Chapter 155

Since they were acquaintances, she should say hello. Qing Mengzhu handed the loquats to Zhou Yan: "Brother Zhou, please pour some out and distribute it to everyone, just leave some for me Chunxi."

Zhou Yan looked up. "Okay, you can go ahead and get busy."

Qing Mengzhu went to the only private room they had booked and greeted people.

The woman with the oval face in the middle of the private room stood up in surprise and greeted him as soon as she saw him, "Qing Mengzhu!"

Qing Mengzhu was a little confused, but before she could ask, the person introduced herself, "I'm Xu Baizhen, I was in the class next to yours in high school."

Qing Mengzhu remembered, smiled, and went over to shake her hand. "Long time no see."

"Haha, it's been a long time." Xu Baizhen Qing Mengzhu to the people at the table, "This is my husband, Luo Ke, my friend Wen Yunjun and her husband Guan Changsheng, and this gentleman next to her is..."

Qing Mengzhu's restaurant offers set meals for eight to ten people, and today's customers were ten people, mostly members of his community agriculture.

The diners brought their own red wine, which was already decanting. When Qing Mengzhu came over, they pulled him to drink and celebrate.

Seeing that they had already started drinking, Zhao Linling quickly brought out the cold dishes with her men.

Among the six small cold dishes was the ham and pepper pickled plum dish.

Upon seeing this, Xu Baizhen said, "These are your family's green plums, right? I'm so grateful for these green plums these past few days; they've really helped suppress my pregnancy symptoms."

Someone rearranged the order of the cold dishes on the table, "Then you should eat a couple more bites."

Xu Baizhen readily agreed with a smile, "Sure, everyone should try it. Their pickled plums are especially delicious."

The finished pickled plum dish was slightly different from the side dish that Qing Mengzhu and the others had tasted before. The ham was roasted, the plums were pickled in sugar, and then pickled with ham and shredded peppers. It was crisp, spicy, sour, and salty, and you could also taste the umami flavor brought by the sugar. The taste was not as pungent and sour as the raw pickled plum.

Everyone tried it and said it was delicious.

Someone even asked Qing Mengzhu if she could order two more plates of cold dishes.

Qing Mengzhu genuinely didn't know if the kitchen had prepared any extra cold dishes, and was considering whether to refuse or send someone to check.

Zhao Linling stepped in to defuse the situation, smiling and saying that the main dishes would be served soon, and that the head chef did not recommend eating too many cold dishes before the meal, so the diners gave up.

Zhou Yan's side had made ample preparations; the diners were still savoring the cold dishes when the hot dishes began to be served one after another.

The dishes at their restaurant were beautifully presented, with excellent color, aroma, and taste; they were clearly made in a high-end restaurant.

As soon as the dishes were served, everyone exclaimed "Wow!" and both men and women pulled out their phones to take pictures.

Qing Mengzhu watched from the side, a smile involuntarily appearing on her face.

Everyone was already pleasantly surprised when they saw it, and after tasting it, everyone said they were amazed.

"So delicious! This is truly a perfect combination of excellent ingredients and superb culinary skills."

"Mr. Qing, your dishes are really good! No wonder you're so confident!"

"Hey, when do you officially open for business? I'll make a reservation then."

Zhou Yan quickly came over to talk to the diners in the private room, asking for their opinions and suggestions.

Everyone said it was delicious and expressed their delight at being able to eat such a tasty dish.

Zhou Yan carefully inquired about the diners' opinions, Xu Baizhen immediately said, "No objections, you can go and rate it, it's really amazing."

The first group of diners was a great success, and Zhou Yan was in a good mood. He said with a smile, "This year won't do. It's too rushed to judge this year. We'll have to wait until next year at least."

The diners began to cheer in good-nature. "Wow!"

The diners were very satisfied with the meal, from the appetizer of ham and pickled plums to the strawberry soufflé pancakes for dessert.

Everyone gathered together to take photos, and then said goodbye with satisfaction.

After seeing the diners off, Zhou Yan had to go back to hold a meeting with his team to summarize the situation.

Qing Mengzhu wasn't interested in the meeting and also wanted to leave.

