Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

"Is it something serious?"

Wang Ziqin was still somewhat dismissive, "What could be so serious? Can it be more serious than what I encountered yesterday?"

"Yesterday? What happened to you?"

Although Wang is nominally the president, the two are close in age and don’t really care much about these workplace formalities. Just calling him President Wang as a gesture is enough; usually, they talk in a friendly, conversational tone.

"Nah, it’s not a big deal. I just ran into a home invasion, you know, by five illegal immigrants from the Sakura Country."

"So it was a home inva... What the heck??!"

Lin Chen was a bit dumbfounded.

A home invasion?

By five people?

"Was there major damage to your home? Were you hurt?"

"Damage, my ass!"

Wang Ziqin’s voice carried a tone of indescribable pride, rising several degrees in pitch.

"I fought them off single-handedly, scaring those pathetic thieves into running around the house like headless chickens. One of them tried to take advantage of my wife, and I countered with a knife, cutting off the bastard’s hand!"

"When the hot blood splattered on my face, can you imagine that feeling? There wasn’t even a hint of fear—instead, it was a moment of glory!"

"Yeah, you could say I brought honor to the country. Turns out what they say online about the bloodline suppression facing the Sakura people is true!"

"The way to deal with those guys is to be tough—whoever chickens out first, loses! If you don’t like it, fight it out!"

"... You’re impressive."

Lin Chen was silent for a long while, not knowing what to say, so he gave a thumbs up and gestured ’666’ from afar.

Taking on five people and chopping off a hand—Wang, you’re contributing to the stereotype that everyone in Great Xia knows martial arts!

Having spent so much time here, he’s actually long figured out how to deal with people from different countries.

You can’t really say much about foreigners; most are pretty normal. But among Asians, there’s a noticeable chain of discrimination.

Especially the little Sakura and Kimchi folks—they’ll greet you politely with a smile upfront, but you can feel the coldness and distance from their bones.

The Sakura people are somewhat better—not that they’re discriminating against Great Xia people, but they treat everyone the same, including their own people.

Kimchi people, on the other hand, are more hypocritical and uncomfortable to interact with.

Of course, there are also warm and friendly people among them, just fewer in number.

"Running into illegal immigrants from Sakura Country, should I call you unlucky or lucky?"

It’s reasonable to say that most countries around the world offer visa benefits to Sakura Country, making it easy for them to study or work abroad, so there’s no need to resort to illegal immigration.

The countries with higher rates of illegal immigration are typically those with underdeveloped economies or those affected by war.

"Who wouldn’t agree!"

Wang Ziqin sighed, "Talking about this makes me angry. The police barely need to investigate—just search online and you can find the wanted files for those five people. Turns out they’re serious offenders with prior convictions in Sakura Country, and there’s an ongoing effort to start a cross-border capture. Just my luck to run into them!"

The two briefly chatted and finally managed to get back to the original topic.

"Olympics?"

After hearing about Lin Chen’s matters, Wang Ziqin also paused, slapping his thigh: "Damn, almost forgot about that. When’s the Olympics again?"

"... Can you be a bit reliable, dear brother? You can think of inviting a girl group for the Kite Festival but forget the Olympic dates? Seriously, are you just wanting to see pretty girls in cool clothing perform hot dances?"

"Ahem, don’t talk nonsense. Am I that sort of person? It’s purely to fulfill my wife’s fangirling dreams, okay? I thought since we’re already inviting them, why not get more and fire up the stage."

Chu Yueyue rolled her eyes at him, "Olympic opening ceremony is on 7/26, closing ceremony is on 8/11."

He quickly gave a thumbs up and said into the phone, "Now I remember, ten days from now, right? It’s all good. As a businessperson, I have connections with the embassy. Mention it, and we should be able to get it done within two or three days, as long as their submitted documents are fine."

"Alright, I’ll talk to them and have them submit the materials as soon as possible."

After hanging up, he checked the time; it should be around 9 AM domestically by now. Time to wake up, right?

He immediately sent confirmation messages individually to the four job seekers interested in coming to work.

Soon after, within seconds, the brother from the countryside with ten years of kitchen experience replied, clearly stating he could come anytime but needs help with the paperwork.

A few minutes later, the pastry guy replied saying okay, the documents are being done through an agency; he’ll urge them, and they should be ready by today or tomorrow.

The remaining two haven’t responded yet.

Because of the upcoming Olympics, in order to quickly get people over, our dear President Wang even offered to cover airfare and travel expenses, and could even send someone to Paris to pick them up.

