Chapter 19 chapter Five

There are only two ways to grasp the whereabouts of Chef Changfeng.One is to ask him about his next destination from the farms he has visited.Otherwise, when I called to inquire, I happened to meet Chef Changfeng. When I called to inquire, I not only reported my name and Fukusakudo, but also mentioned "Louis" and Mr. Okimoto. After proving my identity, I inquired about the whereabouts of Chef Changfeng.After most of the orchards called Fuyingtang and "Louis" to check, they responded kindly. The smooth progress of the matter is thanks to Mr. Okimoto's understanding and help, and I thank him secretly in my heart.If Mr. Okimoto refuses the farmer's verification, I may not be able to find Chef Nagamine in this way.

Fortunately, I finally found out the whereabouts of Chef Changfeng on the last phone call. He seems to be scheduled to visit another orchard tomorrow to discuss grapes. I immediately called the office that manages the vineyard.After confirming that Chef Changfeng will visit tomorrow, it would be more convenient to ask where to wait for Chef Changfeng, but the other party simply asked me to go directly to the office and wait.Generally, only relevant personnel can enter the orchard. It does not matter if it is a garden house at the entrance of the orchard.Because it was the sweltering summer and there were no restaurants around, there was no other way but to wait in the office.

I asked for the address of the vineyard and confirmed it with a map.It turns out that the orchard is located in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture. It is the fastest way to take the Sanyo Shinkansen from Kobe to Tokyo, and then change to the central prefecture.The last Shinkansen is at 9:00 p.m., and there is still time to catch it. It is already midnight when we arrive in Tokyo. It seems that we should find a business hotel to stay overnight, or go to a 24-hour restaurant to pass the time. The next morning, we will take Chuo Take the main line to Kofu, get off and take a taxi to the vineyard.

After packing the simple luggage, head to the JR station immediately.After all, talking on the phone is easy to get confused, and it is better to meet in person to ask clearly. Early the next morning, I arrived at the office as scheduled.The staff have already gone to work and started their day's work. The staff greeted me kindly, and I sat down with thanks.Soon, a middle-aged man held an introduction to the orchard and agricultural-related magazines and said to me: "If you don't mind, you can read these first." Because I said that I work in a wagashi shop, I probably thought I might become their new client.Apologetically, I flipped through it.

Although our workshop has a regular cooperative orchard, if we want to develop new products frequently, we really need to re-examine the materials.Since I made a special trip, I will bring some relevant information back with me. As soon as I opened it, it was a report on how to grow grapes in the orchard. It seems that many varieties have been cultivated here, including those for general consumption, materials for making desserts, and raw materials for wine making.The report also mentioned that the high-end grapes displayed in the gift cabinets of department stores are manually pruned to ensure that each bunch has the same number of grapes.It's amazing.I thought that if it is a high-grade variety, the number of seeds grown in each string should be about the same, but I didn't expect such a labor-intensive way to maintain the quality.Since every process is so rigorous, the price is more reasonable.

Just when I was fascinated, there was a sound of opening the door.Looking up, I saw two or three staff members and a man in white walking in.That is Chef Changfeng. A female staff member got up and walked towards Chef Changfeng, handing him an A4-sized information bag.After he thanked me, he walked towards me and said with a look of surprise: "I found it here!" Please let me talk about it after he has finished dealing with the matter. I nodded and said, "No problem, I can wait, how long?" "There are a lot of things to deal with in the morning, plus some chores, maybe I will be busy until after noon!"

"Then?" "Go to the next place." "Then let's talk about it before we leave!" "Maybe not even thirty minutes!" "It doesn't matter, anyway, I don't have much to ask." After one o'clock in the afternoon, Chef Changfeng, who finally returned to the garden, stood at the door of the office and waved to me. I quickly got up and walked towards the corridor. "Some things are inconvenient to talk about inside, right?" Chef Changfeng said, "It's a bit hot outside, let's talk in a cooler place!" Chef Changfeng bought two cans of soda from the vending machine in the corridor and handed me one.At the end of the courtyard, there is a rest area with parasols. Chef Changfeng puts the soda on the table, pulls out the plastic chair and sits down. I sit diagonally opposite him.

There was a smell of wet earth in the air, mixed with the smell of green grass.Although the sun is shining brightly outside, at least this place is still cool, but the heat is rushing to the skin, and there is a stinging pain. "You are really good!" Chef Changfeng said with a wry smile, "I clearly told Okimoto not to tell you." "He didn't tell me anything. I found out by myself. I didn't want to cause trouble for Mr. Chongmoto." "Yes……" "I have something I want to ask you." "What's up?" "I saw the new ice cream published on the official website of 'Louis Chocolate Factory'. The design of the chocolate surface is very similar to a wagashi I know, and the boss of Fuku Sakurado is also very concerned about this matter."

