Chapter 101 - 99: News of the Master Chef

Chapter 101: Chapter 99: News of the Master Chef

After lunch, Wan Tiejun had his daughter bring him to find Lin Feng and discuss the chef situation.

"Hello, Uncle Wan."

"Hello, Boss Lin."

"Uncle Wan, please, just call me Lin Feng. So, what do you think of the place? Are you satisfied with it?"

’The Restaurant’s renovations will be done in two days, and then it can open for business. I desperately need a head chef. I still haven’t even used that gourmet menu reward yet.’

"Alright, I’ll call you Lin Feng then. The environment here is truly excellent, and you have quite a few tourists.

I saw the lunch service as well. I have to admit, business is booming. It was quite surprising.

But what I want to know is, are you certain you can maintain this level of tourist traffic?"

Lin Feng said confidently, "You can rest assured, Uncle Wan. The number of tourists we get here will only continue to grow."

Wan Tiejun looked at Lin Feng. ’I didn’t expect this young man to be so utterly lacking in humility. Maybe he really does have the skills to back it up.’

"Alright, I can introduce a chef to you. Whether or not you can strike a deal will depend on if the conditions you’re offering are attractive enough."

"Of course. A partnership has to be something everyone is happy with.

You can tell them directly, Uncle Wan. As long as their culinary skills are up to standard, my offer is a base salary of 10,000, plus 30% of the Restaurant’s net profits as a bonus."

The base salary was decent, but the 30% bonus made him see Lin Feng in a new light. It was tantamount to offering 30% of the company’s shares as a bonus.

Of course, this bonus also depended on the Restaurant’s profitability. The more profit it made, the larger the bonus would be.

With Lin Xian Village’s current tourist traffic, the Restaurant wouldn’t have a low seating rate even with high prices.

There was one prerequisite: the Restaurant’s food had to be exceptionally good.

After leaving Lin Feng, Wan Tiejun started making phone calls and also posted a message in a WeChat group.

"Xiaoyi, where are you right now? Have you found a job yet?"

"Master, what made you call me? I’m in Rongcheng. I still haven’t found a suitable job."

Huang Yi shook his head while eating hot pot skewers. ’This viral spot is all style and no substance. The flavor is all from various seasonings, completely overpowering the ingredients themselves.’

His career as a food blogger hadn’t taken off, so he’d been spending his time searching for both good food and a good job.

’They always say a chef will never starve, but who knew it would be this hard to find a job I’m actually happy with.’

His culinary skills were at an awkward stage: not quite good enough for the top-tier places, but too good for the lesser ones.

The big restaurants wouldn’t consider him for a head chef position, and he himself didn’t want to work at the lesser ones. This left him in a bind, unable to aim high and unwilling to settle for low.

"Qianqian found that college boyfriend of hers. I’m at the place he works, a tourist destination called Lin Xian Village.

A Restaurant here is almost done with renovations, and they need a chef. I immediately thought of you."

"Lin Xian Village! Is that the place with the Arrow Towers and the Medicinal Tea?"

"Yes, that’s the one. Good that you’ve heard of it. The number of tourists here is not bad at all.

The boss is offering a base salary of 10,000, plus 30% of the net profits as a bonus.

Of course, the bonus wouldn’t be for you alone. It’s to be shared among the entire restaurant staff."

Huang Yi thought it sounded pretty good. ’A 30% share is extremely high. Usually, only a full kitchen brigade can negotiate for that kind of profit-sharing.’

"Master, do you think I should go?"

"If you don’t have a job, just come over and give it a shot. It’s better than sitting around doing nothing."

"Okay, fine. I’ll go give it a try. If it doesn’t work out, I can always leave."

"You just overthink things. Okay, that’s settled. Get over here quickly. I’m only here for another two days before I head back."

"I know, I’m buying the ticket now."

Wan Tiejun hung up, feeling a headache coming on because of his apprentice. ’If you could just say the kid has no Talent as a chef, that would be one thing.

The problem is, his Talent is actually quite good. If he could just settle down and focus, he could definitely make a name for himself in the industry, even if he never reaches the absolute top.’

