LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 577 - 475 Buy 2 Get 1 Free
Chapter 577: Chapter 475 Buy 2 Get 1 Free
In the following time, Zheng Siyuan began to punch in for regular blind dates at Taifeng Building with a frequency of two to three times a week, and basically, each meal comprised the same few dishes, just like eating in a cafeteria. Zheng Siyuan also developed a peculiar affection for the four-jin sweet mixed sugar water he tasted at every meal, and after the eighth blind date, he even specifically sent a WeChat message to Jiang Feng asking why Taifeng Building’s glutinous rice lotus roots needed to be so sweet, questioning why it couldn’t be dry and had to be served with soup.
As days passed by, with Zheng Siyuan’s repeated blind dates, Ji Xia’s white-case pastries gradually came into fruition under Zheng Da’s tutelage, advancing at a rapid pace that could be described as leaps and bounds.
Zheng Da often dragged Jiang Feng aside to express his wonder that if everyone had Ji Xia’s learning efficiency and speed, excellent white-case pastry chefs could be found all over the country within a few short years, and they, the old masters, wouldn’t have to worry about the lineage of white-case pastry chefs being in jeopardy.
Jiang Feng felt that any white-case pastry chef had the right to make such a remark, all except for Zheng Da. After all, wasn’t it Zheng Da who, long before the previous generation of white-case pastry chefs had aged and before the art faced a crisis, had decisively abandoned white-case pastry for the embrace of money?
March 11th was the day of Zheng Siyuan’s tenth blind date, and it also turned out to be his last.
Ling Guangzhao simply couldn’t find any more suitable blind date candidates.
In fact, Ling Guangzhao managed to find ten blind date partners with decent looks, appropriate age, and relatively good overall conditions within less than a month, which was surprising enough for Zheng Da.
During this half-month, Zheng Da had come to terms with the fact that no matter the job, appearance, or personality, none of it was as important to Zheng Siyuan as going back to making pastries. Of the nine previous blind dates, seven had shown interest in continuing the relationship, but Zheng Siyuan had resolutely cut off all intentions and wrapped himself in an invulnerable protective shell.
Zheng Da had stayed in Beiping long enough; his business was focused in the South, and it was impossible for him not to go back and check on it at least once a month. His collaboration with Eight-treasure House was also nearing completion, as he and Ling Guangzhao were planning to jointly launch exquisite gift-boxed pastries, which might lack a bit in taste but had a longer shelf life and were suitable for gifting.
These pastries would initially be sold at the Eight-treasure House, and once they gained some fame, they would also start being sold online under Zheng Da’s label. Ling Guangzhao recently began to consider whether to set up an online flagship store for Eight-treasure House, always ahead of other Beiping restaurants when it came to money-making ventures.
While Eight-treasure House was busy opening up new revenue streams, the mysterious French restaurant, which had been quiet in February, finally made a move in March. Practically overnight, the news that a star chef from a well-known Michelin two-star restaurant across the ocean would set up in Beiping spread throughout the entire city.
This news came even earlier than spring, making the winter seem even colder and longer than usual.
Jiang Feng felt that virtually overnight, what was once a little secret among a few well-informed upscale restaurants in Beiping became a widely discussed public news topic, with word of this “top-level restaurant” being heard throughout the streets and alleys—the name of the restaurant, as Zhang Guanghang explained, translates directly to top-level restaurant if taken from French.
The publicity for the top-level restaurant was fierce and obviously well-prepared. Giant banners were put up inside the shopping mall, the simple wording and monochromatic yet high-class color scheme made the restaurant seem very posh.
All sorts of hard and soft advertisements were incessant, and the internet suddenly filled with mysterious netizens who claimed to have tasted Rolan’s cuisine across the ocean, their comments replete with awe for Rolan, as if one couldn’t be considered a bona fide gourmet without trying his cuisine at least once.
Zhang Guanghang complained to Jiang Feng and the others more than once during lunch breaks that the reviews by online netizens were either copied from foreign gourmet magazines’ praise for Rolan or were outright fabrications—as some praised dishes weren’t even those Rolan specialized in, making Zhang Guanghang suspect these mysterious netizens of cribbing from other magazines’ evaluations of different chefs.
Regardless, the top-level restaurant had made a name for itself before even opening, with its overwhelming approach.
Of course, Taifeng Building didn’t pay much attention to these matters, as it had plenty of its own issues to handle.
Although Zheng Siyuan’s blind date at Taifeng Building ended in failure, the finished dish of Li Hongzhang hodgepodge on the table proved to Fang Mei that Jiang Feng could make a Li Hongzhang hodgepodge that didn’t make people cry; he simply hadn’t done so before.
Having lost the “cry-inducing buff,” the Li Hongzhang hodgepodge might have lost its soul, but it also became more acceptable to the general public.
Fang Mei was a decisive person who moved quickly once a decision was made, and by the time of Zheng Siyuan’s second blind date, Li Hongzhang hodgepodge had already become Taifeng Building’s featured dish for February. Besides being prominently showcased on the menu and through photos at the entrance, Fang Mei also had Ji Yue draw cartoons related to Li Hongzhang hodgepodge, made into booklets that were placed on tables alongside the menus for promotion—the story based on the little essay Xu Cheng wrote in “Taste,” with the dishes being personally crafted by Xue Shaoheng.
Only Xue Shaoheng could illustrate dishes that were simple yet soul-stirring and lifelike.
