Jiang Wan had her little helpers search the area like a carpet for two days, even expanding the search to the prefectural city, but found no trace of Gu Chenzhou.
This infuriated Jiang Wan to no end.
Little brat, did you burrow into a mouse hole?
Never mind, the month-long period had passed, and there was no point in her searching anymore.
So she told Little Helper and its companions to call it quits, no longer concerned about Gu Chenzhou's whereabouts.
Jiang Wan would never have imagined that just as she was recalling Little Helper and the others, Gu Chenzhou would appear in Yao County. However, he had changed his attire and was swaggering towards the pier to board a boat and leave Yao County.
Jiang Wan didn't know, and even if she did, she wouldn't have done anything.
She was a busy person now, how could she bother with someone who would no longer be connected to her?
With the four cooks in place, Jiang Wan began to discuss dishes with them.
These cooks all came from prominent families, so their skills were beyond reproach. However, the dishes served in a restaurant were not the same as home-cooked meals.
Jiang Wan first took the cooks to eat at several major restaurants in the county, allowing them to get a general idea of restaurant cuisine.
Then, they returned to their own nearly completed restaurant to research and improve dishes.
Since the Jiang family's restaurant aimed to offer regional flavors, it naturally required considerable effort. Fortunately, the cooks hailed from different places and were adept at their respective regional specialties.
Jiang Wan invited Madam Cheng to help with the taste testing.
After all, the Jiang family had been so poor before that they hadn't had much good food. If they were to taste test, they wouldn't be able to discern much. As for Jiang Wan? She was even worse off, having never eaten a proper meal in her previous life.
Each cook prepared a few of their signature dishes, and then Madam Cheng was invited to taste them and offer her feedback.
Madam Cheng was very diligent, tasting each dish carefully, providing feedback, and then asking the cooks to make improvements. When new dishes were prepared, she would taste them again, and the process would continue.
For several days, Madam Cheng gained a bit of weight from all the eating.
Finally, all the dishes were developed.
And the most crucial item, barbecue, was ultimately mastered by Yuan Bao.
Yuan Bao appeared somewhat dull and simple, but who would have thought he was a barbecue prodigy!
After Jiang Wan explained her ideas, the cooks all tried to make the dishes, but the texture and taste were always unsatisfactory.
Yuan Bao observed from the side for several days. Seeing the cooks fret over the barbecue, he cautiously asked if he could give it a try.
Jiang Wan was bold and handed over the barbecue grill to Yuan Bao.
To her surprise, as soon as he started, his grilling was quite skillful. Although his movements were a bit clumsy, and the taste hadn't reached Jiang Wan's standards yet, it was still much better than what the cooks had produced.
Jiang Wan was very pleased and patted Yuan Bao on the shoulder, "Practice well, I have faith in you. Once you've mastered it, you'll be solely in charge of this from tonight onwards, and I won't treat you unfairly!"
Yuan Bao was as excited as if he had been injected with chicken blood.
He knew very well that the young lady had intended to sell him.
After all, he was bought to look after the young master. Now that the young master was gone, he was no longer needed.
He didn't want to be sold again. Although Jiang Wan was carefree, she was a good mistress. During the month they spent together, Jiang Wan had never made things difficult for him.
For that reason alone, he wanted to stay.
Fortunately, he had discovered such a talent!
He was incredibly grateful to be able to stay.
With the issue of cooks resolved, the Jiang family restaurant was ready to open on an auspicious date.
Jiang Pan and Chen Yuezhi, along with Jiang Wan, decided on a name for the restaurant, eventually settling on "Wangxiang Lou" (望乡楼).
They had come from Jianzhou, and having left their homeland, they could only gaze in the direction of their hometown from a high vantage point in the future.
Moreover, the restaurant specialized in regional cuisine, so the name Wangxiang was most fitting.
August 1st was the official opening day for Wangxiang Lou.
Once the auspicious date was set, the Jiang family sent invitations to the prominent families in Yao County.
Thanks to the incident with the Xu family, the Jiang family had now firmly established their foothold in Yao County.
Although the Jiang family's financial resources were pitifully thin, which families in Yao County would dare not give them some respect?
After all, they were the ones who had defeated the Xu family. Were they more formidable than the Xu family?
Besides, there was no harm in befriending the Jiang family; why offend them?
On the opening day, all the families who received invitations graciously came to offer their congratulations. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Madam Cheng and her husband spared no effort in promoting the Jiang family, and many families who hadn't received invitations also came to join the festivities.
When the auspicious hour arrived, Jiang Pan invited Master Cheng to unveil the restaurant with him.
Upon seeing the plaque for Wangxiang Lou, Master Cheng couldn't help but exclaim, "Good!"
He too was an official posted here from afar and naturally missed his hometown, so the name resonated with him.
After the guests were seated, the steward Sun Wang directed the restaurant's employees to serve the guests.
Before the opening, Jiang Wan had specially trained these employees. The employees wore uniforms, smiled, were enthusiastic and attentive, and worked in an orderly fashion without a single mistake.
When the guests saw the menu, they were amazed. Many of the dishes on the menu were not available in this season.
Some secretly chuckled at the Jiang family's ignorance, writing dishes that couldn't possibly be prepared on the menu. They wondered how awkward it would be if guests ordered them and they couldn't be served.
However, the employees merely smiled and said, "Esteemed guests, please feel free to order. Our restaurant has all the dishes on the menu."
The guests were secretly perplexed and tentatively ordered a dish that they believed was impossible to prepare in this season, waiting to see how they would handle the situation.
To their surprise, the ordered dish was served shortly thereafter.
And on the plate was indeed a dish that was impossible to have in this season!
The guests marveled, tasted the dishes, and found them to be even more delicious than when they were in season!
Therefore, some guests quickly inquired, "Proprietor Jiang, where did you source these dishes? It's not the season yet."
Jiang Pan smiled politely and said, "Where they come from is not important; what matters most is that you find them palatable. Please order whatever you wish to eat; all the dishes on the menu are available."
At this, the guests put aside their initial intention of watching a spectacle and began ordering profusely from the menu.
After all, they hadn't eaten these dishes for over half a year and were craving them.
Moreover, the dishes were prepared with a unique flavor, completely different from the dishes they usually ate. Although it wasn't their usual taste, it offered a different charm and was quite palatable.
On this day, Wangxiang Lou was filled with guests, and the neighboring restaurants were affected.
However, this was normal for the first day of opening, so the people from those restaurants didn't have any objections. Furthermore, their respective managers and owners were also present at Wangxiang Lou to show their support.
But as these owners and managers ate, their hearts grew increasingly alarmed. Wangxiang Lou was making a powerful entrance.
They didn't even have these out-of-season dishes in their own restaurants.
These dishes, though seemingly simple, were the killing blow for a restaurant.
Just when they thought these dishes were astonishing enough, as they continued to eat, a strong aroma of charring wafted in from the backyard.