Chapter 102 - 94: Explosive Weekend

Chapter 102: Chapter 94: Explosive Weekend

"Let’s pause the food prep for now. The first wave is enough. We’ll see how it goes."

However, it wasn’t long before two private cars appeared at the intersection, slowly pulling up and stopping in front of the restaurant.

Mr. Rochester had arrived.

And he’d brought several familiar faces with him.

The red-haired young man and Doctor Lister were among them.

The familiar faces were delighted to see each other. After a few pleasantries, Ning He led them upstairs to dine.

Before heading inside, Mr. Rochester glanced back at the relentless curtain of rain and said to Ning He, "There are quite a few people stranded at the bus stop. It would be best to arrange a shuttle for them. If you can’t find one, my driver can help out for a bit."

Ning He’s eyes lit up. "Thank you for the suggestion! I can arrange it!"

Connie, who was standing nearby, had already overheard. Without waiting for Ning He to say a word, she quickly dialed Uncle Zhang’s number.

Ning He had given up on her plan to buy a car after various expenses went over budget, so Uncle Zhang still drove them to and from the academy every day. Over the past few months, they had developed quite a friendly relationship.

A minute later, she hung up and nodded at Ning He with a smile.

"It’s all arranged. Uncle Zhang will help bring people over."

Ning He breathed a sigh of relief. She turned, waved to everyone in the restaurant, and grinned. "Let’s get to work!"

Because she was with Little Bu, Lisa and Liang Hui were in the first group to be brought over.

The moment they stepped into the restaurant, the three of them were captivated by the aroma of bone broth.

During the Ice Sculpture Festival, the TV station had been swamped with promotional ads to build up excitement, so they had been incredibly busy. They had long heard of the restaurant’s fame but had never eaten here before, and they were instantly tempted.

It was sharp-eyed Little Bu who spotted the word "Buffet" at the top of the stairs and reminded them, which made them remember the real reason for their visit.

Two adults and one child, with the child at half price. After paying and getting their meal cards, they went upstairs. Little Bu couldn’t wait and immediately went to the buffet table to check out the available dishes.

On the way over, she had heard that this restaurant was opened by the same chef who had cooked at Grandpa Leitel’s house that day, and she was full of anticipation. Now, seeing so many things she had never seen before—but which all looked delicious at a glance—she was ecstatic. She immediately grabbed a plate, ready to get her food.

But she quickly ran into a problem:

’There’s so much I want to eat, but my tummy is too small. Which one should I pick?’

"Little one, would you like me to make a flatbread for you?" Seeing the little girl holding her plate, unable to decide, Youzhen guessed her predicament and offered.

Little Bu’s attention was drawn to the pouch-like flatbread in Youzhen’s hand. She walked over, and soon she was holding a palm-sized, fully stuffed pouch-bread.

Following Youzhen’s suggestions, the little girl picked out a few more dishes to her liking, adding a serving of pumpkin and fermented rice balls, a sweet corn pancake, and a soda. With Youzhen’s help, she carried it all to her seat.

Little Bu had originally planned to wait for her mom to eat together, but the pouch-bread in her hands smelled so, so good. Having not eaten enough for lunch, she couldn’t resist and took a tiny bite.

"So yummy..."

Little Bu’s eyes crinkled in happy satisfaction. She completely forgot about waiting for her mom and started munching on the bread, one bite after another.

Meanwhile, her mother, Lisa, found herself in a similar predicament.

Because of her on-camera appearances, Lisa was very strict about maintaining her figure, and her diet consisted mainly of vegetables.

But at any other restaurant, vegetarian options were usually limited to either salads and roasted vegetables or creamy gratins and chowders. Plus, each place only offered one or two variations, with limited choices.

But this place... The sheer variety of dishes was dazzling. Hot dishes, cold dishes, wraps, fried foods, savory stews—every vegetable could be the star of its own dish, yet they also paired perfectly with one another to create new, complex flavors. It was a vegetarian paradise!

Not only were the dishes presented as beautifully as works of art, but next to each item, there was a label listing the ingredients, flavor profile, spice level, and calorie count per 100 grams.

Whether you were a strict vegetarian or a customer like her—who sometimes got cravings but still had to watch her figure—you could easily find suitable dishes.

Excited, Lisa got a small bowl of steamed eggs with mushrooms, colorful "three-delicacy" vegetarian dumplings, cucumber skin in aged vinegar, a few small turnip balls, and a sweet corn pancake. When she passed by a dish called "Eggplant Dragon," she hesitated for a moment but ended up taking a small portion.

Then, she threw caution to the wind and went back, taking a little bit of each dish she had skipped earlier because of their high calorie counts.

Although their calorie counts were shockingly high, they just smelled too good. The vibrant colors and rich sauces were simply irresistible.

’I’ll just take a little. Just a taste.’

Lisa told herself as she filled her plate.