Chapter 2819 Peony House

The tantalizing aroma emanated from a row of sales windows that opened onto Baihui Street. Below each window ran a waist-high counter with a wooden frame, its street-facing side fitted with large glass panels that allowed passersby to view the goods on display. The clerks working behind these counters wore short outfits in yellow and red, each bearing the same M-shaped arch logo that crowned the rooftop. Some were men, others women, but all wore identical red-and-yellow caps of peculiar design.

The caps resembled the common yitong liuhe style favored locally, but featured a forward-projecting brim that lent them a somewhat incongruous appearance. Zahra watched as one clerk lifted a long-handled basket woven from thick iron wire, brimming with clusters of golden strips. He poured them into a rectangular iron pan, sprinkling white seasoning flecked with black powder in an even coating. As he worked, that earlier fragrance grew even richer. In the other oil pans, fluffy sheet-like items coated in golden batter bobbed and sizzled.

The clerk stirred the pan continuously, using a specialized slotted spoon to portion the fried goods into bags fashioned from newspaper before arranging them in the display case. Another clerk called out in rhythmic patter: "Fresh from the fryer—Australian Fries! Two cents for a large serving, guaranteed to leave you wanting more!" "Fish and chips, special deal at five cents!" Before Zahra could react, the adventurous Sonya had already handed over payment and claimed two portions.

The clerk who served them was a sharp-eyed naturalized young man. One glance at these strangely dressed foreign girls told him they were almost certainly life secretaries to Senators. He promptly directed them upstairs to the premium seating area where they could dine at leisure. The two entered through a door beside the sales counter and found themselves facing a wood-carved panel embedded in the wall, depicting scenes of daily life in some medieval city. Had Senator Xu been present, he would have recognized it as a section of Along the River During the Qingming Festival. To the girls, the intricate lines simply seemed detailed and interesting.

The passage leading upstairs bordered the dine-in area on one side. The walls were finished in an uncommon white brick that appeared clean and unadorned. Hanging upon them were illustrated dish introductions and propaganda posters mass-printed by the Propaganda Department. Since this was a restaurant, the themes centered on food hygiene and safety—lending considerable visual interest to what would otherwise be monotonous walls. The floor featured tiles of the sort commonly found in Senator bathrooms, laid in alternating white and brown patterns that proved quite decorative. Tables and chairs clustered in groups of three or five, all in the IKEA style; the girls simply thought they resembled the Australian furniture back home.

The opposite side of the passage presented a sight neither girl had ever witnessed. Above a half-height white wall rose large glass dividing panels. Through screen windows at the top drifted food aromas mingled with heat. Through the glass, they could observe rows of stove openings set into the wall, each one spewing flames. Before the stoves lay wooden prep boards laden with ingredients of every variety, while staff in red-and-yellow uniforms with white aprons bustled between ingredients and flames.

The sight proved rather shocking. In this timeline, not only had Mencius proclaimed that "the gentleman stays far from the kitchen," but kitchens throughout the world were unsightly places kept hidden from public view. To display one so openly was unprecedented. Yet this somewhat crowded, chaotic-looking space possessed an oddly compact, uniform quality that was distinctly Australian.

The observant Zahra took particular notice of a row of circular mechanical devices hanging above the stoves. Each time a chef used a long-handled spatula to slide a round dough covered with various toppings into a stove, he would give one of these devices a deliberate twist. From time to time, a crisp ring would sound, at which point the chef would shovel out the finished product—fragrant and enticing—and immediately plate it for serving.

What the girls were witnessing, though they could not know it, was actually a standardized fast-food kitchen far ahead of its time. Emulating modern restaurant enterprises from another timeline, Peony House employed the formidable weapons of chain dining: central kitchens, cold-chain delivery, standardized operations, and uniform brand identity.

Every day before dawn, cargo coaches equipped with specialized cold-chain transport boxes—packed with ice and lined with diatomite insulation—delivered uniformly pre-processed semi-finished ingredients from the central kitchen on East Gate Market's outskirts to each branch location.

Branches with proper facilities stored these goods in their own gas-powered cold storage units; those without made do with old-fashioned iceboxes filled with ice. All subsequent operations followed strict standardization, with prescribed methods, steps, and even specific temperatures and times for final preparation. This method, which had proven invincible in the old timeline, worked equally well in the new. Even if it could not guarantee fresh, perfect flavor every time, it delivered consistent quality and reliable food standards. The steadily climbing sales since the branches opened told their own story.

