Culinary God in Wilderness

Chapter 437: Chapter 271: Preliminary Blueprint

The next morning, after everyone arrived in Panama City, the production team came to distribute their plane tickets home.

The specific destinations were chosen by the contestants themselves—they had been asked the day before—so everyone was heading to a different place at a different time.

Andre was, of course, going to Seattle. His wife and kids were there, and it was close enough to Vancouver that he could visit anytime.

As for Erica, she had originally planned to go home first, but she changed her mind immediately after her discussion with Lin Chen yesterday. She booked the same flight to Vancouver as him, claiming she needed to go for an "on-site inspection."

When the staff member handed them their tickets, their eyes were clearly filled with a teasing look.

They didn’t say a word, but it felt like they’d said everything.

「At the airport.」

Lin Chen, Erica, and Andre were sitting inside a McDonald’s, having a meal.

"By the way, Andre, what kind of trap did you use to catch that American Crocodile? How come I never got a notification from the production team about it?"

Lin Chen asked curiously, holding a mini-burger half the size of his palm.

"A spike pit trap."

Andre casually pulled out a few fries, broke them, and arranged them in a rectangle on his tray liner.

"On the surface, I laid down thin bamboo strips and fallen leaves. It was hollow underneath, about one and a half meters deep. In the middle of the trap, I stuck a dozen sharp bamboo spears upright. It took me two weeks to make. Trying to hunt that thing without tools was a real pain."

An American Crocodile weighs a couple hundred kilograms, so a single foot stepping on the trap might not have been enough to make it collapse. But as its center of gravity shifted onto the bamboo strips, the increasing weight would have caused the fragile strips to snap instantly.

With a depth of one and a half meters, the actual fall would be less than a meter, but given the American Crocodile’s own weight, the soft underbelly would have been easily pierced as long as the bamboo spears were sharp enough.

Then, Andre could have attacked it from above with a bamboo spear or knife, wearing it down until it was dead.

However, the process would have been a bit bloody and cruel, so Andre most likely didn’t film it. Otherwise, he would have definitely been called out by animal rights groups.

"If only we had soy sauce. I feel like crocodile meat would be perfect cooked in your Great Xia ’red-braised’ style. It would definitely taste amazing."

"I was thinking the same thing. Too bad we couldn’t bring it with us, or we could have actually tried it."

"Red-braised?"

Erica tilted her head in confusion. She felt like she had heard that term somewhere before but couldn’t quite place it.

"It’s how that big pork knuckle we ate yesterday was cooked," Andre reminded her helpfully. "Yesterday’s style was salty and sweet, but there’s also a savory, soy-sauce-based version. I’ve only tried those two types of red-braised dishes so far, so I don’t know if there are other flavors. Anyway, I feel it’s perfect for stewing meat."

"Oh, so *that* was red-braised! It really was delicious. Even the fatty parts were cooked so they weren’t greasy at all. Mixing the fat with rice and drizzling a little sauce over it was just heavenly!"

The moment she said it, Erica could feel her mouth watering uncontrollably.

Even though she had eaten it for both lunch and dinner yesterday, just thinking about it now made her feel like she hadn’t had nearly enough.

Before this, she was someone who never touched fatty meat. Or rather, an ingredient like "fatty meat" doesn’t even really exist in Western cuisine.

Andre downed six McDonald’s hamburgers in a row, refilled his iced Coke three times, and let out several soda-fueled burps before finally getting up.

"My boarding time is soon. I’m heading out first. If anything comes up, let’s talk in the group chat."

"See you around~"

Lin Chen waved goodbye, simultaneously stuffing the other half of his burger into his mouth.

’Before coming abroad, he never imagined that an ’authentic’ McDonald’s burger would be like this.’

’They look cheap, only two to four dollars each, but when you actually get one, you can’t help but laugh in frustration.’

’The burgers are palm-sized, with buns so thin they look like two slices of pizza crust pressed together. Forget an adult man, even Erica could probably eat four or five in one go without a break.’

’Compared to this, the McDonald’s back home had completely surpassed the original.’

’Of course, when it comes to variety, they definitely don’t have as many creative options as KFC back home. As for the taste, that’s up to personal preference.’

’Anyway, if he wanted fried chicken over here, he definitely wouldn’t choose either of them.’

’Back in Toronto, he’d either go for the Filipino chain Jollibee, or Popeyes, or Church’s. Any one of them would wipe the floor with the other two.’

’Once he settles into some small, remote town near Vancouver, he probably won’t even be able to buy burgers or fried chicken. He’d have to make them himself.’

’He was even considering whether he should start by using these kinds of foods that appeal to Western palates, add a little innovative twist, and use it as a foot in the door to break into the local social circle. Then, he could slowly introduce other foods.’

"Where are we going after we land in Vancouver?"

Erica asked, nibbling on her burger with a look of mixed curiosity and anticipation.

Although she was supposedly going for an "on-site inspection," she actually had no idea what Lin Chen’s plans were. She was purely tagging along.

