I Have a Penglai Immortal Island

Da Linzi quickly understood but didn't think it was a big deal: "It's even better that we all know each other, we’re all friends here, let’s eat! Today we have a great chef with a secret family recipe. This pork knuckle was made by him. We even took the fans to watch him cook earlier. It's so tempting."

Hu Tao wasted no time and went straight for the pork knuckle.

【The onlookers have figured it out. Hu Tao skipped work and ran into his boss, light a candle for him.】

【This is hilarious. Even with this, he didn’t miss a meal. Look at him eat; anyone watching would be annoyed!】

【So he said he was going back to his hometown in the northwest but ended up vacationing on a small island and crashing his boss's table?】

【Hu Tao has given up. Just look at the way he’s eating. If he still wanted to keep his job, he should at least feel a little guilty.】

【Dang, those shrimp are huge!】

【When's the next banquet? I have to attend one!!!】

Sitting with his middle school classmates at another table, Xiong Chun was in a state of shock, unable to focus. Just look at Da Linzi, he seemed like a completely different person. He had met him in Changshan before, and he was embarrassed to tell his girlfriend that was his cousin. But now? Given Zhao Zhao’s wealth, those jeans Da Linzi was wearing were probably authentic. Zhao Zhao had always been generous to Da Linzi. The prominent logo on his pocket was definitely worth over ten thousand yuan. Earlier, Da Linzi had even come over to entertain him, saying he was streaming live to tens of thousands of viewers...

He wanted to go home and tell his mom right away.

Jiang Jianzhou and his friends finished eating and strolled back to the inn, very satisfied with the meal. It was different from both restaurant and home-cooked food, and the chubby guy was once again stuffed.

This time, they had time to properly check out the aquarium wall outside.

What a grand design.

Jiang Jianzhou opened an image recognition app on his phone and took a picture of the white dragon fish, wanting to know its name, but the result came back with no information.

“Do you know what kind of fish this is?” When the app didn’t know, he asked his friends.

The two remaining ones were also clueless, so they asked some nearby tourists taking pictures. The tourists explained: “I just found out myself. An old man mentioned it just now. It's called a white dragon fish, but I’m not sure which species of dragonfish.”

All three of them had booked rooms on the second floor. The named suites were grayed out and unavailable, possibly because they were already booked or still under renovation. Just the second floor and the courtyard alone made them feel it was worth the price.

They had stayed in many expensive hotels, some costing several times more than this, but none were as novel.

They had never seen such fish or plants, and the rooms were exquisitely designed with evident quality materials. Most importantly, the bed was incredibly comfortable!

The next morning, Jiang Jianzhou sat on the bed and took a deep breath, feeling refreshed. Last night’s sleep was of exceptionally high quality.

The banquet had ended yesterday afternoon, so they didn’t eat dinner. For the first time ever, they ate at street stalls, and it was surprisingly good.

Normally, Jiang Jianzhou didn’t have breakfast due to a lack of appetite. He usually had his assistant bring him a coffee at the office. Today, however, he felt ravenous and thought he could eat two bowls of rice.

He quickly dragged the other two to the dining area. There was a corridor connecting directly to it from the first floor. The dining area was open-style, and the breakfast buffet was already set up. Xia Yang came over to inform them that since they were the only guests, the breakfast variety was limited and that they could request anything else they needed.

This morning’s offerings were white rice porridge, seafood scallion pancakes, pumpkin buns, and two cold dishes. The aroma of the scallion pancakes reminded Jiang Jianzhou of the roomful of scallions next door. He had a feeling they would be eating scallions again tomorrow...

“This is enough. But what does that sign mean? White dragon fish 2000 yuan per jin? Is it extra?”

Xia Yang explained, “Yes, we only provide breakfast, but for lunch and dinner, you can order the white dragon fish at an additional cost. Just pre-order and pay by weight. You can even pick the fish from the ones swimming outside. The boss said since we have fewer guests now, people can try something special. There's a limited quantity, so we can’t provide too many.”

Upon hearing this, the three of them quickly requested a large one to try.

Qin Yunmei was delighted to hear that someone ordered white dragonfish. Zhao Zhao had told her that during the trial run, any orders for white dragonfish would be charged separately, not included in the breakfast. She would earn an extra hundred yuan for each fish she prepared.

Xia Yang personally used a ladder to catch a big one. A tourist taking photos outside asked, “Why are you catching it?”

Xia Yang replied, “A guest ordered it to eat.”

The tourist responded, “Wait... so this fish is edible? I thought it was a precious ornamental fish. How much is it?”

Xia Yang replied, “2000 yuan per jin (500 grams).”

