AGN -Chapter 458 Mystery Box Set Meal

Ling Guangzhao wasn’t exaggerating. As a native Beiping resident, the current owner of Baobao Zhai, and its former young master, he truly understood Xia Murui well.

As for how close they were or how much Xia Murui admired him—those parts were pure boasting. In Ling Guangzhao’s account, Xia Murui’s temperament had only grown stranger with age. At least when Ling Guangzhao was a child, Xia Murui had been much easier to talk to than he was now.

Ling Guangzhao had even played in Fenyuan when he was young.

Fenyuan, known as the number one private kitchen in Beiping, was not really a “restaurant” in the usual sense. It was a courtyard house—a fully preserved, three-courtyard siheyuan occupying a vast area. Only one section of it was open to guests; the rest was where Xia Murui and his disciple Zhang Guanghang lived.

Fenyuan had opened very early. Before Ling Guangzhao was even born, it was already a famous private kitchen in Beiping. In those days, most people weren’t wealthy, and even for a family like Ling Guangzhao’s, eating at Fenyuan a few times a year was considered indulging a child.

Back then, Fenyuan’s main customers were foreign guests. In Ling Guangzhao’s words, Old Master Xia was extremely ruthless when charging foreigners. Prices weren’t simply doubled—they were marked up by an extra zero.

Around the millennium, a single dish called “Peach Blossom Splash” (a sauce-over-crispy-rice dish) could be sold to foreign guests for 1,888 yuan per serving. And it required advance reservation and fierce competition just to get a seat. The profits were enormous.

Compared to those days, Fenyuan’s current prices were already very reasonable. Ling Guangzhao even suspected that Old Master Xia might have made so much money back then that he simply no longer cared about profit—money had become meaningless to him.

Fenyuan hadn’t raised its prices for a full five years.

After hearing Ling Guangzhao’s reflections, Qin Huai had only one thought: Old Master Xia was actually quite skilled in consumer psychology.

In the millennium era, a single crispy-rice dish cost 1,888 yuan. Now, an entire table of food averaged only a few thousand yuan. When people felt Fenyuan was expensive now, they would recall that Peach Blossom Splash from back then—and suddenly feel like they were getting a bargain today.

“Old Master Xia should be over ninety now, right?” Qin Huai asked.

Ling Guangzhao hadn’t expected Qin Huai’s main concern to be the elder’s age. He felt oddly touched and thought Qin Huai was truly a kind person, caring so much about an old man’s health. He wasn’t entirely sure, but nodded.

“Probably… actually none of us are very clear about his exact age. We only know he’s very old—he might not even remember it himself. Many elderly people are like that, they forget their exact birth dates and only remember a general range.”

“Also, Old Master Xia has no children. He only has one disciple, Zhang Guanghang, and he doesn’t really care about things like birthdays. I’ve never even heard of him celebrating one… so no one really knows. My father said he was originally from Beiping. When he was young, he fled during the war, and only returned after peace was restored.”

“He has no family and is completely alone, so his personality is quite isolated. I also heard he doesn’t have many hobbies. He made a lot of money, but doesn’t seem to enjoy spending it—he just buys real estate, land, and antiques.”

“Teacher Xiao Qin, you might not know since you’re not from Beiping, but about ten or twenty years ago there was an antique craze. My dad followed the trend and bought some—he got scammed badly. And what he bought wasn’t even a fraction of what Old Master Xia has. There are even rooms in Fenyuan just filled with his antiques. No one knows if they’re real or fake.”

“He buys them but never plays with them, never has them appraised—just dumps them in storage.”

“So when you asked what to pay attention to when eating at Fenyuan, there really isn’t much. The only thing is don’t wander around. A few years ago there was even a strange case—two thieves somehow heard that the antiques in those rooms were worth a fortune. They went through connections and spent a lot just to book a dinner there.”

“During the meal they deliberately dragged things out, trying to sneak in after dark to steal.”

“In the end, they were caught on the spot by Old Master Xia. Two men in their twenties couldn’t beat an old man in his eighties or nineties. When the police arrived, they even advised him not to personally go after criminals at his age in case he hurt his back.”

“Old Master Xia was very unhappy about it. He pointed at the two thieves and said their skills weren’t even half of his junior brother’s back in the day—how dare they call themselves thieves.”

“That incident became quite a topic for a while. People started wondering who his junior brother was, since he had never mentioned one. We only knew about his master. It was said to be Chef Chen from Taifeng Tower. During the fall of Beiping, his entire family was killed…”

“His entire family was killed?!” Qin Huai suddenly raised his voice. “How did they die?”

