Chapter 633: Sky‑Price Dish

Seeing the clearly identifiable foreign friend come to dine, no one prevented Lu Cheng, who entered afterward, from coming in.

Upon entering, one could immediately feel the difference from an ordinary State-run Hotel.

Besides the clean environment, the waitstaff all wear proper uniforms, have received special training, and greet guests in English with a welcome to Capital City as soon as they step inside.

To show respect and let the foreign friend experience Capital City's specialty dishes.

Lu Cheng ordered the signature dishes: the indispensable Beijing roast duck, Kung Pao chicken, squirrel-shaped grouper, scallion‑braised sea cucumber, crab yolk tofu, etc., plus two cold plates, and the soup was chicken and corn cream.

He ordered a dessert for Yang Yin; the little one loves sweets.

The Western menu also included beet soup, fried pork cutlet, salad, to prevent the foreign friend from being unable to adapt to domestic cuisine.

The table was full of high‑end dishes, chosen to accommodate the friend, giving Yang Dong face in front of his companion and causing his favor toward this future brother‑in‑law to rise sharply.

During the meal, at first everyone was a bit restrained, but the foreign friend named Marcus knew a little Chinese, and with Lu Cheng's talkative nature, they quickly became familiar.

Even when unfamiliar words arose, Yang Dong would act as a translator, explaining beside them.

From the experiences after getting off the plane to discussing the Jingcheng Hotel and then the cultural differences between their countries, the conversation was overall very harmonious.

Halfway through the meal, Lu Cheng used the bathroom break to call his sister's factory from the front desk.

Since Lu Ying didn't answer, Lu Cheng had the employee who answered the phone call his sister, saying that his beloved younger brother Kai Xuan had returned to the country, just off the plane.

During the wait, Lu Cheng checked the bill, and upon hearing the price the waiter quoted, even he, who is usually a big spender, couldn't help but be surprised.

This meal ended up costing over two hundred yuan.

For Lu Cheng, in later times, a meal among friends at this price is normal, and even the foreign friend might not consider it expensive.

But in this era, a meal equals several months' wages for an ordinary worker, definitely a sky‑high price.

Looking at the bill, Lu Cheng didn't know how to tell his sister, but at that moment his sister answered the phone quickly.

During this time, Lu Cheng seemed to have vanished from the world; he had to know his brother went abroad, otherwise he would have worried to death.

So upon hearing the news of his brother's return, Lu Ying couldn't attend to work and hurried to answer the phone.

"Lu Cheng, is this Lu Cheng?"

"Hello, my dear sister."

Hearing that quirky tone, Lu Ying knew it was her brother and felt relieved.

"Alright, after being abroad for a few days you can't speak Chinese anymore and you start using English! Where are you now? Do you need a pickup? I'll have someone fetch you."

Lu Cheng, knowing the act must be complete, smiled deliberately and said, "So formal, but I've already gotten off the plane, so I won't trouble you to pick me up; I'm now at the Capital City Hotel."

"Capital City Hotel? How did you get there?" Lu Ying also knew which hotel it was.

Lu Cheng then mentioned to his sister that the foreign business partner wanted to visit the factory, of course claiming he brought him over himself, so as not to reveal the truth.

Lu Ying was overjoyed, thinking her brother was great; the trip abroad wasn't in vain, and she directly secured the channel merchant back.

As a result, the cooperation could be said to be more than half successful.

"Really? That's great, after you finish eating hurry back to the Factory Area, the production line is running, and you can let that Marcus fellow have a look."

One could hear the sister's excitement; Lu Cheng seized the good mood and said, "No problem, after we finish eating I'll go right away, but you know you need Foreign Exchange Vouchers to dine here, I don't have any, so…"

Lu Ying, of course understanding her brother's meaning, replied, "How many Foreign Exchange Vouchers are needed? I'll have someone exchange them at the bank now and deliver them to you; I can't leave at the moment."

Lu Cheng glanced at the bill again, carefully quoted the price, then pulled the handset a little farther from his ear.

Sure enough, his sister on the other end exploded.

"What? Over two hundred? You're eating dragon meat, a meal costing over two hundred! Why didn't you stew me and eat me, as if I were the God of Wealth? That's the kind of place you can go…"

After his sister finished venting, Lu Cheng finally put the handset back to his ear.

"Not sister, I think you shouldn't get worked up; I'm also just trying to showcase the factory's strength, we can't just take people for a bowl of cheap plain noodles!"

"If they see us as so weak, the cooperation would collapse; moreover, I'm doing this for your factory, traveling such a long way without complaint—no credit but hard work, so don't scold me."

Lu Ying on the other end inhaled, realizing her brother was right.

"Then why didn't you invite me to eat together? I've never had a meal costing over two hundred."

Lu Cheng felt the conversation had gone on long enough and quickly said, "Alright, next time I'll bring you to eat; first have someone send the Foreign Exchange Vouchers, I can't let my brother be embarrassed here."

Moreover, this meal for the foreign business partner is on behalf of the factory, so it can be paid with public funds, or you can advance it and reimburse later.

He knew his sister now had money; she draws salaries from two places: the department store pays sixty yuan a month, the factory pays eighty yuan, totaling one hundred forty yuan.

Moreover, since she is the Factory Director and has outstanding ability, other overtime allowances are omitted, and she receives an extra fifty yuan per month as a bonus, with future increases based on performance.

Currently her take‑home pay is nearly two hundred yuan a month, higher than a regular‑level salary, comparable to two level‑eight workers.

But a single meal consumes her entire monthly salary, and Lu Ying still feels extremely distressed.

Yet the meal is already eaten, and it's her beloved brother; moreover, her current salary is thanks to his effort, otherwise she would still be stuck in the Sewing Machine Shop earning fifteen yuan a month.

So she had to have Lu Cheng wait there while she immediately sent someone to deliver the money.

The older sister confirmed everything, Lu Cheng returned to his seat and ate more boldly.

Watching his wolf‑like gulping, Yang Yin found it funny and tugged him secretly.

"What are you doing? Can you mind your image a bit, you weren't full earlier."

Lu Cheng took a sip of soup and whispered, "Earlier I didn't dare eat, but now it's fine; public funds can be reimbursed, so I'll shove my cheekbones aside and eat heartily. What else do you want to eat? I'll order it for you."

Yang Yin naturally had a small appetite and even with delicacies ate little; sitting there, using the tablecloth as cover, he secretly held Lu Cheng's hand.

Then he tilted his head and chatted casually with his brother.

After the meal, his sister had already sent someone to settle the bill and then hurried with the foreign business partner to the factory.