Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1418: Chapter 145: The Out-of-Place Mr. Dillons

Jin Zhongyuan is not someone who constantly stays by the customer’s side, incessantly trying to gain their favor for benefits — he knows well that such behavior would only irritate the customer.

Therefore, after guiding the customer to their hotel room this time, he wisely made his exit — he would only appear immediately when the customer needed him.

This is why Chen Peter is so willing to introduce customers to him — because Chen Peter can always gain VIP guests’ goodwill through Jin Zhongyuan.

“Here’s my phone number, Young Master Qiu! If you need anything, I’ll come at once.”

He politely closed the door without waiting for a response from Boss Luo and the maid inside the room, and then left.

Luo Qiu opened the curtains of the room, looked outside the hotel, and from this vantage point, he could just see an artificial lake. He smiled and said, “It seems this grand hotel indeed has some history.”

The maid was packing luggage at this moment, looked up and asked, “Master, what would you like for lunch?”

Boss Luo replied, “Hmm… how about we try the restaurant here? I’ve heard quite a few guests come specifically for the head chef.”

“Alright.”

…

…

Alec Grand Hotel, Presidential Suite.

“Sir, I am the floor butler, Gusfu, pleased to be at your service.”

A man nearing forty, dressed in a tailcoat and sleek suit, standing tall with blonde hair, respectfully spoke to Mr. Dillons as he checked in… not even cracking a smile.

Dillons seemed to find it peculiar, looking at this floor butler and frowned, asking, “I remember the floor butler here was Miss Tiffany?”

The floor butler showed slight surprise, then nodded, “Yes, sir. But Miss Tiffany is on vacation these days, so I am temporarily taking over her duties. Do you need something from her, sir? I can contact her for you.”

Dillons curiously asked, “Are you related to Tiffany?”

“I’m her nephew.” The floor butler Gusfu smiled slightly.

“Oh…” Dillons seemed to be contemplating, then shook his head, “No need to disturb her since she’s on vacation… By the way, is she returning home during her break?”

“Aunt Tiffany is still staying at the hotel during her vacation,” Gusfu said, “She’s enjoying the staff discount… I can reach out to her if you insist.”

“No, there’s really no need, Mr. Gusfu.” Dillons shook his head quickly, “Thank you for your kindness, but I would rather have some rest now. You see, I’ve been traveling since last night.”

“My apologies.” Gusfu nodded, “In that case, would you like a wake-up call for your meal, Mr. Dillons?”

“No need.” Dillons waved his hand and smiled, “Actually, I’m quite familiar with this place… I stayed here for some time.”

The floor butler looked a bit surprised, but didn’t ask too many questions and elegantly turned to leave — gently closing the door.

Dillons exhaled slowly, loosened the tie around his neck, unbuttoned his collar, and moved his bulky body to lie down on the snowy white bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

“So this is what a Presidential Suite looks like…” he mumbled, “Doesn’t feel all that special.”

Besides the price… staying here for one night would cost a regular wage earner a month or two’s salary.

He propped himself up with great effort, then laboriously reached for his suitcase — for someone of his size, every movement seemed awkward and cumbersome.

He needed to use all his strength.

He slowly opened what appeared to be a rather high-end suitcase — inside was another suitcase, old and yellowed with places where the leather was worn out.

Dillons gently caressed the worn-out suitcase with both hands, then slowly opened it.

Inside lay a violin.

Dillons placed the violin under his chin, picked up the bow… The bow rested on the strings but didn’t move — Dillons kept his eyes closed, holding this posture for a long time.

After a long period, he finally exhaled, placed the violin and bow back into the old suitcase, and stored it in the new suitcase.

Mr. Dillons struggled to stand up, touched his belly that obstructed his view of his legs, and felt hungry.

…

Alec Grand Hotel, Squash Room.

A woman, appearing around fifty but still maintaining a good physique, was playing the last game with her friend inside. After a while, the floor butler Gusfu arrived… and waited for the lady inside the squash room to finish before calling her out.

In the resting area outside.

“Mr. Dillons?” The woman repeated the name in surprise, then thought carefully for a moment before shaking her head, “I have no impression of him.”

Gusfu seemed puzzled, “Aunt Tiffany, I felt like this Mr. Dillons genuinely knows you.”

The lady… Aunt Tiffany thought again, “Perhaps he learned about me through another customer.”

“Do you need me to arrange a meeting for you two?”

Aunt Tiffany shook her head and looked at her nephew, who was preparing to take over, saying, “In the service industry, we only meet customers when they request it; we don’t initiate meetings.”

Gusfu nodded, of course, knowing this, just curious to see if Aunt Tiffany had any relationship with Mr. Dillons… It seemed there wasn’t any direct connection, so he didn’t press further, finding an excuse and leaving.

Watching her nephew leave, Aunt Tiffany seemed deep in thought, subconsciously looking at the artificial lake outside the resting area.

Although she didn’t recall having dealt with a customer named Dillons, she couldn’t help but feel a vague sense of familiarity with the name.

“Hey, Tiffany, how about another round?”

A friend invited her again, Tiffany waved her hand and returned to the squash room… At her age, being able to enjoy life like this felt truly wonderful.

Every day is wonderful, simply wonderful.

…

…

The menu cannot be changed. What the menu is each day is entirely decided by the restaurant’s head chef, while offering several different combinations of menus. However, once the menu is decided upon, the food served must be completely eaten.

This is the rule of the restaurant at the Alec Grand Hotel — upon entering the restaurant, Boss Luo and the maid were informed by the staff.

