Chapter 527: The Arrogant Become Humble

Li Huaiyu smiled, "Teacher Lin doesn't come to Beijing often, right?"

Lin Sicheng's eyes flickered, "I come occasionally; I am indeed quite curious."

"This area here is Chang'an Street. Every military parade takes place right here, and just a wall away is Taiye Pool." Li Huaiyu pointed forward, "Does Teacher Lin want to go inside and take a look?"

Who the hell wouldn't?

The so-called Taiye Pool refers to those three seas...

"It's a dream of mine, I've longed for it!" Lin Sicheng nodded very honestly, "Can Miss Li take me inside?"

Li Huaiyu was left speechless, unable to respond.

No matter how arrogant she was, no matter how much she dared to boast, she didn't dare say she could take someone inside to look around.

Let alone taking someone inside, just the fact that they were standing here pointing fingers, they might already have been spotted by someone.

Lin Sicheng's gaze was exceptionally fervent, carrying a few traces of anticipation and yearning. It was as if he truly believed Li Huaiyu could take him inside? Li Huaiyu couldn't quite handle it and looked away, "I can't get in!"

"Oh." Lin Sicheng sounded a bit disappointed, "I thought Miss Li could get in."

Suddenly, Li Huaiyu's face turned red to the roots of her ears.

She had originally intended to mock Lin Sicheng:

Never been to Beijing, have you? Never been inside the Forbidden City, have you?

Do you know what's across the way? If I told you, it would scare you to death.

But unexpectedly, Lin Sicheng turned the tables: Since you can't get in, then what the hell are you talking about?

It's an old Beijing routine; they feel they've been touched by imperial aura, have opened their third eye, and look at outsiders like they are second-class citizens.

Lin Sicheng had a hundred ways to make such people unable to open their mouths.

Seeing his younger sister get shut down, Li Huaizhang stepped forward, "You definitely can't get inside, but we can take Teacher Lin to look around the neighborhood." Li Huaizhang pointed diagonally across, "My third uncle works over there!"

Lin Sicheng glanced over: The Organization Department?

Right, this is the most correct way for the children of Beijing's inner-circle compounds to open a conversation: show off their superiority right from the start.

Either how amazing my dad or mom is, or how amazing my relatives are. Or else how my ancestors were this or that...

It was just that the ones he had encountered before weren't very authentic: of course, he didn't mean their rank, but rather that they lacked that specific flavor.

For example, Yan Wenjing, Jing Zeyang, and Ye Anqi. Even more so Tang Nanjin, and even Wang Qi Zhi.

These people had worldviews that were too upright, high IQs, and even higher EQs, which made him think that the children of this generation had all changed their nature.

So, it had never changed at all?

It really has been a long time...

"That is quite impressive!" Lin Sicheng smiled, "Is your uncle a Department Head?"

Hearing this, Li Huaizhang's eyes went wide: Are you kidding me?

It's fine if you don't understand, but you can at least count, right?

Count on your fingers, how many departments are there in total in Beijing?

Just as he was about to explain, Lin Sicheng had a sudden realization, "Then he must be a Division Chief!"

After a brief pause, he wore a look of pity, "But that's still quite impressive!"

What does "but" mean, and what does "still" mean?

At first listen, Lin Sicheng seemed to be paying a compliment, but for some reason, Li Huaizhang felt that Lin Sicheng's words were like an insult: Why isn't your uncle a Department Head? Is it because he looks down on it, or he doesn't want to be one?

He narrowed his eyes, "Teacher Lin must have seen quite a few, right?"

"What?"

"Division Chiefs!"

"Oh!" Lin Sicheng nodded, "I have indeed seen quite a lot of them!"

Li Huaizhang was stunned on the spot, not knowing how to continue the conversation.

Can you really blow smoke that hard?

They aren't Chinese cabbage, are they, just lying all over the street?

Li Huaiyu finally realized: the guy surnamed Lin was just digging at them.

Her face stiffened, and just as she was about to spout off, she met Huang Zhi's warning gaze.

Instantly, the words on the tip of her tongue were blocked back.

"It's getting dark, there are no lights around here, nothing much to see!" Huang Zhi pointed forward, "Teacher Lin, let's go inside and chat!" "Alright, please lead the way, General Manager Huang!"

The two walked shoulder to shoulder and entered the main gate.

Huang Lan accompanied Liu Yiling, following closely behind, with the three cousins trailing at the very end.

Just before entering, Li Huaiyu poked Li Huaizhang, looking sheepish, "Brother, is Uncle angry?"

Li Huaizhang also felt some regret: he couldn't hold back for a moment and wanted to test him, but as soon as he tested him, he got hit back.

The key was, he actually couldn't handle it?

That kid's mouth was like it had been smeared with poison; every word stabbed right into people's hearts.

He recalled, "Uncle shouldn't be angry!"

"Is that so?" Li Huaiyu was a bit skeptical, "When we came, Uncle even warned us: told us to be respectful?"

