Sui and Tang Dynasties: Awakening the Supreme Skills at the Beginning

Li Zhen didn't say anything, and Lu Feng was also thinking about countermeasures.

Seeing that they were silent, Shopkeeper Cai sneered, "Why? You guys can't afford to eat and you want to dine for free?"

He deliberately raised his voice to attract the attention of most of the diners in the lobby in order to create a sense of oppression.

He had heard something about Li Zhen's affairs, and he knew that credibility was important in doing business. If one lost credibility, one would not be able to do business.

Of course, if this matter were to get out and people knew that Li Zhen ate without paying, then his reputation would be completely gone. How could he continue to do business?

This is face!

For the sake of face, a fool would pay more!

In Zhang Guangji's words, they are blatantly cheating you, what can you do?

Shopkeeper Cai looked very proud.

"Where's the plate of melon seeds? We didn't ask for them, so why did you bring them to us? They're so expensive, why don't you just go and grab them? And this wine, it's not worth two thousand taels of silver no matter how you look at it!"

Li Jianing said, looking rather unhappy.

She now knew that they had been cheated.

"You'll have to ask your young master. It was he who said to serve the good wine and food!"

"Besides, you didn't say no. I thought you knew the price. This is made from the essence of heaven and earth. In order to cultivate these melon seeds, we used a lot of the best medicinal materials. And this divine wine is our 20-year-old aged wine. It is mellow and rich, refreshing. The price is naturally high. If you can't afford it, just say so. You obviously have no money in your pocket, but you are still pretending to be a big shot?"

"Poor fellow, why don't you ask what the consequences are of eating a free meal at Zuixianju?"

"If you really can't afford it, you can just give us these two young ladies as collateral. We'll sell them to a brothel and let them serve customers to pay you back. Tsk tsk! With their looks and figures, they're definitely popular! When the money is paid off, we'll release them. By then, maybe you'll have children and grandchildren. Haha, you'll make a fortune this way, haha!"

"Yes, yes!"

……

"you……"

Li Jianing's pretty face turned red and she couldn't utter any curse words.

"Mr. Li, why don't I report to the county magistrate, Lord Li, and ask them to give them some time..."

Lu Feng had no other choice but to take the loss.

"This is twenty years old? I think it's just swill!"

Li Zhen spoke with a look of disdain.

I really want to treat him as a fool! This restaurant didn't even ask around, and dared to cheat him?

"Does this young master have any objections?"

The shopkeeper Cai came over. This was the moment he had been waiting for.

Hearing this, Li Zhen turned his gaze to him.

At this moment, he concentrated and calmed down, and began to empathize with Cai Ji.

In an instant, all the scenes that had just happened appeared in Li Zhen's mind.

It turns out that Zuixianju is actually Zhang Guangji’s property, and Cui Hu is behind it. No wonder he set up a trap to trick me!

As the messages flashed by, Li Zhen became more and more angry. Now he was sure that Cai Ji was instigated by Zhang Guangji to trick him. They must have wanted to make amends with him because of what happened yesterday.

However, since I have super powers, I can't let them carry out their plot!

Li Zhen sneered, "Yes, I do have objections. This is not a twenty-year-old wine at all, but a substandard product that you sell to customers as good quality. Is this how you do business?"

"This is extortion and cheating customers. You should take this to the authorities!"

Lu Feng took the opportunity to finish off the opponent.

"What did you say?" Cai Ji was shocked when he heard that, and the flesh on his face trembled. What he gave to Li Zhen was indeed a defective product, but the taste was not much different, and ordinary people could not notice it at all. But how did he know that? Could it be that he was very familiar with this wine?

No matter what, this matter cannot continue. At this moment, what is happening here has attracted the attention of other customers. If Li Zhen is allowed to continue, the reputation of the restaurant will be ruined.

How can we do business in the future?

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Cai Ji roared, looking ferocious.

"Since my Zhang family took over this restaurant, the prices have been fair and the dishes are delicious. Even officials from the imperial court often come here to eat. You are slandering me."

"I can't believe it. I can't believe that you, Li Zhen, would wantonly slander and spread rumors just for a meal. Do you still want to keep your reputation, Li Zhen?"

Originally, after hearing what Li Zhen said, that Zuixianju was blackmailing customers by selling inferior goods as good ones, the faces of the guests dining there changed.

The food in Zuixianju is ridiculously expensive to begin with. People are willing to come here for face and to enjoy a better experience. Now, after paying a high price, they are deceived and eat inferior products. This is naturally not acceptable.

But after hearing what Cai Ji said, he was relieved. Yes! Zuixianju is a place where officials eat. How dare they sell inferior food in such a place? Definitely not!

"Is Li Zhen at his wit's end? Why is he lying like this?"

"It's not that I don't have any ideas, it's that I'm too embarrassed. After all, that's more than 10,000 taels of silver. How can ordinary people afford it?"

"You can't afford the food, but you're pretending to be rich. Why do you come here to spend money?"