The tourist, shocked, said, “... Goodbye.” That would be around eight or nine thousand yuan for one fish.

A while later, Qin Yunmei, wearing a white chef's uniform, pushed a cart over to the three guests who were having breakfast. “Customers, is this fish okay? It weighs four jin and eight liang (around 2.4 kg).” The fish was placed on a scale on the cart.

The fat man responded, “It's fine. What's the best way to cook this fish? By the way, if this fish is edible, do you sell them alive? I have an aquarium at home.”

Qin Yunmei shook her head, “I wouldn't know about that; I'm just the chef in charge of cooking the fish. You can ask the manager about that. As for cooking, any method works well with this fish. Our boss recommends steaming it the first time to enjoy its freshest flavor. This fish is very nutritious.”

The three wealthy guests finished all the seafood scallion pancakes and eagerly returned at noon to look forward to the white dragonfish.

Qin Yunmei served the dishes herself. “Steamed white dragonfish, and this is dragonfish cartilage jelly. Rice is complimentary.”

The idea for the dragonfish cartilage jelly was Qin Yunmei’s. Zhao Zhao named the dish. Da Linzi would often bring home this fish, and Qin Yunmei found that its cartilage was highly nutritious. After experimenting with different preparations, she discovered that boiling it for half an hour and then refrigerating it resulted in a snow-white jelly within an hour.

Qin Yunmei mastered the cooking process. The steamed white dragonfish was beyond delicious. The three guests were amazed. The fish was incredibly fresh without any seasoning, just naturally flavorful! The four-jin, eight-liang fish was devoured, leaving only the bones. The cartilage jelly was also completely finished, except for the sauce.

These three guests, who usually didn't eat fish heads, even ate those clean. The fat man finally picked up the large fish bone with his chopsticks, “Are you sure this bone can't be eaten?” No one laughed at him for it.

Apart from these three, there were no other diners in the dining area. Wang Mingyang, not caring about his image, patted his stomach, “That meal was worth the 10,000 yuan. Let's order another fish for dinner. My treat.”

Jiang Jianzhao added, “Sure, let's have grilled fish for dinner.”

The fat man said, “I don't want to leave the dining area. I wonder how many fish they have. Can't be just the ones swimming outside, right? I declare, I won’t leave until I've had my fill!”

Zhao Zhao also had white dragonfish for lunch today. She and Da Linzi shared red wine beef brisket and scallion braised white dragonfish... They had plenty of dishes, especially scallions.

From the pile of bowls and plates received yesterday, Zhao Zhao picked a few simple ones to keep. She kept two bunches of scallions and some vermicelli, leaving the rest for Da Linzi to take home. The surplus of bowls could start a dish rental service for banquet use.

She followed a recipe for scallion braised fish she found online. It turned out surprisingly well, thanks to the high quality of the white dragonfish.

When Xiong Jin arrived, they hadn't finished eating. Zhao Zhao got up and poured him a glass of red wine.

“Try this red wine, Jin Ge. I made it myself. Friends brought us wine glasses yesterday, so we're trying it out today. Before moving, I drank it from water glasses.” Xiong Qin took a few sips and praised her skills. Zhao Zhao noticed he had something to say and led him to the tea room to sit.

Xiong Jin expressed his wish to find a job with his cousin, as he felt his current job had no future and he earned the lowest income among his family of four.

Zhao Zhao thought seriously about what Xiong Jin could do. Although she didn't currently need more staff, she was willing to take him in out of consideration for Da Linzi and Xiong Haitao.

She said, “Jin Ge, I thought about it seriously. You could either get a ship captain's license, as I'll need to buy more boats for the fishery. I haven't decided on the size yet and will decide after my trip north. If you like, you can learn to operate large vessels, but you must love this work; otherwise, it will be tedious. The second option is to assist Xia Yang at the guesthouse. Other than cleaning and cooking, she handles everything. You could train under her. Fishing isn't your thing since you haven't done it since childhood.”

Xiong Jin had already considered his options and found these suggestions practical. “I'll assist at the guesthouse. I'll resign from my current job on Monday.” He was determined as he genuinely disliked the idea of going out to sea or learning to operate large ships. The guesthouse had a high standard and attracted distinguished guests, making it his best choice.

“Alright, but keep in mind Xia Yang’s salary is 5000 yuan. As her assistant, you can't earn more than her. I'll start you at 4500 yuan per month,” Zhao Zhao clarified, as this salary was much lower than Da Linzi’s.

“That's fine,” he agreed. It was still over a thousand yuan more than his current pay.

“Then it's settled. Learn well from Xia Yang, and as business improves, your salary will increase.”