Chapter 425: Chapter 337: This Guy Actually Arrived Even Faster Than Me!

"Check-in proof?"

Raphael’s smile stiffened on his face.

What on earth is that?

Do you really have to stay on the farm to play there?

"Haha, actually, showing your room card is enough. The check-in proof is just the booking record; a lot of guests don’t quite understand this."

The female employee smiled as she led him to the ticket purchase area, which was just a small table next to the farm entrance blocked by a machine half a meter away.

Seeing him approaching, the other two male employees nodded and greeted him with a smile.

"Good morning, sir!"

"Hello..."

Raphael was a bit confused now and instinctively responded. Then he dug into his pockets to confirm that he indeed didn’t have such a thing as a room card on him.

"Sorry, I just came from out of town. May I ask what a room card is?"

"Huh?"

The female employee was also baffled, as it was her first time encountering such a situation. Then she realized that this gentleman had walked in alone from outside.

"Sir, did you drive yourself here?"

"Yes."

"Then the situation might be a bit tricky."

She bowed slightly, apologetically: "The Radison Farm is under the Radison Hotel brand. Currently, all the entertainment projects under the hotel are only open to guests staying at the hotel."

"Whether dining in the restaurant, playing on the farm, or going to the Ocean Fishery, only by showing a room card can you gain access. Otherwise, we currently cannot accommodate you."

"What???!"

Raphael was stunned.

What kind of strange rule is this, that you can’t even pay to play?

"Then I..."

Before he could finish, the female employee signaled him to stop.

"Sorry, sir, due to the upcoming Olympics, it’s the peak tourist season. All hotel rooms were fully booked days ago, and there’s no room for last-minute reservations."

"If you want to try your luck, you can wait until around noon, as that’s the check-out time, and maybe you can snag a room."

"But registering guest room information requires the person to be physically present to do a face scan, so..."

"So I have to run to the hotel front desk and wait?"

Raphael covered his forehead, starting to feel a bit overwhelmed.

If he’d known Radison Hotel had such annoying rules, he should have asked at the front desk about available rooms right after buying a hot dog earlier. If there really weren’t any, he could have just waited there.

Why rush to the farm in the first place!

Driving back now to stay at the front desk until afternoon is clearly unrealistic; he doesn’t have that much time to waste.

And one more thing just hit him — it’s the tourist season, meaning hotel prices have skyrocketed!

Though he’s not short on money, why spend several times more on something that usually costs just over a hundred euros?

He’s not one to be ripped off like those naive tourists!

He decided to drop the act, pulled off his mask, and said, "Actually, I’ve come especially to find Lin; he’s my assistant chef, and I’m the head chef."

"?"

The female employee’s smile froze, a hint of impatience flashing in her eyes, while the two men gave him a disdainful glance before turning their heads away.

"It’s true!"

Raphael knew that just speaking wouldn’t convince them, so he immediately took out his phone, found a photo, and handed it over.

In the photo, employees in the same chef uniform are gathered for a picture, with Lin Chen standing next to him. The background is the restaurant they work at.

God’s Kiss.

"???"

The woman, unbelieving, widened her eyes and held the phone up next to his face for comparison several times.

"I’m sorry, sir, please forgive my previous rudeness!"

"No worries, no worries. Now you believe I know Lin, right?"

"Yes, yes, so would you like me to inform Mr. Lin for you?"

Relieved, Raphael quickly waved his hand, saying, "I came here unannounced to surprise him. If possible, could your manager come over to talk to me?"

"Certainly, may I have your name?"

"Raphael."

"Please wait a moment."

A moment later, a confused John was brought over.

"Wait! Hey, I told you to wait! Don’t pull me... Hello, sir!"

Before he could react, he was already pushed in front of Raphael, forcing him to put on a smile.

"How can I help you?"

Raphael was stunned for a moment, then repeated what he had just said.

"Lin’s superior??"

John was also baffled, never expecting such a person to appear out of nowhere.

As the manager, he couldn’t just believe someone’s words so easily.

After seeing the group photo, he searched for information about the Amiens God’s Kiss Restaurant and finally confirmed that the person in front of him was indeed the current operator of the restaurant, and a partner of Chef Magna.

Judging solely from experience, this person’s level is not much different from that Sakura Chef inside, both comparable to Michelin-level head chefs.

But the problem is...

Why did both of them travel all this way to find Lin?

Is Lin really that impressive?

In almost an instant, Lin Chen’s status in his mind was elevated by another level, already comparable to Chef Marchello.

