Chapter Twenty-Nine: Dongyang Cuisine

The tractor rumbled noisily as Zhong Di gave the old machine a pat, checked the time, and switched off the engine. According to the schedule his father had given him, the manure delivery would arrive in ten minutes. Sure enough, only a few minutes later, a large truck pulled up at the gate.

“This is the sheep manure you wanted—fully composted, one hundred and twenty yuan per cubic meter, thirty cubic meters in all. Take a look,” his father said, coming over and succinctly relaying the key details.

Zhong Di climbed onto the truck, glanced at the manure, sniffed it, then grabbed a handful. “No problem, it’s good quality. Just unload it on the homestead—there’s nowhere else with enough space.”

Assessing sheep manure boiled down to three points: first, color—a properly fermented batch was uniformly dark; second, smell—if the unpleasant odor had faded, it meant the harmful bacteria had been neutralized, which was one aim of fermentation; third, texture—grab a handful, and if it crumbled easily, it was ready. This batch was excellent—thoroughly composted and ready for use.

“This is good manure. I went out early to get it from that supplier, but it’s a bit pricey. If we composted it ourselves, I could get it for seventy or even sixty yuan per cubic meter,” Zhong Tian muttered, feeling the sting of having spent extra. If the quality had been poor, it would have been unbearable.

“Dad, I’ll go start tilling the field, you can supervise the unloading here,” Zhong Di offered.

“I’ll handle the tilling. You stay here and keep an eye on things—there’s payment to settle,” his father insisted. In the eyes of the older generation, it was unthinkable to sit idle and let the younger folk do all the work.

With his father off to the field, Zhong Di began coordinating the unloading of the manure, giving a few instructions before the workers got started. The price included delivery and unloading—otherwise, no one would pay so much.

Meanwhile, Zhong Di took the prepared Wild Sand Immortal Sprouts, diluted them, and fed half to the first batch of chickens he’d bought. Half of the remainder went to the chicks, and the rest to the latest batch of three hundred native chickens. This was a test to observe the overall effect.

By the time he’d finished all the miscellaneous tasks, the manure had been unloaded. After settling the bill and seeing the workers off, Zhong Di reviewed his finances. His funds had suddenly shrunk to under fifteen thousand yuan, and with today’s wages to pay, he’d be nearly broke.

Ring ring!

Lost in thought, Zhong Di’s phone rang. It was someone named Miaomiao—why was she video calling him? Staring at the nickname, he hesitated. Should he answer or not?

In the end, he picked up, but switched to voice call.

“My, aren’t you stingy—you won’t even let me see you?” came a coquettish voice as soon as the call connected. Was he dealing with a female troublemaker? Since childhood, Zhong Di had often been picked on by little girls—during breaks, a group would surround him, pinch him, and tease him. This one seemed no different.

“I’m almost there. Get the eggs ready—I’ll be right over,” she said, hanging up before he could reply.

Who on earth was this? With that question lingering, Zhong Di quietly prepared the eggs—after removing two double-yolked ones, he had just over a kilogram.

Beep beep!

“Are you there, handsome?” a familiar voice called from outside the gate. Zhong Di realized it matched the one from the call—it must be her.

Stepping outside, he immediately spotted a sedan parked at the gate—a Porsche, here in Shache County? It wasn’t that Porsches were so expensive that no one could afford them in Shache County, but buying was one thing—maintaining one was another. Even a modest model cost hundreds of thousands, or over a million yuan. The real issue was upkeep—few could afford the running costs. But that was not his concern; if she bought it, she could surely afford it.

“Hello,” Zhong Di greeted her politely, as was proper with someone who seemed both familiar and yet a stranger.

“Hello, I’m Sun Miaomiao—just call me Miaomiao. You’re really good-looking! May I take a picture with you?” she asked.

Zhong Di glanced at himself—he was dressed in his usual work clothes, nothing special. Where did the good looks come from?

“Never mind that. You’re here for eggs, right? Here—one kilogram, forty yuan,” he replied briskly, rejecting her request and aiming to finish the transaction quickly.

“So stingy! But fine, let me see what kind of eggs these are to cost so much,” Miaomiao said, a little deflated, as she set down her phone and took the eggs.

“Master Ma, come take a look at these eggs,” she called, handing them to a middle-aged man in the passenger seat.

Master Ma wore a formal suit, looked somewhat stern, and was a bit overweight. This was the “Master Ma” Miaomiao had mentioned. No wonder she hadn’t asked about the price yesterday—she’d brought an expert today. But Zhong Di wasn’t worried. If his eggs were of poor quality, he’d have reason to be anxious, but with such quality, what was there to fear?

Master Ma got out, took the eggs, inspected them, then gently cracked one open. At first, his brow furrowed. For the young lady to personally seek out ingredients for the restaurant, and to pay forty yuan per kilo, she was surely being swindled. As the head chef of Dongyang Cuisine, Ma Guangyuan was not only a master of his craft, but also a discerning judge of ingredients. In recent years, as culinary techniques became ever more standardized, the real differentiator among restaurants was the quality of their ingredients. Dongyang’s reputation rested on its use of premium produce, which was why it had become the leading restaurant in Shache County.

Wait—this aroma? How intriguing—it was almost mesmerizing.

“Is there a kitchen here?” Master Ma asked urgently.

Seeing his reaction, Sun Miaomiao knew she’d found the right supplier and was visibly pleased. Recently, Dongyang had been preparing to enter the Kulun market, only to have a supplier suddenly demand exorbitant prices. This supplier provided Dongyang with pure, free-range eggs—a signature ingredient for a whole series of their dishes. To raise prices just as Dongyang was expanding into a new market—clearly, something was amiss.