City’s Best Divine Doctor
Chapter 580 - 0581: Learning to Cook Behind Closed Doors

Chapter 580: Chapter 0581: Learning to Cook Behind Closed Doors

Perhaps due to various reasons, officials like calligraphy and practice it whenever they have time. Li Zhiguo was the same; his clerical script, cursive script, and regular script were all quite good.

At important events, or when signing documents in his regular duties, he would write in regular script.

"Little Li, bring the paper and pen, I need to inscribe something for Ye Qiu’s restaurant."

Li Zhiguo said.

If it were anyone else rashly asking him to inscribe, Li Zhiguo would definitely not agree, as he was aware of his status and the potential repercussions it could bring.

However, Li Zhiguo knew Ye Qiu was different—moreover, their relationship was also different. Originally, he had even thought of having Ye Qiu come over to his home for the inscription.

Soon, he realized that the inscription would surely be displayed publicly, visible to everyone. Inscribing here in his office would be no different from doing it at home.

After Secretary Li brought over the Xuan Brush, Xuan Paper, and ink, and laid them out on the desk, Li Zhiguo brandished his pen and ’Ye Family Imperial Cuisine’ appeared on the paper.

Looking at Li Zhiguo’s handwriting alone, it was in a regular font, looking very beautiful and even giving off an elegant feel.

From a calligraphy standpoint, it was different—it even carried a sense of Li Zhiguo’s powerful authority and energy. One could say Li Zhiguo was at the most triumphant point in his life.

"Uncle Li, you write so well!"

Ye Qiu said.

"Of course, my dad has been practicing calligraphy since he was young."

This had a lot to do with the Li Family.

Nevertheless, Li Qianqian did not elaborate too much, planning to share more with Ye Qiu when they had more time.

Ye Qiu certainly wouldn’t just put this piece of paper up on the signboard; he intended to have someone carve it into the signboard, and the paper itself would be kept as a collectible.

Who knows, if Li Zhiguo were to rise even higher, the inscription would become even more valuable.

To Ye Qiu, it didn’t matter whether Li Zhiguo got promoted or not. With his relationship to Li Qianqian, Li Zhiguo was bound to be an important family member in the future.

"Qianqian, Ye Qiu, I’m busy, so you’ll have to go first!"

Li Zhiguo was inundated with responsibilities, unable to pause even for a minute. After inscribing for Ye Qiu, he had to review documents, attend a meeting in the afternoon, and even go for inspections.

"Uncle Li, then we won’t disturb you any further."

When Ye Qiu and Li Qianqian left, Secretary Li personally saw them out. Ye Qiu, holding the now-dried inscribed Xuan Paper, and Li Qianqian took the elevator down, got into the car, and drove back to the Imperial Cuisine Restaurant.

Upon returning to the Imperial Cuisine Restaurant, Ye Qiu parked the car. Li Qianqian was surprised to find that the restaurant, after renovations, looked completely different from before.

Just looking at the exterior decoration of the walls, Li Qianqian thought it looked like a high-end restaurant.

The simple setups, like the porridge and noodle stall previously run by Ye Weidong and his wife, simply couldn’t make money. Moreover, it was hard work. Now, Ye Qiu was targeting the high-end cuisine market, with dishes priced at hundreds of yuan each, and a few dishes could cost over a thousand yuan.

That’s where the money was!

In such a case, the Imperial Cuisine Restaurant was catering to wealthy clients. Ordinary people wouldn’t dream of spending so much money here.

Ye Qiu, holding that piece of paper, and Li Qianqian got out of the car and entered the grand lobby on the first floor, noticing Chen Fang and Ye Xue were both there.

"Auntie, Sister Ye Xue, I’m here."

Li Qianqian hurriedly greeted the two women.

Li Qianqian had become very familiar with the two women by now, and they treated her as if she were one of their own family. When Qianqian entered the place, she was surprised to find that there was no unpleasant smell inside.

She found it strange that, having just completed the renovation, there was not the slightest odor in the space.

"Ye Xue, the air inside seems so fresh and comfortable?"

"Ye Qiu himself removed all the toxic gases from inside. I have no idea how he did it."

Ye Xue explained.

Ye Qiu then took out the piece of paper inscribed by Li Zhiguo, and waited for Ye Weidong to return, so he could find a master carver to engrave Li Zhiguo’s inscription onto the signboard over the entrance on the first floor.

With Li Zhiguo’s name on it, most people would realize that it was personally inscribed by him. And the wealthy patrons coming here to dine would certainly be able to tell.

Chen Fang and Ye Xue did not know about these things, nor did they understand the significance of this action.

Now, Ye Weidong was off to inquire whether the fire safety certificate and the health inspection approval had been processed.

Over these past few months, the original waiters and cooks had been practicing their cooking elsewhere. In fact, Ye Qiu had instructed Ye Weidong to recruit several graduates from a culinary technical school. Once they signed their contracts, they practiced cooking continuously at a place rented by Ye Weidong.

Talent is important in everything, and that includes cooking. These individuals had learned the Imperial Cuisine’s secret techniques and ingredients from Ye Qiu, but as to whether their culinary creations were as delicious as Ye Qiu’s, that remained unknown.

Ye Qiu had them prepare to work at Imperial Cuisine even though it had not officially opened for business yet, but the kitchen was already operational for cooking.

"Mom, are those people still practicing their cooking?"

"They should be. Your father and I often go there to check on them and it seems their cooking has improved a lot."

Chen Fang said.

"Let’s go take a look then."

The rented place was not very far from their current location, so Ye Qiu, Chen Fang, Ye Xue, and Li Qianqian walked there. As they approached, they could already smell the aroma of food.

Upon knocking at the door, a female waitress opened it, recognizing the boss’s wife and her son and daughter.

Of course, they knew that Ye Qiu was the real financier and were also aware of his prowess.

"Boss’s wife, you’ve come."

The waitress greeted.

"First, I want to see how the dishes you’ve cooked are coming along?"

Ye Qiu said.

For months, they had been simply learning to cook and practice service etiquette. Now, after all this time doing the same thing every day, they were all eagerly awaiting the opening of Imperial Cuisine Restaurant. Certainly, when the restaurant was completely renovated a few days earlier, they knew they would soon be put to the test.

In the kitchen at the back, Ye Qiu saw the chefs busy cooking and they didn’t stop even as Ye Qiu approached.

"No need to keep cooking for now, let’s clean up this place. Take the remaining dishes to Imperial Cuisine Restaurant and prepare to make lunch there."

Upon hearing Ye Qiu’s words, the chefs stopped and turned off the stoves.

Whatever was just cooked would definitely be discarded.

For months, that had been the routine, with everything they cooked, aside from what they ate themselves, being thrown away, and possibly even sold to others to feed pigs.

Since they were all practicing, just the cost of the ingredients for practice had amounted to quite some money. But such an expense was necessary unless the dishes they made were as delicious as the first ones made by Ye Qiu.