Chapter 86 - 81: The Head Chef’s Invitation

Chapter 86: Chapter 81: The Head Chef’s Invitation

When Connie returned to the backyard, Ning He had just taken off her hat and was wiping away her sweat with a towel.

Although the portion size for each dish was small, there were many different dishes, so the workload was immense.

Connie gave her a brief report on the situation out front.

"...they’re all very satisfied and would like to meet you. Oh, right, there are two other guests, a man and a woman. They don’t seem like ordinary people."

"Anyone who knows Mr. Leitel is bound to be someone of importance. I’ll go over now. I’ll leave things here to you."

Connie nodded to reassure her. Ning He tidied up her appearance and followed a servant into the villa.

In the dining room, the plates had been cleared from the table, but the aroma of food still lingered in the air. Mr. Leitel and the others watched her with beaming smiles, their eyes filled with satisfaction and admiration.

Ning He was about to break into a smile herself when she suddenly noticed the only other woman among the guests.

She looked to be in her thirties, dressed in trousers and leather boots. She had short brown hair, handsome features, and a sharp, piercing gaze.

’It’s actually her!’

The moment she recognized her, Ning He froze. Her heart leaped into her throat, and her previously relaxed mood instantly tensed.

’What is she doing here?’

’She’s not here to arrest me, is she?’

’Surely not?’

’A Director wouldn’t need to come arrest me personally. Besides, I haven’t caused any major trouble. Why would such a big shot go to all this effort for me?’

’A coincidence. It must be a coincidence.’

After this rapid-fire analysis, Ning He calmed down. She averted her gaze from the woman and walked into the dining room with composure.

The first thing to greet her was a shower of praise from Mr. Leitel and the other old-timers.

"I had a feeling you had other specialties up your sleeve, but I never imagined you had so many! You give us a wonderful surprise every time!"

"Exactly! I was actually a little worried for you, but it looks like I worried for nothing, haha! I doubt you could find a more skilled chef in all of Beiluo City!"

"And such a young woman, too. How unexpected." Carolyn’s eyes swept over her face, and a small smile softened her stern expression.

Beside her, Gates stared at her meaningfully, the corner of his mouth curling into a smirk. "Yes, compared to her, those famous chefs under my employ look like amateurs. I wonder where a young lady like you learned these skills? The culinary academies in Beiluo City don’t teach this, and as far as I know, none of the old masters in the city have these techniques. You look to be only in your early twenties. Don’t tell me you invented all those dishes yourself?"

Ning He glanced at the man who had spoken.

A middle-aged man with blond hair, thick eyebrows, and handsome eyes. Quite attractive, actually.

’It’s just that his smile is a bit punchable.’

His words were polite, but he was clearly looking for trouble.

Leitel frowned and was about to speak, but the gray-haired old man placed a hand on his arm to stop him, then gave Ning He a kind smile.

"Don’t be afraid. Go ahead and speak your mind. We old-timers will back you up."

Ning He paused for a moment, then understood what he meant. She smiled and said, "Of course I had a teacher. He used to be the head chef at a Level 3 Restaurant, and he was the one who taught me all these skills. However, I promised my teacher I wouldn’t reveal his identity."

"If you can’t say, then don’t. It’s no problem. We were just curious, that’s all."

The smile on Gates’s face froze.

Since Leitel had cut off that line of questioning, it would be rude for him to press the issue.

Ning He was very satisfied with the effect of her made-up story and took the opportunity to change the subject.

"I was wondering which of the dishes you were most satisfied with, and how you’d like to finalize the menu?"

Ning He had prepared more dishes than would be needed for a normal banquet. For appetizers, for instance, two or three types would usually suffice.

"Well..."

Leitel stroked his beard, a conflicted look on his face. He couldn’t make up his mind.

When it came to food, the usually decisive former president would be paralyzed by indecision.

"Do we even need to choose? Of course we’ll have them all. As thanks for today’s delicious meal, allow me to provide the ingredients for Mr. Leitel’s banquet. I guarantee I’ll supply the freshest, highest-quality food." Gates had finally found a chance to show off.

But Leitel refused.

"No, that would be too much trouble for you. You just made a huge donation to Beiluo City, you’ve already done more than enough. Consider this banquet my way of thanking you two young people. Don’t feel pressured."

Gates laughed helplessly.

"Then how about I just charge you for the cost? I know Tom handles your daily food expenses, but please, you must give me a chance to contribute this time. Otherwise, it would be unfair. Tom wasn’t the only one you saved from the forest back then."

Ning He glanced at the portly middle-aged man and had a moment of realization.

’So there’s a story behind it all.’

’No wonder the portly man is always so willing to foot the bill for the old-timers.’

"Well... all right, we’ll do as you say." Leitel reluctantly agreed, then turned to Ning He with extra warmth. "If you make all of them, will you be able to handle the workload?"

