The Peerless Ring

Before long, the door to the private room was opened, and a middle-aged man dressed in a suit walked in.

"Master Li, Miss Geng, how come you didn't say hello when you came to dine here? If it weren't for my staff mentioning it, I wouldn't have known that you two graced us with your presence today," the middle-aged man said warmly as soon as he entered. Although his words seemed to mildly reprimand them, his face was beaming with a bright smile.

Geng Yafei nodded at him but remained silent. It was Li Bing who stood up and spoke.

"Today we're just having a meal with a few colleagues, so we didn't want to disturb Manager Huang."

"Talking about disturbing or not, Master Li is being too formal, isn't he?" the middle-aged man said with a chuckle, then he looked at Jaxon and the others and said, "Nice to meet you all. I'm Huang Tingfeng, the manager of Kaillemen. Since all of you are Master Li's colleagues, feel free to look me up whenever you dine here in the future. I'll give you all a 20% discount."

Manager Huang's words pleased Wang Fu and the others, and made Li Bing's face look very distinguished. However, Jaxon's expression remained unchanged.

"I wonder if everyone is satisfied with today's meal? Is the food to your taste?" Manager Huang asked.

"Satisfied, very satisfied."

"Kaillemen is indeed one of the best restaurants in Jiangzhou. The taste of the dishes is absolutely beyond reproach," Li Tian and the others quickly said.

"Manager Huang, we're all quite satisfied with the food, but someone here thinks that the dishes here are just average," Li Bing said at this moment.

"Oh?" Manager Huang's face showed a bit of confusion. Then he looked at everyone present and asked, "I wonder who thinks our dishes are just average. Please point out the shortcomings so that we can improve."

"Manager Huang, I don't think there's any need. My colleague was just speaking casually," Geng Yafei said.

"I don't think he was just speaking casually. Am I right, Teacher Jaxon?" Li Bing looked at Jaxon and said with a somewhat sarcastic tone.

Manager Huang's eyes also turned to Jaxon and said, "Sir, if you have any opinions, please feel free to voice them. Kaillemen has always been committed to ensuring our customers are satisfied and leave happily. We will certainly make improvements where we fall short."

Jaxon looked at Li Bing, then at Manager Huang, and said, "It was indeed me who said it, and I wasn't just speaking casually. I have indeed tasted dishes better than those here before."

"Oh, is that so?" Manager Huang said, "Since this gentleman thinks our dishes are just average, please point out the shortcomings so that we can make improvements."

Although Manager Huang's words were polite, Jaxon could still detect a hint of disdain in his tone. Since that was the case, Jaxon didn't plan to be polite with him. He stood up, pointed at the dishes on the table, and said, "Since Manager Huang is so sincere, I'll just casually mention a few things. For example, this dish was taken out of the pan ten seconds too late, making it a bit tough. This one has too much monosodium glutamate, making it overly savory. This one shouldn't have had scallions, as it ruins its original flavor. And this one..."

Although Jaxon said he was just casually mentioning a few things, in reality, he pointed out quite a few shortcomings in almost every dish. It seemed that none of the dishes could satisfy him. His advanced culinary skills had not only improved his practical cooking abilities but also enriched his theoretical knowledge.

As Jaxon continued to point out more and more flaws, Manager Huang's expression grew increasingly unpleasant. At first, he was still able to maintain a smile, but by the end, his face was almost as dark as charcoal. However, Jaxon seemed not to notice and kept pointing out the shortcomings of the dishes. Even when Geng Yafei gave him a subtle hint to stop, he ignored it.

Since you asked me to speak, why should I be polite? Your unpleasant expression has nothing to do with me.

Compared to Manager Huang's unpleasant expression, Li Bing's face was much happier, with a clear sense of schadenfreude in his smile.

After Jaxon finished speaking, there was a complete silence in the room, and the atmosphere became somewhat eerie.

"Thank you for your criticism and guidance, sir," Manager Huang finally broke the silence. However, although he said thank you, everyone could tell that his words were not sincere and that he was in a bad mood.

"Don't mention it. I was just speaking casually. It's only because Manager Huang was so sincere that I spoke up. If it had been someone else, I wouldn't have bothered to say anything," Jaxon said.

"Thank you!" Manager Huang said, and everyone could hear the grit in his voice.

"Manager Huang, you might not know this, but our Teacher Jaxon is also very knowledgeable in cooking. He just said that the dishes he makes taste even better than those here. I didn't believe him at first, but now that I've heard him point out so many flaws in your dishes, maybe what he said is true after all," Li Bing stood up to stir up trouble.

"Is that so? Since this gentleman is so knowledgeable in cooking and has pointed out so many flaws in our dishes, how about having a cook-off with our chefs here? This way, our chefs can also learn about their shortcomings," Manager Huang's expression seemed even more unpleasant.

"Manager Huang, I don't think there's any need for that. Teacher Jaxon was just speaking casually," Geng Yafei spoke up for Jaxon again.

However, Geng Yafei's repeated defense of Jaxon made Li Bing even more dissatisfied. He snorted coldly and said, "I don't think he was just speaking casually. What he just said made perfect sense. Kaillemen is also one of the most well-known restaurants in Goldenleaf University. If his words spread, who knows how much damage it could cause to the restaurant. This is a smear on the image of Kaillemen. If he can prove what he said with his cooking skills, that's fine. But if he can't, then it means that his words were just empty talk, deliberately smearing the image of the restaurant. The restaurant has the right to seek compensation from him."

"How serious can it be? Jaxon was just talking here and it won't spread outside," Geng Yafei frowned and said.

"Of course it's serious!" Manager Huang said, "Our restaurant has always placed great emphasis on its image, which is the foundation of our success. We welcome sincere suggestions, but we will not tolerate any malicious attempts to tarnish our reputation."

With that, Manager Huang looked at Jaxon and said, "Since you are so knowledgeable, I suggest you have a cook-off with our chefs."

"I don't have the time," Jaxon shook his head and said, "To be honest, if it weren't for the first meal with the new colleagues today, I wouldn't have come at all."

"You're just a physical education teacher. What could you possibly have to do that's so important? Are you that busy?" Li Bing said.

"Yes, I am indeed very busy," Jaxon replied, "Unlike some people who can just be parasites at home from the day they are born, I have to earn a living."

Geng Yafei gave Jaxon a disapproving look, and Jaxon quickly clarified, "I'm not talking about you, Teacher Geng."

Jaxon's meaning was very clear: I'm talking about you, Li Bing!