Naturally, cold-chain limitations meant that Peony House's delivery network could currently extend only as far as Hong Kong and Guangzhou—anything beyond remained unfeasible. Indeed, even across the whole of Hainan, very few areas could receive cold-chain shipments.

Of course, these methods were easier described than executed. Setting aside everything else, simply producing the standardized kitchenware custom-made for this style of kitchen had given the responsible Senators considerable headaches. The circular devices Sonya had noticed, for instance, were simple mechanical timers specially commissioned from the Technology Department. The circular dial bore several marks representing different cooking times; turn the pointer to the corresponding position, and after the appropriate interval, a bell would sound—greatly standardizing baking durations. Similar custom items included gas ovens, the specialized frying equipment needed for the fries, and corresponding precision thermometers—all of which had required considerable effort to develop.

But the girls were merely curious visitors. Sonya was already carrying the still-warm fries and leading the way upstairs. The upper floor's layout largely mirrored that below, save for the absence of the kitchen area and the addition of floor-to-ceiling windows facing the street. A power shaft ran across the ceiling through the entire building, driving several ceiling fans that spun at a leisurely pace. Combined with linen tablecloths and napkins on the tables, the atmosphere felt considerably more refined than the casual section downstairs.

It was still early, and the upper floor had few customers—just a handful of girls in Australian-style plaid skirts chattering away at one table. Zahra and Sonya walked over and chose a spot facing the center of the street. A young waitress approached to lower the bamboo sun blinds for them. Zahra noticed that her uniform differed somewhat from those worn downstairs—though it bore the same logo, the predominant color was pink, and the cut was more like a dress, somewhat reminiscent of the maid school's uniform.

The waitress presented them with two booklets. Their bamboo covers displayed the Peony House logo alongside the word "Menu" in large characters. Opening them, the girls found each page listing main dishes, snacks, and drinks by category—all clearly priced, with the principal ingredients noted beneath each item. Like all foreign language learners confronted with specialized vocabulary, the multitude of ingredient names left them dizzy. They simply retrieved the discount coupon the popsicle boy had given them and handed it to the waitress.

The waitress was clearly well-practiced with this. Without even glancing at the coupon, she announced: "That will be one medium Seafood Supreme Flatbread. Would you ladies also care for our house specialty, Crispy Honey-Glazed Chicken Wings, paired with a large bottle of chilled Australian Kvass? Only forty-five cents for the complete set." Zahra did a quick mental calculation, judged it within budget, and nodded to confirm. Sonya made a point of keeping one menu, saying she wanted to study it further.

While awaiting their order, Sonya opened the warm paper packet in her hands. It had been fashioned from the Lingao Times, stamped with Peony House's wood-block logo. Inside lay steaming fries and fish fillets encased in batter.

Such fare was not uncommon in Lingao; it had been around for several years now. But since preparation required substantial quantities of cooking oil, it appeared only sporadically on Senators' tables. Peony House was pioneering the effort to bring fried foods to the broader public.

This development owed much to years of Senate-sponsored oil palm cultivation in Vietnam, southern Hainan, and other tropical regions. Though oil palm farming faced numerous difficulties, the shortage of cooking oil had long been a sore point for the Senators. Consequently, the Agriculture Committee had invested tremendous effort into solving the problem of large-scale oil crop production.

The two girls began imitating others' eating methods as they tried fish and chips for the first time. Having already noted on the menu that fries consisted of "Australian potato, salt, and black pepper seasoning," their expectations had actually diminished somewhat. After all, potatoes were already common fare on the Senator menu. Whether spicy stir-fried potato shreds or beef with potatoes, neither dish held any novelty anymore. As for the fried fish's main ingredient—"deep-sea fish fillet"—that was among the most ubiquitous offerings in the Senate cafeteria.

But the fries proved unexpectedly different on the tongue. Salt crystals carrying hints of black pepper, paired with crispy fried coating, gave way to soft, slightly sweet flesh within. How could this possibly be ordinary potatoes? From that moment forward, Zahra became a devoted fan of fries. She would later attempt to replicate them at home on multiple occasions, but could never quite capture Peony House's flavor.

Fries were never a simple task suited to home cooks. Taking the old timeline's Mickey D's as an example: setting aside the need for specially cultivated potato varieties, the factory process involved careful selection and precise cutting, the oil required notorious trans fats to extend shelf life—and temperature control during frying alone would defeat most amateur cooks.

(End of Chapter)