Chapter 679 Food Poisoning

While they were joking around, a waiter brought over several cold dishes personally prepared by Hao Li.

"Let's dig in," Zhao Yuan said, encouraging everyone to start eating.

It was the first time Xu Yang and the other teachers had eaten at Lakefront House, so they didn't have high expectations. However, the moment they took their first bite, they were all completely stunned.

"Delicious! This cold-tossed chicken is absolutely incredible! It's so smooth and tender, fresh and fragrant, with a hint of sweetness in the spice. I feel like I could swallow my own tongue!"

"This cold-tossed wood ear mushroom is delicious too! It's crisp and savory with a slight tang that's so appetizing. I've eaten a lot of wood ear mushrooms, but this is the first time I've ever had any this good!"

"Every single cold dish is amazing! Is the chef here some kind of genius?"

As the teachers exclaimed in amazement, they began grabbing food as if they were in a battle. Their complete lack of composure made Chen Xuezhi frown inwardly, but he couldn't bring himself to criticize them. He simply remarked, "The food here is indeed quite good."

But he was inwardly puzzled. 'Lakefront House's food is good, but is it really so good it warrants this kind of reaction? They're acting as if they've never tasted food like this in their lives.'

Just then, his wife popped a piece of the cold-tossed chicken into her mouth.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, she quickly swallowed the chicken and exclaimed, "Delicious! This cold-tossed chicken is unbelievably good! That's strange, we've had the chicken here before, but it's never tasted this amazing!"

His wife's reaction surprised Chen Xuezhi. 'My wife is acting crazy now, too? This doesn't make any sense.' Full of doubt, he picked up a piece of the chicken himself. The moment it hit his tongue, he tasted a flavor that was completely different from anything he'd had here before!

It was unbelievably savory and delicious!

And so, inevitably, Chen Xuezhi joined the ranks of the food-grabbing army.

While eating, he couldn't help but ask, "Why is the food so incredible today? I've been here several times, and while it was always more delicious than other restaurants, it's nothing compared to this!"

'Could it be...?' A sudden suspicion flashed through Chen Xuezhi's mind.

Just then, a few waiters arrived with the hot dishes. Hearing Chen Xuezhi's question, one of them chuckled and explained, "These dishes were prepared by our boss himself. Of course they're going to taste exceptional!"

His suspicion confirmed, Chen Xuezhi's jaw dropped. "What? Your boss cooked these himself? But doesn't he hardly ever step into the kitchen?"

The waiter replied, "Our boss wouldn't cook for just anyone, of course. But Mr. Zhao is different; he's a good friend of the boss. Every time he visits Lakefront House, the boss insists on cooking for him personally."

Chen Xuezhi looked at Zhao Yuan, then back at the dishes on the table. After a long pause, he finally managed to say, "It seems that from now on, if we want to eat at Lakefront House, we have to make sure to drag you along, Zhao Yuan!"

Xu Yang and the other teachers all nodded in unison, completely agreeing with the sentiment.

After that single remark, Chen Xuezhi fell silent and focused on eating. He had no choice—aside from Zhao Yuan and Zhao Ling, everyone else at the table was eating like they were starving Ghosts. If he didn't hurry, he wouldn't get more than a few bites.

The meal progressed at a frantic pace. Each dish was devoured the instant it hit the table. As the aroma of the food wafted through the simple, prefabricated dining room, the other patrons felt an unbearable itch of curiosity, as if ten thousand tiny claws were scratching at their hearts.

They desperately wanted to try these incredible dishes, but when they called a waiter over, they learned that the food was personally prepared by Lakefront House's owner and wasn't on the public menu. They had no choice but to give up, watching Zhao Yuan's party with eyes full of envy.

Inwardly, they all wondered, 'Who in the world are these people? To actually get the mysterious owner of Lakefront House to cook for them personally.'

After polishing off every last dish, the group let out satisfied burps and rubbed their full stomachs. It was only then that they noticed the other diners were glaring at them with pure fury.

"What's with them?" As first-timers, Xu Yang and the other teachers didn't understand the situation and were baffled by the angry glares.

Chen Xuezhi, however, knew exactly what they were angry about.

Being able to see and smell the delicious dishes personally prepared by Boss Hao, but not being able to taste them—it was pure torture! The fact that the other diners hadn't already rushed over and beaten them up showed an incredible amount of restraint.

"We should probably get out of here," Chen Xuezhi suggested.

Xu Yang and the others, thoroughly intimidated, all nodded in agreement.

Zhao Yuan could only bow to the popular consensus and got up to leave with them.

Stepping out of the makeshift restaurant, Chen Xuezhi let out a long sigh of relief. He glanced back at the other patrons and felt a sudden thrill, the kind you get from showing off and then making a quick getaway.

But what made him even happier and more excited was that, thanks to Zhao Yuan, he had gotten to enjoy a meal personally prepared by Boss Hao.

This was something he could brag about for the rest of his life.

Chen Xuezhi said with a smile, "Zhao Yuan, thank you so much for today. We got to witness Boss Hao's Divine Level culinary skills!"

By now, Xu Yang and the other teachers also understood what a rare opportunity it was to eat a meal cooked by Hao Li himself, and they all began to thank Zhao Yuan profusely.

But at the same time, one of them sighed, "It's a shame. The chances of us ever getting to eat a meal personally cooked by Boss Hao again are probably slim to none."

Zhao Yuan smiled and said, "No problem. Next time you want to eat here, just give me a call. I'll bring you."

Those were the exact words everyone had been waiting to hear. They all chimed in.

"That's great!"

"It's a deal, then!"

"I'm going to hold you to that!"

Just as Zhao Yuan was about to reply, he suddenly heard several shouts of alarm from inside the restaurant, followed by a man's panicked scream, "Honey, what's wrong? Don't scare me!"

Immediately after, a loud murmur of discussion erupted from the crowd.

"Look, she's clutching her stomach in pain. Could it be food poisoning?"

"She's throwing up! Is there really something wrong with the food at Lakefront House?"

"Are we going to get poisoned, too?"

Panic instantly spread through the dining room. The crowd grew noisy, demanding an explanation from Lakefront House.

"Food poisoning?"

Zhao Yuan frowned. He felt there was something strange about this.

All the ingredients at Lakefront House were personally selected and rigorously inspected by Hao Li. As a Cultivator of the Tripod Cuisine School, he could easily tell whether an ingredient had spoiled. Logically, food poisoning should be impossible here.

So, what was really happening to the people in that dining room?