Rebirth: I became rich by farming

Chapter 158: Chapter 158, Worlds Apart (3/5)

After having looked at the exterior, the two guides then took the Pei grandfather and grandson inside. They led Pei Grandpa through the main entrance; although the restaurant wasn’t open yet and the password hadn’t been changed daily, there was no need to explain these details to Pei Grandpa since he wasn’t going to be their head chef.

They walked along the stone path to the hall, where the ordering area caught their eyes immediately, with the reception desk right next to it. The menu in the ordering area was displayed on boards, with a small selection of dishes that needed to be ordered in advance at the very top, and those that could be ordered directly below. Of course, the prices were also clearly visible on the boards. When Pei Grandpa saw the prices of the dishes and wine, he said, "Girl, are these the prices in your place?"

"Yes, I set them."

Pei Grandpa looked over the menu for a while and didn’t say much. As they moved further in, he found that Xiyuan had no facilities apart from private rooms. "Don’t you serve walk-in customers?"

"We get few visitors in the park, so we do serve walk-ins, but usually, they’re white-collar workers from the park, and there aren’t many of them. We just take care of them on the outdoor terrace." Of course, it had been outdoors before, but Fan Tianyu had installed glass all around to take care of the warmth. The area wasn’t very large and couldn’t accommodate many people, but that was fine. White-collar workers had other places to eat anyway, and they could simply take their food back to the office if needed.

After giving the grandfather and grandson a thorough tour of Xiyuan, the two guides finally took them to the kitchen.

The private rooms and kitchen were two separate areas connected by a corridor, preventing any disturbance to food delivery even in rain or wind.

The kitchen was quite spacious at 60 square meters and had no partitions. Next to it was a roughly 30-square-meter warehouse specifically for storing vegetables. The back door was located right beside the warehouse, where the delivery trucks would park. On the other side of the kitchen, there was a smaller room, around 30 square meters, set up as a staff break room and a staff passage. Overall, the rear yard area for staff use was completely separate from the front area for customer reception. Pei Grandpa nodded with satisfaction, "This place is not bad; the kitchen area is pretty peaceful."

It was after checking out the environment that Pei Grandpa got to the main point of the visit, which was to look at the vegetables. Mei Mengzhen had already arranged today’s vegetables directly in the kitchen. Upon entering, the Pei grandfather and grandson had seen the neatly arranged vegetables in crates, and it was impossible not to be amazed. The vegetables were neatly sorted, uniformly sized, fresh-looking, and vibrant, clearly showing that the person who had grown them had put in significant effort.

"These vegetables look good, but just looking good isn’t enough; they have to taste good as well," said Pei Grandpa.

"Master Pei, I told you, our vegetables are all at the same level as yesterday’s Chicken Soup. The quality will be maintained in the future too. You’ll know how good they are once you try," Mei Mengzhen replied.

As for who would cook, there was no question that Pei Grandpa would do it himself, "The pot has already been prepared; you can use it directly." New pots need to be ’seasoned’ before use to prevent sticking, and seasoning one is simple—just burn some pork fat and green onions in it. Their pot had been bought a few days prior, and such a simple task could easily be delegated to someone; thus, it was ready to use.

Pei Grandpa laughed, "Girl, you’re putting me to work just as I’ve arrived. Weren’t you going to cook? You do it."

Mei Mengzhen was taken aback, "Me? My cooking skills are just average."

"I want to see what ’average’ looks like for you. Cook something, and let’s see," he said.

Mei Mengzhen wasn’t one to hesitate; after all, cooking a dish was not much of a challenge for her since she often did it at home. To save time, she made the simplest tomato and egg stir-fry. She stir-fried the eggs until they were eighty percent done, then set them aside to sauté the tomatoes before re-adding the eggs and some salt. No other seasonings were used. The fragrance was already tantalizing during the cooking process, let alone when the dish was completed.

Pei Grandpa watched Mei Mengzhen cook from start to finish, and it was indeed as she said—only salt was added. It was clear that Mei Mengzhen wasn’t particularly skilled, as some parts of the eggs were overcooked, while others were underdone, and the tomatoes were too mushy. She even slightly burned her hand on the edge of the pot during the stir-frying process. It was obvious she wasn’t adept at cooking, but the resulting dish smelled delicious, which was quite peculiar.

Pei Grandpa took a small piece of the dish with a pair of chopsticks and tasted it, and amazingly, the flavor didn’t really correspond to the culinary skill—or lack thereof—it was simply too delicious.

Without even washing it first, Pei Grandpa eagerly took a tomato and bit into it; the sweet, crisp texture was truly refreshing. The tomato tasted similar to others he had eaten before but was also notably distinct, "A fine vegetable, indeed excellent."

After finishing the tomato, Pei Grandpa also made a tomato and egg stir-fry. His culinary skills were immediately evident, and the difference from the earlier dish was clear. Naturally, the vegetables didn’t burn, and although he only added salt like Mengzhen did, the mastery of the heat elevated the flavor significantly. The resulting dish was far tastier than the one Mengzhen had made and brought out the full potential of their garden-fresh ingredients, marking a stark contrast with the previous dish.

"This is so delicious." Mei Mengzhen and Fan Tianyu exclaimed in unison. There was no doubt that a master chef was a master chef, and his skills were not something they could match with their home kitchen experience.

"Master Pei, your skills are truly amazing." Emotionally moved, Fan Tianyu couldn’t help but say.

Having put down the wok and ladle, Pei Grandpa also tasted the dish and found it exceptionally delicious, even feeling as though the vegetables had enhanced his skills from before.

There wasn’t much of the dish, and after a few bites each, everyone was still eager for more. However, they were too polite to ask Pei Grandpa to cook again, so they reluctantly set down their chopsticks.

Now that they had sampled the food and Pei Grandpa was satisfied, it shouldn’t be hard to find an apprentice to work here, right?

Fan Tianyu tentatively asked, "Master Pei, you’ve tried the vegetables. You think our Xiyuan is alright, don’t you?"

Pei Grandpa nodded, "It’s alright." The response was reserved, but in truth, he was quite pleased with the place, and that included his private hope of helping his grandson find a match.

Mengzhen’s mind whirred, and she said, "Master Pei, we haven’t checked out the Wine Cellar on the lower floor yet. Shall we take a look there first?"

Pei Grandpa’s interest was immediately piqued, "Oh, is the cellar already stocked with wine?"

"Yes, but not a lot, just a small portion. However, there’s quite a variety," responded Fan Tianyu, and then led the group to the basement level.