Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 928 - 457: Set Meal Blind Box

Ling Guangzhao wasn't boasting. As a native Beiping child and the current boss of Babaozhai and its former young master, he indeed knows Xia Mubing well.

As to how familiar he is, and how much Xia Mubing appreciates him, that's pure boasting. In Ling Guangzhao's description, as Xia Mubing grew older, his temper became increasingly eccentric. At least when Ling Guangzhao was a child, Xia Mubing was much easier to talk to than now.

Ling Guangzhao even played in Fen Garden as a child.

Fen Garden, regarded as Beiping's top private dining, is essentially not a private dining restaurant, but a complete, grand three-entry courtyard. The part open to guests is merely one entry, while the other spaces are where Xia Mubing and his disciple Zhang Guanghang live.

Fen Garden opened long ago, even before Ling Guangzhao was born, it was already a renowned private dining venue in Beiping City. Back then, most families weren't too wealthy, so even Ling Guangzhao's family would consider themselves pampering their child if they could afford to dine at Fen Garden a few times a year.

At that time, Fen Garden's main clientele were foreigners. As Ling Guangzhao puts it, Mr. Xia was ruthless when it came to pricing for foreigners. The prices weren't just doubled, they had a zero added for good measure. During the millennium, a dish of Peach Blossom Fritters sold for 1888 per serving to foreigners, and it had to be pre-ordered and competitive. The profits were overflowing.

Compared to the prices back then, now Fen Garden's pricing is considered very affordable. Ling Guangzhao suspects maybe Mr. Xia feels he has already earned more than enough money back in those days, and to him, money is just numbers now, hence the prices haven't risen much.

Fen Garden hasn't raised its prices for a full 5 years.

After listening to Ling Guangzhao's musings, Qin Huai had only one thought: Mr. Xia really understands the psychology of diners. Back in the millennium, one serving of fritters was 1888, now an average table costs only several thousand, so when people think Fen Garden's dishes are expensive, they'll remember the peach blossom fritters from those days and comfort themselves with the feeling that it's a bargain now.

"Mr. Xia must be over 90 years old by now, right?" Qin Huai asked.

Ling Guangzhao didn't expect that after all he said, Qin Huai's main concern would be Mr. Xia's age. He felt touched for a moment, thinking Qin Huai truly is a good person deep down, caring for the elderly's health, though he wasn't very sure and nodded vaguely.

"He should be... Actually, none of us really know Mr. Xia's exact age, only that he's quite old; perhaps he doesn't exactly know either. Many elderly people are like that, unable to remember their birth year, only recalling a rough range."

"Plus, Mr. Xia has no children, only his disciple Zhang Guanghang. He doesn't care much for birthdays either; I've never heard of him hosting a birthday party... It seems indeed no one knows. This is quite normal. I've heard from my dad that Mr. Xia was originally from Beiping, during the war he fled, and returned to Beiping after peace."

"With no relatives, all alone, his character has always been somewhat reclusive. I've heard he has no particular interests, just loves money. He's earned so much, yet doesn't enjoy it, seemingly spending it all on buying houses, land, and antiques."

"Master Qin, maybe you're not familiar with Beiping, but around ten or twenty years ago, buying antiques was particularly popular. My dad also followed the trend and bought some, got tricked badly. My dad said what he bought didn't even match Xia's scraps. Fen Garden has several rooms dedicated to the junk antiques Mr. Xia bought, and nobody knows their authenticity."

"Mr. Xia buys things but doesn't play with them, nor asks anyone to check, just tosses them in the warehouse."

"So, Master Qin, when you ask what to watch out for dining at Fen Garden, truly there's nothing particular. Just don't run around. A few years back, a strange event happened; two petty thieves somehow heard that the antiques in those rooms at Fen Garden were worth a fortune, spent a lot reserving a dinner seat, delayed during dining, trying to take advantage of the night to steal."

"In the end, they were caught by Mr. Xia himself; those two thieves, in their twenties, couldn't overcome Mr. Xia, who was in his eighties or nineties. Later, when the police arrived, they advised Mr. Xia not to charge forward at his age, warning him to be careful not to strain his back."

"For this, Mr. Xia was particularly indignant, pointing at the two thieves, saying their thieving skills couldn't compare to half of what his junior brother had back in the day, this skillset is what they use trying to steal here."

"Because of this incident people wondered for a while, curious about where Mr. Xia's junior brother came from, though we've heard of his master. It's said to be Master Chen from Taifeng Building, whose entire family was lost when Beiping fell..."

"Lost?" Qin Huai couldn't help but raise his voice, "How did it happen?"

Ling Guangzhao: ? Master Qin's focus is really peculiar.

"I'm not sure about that, it's from so long ago, I don't even know if my grandfather was born during Beiping's fall." Ling Guangzhao admits this is beyond his knowledge scope, "I haven't even finished saying, just because of those two young thieves. Originally, Fen Garden had no business hours, just opened for lunch and dinner, depending on how many tables were reserved, diners informed Mr. Xia roughly when they'd arrive."