Chapter 228 Once You Take a Photo, the Taste will Change
“So… who is Zhang Zuting?”
Pei Qian’s first reaction upon reading Lin Wan’s message was confusion.
I have never heard of this person.
It was only after he ran a search on Qiandu that he found out that Zhang Zuting was an outdated Hong Kong celebrity.
Lin Wan sent another message. “Boss Pei, we chose a few other Hong Kong celebrities as well. Some of them have slightly higher asking prices—more than five million yuan. I don’t think their price-quality ratios are that great. That’s mainly why I invited Zhang Zuting. Although he is not as popular as he used to be, we can hire him for about two million yuan.”
Pei Qian was now not happy.
He had taught her time and time again; why was she still saving this two to three million yuan for him?
If it cost five million yuan, so be it!
However, on second thought, he let it go. After all, the higher the asking price, the more popular the celebrity probably was. They would have their own following. If they really invited a batch of new players to the game, Pei Qian might incur fewer losses. That would be to his disadvantage as well.
So be it if Zhang Zuting cost two million yuan. He would think of another way to spend the remaining money.
Lin Wan sent yet another message. “Boss Pei, Zhang Zuting will arrive in Jingzhou the day after tomorrow. Will you be present in watching the filming of the advertisement?”
Pei Qian immediately replied, “Yes, I’ll take a look. It’s said that this man is a veteran actor, and he once won the title of ‘movie king’. I’d like to observe his acting close-up.
“Wait, how’re the preparations to receive him?”
Lin Wan replied, “Don’t worry, Boss Pei. Everything has been taken care of. The private business car will drive him and his manager around. They will be staying in a five-star hotel. We will not treat them badly.”
“How about their meals?” Pei Qian asked.
Lin Wan replied, “Er… we’re planning to let them have their meals at the hotel. We’ve also ordered high-standard meals for them while they’re filming.”
“That’s too shabby. He’s a guest from far away. Although we only have a normal working relationship, we still have to treat him as courteously as we can. How about this: I’ll give you the number of Ming Yun Private Kitchen’s Manager Lin. Make a reservation. When Zhang Zuting arrives, we’ll bring him to Ming Yun Private Kitchen to have a welcome meal. Then, we’ll talk about filming.”
To Pei Qian, receiving a working partner was a legitimate reason to have a meal at Ming Yun Private Kitchen. That wasn’t too overboard, right?
Of course, if he brought all business partners to Ming Yun Private Kitchen, there might be some risk. For example, he might… expose how good the restaurant was.
However, Pei Qian had already thought about a way to mitigate this risk.
Lin Wan replied, “Ah, alright, Boss Pei. I didn’t think this through properly. I’ll make a reservation now!”
August 14th, Saturday…
Zhang Zuting alighted from his airplane and stepped onto Jingzhou City soil for the first time.
As a second-tier city, Jingzhou City did not have a strong presence. There were also many things that Zhang Zuting did not yet know about Jingzhou City.
However, since he could earn two million yuan from this trip alone, it was far from troublesome for him.
Zhang Zuting was over forty years old. Although he had been a young, handsome spokesperson when he was younger; he could not fight the passing of time. Now, he was focusing on his acting skills and growing into a middle-aged, veteran actor.
Of course, huge changes were taking place in the film industry. Thus, his batch of film actors was fast losing their popularity. They could not do anything as they became more and more outdated.
Now, Zhang Zuting found it hard to turn down this chance to earn money.
Zhang Zuting was not likened to fresh meat and currently popular celebrities who had large crowds following them the moment they left their houses. He was more low-key. This time, he only brought an assistant with him.
After all, the other party had said that the advertisement could be filmed in a single day. He arrived in Jingzhou on the 14th. Then, he would rest for a night and finish filming by noon the next day. By afternoon, he should be able to board a flight out of the city.
Zhang Zuting did not have too many expectations for his trip to Jingzhou this time.
After all, how big could a games company in Jingzhou be?
Filming the advertisement would probably just be a formality this time, too.
“Mr. Zhang, please get onto the car. Our Boss Pei has already prepared a feast to welcome
you.”
Lin Wan smiled and said this as she stood by the business car.
