More than half an hour ago, the three Bergets were still enduring the torture of the last scene of the opera, while Alphonse encountered a difficult guest. The incident started over the food in the restaurant, and it quickly evolved from some slightly biased views into hostility.
After two full days of preparation, Roche Shuat Restaurant officially moved the "Mysterious Oriental" theme into the restaurant today, with the theme of Western cuisine and Eastern cuisine.
Chef Alphonse combines various oriental cooking and seasoning methods with various commonly used European ingredients to present an extremely innovative and fancy menu full of surprises [1].
In other words, it’s novel enough but not necessarily delicious.
A restaurant with such a price that makes such experimental dishes will naturally encounter negative reviews, and Alphonse has made sufficient preparations in advance.
The theme sign had been hung at the door two days earlier, and the time was specifically set after 10 o'clock to avoid the evening rush hour. It also stated that it was a new dish with a unique taste. During the trial opening period, the price would be 20% lower than usual.
Each guest will receive a dish rating card before taking the table, and they can rate the dishes they ordered. If you have specific comments about the taste, you can also sign a message on the back of the card and put it in the chef's message box before leaving the restaurant.
If the suggestions are adopted, Alphonse will also provide more discounts and VIP treatment.
Most of the people who can come to the restaurant today are regular customers who are willing to try new dishes. They love French cuisine, but are not satisfied with traditional dishes. They know that it is not easy to create new dishes, and are willing to explore the mysteries of food with their favorite chefs.
So they, like Alphonse, were fully prepared.
But after all, some unsuspecting people will enter the restaurant, order some strange dishes that they don't know the so-called, and then get angry after eating.
Even though they were all guests, and he recognized them with a few scoldings, wasn't it a bit too much to just slap the table and curse them? Alphonse also has his own temper. When someone says that the new dishes he carefully cooked are worthless, he will inevitably feel angry.
The two of them got into a fight.
As a former palace chef, now without an employer and still living in a foreign country, Alphonse was in a bad mood. In addition, the other party used bad words and refused to listen to any explanation, and was unwilling to accept any non-monetary compensation.
So this farce has been expanding since it started half an hour ago, until now it has evolved into a street fight with everyone watching.
After all, unlike the British gentleman who is full of martial virtue, Vienna, who is full of artistic flavor, rarely has this situation. Moreover, the restaurant is not far from the police station, and there are police patrol boxes nearby. It only takes two sirens to attract a lot of police officers. Logically speaking, it will not develop to this extent.
But if you walk into the crowd, you can see a few policemen in black.
Considering the size of the crowd, a total of four patrol officers came this time.
They all know Alphonse, and if their salary allows, they will occasionally come to the restaurant to eat cheap food. So when asking, they would not start with this neighbor, but the short and thin man on the other side, hoping to settle the dispute as soon as possible.
"Sir, what happened?"
"I just evaluated tonight's dishes objectively. This... must be the chef here, and he cursed me like crazy." The man looked around with a smile, "It turns out that French restaurants are like this. Are you here to receive guests? This is really an eye-opener for me!"
These words aroused laughter from many people around him, but Alfons didn't seem to care, as if he was not the one he was arguing with before: "Whatever you say, right and wrong can't be easily argued with just your two lips. Clear."
In just two sentences, he had already taken off his white chef's overalls, took off his kitchen hat, and then began to slowly roll up his sleeves.
This attitude of going ahead with it made the man realize that something was wrong: "Don't you admit that there is something wrong with these dishes?"
"If you have any questions, you can ask other people dining at the same time."
Alphonse did not want to mention the process of the argument, but he still needed to defend his cooking skills: "Today is the trial opening of the new menu. It is common for the dishes to be unpalatable. I have already apologized to you before. , and was willing to give another 10% off and compensate for a re-cooked main course. But what was the result? What did you say? "
"What did you say?" The patrol officers also started gossiping.
