After finishing the matter, Hailong told everyone that they must not slack off during training. He said he would come back next week to check on their progress, and if they were not up to standard, their wages would be docked. This frightened everyone into loudly promising they would not be lazy. Only then did Hailong board the minibus back to the city.
Seeing Hailong leave, everyone let out a sigh of relief. Liu Yongquan said gloomily, "Why does the boss always threaten us with wage cuts? Earning money is so hard, and we finally have a good life. Who wants to have their wages cut?"
Liu Yongan gave his brother a tap on the head and said, "Then you should train hard and not be a burden to the boss."
Liu Yongquan sighed and followed the other brothers home.
Hailong originally thought it would take at least a month to send his mother abroad, but the current situation was that every extra day increased the danger. Hailong could not let his family be in a dangerous environment. Tomorrow, his mother would leave with his grandmother and grandfather, and he would no longer have to worry about Guan Daqiu harming his family.
Hailong happily returned to school and went to Hu Jing's dormitory. Today, Hailong had promised to take Hu Jing to a special place for dinner. Since returning from the holiday, Hailong had not taken Hu Jing to 1913 for dinner again, and he had also resigned from his job as a pianist at 1913. Because he needed to train and prepare for various things, he had no time to play the piano quietly at 1913. So he resigned from his job as a pianist. However, Hu Jing did not understand this. When she asked, Hailong could only say that he had a more profitable job, which is why he resigned. This made Hu Jing stop asking.
Watching Hu Jing walk out of the dormitory in a quiet manner, today she was wearing a black tight-fitting long pants and a black vest, with a white sweater inside, and her pink face made her look pure and adorable. Every time Hailong saw Hu Jing, he was amazed by her appearance, and Hu Jing was happiest when she saw Hailong's dazed look. Coming to Hailong's side, she said, "Bad guy, what are you staring at?"
Hailong scratched his head. The last time at the night market, he had been a bit too forward with Hu Jing, and she still remembered it. He carefully smiled and said, "I was just captivated by your beauty. You look so beautiful today, I couldn't help but stare."
Unable to bear Hailong's thick-skinned nature, she gave him a helpless glare and placed her small hand in his palm, saying, "Let's go. I'm in a good mood today and won't hold it against you. Lead the way."
Holding Hu Jing's soft hand, Hailong said, "I promised to take you to a special place for a big meal today. I guarantee you've never been there before."
Hu Jing, curious about new places, asked like a kitten discovering a new toy, "What place? How special is it?"
Suddenly, Hu Jing remembered the ** Spicy Chicken Wings and said fiercely to Hailong, "If you dare take me to a place like ** Spicy Chicken Wings again, just wait and see what I'll do to you."
Well... It seems the last time they went to ** Spicy Chicken Wings left a deep impression on the little beauty.
After saying this, Hu Jing suddenly laughed. Hailong asked curiously, "What are you laughing about? You're grinning like a fox."
Hu Jing, possibly thinking of something funny, couldn't hold back and burst out laughing, saying, "The day after you took me to ** Spicy Chicken Wings, I took my three roommates to that place. Oh, it was so funny, they were so spicy they couldn't even speak."
Hailong was speechless. This girl was really a troublemaker. He asked with a black line on his forehead, "Sis, they didn't ask who told you about this place, did they?"
Hu Jing laughed and said, "You're not stupid. They did ask, but I'm not the kind of person who betrays friends. I didn't tell them, but your recent behavior hasn't been good, and I'm considering whether to tell them or not."
Hailong's forehead was covered in black lines. Thinking of the three formidable roommates, he quickly said, "Sis, I'm sorry. I promise to make you happy today. Please don't tell them."
The place they were going today was a special one, a French restaurant. But this was not an ordinary French restaurant; it was a Michelin three-star restaurant.
What is a Michelin three-star restaurant? In 1900, at the World's Fair, the founders of Michelin tires, the Michelin brothers, saw the potential in the development of car tourism. They believed that the more prosperous car tourism became, the better their tires would sell. Therefore, they gathered information about restaurants, maps, gas stations, hotels, car repair shops, and other things that would help car travel, and published a pocket-sized guide called the Michelin Guide. The guide rated restaurants by the number of forks and knives, with one being the lowest and five being the highest. In the 26th year of its publication, the Michelin Guide underwent its first reform, adopting a star rating system to evaluate restaurants. A restaurant that received more than one fork and knife could be rated with stars. The stars represented the level of culinary skill: one star meant the restaurant was "worth a visit" and was particularly excellent in its style of cuisine; two stars meant the restaurant had very high culinary skill and was "worth a detour" to visit; three stars meant the restaurant was "worth a special trip" to visit, with a flavor that would never be forgotten, and was said to be worth flying to for a meal. The concept of "Michelin-starred restaurants" began at this time. Michelin's reviews are extremely rigorous, fair, and even harsh. Once a restaurant is inspected, the inspector cannot return to that restaurant for several years to ensure the fairness of the next inspection. Inspectors must pay for their meals themselves. As a result, there are only 107 Michelin three-star restaurants worldwide. Being awarded a star, especially a three-star, is a source of infinite glory and wealth for a restaurant and its chef. In China, there are only two Michelin three-star restaurants, one in Shanghai and the other in the Hongjinmen Hotel in Donghai City, which shows how precious this restaurant is.
Hailong originally did not know that there was a Michelin three-star restaurant in Donghai City, and it required a VIP card to enter. Hailong only had this VIP card because of the crabs. After the four major hotels in Donghai City started buying crabs from Hailong, the crabs in his hands became very scarce. The crabs he sold to the four major hotels were not enough for their daily consumption, but Hailong could only catch so many. Therefore, the quota became the key point of contention among the four hotels. The manager of the Hongjinmen Hotel, one of the four major hotels, secretly gave Hailong this VIP card to get more of the quota. Seeing Hailong's indifferent expression, the manager knew that Hailong did not know the value of the card. When the manager solemnly told Hailong the value of the card, Hailong realized what a Michelin three-star restaurant meant. It was not just a place to eat but also a social venue. From the manager's words, Hailong understood that anyone who ate at this French restaurant in Donghai City was either rich or powerful.
