Chapter 367 The wealthy William!
Since William and the others were walking to the Whitestone Group earlier, after learning about this, Bella made a phone call, and soon a black Rolls-Royce car arrived in front of them.
After the car came to a halt, a driver, dressed in expensive brand clothing, stepped out.
The driver, looking no more than in his twenties, had features reminiscent of a young Brad Pitt. He opened the car door with a charming smile and said, "Miss, and distinguished guests, please."
Bella nodded in satisfaction and then turned to William.
She had intended to show off her handsome driver to William, but noticed that he hadn't paid any attention to her.
William glanced at the driver and thought, "Another 'Chosen One'."
Maria thought to herself how luxurious the car was and how surprisingly young and handsome the driver was. To the unaware, he could easily be mistaken for a scion of a wealthy family.
"Felix, take us home," Bella said to the driver with a smile.
"Of course, Miss," the ever-smiling driver Felix responded.
William just gave a faint smile and then looked at Bella, deciding to let her show off a bit.
"How about that? My driver is even more handsome than those Hollywood actors, right?" For someone like Bella, boasting about luxury cars was nothing new, but flaunting a handsome man by her side did bring her satisfaction.
As she initially told William, she was quite fortunate in her love life recently, there's absolutely no need to pay William to act as her boyfriend.
After the recent incident with Lucy, William now knows that many celebrities have special quirks. Facing Bella's bragging, he nodded in agreement: "He is quite handsome. When do you plan to get married?"
Bella shot him a look that said she didn't want to bother explaining.
He's the driver!
The driver, do you understand?
she thought to herself, somewhat annoyed.
Asking her when she's getting married, she felt that William's question was a bit too direct.
"By the way, Maria, what kind of business do you want to do?" Bella abruptly changed the topic and said, "If you want to open a bar, I think opening the biggest bar in New York would be great. I can promote it to those wealthy 'trust fund babies,' and the business should be good."
She still thought Maria wanted to open a bar.
"Miss Bell, I don't want to open a bar anymore." Maria felt compelled to take this opportunity that William had provided her, to be introduced to a big boss like Bella, "William's idea is for the three of us to partner up and open a restaurant. He'll contribute his cooking skills as a technical share and teach me how to cook."
"A restaurant? That sounds great! William's cooking is indeed excellent!" Bella excitedly said to William, "Actually, I've always wanted to eat at your place, but it seems you and Alice have gotten quite close recently, so I felt awkward coming over."
Bella had been to William's house twice and each time could feel the tangible hostility from Alice.
As a woman, how could she not notice?
"You better not come over just for meals. Just take care of our restaurant's business," William wasn't fond of people who freeloaded meals.
Many years ago, he also ran Inns, which were certainly very profitable. However, the food he cooked was so delicious that it often led to customers dueling outside the Inns to secure a meal.
Therefore, William currently has no intention of personally cooking as a chef, and he dislikes people who come to mooch off meals every day.
"Looks like your wedding is around the corner!" Bella giggled, "You're not planning to get married right after graduation, are you?"
William just smiled without saying anything.
"Fine, then I won't come to your place anymore. What ingredients do you need this time?"
"I need one fresh leg of lamb, five onions, two cinnamon sticks, five bunches of lavender, two tablespoons of rosemary, half a liter of marigold beans, one liter of aromatic rice, some Brussels sprouts, a few bay leaves, a small handful of sage, and some fresh tarragon."
Bella felt overwhelmed and looked at William, confused, "Does this sound more like cooking ingredients or an herbal recipe?"
William didn't answer her but asked, "Did you remember it all?"
"Got it!" Bella, with a good memory, immediately sent a message to her household staff.
"What exactly are you going to make?" Bella genuinely didn't know what these ingredients were for, "Is it roasted lamb?"
William replied, "It's called 'Herbal Breeze Lamb Broth'. Have you heard of it?"
Bella and Maria looked puzzled, hearing the name and considering the ingredients.
It sounded like an ancient dish that incorporated elements of herbal medicine, somewhat reminiscent of Ayurvedic food therapy, and perhaps even had a hint of Mediterranean flavor.
William laughed, "This soup, if you insist on calling it a herbal soup, that works too. It nourishes the body, warms the stomach, and aids digestion. But most importantly, it tastes really great."
"So, this is a healthy and nutritious dish," Bella pondered for a moment and then said, "Now that you mention it, I recall a restaurant in Paris that specializes in this dish, and it does very well. I saw it on a business trip but was too busy to try it."
"You're not the only one making this dish in the market," Bella added with a smile, "But if you make it well enough, you can definitely attract customers."
"I've tasted the one made by that Parisian restaurant; it has a history of about two hundred years," William said confidently, smiling. "The thyme they use isn't as good as the one I've found, so naturally, the taste can't compare to ours."
To William, a restaurant with two hundred years of history wasn't much.
He remembered tasting it over a hundred years ago in Paris, and the flavor was just okay.
"So how exactly is 'Herbal Breeze Lamb Broth' made?" Maria couldn't help asking, growing more curious with William's description.
"It's a special, French-originated herbal soup primarily made by simmering specially selected thyme and lamb. It strengthens the body and also helps to relieve stress," William explained, "The thyme I've found this time is of exceptional quality, so the flavor is absolutely top-notch."
The thyme he found was on the newly arrived land, a truly natural and rare find, having grown for hundreds or even thousands of years.
The thyme from this new land was quite rare, and its flavor was incomparable to that used by the Parisian restaurant.
Reflecting on it now, the collapse of parallel dimensions and the arrival of new lands on Earth might not be such a bad thing after all, at least in terms of providing a variety of ingredients.
As William spoke, he casually took out two exquisitely crafted glass bottles and handed them to Bella and Maria.
"These bottles are quite special," Bella remarked, examining the glass bottle in her hand. "They look like 18th-century European artifacts. Are you using these antiques to store seasonings?"
William gave her a resigned look. "You're supposed to focus on the seasoning, and yet you're fascinated by the bottle. What does it matter if they are 18th-century antiques? They are still containers."
Despite Bella's wealthy background, she had never seen such a lavish gesture.
The bottle, with its smooth feel, was clearly made of high-quality crystal, and its intricate carving displayed complex patterns. If put up for auction, it would undoubtedly fetch a high price.
Yet William was using it just for storing seasonings.
"You're absolutely right, I'm at a loss for words." It was then that Bella truly understood what it meant to be wealthy and powerful. William casually produced two such extraordinarily valuable glass bottles, no wonder he was so dismissive of the proposal to marry her.
Now recalling the tea set at William's house, it seemed to indeed be medieval Pewter...
Such a set could be worth several hundred million dollars.
Her own net worth was around five hundred million dollars, roughly equivalent to the value of William's tea set.
Thinking back to her attitude the first time she met William...
How embarrassing!
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