"I'm asking for...asking for the order to be waived." Li Ben looked a little embarrassed, but he still felt that the request was not too much. "These things are really hard to swallow, especially the... dipped dish." Salted fish with some kind of sauce is too unappetizing."
"The main course is bunting. Bunting is much more expensive than salted mackerel."
"Huh? That's not what you said before!"
"I said it was expensive because of the barbecued pork sauce!"
"Okay, I don't want to argue about this anymore." The man suddenly became discouraged, "You pay me the full compensation you just promised, and forget about it."
"No, don't forget it." Alphonse finished rolling up his sleeves. "It's useless to talk more, sir. Even if you involve everyone present, you won't be able to successfully resolve our conflicts. Your words have already offended me. , unless you apologize... No! I do not accept any form of apology! I demand a duel with you!"
When these words came out, it was like a stone stirring up a thousand waves, adding a bit of blood to the noisy streets.
The onlookers and the customers who came to dine were not afraid of big troubles, and were ready to eat a big melon with open stomachs. But the patrol officers responsible for maintaining order did not dare to mess around: "Are you sure you want to ask this... Um, what's your name?"
"You can call me Lieben, Friedrich-Wilhelm von Lieben."[2]
"Oh, Mr. Lieben." The patrolman repeated the question to Alphonse again, "Mr. Chef, are you sure you really want to ask the distinguished Mr. Lieben for a duel? Even though this is not considered a duel in Austria. Do you insist on doing anything worth showing off?"
"Yes! I insist!" Alphonse had already adjusted his state, and his tone was completely opposite to what he had just said, "Now, immediately! Immediately!!!"
Seeing how impulsive he was, the patrolman quickly stopped him: "Mr. Chef, please exercise restraint!"
"Restraint? Please tell me how to exercise restraint!"
"Even if there is a duel, it has to be done at a certain time. It's really..."
"You can't blame me, it's his words that are too despicable!" Alphonse's face twitched, and his plump body took two more steps forward, "Since entering the restaurant, this guy has been insulting my restaurant, insulting My professionalism is an insult to my noble profession of winning the applause of everyone at the French court!”
"I understand, I understand everything..."
"No, you don't understand!" Alphonse became more and more excited as he spoke, "His behavior cannot be called 'noble' at all, let alone the symbol of German aristocracy. He even chopped down trees while eating and drinking at my place last time. They are better at work than him."
Suddenly there was a clear cough behind him, but it was quickly drowned in the noise of the melon-eating crowd.
Alphonse calmed down a little and began to mention the "duel" he just mentioned: "In France, if someone offends others, the offended person is the injured party. If the injured party believes that this offense can only be resolved by a duel, Then he has the right to demand a duel."
"But Mr. Alphonse, there are too many people here." The policeman tried his best to pour cold water on him, hoping to dampen his enthusiasm for the duel.
But Alphonse is an authentic Frenchman [3], and he resolutely follows his employer even when he goes to the battlefield. He recognized the behavior of dueling from the bottom of his heart, and once he said it, it was impossible to take it back: "If he were in France, I would have torn him into pieces."
"But this is Vienna."
"Mr. Alphonse, be careful what you say."
"I am French, and he is probably from Berlin and not Austrian." Alphonse suddenly found a reason and said with a smile, "If he is really a German noble, he should not object to a sword fight to decide the victory. A duel involving losses and personal honor!" [4]
"Are you German?"
Li had no choice. It was difficult to change a person's accent: "Indeed, I am from Berlin."
Since he was not an Austrian and it was a private duel, there was no need for the police to be so lenient. More importantly, both France and Germany have recently defeated Austria. Psychologically speaking, they don't want to meddle in other people's affairs.
Now that the surrounding atmosphere has reached its peak, there is really no need to refuse a feast of foreigners' quarrel.
"In that case, please..."
Duels have a very strict and relatively fair set of game rules. The first and most basic one is the assistant. A duel without an assistant is not allowed and has no legal effect, because it can only be regarded as a private fight.
A patrolman took the initiative to act as the referee: "Mr. Alphonse, do you have an assistant?"