Huang Yi left a bad review for the restaurant on his phone and then started booking his ticket.

He did a quick search for Lin Xian Village and was surprised to find it was a trending topic.

’This place actually looks pretty decent. I’ll go check it out.’

Meanwhile, Wan Tiejun noticed someone in the WeChat group was messaging him. Surprisingly, it was about the chef position in Lin Xian Village.

"Old Wan, this job posting for Lin Xian Village... is that the same place that produces the Jade Grapes?"

"That’s the one. You interested, Old Wu?"

"It’s not me. Someone once asked me for help finding a chef specifically because they wanted to get their hands on those Jade Grapes."

Someone else chimed in: "Someone asked me about it too. Looks like those Jade Grapes are a pretty big deal!"

Wan Tiejun asked, "So what are you all thinking?"

"How about this: I’ll recommend someone for the job, and you can ask if it’s possible to purchase some Jade Grapes annually?"

"I’ll ask for you in a bit."

Wan Tiejun was puzzled. ’What’s the deal with these Jade Grapes?

People are actually tapping into the culinary network just to get these grapes. There must be more to them than meets the eye!’

He soon found Lin Feng in one of the greenhouses, inspecting the vegetables.

He glanced at the produce inside. "These vegetables of yours are really something else."

"Uncle Wan, you’re here. Did you find someone?"

"Yes. One of my apprentices has confirmed he’s coming. Also, someone else wanted me to ask: if a chef comes to work here, will they be able to buy Jade Grapes?"

Lin Feng was surprised it had come back to the Jade Grapes again. ’These people will really try anything,’ he thought.

He thought for a moment, then said, "I’ll be setting a portion aside to use as employee benefits, but it won’t be a large amount."

"Let me send a message and see what they say."

Wan Tiejun sent the message. To his surprise, the other party agreed to recommend a chef as soon as they read it.

"They agreed. They’re sending a chef over.

Lin Feng, what’s the story with those Jade Grapes?"

"They’re a very special type of fruit. They’re beneficial for the health of the elderly and also have cosmetic and anti-aging properties, which is why so many people want to buy them."

After hearing the description, Wan Tiejun thought to himself, ’Forget other people, if they really have those effects, I’d want to buy some myself.’

"With grapes that good, you should plant more of them!"

"They can’t be transplanted. There are even two agricultural professors over at the vineyard researching them right now."

He instantly dismissed any schemes he was hatching. ’With effects like that and being impossible to transplant, the people trying to buy them must be rich and powerful.

No wonder people were tapping into the culinary world just for the Jade Grapes.’

’When I get back,’ he thought, ’I’ll have to ask my daughter if she knows about this. Maybe I can get some Jade Grapes through her boyfriend to see what they’re like.’

After Wan Tiejun left, Lin Feng looked at his newly upgraded Farmland. ’The stats aren’t bad at all,’ he thought.

[Farmland (Level 2): Minor resistance to temperature effects, slightly shortened crop growth cycle, slightly increased yield, slightly improved quality, can raise soil temperature by 0-10°C, yield increased by 10%.]

He hadn’t found the attribute that increased quality, but he had found the one for yield. He had wasted the first upgrade on ten acres of land just for this experiment.

However, after the upgrade, he noticed the wording for the modifiers had subtly changed, which he took to mean the effects had improved.

This got him a little excited. If he just kept upgrading, one day these buffs would become even more powerful.

As he was heading back from the greenhouse, he heard someone call out, "The Whole-Ox Banquet! Why isn’t it on the menu?"

"That’s right! It’s not like we can’t afford it. Chef Ma, you should tell Boss Lin to add it to the menu."

"Everyone, it’s not that the boss doesn’t want to add it. The Whole-Ox Banquet is just too time-consuming. We’re already swamped as it is, where would we find the time to prepare that dish?"

Only then did Lin Feng remember. ’We’re supposed to have the Whole-Ox Banquet tonight. It’s what I promised everyone.’ He had already told Ma Sandao yesterday.