Chapter 1699 - 1612: Fragrance Garden Manager_3

"Hey Marcus, did you guys send Mr. Stewart the fish?" Minister Lee’s heart was heavy, but he kept a smiling face.

"Yes, we sent two, but didn’t sell them," Marcus replied bluntly.

Minister Lee: "..."

Originally, the fish were raised in their lake, possibly nourished from fish fry Marcus’s grandfather specifically requested from the research institute years ago. Now that they’ve been raised, they’re claiming national contribution benefits—it’s a big win for them. The research institute took some back for studies, and they sold some while also cultivating more. Now Minister Lee couldn’t very well say they couldn’t gift them out and could only keep them for themselves.

Thinking about what Lilith told him last night, Marcus candidly said, "Minister Lee, we’re planning to reopen my grandfather’s restaurant in Imperial City soon. So we’ll occasionally send our share of the Lake’s Goldfish to people to eat, without any profit motive. This shouldn’t violate our previous agreement, right?"

This was an idea concocted by Lilith. Since Minister Lee already had a channel to sell Goldfish in Imperial City, they couldn’t break the agreement to snatch clients or networks. But with a trump card in hand, should they just sit on it and do nothing?

Thus, Lilith came up with a strategy: Every month, Fragrance Garden hosts an exclusive gourmet banquet—a Longevity Feast—for its top-spending VIP customers, featuring the breathtakingly rare Goldfish as the main course. These guests can bring their friends to taste it for free.

With this approach, Fragrance Garden not only showcased its robust capabilities and sincerity, quickly raising its brand recognition, but also did so without violating the previous agreement, achieving multiple wins.

Minister Lee was somewhat stunned upon hearing this. Marcus wanting to open a restaurant in Imperial City was indeed good news; after all, Marcus’s grandfather’s culinary skills shouldn’t be lost. Inviting people to eat Goldfish for free? It seemed reasonable, yet something felt off to Minister Lee, though he couldn’t pinpoint it due to limited information.

He didn’t dare offend Marcus, especially knowing about Marcus’s connection with Constantine Stewart. On top of that, he reportedly even attended the Shaw Family’s engagement party recently, practically making Marcus untouchable.

"Well, alright then, Marcus. In the future, if you’re gifting someone something, please let me know, otherwise everyone might think I’m selling them and I can’t defend myself."

"Alright." Marcus hung up the phone, allowing himself a rare smile.

Things were progressing smoothly regarding the Goldfish. Over there, Lilith and her senior brother designed the effect drawings overnight, planning a large-scale landscape rock and pool in the lobby. Spaces for planting landscape trees were reserved along walls and corridors, with precise arrangements for either soil or water planting, even specifying various tree species.

Lilith was quite pleased with this round of designs, so Fragrance Garden’s renovation project in Imperial City officially commenced.

On the Holiday Village side, many families in the nearby village had already secured poultry orders, set for periodic collection over the next month. Uncle Shui had acquired several pigs and livestock, awaiting slaughter later on.

This ensured that, at least by the time Fragrance Garden opened in a month, food supply wouldn’t be a concern.

Marcus and Lilith discussed that due to supply reasons, they’d limit Fragrance Garden to preparing 100 portions of food daily. Once reserved, others would have to wait until the next day. Catering about ten tables, hosting ten guests each, would exhaust the ingredients.

"Lilith, why don’t you guys import beef and lamb?" Julian listened, blood boiling; given Marcus’s cooking skills, the business should skyrocket, with Mr. Stewart surely dining at Fragrance Garden.

Julian was determined to cling to Marcus’s success.

"No time for overseas inspections, and frankly, we don’t want to ignore nearby resources. If it benefits surrounding villagers, we prefer sourcing locally. Farm-raised poultry beats those from breeding pens," Lilith replied.

"That’s easy then; you can inspire locals by offering higher market prices to encourage animal husbandry—two heads per family adds up quickly. Advertise the profit, and they’ll follow suit. When supplies are tight, organize a seafood feast, focusing on seafood and vegetables, importing some to ease the burden," Julian suggested energetically.

Lilith and Marcus exchanged a glance, convinced the kid had potential.

"Oh, and aren’t you going to limit reservations? That’s a great idea; people just have this quirk: the harder it is to get, the more they want it. Release three tiered menus daily—fixed choices, to save guests from option paralysis. Set quantities for each tier; once they’re booked, they’d have to wait till the next day—business will boom," Julian continued.