The allure of four plates of snacks and a pot of tea was undoubtedly immense. As soon as the waiter’s shout finished, many of the onlookers outside the Taifeng Building were tempted.
Those who gambled right and won gritted their teeth and stomped their feet, pulling along fellow winning gamblers they knew, and a few grouped together at a table, walking in with heads held high.
The little tails following Chen Huihong naturally didn’t need to be mentioned, they all filed in one after another. The waiters inside the restaurant bustled out to welcome guests, bowing, saluting, and listing the dishes, performing all sorts of actions.
Those who enjoyed the lively atmosphere sat on the first floor and specified they wanted a table next to Chen Huihong’s. Those who preferred peace went up to the private rooms on the second floor, not forgetting to instruct the waiter to serve everything Chen Huihong ordered later without missing a dish.
Being top-notch isn’t any different.
As for Chen Huihong’s seating, Manager Lu had already reserved it. First-floor by the window, directly facing the storytelling gentleman, the best spot.
As soon as Chen Huihong sat down, the waiter swiftly served four plates of snacks and a pot of tea. Qin Huai glanced over; the snacks looked decent, with Saqima, Eight Treasure Cake, White Jade Square Cake, and red bean cake, each plate had only two or three pieces, small and delicate.
After serving the tea and snacks, the waiter also brought a plate of sunflower seeds, a plate of peanuts, and a plate of dried fruits. Chen Huihong sat up straight, her posture relaxed yet her back very straight, leisurely nibbling on sunflower seeds while listening to the storytelling gentleman talk about the Three Kingdoms, the story had just started, reaching the Three Oaths of Peach Garden.
A nearby diner saw Chen Huihong listening with great interest and joked to the person beside them, "The crazy lady also loves to hear the Three Kingdoms."
"The crazy lady also loves nibbling on sunflower seeds." Another laughed, raising a hand, and a waiter jogged over, bent over.
"Bring us a plate of sunflower seeds."
"Sure thing, do you need any peanuts, candied fruits, or dried fruits?" the waiter asked.
The person glanced at Chen Huihong, seeing she was already eating dried fruits, nodded, "Your dried apricots look nice, bring more of those."
In the midst of conversation, another waiter handed Chen Huihong a small, delicate hand warmer. Chen Huihong didn’t quite like the thing, found it cumbersome for nibbling sunflower seeds, so she placed it directly on the table.
The waiter silently took the hand warmer away, discreetly placing a brazier not far from Chen Huihong under the shopkeeper’s direction.
Qin Huai glanced out the window; it was snowing again.
Large snowflakes fell steadily, curling up in the dark corners, beggars dressed in thin, tattered clothes stuffed with straw shivered as they claimed territory, waiting for the moment when leftover meals would be handed out.
Inside the restaurant, most of the windows were tightly shut, with just a few small windows left open in the corners where the wind couldn’t reach the customers, for ventilation. The dim sunlight streaming through expensive glass, yet within the restaurant, for brightness, candles were lit, and braziers were everywhere for warmth.
Waiters roamed around to satisfy the customers’ needs, Manager Lu busily moving between the hall and the kitchen as if urging for dishes, while the storytelling gentleman’s enthusiastic performance occasionally drew applause, and the little servants carrying food boxes for takeout discreetly perked their ears to listen.
Qin Huai couldn’t help but marvel in his heart, the inner city and the outer city truly seemed like two different worlds.
The outer city was a snow-covered, dead-silent ice world, while the inner city’s snow was more of a beautiful embellishment.
Just as Qin Huai marveled, the dishes arrived.
Three dishes: Phoenix Egg, Jade Cabbage, and crispy duck.
While serving, the waiter explained.
"Crazy lady, this Phoenix Egg is a specialty of our Master Jiang. The ball is made of fish meat, using fish freshly caught from the river this morning. The bones are removed, and it’s finely pounded into fish paste to form the fish ball, wrapped in an egg skin. Inside, apart from diced squid and radish, there’s also a whole prawn."
"The shrimp were freshly delivered this morning, shelled and chilled in ice water, tender and fresh."
"This dish is all about freshness, and our Manager Lu knows you love freshly-made dishes. Among the dishes in our restaurant, the freshest must be this Phoenix Egg."
The waiter rattled off an explanation, which Chen Huihong barely listened to, clumsily picking up chopsticks, trying to use them to pick up the Phoenix Egg without much skill. But the egg skin was too slippery, the Phoenix Egg rolled around the plate, making Chen Huihong so frustrated she could only stab it firmly, swallowing it in one bite.
Chen Huihong nodded in satisfaction, indicating to the waiter that the dish was indeed delicious.
The diners watching nearby, caught in the eating show, couldn’t help but gulp down a mouthful, and realizing their faux pas, they jokingly scolded the waiter, "You sure talk a lot, how come you never introduce the dishes to us in such detail when we eat here?"
The waiter hurriedly accompanied with a smile, giving a thumbs-up, "You gentlemen are renowned gourmets in the capital, when it comes to dining, how would I dare to show off my skills in front of you?"
"The crazy lady is having Phoenix Egg for the first time, introducing it to her was per our Manager Lu’s specific instructions, I wouldn’t dare disobey."
In no time, dozens more orders of Phoenix Egg were placed in the first floor hall and second-floor private rooms.
Happy eating times are short-lived.
Chen Huihong aimed for a clean plate action, despite not being very adept with chopsticks, she ate very cleanly; the three dishes plus a small bowl of white rice were just enough to finish off, only the snacks were barely touched, with the sunflower seeds, peanuts, and dried fruits long stashed in her pocket.
After a satisfying meal, Chen Huihong nonchalantly wiped her mouth, got up to leave without taking the snacks.
The waiter immediately followed, whispering, "Crazy lady, you love dried fruits. Our Manager Lu specially prepared many kinds of dried fruits just for you to pick from today. Seeing your meal is about done, would you do us the honor and select a few?"