Chapter 135 - 133: Discovering the Restaurant’s Secret

Chapter 135: Chapter 133: Discovering the Restaurant’s Secret

Ouyang Yu’s appearance, and the review he published, had a far greater impact than Tang Yushu’s.

The latter was just a chef-turned-social-media food vlogger, while the former was a food critic genuinely recognized by the restaurant industry and a true culinary enthusiast.

The man was independently wealthy with his own career. Food was simply his hobby, not his job.

Moreover, he was very low-key—there weren’t even any photos of him online. He focused solely on food criticism.

While Tang Yushu’s review might have been susceptible to manipulation, Ouyang Yu’s critique confirmed that the food in Lin Xian Village was the real deal.

Hu Xia found Lin Feng. "Take a look. These are all the celebrities who couldn’t get a reservation but want to eat at the Lin Xian Village Restaurant."

Lin Feng glanced at the list and saw there were already over six hundred people on it, including many of Wuyuan County’s most affluent residents.

"That many? What’s the current tourist situation in Lin Xian Village?"

"Ten thousand is perfect. Any more and everyone gets overwhelmed. But as we continue to develop Lin Xian Village, we’ll definitely have to expand our capacity."

Lin Feng thought for a moment before replying, "The Restaurant has a reservation system, right? Just let in the guests who have a booking. Forget about the rest."

"Alright. I’ll go discuss it with Sister Qianqian and see how many guests the Restaurant can reasonably accommodate."

Zhao Shiyun had just gotten a call from her grandfather. He wanted to come try the food at Lin Xian Village, but he couldn’t get a reservation.

Instead of going to Lin Feng, she sought out Wan Qianqian and found Hu Xia was there as well.

"Sister Qianqian, my grandfather wants to come try the food, but he can’t get a reservation. Is there any way you can accommodate him?"

Wan Qianqian replied, "I can manage a table or two, but no more. The Restaurant is completely full every day now."

"As of yesterday, we’re fully booked for the entire week. I never expected Ouyang Yu to show up."

She knew of the gourmand Ouyang Yu but had never met him. She only knew that he held a very high status among food critics.

Her family’s Wanfu Restaurant had been reviewed before, receiving a score of only 86. Her father was still the head chef back then.

She’d heard that this particular critic rarely went out to discover and review new restaurants anymore.

She had no idea why he had come all the way to Lin Xian Village this time, specifically to review their Restaurant.

In truth, Ouyang Yu eating at the Lin Xian Village Restaurant was a complete accident. He had been drawn to the village by the miracles of the Earth God.

After paying his respects to the Earth God, he happened to see the Restaurant had opened and went in for a meal.

Then, he was so impressed by the food that, despite having stopped writing reviews, he spent two full days meticulously composing a critique.

He himself was still a little disappointed in one aspect of the Lin Xian Village’s food: the chefs weren’t top-tier. Otherwise, the flavors would have been even better.

However, even without top-tier skill, the taste of the food was already astonishing to him.

Not a single guest who dined at the Restaurant left unsatisfied.

Given the Restaurant’s special properties, if someone ate there and was still unsatisfied, the problem wasn’t with the food—it was with the person.

Although it’s said that you can’t please everyone, the enhancement to deliciousness and the quality of the ingredients were conceptual properties that completely shattered that rule.

While the internet was in an uproar, the kitchen of the Lin Xian Village Restaurant was unusually quiet. Huang Yi and Geng Changxin were huddled together.

"Have you noticed? The food we cook outside the Restaurant isn’t as good as what we make inside."

Geng Changxin exclaimed in surprise, "It’s happening to you, too! I thought it was an issue with the cookware."

"It’s not just you and me. It’s the same for all the chefs here. Someone asked me about it yesterday, and that’s when I realized."

Geng Changxin whispered, "Could it be that the Restaurant in Lin Xian Village also has some kind of magical property?"

"I think so. It improves the flavor of the food and enhances our cooking skills."

The two fell silent. They had actually suspected as much after experimenting.

They knew the state of their own culinary skills better than anyone. It was impossible to have made such a huge breakthrough so suddenly.