"What kind of disrespect is this? We didn't curse his father or mother," Li Huaizhang didn't care, "If you want to talk about disrespect, that kid was the first to be disrespectful to us. Heaven and earth are vast, but maternal uncles are the greatest; Lin Sicheng made fun of their uncle, so it's a miracle they didn't curse his mother."

Huang Zhi was indeed not angry; it wasn't worth it for such a small matter.

If the children of the inner-circle compounds don't brag, don't compare dads and moms, then what would they even be called?

Lin Sicheng's eyes were so sharp and he was so smart, it was impossible for him not to see that the two siblings held a grudge against him because of their uncle.

Whether they argued these few sentences or not didn't affect Lin Sicheng's perception of the two nephews: because those two were simply not his match.

Huang Zhi was just worried about the IQ of his two nephews.

At the same time, he was also a bit curious: how could Lin Sicheng not be intimidated in the slightest?

At the very least, Huang Zhi knew that Lin Sicheng's family could only be considered ordinary.

If it were someone else, someone with a thicker skin, they would only climb up the pole and shamelessly fawn over them. If they were thin-skinned, even if they felt insulted, even if they were furious inside, they would only endure it.

Yet Lin Sicheng was different; he neither leaned left nor right, but instead hid a dagger in silk, every needle drawing blood, leaving you speechless.

Moreover, he gave people the feeling that "your uncle's official position is just so-so," as if he had truly seen many such people before.

It was just like the feeling from their first meeting: Lin Sicheng seemed more like a child of a high-ranking compound than the real children of high-ranking compounds.

But, his father was clearly just a small Section Chief?

The more Huang Zhi thought about it, the stranger it felt.

The decor was indeed quite good, with walls of solid Rosewood, unpainted, only carved with some shallow patterns following the original grain. It exuded a touch of simple elegance without losing its solemnity.

Spotlights were embedded all around, covered with frosted glass, bright but not glaring.

The carpet was very thick, exceptionally soft underfoot; when shoes stepped on it, there was almost no sound.

Overhead was a panoramic skylight, the starry sky deep blue, the bright moon hanging high.

This was, of course, fake; the night sky of Beijing was not this clear and bright.

In the courtyard stood a magnolia tree, grown extremely tall, its crown reaching the roof of the second floor. But unfortunately, it was only early spring, and the branches were bare, without even a single leaf.

Both the upper and lower floors were private rooms, and one could faintly hear the sound of guests laughing and talking. Servers shuttled back and forth, and dish after dish was carried into the private rooms. Under the magnolia tree, several sets of rattan chairs were placed, with a few people sitting there, looking exactly like secretaries waiting for their leaders.

Lin Sicheng looked up and down, his face again revealing that expression of "having never seen the world."

Li Huaiyu curled her lips, and just as she was about to say something, she met Huang Zhi's gaze and swallowed it back.

Huang Zhi sighed inwardly: Idiot, even if he hasn't been to Beijing before, could he have never even been to a restaurant?

Relatively speaking, although the decor here was a bit more unique, there was nothing particularly extraordinary about it.

An open lobby, corridor-style walkways, and private rooms side by side.

At most, at most, there was a screen set up inside the door of the private room, so when a waiter opened the door, people outside could not see the guests inside. But guests entering and leaving had to pass through the lobby and the main entrance; there were no other passages.

In other words: it was no different from a common restaurant.

Therefore, Lin Sicheng must be wondering: isn't this a Private Club?

Huang Zhi smiled: "Teacher Lin, did you think that every private room should have an independent and external passage, the kind where a car can drive directly to the door?"

Lin Sicheng nodded: It wasn't that exaggerated, but with this layout and this bustling scene, he didn't see any privacy. Huang Zhi smiled again: "Do you think that my place must be like Ruyi Garden from *Great Song Forensic Scientist*: even if it isn't some umbrella, at least it must be some kind of web?"

"And that I am roughly similar to Diao Guangdou, selling intelligence with my left hand and pimping with my right..."

Lin Sicheng laughed "Hahaha": Don't mention it, at the very beginning, that was exactly what he thought.

Otherwise, with Huang Zhi's status, why would he be so humble and polite to him?

Because whether it is true refinement or fake refinement, nine out of ten officials love collecting. Even if they don't like it, they will be forced to like it by the various ways gifts are sent.

Just like that General Manager Chen Shiquan in Guangzhou; that building of his, along with hundreds of antiques, was specifically for this purpose.

Therefore, to avoid flattering the wrong person, Huang Zhi had to find an Appraiser with superb vision who had no background or connections in Beijing to help him vet things.

So during that time, he used various ways to put Huang Zhi off. It wasn't until the New Year, when his teacher specifically asked Cousin Ye's father, that Lin Sicheng learned: this so-called Small Courtyard of Huang Zhi's was indeed a place for legitimate business.

But he didn't expect it to be legitimate to this extent: purely a restaurant, a place just for eating?

"General Manager Huang, why do you have to run this as a membership system?"

Lin Sicheng was thoughtful, "It can't be because business is too good, right?"

