Chapter 1009 Opening Celebration
On April 12, 1986, the day of Qu Xiao’s mother’s surgery finally came.
On this day, Ning Weimin rushed to the hospital to accompany Qu Xiao.
Thanks to Ning Weimin's presence.
The moment Qu Xiao finished signing and watched her mother being pushed into the operating room, her feet became weak.
The whole person could hardly stand.
If Ning Weimin hadn't noticed something was wrong and helped her in time, she might have fainted on the spot because of her excitement.
And because Japanese doctors performed laparoscopic surgery on Qu Xiao’s mother, which is currently difficult to complete in China, it took a long time.
During almost five hours of waiting, Qu Xiao had been in a state of anxiety and fear.
Thanks to Ning Weimin, who has always been by Qu Xiao's side like a brother to cheer her up, this girl finally got through the darkest moment in her life.
Fortunately, the surgery was relatively smooth and successful.
When Qu Xiao’s mother was pushed out of the operating room again, the Japanese doctor gave Qu Xiao the good news she was most looking forward to.
The Japanese doctor told her that as long as she takes good care of her health and remains hospitalized for observation for a period of time, her mother should be able to be discharged from the hospital with peace of mind.
Although I need to change my eating habits in the future and need to eat at least five times a day, my life should be safe.
At this point, Qu Xiao finally cried with joy, hugging Ning Weimin and crying happily.
Months of worries, fears, and indescribable pain and grievances were all vented at this moment.
Although Ning Weimin is not sure, does Qu's laughter and tears still contain the regret that it is difficult to place love?
I wonder if it also contains the sentimentality that the two of them are destined to be inseparable?
But these are no longer important, maybe only the result like this is the best.
Maybe he shouldn't say this, but the fact is that Qu Xiao's mother's condition caused Qu Xiao to passively divert most of his attention from the loss of love.
Let this girl's emotions and mind grow and mature from the pain and pressure of losing her mother.
The success of Qu Xiao’s mother’s surgery, in turn, allowed Ning Weimin, who had helped the family, to be freed from his emotional guilt, allowing him to forgive himself and find hope. Relaxed and calm.
For a moment, I felt relieved.
In the days that followed, Ning Weimin had nothing to worry about.
He devoted himself to his work without any distractions.
A few more days passed like this, and the day for the opening ceremony of Danmiya Restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo, finally arrived.
Sunday, April 20, 1986, was the most important moment for Ning Weimin in his catering career.
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The Danmiya Restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo may not be called the best Chinese restaurant in Japan.
But it is definitely the first restaurant in Japan to serve authentic Chinese palace cuisine.
Ning Weimin put a lot of thought into building the most luxurious Chinese restaurant in Japan in order to get more money from Japanese people's wallets.
Whether it is Japanese food preferences, menu settings, raw material selection, service standards, etc., Ning Weimin has made full consideration and preliminary preparations.
Even in the decoration design and tableware selection, he did not hesitate to spend a lot of money.
To put it bluntly, Ning Weimin did everything he could, and implemented his advanced business philosophy and unique cultural taste into every inch of the restaurant, before he decided to On this day, we open our doors to welcome customers and accept the test of the market.
As the saying goes, hard work pays off.
Don't worry about anything else. Anyway, during the opening ceremony, the most intuitive visual effect of this restaurant was at least in line with Ning Weimin's wishes and was presented to the guests in the idealized appearance he pursued.
Completely different from the Tan Palace Main Store in Beijing, both the restaurant that receives individual customers and the banquet hall of Beishen Kitchen are all decorated in traditional Chinese style.
Ning Weimin adopted a fashionable, modern and simple design style for his branch in Ginza, Tokyo.
For example, the main colors are peacock blue gauze curtains and bead curtains, paired with wood-colored and white-cream-colored furniture.
The image of the restaurant he pursues is one that is friendly enough, clean, and has a fresh and translucent aesthetic.
At the same time, the store also uses a large number of light strip designs, and the main lighting fixtures are crystal chandeliers with the best light transmittance.
As for the tables and chairs, there is no traditional Chinese Eight Immortals table in the store.
They are all round tables covered with white tablecloths and equipped with white leather seats or white soft-covered sofa seats.
Even the floor is made of blue and white squares to maintain the overall light, luxurious and lively atmosphere of the restaurant.
Generally speaking, the decoration of Danmong Restaurant in Ginza does not look like a Chinese restaurant at all.
It looks more like an exquisite jewelry store or beauty salon.
Appear stylish and elegant.
Although this approach appears to be deviant, it may not be accepted by some conservative-minded people.
But the benefits are also obvious, there are two main ones.
First, we can use our strengths and avoid weaknesses to avoid high economic costs due to the lack of high-end Chinese-style decoration materials in Japan.
Second, it can break the rigid impression that Chinese restaurants have always formed in people's minds and give people a refreshing look and feel.
It is not necessarily necessary to use scarlet carpets, hanging palace lanterns, traditional wooden tables and chairs, well-proportioned green and gray bricks and antique wooden partitions to reflect the cultural atmosphere of Chinese cuisine, right?
