Chef Hua
Chapter 509: Episode 275 Birthday Banquet_2

Chapter 509: Episode 275 Birthday Banquet_2

Well, today she had encountered an uproar like never before!

When she first entertained the idea of renovating the restaurant, she had secretly hoped that if the scenery turned out beautifully, it might attract some literati and refined gentlemen from the city to compete for visits. Perhaps it could even bestow upon Daoxiang Garden a reputation for elegance. But who would have expected, on its very first occasion, it would be such a raucous affair?

All right, actually that wasn’t such a bad thing. After all, who you did business with didn’t really matter, right? But... who could have guessed that Qiao Xiong’s relatives would be so fervently enthusiastic, truly making them a handful to deal with!

"Alright!"

Amidst the tumultuous noise, a sudden shout burst from outside the crowd, instantly silencing everyone. They all turned around to see Old Lady Meng standing imposingly at the entrance of the hall, her countenance indicating that she was about to explode with fury.

The six or seven men, unsure of what was happening, looked at each other with bafflement.

Chun Xi and La Mei stood very close to Old Lady Meng. Seeing her trying to contain her anger and fearing that an offense to the guests might cost them their business, they quickly stepped in with calming smiles: "We’re terribly sorry. As you’ve seen, our boss’s health is not good, please bear with us a little. Organizing a birthday banquet for the old master is a joyous occasion, let’s discuss it calmly, shall we?"

As they spoke, they squeezed into the crowd, desperately trying to escort Hua Xiaomai to safety.

Meanwhile, Wang Zhanrui and Master Tan hustled out of the kitchen, leading the rest of the staff to create diversions, trying their best to bring some order to the chaos in the hall.

At that moment, a man in his early thirties elbowed his way to the center of the crowd, wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief and addressed Hua Xiaomai directly: "Were you the one who distributed free mooncakes in the city during the Mid-Autumn Festival?"

Hua Xiaomai, drenched in sweat from the jostling, finally found some space to breathe and quickly took two deep breaths before smiling at the man: "Yes, at that time our garden was about to reopen, so I gave away some mooncakes to everyone. Firstly, to let the townspeople taste my cooking, and secondly, to let everyone know about our place."

She guessed that the man before her must be Qiao Xiong’s youngest son, the one footing the bill for the banquet. Seizing the opportunity before he could speak, she hurriedly added, "Organizing a birthday celebration is indeed no small matter, and it’s not something that can be explained in a word or two. Why don’t... we sit down and discuss it at length?"

The man, who had run all the way to Fire Knife Village and had just taken a tour around the garden out back, was indeed feeling a bit fatigued. At her words, he nodded in agreement, leading everyone to take seats inside the hall. Promptly, nimble waiters brought over tea. Finally, the ruckus in the restaurant began to subside.

It wasn’t until then that Qiao Xiong managed to approach Hua Xiaomai, took a seat next to the other man, and cheerfully said, "Xiaomai girl, this is my brother-in-law I mentioned to you yesterday. It’s him who’s taking the lead in organizing my father-in-law’s birthday feast."

Hua Xiaomai let out a sigh of relief and smiled at the man.

Thank goodness she had identified the right person; otherwise, who knew how much longer the commotion would have lasted!

The brother-in-law waved his hand, somewhat eagerly saying, "Let’s skip the pleasantries. On those two days of the Mid-Autumn Festival, my family happened to receive some of the mooncakes from your shop, and after my father tried them, he found them very much to his liking. Besides, my brother-in-law says that the chefs at Daoxiang Garden are consistently reliable, especially you, the owner—you’re quite capable. I hear that you were behind the famed banquet in May, in the city center, weren’t you?"

Hua Xiaomai then affirmed with a "Yes."

"That’s wonderful. If Magistrate Tao appreciates the culinary skills of your Daoxiang Garden, it should certainly be up to standard."

The brother-in-law seemed very satisfied, nodding his head, "I took a good look around the garden just now; it’s quite spacious, and sitting by that fishpond feels really comfortable. To be frank, although we live in the city now, my father-in-law was once a well-respected farmer in his hometown. When he’s at home, he often laments that if he could wander through the village again when he has time, it would lighten his mood—so I reckon your garden might just suit his tastes perfectly. So, I’ve decided to settle for today. Initially, I had my eye on another restaurant and even discussed it with their shopkeeper several times, but it seems they will miss out on earning this money."

Hua Xiaomai did not intend to ask which restaurant he had been considering earlier, and simply smiled at him: "Then first, I’d like to thank you."

To her surprise, the brother-in-law immediately dismissed her gratitude: "Don’t be quick to thank me for bringing you business; there are things I must make clear. You’ve seen it yourself, our family is large, and those who came today are merely relatives, but on the day of the banquet, many more friends and extended family will attend. So, you must organize this event for me flawlessly. I don’t particularly care for myself, but under no circumstances can we cause my father any embarrassment, do you understand?"

"Of course," Hua Xiaomai pursed her lips slightly, "I..."

But before she could express her plans in detail, the brother-in-law had already turned his gaze to other eagerly watching relatives and said, "The garden is really nice—pleasing without being pretentious. Why not go take a look yourselves? Why sit around here idly? I have many particulars to discuss with the owner of Daoxiang Garden."

Hua Xiaomai somewhat understood that he had things he wanted to discuss privately. After all, he was the one paying; his word was final. Thus, she willingly called over Qing You to lead the six or seven people around the courtyard for a tour. Once that group had bustled out, only the staff remained, including Qiao Xiong, and then the brother-in-law finally spoke up quietly.

"My brother-in-law knows my situation, so in front of you, I won’t put on a show." He turned to Qiao Xiong with an awkward smile and then looked back at Hua Xiaomai, "My brother-in-law mentioned that you could offer a good discount, right? If that’s true, then nothing could be better. As for the menu, we need to discuss it in detail."

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with a recommendation ticket and monthly ticket at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)