The distance from the airport to the chef’s Association office where Zhou Shijie was located was about one hour and fifteen minutes.
At this time, Fujiwara Jiayuan’s phone call came.
As there was an hour difference between Japan and Huaxia, when it was 12:00 in Japan, it was 11:00 in Huaxia. At this time, Zhou Shijie naturally had not gotten off work.
Therefore, when Zhong Lili, who was outside the door, answered the phone, Zhou Shijie directly picked up the phone and started to chat with Fujiwara Jiayuan.
Tengyuan Jiayuan suppressed his anxiety. After exchanging conventional greetings with Zhou Shijie for a while, he said,””I heard that Mr. Yuan is going to hold a personal cooking exhibition soon. I wonder if you know anything about it?”
“Yes, it’ll officially start in two days.” Zhou Shijie was startled and had a bad premonition.
“In that case, does Lord Zhou intend to invite me?” Fujiwara Jiayuan didn’t beat around the bush this time, but asked directly.
“This… Mr. Fujiwara, you have always attended state banquets. This is only Yuan Zhou’s first personal cooking exhibition. He isn’t planning to hold it grandly.” Zhou Shijie said tactfully.
That’s right. Zhou Shijie’s meaning was very clear. He didn’t intend to send an invitation to Fujiwara Jiayuan. That was why he gave such an excuse.
“No, no, no. This is your narrow-mindedness, Lord Zhou. With your excellent cooking skills, it is only natural for you to have a grand banquet. And your cooking skills are completely compatible with the state banquet.” Tengyuan Jiayuan said seriously.
“That’s true. Yuan Zhou’s culinary skills are naturally not inferior to those at the state banquet. But this time, it’s really…” Zhou Shijie was both proud of Yuan Zhou’s culinary skills and also a little vexed.
Zhou Shijie naturally understood what fujiyuan Jiayuan meant. However, he really didn’t have any extra invitation cards for the time being.
But this time, before Zhou Shijie could finish his words, he was interrupted by Fujiwara Jiayuan. He said directly,”Zhou Jun, don’t you plan to invite me?”
“Well, the cooking exhibition is about to start. I’m afraid that you don’t have time, Mr. Fujiwara.” Zhou Shijie had never lacked the hypocrisy of an adult, so he said that tactfully.
Tengyuan Jiayuan naturally understood Zhou Shijie’s repeated rejection. If it was any other time, tengyuan Jiayuan would have directly hung up the phone and not say anything.
What a joke. With his identity, it was already good enough for him to ask for the invitation letter personally. How could he be refused several times like this? however, when he thought of the amazing knife move of Yuan Zhou at the exchange meeting between China and Japan, he held back.
He wanted to see how much this young man had grown in the past year. He wanted to taste the delicious food that had been brought to its peak.
“If that’s the case, I’ll wait for your invitation.” Tengyuan Jiayuan took a deep breath and immediately hung up the phone.
“What… What the hell is this?” Looking at the phone that was hung up, Zhou Shijie felt both angry and amused.
“This old man has become so shameless.” Zhou Shijie scolded Yuan Zhou with a smile. At the same time, he felt happy for Yuan Zhou in his heart.
After laughing, Zhou Shijie was in a dilemma again. He began to think about where the invitation letter from tengyuan Jiayuan came from.
Although Zhou Shijie had refused Yuan Zhou’s offer on the surface, he still invited Fujiwara Jiayuan to come here. It was impossible for him to refuse such a good reputation.
Fujiwara Jiayuan’s status was very high, and he was very well-known. His title as the Japanese who knew the most about Chinese cuisine was also recognized by the International chef’s Association.
How could Zhou Shijie not allow such a person to come personally to ask for the invitation letter and strongly request to attend the banquet? however, he was now worried about where to find the invitation letter.
Zhou Shijie sat behind his desk and thought about it seriously. However, although this matter was urgent, there were still other work matters regarding the cooking exhibition that needed Zhou Shijie’s approval. He had to think of a solution while working.
After all, in his opinion, he just needed to give Fujiwara Jiayuan a definite answer before today. Japan’s Chengdu was a four-hour flight and was not far.
However, he didn’t expect that Fujiwara Jiayuan was so impatient. In less than 20 minutes, he called again. This time, he didn’t mention the invitation, but asked about the temperature in Chengdu.
He said that he wanted to have an exchange with Zhou Shijie about a new Chinese dish that Zhou Shijie had recently developed.
It was obvious that the drunkard had ulterior motives and was urging him to give the invitation.
After Zhou Shijie hung up the phone, he felt even more helpless. However, it wasn’t over yet. At 12 am, when Zhou Shijie was about to get off work and have lunch, Fujiwara Jiayuan called him again.
This time, Fujiwara Jiayuan didn’t say anything else. He began to talk about the diplomatic relations between China and Japan and the friendship between them.
One after another, Zhou Shijie was being blamed. In other words, he, Fujiwara Jiayuan, was willing to make his own contribution to the friendship between China and Japan.
Fujiwara Jiayuan’s attitude was so humble that Zhou Shijie even said straightforwardly,””Then, should I send the invitation to you by air, Mr. Fujiwara, or do you want me to send it to you when you arrive in China?”
“Don’t bother Zhou Jun. I’ll be flying in the afternoon. I can come and get it.” Tengyuan Jiayuan immediately said.
“Alright, I look forward to your arrival, Mr. Fujiwara.” Zhou Shijie said courteously.
“See you tonight.” After he finished speaking, tengyuan Jiayuan hung up the phone in satisfaction and went straight downstairs to leave.
“Sigh, Li Minghui has already finished his apprenticeship for so long. It seems that he won’t be able to make it this time. We can only do it next time.” Zhou Shijie took out the invitation card he prepared for Li Minghui from the drawer and sighed.
That’s right. Zhou Shijie had been urged by Fujiwara Jiayuan to send out the invitation card of his eldest disciple, Li Minghui.
“I don’t think Ming Hui would mind.” Zhou Shijie decisively wrote the name of Fujiwara Jiayuan on the blank invitation card and then put it aside.
The two invitation cards in Zhou Shijie’s drawer were for his apprentices. He was planning to let them watch him write them and give them some preferential treatment. But now, it was obvious that only Liu Tong could enjoy it.
Li Minghui, who was supposed to come to get the invitation card tonight, didn’t know anything.
However, the principle that fortune never came in pairs and misfortune never came alone applied everywhere.
At 1:30 A. M., Chu Xiao and August arrived at the building of the chef’s Association. This time, Zhou Shijie came down personally to pick them up.
It was August’s first time at the chef’s Association. With his status, he was on par with Zhou Shijie. Or rather, he was more famous overseas.
As soon as they arrived at the office, Chu Xiao said directly without waiting for August to speak,””I’ve brought her here. You can discuss the rest among yourselves. I still have things to do, so I’ll be leaving first. “
He also said the same thing to Auguste and then left directly.
As soon as Chu Xiao left, Zhong Lili became the translator. She spoke French quite well.
August expressed his desire to attend Yuan Zhou’s personal cooking exhibition fluently. Then, Zhou Shijie naturally thought of the invitation card in the drawer that originally belonged to his favorite little disciple, Liu Tong.
Naturally, Liu Tong’s invitation was also lost.
“Master did his best.” Zhou Shijie looked at August, who was holding the invitation card, and thought to himself.
……