CHAPTER 328: CHAPTER 328 WHAT IS THE SENSE OF SECURITY? THIS IS THE SENSE OF SECURITY!

The five of them put down their luggage and gathered in the restaurant to receive their new task. The production crew handed Huang Xiaoming a card, tasking him, as the manager, to announce the mission requirements. The others were all ears. Huang Xiaoming looked at the text on the card, his brows furrowing tighter the more he read. Wang Junkai and Zhao Liying, having glanced at the card’s contents earlier, both wore expressions of utter despair. Jiang Feng and Yeang Zi, on the other hand, were somewhat expectant.

Huang Xiaoming then said,

"Next, you will be living here for twenty-one days.

"What’s different from previous seasons is that this season of ’Chinese Restaurant’ will face a significant challenge.

"Your startup capital is..."

At this point, Huang Xiaoming paused, prompting everyone to guess the amount. Jiang Feng was also quite curious. Yeang Zi guessed 500 and then 1,000, but Huang Xiaoming said helplessly,

"The startup capital is zero."

"Zero?"

Everyone was flabbergasted.

Zero startup capital for a restaurant?

Were they kidding?

Of course, it wasn’t that they had *absolutely* nothing—they just had no money.

Huang Xiaoming continued reading, "We have prepared a small amount of supplies and local ingredients for you. You will need to adapt to local conditions and start from scratch.

"Of course, you will also receive a daily subsidy for purchasing supplies, but it won’t be substantial."

Yeang Zi and Wang Junkai exchanged wry smiles, tinged with resignation. Jiang Feng, however, didn’t seem to mind at all.

The kitchen table was laden with supplies, including various condiments, several baskets of eggs, some string beans, zucchinis, spring onions, and more; it was quite full. They weren’t short on condiments; what they lacked were main ingredients. Jiang Feng had brought some ingredients himself, but to run the restaurant, it certainly wouldn’t be enough.

After Huang Xiaoming announced the task, everyone began to discuss it animatedly.

The production team’s strategy was clear: use the items everyone brought, along with what was prepared in the restaurant, to go out and barter for needed supplies. Of course, the production team would often provide a backstop.

Once they had agreed on an approach, Huang Xiaoming said, "Let’s gather everything useful from the restaurant, along with the gifts everyone brought, and then go out and exchange them for supplies.

"Let’s exchange as much as we can on the first day.

"All the yogurt can be taken too. Each bottle, even if we value it cheaply, could still fetch a few yuan."

This was also an advertisement the production team was doing for their sponsors; after all, Mango TV’s variety shows received a hefty sum from "Pure Yogurt."

Jiang Feng then said, "When we came up earlier, I noticed many fishing boats docked below.

"If we can communicate with the fishermen, we might be able to rent a small fishing boat and go fishing in the sea.

"The weather is quite good today. Catching some sea fish could solve a lot of our ingredient issues."

Hearing Jiang Feng’s words, everyone turned to look at him.

"But... none of us know how to fish," Yeang Zi said, voicing a critical concern.

Jiang Feng chuckled and said, "I know a bit. Back when I had a restaurant in Hangzhou, I knew a friend who rented out a reservoir. I went fishing there and also learned to net fish with him, so I’m reasonably skilled at it."

Hearing Jiang Feng say this, everyone’s eyes lit up. They knew how tough it was to solve the ingredient problem.

The production team’s suggested approach was bartering: going to places like other restaurants or to local residents and exchanging small trinkets for the supplies they needed. When they arrived, they had brought many distinctive gifts from China, such as porcelain, embroidery, and silk. Though rather troublesome, this was a standard part of the show’s format. Jiang Feng, however, had proposed a new solution, one that even the production team hadn’t considered.

"We can give it a try," Huang Xiaoming made the call. "Let’s split into two groups.

"Chef Jiang will lead a team to fish, and I’ll lead a team to barter for goods.

"Who wants to go with whom?"

