Before the tasting, the ten food critics exchanged glances, nodded in unison, and unified their operational strategy.
According to the original plan, they decided to pretend to take a few bites, then spit them out, and severely humiliate Mingyue Zhai. All their talking points had already been prepared.
Song Xiao, in particular.
He was already extremely displeased with "medicinal cuisine" in the first place, and he had an agreement with Chang Yunwei from the start.
Under the double debuff, Song Xiao felt utterly disgusted with Mingyue Zhai.
He took a small bite, not even bothering to take a second, and was about to spit it all out as planned. But the result shocked him.
This dish turned out to be unexpectedly delicious!
Driven by instinct, Song Xiao swallowed without even having time to think.
That's right, he swallowed it!
Without thinking, it was purely an instinctive reaction. His body thoroughly enjoyed the dish before him.
This…
The insults that were on the tip of his tongue were forcefully held back by Song Xiao. What a joke, if you've already eaten it, how can you insult it?
It was completely different from what he had initially planned.
How could this happen?
Despite having tasted so many delicacies, this was the first time Song Xiao encountered such a situation.
He turned to look at the others, and found that the other nine people were in the exact same predicament. Each of them was eating with relish, some even continuously eating piece after piece, completely forgetting the purpose of their visit.
"Delicious, so delicious."
"Words cannot express the praise. I never imagined such delicious food could exist in this world."
"My mouth was quite sore earlier, but as I ate, it stopped hurting. It's truly magical."
"Mingyue Zhai's medicinal cuisine lives up to its reputation."
The other nine people continued to praise, a genuine admiration stemming from their instincts as critics, involuntary and uncontrollable.
Seeing this scene, someone was unhappy.
Chang Yunwei!
As the director, his intention was to film a program that would tarnish Mingyue Zhai's reputation, and he had already discussed it with the ten food critics.
But now, why were they all praising it?
What was going on?
Chang Yunwei was very displeased. He kept making eye contact with them, but the critics didn't notice. They seemed entranced, eating voraciously.
Delicious, incredibly delicious!
Witnessing this, the audience burst into applause.
"Haha, see? This is the power of Mingyue Zhai's medicinal cuisine!"
"Look at these so-called food critics, stuffing their faces like us common folk, what's the difference, haha."
"I'm dying of laughter. They were criticizing medicinal cuisine just now, and now they're the ones enjoying it the most!"
"People, you just can't be too confident."
Hearing the audience's taunts, Song Xiao felt unhappy.
He took a deep breath and took another bite. This time, he was determined to force himself to spit it out, to prove that medicinal cuisine was not good.
But again, his body betrayed him.
It melted in his mouth, delicious!
Song Xiao swallowed again without a second thought. After swallowing, his mind was clear, as if he had instantly returned to his twenties, full of vitality.
Remarkable.
The medicinal cuisine actually had healing properties, which completely exceeded Song Xiao's expectations.
He originally thought it was amazing just for being delicious, but he didn't expect the healing function to be real as well. Lu Ming had not exaggerated at all.
Perhaps another bite?
Song Xiao could no longer care about anything else. He ate bite after bite, his chopsticks frantically picking up food.
He ate with increasing joy.
How long had it been since Song Xiao had eaten with such delight?
Most importantly, as he ate, he felt his mind becoming incredibly clear, and the blood flow throughout his body had improved. All the blockages he had experienced before had disappeared.
He felt refreshed and invigorated, even wanting to burst into song to express his joy.
In fact, someone did start singing.
One of the critics, unable to suppress his surging emotions, stood up, used his chopsticks as a microphone, and sang at the top of his lungs in front of everyone, as if he were on a stage.
He saw himself as a singer.
At this spectacle, the audience members eagerly took out their phones to record.
Chang Yunwei became even more displeased.
What was all this?
If this continued, how could they blacken Mingyue Zhai's name? The ten food critics had taken money but weren't doing their job. This was unacceptable! They had no manners whatsoever, infuriating him.
Fifteen minutes.
The food was devoured like a storm, leaving nothing behind. Even the most discerning Song Xiao finished every last morsel.
After eating, it was time for the review session.
Actually, they were supposed to review as they ate, but the ten food critics were having so much fun, they became too engrossed and forgot to review.
"Ahem." Lu Ming 'kindly' reminded them, saying, "Everyone, the meal is finished. Please give your reviews."
This…
The ten food critics exchanged glances, and each of them lowered their heads.
How could they review?
They had all been paid, so they definitely couldn't speak well of the medicinal cuisine.
But they couldn't speak ill of it either!
They had eaten so deliciously just now, and someone had even sung happily. In such a situation, if they said the food was bad, wouldn't that be against their conscience?
Could they still call themselves "critics"?
Praising was not an option, nor was insulting.
Therefore, all ten of them lowered their heads, remaining silent, unable to utter a single word of review.
Chang Yunwei became displeased and said angrily, "How was the food? Delicious or not, say something!"
Huu—
Finally, Song Xiao clenched his fists and slowly said, "Terrible."
Huh?
The word "terrible" surprised everyone.
Lu Ming frowned, "Terrible?"
Song Xiao nodded. "Just as I predicted, this thing is absolutely inedible, disgusting, makes me want to vomit. I've traveled far and wide and never eaten anything so terrible. Mingyue Zhai doesn't deserve to be in the culinary world! This is an extremely trashy restaurant!"
Oh, really?
Now that was clear enough.
The customers looked at each other, none of them able to believe that these were Song Xiao's words.
"What the hell, are you sick? Saying it's inedible, and then you ate it all?"
"You even drank the soup, and you say it's not good? This is like kicking the chef after a full meal, burning bridges!"
"What kind of people are these? Do they deserve to be called food critics? They're not even as good as my brain-damaged uncle!"
Hearing the curses from the crowd, Song Xiao lowered his head.
Regretful.
As a food critic, he had sold his soul and beliefs for money. He was no longer pure.
Chang Yunwei, however, was delighted.
He looked at the other nine and said, "Whether it's good or not isn't decided by one person. What do you all think?"
The other nine said nothing.
Chang Yunwei chuckled.
"Silence implies agreement with what Song Xiao said."
"Alas…"
"I never expected, never expected, that Mingyue Zhai's food would be so terrible. To think I went to such lengths to find someone to promote it, I'm utterly disappointed!"