Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 1652: Chapter 1636: Culinary Fanatic

Whenever this topic is brought up, Liu Qingdong gets furious, even though so much time has passed, he’s still resentful.

“Talking about this makes me angry, Zhao Xian, though stingy, has a sharp business mind. Jixian Restaurant thrived under him, and its development was quite promising.”

“Who knows what happened with the kid, he got involved in gambling with some bad friends. At first, he restrained himself, but later whether he was set up or whatever, he lost a huge amount of money and owed a mountain of debt.”

“Those loan sharks aren’t to be messed with; if you don’t repay debts, naturally, they take the restaurant as collateral. Zhao Xian fled, and the restaurant was repossessed by the loan sharks. We, the old employees, had half a year’s salary pending, but the new owner kicked us out.”

Liu Qingdong mentioned the new owner, with eyes full of disdain and sarcasm:

“After kicking everyone out, the owner himself continued the restaurant business. However, the owner not only lacked business acumen but also liked deceitful practices like using gutter oil and problematic vegetables, almost causing fatalities a few times. This ruined the restaurant’s reputation, and business became increasingly bleak; it soon collapsed.”

Huo Sining couldn’t help but sigh after hearing this, and chuckled, “Since it collapsed, why not take over and run it again, recruit those old mates back, and start anew, wouldn’t it be nice?”

Liu Qingdong shook his head and said, “Those old mates are disheartened and don’t want to work at the restaurant anymore. I also wanted to start anew in a different place, so I came to the Imperial Capital. This place is better than Rongcheng, offering more development and prospects. I’m now actually glad I took the plunge and came here. The business at this shop is good, and the future will only get better.”

Huo Sining nodded in agreement with Liu Qingdong’s words.

Liu Qingdong remembered something else, looked at Huo Sining, and smiled, “Enough about me, let’s talk about you. You’ve changed a lot these past two years. Last New Year, I saw you on TV and could barely recognize you. If it weren’t for the host mentioning your name, I wouldn’t have believed you were the little girl selling mussels at the market back then.”

Huo Sining felt a bit embarrassed hearing this: “You don’t regret coming to the Imperial Capital, and I don’t regret going to S City. So much has happened to me in the past two years, it would take days to recount it all. In short, after going to S City, I met many benefactors and gradually started my own career thanks to coincidences. Anyway, I’m living quite well now, found my family, and have my beloved.”

Liu Qingdong’s face showed comfort upon hearing this: “That’s good, that’s good. Back in the market when I saw you, I had a feeling that this child wasn’t ordinary and would sooner or later transform into a Phoenix.”

Huo Sining felt quite emotional too: “No matter how I change, I will always remember your help, Uncle Liu. If it weren’t for your help back then, I wouldn’t have saved enough to study in S City. You are my benefactor, and I, Huo Sining, always remember this and won’t forget.”

Liu Qingdong waved his hand and laughed: “You’re exaggerating. I didn’t really help you with anything back then. You did it all yourself. At most, I provided a chance to sell mussels. If you couldn’t find those wild mussels, I wouldn’t have been able to help you much.”

Huo Sining didn’t want to argue much about this topic with Liu Qingdong. She smiled and then shifted the topic, handing the seafood from her box to Liu Qingdong:

“I brought this back from Dover. It’s a coincidence you’re here too. Let’s have the chef prepare it, and we’ll enjoy it together, just to try something new.”

Liu Qingdong didn’t think much and reached out to take the box from Huo Sining. Only when he held the box did he realize it was quite heavy.

“So heavy, what kind of seafood is this?”

Liu Qingdong was curious and opened the lid of the foam box. Upon seeing what’s inside, he was dumbfounded.

On the top layer, four large lobsters each weighing several kilograms were waving their reddish-brown claws, looking majestic as they glared at him. Just by looking at these lobsters, you could tell they were definitely pure wild ones, lively, and impressive.

Picking up the lobster, Liu Qingdong couldn’t help but exclaim: “Wow, this thing must weigh two or three kilograms each! Rarely seen in the market, even if available, each one would cost two or three thousand yuan?”

Several chefs in the kitchen heard Liu Qingdong’s exclamation and ran out to see.

Leading the way was likely the chef Han Wen mentioned who was skilled in seafood cooking, because upon seeing the large lobster in Liu Qingdong’s hand, he became excited, his eyes shining, full of enthusiasm:

“Boss, let me see it!”

Liu Qingdong nodded and gave the whole foam box to the chef.

Under the dumbfounded watch of everyone, the chef reached into the box, carefully inspecting each of the four lobsters and using his thumb and forefinger to measure their size, praising: “Great lobsters!”

However, while grabbing the last lobster, his gaze fell on the deep-sea cod and grouper at the bottom of the box. He threw the lobster aside and reached for the two fish instead:

“That’s deep-sea cod! Rarely seen domestically, and it’s alive, this is genuine Atlantic seafood!”

“This grouper is also great, look at those sharp teeth; the meat must be excellent!”

After evaluating the two fish, the chef discovered that there was also a piece of golden spearfish hidden at the bottom of the box. The fresh, tender red fish meat was clearly freshly slaughtered, with impressive elasticity, blood streaks, and transparent, delicate texture that anyone in the know would instantly recognize as the best part of golden spearfish meat.

These ingredients are rare, even annually, to this chef. Now with so many good things gathered together, he was thrilled, feeling like he’d won a treasure:

“Boss, leave these to me, I’ll definitely prepare you a genuine seafood feast!”

Seeing this, Liu Qingdong was amused. This man is a cooking enthusiast; he was hired at a high salary. Usually, there are few customer orders for seafood, and the ingredients are ordinary, keeping this chef uninterested. Now, encountering good things, even if Liu Qingdong didn’t mention it, the chef would rush to take charge.

This chef’s seafood dishes, which Liu Qingdong had tasted, were truly exceptional. So entrusting these items to him, Liu Qingdong wasn’t worried about any issues, and with a smile, he waved his hand and said: “Alright, go ahead. We’ll be waiting to taste your skills!”

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