At this point, buying a ticket isn’t easy; prices have skyrocketed several times over. People like this, who come out to work because they need money, usually can’t afford it.

After Lin Chen informed the two of this new job benefit, they were ecstatic. The older brother from the countryside was almost in tears, with a quivering voice expressing over and over how grateful they were in the voice message he sent, saying that the offer was noble.

He didn’t forget to video call them, directly opening a group video, showing them the local surroundings and the hotel, immediately dispelling their concerns, proving it wasn’t a scam.

While he was busy at work, not far from the beach, two brown-haired beauties had been standing there for several minutes, constantly glancing in this direction.

Suddenly, one of the slimmer girls lifted her foot and walked toward him.

As she got closer, seeing that he seemed to be talking on a video call, she chose not to disturb him, instead standing quietly behind Lin Chen without saying a word.

When Lin Chen hung up the video call, she softly knocked on the table twice, pointed to the chair opposite him, and asked softly.

"Hi, may I sit here?"

"?"

Slightly puzzled, Lin Chen looked up, his eyes lit up.

She had the typical Northern European look—wavy brown hair, well-defined and delicate features, fair skin, and light blue eyes. Her slightly loose yet form-fitting sleeveless top gave her the appearance of an elf straight out of a movie.

"Of course."

He nodded, then suddenly remembered something, instinctively glancing around.

It wasn’t a mealtime; the entire restaurant was empty. Although occasionally a few tourists would use the chairs and tables in the beach area, they were few.

With so many empty seats available, why did this lady choose to sit opposite him?

In an instant, numerous possibilities flashed through his mind.

Without making a fuss, he calmly watched as the girl sat down.

The girl didn’t look very old, and for a European—who often appear older than they are—to look young at first glance meant she was truly young, likely not older than 25, maybe around 20.

"Did I interrupt your work, Chef?"

The girl smiled sheepishly, her sky-blue eyes boldly meeting his, filled with curiosity.

"Not at all, I’ve just finished. Is there something you need?"

Lin Chen glanced at the calm chat window and slightly closed his laptop in a gesture of respect.

"Well," the girl’s pale cheeks blushed slightly, "I came here last week for the garlic oysters, attended the kite festival on Sunday, and today I tried two flavors of buns. I really think Great Xia food suits my taste!"

"Thank you for the compliment; it’s my honor."

He hadn’t expected this girl to come so many times, as she looked a bit familiar, probably a regular customer.

But there are so many regulars, and since he’s not in charge of payments or packing, it’s normal he wouldn’t recognize everyone by face.

However, having this kind of face-to-face chat with a diner and hearing direct praise for hometown food warmed his heart, filling him with a sense of pride.

The effort over this period was not in vain!

"I was quite selective; the variety of Great Xia cuisine can be overwhelming, and most flavors aren’t suitable for foreigners, so I chose similar-tasting foods to see the diners’ reactions for future adjustments."

"I see, no wonder. I thought the taste was different from Chinese food I’ve had before—with that sweet and sour taste, I’ve heard it’s the modified version of Chinese cuisine?"

The girl tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and grinned, her eyes shining even more as they talked about food.

"After trying these few times, I’m really interested in Great Xia cuisine and want to taste more local flavors to see if they suit my palate."

"You held an online poll, right? I voted for the spicy hot pot. When can I try it? Those dishes that look very spicy must taste delicious too, right?"

Having come back several times, she had some understanding of red oil dishes, knowing red doesn’t always mean spicy—it can also mean fragrant.

Lin Chen smiled slightly, leaned over, and whispered, "Since you’re a regular, I’ll share a little secret with you."

"Mmm!"

She nodded eagerly, leaning in, watching his eyes seriously—not knowing whether she was looking at him or fantasizing about the delicious food beyond him.

Up close, the girl radiated a faint fragrance, possibly from perfume.

Lin Chen didn’t mind; it’s normal for girls to wear perfume out. He continued, "Tomorrow for breakfast, I’ll make a dish from my hometown. It uses glutinous rice, a type of rice, steamed with various vegetables and fried dough sticks inside, a type of staple food."

"Do you know of fried dough sticks? They’re one of the most common breakfast foods in Great Xia, made by deep-frying dough."

"Oh, fried dough sticks! I know them; I’ve seen many Great Xia food shows! Those fried dough sticks look delicious."

"That’s good. Besides savory ones, there will also be sweet glutinous rice balls dipped in sugar. Plus, for lunch tomorrow, we’ll serve spicy hot pot. You can come early, and I’ll make sure you get a number in advance."