It’s usually like this… The weirder the rules, the stranger the temperament, the more it arouses people’s curiosity — the restaurant at the moment could be said to be packed.

There were still some empty tables in the corners, but obviously the positions were not very good, so no one was interested.

“Hmm… It seems we still came a bit late,” Luo Qiu said with some regret, but still led the maid towards those unattended tables.

At this time.

“You two!”

Someone called out to the boss and the maid… and it turned out to be Mr. Dillons, meeting for the fourth time already, standing in front of Boss Luo.

He was sitting in a very nice spot — an empty table, with only himself sitting there.

At this moment, Dillons was struggling to stand up — he finally stood up, a friendly smile appeared on his face, “If you two don’t mind, why not share today’s lunch with me, just as a return for you giving me the room… Please don’t refuse.”

The maid glanced at her master and found her master also glanced at her at that time, so she revealed a charming smile.

Only then did Boss Luo look at Dillons and say with a smile, “Of course.”

He pulled out a chair and sat down, Dillons slowly followed suit, then called over the staff to pour pre-meal white wine.

“To our acquaintance,” Dillons now demonstrated the same generosity and hospitality as he did on the train.

It’s just that he wasn’t elegant, and seemed out of place with everything here — because his voice was really too loud, attracting curious glances from others.

Disturbing others’ meals seems to be quite an impolite act… but Mr. Dillons’ voice seems to be naturally loud like this.

Actually, he was just speaking normally.

The staff soon began to take orders for these impromptu dining companions. While Boss Luo and the maid were still studying what to eat, Mr. Dillons had already decided, “One serving of bean stew with meat, truffle red wine risotto, lime lamb fish with sour cream sauce, roast quail with cream rolls, stewed lamb shank with red orange sauce, and…”

Even facing Mr. Dillons, who looked entirely unconcerned with cholesterol, the staff hesitated a little, “Sir, are you certain… all these?”

“Certain.” Dillons said with a smile, “Of course, I’m certain… Oh, and one last thing, remind your Chef Berg not to taste by dipping his fingers into the sauce again when cooking.”

“…Yes, sir.” The staff looked shocked for a moment, then quickly nodded in agreement.

Damn it… how did this customer know about Chef Berg’s bad habit?

He couldn’t help but glance at the pair still considering their meals, worried that Mr. Dillons’ words might affect their appetite.

But in the end, he found himself overthinking it — this pair seemed not to have heard Mr. Dillons’ words at all and naturally ordered some dishes as well — naturally not as exaggerated as Mr. Dillons, but in normal proportions.

After the staff left with the order, Boss Luo looked around, suddenly curious as he looked at Mr. Dillons and said, “Mr. Dillons seems very familiar with everything here, even knowing the quirky habits of that eccentric chef.”

Mr. Dillons just casually chuckled, “Actually, it’s been a very long time since I’ve been here… I remember there used to be a stage here.”

He pointed forward with his hand, “It was right there, originally a small stage, with a piano placed on it all the time. Later, as the hotel’s business got better, and more guests came to the restaurant, they tore it down to make more space, forming the semi-open booth you see now.”

“Many years ago?”

“About twenty years ago?” Mr. Dillons thought for a moment, then shook his head, “I can’t remember clearly, my memory isn’t that great.”

Boss Luo smiled, “Just remembering there was a stage there is already enough, I think.”

Dillons looked at this young man peculiarly, somehow agreeing with his words, then smiled and said, “Yes, sometimes I’m afraid of forgetting that the stage once existed. Thinking about it now, it’s really lucky that I still remember. So, sometimes, don’t complain about life’s unfairness, because you never know when it has quietly taken care of you.”

“Perhaps.” Boss Luo nodded, gesturing with his glass towards Mr. Dillons.

Mr. Dillons was evidently someone who liked to chat, but his conversation couldn’t compare to the deep cultivation of socialites or gentlemen — on the contrary, what he talked about was all mundane matters.

It rained heavily in some part of England.

Actually, lamb shank meat is tastier than lamb ribs.

He heard that in the east, in Huaxia, people make dishes out of pig’s hocks, which is really unbelievable.

Can chicken feet really be eaten?

Unknowingly, several staff members brought up the dishes — Mr. Dillons really ordered too many, so they needed a serving cart and several staff members to serve him.

Every time a dish was unveiled in front of him, Mr. Dillons showed a rather satisfied and surprised expression — he seemed to have endless anticipation for it.

Or rather, he had an unimaginable expectation for everything — more accurately, he was always full of enthusiasm.

It’s just that the restaurant’s chef, who had his bad habit uncovered, didn’t show up — it was heard that this chef never meets with guests… evidently, he didn’t break this rule for Mr. Dillons either.

“This bastard’s cooking is still just as delicious.”

Occasionally, Mr. Dillons would make such an exclamation — of course, his voice was still loud as always.

Perhaps he really wasn’t very suited to the environment inside this restaurant, but Boss Luo knew that at least Dillons genuinely liked the dishes the chef made.

“The taste is indeed acceptable.”

This was the maid’s evaluation after a light taste… already a very high evaluation, Luo Qiu thought.

After the meal, Dillons intended to invite Boss Luo and the maid for a stroll to the artificial lake outside, but was refused.

He could only leave alone with a slight hint of disappointment after settling the bill.

At this time, the voices in the restaurant were still numerous, guests were talking about something at their tables, either seriously or laughing heartily, engaging in joyful conversations, just missing one particular voice.

A voice that was just a bit louder than theirs, a free and easy voice.