What's more, despite this, Ning Weimin did not give up the unique "museum restaurant" business model of Tan Gong Restaurant.
In fact, from the moment guests are welcomed into the store, the full immersive experience begins.
Starting from the Han Dynasty stone horse-holding pillars placed at the entrance of the store and the Song Dynasty Wei Tuo statue, to the Qing Dynasty red sandalwood window lattice hanging in the store, the Ming Dynasty carved hanging screen with figures from the Three Kingdoms, and the boxwood carving of Guo Ziyi's return home. On the hanging screen, there are also the golden-threaded Phoebe Orchid Pavilion collection preface plaque from the Qianlong period, the deep and shiny Xuande furnace, and the bronze candlestick with a horse riding a flying swallow...
Each of these items is a real, genuine Chinese antique.
Ning Weimin, who is good at taking advantage of overseas environments, personally selected and bought lost cultural relics at Japanese flea markets.
Although the price is not expensive, it is of extraordinary value. Regardless of its age and rarity, it far exceeds the furnishings in domestic head offices.
After all, in overseas environments, large items are rare, but small exquisite items are abundant.
As a result, tradition and modernity, history and fashion, formed a wonderful collision and interesting contrast in the distinct environment of this restaurant.
It allows every guest who comes to the restaurant to appreciate the beauty of Chinese antiquities from a new perspective and from a unique perspective.
In addition, there are also the handicrafts and replicas brought by Ning Weimin from China to add luster to the restaurant.
Replicas of the entire court uniforms and armors of Emperor Xianfeng and the empresses of the two palaces in the movie "The Burning of the Old Summer Palace" are placed in the most conspicuous place in the store.
The exquisite embroidery work complements the relevant stills from the movie.
As a rare cultural work exported by China to the whole of Asia, "Burning the Old Summer Palace" has a box office of over one billion yen in Japan.
Its influence cannot be underestimated, and it will obviously have a certain improvement effect on the cultural style of the restaurant.
Replicas of the Qianlong Dynasty's internal affairs menu, meal cards, recipes, as well as royal wine utensils, tableware, hand stoves, and wine and meal sets are also placed in glass display cabinets illuminated by wall spotlights.
These things are even more difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake, which directly proves that the restaurant was inherited from the Imperial Kitchen Room and operates the theme of palace cuisine.
Under the replica of the "Picture of the Capital Palace" of the Ming Dynasty, there is a 1.8 meter long table.
The things displayed here are the most interesting.
Because the glass cover of the table is a miniature landscape made of cicada sloughs, which is placed in the imperial dining room of Yangxin Hall.
Little monkeys transformed into royal chefs in the Qing palace, busy on the stove, the scene was lifelike, wonderful and interesting. The related settings are also very elegant, with meat and vegetable bureaus, vegetarian bureaus, soup bureaus, dinner bureaus, hanging stove bureaus, snack bureaus, and food stalls all available.
The original appearance of the old imperial dining room has been restored almost to the same proportion.
Ning Weimin worked hard and carefully to bring this from the capital, and then it took several people several days to put it together.
The Japanese are truly lucky to be able to see this.
In addition, there are inscriptions written by the last prince and the last princess from Japan hanging in the restaurant.
As written by Fu Jie, "Food in the Tan Palace" is hung at the entrance of the store's main entrance.
The book "The top of the divine tripod prepares six meals, and the jade pot brews three pastes with spring color" written by Sagahiro is hung in a prominent position in the hall of the store.
These two pieces of calligraphy are equivalent to endorsing the reputation of Tan Palace's palace cuisine, indirectly explaining its cultural authority inherited from orthodoxy.
As for the complete set of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" silk figures, as well as palace lanterns with Kowloon beads, flower and fruit bonsai, fruit and vegetable ornaments, bionic porcelain of birds and animals, mother-of-pearl lacquerware, gilt Ruyi, pastel gourds and enamel Charcoal hotpot...
These colorful things are needed to add cultural interest and to decorate corners.
That’s not all. Because the store is large enough, Ning Weimin even set up a display area for wine lovers to learn about famous Chinese wines.
He ingeniously placed five or six glass wine cabinets with illuminated bottoms in the store, specifically for displaying wines from China.
In these display cabinets, there are not only China's top ten famous wines, but also products from major wineries in Beijing and products from Jimo Winery in Shandong.
Not only the aroma types of liquor include clear, strong, sauce, complex and rice, but also rice wine, fruit wine, dew wine and beer.
There are hundreds of species.
Even these drinks are not just placed for guests to watch.
If a customer is really curious about which kind of drink, they can ask the waiter for a small glass to experience it personally and taste it for free.
In addition, Ning Weimin tries to deepen the cultural experience for customers.
At the beginning of the design plan, he asked the designer to hang TVs in different locations in the store.
After the final construction was completed, these TVs were connected to video recorders.
