Chapter 121: The Gu Family Hotel
Translator: Lonelytree
The Gu Family Hotel was a well-known hotel in Xing Yin County.
In the past, the hotel’s head chef was Uncle Chen or Chen Yunshan. The business was extremely good. However, after he retired, things were not the same anymore.
In the hotel kitchen, the new head chef, Gu Rufeng, looked at the vegetables on the kitchen rack with a worried expression.
His disciple reported, “Master, the customer said that this stir-fried cabbage is not good. They want us to redo it, or they will lodge a complaint! They have paid for the service, but they are not being treated fairly.”
Gu Rufeng frowned. “It’ll be the same even if we make it again. The ingredients are dehydrated, so the taste will be bad.”
“Then, what should we do? Master Wei was the one who made all the vegetables in the past.” Wang Yang, his disciple, then added with an angry expression, “This Wei Xilin is really a scumbag. It’s one thing for him to leave, but how can he take our supplier with him? Green Source is also ridiculous. They have cooperated with us for decades, but due to Wei Xilin, they decided to cut off cooperation with us without any warning!”
“That’s right! How can these people be so heartless?” The other disciples concurred.
Since the head chef had left, Gu Rufeng had to return to the kitchen to take up the post. He could handle the other dishes just fine, but he would be in trouble if the customers asked for anything made with vegetables. He could try his best, but he couldn’t make miracles.
This was the era when people started to care about personal health. Of course, for now, it was only limited to the rich people.
The vegetable dishes served at Gu Family Hotel were horrendous. Naturally, the customers were not satisfied. This would impact the impression and business of the hotel. Their business went downhill fast, especially since their competition, the Yi Family Hotel, could offer the clients what they wanted.
Gu Rufeng asked the kitchen helper, “Liu Dacheng, has Manager Wang found a new supplier?”
Liu Dacheng shook his head and said, “No. He has been to many vegetable farms lately. Either they have bad quality or not enough quantity. Master Gu, President Gu, and Manager Wang are looking for a solution. We shouldn’t worry.”
Gu Rufeng shouted, “How can I not worry? Can’t you see the dropping number of clients at our hotel? How long must we wait for the solution? Will it come after the hotel shuts down?”
Liu Dacheng and the other disciples lowered their heads. They didn’t dare to make a sound. However, they understood Master Gu’s fury. The constant complaints from the customers didn’t help.
“Third uncle!” At that moment, Gu Ziye came in shouting. He was excited. “Third uncle, I have it…”
“What do you have?” Gu Rufeng was already in a bad mood. It worsened when he saw Gu Ziye. Gu Ziye was the hotel president. Instead of helping out to find a new supplier, all he did was eat!
Gu Rufeng said unhappily, “Gu Ziye, what do you have? A child? I’m warning you. The Gu Family will never admit a bastard child. If I find out you’ve been fooling around, I’ll break your legs.”
Gu Ziye and Wang Zhimin each carried two large bags and hurried in.
Gu Ziye didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “Third uncle, what are you talking about? I have found new ingredients for us!”
Gu Rufeng didn’t look happy. He frowned and said, “You’ve said that so many times already. In the end, I was always disappointed.” Gu Ziye felt defeated when his third uncle brought up his past failures, but he quickly recovered. He opened the plastic bags and revealed the fresh vegetables inside. He said excitedly, “Third uncle, look! I’ll not fail you this time!”
The purple eggplants were glistening, the spinach was tender, the tomatoes were red and smooth.
“Wow, they are really fresh.” Gu Rufeng’s disciples said excitedly, “Master, these vegetables will save us!”
Gu Rufeng’s expression softened, but he still said, “You people say the same thing every time. What did the customer say last time when Ziye came back with bags of vegetables? The customers called them rubbish!”
Gu Ziye took out a tomato and handed it to Gu Rufeng, “Third uncle, try this. The taste will definitely surprise you.”
Gu Rufeng took the tomato in confusion, then took a bite. In an instant, his eyes revealed a look of disbelief. He said in surprise, “Ye ‘Er, this…”
Gu Ziye smiled and said, “Third uncle, I know we will rise from the ashes this time!”
