If time had permitted, Jiang Fei would have taken the five beauties to his villa in Daocun. The rented apartment, which felt spacious when he was alone, now seemed a bit cramped with so many guests.
Even the dining table wasn’t large enough to comfortably seat six people.
Unfortunately, it was already close to noon, and there wasn’t enough time to make the trip to Daocun. If they went now, they wouldn’t have lunch until much later. So, they had to make do with a meal at his rented place.
In terms of amenities, the city couldn’t compare to Jiang Fei’s villa in Daocun. The kitchen there was better equipped, and the fresh, delicious vegetables available in the village were hard to find in the city’s markets.
Of course, what Jiang Fei considered a “make-do” meal was, in the eyes of the women, anything but simple. It was a lavish feast.
After about an hour of preparation, by one o’clock, Jiang Fei had filled the modest dining table with an array of dishes, each representing one of the eight major Chinese cuisines.
Jiang Fei untied his apron, took a deep breath, and began introducing the dishes with a smile. “Since we didn’t have much time to prepare, today’s lunch isn’t too extravagant. The ingredients are fairly common.”
“But the variety is quite rich. There are fourteen dishes in total, covering all eight major Chinese cuisines. Let me introduce them to you.”
He gestured to the dishes and began, “First, we have Sichuan cuisine, represented by Kung Pao Chicken, Steamed Beef with Rice Flour, Mapo Tofu, and Fish-Flavored Shredded Pork. From Cantonese cuisine, we have Taro Pork Belly and Beef Meatballs. Zhejiang cuisine is represented by Tofu Skin Wrapped Yellow Croaker and Braised Turtle with Rock Sugar. Anhui cuisine offers Stewed Pigeon from Huangshan. Hunan cuisine brings us Spicy Fish Head with Chopped Peppers. Shandong cuisine is represented by Sweet and Sour Carp. Jiangsu cuisine offers Stewed Lion’s Head with Crab Roe. And finally, Fujian cuisine gives us Lychee Pork.”
As Jiang Fei presented each dish and named them, Lin Moli, who had recently become a regular at Jiang Fei’s place, remained relatively calm.
The others—Xia Xiaozhi, Xu Jing, Tan Yuan (three high school beauties), and Ye Yuanyuan (a fierce woman from a military family)—were completely stunned.
Ye Yuanyuan, her large, beautiful eyes wide with surprise, swallowed hard and asked, “Jiang Fei, how do you know how to cook all eight cuisines? And we didn’t even go to the market. How do you have so many ingredients at home?”
She had initially thought that since Jiang Fei hadn’t gone to the market, he wouldn’t be able to prepare much. But in just an hour, he had whipped up dishes from all eight cuisines!
Jiang Fei chuckled and pointed to the double-door refrigerator. “Before today, that fridge was packed with ingredients. Now, it’s almost empty. I had most of these ingredients prepared in advance.”
“Some of these dishes are quite time-consuming to make. For example, the Taro Pork Belly from Cantonese cuisine takes at least two hours to prepare. So, I had to do some prep work ahead of time.”
Xia Xiaozhi interjected, “Did you know we were coming today and prepared all this in advance?”
“I’m not a fortune teller. How could I have known you were coming?” Jiang Fei laughed. “But even if you hadn’t come, I’d still need to eat, right?”
“Do you eat like this every day?” Ye Yuanyuan asked, a hint of envy in her voice.
Though she came from a prestigious family and was used to fine dining, she had never seen anything as extravagant as this—a meal covering all eight cuisines, each dish a delicacy. It was like living the life of an emperor!
“Not every day,” Jiang Fei replied. “These ingredients can last two or three days if stored properly. So, it takes a few days to finish them all.”
“Even so, eating like this every two or three days is still incredibly luxurious!” Xia Xiaozhi complained, her tone tinged with envy.
Xu Jing and Tan Yuan nodded in agreement. Compared to their usual meals at home or school, this was like dining in heaven while they were used to eating in hell!
Lin Moli, however, wasn’t jealous. She was thrilled. As Jiang Fei’s “vampire” boss, she got to enjoy his masterful cooking every day.
Jiang Fei smiled, feeling quite pleased with the envy he had stirred up. After all, if no one envied you, were you even living a good life?
Seeing the women’s eyes glued to the steaming dishes, their mouths practically watering, Jiang Fei decided it was time to stop teasing them. “Alright, stop staring and start eating! The chopsticks are on the table. Do I need to hand them out personally?”
Women, Jiang Fei had noticed, were very different from men when it came to dining.
When men ate together, the more people there were, the faster they ate. It was a race to grab the best bites before they were gone. Men didn’t hold back or feel shy.
Women, on the other hand, became more reserved and polite in groups. They ate slower, more delicately, and were careful not to appear greedy or rude.
For example, if Xia Xiaozhi, Lin Moli, or Ye Yuanyuan were dining alone with Jiang Fei, they wouldn’t hesitate to dig in as soon as the dishes were served. But now, with everyone together, they were all acting shy and polite, waiting for Jiang Fei’s signal to start.
Jiang Fei had always found this aspect of women fascinating—and a bit hypocritical.
At his words, the women finally gave in to the temptation of the feast. They picked up their chopsticks, ready to indulge.
But just as they were about to start, Jiang Fei suddenly said, “Wait a moment!”
Everyone froze, chopsticks in mid-air, and looked at him in confusion.
Jiang Fei turned and walked into the kitchen. A moment later, he returned holding two large bamboo tubes, sealed at both ends and seemingly containing something.
Even Lin Moli, who had spent most of her time with Jiang Fei lately, was puzzled. “Jiang Fei, what’s inside those?”
Jiang Fei didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he placed one bamboo tube on the table and gently twisted open the seal on the other.
Pop!
A light sound followed, and a delicate, sweet aroma of wine filled the air. It wasn’t overpowering, but rather light and refreshing, like a spring breeze or the first buds of a willow tree in early spring.
The scent was intoxicating, evoking images of a young maiden in a flowing dress, dancing gracefully like a wisp of smoke over a southern river.
In an instant, all the women were captivated by the aroma, their senses completely absorbed.
None of them were heavy drinkers, but the fragrance of this wine was irresistible. They all felt an immediate urge to taste it.
“Wine? What kind of wine?” Lin Moli asked eagerly.
Jiang Fei smiled, pleased with their reaction. This was the first time he had brewed wine, and he hadn’t even tasted it himself yet. But judging by their expressions, his skills as a Level 9 Brewing Master were clearly up to par.
Without wine glasses, Jiang Fei poured the wine into small ceramic bowls. As he did, he explained, “This is rice wine I brewed a while ago in Daocun, using glutinous rice grown by the villagers. I estimated it would be ready to drink today, so I brought it out for you to try.”
Brewing was one of Jiang Fei’s many side skills, and as a Level 9 Master, he could brew any type of wine given the right ingredients.
Originally, he had planned to brew grape wine, as he preferred it over other types. But since it wasn’t yet grape season in Jincheng, he had decided to try his hand at rice wine instead.
The idea had come to him during a trip to Jiuzhaigou with Bai Ruoxi during college, where they had tasted rice wine at a local minority family’s home. The memory had stayed with him, and he had wanted to recreate that experience.