"I want to go fishing!" Zhao Liying exclaimed, raising her hand, a hint of excitement in her voice.

"Alright, then Yeang Zi, Wang Junkai, and I will go barter. Sister Ying, you go fishing with Chef Jiang," Huang Xiaoming arranged.

Yeang Zi and Wang Junkai exchanged smiles; they also wanted to go fishing, but it wasn’t an option for them.

Next, the group gathered in the restaurant, confirming both the menu and the items they had brought. They had many suitcases, some filled entirely with ingredients. Jiang Feng, for instance, had brought mostly grains, including regular rice, pearl barley, glutinous rice, and so on. As the saying goes, "Even a clever housewife cannot cook without rice." As a chef, he understood perfectly what was essential to bring when opening a restaurant. Vegetables could be bought locally, but if there was no rice, they’d truly be stuck. Different places have different staple foods; for example, an island like this likely couldn’t cultivate rice.

Hearing Jiang Feng’s explanation, the others couldn’t help but marvel.

"Your suitcases are all full of rice? No wonder they were so heavy!" Zhao Liying exclaimed.

"I couldn’t really think of what else to bring, so I just brought rice," Jiang Feng said.

"Oh, right, I also brought a bag of white flour.

"It’s in that big suitcase of mine," he added.

Hearing this, everyone’s faces were filled with admiration.

What is a sense of security? *This* is a sense of security!

With Jiang Feng simply present, everyone felt the pressure of opening the restaurant vanish without a trace. With him taking charge, everything suddenly seemed simpler. After all, most of them had brought more gifts than actual food ingredients.

This scene was captured by multiple cameras. When it was later edited into the show, viewers would surely watch it with a knowing smile. Undoubtedly, Jiang Feng’s popularity would soar even higher by then.

"Alright, let’s get our things ready now," Huang Xiaoming announced.

Once the menu was confirmed, everyone got busy.

The production team provided vehicles free of charge, which they could use as they pleased. Of course, this was another instance of product placement: a car brand supplied the vehicles for free, showcasing their lavish generosity.

"We’ll go to the fishing boats and ask. If we can go, we’ll head over. If not, we’ll contact you and help with the bartering," Jiang Feng said to Huang Xiaoming.

"No problem," Huang Xiaoming replied.

"Let’s go!"

The five of them split into two groups and headed out with great momentum. Two SUVs set off simultaneously, and the camera crew’s vehicle followed suit.

Zhao Liying sat in the passenger seat; she seemed very relaxed and had a good impression of Jiang Feng. Although young, he came across as mature and dependable, with a good character too.

"Chef, are you confident?" Zhao Liying asked with a smile.

"I’ll do my best. I saw some fishermen on their boats, so we should be able to rent one," Jiang Feng replied, driving as he spoke. "But we don’t have any startup funds, so we’re relying entirely on this bucket of oil and these two cases of yogurt we brought."

Several cameras were positioned in the car, clearly capturing the two of them. The director’s team had realized that Jiang Feng had excellent instincts for variety shows. The original plan was for the guests to barter at the market, but if they could go fishing, that would undoubtedly be even better content. This kind of slow-paced variety show needed more relatable, down-to-earth segments.

Soon, Jiang Feng drove to the area where the fishing boats were docked. The production team’s vehicle followed.

With them were three follow-cam photographers and a planner from the production team. The production staff wouldn’t interfere with Jiang Feng’s activities, but if any problems arose, they would step in to provide support and help coordinate. After all, they were filming a show and couldn’t let the challenges become too excessive.

Jiang Feng saw a fisherman sitting on a fishing boat and immediately walked over to speak with him in English.

"Hello, we’re filming a show. Here’s the situation: I’d like to rent a fishing boat to go over there," he said, pointing towards the bay, "for about an hour.

"If that’s possible, I’m willing to offer a set of Chinese porcelain as payment."