In this way, corporate promotional videos can be played to the guests in the store without any blind spots, and documentaries shot by NHK TV station in Beijing can also be played.
Then by comparing it with these TV pictures, customers can feel the pure Chinese food atmosphere.
In short, Ning Weimin’s original intention of building such a restaurant is to let every customer who enters Tan Palace personally feel the rich taste of Chinese food culture through the decoration and furnishings of the store, and have a deep understanding of the Chinese food culture. Chinese traditional culture generates interest and curiosity.
To put it bluntly, what you eat here is not only the food and taste, but also the exotic culture, historical origins and customs.
Think about it, in a scene like this.
Those guests who are new to Ginza Danmiya Restaurant and came to attend the opening ceremony today, can they still stay quietly?
No! Of course not!
In fact, everyone’s eyes are almost exhausted, and everyone has become a curious baby!
Director Taniguchi, Mrs. Taniguchi, the Kagawa sisters, and Yujiro Sakai, as well as the two college students from Ebuntang Bookstore, and several key employees of Daito Trading Company, are undoubtedly the least knowledgeable Japanese among today's guests.
Being in such an environment, for them, they just feel dizzy and rich, which is extremely uncomfortable.
Originally, their elaborate dressing up was purely for the location of Ginza.
It’s not like Japanese people have never eaten Chinese food.
In their subconscious, they still look down upon Chinese restaurants.
They couldn't help but wonder why Ning Weimin chose the most expensive place in Tokyo to open a Chinese restaurant.
Isn’t it good to open a Western restaurant in such a good location?
How about renting it out to others?
This is what most of them really think.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I found this place, I was shocked by the overwhelming opening flower baskets in front of the store before I even entered the door.
Even though the property Ning Weimin bought was upstairs, there was only one staircase leading to the street outside.
But there are so many flower baskets that they have been placed down the stairs, causing the stairs and the entrance to become a sea of flowers.
This undoubtedly shows that Ning Weimin has rich connections, which makes these little people in Japanese society stunned.
A large flower basket specially prepared by Sakai Yujiro as a gift. This way, it looks inconspicuous.
This made him feel confident and ready to show off.
When they each walked through the flowers and walked to the store with a cautious sense of restraint, they experienced a spiritual baptism.
Because the guests that day were exactly what they had predicted downstairs.
Almost all of them are well-dressed celebrities, who don’t look like ordinary people.
And the high-style decoration and furnishings in the store also have a dazzling magic power.
Let them get lost in it after just a few glances, becoming at a loss and not knowing how to deal with themselves.
Fortunately, Ning Weimin arranged for someone to be responsible for guiding them at the door. After asking them to sign in, he took them to the seats arranged for them according to the list.
Otherwise, some of these people may give up and may not have the courage to walk into the restaurant again.
But even so, most of them dare not fully satisfy their curiosity.
I don’t have the courage to take the initiative to walk around the restaurant and take a look, so I just sit in my seat.
Especially for a social creature like Director Taniguchi and a socially inexperienced person like Mrs. Taniguchi, the scene here is simply scary.
They looked around at the guests who had already arrived, and were really afraid that if they acted rashly, they might be rude at any time, causing shame and embarrassment.
I couldn't help but mutter in a low voice, "The restaurant is really beautiful. It's just like a place that sells French cuisine. These guests are either the president or big shots like the president. Invite such guests, look. Lai Ningsang is really not an ordinary person."
"Yes, despite his youth, Ningsang is indeed a minister-level manager, if nothing else. A large restaurant can accommodate at least several hundred people. It must be very difficult to manage.”
And for young people like the part-time college students and the Xiangchuan sisters at Huiwentang Bookstore.
Although they are just newborn calves and are not afraid of tigers. They are not as shabby as the Taniguchi couple. They feel that their status is not suitable for attending such an occasion, but their sense of restraint is not necessarily less.
"Hey, is that a reporter? Why are there reporters here? Isn't this just a restaurant opening?"
"Idiot, look at what this place looks like, is this an ordinary restaurant? Ning Sang must have spent a lot of money Isn’t it hard to understand why you paid a lot of money for advertising?”
“Ah, how is that possible?”
"This kind of thing...I don't know the details. However, I do know that there is an entertainment performance scheduled for today. There should be singers. But I don't know if they are famous or not. I am actually very curious."
"Hey? Is it true? Kagawa-san, I'm sorry, I want to ask, if a celebrity really comes to the scene, can we ask for an autograph!"
"Idiot! Don't do such rude things! You two boys are the same. Just wait quietly for the ceremony to start and applaud when the time comes!"
"Sister, why are you talking like this? Normal people can Are you curious? "
"Rinzi, don't be too tolerant. As a store manager, you have to take responsibility. You don't want to let these two guys disrupt the order here just because you want to sign. Will Sang be happy? "
Only a smart person like Zuo Hai Yujiro dares to seize the opportunity.
He was wandering around restlessly in the restaurant alone.
Not only is it a feast for the eyes, but it is also looking for opportunities to meet important people.
(End of this chapter)