The Hongjinmen Hotel was one of the four most luxurious hotels in Donghai City, a 88-story building, grand and magnificent. When Hailong and Hu Jing arrived at the hotel by taxi, Hu Jing looked up at the tall building and pointed to the hotel, saying to Hailong, "Hailong, are you taking me here for dinner today?"
Hailong smiled and said, "Yes, we're eating here today. It's my way of making up for bullying you."
Hu Jing quickly shook her head and said, "No, no, it's too expensive here. I felt it was already luxurious when we went to 1913. I know you didn't mean to hug me that time; it must have been because of something I did. I wasn't angry at all. Let's go somewhere else; this place is really too expensive."
Hailong was touched by Hu Jing's thoughtfulness and said warmly, "Come on, beautiful, today I'll show you what real fine dining is like."
Hailong led Hu Jing into the restaurant. The waiter told Hailong that the restaurant was on the 86th floor. As they walked through the grand hotel lobby, Hailong and Hu Jing found the elevator and went directly to the 86th floor.
If the lobby of the Hongjinmen Hotel was very luxurious, then the 86th-floor French restaurant gave a sense of extreme luxury and retro style. All the decorations were in the classical style of the French Louis XIII period. All the metal in the restaurant was made of silver, the lights were large, antique-style candles, the lampshades were made of crystal, and the furniture was made of original wood imported from France. Hailong had already learned about the restaurant from the manager, but seeing it in person still left him in awe. He couldn't help but think, in the future, I want to have a restaurant like this.
Fortunately, the long-term killing had kept Hailong alert. He quickly snapped out of his daze and handed the VIP card to the waiter at the door. After it was verified, Hailong led Hu Jing into the restaurant.
With the VIP card, they went to the reserved table. Hailong handed the menu to Hu Jing, but she pushed it back, saying softly, "Hailong, I've never had French cuisine before. I don't know which dishes are good. Can you order for me?"
Hailong didn't know which dishes were good either, but he had called the manager of the Hongjinmen Hotel in the afternoon and asked about it. The manager enthusiastically introduced several famous dishes in the restaurant. So, Hailong could act cool and confidently took the menu, asking Hu Jing again, "You really don't want to order?" Hu Jing quickly nodded, and seeing her cautious manner, Hailong was amused. He tried hard to hold back his laughter, closed the menu, and comfortably leaned back in the sofa, crossing his legs as if he had been there many times. He said to the waiter, "I'll have cherry brandy, oysters with walnut bread, French foie gras, black pepper clear stewed meat soup, pan-fried sea bass, Australian wagyu, vanilla ice cream, and cappuccino. Please give the lady the same order. Thank you."
As a girl from a rural area, Hu Jing had never heard of any of the dishes Hailong mentioned, let alone seen them. Seeing Hailong order the dishes so confidently, Hu Jing was extremely envious and said admiringly, "Hailong, you're so amazing. Do you often come here for dinner? The dishes here must be very expensive."
Hailong pretended to be experienced and said, "I often come here for dinner, but the dishes are quite cheap, about the same price as 1913." Hu Jing couldn't believe that such an elegant and luxurious place existed in Donghai City. The decoration was much better than 1913, and the luxurious atmosphere was evident. But when she heard Hailong say the prices were similar to 1913, she was skeptical and asked, "Really? Just by looking at the decoration, it's much better than 1913."
Hailong teased Hu Jing, "Would I lie to you?"
However, Hu Jing noticed that the guests at the surrounding tables had such elegant manners and expensive clothes, with dazzling diamond rings and necklaces. She felt a sense of inferiority for the first time, as a person from a rural area. She felt like a Cinderella who had just come out of the kitchen and suddenly entered a palace, feeling both fear and fascination.
Still not believing that the food was cheap, Hu Jing asked, "How much do you think the dishes we ordered will cost?"
Hailong laughed and said, "Not much, just a few hundred yuan." A passing waiter almost cried, thinking, "Sir, you ordered based on the prices. Did you miss a zero? I hope you can afford the bill." Since Hailong and Hu Jing entered, the waiter had been suspicious of their identity. Seeing Hailong's Versace outfit, he looked like a rich man, but his female companion's clothes were clearly from a street stall. As a top hotel waiter, he had a keen eye. He doubted whether Hailong's Versace was genuine. He was puzzled why the receptionist let them in, and if they were impostors, it would affect the other guests and damage the hotel's reputation. He was considering whether to remind them to leave if they couldn't pay when the waiter responsible for taking orders came over with a bottle of sherry, apologizing to Hailong, "Sir, this is a bottle of sherry the manager asked me to give you. It's a special reserve of our hotel. The manager wanted to come himself, but he was sent out of town this afternoon and won't be back for a few days. So, I apologize on his behalf."
Hailong laughed and said, "No problem, I'll thank him in person next time."
Hu Jing looked at Hailong in surprise and said, "You know the manager?"
Hailong lied without hesitation, "He's my neighbor. I borrowed the VIP card from him before coming. Otherwise, we couldn't have come in. And he gave me a 50% discount, so it's less than 300 yuan for the meal, cheaper than 1913."
Hailong was lying through his teeth, and the two waiters were inwardly cursing him. "The manager is your neighbor? You lived in the U.S. before? How did a local Donghai person become neighbors with a local U.S. manager? Besides, each VIP card has its own number, and each one is made on the spot. The card has a