Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 146 - 122: Outrageously Lavish Mega Farm (Part 2)

The driver is also a hotel employee, originally responsible for providing shuttle services to and from the train and bus stations. Once the farm opens, he also handles transfers to and from there, having received prior training and visited the farm for tours, making him half a tour guide.

"Strawberries? They're not really summer fruits, are they?"

"Who cares nowadays? They're the products of high technology, available all year round. As long as they're big and sweet, that's fine."

The driver shrugged indifferently: "Of course, the farm has designated an area for natural organic produce. Interested guests are shown that area, though the experience might not be as great and the prices are much higher."

"Anyway, if I were a tourist, I definitely wouldn't go there."

"Why? Isn't organic food healthier?" Dais suddenly showed interest.

As a qualified mother, she always tried to buy organic food for her children, even though she didn't really understand the differences, just knowing that products with organic labels are healthier and more nutritious.

The driver parked the car steadily at the entrance of the farm and smiled back, revealing a set of big yellow teeth.

"Miss, judging by your accent, you're local? Haven't been to Asia, right?"

"I'm not exactly local, I'm from Europe and indeed haven't been to Asia. Why ask?"

"Do you know what organic means?"

The driver had a distinctly Asian appearance, seemingly in his forties, with a slightly strange accent that was barely understandable.

"Organic means pure natural, no pesticides or fertilizers, seeds are not technologically modified, the growing process is slow, and the taste can't be guaranteed."

"Why are the organic fruits and vegetables sold in supermarkets expensive? Because they are handpicked as the best quality batch, seeds extracted for planting, potentially taking many years, and the cost is high."

"The inferior batch is sold to factories to make juice or feed."

"In our Asia, this kind of organic, pure natural farming is everywhere; do you know what's most important?"

The driver had a mysterious smile on his face.

"What is it?"

Dais was typing rapidly on her phone, recording; she hadn't really researched the differences between organic and non-organic, but documenting this was definitely useful!

"Without fertilizers, plants lack nutrients, making them taste bad, so pure natural fertilizers are needed."

"Which means… manure~"

"?!"

Dais's expression froze.

Are organic fruits and vegetables irrigated with manure?

This…

As she got out of the car and entered the small wooden hut at the farm entrance, she was still recovering from this shocking revelation.

"Excuse me, are you Lady Dais?"

She was greeted by the farm manager, a middle-aged, pot-bellied man in his thirties wearing a straw hat.

His attire was almost identical to what she'd seen in many videos.

"Yes, that's me. I came here under Chef Lin's arrangement to tour the farm in person and plan the itinerary."

"Chef Lin? Oh, that's the restaurant chef, right? I've heard there was another head chef."

"Yes, but I'm with Chef Lin's team, the other chef has his own team and arrangements."

Even the farm manager couldn't clarify the details, and she herself couldn't fully explain, so she could only introduce herself simply.

"Alright, I'll show you around. Please take this umbrella."

The man handed over a long black umbrella and led the way: "Just call me John, I'm the manager here, and all the farmland around here belongs to me."

"Of course, I've also signed a contract with the hotel, received significant investment to purchase such a vast land, haha."

"This here is the orchard area..."

Following John, Dais focused on the plants' bases, seeing the black-brown soil, and involuntarily thought of the word manure, making her expression become unusual.

She couldn't hold back.

"Mr. John, I have a question to ask, on the way here..."

After listening to her question, John's expression was very calm, as if it were the most ordinary thing, making her feel slightly uneasy.

"He's right; organic farming does use manure, as it's the richest and most nutritious natural fertilizer."

"But! He likely hasn't farmed personally, so he only knows part of it."

"Normal manure, whether human or animal, can't be used directly; it needs to be fermented and go through a series of processes before use. Untreated manure is toxic and can kill plants."

"Besides manure, the most-used fertilizers are actually the stems, leaves, and other parts of the plants themselves, through composting and rotting, forming natural nutrients for the next batch of plants."

"For instance, we see wheat the most in daily life."

"The edible part is just grain-sized, and the rest is fertilizer, which can also feed pigs, cows, sheep, etc."

"Additionally, one or two months before harvesting, the use of manure fertilizer for irrigation is prohibited."

After John's explanation, Dais's expression became much better.

She never thought in her life that organic fruits and vegetables are... manure... no, don't think about it anymore!

If she keeps thinking, she won't have dinner.

"The fruit and vegetable zone can be looked at briefly; is there a harvestable list? Our main focus is meat. What animals do you raise on the farm? Do guests need to catch them themselves?"

"Yes, there's a list of animals too; I'll give you a farm guide later before you leave, which has everything."

Uncle John nodded and turned, leading her through the labyrinth-like field paths to another direction.

"You can catch animals yourself or buy them directly, but there's a limited amount. We still recommend tourists do it themselves, as the chance to hunt with your own hands is rare in today's society."

"Besides the breeding area, we've fenced off two large mountains for stocking and specifically for hunters to hunt. We also have professional hunters who will check firearms and ammunition to prevent over-hunting."

As she toured the breeding area, she shared photos and live updates with Elsa.

Knowing Lin Chen might be resting, they didn't use group chat and just privately chatted, planning to show Lin Chen after finalizing plans to see if anything needs changing.

When Lin Chen woke up, groggily crawling out of bed, it was already four in the afternoon.

[How was your rest? Feeling better?]

He sent a message in the three-person workgroup, then climbed out of bed, touched his empty stomach, and started thinking about dinner solutions.

"Ding"

The phone quickly lit up.

He picked it up and glanced at it.

"Hmm? Farm ingredient list and tour plan?"

No way, since it's raining, could these two have dragged their sickly bodies to the farm?

Did he recruit two workaholics?

Since they did it, he couldn't say anything to dampen their enthusiasm, so he opened the spreadsheet and carefully examined it.

"Chicken, duck, goose? Cow, sheep, pig? Wow, even fish ponds, frogs, turtles, crayfish… not to mention spotted deer, wild boar, and pigeons?"

The variety of obtainable animal ingredients at the farm far exceeded his expectations.

Thinking of the hunter aspect, he quickly realized that the farm likely includes hunting areas in forests or hilly terrains.

This is insanely extravagant... almost too extravagant!

No wonder even the Michelin-born Chef Marchello can only be the second partner; the hotel's owner has incredibly strong funding power.

Such a rich variety of ingredients perfectly matches his idea of cooking Asian cuisine.

In terms of Western cuisine, many exotic ingredients are difficult to handle or poorly prepared.

In this aspect, no other country in the world, combined, could compare to even the tip of the iceberg of the Great Xia culinary culture. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

It's not that he looks down on other countries' food cultures; he's just stating the facts.