"Ouch, my stomach!" a customer clutched his abdomen in pain, constantly letting out foul-smelling gas, a clear sign of a stomach upset.
If it were just one person, it would be understandable. But this was happening to many customers!
One, two, three... almost all the customers in the restaurant were affected, each one farting and suffering from an upset stomach.
If only one person had a stomach ache, it might be their personal problem.
But if all the customers were suffering, there could only be one reason: something was wrong with the restaurant.
Wu Hao's smile instantly vanished. He had just been mocking Lu Ming and Su Wanran, but now he was like a startled bird, his face pale with fear.
"What's going on? Why is this happening?"
Wu Hao had made extensive preparations for the opening of his medicinal cuisine restaurant today. There shouldn't be any problems.
Regarding ingredients, Wu Hao had extremely strict requirements, so that couldn't be the issue. As for the chefs, they were handpicked, all the finest from the Wu family, so they wouldn't cause problems either.
If the ingredients and chefs were fine, where did the problem lie?
There was only one possibility: the recipe!
Wu Hao's face drained of color. He turned back to Lu Ming and shouted, "Lu Ming, you tricked me?"
Lu Ming smiled and retorted, "Wu Hao, what are you talking about? How did I trick you?"
Indeed, how had he tricked him?
Even if Wu Hao wasn't the sharpest, he understood the situation now. The recipe they had stolen last night was fake, problematic, and had been planted by Lu Ming.
But Wu Hao couldn't admit this.
How could he explain it?
Tell everyone that the Wu family had stolen a recipe from Ming Yue Zhai?
Would they have any dignity left?
So, in such a situation, he could only suffer in silence, unable to voice his grievances.
"Scoundrel!" Wu Hao stomped his foot angrily.
At this moment, customers surrounded him, pointing and accusing. Some with worse tempers even started to fight.
"You're the scoundrel! I trusted the Wu family so much, and this is how you treat your customers?"
"You made a mistake with the Su Wu incident, and you still haven't learned. Now this again. The Wu family is truly hopeless."
"Trash Wu family, the fighter jet of trash."
"It's the same medicinal cuisine, but after eating Su family's, people feel refreshed and all their ailments are cured. Wu family's not only doesn't cure anything, but it also gives us new problems. Ha, what a stark contrast."
"I take back my words. From now on, I will only eat medicinal cuisine at Ming Yue Zhai and never come to the Wu family's again!"
The customers began to curse.
They didn't care how good the Wu family's reputation was before. Now that they had offended them, there was only one response: abuse.
Wu Hao was thoroughly berated. No matter how he tried to explain, the customers wouldn't listen.
Poor Wu Hao could only bury his head against the wall, enduring the scolding.
The other two restaurants of the Wu family encountered the same situation. They had used the stolen recipe to target the Su family, but instead, their cleverness backfired, and they were tricked by Lu Ming.
And the worst was yet to come.
Seeing the agitated customers, Lu Ming raised his hand and said, "After this incident, I believe everyone knows which family's medicinal cuisine is the authentic one. For your minor ailments, you can resolve them by consuming our Ming Yue Zhai's 'Qi-Resolving Medicinal Cuisine.' Don't be late, or there won't be any seats."
Upon hearing this, the customers rushed to the diagonally opposite Su family's Ming Yue Zhai, scrambling for seats and ordering medicinal cuisine.
Ming Yue Zhai, which had seemed somewhat empty, was filled in the blink of an eye.
People came and went in an instant.
Meanwhile, the Wu family's restaurant was deserted, with only a few customers demanding explanations, arguing with the staff. The Wu family, on its opening day of medicinal cuisine, faced utter failure.
Wu Hao's eyes reddened, and he gritted his teeth, staring intently at Lu Ming.
He said fiercely, "I'll remember today's grudge, Lu Ming. I will make you pay with blood!"
Heh.
Lu Ming waved his hand, "Remember, don't steal things from others so casually in the future."
He laughed and strode away.
This battle was a great victory for the Su family.
...
Afternoon.
Wu Hao returned home dejectedly, his face ashen. He didn't even have the courage to look Wu Lingxuan in the eye.
The Wu family wouldn't have lost so miserably if it weren't for Wu Hao's obstinacy.
If he had listened to Wu Lingxuan's advice last night and checked the recipe first, they could have discovered the problem in time and wouldn't have fallen for Lu Ming's trick.
The loss was entirely Wu Hao's fault.
Without Wu Hao, Wu Lingxuan wouldn't have lost.
"I messed up, Sister. Punish me." Wu Hao collapsed to his knees before Wu Lingxuan, like a child who had made a mistake.
Wu Lingxuan looked at the plan in her hand with drooping eyelids.
She said with a heavy tone, "Punishment is meant to help one remember and learn the right from wrong. You already know you were wrong, so further punishment is meaningless. Get up."
Wu Hao didn't get up, remaining on his knees.
Wu Lingxuan then looked at him and said, "If you want to kneel, then kneel. It might alleviate some of your guilt. Through this incident, you must have realized how powerful our opponents are, and you won't be so eager for quick success anymore."
Wu Hao nodded firmly, "Yes, I truly know my mistake. The recipes for thirty basic-grade medicinal cuisines are so important to Ming Yue Zhai. How could they be so easily stolen by us? I should have paid attention earlier. Alas... I was blinded by joy. Sister, what do we do next? Ming Yue Zhai's medicinal cuisine is becoming more and more famous. If this continues, the Su family's restaurant will gain a great reputation and surpass our Wu family."
Wu Lingxuan narrowed her eyes. "Is Ming Yue Zhai going to be featured on 'A Bite of the Mist City'?"
Wu Hao nodded affirmatively.
The viewership ratings for this program were explosive, loved by audiences nationwide. Once Ming Yue Zhai successfully appeared on the show, the Wu family would be in danger.
However, Wu Lingxuan didn't think so.
She chuckled and said, "The Su family's trouble has arrived."
Oh?
Wu Hao's eyes changed, and he asked, "Sister, have you thought of another way to deal with the Su family? Tell me, I'll do my best this time and won't mess up."
"You don't need to," Wu Lingxuan said. "This time we have help, so you don't need to do anything."
Help?
Who?
Wu Hao looked at Wu Lingxuan blankly.
Wu Lingxuan said, "This helper is the chief director of the program 'A Bite of the Mist City' – Chang Yunwei!"
Wu Hao was greatly surprised and asked, "No, Sister, does our Wu family have connections like that? How come I don't know we have any dealings with Chang Yunwei?"
Wu Lingxuan smiled. "A helper doesn't necessarily mean having prior dealings. Using a borrowed knife to kill is also an option."