Ling Guangzhao blinked. Why is Xiao Qin focusing on that? That’s a strange reaction.

“I’m not sure. That was so many years ago—during the occupation of Beiping. I don’t even know if my grandfather was born yet.”

He continued: “Anyway, because of those thieves, Fenyuan used to have no fixed closing time—it just served lunch and dinner based on reservations. But after that incident, it now closes at 9:30 PM. Old Master Xia doesn’t bother watching the surveillance any later than that.”

“Those thieves were really dumb—what’s the point of stealing at night? There are cameras everywhere in Fenyuan, and they even have night vision.”

Qin Huai subconsciously looked toward Zhao Cheng’an. Zhao Cheng’an was already in full slacking mode, unwilling to do any work at all. When he noticed Qin Huai’s strange look, he immediately thought he had been caught slacking too openly and started kneading dough quickly.

But Qin Huai was still staring.

“…What is it?” Zhao Cheng’an asked.

“Nothing. I just wanted to know your thoughts after hearing all that.”

Ling Guangzhao: Huh? Do you really have to give a review after listening to gossip at a kitchen?

Even Tong Deyan found it hard to decide whether Qin Huai or Ling Guangzhao was more abnormal—both seemed naturally chaotic in their own way.

“I don’t really have any thoughts. I already knew most of that,” Zhao Cheng’an said proudly, as if to say: Surprise—I know Beiping gossip even though I’m far away in Hangzhou.

“As for those two thieves, they were sentenced to one year and three months. It even made the news back then. Sister Yan used it to warn me not to randomly buy art or paintings. She said even someone as rich as Old Master Xia could get scammed buying antiques, so I should definitely be more careful.”

“That’s not the same! I’m investing!”

“Then go check your app and see how green your stocks are.”

“Qin Huai, sometimes your words are really unpleasant.”

The two of them fell silent again and continued working on their pastries.

Ling Guangzhao didn’t leave either—he just stood nearby watching. Whether he understood anything was unclear, but the kitchen atmosphere gradually became very quiet.

The silence was finally broken by Tong Deyan.

He walked straight over to Qin Huai carrying a freshly cooked dish of sizzling oil-blasted double delicacies, placing it directly on his workstation.

“You didn’t come to Baobao Zhai after you left yesterday. I figured you had something to do, so I didn’t message you.”

“Yesterday’s dish went to Ling Guangzhao. Today you can just make do with this in the kitchen.”

Although his tone was casual, his expression clearly said: you’d better give me a reasonable explanation.

Qin Huai: “…”

Oh no. I got too excited yesterday after seeing the memory and completely forgot to come for dinner.

“Sorry, Chef Tong,” Qin Huai quickly apologized. “Yesterday I suddenly got a new recipe—the one for the yam cake I’m making now. I got too excited studying it and forgot about eating.”

Hearing this, Tong Deyan’s expression eased a lot. As an excellent chef himself, he could understand getting so absorbed in a new recipe that one forgot everything else.

“This recipe is really good. I’ll make the yam cake later for you to try.”

“Mm.” Tong Deyan nodded. “Eat it while it’s hot.”

“Alright.” Qin Huai picked up his chopsticks and took a large bite, chewing happily with satisfaction.

Ling Guangzhao also followed his “I’m the boss, since I’m already here I might as well eat a bite” principle and started eating on the spot.

“What time did you book Fenyuan for tomorrow?” Tong Deyan asked.

“6 p.m. in the evening.”

“What dishes did you reserve?”

“I’m not sure. Chef Zhou helped us make the reservation.”

“My master didn’t actually order specific dishes. Fenyuan’s signature clay-pot shark fin soup is limited to three servings a day, ‘Wanfushou Pork’ is limited to eight, clear soup willow-leaf bird’s nest is limited to six, and scallion-braised sea cucumber is limited to twelve. Our table with Qin Huai was an added table through connections—we couldn’t get any of the limited dishes.”

“Old Master Xia, out of respect for my master, didn’t charge us extra for the added table. Instead, he suggested we book a double set menu: 18,000 per person, 36,000 for two. It guarantees at least five dishes, and definitely includes signature dishes like sweet-and-sour carp and ‘Nine-Turn Intestines’. So my master booked that set menu for us.”

As soon as Zhao Cheng’an finished speaking, Tong Deyan and Ling Guangzhao both looked a little complicated.

“What’s wrong?” Qin Huai asked.