Gu Rufeng finished the tomato and ordered, “Wang Yang, Liu Dacheng, start prepping immediately!”
“Okay!” The disciples immediately answered.
There were only a few customers in the hotel restaurant. The business was very poor.
Gu Ziye took a seat in the restaurant. Soon, three young men arrived.
Zheng Haiyang took off his suit and put it on the chair behind him. He said with a smile, “Ziye, why did you call us to come here for a meal? Are you sure there is still any good food left? To be honest, I wouldn’t have come if you’re not my good friend.”
Yuan Xuanhao also nodded in agreement and said, “Ziye, it’s not that we don’t want to give you face. It’s just that the food made by your hotel kitchen is really…” Hard to swallow.
The other young man, Qian Yifan, didn’t say anything, but his expression clearly showed that he agreed with the two.
Gu Ziye wasn’t angry. He smiled. “Remember what you said. Later, don’t fight for the food with me!”
The three looked at each other and then at Gu Ziye suspiciously.
Qian Yifan asked, “Ziye, what do you mean by that?”
Gu Ziye spread his hands and said with a smile, “It’s nothing. I just want you to remember to keep the disdainful look on your faces later!”
The three were confused. They had no idea what Gu Ziye was trying to do.
They were young masters who had eaten all the good food in the world. There was no way they would be fighting for food with Gu Ziye! It was preposterous.
Suddenly, Zheng Haiyang wrinkled his nose. “What smells so good?” The other two picked up the fragrance, and they looked puzzled. “You’re right.”
Then, something dawned on the three. They looked at Gu Ziye in unison, trying to get some answers from him.
Gu Ziye shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrows. He repeated, “Remember what you said. Don’t fight with me for the food!”
Then, a customer around them gasped, “What dish is this? Why does it smell so good?”
“I think it’s eggplant!”
“I smell cole too!”
“I was feeling quite depressed earlier, but this fragrance cleared up my mind!”
“I have the same feeling!”
“Did the kitchen hire a new head chef?”
When Gu Ziye heard this, he had a feeling that his family’s hotel would be saved. In fact, the business might just get better than before.
However, this time, he had to make sure that Xiao Lingyu wouldn’t be stolen by the Yi Family Hotel like Green Source! He had to treat her well so that their cooperation would last.
While Gu Ziye was pondering these things, the waiter served the food. The fragrance became more pronounced.
“It’s so delicious!”
“Daddy, it smells so delicious in there. Let’s go in and eat…”
“Okay, Daddy will bring you there!”
Zheng Haiyang, Yuan Xuanhao, and Qian Yifan looked at the dishes with their eyes wide open, looking very incredulous.
Stir-fried rapeseed, braised eggplant, tomato salad, sauteed Chinese cabbage, and braised beans. They were basically vegetarian dishes. However, the vegetarian dishes made them salivate.
The three of them swallowed their saliva and asked, “Ziye, these are all vegetarian dishes?”
“Yes!” Gu Ziye did not show it on his face, but he was very proud. ‘Finally, it’s my turn to laugh at you!’ He snorted. “You promised me you wouldn’t fight for the dishes with me!”
This reminded the three to start moving. The three grabbed the food they liked. Once they munched on the food, their jaws almost dropped. Their eyes were wide open.
“Ziye, this dish…” Zheng Haiyang wanted to ask where Gu Ziye got the ingredients from. However, he noticed his friends were too busy cleaning up the table to answer. Therefore, he had no choice but to join in the food fight.
Gu Ziye, who had eaten his fill at Uncle Chen’s place, smiled. “Hey, you guys fail to keep your words.”
“Yuan Xuanhao, you know this is my favorite dish. Why are you stealing it?”
“Qian Yifan, what do you mean? You are a proclaimed exclusive meat-eater! So why are you fighting with us over vegetarian dishes?”
“Guys, remember what you said earlier? There’s no good food at my hotel restaurant…”
“Shush!” The three turned to Gu Ziye and ordered.