"Who knows?"

Listening to the whispers of people around him, Li Zhen did not react at all.

"Hey, Li Zhen, give the money and leave now, don't embarrass yourself here!"

At this time, someone among the customers stood up and spoke.

"What money? This meal is not worth that much money. Are you going to let him blackmail you? If you don't know the inside story, don't get involved here!"

Li Zhen said while shaking his head.

"Li Zhen!"

When Cai Ji, who was standing next to him, heard this, he immediately became angry.

"You have to be responsible for what you said. You slandered our Zhang family without any evidence."

"Let's go and see the official. Our Zhang family has connections in the government, and not just anyone can bully us!"

"Okay, since you want evidence, I'll give it to you."

Li Zhen smiled slightly, waiting for this sentence.

He whispered a few words in Lu Feng's ear, and Lu Feng took his orders and left.

Then Li Zhen picked up the wine jug again, shook it vigorously a few times, and poured the remaining wine into the bowl.

"As you all know, the best wine has bubbles. Look at this pot of wine..."

As he spoke, everyone's eyes turned to the magical wine in the bowl.

But the hops were sparse and quickly dissipated.

"Everyone, do you see that this wine doesn't have any bubbles at all, and they dissipate so quickly? This is clearly a defective product that didn't ferment for long enough. Shopkeeper Cai, do you have anything else to say?"

"You...you are slandering me!"

Cai Ji seemed to have found his weakness, he jumped up and said, his face flushed.

How is it possible? How could this idiot say it word for word?

Cai Ji panicked and was sweating profusely.

"Manager Cai, the evidence is right in front of you, do you still want to deny it?"

Li Zhen had a look of disdain on his face.

"This divine wine is Zuixianju's signature product. If they can even fake this, what else would they not dare to do?"

Some customers have already started to doubt. Cai Ji's face is covered with cold sweat. If he fails in this matter, his fate will be unimaginable. Zhang Guangji, relying on the protection of the prefect Cui Hu, dares to do anything.

"Isn't it a bit too hasty to arbitrarily judge the quality of wine based on the hops alone?"

Cai Ji said stubbornly.

"Since you are so stubborn, I will let you see again."

At this time, Lu Feng came back with a small can filled with grease in his hand.

There was no vegetable oil at that time, but there was animal fat.

Li Zhen took another bowl, poured the remaining wine into it, and then dropped a drop of fat into it.

After standing for a cup of tea, the oil droplets are still suspended on the surface of the wine.

"Did you see that? For a good quality wine, the oil should sink and spread slowly. Only for a defective wine, the oil will not dissolve in the wine. Shopkeeper Cai, do you have anything else to say?"

Ah? He even knew this. What was wrong with this idiot? This was a secret of Zuixianju!

Cold sweat immediately broke out on Cai Ji's face.

Everyone around looked at Cai Ji with suspicion.

"What does that prove? Maybe you took the opportunity to change it, and your purpose is to deliberately frame me!"

Cai Ji suddenly had an idea and said stubbornly.

"You're not convinced, are you?" Li Zhen was speechless. Since you're so stubborn, I'll make you give up completely.

"If you say this wine is inferior, then so be it, but at least it's not harmful to the human body. Your biggest problem is this plate of lobster. Eating your lobster for a long time could be fatal!"

"Ah? Is it that serious?"

"What's the problem? What happened to the lobster?"

The concern of people around is rising.

They often eat this kind of lobster. If something goes wrong, they will be the ones who suffer in the end.

As Li Zhen spoke, he took the remaining lobster from the plate.

"Jinhu lobsters are plump and fresh, and their most important feature is that their shells are translucent, so you can see the meat inside through the shell!"

"What is this indicating?"

A curious person nearby asked.

Li Zhen continued to hold up the lobster and showed it to the people around him, "Everyone, look at this lobster. What can you see? It's just a blur!"

"This shows that this is not a Jinhu lobster at all, but a dead shrimp from a stinky ditch. You soaked it in feces and washed it to make it look shiny and bright!"

In one sentence, everyone was shocked!

Drowning in feces? Too dirty. It is soaked in this and made into a dish. How can it be eaten? Too disgusting!

Everyone was stunned. What Li Zhen said was truly destructive to people's worldview.

If this kind of behavior really exists, then Zuixianju is not only extorting money, but also bullying its customers.

"You...you have evidence, otherwise you are just talking nonsense!"

Cai Ji shuddered all over.

What Li Zhen said was actually completely correct. The method of cleaning lobsters by soaking them in feces and urine was discovered by a chef by accident.

He found that the dead shrimps, after being soaked in feces and urine overnight, were actually brighter and more moist than fresh shrimps after being washed.

In order to reduce costs, they used this method, but this is the biggest secret of Zuixianju, how could this fool know it so clearly?

Looking at the smiling Li Zhen, Cai Ji felt a chill. It was over, completely over. He even felt a little regretful. He regretted listening to Zhang Guangji and harming Li Zhen.