CHAPTER 329: CHAPTER 329: REAPING THE REWARDS!

The production team exchanged puzzled looks. Zhao Liying also looked anxiously toward the sea. No one had anticipated Jiang Feng would break the mold so completely by just jumping into the sea. It was just a variety show; why risk his life?!

For Jiang Feng, it was a matter of ingredients. A functioning restaurant needed not only meat, vegetables, eggs, and staples but also seafood—that was basic. Sicily Island was right by the sea, with coastal bays and waters rich in marine resources. Diving for seafood was naturally a good choice. Besides, Jiang Feng genuinely wanted to go diving. Back home, coastal areas with seafood were usually picked clean by fishermen and locals due to the large population. But Sicily Island was different. For one, being by the sea, locals ate seafood daily and didn’t bother diving for it themselves. For another, the population was relatively small, meaning fewer people dived for fish. Consequently, the nearby reefs teemed with seafood.

Jiang Feng dove beside the reef, searching carefully along it. The seabed here was quite shallow, only a few meters deep. Sunlight penetrated the water, illuminating the multicolored corals on the rocks—a beautiful sight.

Zhao Liying leaned over the side of the boat, anxiously watching Jiang Feng’s submerged figure. He soon found his target: several abalones clinging to the rocks.

For a top chef, skill isn’t just in cooking and eating, but also in finding, he thought. These abalones were very large and perfect for cooking. Jiang Feng pried off five or six and hurriedly swam upwards.

SPLASH!

Jiang Feng emerged from the water. His hair was soaked, and water streamed down his body. Wearing diving goggles, he exuded an air of sunny confidence.

Zhao Liying watched from the boat and said hurriedly, "Jiang Feng, maybe we shouldn’t look anymore. This is too dangerous. Let’s go back and trade for resources." Her expression was full of concern, and she didn’t call Jiang Feng ’chef’ but used his name instead.

"Sister Ying, it’s alright. There are many abalones down there," Jiang Feng explained with a smile as he swam to the side of the boat. "It’s just as I expected. With such a long coastline and a small population, the marine resources here are definitely plentiful. Hand me a piece of clothing, will you? I’ll use it to wrap the abalones so I can gather more. We can use them for soup later."

This scene was clearly captured by several cameras. Jiang Feng placed the abalones on the boat, took a few breaths to recover, grabbed a piece of clothing, and dove back down.

"That’s too dangerous!" Zhao Liying cautioned. She wanted to help Jiang Feng but felt powerless. Watching him dive for abalones was somewhat touching. This was the appeal of such variety shows: real and unscripted.

The production team was relentless—on another boat, a cameraman was already taking off his clothes, preparing to dive. He switched to an underwater sports camera, ready to clearly capture Jiang Feng’s actions beneath the surface.

Underwater, beside a rounded reef, Jiang Feng found many attached abalones. He quite enjoyed the process. It’s relaxing, he thought. There are so many abalones! So many it’s hard to believe. All just sitting here, and no one comes to collect them!

Just then, the cameraman swam up to Jiang Feng and began filming him. Jiang Feng was startled, momentarily thinking a large fish had approached. Luckily, he kept his composure and remained calm.

Jiang Feng pried the abalones off, wrapped them in the cloth, and after collecting many in this way, he swam towards the surface again. A short while later, he placed another eight or nine abalones onto the boat.

The seawater was very clear. Sicily Island only had one small town with a modest population, so the waters were well-preserved. Swimming in such conditions felt incredibly relaxing.

"Why don’t you take a break?" Zhao Liying said, sitting on the edge of the boat and looking at Jiang Feng in the water. "Continuous diving must be tiring."

"It’s okay. I just need to catch my breath. I’ll go down two more times," Jiang Feng replied. "Chinese Restaurant has no startup funds. Now that we finally have this chance, we should gather as much as we can."

Unknowingly, the bond between Jiang Feng and Zhao Liying had grown much closer, moving from initial unfamiliarity to genuine concern. This was largely due to Jiang Feng’s good character and straightforward nature.

"With an employee like you, Xiao Ming really should give you a raise," Zhao Liying praised with a smile.

"It feels like the manager is under a lot of pressure, completely tense," Jiang Feng said with a laugh, thinking of Huang Xiaoming’s demeanor.

"Hahaha, that’s true. He’s under a lot of pressure and has to pretend he has everything under control. Everyone’s noticed, but it also shows that Xiao Ming is a very responsible person," Zhao Liying laughed as well.

After a brief chat, Jiang Feng dove back into the water for more abalones. He didn’t look for other types of seafood, focusing only on abalones. There’s no other way, Jiang Feng thought. Other sea creatures move. I definitely can’t catch fish just by swimming. Shells and the like aren’t edible. There might be seafood hidden in the seabed mud, but digging it out would be too troublesome. Abalones, though, are just sitting on the rocks, perfectly obvious. One grab, one abalone.

