Chinese Restaurant: Hidden Ingredients, Global Cuisine

"The job market was tough, so I chose this line of work while looking for a way forward."

"Didn't you want to do something that would show off your individuality? A life spent turning like a cog in a company machine just isn't for me."

"A pension doesn't leave you with many options, while the food-service industry takes relatively little investment and still lets you challenge yourself."

These are exactly the reasons the food-service industry has become a popular destination for so many people.

There are reportedly over 660,000 restaurants in the country, yet 80 percent of them quietly close within five years.

So how do you hold your ground amid such fierce competition?

"Good flavor is the foundation, but what sets you apart is what matters! Give customers a reason to say, 'I won't eat anywhere else!'"

"You have to create unique dishes that people can't experience anywhere else..."

From that perspective, Huang Xiaoming's restaurant is undoubtedly one of a kind.

His dishes seem to transcend time, letting diners taste rare delicacies praised by food connoisseurs from 2,000 years ago, or at least a hundred years ago.

The ingredients he uses are precious items that have gradually vanished over the course of history.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.