphasized the cooperation and exchanges with you in its report." The leader said with a smile, "They also specifically mentioned your help in publicity and promotion at the Spring Fair. The senior leader praised you for your innocent heart."
Yue Ning was a little embarrassed by the compliments and said, "The leaders are also very good to me. This time I took French businessmen to inspect the farm. Because they were worried that the existing breeding environment could not raise geese for making foie gras, I proposed to set up a breeding farm, and the leaders immediately approved me to do it."
"Yes! So after Lao Lu and Lao Dong came back to report, the higher-ups immediately sent me here for an on-site inspection."
"Let's go to the kitchen and take a look."
Today, Chen Jinying and Wu Zhihai are the cooking partners in the kitchen. Originally, it was supposed to be Ma Yaoxing and Wu Zhihai working together, but because Ma Yaoxing had something to do, he asked Chen Jinying to help take over for a day.
Yue Ning introduced Chen Jinying and Wu Zhihai to the leader: "You two are the inheritors of Beijing and Shandong cuisine, and you are from the same lineage as Chef Dong. We will try their cooking skills later."
Chef Dong looked at Chen Jinying and his eyes instantly turned red. The younger sister looked about 70% similar to the mother. They didn't care what others said about their mother in the past. The eldest brother always told them that their mother was the kindest person in the world and she tried her best to support them. After their mother passed away, the eldest brother swore in front of the grave that when they were able to do so, they would definitely take the younger sister home.
Chef Dong returned to Beijing and told his eldest brother and younger brother about his younger sister. His eldest brother cried and cursed the cruel Chen Dexiang for bringing his younger sister to Taiwan and making her suffer so much.
Chen Jinying noticed that someone was watching her. Lu Peide had told her before that someone from Beijing would come, including her half brother. Lu Peide also said that the three Dong brothers had discussed and respected her choice. If she didn't want to recognize them, they would just pretend they didn't know each other.
Chen Jinying thought about it for two days. She had never seen her three brothers from her mother's side since she was born, and they had no feelings for each other. She thought it would be better not to have any contact with them. She told Lu Peide about her idea, and Lu Peide said he would respect her decision.
At this moment, Chen Jinying looked at this face that was quite similar to hers, and her heart was still touched. She didn't want to think about it anymore. The two sisters in the Chen family had already given her a headache. Sisters who were related by blood and had a little affection, but not too much, were really too difficult to deal with.
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