They just hadn’t dared to believe it. Now that it was confirmed, their minds turned to the various magical aspects of Lin Xian Village.

"Let’s just keep this a secret from now on. No one would believe us if we told them, anyway."

"Right. Looks like I need to get more serious. Maybe I can reach the pinnacle of my craft after all."

Previously, Geng Changxin was well aware that his culinary Talent was average. No matter how hard he worked, he would never reach the top tier.

But now, having discovered the magic of the Lin Xian Village Restaurant, he saw a glimmer of hope.

Huang Yi was a different case. He was already on the verge of a breakthrough, and this Stable improvement made achieving it much easier.

If the culinary world ever found out about this, they would undoubtedly treat the Lin Xian Village Restaurant as a sacred place for aspiring chefs.

The moment the Restaurant opened its doors today, it was swamped with tourists, and a long line quickly formed outside.

The news online had piqued the tourists’ curiosity. Even though the Restaurant’s food was expensive, they were willing to spend the money to try it at least once.

Business at the communal feasts was affected by the Restaurant, but the other chefs didn’t mind.

The Restaurant had limited seating, so the tourists who couldn’t get in would eventually have to come eat at the communal feasts anyway.

Besides, they had been so busy the past few days that they wanted a break. Fewer customers meant a welcome chance to rest.

"Ma Sandao, your all-ox banquet orders have been affected too."

"It’s fine. I was running off my feet the last few days. The current number of orders is perfect."

"When do you guys think we’ll get to use Lin Xian Village’s own ingredients?"

"The boss is constantly expanding the planting and livestock areas. We should have a supply by next year."

As chefs, they understood the importance of ingredient quality better than anyone. Lin Xian Village’s ingredients were truly superb; it was just a shame they were so scarce.

Even Ma Sandao couldn’t use the village’s cattle for his all-ox banquets and had to source them from outside.

However, the boss had already begun purchasing livestock in large quantities for the farm. They believed it wouldn’t be long before that situation changed.

In Wuyuan County, a group of food enthusiasts rushed over only to discover that they couldn’t eat the amazing food—they couldn’t even get into Lin Xian Village.

The village had long since adopted a reservation system. Hundreds of thousands of people had already booked, with the waiting list extending more than a dozen months into the future.

It didn’t matter if they revealed their identities or even promised to provide free publicity. Lin Xian Village didn’t need any promotion; they were already the hottest topic online.

Left with no other choice, these people started pulling strings, trying to find another way into Lin Xian Village.

For example, they could try the method Tang Yushu had used: buying a reservation slot from someone else and using their identity to get in.

After all, Lin Xian Village wasn’t strict with its checks. As long as you scanned the ID card associated with the reservation, you could get in.

The method was viable, but acquiring a slot was difficult. Tourists who wanted to enter to worship the Earth God were generally unwilling to sell their reservations.

Scalpers saw a potential profit and wanted to get in on the action, but they soon discovered it was impossible.

The reservation list for Lin Xian Village was already hundreds of thousands long. Even if they managed to snag a spot now, they would have to wait a very long time.

Lin Feng left the Restaurant’s affairs for Wan Qianqian and her team to handle. He was currently with Hu Zhiming, heading to the construction site for the Barracks, located to the east of the road into the village.

The area was vast. It was built to resemble ancient military barracks, enclosed by a wall complete with crenellations.

Inside the main gate of the Barracks, barracks-style buildings lined the perimeter, surrounding a central training ground that featured a large tournament stage.

"Brother Lin, we’ll be able to hold Martial Arts performances here in the center. We could also film scenes of ancient soldiers training for battle."

"Not bad. We can add some modern exercise equipment and use it as a fitness center for Lin Xian Village."

"Okay. I’ll talk to them in a bit about the design. By the way, these buildings are habitable."

Lin Feng went inside to take a look. There were single rooms as well as dorm-style rooms with bunk beds. They weren’t as nice as the Houses up on the mountain.

He had already made up his mind. Since it wouldn’t be used for training soldiers, he would convert it into a place for people to work out. They would just add fitness equipment and upgrade the facility.