Zhou Yan carried the remaining half box of Baisha loquats to him, and also gave him seven soufflé pancakes—three strawberry flavored and four loquat flavored—served on delicate little plates covered with boxes, making them look very pretty.

This was prepared for Zhao Hexi and the dogs as well; otherwise, it wouldn't have needed seven portions.

After receiving the dessert, Qing Mengzhu laughed for a long time, "You're just using someone else's flowers to present to Buddha."

Zhou Yan laughed, "Fine, let's celebrate if the first meal is a success."

Qing Mengzhu patted Zhou Yan on the shoulder and said sincerely, "Brother Zhou, you've worked hard. Our restaurant will get better and better."

Zhou Yan was very confident. "It definitely will."

Chapter 155

When Qing Mengzhu returned home, Ming Chunxi had not yet returned, and Zhao Hexi had gone out of town on business and had not yet come over either.

The two dogs were sleeping in the yard, one on each side. When they heard Qing Mengzhu return, they just looked up and wagged their big, fluffy tails a couple of times, but showed no intention of getting up.

Qing Mengzhu was amused by their lazy appearance. After putting away the soufflé pancakes and loquats she had brought back in the kitchen, she came out and gave the two dogs a good rub.

The Dharma Protector placed the dog's head on Qing Mengzhu's lap. "Woof."

The Guard also nudged over, wanting to sleep next to Qing Mengzhu.

He simply moved a chair over, sat in the sun to bask in the warmth, petted the two dogs, and took a nap.

When Zhao Hexi arrived, the sun hadn't set yet. Seeing the three of them, along with their two dogs, sleeping soundly, she said enviously, "You guys are having such a comfortable time!"

Qing Mengzhu lazily hugged the dog's head. "Not bad. How did it go to buy corn seedlings today?"

Zhao Hexi: "It went very smoothly! When the research institute heard it was us, they were very interested and chatted with me for ages about the Insect-Killing Bacillus until my throat was practically hoarse. Next time, they should really send Old Gu to do this kind of job."

Qing Mengzhu stood up. "I'll go make you a cup of tea. Brother Zhou brought me back some desserts, and Auntie's friend's daughter also brought me a box of loquats."

Qing Mengzhu quickly brewed tea, took out strawberry soufflé pancakes, washed some loquats, and laid them out in the courtyard, creating a perfect afternoon tea scene.

Zhao Hexi was so moved she almost cried, "Brother Zhou is so kind, I love Brother Zhou!"

"Then you tell him yourself." Qing Mengzhu finished speaking and pushed away the big dog head that the Dharma Protector was sticking out. "Dharma Protector, you're not allowed to steal food. Go and call Little Otter and Little Fox over so they can eat dessert together."

The two dogs tilted their heads, Qing Mengzhu repeated herself. This time they understood, barking as they ran out to call their friends.

Soon, the otter and the red fox ran over, looking at Qing Mengzhu with their big, round eyes.

Especially the otters, with their small heads and big eyes, looked so cute and silly. Qing Mengzhu quickly gave each of them a soufflé pancake and told them to go and nibble on it.

Zhao Hexi watched with a smile on his face. Qing Mengzhu turned around, looked at his expression, and felt a chill. "Your old fatherly face is really scary."

Zhao Hexi: "Hehe, the little guys are so cute, I'd love to be their dad."

Qing Mengzhu: "Get lost, who gave you that right?"

The two exchanged a few words, Zhao Hexi explained that he would arrange for people to pick chili peppers tomorrow.

The chili peppers from Qing Mengzhu's family have been in peak production for almost a year now, and the chili pepper purchase contract with Di Xing should be revised.

Qing Mengzhu had no objection; the contract did indeed need to be negotiated and terminated. When they signed the contract, they didn't expect that this batch of chilies would grow for more than a year, and there was still no sign of a reduction in production.

Based on the fact that wild chili peppers grow for many years, this batch of peppers may continue to be produced until next year or even the year after, making the original contract less applicable.

However, we still need to discuss the changes with Di Xing.

As for the chili pepper contract with Zhou Yan's former employer, it has now ended. They have opened their own farm, and they can consume all of these chilies even without selling them.

As they piled more fertilizer in the chili fields, their chili management skills improved, and the quality of the chilies is now better than before. If they sell them at the original price, they will lose more and more money.