"I see, so how do you answer?" "I said the chef of 'Louis' isn't one of those scumbags who steal other people's ideas." "So you're defending me?" "I just said: 'The Changfeng chef I know is not this kind of person.' But this is my imagination, and there may be other secrets." Chef Changfeng picked up the soda and twisted open the can: "Take a sip first to calm down. This is the 'local soda' recently developed by the orchard here!" "Local soda?" "Just like local beer, it is a local specialty. Because it is protected by the law that large companies must not interfere with the sale of local specialties, although it cannot be mass-produced, it can still be circulated in a certain area."

I opened it too and took a sip.The tiny bubbles quickly penetrated the throat of #M, and the sweet soda taste is memorable. I always feel that it is different from the soda sold by well-known manufacturers, but I can't tell what the difference is. "tasty?" "Ok." "That's good." Just as I was thinking about how to speak, Chef Changfeng took the initiative to speak: "Miss Ayabe, there is no such thing as the truth in this world. Even if there is, it is just fragments. People make up their own stories and call them the truth. Why? Because no one in the world can fully open their hearts and tell everything. There is always a part that wants to hide, seal, and bury together with the silence. Worse, even lie to yourself. What is a lie? What is truth? When a third party cannot confirm it, the truth is at best an illusion."

No one can fully open their hearts - the little porcelain doll incident last time really made me feel this way.But even so... "Whether it's fantasy or something else, I still have to bring back the answer." "For the shop? Or for yourself?" "Mr. Changfeng." "Stop saying ambiguous words, I don't have time to listen to them." "If Ms. Ayabe wants me to give an explanation, then I can create several answers, that is, create many stories from the same fact. Desserts are the same." "Meaning to make up a plausible lie?" "Whether it's a lie or not is up to the people in your store or Ms. Ayabe to judge." Seeing that I was at a loss for words, Chef Changfeng said, "Is it difficult? Let me ask a multiple-choice question! Ms. Ayabe wants me to be a suspect of plagiarizing other people's ideas? Or do you not want me to be?" "Of course not!" "Then let's create it with the theme that the chef who doesn't want to be 'Louis' is a suspect who steals other people's ideas! What do you think is the reason why the designs of the two dim sum are similar?" "It must be what you said..." "It's not possible unless the partnership is planned from the start." I said casually, "Could it be a pure coincidence." "That's a good reason. Even such a stupid reason is convincing as long as the materials are ready. 'Louis' and Fu Yingtang are both thinking of new products suitable for summer. When it comes to summer, apart from the impression of water such as the sea and rivers In addition, there are fireworks, the Milky Way, the starry sky—” Chef Changfeng reached into his jacket pocket and took out a folded piece of paper.He slowly spread it out and placed it in front of me. It turned out to be several photocopies of Japanese paintings, which seemed to be photocopied from a painting album. "Because I heard that Ms. Ayabe will come, so please ask Okimoto to scan some books for me, upload the files by mail, and then I will use the computer in the office here to receive the mail and print it out." I always feel like I have seen these paintings somewhere.I remembered - when I went to "Louis" to ask about the little porcelain dolls, I caught a glimpse of the Japanese painting album that Chef Nagamine was looking at.In other words, when Chef Changfeng walked into the office, the information bag that the female staff got up and handed to him were these photocopies. "This is the painting of Yokoyama Taikan," Chef Changfeng said quietly, "Dakan is a very special Japanese painting painter. English, just like people in the Meiji period were very interested in Western things. He incorporated Western elements into traditional Japanese paintings to create a unique aesthetic. Even now, the style of painting is still gorgeous, isn’t it? Because his paintings combine European impressionist painting style. The paintings of people who extend their tentacles to all levels like this are actually very interesting. The chocolate surface design of the ice cream was inspired by the situational combination of these paintings, and I don’t think anyone can refute it.” indeed so. "Early Summer Bamboo Forest" has the refreshing feeling of early summer, "Dongting Autumn Moon" is reminiscent of a moonman rowing a boat, "Night Cherry Blossom" is gorgeous like a full moon showing its face, and "Wild Flower" is as awe-inspiring as the sharp lines of wild grass—— — It would definitely make sense to say that 'Louie's' abstract chocolate design came from a combination of these situations. Everyone at 'Louis' knows that Chef Changfeng is a very demanding person, and even I have seen him flipping through the art collection while conceiving, so it is absolutely reasonable for him to say that the chocolate design inspiration comes from these paintings .And it is not directly using Daguan's paintings, so there is no copyright issue. "how?" "This reason does make sense...but even if our boss can accept it, I can't agree with it. I can't deceive myself, and I can't solve my doubts." "This will be resolved by time." Chef Changfeng stood up from his chair and picked up the empty bottle. "Sorry, I have to rush to the next place, so I'm leaving first." "Then I'll go too. I can't go back until I get a satisfactory answer." "Even if you follow me, I won't say anything more. If you want to believe me, don't follow me anymore." I don't insist anymore. I am well aware of the stubbornness of professionals. If he says he won’t say anything more, he really won’t say any more! It seems that they can only retreat.Chef Changfeng turned and left without looking back.