After unlocking the material space, I raised my younger siblings in a farmhouse.

Chapter 157 Xinglong Restaurant

Qian Laiye took the porcelain bottle from Lin Chuyi, subconsciously thinking that he could use this Runmai Pill to make Fang Zheng owe them a favor.

Regardless of whether he should use this favor to do something, he couldn't be a good person for nothing. But after the words went around in circles, he finally swallowed back what he was about to say.

Never mind, he is just an ordinary chef, not irreplaceable. Whether he comes to Yipin Guo or not will not have much impact on their current layout. Since the girl has already made this decision, why should he say these words to make her unhappy?

Thinking of this, Qian Lai lowered his brows and responded in a deep voice. After responding, he put the porcelain bottle in his arms and put it away.

"Okay, now that we've seen enough fun, it's time for us to go find the next person."

The three of them started again, and their next target was Lin Kaiping, the owner and chef of Xinglong Restaurant.

There were only two streets between Xinglong Restaurant and Tongjitang where Lin Chuyi and the others were currently. The three of them walked for about a quarter of an hour and arrived at their new destination.

Lin Chuyi and the other two recognized the sign of Xinglong Restaurant and walked through the door. After entering, they found that this Xinglong Restaurant was indeed not worthy of its name.

Although this restaurant is called Xinglong Restaurant, the business here has nothing to do with the word Xinglong. Looking around, there are only six or seven guests sitting in such a big restaurant, and the food placed in front of these guests is all plain noodles.

You know, it's almost noon now, which is the busiest time for restaurants and hotels. If there is no business during this prime time, business at other times will only be worse than it is now.

Lin Chuyi, Qian Laiye and the others had already entered the store, so it was not appropriate for them to judge the business situation in front of the store owner. Instead, they tacitly looked at the layout and furnishings of the restaurant.

The structure of Xinglong Restaurant is almost the same as that of ordinary restaurants. It is the type with neither good nor bad points. If there is any difference, it is that the facilities of Xinglong Restaurant look more old.

However, although the tables, chairs and benches in the restaurant look a bit old, they have been wiped very clean, with no dust or grease on them. No matter how the dishes in Xinglong Restaurant are, at least the hygiene is good on the surface.

As soon as Lin Chuyi and the other two entered the room, Lin Kaiping, who had been sitting behind the counter bored, suddenly became energetic.

He came out from the counter and walked towards Lin Chuyi and the others with a smile on his face. He ignored Lin Chuyi who was the first to enter and went straight to Qian Laiye's side.

During the time that Lin Kaiping was here, the three of them had pulled out a bench and sat down at an empty table.

Lin Kaiping bowed to Qian Lai and asked politely, "What would you like to eat, gentlemen?"

As soon as the three men came in, the first person Lin Kaiping paid attention to was Qian Laiye. The reason was that Qian Laiye was the only man among the three and his physique made it difficult to ignore his presence.

The most important thing is that the clothes this person is wearing are obviously very valuable, which shows that he is a wealthy man.

This is one of the few wealthy customers who have come since he took over the store. If he treats him well, maybe he won't have to worry about the next few days.

Lin Kaiping thought so in his heart, and the smile on his face became more genuine. Qian Lai was not surprised that Lin Kaiping would come to him. He calmly asked back: "What dishes do you have in your restaurant?"

Lin Kaiping's smile froze as soon as he said this. This shop was passed down to him by his father when he was critically ill, but he used to be too playful and never learned how to cook from his father.

So when he first took over the Xinglong Restaurant, his cooking skills were up and down and his performance was extremely unstable. He was once accused on the spot by many diners. Although he apologized and saved the situation with a good attitude, good news never travels far, but bad news travels far and wide. After similar things happened a few times, the news that their restaurant had a new chef and the dishes were not delicious spread out, and the business began to get worse and worse.

Later, a Yongchang Restaurant opened opposite their store, and all the old diners in the original store were attracted away to Yongchang Restaurant.

There are two restaurants, one is booming, the other is deserted. It is obvious what choice diners who want to eat at a restaurant will make after seeing this scene.

Under the impact of Yongchang Restaurant, the business of Xinglong Restaurant has been declining. Now, most of the diners who still choose to eat in his restaurant come here to eat the plain noodles that cost two cents a bowl.

If it weren't for the fact that this shop belonged to him, he wouldn't even be able to pay the rent with the meager profit from selling plain noodles.

It is precisely because most people who come here order plain noodles that Lin Kaiping, in order to avoid wasting food (and, of course, to save as much money as possible), only stocks fresh noodles and home-grown vegetables and fruits in the kitchen every day.

Today was no exception, but he had such a big client to serve, so he couldn't just order plain noodles and a bunch of vegetarian dishes.

"This……"

Qian Lai also saw through Lin Kaiping's embarrassment from his tangled expression, and he curled up the corners of his mouth and deliberately said, "This is our first time to eat here, and we are not familiar with the situation in the restaurant, so we asked this question. How about this, you can serve us all the signature dishes of your restaurant, and we don't have to worry about us not being able to pay for the meal. Here, this is the deposit, you can take it first, and when we settle the bill later, you can refund the excess and pay the shortfall."

After Qian Lai finished speaking, he took out a small silver ingot weighing one or two taels from his sleeve and placed it on the table.

"No, no, no, you misunderstood, that's not what I meant..."

Lin Kaiping didn't expect that while he was struggling for a while, the other party would misunderstand that he was questioning whether they had money to eat. He hurriedly spoke out to explain, but unexpectedly he saw the small silver ingot on the corner of the table the next second.

Lin Kaiping was tempted. To be honest, the business in the store had been bad for more than a day or two. After a few years, it would soon fall into the dilemma of not making enough money to cover its expenses. If there was no improvement, he wanted to sublet the store and find another way to make a living. But he didn't want to see the restaurant that his father had worked so hard for all his life ruined in his hands.

Today, he finally has distinguished guests coming to his restaurant. This might be his chance. Let's give it a try. If the dishes he makes this time are not recognized by the guests, it will prove that he is not cut out to be a chef. He will have to give up the idea of ​​continuing to run a restaurant. He should rent out the store as soon as possible and find a job outside to reduce the burden on his family.

Lin Kaiping made up his mind, held the small silver ingot on the table in his hand, and smiled again.