Chapter 357: Still Hot

Here, Xu Huizhen is not as strong-willed as in the show, and Cai Quanwu is not entirely a sycophant.

Perhaps because he had the confidence given by He Daqing early on, Cai Quanwu was not as humble as in the show when pursuing Xu Huizhen, and the two stood on equal footing.

The two daughters took Xu Huizhen's surname, but the son was Cai Quanwu's final insistence; of course, this was also largely thanks to the help of the Medicinal Wine gifted by He Daqing.

"General Manager Zhang, we have been working through the night before the New Year, and we are confident we can complete the overall three-story framework."

"Haha, good. Thank you for your hard work, Master Lei and Master Yu. The overtime pay you deserve will not be shorted."

Zhang Ping'an naturally would not be stingy regarding their initiative to work overtime to rush the construction.

"Alright, then thank you, General Manager Zhang."

At this moment, the artillery ruins had changed drastically; after being measured by the Style Lei, this plot of land was nearly eight mu in size.

The hotel was still a three-story model, with the footprint increasing from five mu to six mu; one mu of land was used as a parking lot, and the remaining nearly one mu was used for staff dormitories, built behind the hotel.

The staff at this Yuchufang would certainly exceed five hundred people by then, and since most of the people he would recruit externally were from poor backgrounds, dormitories were very necessary.

"Ping'an, I have heard that your movements are not small."

Li Huaide had already returned from Modu, and the main body of the three-story automobile city there was also nearing completion.

"Li Ge, you should have heard that my son Weidong opened a breeding farm in Sijiucheng, and there are already eight breeding farms opened in southern cities; this hotel chain is also one step in that plan."

"Oh? So that's it. You want to be self-sufficient?"

Li Huaide gasped; what a massive investment this must be. His evaluation of the Zhang Ping'an family in his heart rose another level.

"Mm, you could say that. Getting things from elsewhere isn't as reassuring as what our own people raise."

Regarding vegetables, Zhang Ping'an hadn't decided yet; he planned to return to his hometown to set up a few greenhouses so that they could eat off-season vegetables in winter.

"Li Ge, how far along is the Modu Automobile City?"

"Haha, this time the three of us are cooperating, and we have quite a bit of leeway in our hands; it's proceeding according to the initial three-story plan."

"Brother Jiang does indeed have pulling power in Modu. With a large number of craftsmen rushing the work, the main structure is now nearing its end."

"Mm, that's good. Let's strive to open before New Year's Day; I assume it will be fully booked by then."

Although the automobile city here in Sijiucheng would be snatched up as soon as goods arrived, Zhang Ping'an prepared to secure two-fifths of Longteng Automobile's production at the end of the year to invest in the Mainland.

The first shot must be fired well domestically; the orders from Southeast Asia would have to wait a bit. Jia Youwei also agreed, as the domestic market was not small, and domestic supply would be gradually opened up in the future.

"Hahaha, that's for sure."

Li Huaide also seemed to see the money invested in the Modu Automobile City being recouped in a single New Year's Day holiday.

At the end of September, the Lu Cuisine Garden Private Kitchen opened; just the introduction at the entrance made many people stop.

This shop possesses one Grade 1 Shandong Cuisine Master, two Level 3 Chefs, and several other chefs of various levels; welcome to enter the shop to taste.

At this time, the waitstaff inside was led by Qin Huairu, and Yan Jiedi was also among the forty waitstaff.

And all of them had been trained with Zhang Ping'an's waitstaff manual, each serving with a smile on their face.

"This... a Grade 1 Shandong Cuisine Master?"

"Is it real or fake?"

"Who knows? In ancient times, wouldn't that be an Imperial Chef from the Imperial Kitchen? No, I have to go in and taste it."

"Exactly, what the Emperor ate, I can eat too."

"This price... I feel like a wild boar that can't handle fine bran; farewell, everyone."

"Hahaha, this Hu Laosan is just bragging."

"Let me see what's going on?" An old-timer carrying a birdcage came in to take a look.

"Whoa~ the Master Worker's work really isn't cheap."