"First, we’ll take a boat to White Whale to see an old friend. Then we’ll check out Salt Spring Island and look at the local farms. But the place I really want to go is near Banfield and Albion Port."

"Where’s that?"

Lin Chen knew she would ask. He pulled out his phone, opened the map, found Vancouver, and then moved southwest.

"You know Victoria, right? Where Vancouver Port is located. It’s also a pretty famous retirement city."

"Victoria International Airport is just north of the city. Further north is Salt Spring Island. If you drive northwest from Salt Spring Island along the coastal highway and then turn southwest, you’ll reach Albion Port. Banfield is on the other side; you have to take a boat. I’m not sure if you can get there by car yet."

"This area has hills, an estuary, a ferry, a train, and highways. It’s also a well-known mecca for sea fishing, it’s not far from Victoria, it has both freshwater and saltwater resources, the climate is warm, and it’s rich in biodiversity."

"Sounds pretty good," Erica said, swiping on the map a few times and nodding with satisfaction. "Looks like you’ve really done your homework and aren’t just messing around. It gives me a bit more confidence in this investment."

The two of them talked for a while longer in a quiet corner of the restaurant. Seeing that it was getting close to their boarding time, they slowly got up and headed for the gate.

From a distance, they saw that the seats around the boarding gate were all taken, and nearly half the faces were Chinese.

Almost all the Chinese people had a laptop on their knees, fingers flying across the keyboard with a CLACK-CLACK-CLACK, or were on their phones making calls. It formed a stark contrast with the relaxed demeanor of the foreigners.

Seeing this scene, Erica’s red lips parted slightly as she remarked with some emotion.

"Are all you Da Xia people workaholics? I had a feeling during the competition that you could never sit still, but now it seems it’s not just you. It looks like all Da Xia people are like this."

"Why else do you think our country has developed so quickly in recent years? It’s not exactly something to be proud of, but the social atmosphere in our country is just incredibly competitive. It’s pretty much the same for all three East Asian countries."

They had just arrived at the gate and, seeing no empty seats, were preparing to stand off to the side for a bit.

A Da Xia man sitting in the crowd suddenly looked up, seemingly pondering something, and his gaze happened to land on the two of them.

When he saw their faces, the man froze for a second, then a look of surprise and disbelief crossed his features.

He quickly put down his backpack and laptop and cautiously approached them.

"Excuse me, are you Lin Chen and Erica?"

Lin Chen had already noticed him as he was walking over. He nodded a bit awkwardly. "Yes, that’s us."

Although it wasn’t the first time he’d been recognized by viewers, he still wasn’t used to the feeling and was momentarily unsure how to react.

"It really is you! Congratulations on winning the championship! I was just watching the show yesterday morning and wondering if I might get a chance to meet you. I can’t believe I actually ran into you. Would it be okay to get a photo together?"

"Sure."

Without even needing Lin Chen to translate, the man immediately asked again in English. Erica, on the other hand, just smiled and nodded generously, even taking the phone to hold it up for a selfie.

"I’ll take it. This way my face will look smaller. You guys don’t mind, right? Haha~"

After snapping a few pictures, the man hurriedly thanked them.

"Thanks so much! Now I can brag to my friends back home. By the way, I remember you said you lived in Toronto. Why are you flying to Vancouver? And Erica... are you two on a date?"

’I knew it!’

Lin Chen quickly waved his hands, about to explain, but Erica just grinned, nodded, and put a finger to her lips in a "shushing" gesture at him. "Yup! You know how he wants to start that manor restaurant business? I recommended he check out the Vancouver area. I’ve got nothing better to do anyway, so I decided to tag along for fun. Remember to keep it a secret~"

’Secret my ass!’

"Don’t listen to her nonsense. We’re planning to partner up. She’s the investor, so of course she needs to come along for an on-site inspection. Andre is coming later too."

"Ooooh~"

The man drew out the word as if in sudden realization, winking and giving Lin Chen a knowing look.

"As it happens, my company is in international trade, and importing food ingredients is part of what we do. I can’t speak for other places, but we’ve worked with most of the suppliers and large farms in and around Vancouver. Want me to make some introductions?"

"Won’t that get in the way of your work?"

Lin Chen pointed to the laptop the man had left on his seat. "I saw you were just working."

"It’s fine. I was just writing some copy and got stuck. Maybe chatting with you guys will give me some new inspiration."

"Right, let me introduce myself."

The man pulled two business cards from his jacket pocket and handed one to each of them.

"My name is Zhao Pengfei. I’m a sales manager, specifically in charge of my company’s sales division for Greater Vancouver—imports, exports, wholesale, retail, all of it. I’m the one who handles the Greater Vancouver area."

Lin Chen took the business card and cautiously did a quick search online. He relaxed a little after finding that the company actually existed.

"So, here’s the thing. I’m planning to open a kind of farm-stay resort, with a whole series of attractions including farming, pick-your-own produce, sea fishing, a restaurant, and wilderness survival experiences. Right now, I’m planning to look around the Victoria area. Do you have any suitable places you’d recommend?"