Chapter 34: Extortion

"Ah?" Shang Bin was startled, not expecting the beautiful woman to get angry. He quickly explained, "Teacher Shen, I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about Zhang Xuan. If you don't have money, you shouldn't invite people to eat. Getting stopped like this is truly shameful and damages our academy's prestige..."

Before he could finish, the goddess's face before him grew darker and darker, on the verge of exploding. Shang Bin was filled with confusion when he saw the waiter awkwardly interrupt him: "Young Master Shang..."

"What is it?" Shang Bin frowned and looked over.

"Cough, cough, the one paying is... Teacher Shen!" the waiter said.

He had received orders to cooperate with Shang Bin in this act and hadn't expected that between a man and a woman dining, the woman would be paying. Before he could report this, Shang Bin had already rushed over, leaving him no time to explain now.

"Teacher Shen is paying?"

Shang Bin jumped in surprise, his eyes wide with disbelief. Was this real? He invited the goddess to dinner every day, and she ignored him. What right did this guy, the lowest-ranked in the academy, have to dine with her, and even... have her pay?

"What? So if I don't have money to pay, I'm just pretending to be generous and making a fool of myself, right!" Shen Biru glared at him coldly. She was already frustrated from being constantly outmaneuvered by Zhang Xuan today, and now to be mocked by this guy, she was about to explode with anger.

"No, no..." Shang Bin's face paled, almost on the verge of tears. He then understood that his attempt to flatter had backfired spectacularly. He quickly waved his hands, "That's not what I meant, it's... it's..." He repeated himself several times, unsure how to respond.

However, as the grandson of an elder and an experienced academy teacher, he quickly recovered. Turning to the waiter, he waved his hand grandly, "Alright, Teacher Shen's bill is mine. Whatever the cost, I'll pay for it!"

"Young Master Shang, what are you saying? You are a VIP of our Hongtian Restaurant. How could we possibly take your money!" The waiter quickly nodded. This was part of their pre-arranged script, designed to display his status and influence before the goddess.

"That's good..." Shang Bin was about to continue speaking, wanting to show off his domineering presence, when Shen Biru's voice rang out again: "No need. I'll pay for my own expenses, so no one can say I'm just pretending to be generous!" As she spoke, she removed the jade hairpin from her hair. "This jade hairpin is worth at least five thousand gold coins. You can find someone knowledgeable to verify it. I'll leave it here as collateral, and I'll return to redeem it after I've retrieved the money."

"This..." Holding the jade hairpin, the waiter didn't know what to do. None of this was in the script they had agreed upon earlier...

"Teacher Shen, there's no need for this. Steward Wu of Hongtian Restaurant is a friend of mine. All I have to do is say the word, and your small sum will be nothing..." Shang Bin quickly stepped forward.

"That's your business, what does it have to do with me?" Shen Biru interrupted him, looking at the waiter again. "If you don't find someone to verify it soon, I'm leaving!"

"I..." The waiter quickly looked at Shang Bin, his eyes full of pleading.

"Why are you looking at me?" Shang Bin urgently waved his hands, a furious expression on his face. "I don't even know you!"

"Alright!" Zhang Xuan shook his head, surprised that a meal could turn into such a commotion. He walked over, took the jade hairpin from the waiter's hand, and returned it to Shen Biru. "Why are you giving him this? This meal isn't worth 1280 gold coins. Are you giving him money just so he can extort you?"

"Extortion? Hongtian Restaurant has been established for nearly ten years, with fair prices and honest dealings. No one has ever made trouble before. What do you mean?" As soon as Zhang Xuan finished speaking, a middle-aged man strode over. It was Wu Chou, the steward of Hongtian Restaurant. He had also made arrangements with Shang Bin and wasn't supposed to appear, but upon hearing Zhang Xuan accuse them of extortion, he could no longer hold back. The commotion had already alerted many diners. If he didn't appear now and let the accusation spread, the restaurant's reputation would surely suffer greatly. When Elder Hong Hao, the owner, returned, wouldn't he be furious enough to kill him?

