Chapter 1685 Return to the Holiday Village (Part 4)

"I come to the Imperial City once a month with Ah Tan. Uncle De, you can recruit some apprentices. When I arrive in the Imperial City, I’ll teach them some culinary skills," Marcus Quinn said.

"That would be wonderful." Uncle De beamed with joy and said, "But you must keep some of the master’s secret recipes tightly sealed. Those are not to be passed on."

Marcus Quinn chuckled and nodded. To him, cooking wasn’t a means of livelihood but rather his way of reminiscing about his grandfather.

The two families agreed that Marcus Quinn and Ah Tan would return to the Holiday Village to resolve the arrangement of ingredients, while Uncle De’s family would attend to renovations and recruitment of staff in the Imperial City. The two families decided to work together to restore Fragrance Garden’s reputation to its former glory.

Early the next morning, Marcus Quinn and Ah Tan took a flight back to Suton. Irving Spencer came to pick them up and take them back to the Holiday Village. Meanwhile, Yeats Howard also called, first chiding them for quietly sneaking back to the Holiday Village, then mentioning that under the Shaw Family’s pressure, the Yarn Family had slunk back to Seacoast.

After the broken engagement in the Imperial City, the Yarn Family was severely weakened and wouldn’t recover for three to five years, temporarily not having the strength to trouble them.

Ah Tan fell silent upon hearing this, and Marcus Quinn reached out and held her hand, offering her silent encouragement.

Once they had established both the Holiday Village and Fragrance Garden in the Imperial City, standing firm in this cold world, he would accompany her to Seacoast to take back everything that belonged to her, be it assets or justice!

The happiest about Marcus Quinn and Ah Tan’s return was Irving Spencer.

"You’ve been gone for a week, but it felt like a lifetime to me," Irving said, half-complaining, as he drove. "Especially yesterday, suddenly so many people called to make reservations, all wanting those independent villas, and we’ve booked all the way into December."

Despite his grumbling, Irving’s face was bright with smiles because each independent villa typically houses three rooms. If fully booked, a night’s stay is around 4,000. With the houses booked for the next half-month, how could he not be happy?

Marcus Quinn was equally puzzled and asked in surprise, "It’s the end of November, not the peak season for tourism and lodging. Why is business booming?"

Ah Tan remembered the social media post Constantine Stewart made yesterday and her eyes lit up as she asked, "Irving, are they all from the Imperial City?"

"Yes, yes, they asked about the nearest airport, and upon hearing it was Suton Airport, they all complained it was two hours away, too far. Ah Tan, we need to hire a driver and buy a vehicle specifically for guest pickups."

Irving directly ignored Marcus Quinn and discussed with Ah Tan. After all, asking Marcus Quinn would just end with him saying, "Yes, Ah Tan can decide."

Ah Tan frowned and said, "From Suton, two hours is indeed a bit far. Even if we buy ten cars and a bus, it wouldn’t make much difference."

Ah Tan turned to Marcus Quinn and asked, "Marcus, do you have a map from Suton to Anfield Village? Is there a shortcut or a highway and bridge under construction?"

Marcus Quinn was also not familiar with the area, and was about to search on his phone when Irving slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Ah Tan, it’s like your words worked magic! Speaking of which, I remembered, the government has been building a bridge for several years now. It’s been five or six years. Ask Marcus to call and check when the bridge will be completed. If it’s done, we wouldn’t have to take a detour. From Suton Airport, it would take only 30 minutes to get to Anfield Village via the bridge highway, shorter than going to Suton."

Ah Tan’s eyes sparkled with excitement, smiling, "Really?"

"Yes, everyone always said the route was not completed. If you hadn’t brought it up, I’d have forgotten. Anfield Village and Suton happen to be on either side of the airport, so this round trip cuts over an hour!" Irving laughed.

Marcus Quinn called the Suton Highway Bureau and found out that the bridge would be open to traffic by the end of the year, which was nothing short of divine intervention.

Smiling broadly, Ah Tan said, "The end of the year means December, right? Irving, get ready to buy a car, and arrange for airport pickup services for all future Holiday Village guests. We should get a car worth over a million, it’s a matter of prestige."

"Alright." Irving grinned widely as he made a sharp turn, appreciating Ah Tan’s grandiose style.

Learning about the bridge opening at the end of the year put Ah Tan in high spirits. She felt it was a great time to start advertising since Constantine Stewart had already promoted them on social media.

When the three returned to the Holiday Village, Ah Tan put down her luggage and eagerly took a stroll around. The blue crabs were no longer being supplied, as there was no time to catch them and the season was passing. She pulled Marcus Quinn to go up the mountain to explore the forest.

In the forest, it was time to pick persimmons, the pears were ripe too, glowing yellow-rust, and apples were ready for harvest as well. Ah Tan took several photos and videos, then listed the persimmons, pears, and apples online for sale. However, the persimmons were a pre-sale item as they were going to be made into dried persimmons, which would be ready by the end of December.

Ah Tan had never made dried persimmons before, so she only set a presale for a thousand boxes, not planning to sell more. The price stayed at 100 per box. All her fruits were priced at 100 per box, the difference lying in the weight, for example, a box of dried persimmons weighed five pounds, a box of apples ten pounds, and cheaper fruits like pears were bundled with other fruits to meet the 100 yuan mark for simplicity’s sake.

Old customers were used to Ah Tan’s pricing scheme; after all, the fruits from the Holiday Village tasted better than imported ones. The owner was clearly taking a laissez-faire approach, running both a Holiday Village and fresh produce business, to the extent that the proprietress became customer service, though it was virtually nonexistent.

Luckily, Ah Tan had explained on the shop’s homepage that her approach to selling fruits was hands-off, with no customer service, self-service orders, and the possibility of applying for after-sale service if issues arose.

The phenomenal sales and rave reviews could not be resisted, and gradually, everyone got used to the owner’s laid-back sales method. Locals would drive to the Holiday Village on weekends for an overnight stay, picking fruits themselves and savoring the exceptional meals at the Holiday Village.

In two months of operation, the Green Meadow Wonderland Resort became renowned not for anything else but its cuisine. Once you’ve tasted it, no restaurant, big or small, or even private kitchens, could compare. They were on a completely different level, and the Holiday Village’s food was not expensive either.

The meals were sold in set menus, with a large set priced at 158 and a small one at 88. There were no options to order ala carte, leaving guests filled with anticipation since you wouldn’t know today’s main dish unless you visited the Holiday Village. The only assurance was that, whatever the dish, its taste was unlike anything else outside, absolutely phenomenal, with each grain of rice being shiny, translucent, soft, and tasty.

Even normal young men with hearty appetites could fill up just on rice and the various complimentary side dishes from the Holiday Village. However, everyone opted for the large set menu, eating to their heart’s content and brimming with happiness.