"Wow! I think I smell something delicious, so fragrant!"
Liu Xining took a deep breath, unable to help closing her eyes, revealing an intoxicated expression, and softly said,
"I have no idea what dish it is, but it has a spicy, aromatic smell!"
"Where is this aroma coming from? What’s spicy and aromatic..."
Pan Jingchen glanced at Liu Xining and said with a smirk, "You must be starving and hallucinating, right?"
"Seriously! I really smelled the aroma of stir-fried peppers and meat. I used to eat this dish every other day as a kid, I can tell just by smelling it!"
Seeing Pan Jingchen’s disbelief, Liu Xining was certainly not convinced. It’s not her fault that Pan couldn’t smell it; she just had a dull sense of smell. How could she accuse others of being delusional from hunger?
How utterly ridiculous!
She was about to argue with Pan Jingchen when suddenly she heard footsteps outside the door. Turning her head, she saw Yan Tongtong pushing a food cart into the room, followed by a little old man in his sixties.
The old man was holding two wine bottles and smiled at Liu Xining and the others as he greeted them:
"You two must be friends of Xiaojiang, right?
Hello, hello! My name is Jia Dequan, and I’m kind of an old friend of Xiaojiang’s."
"Oh, hello, hello, you can just call me Xiaoliu, sir, and this here is my friend, she’s called Xiaopan."
Seeing someone new had arrived, Liu Xining instantly transformed into a graceful and poised person. She stood up, gestured with her hand, and said with a smile,
"Please, sir, have a seat anywhere, no need to stand on ceremony!"
"Oh, alright!"
Jia Dequan, of course, made himself comfortable. He placed the two bottles of fruit wine on the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. As he glanced at the two young women, he felt something odd.
These two girls were strangers to him, yet for some reason, they seemed familiar.
After a moment’s thought, when he couldn’t place it, Jia Dequan decided to let it go. After all, there were plenty of people who looked alike; perhaps these two just reminded him of someone he knew. It was normal not to recognize them.
Not long after he sat down, Jiang Yu also entered the private room. He had just finished cooking, and his clothes were full of kitchen smells. If he was going to dine, he certainly needed to change out of his chef’s outfit.
Once inside, as he helped Yan Tongtong serve the dishes, he turned to look at Jia Dequan and said with a smile:
"Lao Jia, all the dishes are up. Hurry and pour the wine; after we’ve had our fill, I’m keen to see your culinary ’skills’!"
"What’s the rush? I haven’t even ’inspected’ your two dishes yet!"
Even though that’s what Jia Dequan said, he still got up to open a bottle of wine, poured some for Jiang Yu and the others, and finally filled his own glass. As he poured, he chuckled and said,
"I warned you earlier, if these two dishes don’t meet my standards, I won’t share my ’special tricks’ with you!"
"That’s impossible!"
After placing all the dishes on the table, Jiang Yu sat down with Yan Tongtong, each finding a seat, with a confident smile, he said,
"I really put effort into these two dishes. They might not taste completely authentic, but when it comes to knife skills, they’re absolutely up to par!"
"Haha, what you say doesn’t count, what others say doesn’t count either; only my word counts!"
Jia Dequan took a sip of the fruit wine from the glass on the table. His eyes lit up immediately, and he couldn’t help but praise,
"This fruit wine is indeed excellent! With this fruit wine, even if your dishes were a bit off, the meal would still be considered a feast!"