Ning He nodded and gave an affirmative answer.

"No problem."

Leitel’s face immediately lit up with a smile.

"Great! Then it’s settled. We’ll be counting on you."

The tasting banquet was a resounding success for both guests and host. Her mission accomplished, Ning He retreated to the backyard. After packing up with Connie and the others, she walked out of the villa, ready to leave.

"Wait a moment."

Just as Ning He was about to get in the van, a deep voice called out from behind her. She turned and saw it was the blond, middle-aged man.

Gates glanced at the old van behind Ning He and flashed a charming smile.

"Miss Ning, I plan to open a high-end boutique restaurant in the First Ring, specializing in high-quality, multi-category integrated cuisine. I was wondering if you’d be interested in partnering with me as my head chef? If you’re willing, you can name your price."

Ning He thought she had misheard.

"You’re... hiring me?"

"Yes. With my control over the production and supply chains for high-end ingredients, plus your culinary artistry, it wouldn’t be hard for us to create Beiluo City’s very first Level 3 rated restaurant. This will be an exciting enterprise, Miss Ning. Why not consider it?"

Gates was certain no chef could refuse such an invitation.

A top-tier restaurant, high-end ingredients, building the first rated restaurant in the city—any one of these would be attractive enough on its own.

"I’m sorry, but I already have my own restaurant. It’s still under renovation, but it should be open in a little over half a month. Thank you for the kind offer."

Ning He refused him crisply and decisively.

"If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving now. I still have to go back and prepare for the banquet. Goodbye."

Gates watched as Ning He got into the van and shut the door, his expression gradually darkening.

Rejected twice in one day. It had been a long time since he’d had a taste of that.

’He could let Tom slide—that fatty had been as dull as a block of wood since he was a kid. But this unknown young woman dared to refuse me too?!’

"Find out where she’s opening her restaurant and who her suppliers are. I want all her information within a day!"

His assistant behind him nodded quickly. "Yes, President, right away!"

Ning He had yet to realize she was being targeted. From her perspective, she had simply declined a job offer politely. The man was clearly wealthy; what kind of chef couldn’t he hire? He would just find someone else. ’With my high-risk credit background, it’s better to just work for myself quietly!’

She didn’t give it a second thought. After she got back, she, Connie, and Ah Huai discussed hiring more help.

"...If we have to make this many dishes for the banquet, there aren’t enough of us." Connie thought for a moment, then had an idea. "Youzhen, have all your classmates found jobs? Could you contact a few to come and help?"

Youzhen quickly nodded. "Of course! I’m sure they’d all be very willing."

Most of Youzhen and Vance’s classmates had helped Ning He during the last food festival. They had always been envious that the two of them were chosen to stay on, so they would surely jump at the chance to come back.

"Hire a few extra," Ning He said. "We’ll likely need to hire more staff after the restaurant opens anyway. This will be a good chance to see if any of them are a good fit, saving us the trouble of searching again later."

"Okay, I’ll take care of it!" Youzhen said earnestly.

"Alright, everyone worked hard today. Let’s set up the stall again tomorrow. Go get some rest."

After everyone had left, Ning He plopped down on the sofa and rested her chin in her hands, her brow furrowed with worry.

The appearance of Director Carolyn today had once again reminded her that she had a very difficult problem to solve.

Although she seemed to have left a good impression on her today, it wasn’t enough to make the director look the other way.

Of course, she could also ask Leitel and the others to plead her case, but the old-timers treated her like one of their own. She didn’t want to lie about this matter and drag them into her troubles.

If she could just find a suitable reason to explain why she was at the exchange hall, perhaps the Director would give her another chance.

But what reason could possibly explain it?

Ning He racked her brain for a long time but couldn’t come up with anything. Remembering the vegetables upstairs were ready to be harvested, she decided to go up and get to work.

After harvesting a few baskets of vegetables, a small patch of black soil was cleared. Ning He suddenly remembered something, opened her system, and found a type of mutated plant seed called Dragon Red Fruit. She bought a few grams.

The second before she scattered them, Ning He’s hand paused, and she ultimately stopped herself.

Although she was very curious about what the mutated seeds would grow into in the black soil, now didn’t seem like a good time.

In the end, Ning He decided to use ordinary green bean seeds instead. However, as she was cleaning up, a single gray seed fell into the black soil. Ning He, completely unaware, covered it with soil, watered it, and clapped her hands clean before starting to process the vegetables she had just harvested.

The pickled and preserved vegetables had an excellent culinary effect, providing a variety of flavors that rivaled seasonings, but were cheaper. Ning He decided to take advantage of the stable temperature to pickle a large batch, which would be useful when the restaurant opened.

Meanwhile, a complete background report on her had already been delivered to Gates.