Huang Zhi gave a thumbs up.

At the beginning, he didn't expect business to be this good; the key was: the majority of the guests were of high rank.

As time went on, some people saw the trick and started having ulterior motives.

When he discovered that some people were specifically lying in wait here, wanting to "accidentally encounter leaders," Huang Zhi took decisive action: he implemented a membership invitation system; without a card, you couldn't even get through the door.

As a result, it worked out better than expected, and business became even better.

Lin Sicheng seemed to be talking to himself: "You set such a high threshold, and business can still be this good?"

The threshold was indeed quite high: even Wang Qi Zhi had to borrow a card from his brother-in-law to eat here.

One can imagine how niche the client base locked in by this place was, and who usually came here.

Never mind how much money you have; those in business simply cannot get in.

Those not in business, if no one recommends you, you likewise cannot get in.

Then where do these guests come from?

Leaders can't come here to eat every day; no matter how delicious it is, they would get tired of it. It can't be that they are all like his teacher, borrowing cards from family relatives or elders?

Just then, a server happened to pass by, carrying something, though he didn't know what it was, as it was covered with a lid. But a wisp of fragrance drifted out, very unique. Lin Sicheng sniffed: "What is this, Steamed Pork with Rice Flour?"

But there was also a wisp of fish aroma drifting out?

The key was, he had eaten it before...

Recalling, Lin Sicheng's eyes lit up, "General Manager Huang, is your master chef surnamed Cheng, or surnamed Shi?"

Huang Zhi looked as if he were stunned, staring blankly at Lin Sicheng: No... are you a dog?

The lid is covered so tightly, even I can't smell what's covered underneath, and you know just by smelling it?

The key is, how do you know that the master chef who made this dish isn't surnamed Cheng, but surnamed Shi?

He looked astonished: "You've eaten it?"

Of course he had eaten it; he had eaten it in Wuchang, and he had also eaten it in Changsha.

He had even eaten it in Beijing, but none were as authentic as this.

This was the signature dish of the special-grade Hunan cuisine master Shi Mingxiang, which the Chairman liked very much.

Later, the central head chef Cheng Zhigao learned it by reputation, and after learning it, he made some fusion and innovation.

The subsequent leaders liked it just as much.

Lin Sicheng finally understood why the business here was so good.

How could a simple dish of Steamed Pork with Rice Flour be made so authentic?

It was definitely the true transmission of an Imperial Chef; if placed in a State Guest House, it would be the kind served at a state banquet.

"Rongyuan Hotel in Changsha (the Provincial Party Committee reception office) makes it, and Zhonghua Restaurant in Wuchang (the restaurant opened by Chef Cheng after he retired) makes it too. And Imperial Chef Zhang in Nanluoguxiang (the grandson-in-law of Master Shi) also makes it... but they probably don't make it as well as you do here."

Huang Zhi's eyelid twitched: This kid had actually eaten at those places?

But you are still a student; shouldn't you have been in school the whole time? How have you been to both Changsha and Wuchang?

And you only sought out places where the head chefs are descendants of those who cooked for leaders?

He probed, "Who took you there?"

"No one took me!" Lin Sicheng shook his head, "I went myself."

That's impossible, right?

Ordinary people wouldn't even be able to find those places. Even if they found them, they wouldn't know which dish was the most authentic or which dish tasted the best.

Huang Zhi asked curiously, "Are you from Shaanxi?"

For a foodie, does it matter which province someone is from?

"General Manager Huang, you might not believe it: my culinary skills are super good!" Lin Sicheng boasted shamelessly, "I know a little bit of the famous dishes from every province!" "Heh..."

Huang Zhi didn't believe a single word: How old are you?

Lin Sicheng knew he didn't believe him, but he didn't care.

What he cared about was the craftsmanship of the chefs here.

The private room was on the second floor, and the group walked upstairs. Lin Sicheng asked casually, "General Manager Huang, how much do you sell a plate of Boiled Cabbage in Consomme for here?" "Not expensive, one hundred and sixty!"

It was indeed not expensive; the State Guest House sold it for eight hundred.

"What about the Wensi Tofu?"

"One hundred and eighty!"

"And the Braised Intestines in Brown Sauce?"

"Two hundred and sixty."

None of it was expensive; it was even cheaper than those places outside that hang signs for "State Banquet Head Chef" or "Imperial Chef Private Kitchen."

What was rare was that they could actually make Huaiyang, Xiang, Sichuan, and Lu cuisines, all of which were part of the state banquet repertoire?

Even if they didn't reach the same level as that Steamed Pork with Rice Flour, if they could reach seventy percent, they would deserve to be called a "mini State Guest House."

No wonder the business was so good?

Lin Sicheng licked his lips: "General Manager Huang, does that card you gave me have a limit on the number of uses? Can I get a discount with your business card?"

General Manager Huang was stunned, then let out a "heh": "Lin Sicheng, have you noticed that you are a very realistic person?"

Really, you've perfectly demonstrated the transition from arrogance to obsequiousness...