At Ming Yun Private Kitchen…
As he stepped out of the car, Zhang Zuting looked confused.
What is the meaning of this? Where is this
place?
In front of him was a regular-looking villa. Although Zhang Zuting noted that the villa was huge and very extravagantly renovated, he also knew that such villas were a common sight in this place. Nothing was surprising about the boss of a game company being able to afford a house like that.
However, the question was why Boss Pei was hosting him here?
Was Boss Pei inviting Zhang Zuting to his own house?
Zhang Zuting still had a lot of questions in his head when Lin Wan led him into a private room with the best view. The private room was on the third floor of the villa. It had a huge full-length window, through which he could enjoy the sunset.
As the sun set, its golden rays lit up the infinity pool beside the villa, causing the pool to reflect a faint golden glow.
There were dense trees in the hills around them. One could take in all of Ming Yun Villas which were hidden behind the trees. It made one feel like everything was much smaller than it really was.
In the middle of the private room was a huge dining table. It was not the kind that could accommodate more than ten people, but it could accommodate four.
The room was obviously meticulously decorated. Everything blended well with one another, from the tables and chairs to the decorations in the room, to the napkins and bouquet on the table.
This was what the service staff in Ming Yun Private Kitchen spent their time and effort taking care of once the reservation was made.
A realization dawned on Zhang Zuting. This was not a private villa; it was a unique, high-end restaurant!
Pei Qian stood up to welcome Zhang Zuting by shaking his hand. “Mr. Zhang, you have traveled a long way. Welcome, welcome! Jingzhou is a small place. There’s nowhere special to go. I had no choice but to bring Mr. Zhang here to have a simple meal. Please, take a seat.”
Zhang Zuting responded warmly before taking a seat with his manager.
Pei Qian, Lin Wan, Zhang Zuting, and his manager sat at the table. Waiters were also walking in and out of the room. According to a set time and order, they served the group dishes.
Pei Qian had thought about asking a few more people along so they could have more food. However, having too many people would confuse things. What’s more, it could make Zhang Zuting feel like he was being pressured. Thus, after some thought, Pei Qian decided to settle for fewer people. This way, Zhang Zuting would be able to enjoy the delicacies without feeling stressed.
As the group ate, they chatted about random things.
Pei Qian knew nothing about Zhang Zuting. He did not even know a single show in which the latter acted. However, this did not matter. Zhang Zuting did not know what games Pei Qian had produced either. Both of them took the opportunity to boast about their achievements at work without being too offended.
The good thing was that Lin Wan had done her homework. She casually brought up Zhang Zuting’s achievements from his younger days. This boosted his mood.
After a few bites, Zhang Zuting realized that the food being served was sumptuous. He had been invited to many banquets before. Whether they were his friends or his business partners, all of them treated him to pretty good food.
However, he rarely tasted food as delicious as this!
Of course, the delicious taste of this food was not a result of various condiments and additives. Instead, it was a result of the ingredients themselves. Only the highest-quality food products could achieve results like that.
The more Zhang Zuting ate, the more surprised he became. He did not expect such a secretive restaurant to be hidden in a place like Jingzhou City.
This Boss Pei is treating me to such expensive delicacies; he is obviously very sincere!
Zhang Zuting was not the kind of celebrity to act in a cocky manner. He had been widely known as being amicable and approachable. Now, he was enjoying himself eating with and talking to Pei Qian.
The first few dishes they had were light but exquisite. Once they were finished, the waiters immediately cleared their plates and served the next course. Although everything was delicious, he still did not feel satisfied.
However, soon, a great course was served!
After the group had tasted the first few exquisite appetizers, the waiters served a huge King Crab. From the size of its head, Zhang Zuting guessed that it was at least five kilograms. The cost of the ingredients in this dish alone was probably six to seven thousand yuan!
Zhang Zuting was doing well; he had seen enough of the world after all. However, his assistant had obviously never seen something as rich as that. His eyes were glazing over, and he looked like he wanted badly to grab his cell phone and take a picture. Yet, this would be highly inappropriate.
Pei Qian smiled subtly and said, “Pay attention to the taste of the food; that would help you taste every single one of its complex flavors. Once you take a photo, the taste will change.”