"Nonsense, do you know why Green Apple Restaurant uses our vegetables? Back then, I merely used a simple vegetable salad and shredded potatoes to win them over."

"Now, the most popular dish at Green Apple Restaurant is the technical vegetable salad. Can you really say that isn't a dish? Go on and make it quickly; don't disappoint me."

Xue Fei couldn't help but say, "But, Master...."

"No more words needed. As a good chef, you should know how to cook just by looking at the dish, not to mention that you all have eaten these dishes before. So no more nonsense, just go and do it."

Bai Lin pulled Xue Fei along, "Let's go, brother, Master is right."

The two hurried off to cook, leaving a table of people looking surprised.

Chen Qian laughed and said, "Aren't you sort of tricking these kids?"

Ling Zhenfei said, "Confidence is good, but blind confidence is not. I need to let them know there's still a lot they don't know, and I still have many things to teach them."

"You're really cunning," Chen Qian couldn't stop admiring.

Ling Zhenfei said, "Since almost all the management is here, why don't you talk to everyone for a bit?"

Chen Qian nodded and said, "Okay, since everyone is here, let me chat with you all for a bit."

"Everyone must have seen what happened today—just a slight bit of profit, and more than half of the people left Xishan Manor, all because of the special circumstances when they were recruited."

"Things will be different from now on. Our current employees are all permanent, and future hires will be temporary, only becoming permanent if they perform well. Of course, the benefits for permanent employees will definitely be unlike any other."

"Our manor is now entering its final phase, and it won't be long before we open for business. Our vegetables have also started to sell in other cities, and our restaurant will soon be opening too."

"It's fair to say everything is now on the right track. As for future developments, you will all be witnesses. By sticking with Xishan Manor, the rewards you reap will definitely be enormous, beyond your imagination."

After Chen Qian finished speaking, everyone clapped enthusiastically. They had all witnessed the development of Xishan Manor, from its initial greenhouse to the entire estate, and now even the entire Qinghe Village.

The progress of Xishan Manor was indeed astonishing, which was why neighboring villages like West Second Village were so envious.

As Chen Qian chatted with them, Ling Zhenfei started talking to Zhou Yun, "Sister-in-law, it's getting cold; let me buy you some nice clothes."

Zhou Yun looked at Ling Zhenfei and smiled, "I have winter clothes. Didn't you buy me a coat last year?"

Ling Zhenfei was startled—last year, he had indeed bought Zhou Yun a down coat, although he wasn't sure if it was really down.

But now things were different. Although he did not have much cash on hand, his assets were substantial, and buying some nice clothes was definitely not a problem.

"I'm worried you'll still end up like before, freezing your hands during winter."

Those words from Ling Zhenfei stopped Zhou Yun in her tracks; she stared blankly at him, as if recalling those times when they had neither enough food nor warm clothing.

"Not anymore, I know you've grown up now, and won't let me suffer anymore."

"Yes, I won't let you suffer again," they whispered to each other, and at that moment, Zhang Duo suddenly called out, "Boss Ling, what are you whispering to Director Zhou about?"

Zhang Duo's words made Zhou Yun's face turn a bit red, as if she had been caught doing something guilty.

Ling Zhenfei, however, laughed, "The weather has gotten cold, and I was just discussing with sister-in-law about giving every employee a down jacket, so they won't suffer from the cold in winter."

"That's a good idea, I think it can be implemented," Chen Qian was the first to agree.

Then Zhang Duo said, "Boss Ling, there's another thing I would like to discuss with you."

"Go ahead."

Zhang Duo said, "It's like this, winter is coming soon, and my dad still lives in the mountains. Now that he's older, he doesn't need to go up the mountains to hunt in winter anymore, so I would like to apply for a room to move him down here."

Ling Zhenfei knew that Zhang Duo was talking about the new employee dormitories they had built. Ling Zhenfei asked Chen Qian, "President Chen, I still don't know how those employee dormitories we built are allocated."

Chen Qian said, "Originally, Manager Zhou and I discussed it, outstanding employees, special employees, and cadres can apply to live there, but they also have to undergo an assessment, and only those who really need it get approved."

"For example, the two accountants, who are girls and not from around here, so I approved for both of them to share one room. Yang Zixuan, because of her special circumstances, came to help us, so I also approved her to have one of her own."

"There's also one for Manager Zhou from the security department, and one for the employees of the security department, one for Cheng Kun and Manager Luo Juan, and the rest are still vacant."

Ling Zhenfei nodded and said, "President Chen, then I want to discuss Zhang Duo's situation with you. His family is from the mountains, and in the past, he used to go hunting in the mountains during winter. Now that his health is not good, and the mountain weather is cold in winter, I think we can approve one room."

Chen Qian said, "Since Boss Ling is aware of the specifics, I can approve a room for Zhang Duo to use, and he just needs to register tomorrow."

"Thank you, Boss Ling, thank you, President Chen." Zhang Duo was naturally very happy to have been assigned an employee house.

At that moment, with the sound of knocking at the door, someone came in carrying two dishes and placed them in front of the table.

The food was served, and Ling Zhenfei invited everyone to start tasting.

Drinks had also been poured. Zhang Duo, Sun Liqing, and others liked to drink baijiu, while Ling Zhenfei and Chen Qian preferred beer, and the girls like Zhou Yun and Yang Zixuan drank red wine.

After tasting the dishes on the table, everyone gave a thumbs up.

"It's delicious, much better than the dishes I used to eat."

"Indeed, it's tasty, even better than the dishes I've eaten at Five-Star hotels."

"This Squirrel Fish was my choice. I always like this dish, no matter where I go, I like to order it. Bai Lin's preparation of this dish is indeed the best tasting one I've had."

Everyone commented on the dishes, all saying that this time they were well done, with lots of praise, but Ling Zhenfei hadn't said anything.

He had tasted the dishes too, and to be honest, they were quite well done, but not yet perfect, barely passable; Ling Zhenfei was waiting for the next few dishes he had ordered.

Just like he said, the simplest dishes are often the most difficult. A simple shredded potato, whether at a Five-Star hotel or a roadside stall, whether it costs five yuan or one hundred yuan, can be found everywhere.

But this dish greatly tests the chef's skill; it's not so simple to do well.

Also, there was the vegetable salad, a dish so simple it didn't even require cooking. Just vegetables and salad dressing, yet how come it could taste better than others? That's a question.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.