Zhao Liying watched from the side. Seeing Jiang Feng fluently converse with the man in a foreign language, her expression filled with admiration. The photographers captured this scene, finding it quite remarkable. After all, none of them had known much about Jiang Feng before this. They only knew his culinary skills were exceptional and that he was a famous chef online. Now, interacting with him up close, they found Jiang Feng to be gentle and seemingly knowledgeable about many things. He was clearly more than just a simple chef.

The fisherman, a middle-aged man, stared at Jiang Feng with a bewildered expression and then said in Italian, "Sorry, I don’t understand what you’re saying."

Only then did Jiang Feng realize the man didn’t understand English, so he repeated his request in Italian. This time, the fisherman understood.

An interpreter from the production team was also standing nearby, responsible for helping them communicate with local residents. Little did they know, Jiang Feng wouldn’t need an interpreter at all.

Interpreter: So, should I make myself scarce then?

Zhao Liying watched, completely stunned.

Wow, Jiang Feng is *this* talented? Isn’t he supposed to be just a chef? How come he even knows Italian? What in the world is going on?

After Jiang Feng communicated with him for a bit, the man readily agreed. This area was a bay. Small fishing boats could be used for fishing in the coastal waters, but these particular small boats weren’t used much; if the fishermen genuinely intended to go far out to sea, they would use larger, motorized fishing boats. Since Jiang Feng promised he would only fish in the immediate vicinity after renting it, the fisherman didn’t object further.

"All set," Jiang Feng said to Zhao Liying.

"You’re amazing! You even speak Italian?" Zhao Liying exclaimed admiringly.

"Mm, I learned a little. Just some common phrases," Jiang Feng replied modestly.

A fishing boat was rented. The two of them got on board, along with a photographer. The other photographers rented another fishing boat, but they paid for theirs, as the production team members weren’t part of the task.

Jiang Feng rowed the boat, heading out towards the open water. This was a bay, much like a lake, with a very calm surface. Generally, fish weren’t abundant in such places.

"Can we catch any fish with a net?" Zhao Liying asked, somewhat concerned. Her attention was entirely focused on completing the task. After all, she was a member of the ’Chinese Restaurant’ team and hoped their venture would operate successfully.

"Of course not," Jiang Feng replied with a smile. "In a place like this, trying to use a fishing net without professional equipment makes it very difficult to catch anything."

"Huh?"

Zhao Liying was a bit stunned.

If we can’t catch fish, then what are we doing out here?

The photographer was also astonished.

Jiang Feng explained, "This is a near-shore area. I checked earlier; the seabed is only about seven or eight meters deep.

"When I was a kid, I used to catch fish by hand in lakes. I have experience with that."

As he spoke, Jiang Feng put down his backpack and began to rummage through it. After a moment, he actually pulled out a pair of diving goggles.

For someone familiar with foraging for seafood along the coast, finding some marine delicacies in the water wasn’t a difficult task at all. Take an episode of "Go Fighting!" for instance: Huang Bo and Huang Lei were stranded on an island. Without a second thought, Huang Bo dove into the sea and soon emerged with seven or eight large, fresh abalones. After all, having grown up by the sea in Qingdao and been in the water since he was young, he was extremely familiar with all sorts of seafood.

Jiang Feng also knew a thing or two. The reason he’d mentioned "fishing" earlier was to avoid worrying the others.

"Will it work?" Zhao Liying asked, her expression showing some concern.

"Sister Ying, it’s fine. Don’t worry," Jiang Feng said with a reassuring smile.

He put on the diving goggles, then took off his shirt, shoes, socks, and pants. Underneath, he was already wearing diving leggings. Clearly, Jiang Feng had planned this all along, having prepared them when everyone was packing earlier.

"Wait for me to come back up."

Then, he slipped over the side of the boat and into the water.

On the boat, Zhao Liying and the photographer exchanged glances. It had to be said, with his clothes off, Jiang Feng actually had a pretty good physique.

The photographers and the production planner on the other boat were even more bewildered.

Wait, what’s going on? Weren’t they supposed to be fishing? Why did he jump into the sea?