Tong Deyan didn’t speak. Ling Guangzhao organized his thoughts and explained more tactfully:

“Fenyuan has been offering this kind of set menu for about five or six years. In the early years, many guests liked ordering it because the dishes weren’t fixed—it mostly depended on Old Master Xia’s mood and creativity. Sometimes he would introduce new dishes directly into the set menu. When he was in a good mood, a five-dish set could even become eight dishes.”

“But in recent years… Old Master Xia’s mood hasn’t been great, so the set menus…”

Qin Huai answered for him immediately: “Poor value for money.”

“Right.” Ling Guangzhao nodded. “However, you’re an added table booked through connections, so ordering the set menu is actually normal. If you’re lucky and Old Master Xia is in a good mood, you might still get signature dishes like Wanfushou Pork or clay-pot shark fin soup in the set.”

“Does that really happen?” Zhao Cheng’an asked curiously.

“Yes,” Tong Deyan said. “But only once. A businessman from the south who dealt in soy sauce went to Fenyuan for the first time and didn’t understand the system, so he ordered a four-person set menu. That day, there was a supply issue in the kitchen and some ingredients were missing. To avoid damaging Fenyuan’s reputation for a first-time guest, Old Master Xia put the shark fin soup he had planned to eat himself into the set menu. It caused quite a sensation at the time.”

“After that, the guest became a regular at Fenyuan.”

Qin Huai: “…”

He had a feeling he knew exactly which soy sauce businessman that was.

As expected of you, Boss Han. With a merfolk assistant, you really can treat this kind of extremely low drop-rate “blind box” like a gacha and still pull an ultra-rare item that normally wouldn’t be available.

Ling Guangzhao said eagerly, “Teacher Xiao Qin, your first visit to Fenyuan with a set menu is actually pretty good. I have connections there. If you’re willing to stay in Beiping a few more days—if Chef Zhao is busy, he can head back first—you can stay a bit longer. I can help you book Fenyuan again and make sure you get the real signature dishes.”

Zhao Cheng’an: “???”

Was he seriously saying that in front of me?

Qin Huai just smiled. “Mr. Ling, our return flight is already booked. If there’s a chance, next time we come to Beiping we’ll trouble you to help us reserve Fenyuan again.”

Ling Guangzhao: QAQ

Teacher Xiao Qin, why are you so immovable? My shovel is practically worn out and I still can’t dig in at all.

Are you from Zhiwei Residence or Huang Ji anyway? Who’s backing you?

In the end, Ling Guangzhao could only eat in sorrow, turning frustration into appetite. By the end, he even served himself a bowl of rice because eating dishes alone wasn’t satisfying enough.

After Tong Deyan’s tofu dish came out, Qin Huai’s yam cake was also successfully finished.

[Yam Cake — Grade A]

Seeing the rating, Qin Huai wasn’t surprised.

Chen Qiu’s tutorial video was very detailed, and Qin Huai had studied it carefully. Yam cake itself wasn’t very difficult either, and this was one of the pastries he was already fairly good at. Achieving an A-grade result was normal.

A first-time A was expected.

After all, Xiao Qin was no longer the same Xiao Qin from before—he was now Xiao Qin Plus version.

The yam cakes Qin Huai made even had a name stamped on them. Even though it didn’t reach A+ and the “buffed naming” effect didn’t matter, Qin Huai didn’t care—he still insisted on putting the name there.

He took a light bite.

Light, soft, glutinous—very suitable for children who didn’t like overly sweet food.

It was the kind of dessert you wouldn’t get tired of, something you could keep eating.

“Qin Huai, what do these two characters on your yam cake mean?” Zhao Cheng’an asked, pinching a piece and pointing at the writing. “Chen Sheng? Why is that written on the cake? Is it a brand? Or are you planning to start your own pastry brand called ‘Chen Sheng’ like Chef Zheng?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just eat it,” Qin Huai said. “I just like practicing calligraphy on pastries.”

Zhao Cheng’an didn’t understand—but he still ate it anyway.

Under Qin Huai’s gaze, he bit off half the cake and made a satisfied sound.

“Mmm… Qin Huai, you’ve been hiding your skills. This yam cake is so good—why haven’t I seen you make it before?”

“Because I just learned it.”

“Haha, who would believe that.”

Ling Guangzhao: I believe it.

Waaah, Teacher Xiao Qin, I can believe you!

This yam cake is too good—please let me dig just one shovel! Just one!

I really do have connections in Fenyuan! Real connections! I can get shark fin soup, Wanfushou Pork, and clear soup willow-leaf bird’s nest!