Jiang Hexi wouldn't answer such a potentially fatal question directly. She turned her head to look at Jiang Wenjing and said:
"Second brother, what do you think?"
Jiang Wenjing knew there was no such thing as a free lunch, and he wouldn't accept being blamed.
"President Yan is asking about you, not me, so I have nothing to say."
Jiang Hexi turned around and told Yan Jie:
"You heard it too, it's hard to judge."
"You've finished eating your pork knuckle."
Yan Jie glanced at the pig's trotter she had gnawed on, then at the unfinished boiled beef in the lunchbox, and said with an ambiguous expression:
"It seems that Chef Liu's skills are even better than Chef Wang's. I plan to have Chef Liu cook the whole beef feast tonight."
This explanation was flawless.
If Jiang Hexi hadn't known Yan Jie's vengeful nature, she really wouldn't have realized that this was a subtle form of targeting.
Chu Yang rode his electric tricycle over in a flurry, pulling three cages of chickens.
"Sister, the front desk is packed with tourists, we can't even keep up with all the bookings!"
"All the ingredients here are supplied in fixed quantities."
Jiang Hexi said helplessly, "No matter how many tourists there are, I can't come up with any new tricks."
"The village chief has spoken. It's not easy for tourists to come all this way, so we can't let them go back empty-handed."
Chu Yang carried the chicken coop off the carriage and said hurriedly:
"These are thirty free-range chickens, which Brother Yu just transferred from the mountain chicken farm. There is also a local pig, which is on its way."
Jiang Hexi looked at him, slightly taken aback: "How many people have come?"
"Never-ending".
Chu Yang found a stool and sat down. "The order for the communal meals is already booked until 4 p.m., and some people are even clamoring to book the Thousand Families Banquet tonight, but Sister Chai has refused them all."
Yan Jie put down his lunchbox, turned around and said, "Be stingy when you're cutting the meat."
Jiang Hexi met his gaze and smiled slyly, "I understand."
Upon witnessing this scene, Shi Jianan, with his keen business sense, felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.
"Hey, Sister Jiang, why do you have two boxed lunches? I don't have any!" Chu Yang asked miserably.
Jiang Hexi glanced at Yan Jie without making a sound.
Yan Jie stood up from the stone bench and calmly replied, "Shen Yingyu provides your meals; go ask him for them."
Chu Yang thought for a moment and realized something was wrong. "Brother Yu hasn't eaten either, so why is he bringing me food?"
"You're not enthusiastic about eating, what can I say about you?"
Yan Jie said this, then got up and left.
Chu Yang's heart shattered. She turned around, got on the tricycle, and hurriedly drove away, saying, "Sister, I'm going to deliver food to Brother Yu."
The banquet hall for a thousand families in the cultural square has seventy large round tables neatly arranged.
Chai Fei led a team to guard the entrance. Those who wanted to eat the communal stew lined up to scan a code to enter, while those who had booked the banquet for thousands of families were all turned away at the door and not allowed to enter.
One tourist angrily stood up and complained:
"It's only three o'clock now. What dish can't we cook? If you don't have any ingredients, go buy some. If you don't have enough manpower, go hire some!"
"We came from a campsite. If you don't have tables, we can bring our own. We've gone to such lengths, so why won't you let us order food? Is this how you treat your guests?"
"Tourists travel from afar just to eat at one of the thousand banquets, and look at your service attitude, do you think you're doing us a favor?"
Chai Fei refused to accept their moral blackmail, and she said, without any leniency towards anyone:
"The banquet was booked online ten days in advance. Today's banquet was specially customized based on the number of online reservations, and we cannot add a single seat."
She gave a promotional speech for Versailles to the live stream camera:
"We select ingredients from the source. Chicken, fish, pork and beef are all freshly slaughtered. Vegetables and fruits are all natural and pollution-free. Beef soup is simmered for eight hours. Each signature dish is cooked through multiple processes. Even the open flame on the stove is made from pine wood and dry branches."
"This is why we can't add a seat. The village chief, considering that it's not easy for everyone to come to Canglang Village, specially asked the chef to cook a large pot of dishes. Tourists who haven't eaten are welcome to come in and taste them."
"Given everyone's enthusiasm for the banquet, the village committee has decided to add 20 more tables tomorrow, for a total of 300 seats. Tourists who wish to register can scan the QR code to make a reservation after 5 p.m."
[The gossip-loving sister would start criticizing without warning, and it made me feel so good. Why is it that I can't get a table at the Thousand Families Banquet, but these people can get one right away?]
[Some tourists' behavior is truly appalling. They think they're right for not making reservations, and they dare to demand food just because a table has been set up. The five members of the chaebol group won't tolerate such behavior.]
Chai Fei hung the completed reservation poster at the door without offering any further explanation.
She went into the temporary prefab house set up by the production team, asked Director Chen for a meal, and started eating.
Director Chen instructed the cameraman to turn off the afternoon live stream, then handed her a slice of chilled watermelon, saying, "Thank you for your hard work."
Chai Fei gestured for him to put the watermelon on the table and questioned him:
"Why do you attract so many tourists? Do you think I'm not tired enough already?"
"What does this have to do with me?"
Director Chen leaned back in his chair to rest. "You can't take out all your frustrations on me just because I invited you here and things didn't go your way."
Chai Fei shoved the phone in his face, stating with irrefutable evidence:
"Look at how you've filmed the Thousand Family Banquet and made it look like a delicacy; it's so tempting it makes my mouth water just looking at it on the screen."
Director Chen glanced at the videos that were going viral online and unabashedly accepted the praise, saying, "Thank you for the compliment."
He has never been able to resist delicious food.
Upon learning that Yan Jie was going to hold a banquet for a thousand families, he not only did not stop him, but also felt a vague sense of excitement.
For several days in a row, he was thinking about how to present the language of the camera, so much so that he "disregarded his main job" and handed over the filming task to the assistant director, and went to several locations early in the morning to shoot.
From the morning mist to the screaming pig slaughter scene, and finally the iron pot dishes cooked over a wood fire, everything was captured on camera and perfectly presented in the "Thousand Family Banquet" segment, which is played on a loop on the program's official Weibo account.
Then, foodies on the internet went wild and were all drawn to Canglang Village.
While munching on a watermelon, Chai Fei asked him, "Aren't you the sworn enemy of the five chaebols? Why are you helping them this time?"
"It's been a long time since I've filmed a documentary, and I'm itching to do it."
Director Chen paused for a moment, then added, "Of course, there's also an element of showing off skills."
Chai Fei tossed the watermelon into the trash can with a perfect arc.
After she finished eating and drinking, she felt sleepy. "Do you have a place to take a nap? I need to borrow a bed. I'm sleepy."
Director Chen gave her directions, saying, "There's a folding bed in the last prefab house. Just close the door and go sleep there."
Is it convenient?
“What’s inconvenient about it? Everyone here knows you have connections.”
Chai Fei stubbornly asked, "What kind of relationship?"
Director Chen was speechless for a moment, unable to utter a word. Then, a heavy slam of the door behind him was heard, and silence fell over the surroundings.
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