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nThe car ran smoothly without any hiccups along the way and finally stopped outside an alley. Ye Zhi got out of the car, with her face covered, and continued to follow Gu Ren as they walked in.

nSeeing Gu Ren stop, Ye Zhi looked up and saw a simple and crude structure.

nIn the small alley, there was a hidden restaurant. From the appearance, it seemed that there was nothing special about it.

nYe Zhi was curious: “Where are we going to eat today?”

nGu Ren uttered four words in a low voice: “Family Li Imperial Cuisine (Restaurant name).”

n(T

/L: Li Caijia is the original name used in raw. After some googling, I found a lot of references but they were all different so I decided to go with a literal translation.)

nFamily Li Imperial Cuisine had the inheritance of the palace cuisines.

nUnlike other restaurants, Family Li Imperial Cuisine didn’t allow their customers to order dishes. They only served dishes as they decided and only to one person a day.

nIn the 1990s, Family Li Imperial Cuisine had reached a price of 1,600 RMB per meal.

nPrice was not the most important factor. More importantly, if you wanted to dine here, you needed to book at least half a year ago in advance.

nNo one would have thought that they would be able to enjoy an imperial dinner in this place.

n(T

/N: I know this feels confusing but it is explained below.)

nThere were very few branches of Family Li Imperial Cuisine. The one in this alleyway was considered to be the most authentic. They only accepted one customer per day with no exception whatsoever.

nThe locations of the other branches were easier to book, but this one only accepted foreign guests and people who were either rich or celebrities.

nYe Zhi walked into a room of only 11 square meters. The earliest Li Family dishes originated from here before its reputation spread far and wide.

nThey sat down and waited for each dish to be served.

nThere were only the two of them in the restaurant and no other customers. Ye Zhi looked at Gu Ren and said, “It seems difficult to book this place.”

nGu Ren glanced at Ye Zhi before answering, “Well, I had to book it a few months ago.”

nThe other members of the Gu family had come here a few times before, but Gu Ren only knew that the Li Family Cuisine here was the most authentic, so he naturally wanted Ye Zhi to taste it.

nWhat Gu Ren didn’t say was that when he made the reservation before, he hadn’t thought that he would come with Ye Zhi.

nNow that there was Ye Zhi in his life, everything seemed to be different from before.

nNot long after they were seated, the dishes were slowly brought out. The freshest ingredients and the most original recipes revealed the splendor of palace dishes.

nBacon, Jadeite Tofu, Pine Tree scallops, braised beef ribs…

nWhile the dishes were being served, Ye Zhi couldn’t help but think about their prices.

nSince this was the most difficult branch to book, it must be much more expensive than the other branches.

nHowever, Ye Zhi soon dropped her line of thinking after a while. She was after all someone who dared to eat lychees worth millions. She wouldn’t feel much when she encountered any price of food.

nAlthough Ye Zhi’s thoughts only lasted for a few seconds, Gu Ren understood that Ye Zhi was thinking about something: “What are you thinking about?”

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