The atmosphere here was relaxed and cheerful.

Meanwhile, Huang Xiaoming, along with Yeang Zi and Wang Junkai, had embarked on their task of bartering for resources. Communicating with locals through a translator, they managed to make some exchanges, acquiring some meat and vegetables, for example.

"We’re lacking seafood. Should we try to trade for some?" Huang Xiaoming suggested.

"That works."

"I have no objections," the other two responded.

So, they went to find a restaurant, hoping to trade for seafood from its kitchen.

The team, thus split into two groups, kept busy. By a little past four in the afternoon, both groups were preparing to head back.

Jiang Feng climbed back onto the fishing boat, took a towel from his backpack, and began to dry himself. Zhao Liying looked at him and said frankly, "Jiang Feng, you’re in good shape."

Her straightforward manner made Jiang Feng respond with a smile as well.

So far, everything seemed to be going smoothly. This seaside excursion was quite comfortable for Jiang Feng; he genuinely enjoyed such activities, especially with so many abalones available. Catching them is a blast!

Jiang Feng dried himself, got dressed, and then they steered the fishing boat back to shore. The afternoon’s haul was a large bag brimming with abalones—over fifty by the look of it. A fruitful harvest indeed.

Soon, they drove back to the Chinese Restaurant. Jiang Feng immediately took a shower, changed into fresh clothes, and washed the ones he’d been wearing.

As soon as he came out, he heard a commotion outside. Shortly after, he saw that the other group and the production crew had also returned.

"How did you guys do? Our haul was pretty decent," Huang Xiaoming asked with concern as he entered.

Yeang Zi and Wang Junkai were also curious. After all, being out for so long without any news suggested Jiang Feng’s group must have been up to something significant.

The abalones had been placed in a basin of water to soak and clean off the sand and mud.

Zhao Liying pointed to the basin and said, "Look over there—fifty-three big abalones. All caught by Jiang Feng alone."

Upon hearing Zhao Liying’s words, the faces of Huang Xiaoming, Yeang Zi, and Wang Junkai filled with astonishment. "Wow! Abalones? So many?" they exclaimed. "How did you manage to catch these?"

They put their belongings down and walked over to the basin. Staring at the abalones in the water, now murky with sand, their faces were etched with amazement.

"He’s truly incredible," Zhao Liying gushed, full of praise. "He just dove into the sea from the boat and started gathering abalones. I didn’t help much, just cheered him on from the side." Her praise naturally elevated Jiang Feng’s standing in everyone’s eyes.

Jiang Feng emerged, saw everyone gathered, and said, "Abalone is an excellent ingredient that can be prepared in many ways. Weren’t we discussing what kind of soup to make earlier? I think an abalone and chicken soup would be very good."

Before setting out, they had discussed the restaurant’s menu. Naturally, a restaurant needed to offer soup. At the time, the consensus was to make seaweed and egg drop soup, since eggs and seaweed were provided, along with other ingredients like tomatoes and cucumbers. However, Jiang Feng felt this wasn’t quite right and had voiced his opinion, believing that serving seaweed and egg drop soup to guests in a Chinese Restaurant wasn’t up to standard. The others had argued for first addressing the issue of availability before quality, as no other soups seemed feasible. So, Jiang Feng hadn’t pressed the matter, planning instead to assess their evening’s resources before deciding what could be made.

Everyone was a bit tired after the day’s activities. However, with a tight schedule for running the restaurant, much work remained. Garlic and onions needed to be peeled and cleaned, and vegetables had to be washed in advance. Any meat requiring marination also needed to be prepared. Moreover, there was the even more pressing matter of their own dinner. As restaurant staff, they were responsible for their own meals; the production team wouldn’t provide them. This task undoubtedly fell to Jiang Feng, with the others assisting with miscellaneous chores.

Fortunately, having participated in Chinese Restaurant before, everyone had some experience and knew how to prepare the ingredients. Although there was a lot of work, they divided the tasks and made steady progress. Chatting while they worked also provided content for the show. Not all variety programs needed to be boisterous or game-filled; this slower-paced lifestyle, rich with the atmosphere of daily life and punctuated by occasional humor, also held great appeal for viewers.

"I’ll go prepare dinner; everyone must be tired," Jiang Feng spoke up. "We need to figure out how many dishes would be appropriate."

In these early stages of their venture, supplies were not abundant, limited to what the production team provided and what they had managed to barter for. Therefore, they needed to be conservative with their consumption initially. After discussing it, they decided to cook two dishes and steam a pot of rice for dinner.

"Alright, let’s aim to eat around six o’clock," Jiang Feng said with a nod, then headed to the kitchen to begin.

Seeing his demeanor, the others felt a wave of reassurance wash over them.