Volume 1, Chapter 59: The Village Keeps No Idlers

A massive private dining room seated only four people.

The waiter had been chased outside.

Mostly because having an unfamiliar person standing nearby while you eat completely ruins your appetite!

Besides, it felt remarkably awkward and prevented anyone from relaxing.

Sure enough, the moment the waiter left, all four of them breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief.

The pressure had been simply too intense!

"Gudong, do you really know the owner of this place?"

Meng Yingcai held the menu in his hands, looking over it again and again, yet utterly failing to find anything within his price range.

It wasn't that he couldn't eat it; it was simply far too expensive!

"Of course I know them. I told you before, our village has a cooperative partnership with the owner of this establishment!"

Guodong chuckled, casually picking up a glass and attempting to pour some red wine for Meng Yingcai.

Only to discover that he couldn't even manage to open the bottle cap!

With no other choice, he handed the bottle over to Meng Xiaohan!

He realized he simply wasn't cut out for a life of luxury!

"I heard that you made hundreds of thousands selling honey peaches not too long ago.

Did you sell them all to the owner of this hotel?"

Guodong shook his head. "The honey peaches were sold to supermarkets. What we supply to this hotel are vegetables and fish pond produce!"

Meng Yingcai turned his head to glance at his wife, remaining silent for a long while.

Who knew what thoughts were churning in his mind.

Before long, all the dishes they had ordered were served on the table!

Looking at the wide variety of dishes, the group found themselves dazzled by the spread.

"Don't just stare, dig in!"

Guodong chuckled, taking the lead and tasting a dish first!

Yet with that single bite, his brow furrowed.

"What's wrong?" Meng Xiaohan, noticing the change in his expression right away, asked immediately.

"It's nothing!"

Guodong proceeded to taste a bit of every single dish, instantly losing all enthusiasm.

"Hand me the menu!"

Taking the menu, he checked the items one by one, only to find nothing amiss. Could there possibly be two different menus here?

He distinctly remembered Xie Minmin saying during their partnership negotiations that:

For the exact same dish, if their village's produce was used, the price would multiply several times over.

Yet looking through the entire menu, there weren't even two identical dishes!

"Waiter!"

Guodong's shout startled Meng Xiaohan.

"What on earth is going on? Don't go causing trouble again!"

Guodong said with an annoyed expression, "This is downright insulting! These dishes weren't grown in our village!

It would be one thing if they weren't used, but at least they should be listed on the menu.

Yet I checked every single dish on this menu, and they're simply not here!"

"What? That's impossible!" Meng Xiaohan picked up a piece of green vegetable and took a bite.

Having just tasted it, she too furrowed her brow.

At that moment, instead of the waiter, a knock sounded at the private room door.

A familiar figure appeared at the entrance.

Liu Yang!

"Gudong, why didn't you give me a heads-up when you came here!

Let me introduce you to two friends of mine!"

As he spoke, a middle-aged man and a woman walked in. The middle-aged man with graying hair was holding a bottle of wine in his hand!

And right beside him was a woman whom Guodong knew all too well.

She was none other than the young lady who had previously called them country bumpkins and whom he had diagnosed as ill.

Logically speaking, Guodong ought to have stood up at this point.

Yet this guy simply remained seated, raising his head to glance at the newcomers.

"No need for introductions, I already know her!"

"You know her?" Liu Yang laughed heartily. "What a coincidence."

With that, he ushered Wang's father and daughter into the private room.

"Chairman Wang, this is the younger brother Guodong I mentioned to you.

The young lady beside him is surnamed Meng, Meng Xiaohan!

And these two..."

At this point, Liu Yang trailed off, unable to continue the introductions.

Normally, if he had any tact, Guodong would stand up and help introduce everyone.

But Guodong did no such thing!

The atmosphere turned somewhat awkward. Just as Liu Yang was wondering how he might have offended Guodong, Meng Xiaohan suddenly spoke up.

"Chairman Liu, there's no need for introductions. Why don't you all sit down and eat with us!

You can't just stand there forever, can you?"

This gave Liu Yang a graceful way out.

Although Liu Yang felt uncomfortable inside, with someone of Chairman Wang's stature present—and in his own hotel to boot—he naturally wouldn't make things difficult for himself.

He hurriedly invited the Wang father and daughter to be seated nearby.

"Little brother, my surname is Wang, single name Qing. Coming here today, my main purpose is..."

Wang Qing presented himself very properly. Having roamed the business world for so many years, what kind of scene had he not witnessed?

"Let's eat first. If there's business to discuss, we can talk after the meal!"

While Guodong didn't know Wang Qing, he certainly knew the man's daughter.

After all, she was the one who had called him a country bumpkin! How could he possibly forget her!

He could already guess the purpose behind these two seeking him out.

Because just moments ago, right in front of the waiter, he had remarked:

That this young girl was ill, and his maternal grandfather could cure her!

Following that, the two of them had tracked him down—what did that imply?

It implied they were begging for a favor, of course!

Since they were asking him for a favor, regardless of their status, it meant absolutely nothing to him!

The pretty young girl who had sat down alongside Wang Qing did not utter a single word from beginning to end.

Her frosty expression made it seem as though everyone else owed her a fortune.

She didn't even cast a direct glance at anyone in the room.

Wang Qing showed no hesitation either, picking up a piece of fish and eating it.

No sooner had he taken a single bite than a smile broke across his face, and he turned his gaze toward Liu Yang.

The icy beauty beside him, perhaps feeling unsatisfied from earlier, followed her father's example and unceremoniously began to eat.

She too took a single bite.

Her reaction, however, was rather dramatic!

Blech!

Unable to hold it back, she lowered her head, braced her hand against the table, and vomited!

Of the four people in Guodong's party, aside from Guodong himself, the other three were stunned dumb on the spot.

Even though the dishes here didn't use ingredients from the village, they still tasted quite good.

They were far more delicious than the food they usually ate at roadside food stalls.

How could someone throw up from eating this?

Liu Yang, however, looked at the dishes on the table, then glanced at the icy beauty Wang Huan, and finally put the pieces together.

Menu in hand, Liu Yang asked, "Gudong, what is the meaning of..."

Before he could finish, Guodong pointed to the menu on the table and said, "I'm curious too. Logically speaking, a high-end hotel like this shouldn't make such a mistake.

Why are the dishes given to us only these, completely different from what Sister Min mentioned!"

Liu Yang stared at the menu, his fingers clenched tightly as a trace of anger welled up within him.

Yet he still forced a smile and quickly apologized to Wang Qing.

"Chairman Wang, I am truly sorry. I never expected this situation.

As you know, our dishes are divided into two categories, and some require advance reservation.

Therefore..."

Wang Qing shook his head, paying it no mind.

He knew his daughter's condition best of all; no one else could be blamed for this!

Gently patting his daughter's back, he turned to Guodong and said:

"Little brother, you've seen it yourself. She has anorexia; whatever she eats, she throws up.

Yet when my daughter eats the vegetables grown in your village, she doesn't have these problems at all.

So I'd like to discuss something with you, little brother—let her stay in your village for a while.

Rest assured, I will pay. Accommodation and meal expenses, I'll cover all of it!"

Hearing this, Guodong was taken aback instead. He turned to glance at Meng Xiaohan.

Seeing that she had no particular reaction, he abruptly stood up, casually pinched a silver needle between his fingers, and grabbed the girl's wrist.

Before anyone could react, he had already thrust the silver needle into her wrist.

"We don't keep idle people in our village!

This young lady probably wouldn't last long living there.

What can we do? We're just a bunch of country bumpkins, after all!"