Chapter 151: The "Three-in-One" Operational Mindset

When Zhang Shen walked up, Long Si was already beaming with a full smile. "Mr. Zhang, it seems you only experienced the bath and didn't try any of our other services."

Whether Zhang Shen's mind wandered or not, he always felt that Long Si placed an unusually heavy emphasis on the word "services." Fortunately, Zhang Shen had a steadfast mindset and didn't dwell too much on it.

"Well... I think I'll come back to try them another time."

Faced with Long Si's enthusiastic invitation, Zhang Shen couldn't find a good excuse to keep him at arm's length right away. Thus, he could only hastily cobble together an excuse to brush it off.

Hearing this, Long Si didn't press the matter further; instead, he gestured for Zhang Shen to come over and sit at the dining table.

As Zhang Shen approached, Huang Wanting followed right behind him. In her mind, she only had a superficial understanding of her uncle's establishment, and as for anything deeper, she was completely in the dark.

However, Huang Wanting still felt a lingering sense of apprehension about what Zhang Shen had mentioned earlier. Today presented the perfect opportunity to investigate and get to the bottom of it.

Unfortunately, the moment Huang Wanting stepped through the door, Long Si immediately rebuked her sharply.

"Who told you to come in? Don't you know this is where guests dine?"

Hearing these words, both Huang Wanting and Zhang Shen were utterly unprepared for how swiftly Long Si, who had been all smiles just a moment ago, could transform into such a fierce and forbidding figure.

"I just wanted to..."

Deep down, Huang Wanting never imagined her uncle would utter such harsh words, and she found it genuinely difficult to comprehend. At that moment, she wished so badly that she was simply suffering from auditory hallucinations. Yet, seeing her standing there frozen like a wooden stake, Long Si issued another command.

"I told you to get out, did you hear me?!"

By now, Huang Wanting's last shred of fantasy was completely shattered. Seeing the young girl's aggrieved expression, Zhang Shen stepped forward to intercede on her behalf.

"Boss Long, what is the meaning of this? She is your niece, after all. Besides, even taking a step back, I am the guest and I haven't expressed any dissatisfaction yet—how is it that you are losing your temper first?"

Huang Wanting naturally heard Zhang Shen's words, but none of it seemed to comfort her. Meanwhile, Long Si stood nearby, maintaining his smiling demeanor toward his guest, Zhang Shen.

"Mr. Zhang, this is simply the rule of our establishment. We have always had only one greeter, one chef, and one boss. That is how we strive to give our guests a unique experience."

Although Zhang Shen found it rather baffling, he had no way to argue with the boss's peculiar "business philosophy."

Realizing that continuing to argue would be entirely futile, Zhang Shen simply waved his hand, signaling for Huang Wanting to step outside first.

Ever since her uncle's harsh words, Huang Wanting had lost all desire to stay another second. So, the moment she saw Zhang Shen's gesture, she turned and ran out. Neither Zhang Shen nor Long Si knew that the young girl left with tear-filled, reddened eyes.

Watching Huang Wanting's retreating figure, Long Si stepped forward, closed the door, and then turned back to Zhang Shen. "Mr. Zhang, care to guess what kind of dishes are placed before you?"

Zhang Shen was hardly a connoisseur of fine dining, but he at least possessed an appreciative attitude toward food.

Looking at the exquisite plates before him, Zhang Shen felt that only cuisine fit for an imperial court could possibly do justice to such extraordinary tableware.

"Abalone and lobster!"

That was the answer that slipped right off Zhang Shen's tongue. Although he had tasted his fair share of delicacies, when it actually came to critiquing them, he had no idea what to say.

"Incorrect."

In Long Si's mind, this was far from the first wrong guess Zhang Shen had made, and he was quite certain it wouldn't be the last. Therefore, Long Si simply shook his head and dismissed Zhang Shen's initial guess.

Seeing Long Si shake his head, Zhang Shen figured he might have overestimated the establishment's standards. He paused for a moment and thought again. "Could it be seafood?"

After all, in Zhang Shen's mind, the dishes he could name off the top of his head already belonged to the relatively expensive category.

Yet, upon hearing this, Long Si could not stop shaking his head.

This left Zhang Shen feeling rather incredulous. Logically speaking, a small shop like this shouldn't even have the capability to source such ingredients, but he assumed that since he was invited to guess, there had to be some substance to it.

Unfortunately, after missing one guess after another, Zhang Shen's remaining patience was completely exhausted. In the end, he could only say, "Boss Long, you might as well just tell me directly! I simply can't guess it."

To Long Si, Zhang Shen's conclusion was entirely to be expected.

Seeing that Zhang Shen failed to hit the mark, Long Si merely offered a faint smile and said, "Actually, like many others, you've made a fatal mistake."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shen was baffled as to how a simple question about food could lead to such a profound conclusion.

"What is it? I hope Boss Long will enlighten me."

Zhang Shen was always quite open-minded when it came to accepting corrections from others. Ever since the day he became an apprentice, his master had taught him that the practice of medicine permitted not the slightest trace of carelessness. Therefore, from that day on, whenever a flaw was pointed out in him, Zhang Shen would correct it if it existed and guard against it if it didn't. Now that a restaurant owner was speaking to him in this manner, Zhang Shen was naturally determined to get to the bottom of it.

"The truth is, people like you belong to the category whose mindset dictates their perception."

To Zhang Shen's surprise, Long Si's remark sounded like something spoken by a profound philosopher. Yet, he was both curious and puzzled as to how he had become the kind of person Long Si described.

"Boss Long, I must say this place of yours is truly extraordinary. Eating a meal here actually comes with a touch of philosophy."

Long Si only smiled without a word, then replied, "It really is like that. If you don't believe me, have a look."

Before Zhang Shen could fully gather his thoughts, Long Si lifted a porcelain bowl from in front of him, and the dish revealed underneath left Zhang Shen utterly astonished.

"This is... Chinese cabbage?"

Zhang Shen genuinely found it hard to believe that hidden beneath such exquisite tableware was nothing more than ordinary, everyday cabbage.

"Indeed!"

Long Si was well accustomed to Zhang Shen's reaction. After all, up until now, not a single person had managed to correctly guess the "迷魂阵" (bewitching formation) of a dish he served to his guests.

"Why don't you try a bite first?"

The very first thought that flashed through Zhang Shen's mind upon hearing this was that the boss was simply playing some sort of pretentious trick.