"Alright, Mr. Raphael, come with me. Shall we exchange contact information so you can inform me in advance next time? By the way, would you like to take a look at the ingredients we have here? We also operate as wholesalers."

"Oh?" Raphael raised an eyebrow, a look of interest gleaming in his eyes. "I was planning to tour your farm anyway. This works out perfectly!"

Raphael put his mask back on and followed John out of the cabin, immediately spotting the red food truck at the forefront of the crowd.

Inside the window, two familiar figures were busy working continuously.

Wait!

Two figures??

A closer look revealed that the person beside Lin Chen was none other than Nagishiro Sho!

"Damn it!"

Raphael’s eyes widened in disbelief.

This guy actually got here earlier than me?!

How is that possible!

"Hmm?"

Lin Chen was mechanically squeezing meatballs when his keen senses suddenly detected a pair of eyes intently on him. He found it somewhat strange and instinctively looked up, scanning through the crowd.

This group of tourists had only been there for a few minutes, a total of about twenty people, so it took just a second or two to look over them.

Upon seeing, he was left speechless.

Nicole was waving at him with a big smile!

"You got here quite quickly."

He helplessly complained in his heart, quickly dropping his head to avoid any misunderstanding that he was interested in her.

It was the first time in his life that a girl had shown affection for him, leaving him with a strange feeling that he couldn’t clearly describe.

He felt a little flattered but also a bit troubled, fearing she’d keep bothering him and disrupt his work.

Luckily, she rarely disturbed him, hardly ever messaging him, and the call she made was her first, just to ask where he was setting up shop.

For that reason, he couldn’t get mad, just had to endure it.

Nagishiro Sho, with over twenty years in the industry, mastered the skill of forming meatballs by hand. After practicing for about half an hour, his speed matched Lin Chen’s, even squeezing perfectly round meatballs without needing to look.

He also noticed Nicole waving in their direction and, seeing Lin Chen deliberately lowering his head, asked in a low, amused voice.

"Your girlfriend?"

"Don’t joke around! Just a regular customer, customer!"

"Oh~~~" he elongated the sound, his smile growing wider, "I see, a pursuer, huh?"

"Youth is wonderful, isn’t it~"

"...If you want to learn other dishes, I suggest you keep your mouth shut, thank you."

"Hai, hai~"

Nagishiro Sho didn’t take it too seriously, knowing the guy was shy and reminiscent of himself back in the day.

Most Asian men tend to be reserved and shy, never having experienced being courted by the opposite sex, so it’s normal not to know how to handle it.

He didn’t tease Lin Chen any further, just quietly continued shaping meatballs, curious if any amusing developments would unfold.

Soon, three pots of meatballs were ready at the same time.

Whether it was those who hadn’t had enough earlier or the new arrivals who hadn’t yet tasted them, seeing hot, steaming meatballs being served from the window, they couldn’t resist surging forward.

"Please give me six of each, thank you!"

"I want five shrimp ones, and three of each of the other two flavors."

"The two of us together, please give us ten of each!!"

"Don’t rush, everyone, please don’t rush. Let’s go one by one."

Dais and Elsa hurriedly soothed the crowd while quickly packing for them.

For those buying in large quantities, paper cups wouldn’t do, so they used plastic meal boxes instead.

Tourists carrying full boxes of three-colored meatballs walked away happily, nodding as they ate.

"Not bad, it tastes really good!"

"I never knew handmade shrimp meatballs had this texture. It’s fantastic! Why don’t other restaurants sell them?"

"Who said Great Xia Cuisine is all oily and heavy? I need to record a video, so next time someone talks nonsense, I’ll show it to them to make them shut up! Light dishes can also taste amazing, you know!"

"These pork meatballs are so tender, oh my god, unbelievable! I wonder how good they’d be with tomato sauce—they’d surely become a popular hit!"

"The meatball soup is really delicious. Can I get a refill?"

Standing at the back, Raphael kept his head down, listening to the reactions of the surrounding diners, while also glancing into the boxes in their hands, curious about what these handmade meatballs looked like.

Leaving aside the cuttlefish and shrimp balls, he thought the pork and mushroom meatballs would be similar to ordinary ones, but just by appearance, he could tell they were entirely different.

Ordinary pork meatballs are dark, mostly brown, first fried, then roasted, and finally boiled, giving them a hard, chewy texture.

The pork meatballs Lin Chen made were a pale white, with visible chunks of fat and mushroom mixed in, and they were simply boiled in water without any frying or roasting steps.

Yes, water, not broth.

Could they taste good this way?

Seeing the surprised yet delighted expressions around him, Raphael swallowed, growing more eager to taste the meatballs.