"Yes!" Alphonse looked behind him and pointed at the crowd and said, "Mr. Kavi Hines is the assistant of the genius surgeon Ignatz of the Municipal General Hospital."
If it had been two days ago, or even just this morning, this would have been a name so ordinary that it would not have caused any waves. But it was now close to midnight the next day, and people walking in the streets had already read the evening newspaper. This name became the biggest hit, even more interesting than the fight between France and Germany in the street.
Although the Aftonbladet report was pessimistic about the development of Austria's surgical field, it still affirmed Kawei's previous work.
A young assistant under 20 years old successfully performed an operation that no one in Austria dared to perform. It was simply exciting.
Of course, this is also due to the various prefixes given by Alphonsus. The labels of "name", "hospital" and "Ignatz's assistant" all hit the mark. There is no chance that there will be another Kavi like this in Austria.
Under the gaze of everyone, Kawei had to walk out of the crowd.
"You've done me a disservice..."
"Isn't this great? It gives you a chance to show your face."
"I don't like the limelight."
Kawei is telling the truth. Being praised too much will affect his concentration. This is a lesson he has learned from many years of clinical work. Of course, people are very different. Some people just like to be praised. The more they are praised, the more energetic they become.
"Then why didn't you leave?" Alphonse asked, "If you had left earlier, I would have chosen these patrol officers as my assistants."
"It's not just for those rabbit heads." Kawei sighed helplessly, "Of course, I'm also very interested in your wounds after the duel."
Alphonse smiled and welcomed him to join, leaned forward and whispered back: "If you help me complete this duel, I will give you as many rabbit heads as you want from now on, without any payment."
Kawei also smiled and said in a low voice: "Are there any pig heads?"
Alphonse was surprised and replied: "I am not in the habit of cooking a whole pig."
"Okay, a rabbit head is a rabbit head, but you have to be responsible for delivering it."
"Where to send?"
"my home."
"no problem."
Now the problem seems to have come to Li Ben, but for him, not having an assistant has become an advantage: "Sorry, Mr. Chef, I came alone Vienna and have no friends, so I don't have an assistant."
"Who is willing to be this young German nobleman's dueling assistant?" Alphonse would not let him go and shouted directly, "Please be sure to think from his perspective. Any violation of dueling rules or accidents will not be punished. Allowed!"
"It's useless, Mr. Chef, just calling an assistant on the street is against the rules."
Suddenly someone in the crowd shouted: "I do!"
No one would have thought that after Kawi appeared, a more famous and influential figure would come into view. With a cane in his hand and a tall hat on his head, he squeezed through the crowd with the help of Berget and Sarsson.
"It's Hans!"
"Oh, Hans Schriarty!"
"What kind of holiday is today? This is more exciting than accompanying the German scoundrels to defeat Denmark!"
Hans walked up to Li Ben with a smile and asked: "I should be able to do it. I am German, but I was born in Hungary. I went to France to work for a while, and now I am back in Austria."
Alphonse decided on the candidate before Li Ben came to his senses: "No problem, if the assistant is a famous big shot, it will be no problem."
"Is it really okay?"
"No problem, I will be on your side." Hans said playfully with a smile, then turned around and said to everyone, "Please support my friend Mr. Li Ben, he will definitely win this duel. victory!"
...
The four people standing in the crowd had no idea that they would be involved in a duel between France and Germany without finishing their meal.
Because Kavi and Hans both entered the scene, Berget and Sarson, friends of the two, became witnesses. Although it was inconsistent with etiquette, given that the duel was the product of a hasty decision and the weapons were a pair of unedged rapiers, everyone turned a blind eye.
"The swords are of equal length, and the left hand cannot be used as a shield. Do you understand?"
"Understood."
"Please take off your jacket and reveal your shirt."
Li Ben did as he was told.
"Now I announce that the duel between Mr. Alphonse and Mr. Liben will now begin. Please pay attention and be sure to click to the end!"
