First, they toured the manor, checking out the vegetables in the greenhouses, fish raised in the Spirit Water Pond, and the mountain chickens in the forest behind the hills. The whole scene left them visibly joyful, like they've never seen such things before.

Time quickly flew by, and soon it was lunchtime. Zhenfei arranged for the three guests to sit in a pavilion on the eastern side of the manor. This pavilion had been specially constructed by Li Ermeng at Zhenfei's request. It belonged to Xishan Manor and had a high vantage point. From the pavilion, they could see the distant Clear Water River and the nearby Xishan Manor below. Behind them was a towering mountain, making it very pleasant and serene.

The day was sunny with a gentle spring breeze; sitting on the stone benches in the pavilion with a light breeze blowing by made them feel very comfortable.

"Please sit here for a while. I'll go to the kitchen and check on things. Having friends come from afar, I want to personally cook a few dishes for you, so you can taste how our Xishan Manor's vegetables are."

"Oh, Boss Ling can cook himself?" Li Ru looked both surprised and skeptical. Honestly, she had already been quite shocked this whole morning.

First of all, Li Ru did not expect Zhenfei to be so young. When Chu He mentioned Zhenfei before, he only talked about Zhenfei's excellent Medical Arts and how he had established a manor but did not mention his age. They all thought Zhenfei must be an elderly man. Seeing Zhenfei turned out to be a young man in his twenties was truly astonishing.

And now, with Zhenfei saying he would personally cook for them, Li Ru was even more stunned. A man cooking—it was puzzling. Exactly how many secrets did this Zhenfei have?

"Regarding culinary skills, I've only dabbled a bit. But I'm very happy you all came today. So, I wanted to show off a little. If the food doesn't taste good, please don't mind."

"Then we'll await eagerly Brother Ling's cooking skills."

Actually, it wasn't just Li Ru and Zhang Kang; even Chu He didn't know that Zhenfei could cook. To Chu He, this move certainly added to Zhenfei's charm, so he didn't object.

Zhenfei went into the kitchen, where Bai Lin had already prepared all the ingredients in advance. Everything was cleanly cut and ready for Zhenfei to start cooking.

Zhenfei put on his chef's uniform and said to Bai Lin, "I know you're a professional, but there's always room to learn. Watch closely as I cook now, and it's up to you how much you can pick up."

"Thank you, boss. I've been waiting for you to say that." Bai Lin pulled out his phone and started recording.

Last night, Bai Lin had been completely captivated by a mere cabbage from Zhenfei's farm. Knowing the potential of learning from Zhenfei, he hoped this would bring significant improvements to himself, depending on how much he could absorb.

Zhenfei didn't mind, actually quite liked Bai Lin. He didn't care if Bai Lin copied some of his cooking techniques and steps. How much Bai Lin could learn was entirely up to him.

Zhenfei's time was extremely tight, no time for overthinking. He had written down the ingredients he needed for the dishes he was going to make, and Bai Lin had everything prepared in advance. All that was left was for him to cook them up.

Zhenfei worked quickly, finishing eight dishes in no time. All were prepared using vegetables grown at Xishan Manor, with meats also complemented by these vegetables to ensure the finest taste.

Watching one dish after another being prepared, Bai Lin was almost dumbfounded by the speed. The aroma was irresistible, making him hungry just by looking.

"Alright, serve the dishes,"

With that order from Zhenfei, someone came to place the food on trays and carry them to the pavilion.

"Boss, you were amazing at cooking. Can you teach me? I'd like to be your apprentice," Bai Lin earnestly requested while helping Zhenfei remove the chef's jacket, clearly wishing to be his disciple.

"You just recorded everything. If you can make any one of these dishes taste like mine from the recording, I'll take you as my apprentice."

As soon as he had said that and started to leave, Bai Lin blocked his way: "Boss, you really mean it? No going back on your word!"

"Of course, I mean it; I never go back on my word!"

After that, Zhenfei left quickly. He had important matters to attend to, anticipating that Zhang Kang or Li Ru might bring up some topics during the meal.

Upon reaching the pavilion, Zhenfei was surprised to see the three guests had started eating without waiting for him.

"Zhenfei, don't tell me you made these dishes," Chu He said as he ate and saw Zhenfei approaching.

"Yes, I made them. Why?"

"Why? Because they are delicious! How did you make them taste this good?"

Hearing Chu He's words reassured Zhenfei. As long as they enjoyed the food, everything would be fine. He glanced at Zhang Kang and Li Ru. Zhang Kang's usual calm demeanor was gone, as he ate non-stop.

Though Li Ru also kept eating, she seemed very concerned with her manners, trying to maintain a ladylike image in front of the men, which was understandable.

"It's not about my cooking; it's that Xishan Manor's vegetables are just delicious. You have no idea; recently, our vegetables have sold for up to ten times the price of regular vegetables, and even the lowest prices are five times more. If they weren't good, who would buy them?"

Zhenfei knew it was time to discuss Xishan Manor; Chu He bringing it up was his cue.

"Are they really that expensive?" Zhang Kang was doubtful; hearing that a vegetable could sell for ten times the ordinary price was hard to believe.

"Why not? They taste so good, they're worth the price," Chu He quickly rebutted Zhang Kang, seemingly to support Zhenfei.

After swallowing her last bite, Li Ru chimed in, "No matter what, based solely on the taste, these vegetables are worth ten times the price."

Chu He smiled, "Of course."

"I really want to know if it's Brother Ling's cooking skills or if the vegetables from Xishan Manor are really magical," Zhang Kang, being a seasoned venture capitalist, remained composed.

"Yeah, Little Brother Ling, can you prove this?" Li Ru curiously observed Zhenfei as if trying to discern something from him.

"That's easy. I'll have them bring some fresh vegetables here, and you'll see."

Zhenfei pulled out his phone and called Zhou Yun: "Sister-in-law, pick some vegetables from the greenhouse that can be eaten raw, wash them, and bring them to the pavilion."

Not much time passed before Zhou Yun arrived with a plate of fresh cucumbers, lettuce, and other vegetables that could be eaten raw.

"Please, try them. These haven't been cooked or processed." Zhenfei gestured towards the vegetables on the plate.

None of the three hesitated. They each picked up some vegetables and started eating, all extremely curious to find out if it was the vegetables or Zhenfei's culinary skills that made the food so delicious.

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