Then, without a word, he ordered four dishes, including Nine-Turn Intestines; the four dishes and a pot of small wine cost fourteen yuan and required no ration coupons.

There were cheaper ones too, dishes for a few cents; for someone like Cai Quanwu, the price was cut in half directly.

"Whoa~ someone actually ordered it?"

He Daqing originally held no hope, as the dish prices set by Zhang Ping'an were too outrageous, but he didn't expect a sucker to actually show up.

He Daqing didn't dawdle, directly having Cai Quanwu and He Yuliang do the preparation work, and finally, he did the stir-frying himself.

"Sir, your dishes are ready."

"Good, tsk tsk, it really is from the hands of a famous master. This Lu Cuisine is authentic; this Master Worker must have decades of skill."

"You are right; our Master Chef has a culinary career of over fifty years."

"Not bad, not bad."

"Old Man Wu, how is it? Is the money worth it?"

"How could it not be worth it? I even feel it was cheap."

"Are you muddled from not eating meat for a long time?"

"Hey, Lao Dong, come over and have a taste."

"I'll taste it then." The one called Lao Dong didn't stand on ceremony, picked up his chopsticks and took a bite, immediately speechless, and finally squeezed out two words.

"Authentic."

"Hahaha."

He Daqing's culinary skills were already on point, and the meat was produced by the breeding farm, which also provided a bonus; naturally, they couldn't pick out any faults.

With the promotion from these two old-timers, Lu Cuisine Garden soon welcomed many picky, wealthy old folks, but they were all conquered by He Daqing's Lu Cuisine, and the reputation of Lu Cuisine Garden spread out.

Later, Zhang Ping'an heard about it and directly had Lao Jia and Lao Yi promote it among the crowd of old men, and he himself occasionally played the role of a shill; Lu Cuisine Garden was officially a hit.

Shazhu and Yan Jiecheng were also pulled in as laborers on their days off, especially when holding wedding banquets in the main hall.

"Zhuzi, how is it? This Siheyuan is only so big and it needs twenty chefs of various sizes; you should think about Yuchufang, and hurry up and bring all your fellow apprentices over after the New Year."

According to Zhang Ping'an's estimate, there would need to be at least over one hundred and twenty chefs, otherwise, they would be worked to death.

Shazhu also realized at this time that it wasn't as simple as in the factory, where a big pot of food was finished and that was it; rather, it was dishes coming in one after another here.

"Yes, yes, yes, Uncle Zhang, I will definitely have the people found before the New Year."

"Hmm, it doesn't have to be Sichuan Cuisine. Your martial uncles and grand-uncles have disciples and grand-disciples too, right? We are Yuchufang now, not a Sichuan Cuisine restaurant."

"Hehe, that's right."

That evening, Shazhu relayed Zhang Ping'an's words to He Daqing; he couldn't order around the disciples and grand-disciples of his martial uncles and grand-uncles, so his father had to do it.

"Fine, it's not just you who needs people; I need two people here as well."

With He Daqing's lobbying, fifty-two disciples and grand-disciples of their fellow martial brothers were poached, covering Huaiyang Cuisine, Cantonese Cuisine, Zhejiang Cuisine, Hunan Cuisine—almost every cuisine style was represented.

Zhang Ping'an couldn't stop grinning; he had made a huge profit this time. Although these people were currently only around the level of a Level 5 Chef, in less than ten years, almost every one of them would be a top-tier chef.

Moreover, the current Level 5 Chef had a much higher gold content than in his previous life; Zhang Ping'an could almost be certain that these people would be more than qualified to serve as executive chefs in the future.

In mid-December, the Mo Du Automobile City completed its final finishing touches; except for being slightly larger in area and having one extra floor, the layout was almost the same as the one in Sijiucheng.

The one hundred car sales personnel also completed their training; the factory's production capacity had now reached over a thousand vehicles per day, but it was still in short supply.

About four hundred and fifty vehicles could be provided to the Automobile City daily, with one hundred and fifty left in Sijiucheng, and the rest were packed and sent to Modu.