Chapter 465: Strange Taste (1/2)

”Your Uncle Mu gave me this wine bottle. Would he lie to me?” argued Mr. Huang.

I stood up and offered to pour the wine before the old man could get started. Mr. Huang returned to his seat, raised his glass and motioned for us to try the wine. Upon taking a sip, I found the wine soft and mellow, the delicate flavors lightly caressing the taste buds.

Even so, I only drank half a glass.

As he spoke, Mr. Huang served himself some salad. However, after several bites, his expression turned ugly. ”Dad, what's wrong?” Xiaotao stood up in consternation.

Mr. Huang spat his food and angrily fiddled around with it using his fork. Unsure of what to make out of his actions, Xiaotao and I exchanged a look of perplexity.

”Mrs. Zhang! Mrs. Zhang!” he shouted.

The housekeeper entered the dining hall and waited for his instructions. ”Who made the salad? Get me the chef!” roared Mr. Huang.

As soon as the housekeeper left, Mr. Huang wiped his mouth with a napkin and apologized, ”Please excuse me. I almost never lose my temper with my staff. But this is too much, too much!”

”Dad, was there sand in your food?” Xiaotao wondered out loud.

Mr. Huang shook his head, ”Doesn’t matter if it was sand or even a dead insect! But this tastes revolting! I don't know what the hell they put in there! Xiao Song, I hope you didn’t eat this salad?”

Despite having tasted the salad, I shook my head in a daze. In fact, the salad tasted delicious. It had celery, baby tomatoes, red cabbage and diced ham.

With panic written all over his face, the chef walked in, completely unaware of what his mistake might be.

Smoldering under his stony expression, Mr. Huang pushed the plate over and told the chef to taste the salad. Upon taking a bite, the chef looked aggrieved, ”Sir, it tastes fine.”

”Fine?” Mr. Huang exploded in anger, ”I think you should go to the hospital to get your tongue and nose checked. Can't you taste how disgusting it is? You know I have important guests today, yet this is what you serve. Tell me, what are your intentions for doing so?”

Furrowing his eyebrows, the chef couldn’t understand what was wrong. Xiaotao stared in apparent confusion while I stirred the salad with my fork. ”Mr. Huang, how long have you been a vegetarian?”

The old man sighed, ”It's been three months now.”

”I’ve heard that vegetarians can’t stand the smell of meat after going meatless for too long. Could it be the diced ham that’s making you nauseous?” I suggested.

After a moment’s contemplation, Mr. Huang shook his head, ”That’s impossible!”

Mr. Huang slammed the table, ”Excuses! That steak you made reeked so bad! God knows what you did with it!”

”When did this happen?” I asked.

”Three months ago!” answered the chef.

Three months ago? What a coincidence...

Forking up a piece of diced ham, Xiaotao and I carefully tasted it and exchanged a meaningful look. This was authentic Jinhua ham that tasted as delicious as reputed.

Xiaotao suddenly spat the bite she took. ”The meat has been kept for too long. Remove this and make sure you’re careful in the future. Don't you know that my dad is a vegetarian?”

”I’m sorry, it’s all my fault,” the chef awkwardly touched his toque. “I’m so used to preparing it this way in the restaurant.”

I was well aware of Xiaotao’s intentions. Despite suspecting there was something wrong with Mr. Huang's health, she didn’t want to alarm him, hence the pretence. In the spirit of collusion, I too spat out my ham. With that, Mr. Huang told the chef he could go, indicating the end of the matter.

After lunch, Mr. Huang returned to his usual affable self as he shared Xiaotao's childhood photo album with me. Little Xiaotao was so cute I had to wonder how she grew into such a… sexy and charming young lady.

”Oh, my gosh! How can you show him photos of me still sucking from a milk bottle?” cried Xiaotao.

”What's wrong with this? Xiao Song will be part of the family in the future,” chuckled Mr. Huang.

Xiaotao's cheeks colored from embarrassment, ”It's too early to say that!” Then, she approached Mr. Huang, asking gently, ”Dad, how have you been recently?”