"What do I mean? Do you really want me to spell it out?" Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow, a lazy air about him.

"Hmph, every dish at our Hongtian Restaurant uses the most precious and fresh ingredients, and our prices have been approved by Hongtian Academy. If you can't explain yourself, even if you are an academy teacher, you won't be leaving today!" Steward Wu's face darkened. For a restaurant, extorting customers was a serious accusation. If it wasn't cleared up and allowed to spread, Hongtian Restaurant might as well close down.

"He's really asking for it!" Shang Bin, who had thought he wouldn't be able to deal with Zhang Xuan this time, saw his eyes light up with excitement upon hearing Zhang Xuan accuse Hongtian Restaurant of extortion and offend Steward Wu. Steward Wu usually seemed easy to talk to and good-tempered, but when it came to the reputation of Hongtian Restaurant, he wouldn't back down an inch! It looked like this lowest-ranked guy from the academy was in trouble!

"What nonsense is this guy spouting..." Shen Biru, on the other hand, looked anxious. For Hongtian Restaurant to be established and built so grandly within Hongtian Academy, its backing forces must be considerable. Openly accusing them of extorting customers was just inviting trouble, wasn't it? Such a large restaurant placed great importance on its reputation.

"Since you want me to speak, I won't hold back!" Unfazed by the man's threat, Zhang Xuan walked up to the table.

"This Purple-Scented Violent Bear Meat, according to your description, is made by slaughtering the violent bear and then soaking its meat in purple-scented flowers for three days. Only then will the meat be crispy outside, tender inside, and full of aroma. Unfortunately, you only soaked it for a day and a half before stir-frying and serving it. While the texture might be similar, the medicinal properties of the purple-scented flowers haven't permeated the meat at all, making it useless no matter how much you eat!

"As for this Hong Lake Mandarin Fish, you advertise it as wild mandarin fish caught from Hong Lake, but in reality, it's farmed mandarin fish from Yeluo Bay. The difference between the two is simple: wild mandarin fish, because they face the natural predator, the Clear River Turtle, have much harder tail fins and a considerably thicker tail compared to normal farmed mandarin fish. Anyone can find this out with a little inquiry!

"And this Stir-Fried Heart-Comforting Grass, it's not Heart-Comforting Grass at all, but Bitter Heart Vegetable! These two plants are actually the same species, but they grow in different environments and thus have different names. Heart-Comforting Grass grows near the lairs of savage beasts and is nurtured by them, so its roots are generally large and its nutritional value significantly higher! Bitter Heart Vegetable, on the other hand, grows in the wilderness, is very cheap, has small roots, and its nutritional value is much lower! For the same dish, the price difference between the two is at least tenfold! They cannot be compared! Labeling it Heart-Comforting Grass but using Bitter Heart Vegetable—if this isn't extortion, what is it?"

Zhang Xuan casually pointed to a dish and clearly articulated its origin and flaws. Steward Wu, who had been aggressive just moments before, turned pale upon hearing these words. As the steward of Hongtian Restaurant, he was responsible not only for the front-of-house customers but also for the kitchen operations. He naturally knew whether what Zhang Xuan said was true or false. It wasn't random nonsense; it was... precisely accurate!

The owner was unaware of these matters; he had secretly altered them for exorbitant profits, especially the Hong Lake Mandarin Fish and Heart-Comforting Grass. The two substitutes were practically identical, and even professional gourmets hadn't noticed anything amiss. How did this young man figure all this out? And state it so accurately?

"Damn it!"

"We came all the way from afar just for the authentic Heart-Comforting Grass, and it turns out to be fake!"

"Me too! I heard that the Hong Lake Mandarin Fish here was the most fragrant, delicious, and authentic, so I made a special trip. How could they trick us like this!"

"Refund! Refund! The number one restaurant of Hongtian Academy, using counterfeit and inferior goods! And I'm a loyal customer, yet I've been deceived like this!"

Zhang Xuan spoke calmly, eloquently, and with solid evidence. The crowd of onlookers immediately erupted.