In the dining area of this mall, there was a newly opened Dragon Palace Seafood Buffet Restaurant.
After Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan followed Old Xia to the eighth floor and entered the restaurant, they were immediately amazed by its luxurious and grand decoration and design.
The first thing that caught their eyes was the eye-catching seafood ingredient area on the left. In neatly arranged water tanks, ingredients like king crab, Boston lobster, abalone, and various shellfish were all live.
To the right of the ingredient area was the kitchen. Through the bright and clean transparent glass, they could see chefs in white uniforms and tall hats busy preparing various delicacies. The overall decoration was dominated by warm colors, and soft, melodious music played through the restaurant's sound system, providing a better dining experience for customers.
Although it was a buffet restaurant, customers didn't need to get their own food. Every two tables had a dedicated server, who appeared to be quite young. Customers only needed to order from the menu, and the server would quickly deliver the dishes.
Qin Tian scanned the space and found the restaurant to be very large, possibly around two thousand square meters. It was past one o'clock in the afternoon, after the lunch rush, but the tables in the main hall were still about half-occupied, mostly by people dressed in business attire.
"Boss!"
A middle-aged man hurried over, bowed slightly, and greeted Xia Zhengping respectfully.
"Lao Qiu, this is my daughter Xia Nuannuan, and her boyfriend Qin Tian. Get us a private room for dinner." Old Xia introduced casually.
The middle-aged man looked at Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan with surprise.
"He is the manager of this store!" Xia Zhengping then turned to Qin Tian and the two of them.
Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan politely greeted him. Manager Qiu, flattered, immediately instructed a server to prepare private room number one.
"Boss, please go in and sit down!" Manager Qiu said to Old Xia.
"Alright, you can arrange the dishes as you see fit, and bring a bottle of the good wine I keep at the store!" Old Xia instructed with a smile.
"Understood!" Manager Qiu nodded with a smile and went to attend to it.
Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan followed Old Xia into private room number one. The private room was naturally more opulent than the main hall, with crystal chandeliers, a large round table, and a view of the city landscape below through the bright floor-to-ceiling windows. The dining table was large, with more than ten seats, but the three of them only occupied a small corner.
A young female server placed three sets of tableware and then busied herself pouring them tea. She was quick and efficient, clearly an experienced employee.
"Boss, do you need a menu?"
"No, Lao Qiu has already made the arrangements."
"Okay, then I'll be outside. Just call me if you need anything." With that, the female server quickly exited the private room.
"Uncle Xia, how much is it per person here?" Qin Tian asked, unable to contain his curiosity after taking a sip of tea. Even the complimentary tea clearly wasn't cheap.
"588. Except for a few ingredients that are exceptionally expensive, other ingredients are unlimited!" Xia Zhengping replied with a smile.
Qin Tian nodded in realization, "It's not too expensive!" He spoke the truth. The restaurant was aiming for a high-end market, and given the store's class, style, and the quality of the ingredients, the price was indeed very reasonable.
"We currently have five branches in Jiangcheng, all at this price!" Xia Zhengping added and then asked, "How are your three internet cafes doing?"
"They're doing quite well so far. Brother Zhao called me a few days ago saying that based on the current profit situation, they should break even in about two months."
"So, they'll break even in four months? The profit is that high?"
"Yes, mainly because we held a gaming competition recently, which boosted the internet cafe's reputation, membership grew rapidly, and capital was recovered quickly."
"That's impressive. It seems your judgment is quite good. I don't understand this industry, but this cost recovery speed is astonishing."
"It's mainly Brother Zhao's contribution!" Qin Tian smiled a little sheepishly and said, "I'm just a hands-off owner, leaving everything to him. It feels a bit bad, so I plan to show up tomorrow and treat Brother Zhao to a meal!"
"Hahaha... that's how it should be!" Xia Zhengping nodded, laughing heartily.
The two chatted and laughed casually, their atmosphere significantly better than in previous meetings. Beside Qin Tian, Xia Nuannuan quietly watched the two most important men in her life conversing happily, a sweet and charming smile on her face.
In a short while, Manager Qiu arrived with a meal cart, and the server began serving various cooked seafood dishes onto the table. There was king crab, live coral trout, steamed Boston lobster, a sashimi platter of langoustines, and concentrated soup made from precious ingredients like abalone, sea cucumber, and fish maw. Qin Tian had never experienced such a luxurious seafood feast in his current or previous life.
"Come on, Xiao Qin, don't be shy, just dig in!" Old Xia exclaimed with a smile.
"Alright!" Qin Tian chuckled heartily and, without any pretense, reached out and picked up a leg of the king crab. The chef had already prepared it, with the crab leg meat exposed and half a shell below. Under Old Xia's approving gaze, Qin Tian placed the crab leg onto Xia Nuannuan's plate. Xia Nuannuan had naturally eaten such seafood banquets countless times, but the one Qin Tian presented felt even better.
At the same time, Manager Qiu opened the expensive Maotai bottle, poured a glass for each of them, and then exited the private room.
"Come, come, Xiao Qin, let's toast." Old Xia raised his glass to propose a toast.
Qin Tian quickly raised his glass as well, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Uncle Xia, what about the car later..."
"It's fine, I'll arrange for someone to drive it back!"
"Okay!"
The two clinked glasses and drank them down in one go. Qin Tian picked up the wine bottle beside him and continued to refill their glasses.
"Xiao Qin, try that soup, it's my favorite!"
"Okay, I'll have a bowl then!"
"Give me your bowls, I'll do it for you!" Xia Nuannuan said sweetly.
Qin Tian and Old Xia exchanged a smile and handed their bowls over. Xia Nuannuan served each of them a bowl of rich seafood soup, and then got some soup for herself. She was already tired of most seafood, preferring to drink the soup. After drinking the soup, Xia Nuannuan elegantly began peeling langoustines for Qin Tian.
Every time he saw his daughter place the peeled shrimp meat onto Qin Tian's plate, Xia Zhengping couldn't help but lift his wine glass and sip it absentmindedly, without urging Qin Tian to drink. Although he now supported their relationship, he couldn't help but feel a bit jealous seeing his daughter dote on Qin Tian like this.