Robert Walker wanted to ask a bit more about Eva, but seeing that Charles didn’t seem willing to talk, he felt embarrassed to press further. Clearly, Charles had feelings for this girl and was afraid he might steal her away.

Old Walker understood Charles; after all, ever since he obtained the Lord’s Heart, his temperament had changed dramatically and his charm had greatly increased.

Thinking about this happily, he pulled the central rearview mirror toward himself, looked at his handsome face in the mirror, and shook his head repeatedly: With so much charm, it’s a lot of pressure too.

Suddenly, a hand reached out of nowhere—

Charles straightened the rearview mirror and said irritably, “Come on, I’m driving, okay? Even if you’re not going to help me, at least don’t make trouble!”

The Toyota Prado made two more turns on the road, then stopped at the entrance of a street. Robert Walker asked curiously, “Aren’t we going to Straw Field? Why are we stopping here?”

Charles was speechless. “Straw Field is the name of a street—it’s the food street in Omarama. You didn’t think it was an actual farm, did you?”

“No, I thought it was a farmhouse restaurant.” Robert Walker grinned awkwardly.

Charles said he’d take him to try authentic New Zealand-style Western food, then led the way into a restaurant that looked quite refined. Robert Walker glanced at the outside; the restaurant was called “Sprays’ Kitchen,” and there was a white iron sign at the entrance with two star-shaped symbols on it.

New Zealand has two-star restaurants? Robert Walker scratched his head, thinking it probably wasn’t expensive. After all, he’d eaten at plenty of three-star restaurants in Beijing, and the prices were acceptable.

From the outside, the restaurant looked unremarkable, but inside, the décor was really nice—the key was that it had style. The whole restaurant was designed to look like a kitchen, with more than a dozen tables surrounded by stoves, kitchenware, and tableware, as if it were a giant kitchen.

Less than half the tables were occupied, but after the two of them entered, the waiter still asked Charles for a reservation number.

Charles reported a name with great swagger: “Charles Stallone. Tell your boss that Mr. Stallone is here and let him handle it.”

At that moment, Robert Walker was stunned. This guy was really bold—wasn’t he afraid of getting beaten up?

The waiter arranged for them to be seated with a beaming smile. Soon after, a chubby white man in his thirties, dressed in a spotless chef’s uniform and wearing a tall chef’s hat, came out. When he saw Charles, he spread his arms wide and called out happily, “Ha, Littlefoot Charles, you finally found time to visit me?”

Hearing the nickname, Charles blew out his cheeks and glared, “Beef, could you show me some respect? Call me by my name—preferably with my surname!”

The chef grinned from ear to ear, came over and gave Charles a bear hug, saying, “See, why get angry? You call me by my nickname and I don’t get mad, so you’d better work on your temper.”

“Your name is Beef to begin with!” Charles insisted. He pushed the chef away and introduced him to Robert Walker: “This is the head chef and owner of the restaurant. His name is Colby Beef Spruce.”

“It’s Colby Spruce, just like the Lakers’ superstar in the NBA. But yes, it does have something to do with beef—Kobe beef, you know? Right?” the chef said with a smile.

Robert Walker didn’t know much about basketball, though of course he knew about Kobe Bryant, the world-famous sports star. But what did that have to do with beef?

Seeing his confusion, the chubby chef laughed even more warmly, then briefly explained the origin of the name.

It turned out that Kobe is the English name for the Japanese city of 神户, and in terms of cuisine, Kobe is most famous for its beef.

Kobe beef is also the most renowned beef in the world. It’s a specialty of the Tajima region in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, and often appears at Japanese state banquets. There was once a cow sold for a sky-high price of 7.22 million yen, and it was even at one time banned from consumption by order of the Japanese emperor.

Charles then introduced Robert Walker, and the chubby chef gave him another hug, saying, “So you’re the new lord of that territory? Remarkable! I’m honored to have the chance to cook for a noble. All right, have a seat—you’ll be tasting my cuisine very soon.”

Robert Walker thought to himself, I’m not a noble! I only inherited the land, not a title. Besides, I haven’t even ordered yet—don’t make anything too expensive, I’m treating today…

Chapter 12: As Clever and Brave as Old Walker

The restaurant was set up in a kitchen style, and the chubby chef Colby cooked right beside their table.

Robert Walker could see every ingredient he used, and could watch his every move as he cooked—everything was transparent, so there was no need to worry about food hygiene.

In fact, what the chubby chef wanted to show off wasn’t his hygiene, but his culinary skills—his knife work, his movements, his control over the ingredients, his use of seasonings. Every move the chef made seemed deliberately honed, cooking like dancing, each motion carrying its own unique beauty.

What’s more, the dishes he made were beautiful. The first to arrive was a plate of dry cheese salad: red tomatoes, green bell peppers, crisp cucumbers, thin slices of black olives, translucent onion rings, and neatly cut cubes of white cheese. The salad wasn’t just thrown together, but carefully layered, with the colors beautifully coordinated.