54: Chapter 54 Zhilan

Su Ye's deep eyes gradually became unfocused; he was deep in thought.

"Chen Ze isn't just about completing a task; more importantly, it's about Chen Ze's connections. In this place, the Xia Kingdom, there seemingly aren't any classes, but the hidden class barriers are even more rigid. And Chen Ze is the ladder for me to break through to the upper class."

Su Ye couldn't help but think of a piece of financial news from the Xia Kingdom he had seen earlier. According to the news report, there were only a little over a thousand private enterprises in the Xia Kingdom with assets exceeding ten billion, and over 60% of them were located in the four major economic centers: The Capital, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

With thirty-four provincial-level administrative regions in the Xia Kingdom, excluding these few, there were still thirty left. Distributing the four hundred or so ten-billion-yuan private enterprises across each province meant only about ten per province. They were the true economic pillars of the Xia Kingdom and the true upper-class people of the Xia Kingdom. Without an introduction, Su Ye would have to wait until his own net worth reached ten billion before he could step into that circle.

As the heir to a ten-billion-yuan group, with family assets also exceeding ten billion, Chen Ze was undoubtedly a member of this upper class and was fully qualified to bring Su Ye in, granting Su Ye the ticket to enter the Xia Kingdom's upper-class circle.

Su Ye had only seen Chen Ze from afar a few times before and didn't even have the qualifications to greet him, so naturally, there had been no contact. However, the damn system required contact and a strong impression to be left before it would issue tasks.

Su Ye was not at all panicked by this situation because he had his brother, Cao Ye. As one of the true high-level executives at Chaoyang Group, although Cao Ye hadn't entered the board of directors, he was certainly very familiar with Chen Ze. With Cao Ye acting as a go-between, getting to know him would be no problem at all.

Moreover, since Chen Ze was currently wrestling for power with his father, if a high-level executive from his father's side took the initiative to meet him, Su Ye believed Chen Ze would definitely give him this face.

Thinking of this, Su Ye sent a message to Cao Ye, arranging to have dinner together tonight.

Time quickly reached eight in the evening. Su Ye let out a long sigh, feeling a bit doubtful about life. He had been playing for an entire afternoon and the evacuation rate at Niujiaozhou was less than 30%—could you believe it?

Looking at the less than one million Hav Coins left in his warehouse, Su Ye familiarly opened the club he often visited, ordered a "black slave" for one hundred million Hav Coins, and then prepared to get up and head to the place for dinner tonight.

Zhilan Restaurant, a restaurant whose reputation had not spread among the lower and middle classes, was founded in 2010 by the culinary master Yu Zhilan, located at No. 1, Changjie, Qingyang District. It was the first two-star Michelin restaurant in Chengdu, and it was rated as a two-star restaurant in the Chengdu Michelin Guide in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Normally, dining at Zhilan Restaurant required booking more than three months in advance, but since Su Ye was a private banking VIP client of China Merchants Bank, he basically didn't have to wait in line at most places that required it, and he managed to secure a private room.

Su Ye parked his car and followed the navigation to walk into the small alley. There was no obvious sign; there were only lifelike stone carved door piers and wooden doors decorated with auspicious beast door knockers.

The doorman saw Su Ye walking straight towards him and quickly stepped forward to confirm the reservation. After confirming, he ushered Su Ye inside with a polite smile on his face.

What met Su Ye's eyes was not the slightest bit of luxury or gaudy, golden decoration. Instead, stepping inside felt like walking into a home carefully tended by an elder. White glazed plum vases and thriving orchids were displayed on a half-moon-shaped table. The living room was arranged in an orderly fashion, with carved lattice windows and courtyard landscapes appearing one after another, full of the freehand beauty of a Chinese-style residence and the cozy atmosphere of home.

Manifesting the extraordinary in the ordinary, revealing depth in the details—this was true Chinese aesthetics.

The receptionist continued to introduce: "Mr. Su, our cooking philosophy at Zhilan Restaurant is to define flavor with soup, define the standard with ingredients, and define the essence with garnishes. By combining the traditional 24 flavor profiles of Sichuan cuisine, we interpret our own culinary philosophy, focusing on the balance between the flavor of the ingredients and the flavor of the seasonings—'one flavor adds another, one flavor reduces another, one flavor harmonizes with another.'"

"As a representative of high-end Sichuan cuisine, Zhilan Restaurant adheres to the essence of Sichuan cuisine: 'one dish, one style; one hundred dishes, one hundred flavors.' However, it is not the traditional Sichuan cuisine that is heavy on oil, salt, and spiciness. Our signature dishes include the original flavor supreme dried abalone, original shrimp jelly, and sturgeon caviar, as well as pole-kneaded golden thread noodles, sea cucumber hot and sour noodles, shrimp roe yellow croaker lion's head meatballs, and so on."

Finally, the receptionist led Su Ye into the Caibo Jujin Room. A waitress wearing a cheongsam, radiating a smile as gentle as a spring breeze, helped Su Ye set the tableware and asked: "Mr. Su, would you like to order now or in a while?"

Su Ye thought for a moment and said: "Since this is my first time here, I don't know what you have. Just serve according to your standards, and max out the budget."

The waitress bowed slightly and said: "Very well, Mr. Su. The budget for our top-tier set menu is 5,000 yuan per person, excluding drinks and service fees."

At this moment, the phone in Su Ye's pocket rang. Su Ye nodded and then waved for the waitress to leave.

As soon as he answered, he heard Jiang Bai's energetic voice. Su Ye didn't know if Jiang Bai was like this only when facing him or if she was always like this, but every time he saw her, he felt a sense of exuberant energy radiating from her.

"Hey, Su Ye, where are you right now?"

Jiang Bai was on the phone with Su Ye while looking helplessly at the supervisor beside her.

"I'm out having dinner with a brother. Do you want to come over?"

Su Ye couldn't clearly define what kind of feelings he had for Jiang Bai right now, but ever since Jiang Bai made him hangover soup, breakfast, and took care of him while he was passed out last time, Su Ye had developed an indescribable affection for Jiang Bai.

Jiang Bai heard that Su Ye was out eating and didn't want to disturb him, but a ruthless little hand had slowly crawled onto her waist. Seeing Liu Xueer's threatening little gaze, she could only ask helplessly: "It won't disturb you, will it?"

Su Ye's gentle voice came through the phone: "It won't. Just come over; I'll send you the location."

To put it plainly, today was just about having Cao Ye help him bridge the connection to get to know Chen Ze later. It was a small matter that could be finished in a few words, and given his relationship with Cao Ye, there was no need for the usual maneuvering found at normal drinking parties.

He casually sent the location, then called Gu Qingyan to ask about the company's audit situation. After confirming that it should be finished by Monday if nothing unexpected happened, he finally opened Douyin, intending to cleanse his soul.

Meanwhile, at Chengdu East Railway Station, Jiang Bai looked helplessly at her best friend and said: "Su Ye just said he was out having dinner with a brother. Why do you insist on making me go?"

Liu Xueer raised her little head, looking as if you didn't understand: "As the saying goes, follow a good person to learn to be good; follow Guan Gong to learn to dance. You can tell what kind of person Su Ye is from his friends, and you can also see what kind of strength Su Ye has from where he eats. Just learn from it."

Jiang Bai remembered the group of government leaders Su Ye had taken her to eat with before. She wanted to say something but stopped herself.

"Sigh, forget it. Let Xueer see for herself."