Having not picked up a brush for a long time, Ji Gezi, motivated by the promise of a bonus, worked tirelessly on the drafts every day, and finally rushed out a rough first edition within just over ten days. With the soulful dishes of Xue Shaoheng’s touch, even Ji Yue’s rushed job seemed less rough—at least it was well-received by the patrons, with the order rate of Li Hongzhang hodgepodge soaring within just a few days.
Everything was developing in a positive direction, except for Zheng Siyuan’s blind dates.
From the morning, Zheng Da wore a gloomy expression as if, should Zheng Siyuan’s blind date not go well again, he would have to resign himself to a lifetime of solitary existence.
As the creator of the buff dish, Jiang Feng, one of the only two beneficiaries from Zheng Siyuan’s unsuccessful blind dates (the other beneficiary being Ji Xia), could only offer continual reassurances to Zheng Da.
“Master Zheng, don’t worry. Zheng just hasn’t found the right one yet. Actually, he’s quite popular. Once Zheng finds someone he likes, everything will fall into place naturally!” Jiang Feng falsely consoled with words he didn’t even believe.
Zheng Da still looked deeply troubled.
“Jiang, do you think it’s possible that… after so many blind dates, Siyuan remains unmoved and shows no sign at all because he might be…” Zheng Da said, his tone serious.
Jiang Feng also looked earnestly at him.
“Could it be that he’s just not interested in women?”
Jiang Feng almost choked to death on his own saliva.
Even if Zheng Siyuan wasn’t interested in women, he certainly didn’t seem interested in men either. Jiang Feng didn’t know whether to admire Zheng Da for his broad-mindedness, not losing to younger folk, or to advise him not to let his thoughts run wild with unfounded worries.
It would be more reasonable if Zheng Siyuan had a fetish for pastries than this.
Jiang Feng strained his brain for a while to persuade Zheng Da, then handed Xiaxia over to him to distract his wild speculations over his son’s lifelong matters with some mentoring for the younger generation.
After dealing with all of this, Jiang Feng checked the time and headed into the kitchen to start work.
Jiang Jiankang was already working diligently in the kitchen, and Jiang Feng had even grown accustomed to it.
Lately, Jiang Jiankang had completely abandoned his former good habit of laziness; he worked hard every day and even helped Jiang Feng with many tasks. This made Jiang Feng once suspect that it was because Jiang Jiankang had his eye on a set of expensive knives and didn’t have enough private money, so he wanted his father’s financial support.
Without his real dad mentioning anything, Jiang Feng just pretended not to notice, happy for the leisure time and even sneaking in some lessons from Ji Xia and Zheng Da on some basic white-coat chef skills.
All because Ji Xia learned too quickly. Originally sneaking lessons, Jiang Feng soon found himself unable to keep up with Ji Xia’s progress and shifted from sneaking lessons to just watching.
“Son, how have you been feeling lately?” Jiang Jiankang quietly approached Jiang Feng.
“Pretty good,” replied Jiang Feng, not quite understanding why his dad would suddenly ask that.
“How do you feel physically? Tired or uncomfortable in any way?” Jiang Jiankang asked with concern.
Jiang Feng thought his dad not only asked weird questions but also had a strange look in his eyes when he looked at him, which made him uncomfortable all over.
He couldn’t help but shiver and said, “Just… pretty good, I think I’m quite healthy.”
“Really, Dad, don’t read those articles online and start imagining things. We’re both very healthy.”
Seeing Jiang Feng so uneasy, Jiang Jiankang sighed, thinking his son was feeling guilty like a thief: “Son, the thing is, Chengcheng has recently rotated to internal medicine, hasn’t he?”
Jiang Feng nodded; he was aware that Jiang Shoucheng had rotated to internal medicine. Today, Jiang Shoucheng complained in the group chat about the overflowing case records in internal medicine that he couldn’t finish writing, yet had to cross-check for duplication.
Jiang Shoucheng even thought that working in internal medicine was worse than in emergency. Although he was busy in emergency, most of his tasks involved carrying stretchers and handling medical disputes, which were somewhat physical. Occasionally, he would get to stitch up a patient and feel as happy as if it were New Year’s, despite often having overtime work with no extra pay, but it was a painful kind of happiness.
Internal medicine was completely different; it was pure paperwork. Various case records—big ones, small ones, round-the-ward records. From the first day he started in internal medicine, Jiang Shoucheng was thrown into a sea of case records, which reminded him of the fear of being dominated by textbooks during his undergraduate studies.
And the worst part was, the records couldn’t be guessed because they required effort to be changed for avoiding duplication. Jiang Shoucheng complained daily in the group chat that he was nothing but a heartless case record writing machine, often lamenting that a hero had no place to use his skills.
“Is something wrong with Cheng?” asked Jiang Feng.
“Their department has a special offer right now: buy two, get one free. Chengcheng and Zaide are both going for a check-up; why don’t you join them? It’s a rare discount, and these days health check-ups are expensive, so don’t miss out.”
Jiang Feng: ???
Buy two, get one free???
Health check-ups have buy two, get one free deals these days???
“The time is next Sunday. There are fewer people on Sundays, and if you’re quick, it’ll all be done by noon, how great is that?” Jiang Jiankang said, smiling brilliantly.
“Dad, doesn’t this buy two, get one free health check-up sound a bit unreliable?” Jiang Feng felt it was unheard of.
“That’s why having connections in the hospital is so great. If it weren’t for Chengcheng’s internship at the hospital, when would we stumble upon such a good deal? Son, don’t miss this opportunity, it’s something Chengcheng worked hard to arrange,” Jiang Jiankang began to blabber with his eyes wide open, sincerely, beaming with joy.
“Ah? Oh. Um…”