My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 552: Private Kitchen Dishes

After the incident at the Genting Tower came to an end, Zhou Weiran took Zhang Lei and Xuan Yangzi to a secluded private restaurant.

Zhang Lei surveyed the quiet and elegant ambiance of the restaurant and nodded slightly. Zhou Weiran smiled and introduced the restaurant to Zhang Lei and Xuan Yangzi, saying, "This restaurant is extremely famous in Shanghai. Many high-ranking officials and dignitaries come here specifically to dine, and reservations are required in advance."

"Um."

Zhang Lei casually picked up the menu, and as his gaze swept across the corner, he vaguely caught a glimpse of a simple, archaic "Zhang" character. Seeing this character, he paused slightly, wondering to himself: Could this also be one of his family's properties?

He vaguely remembered that all the properties belonging to the Zhang family would bear this hidden Zhang character mark, which was specially designed by Ye Shuhua earlier, with a touch of poetic and artistic flair. Looking down at the menu prices, Zhang Lei secretly clicked his tongue; the prices were truly outrageously high.

Before long, Zhou Weiran ordered seven or eight signature dishes in one go. The exquisite dishes were served one after another, each with its own unique color, aroma, and flavor. The three of them couldn't help but marvel at the abundance of food on the table.

Zhou Weiran picked up his drink, looked at Zhang Lei and Xuan Yangzi, and said sincerely, "Thank you both for your great help today. This toast is for you both!"

Zhang Lei and Xuan Yangzi picked up their wine glasses together and lightly clinked them together with Zhou Weiran's. Zhang Lei said half-jokingly, "Today, it was all thanks to Master Xuan Yangzi's help. I don't have any special skills; I just happened to be passing by and wanted to freeload a meal."

Zhou Weiran smiled at him and said, "If it weren't for you introducing me to Master Xuan Yangzi, I would never have been able to invite such a master. I should thank you for this favor."

"Then I am truly honored," Zhang Lei joked with a smile.

Xuan Yangzi, however, remained calm and quietly ate his meal. Zhang Lei and Zhou Weiran chatted from time to time, often laughing heartily, while Xuan Yangzi would occasionally chime in with a word or two.

Just as the atmosphere was getting right, a sudden and sarcastic voice rang out: "Oh, who do we have here? It's you, you country bumpkin, with a Taoist priest you've brought along to put on airs."

Zhang Lei looked up and saw that it was Li Mingjie. His eyes held a hint of mockery as he casually retorted, "Oh, so it's you, the sucker, here for dinner too? Or are you planning to kindly pay the bill for us?"

Called a sucker by Zhang Lei, Li Mingjie instantly flew into a rage, gritting his teeth and saying, "Don't get too cocky, kid! I won't let what you did to me last time go by!"

Upon seeing Li Mingjie's rude remarks, Zhou Weiran immediately stood up and sternly rebuked him: "Li Mingjie, shut up! Mr. Zhang and Master Xuanyangzi are honored guests I invited. Please do not disturb our meal."

Li Mingjie looked at Zhou Weiran with a dismissive expression and a provocative tone: "Weiran, you're too naive. These two are clearly swindlers, just trying to trick you out of your money."

Zhou Weiran's face darkened with anger: "What I do is none of your business! Mr. Zhang Lei is my friend, and Master Xuan Yangzi is a true master, not the fraudster you claim. Besides, the trouble at Yunding Building has already been completely resolved by Master Xuan Yangzi."

Upon hearing that the Genting Tower issue had been resolved, Li Mingjie's pupils constricted sharply, his face filled with disbelief: "What? Resolved?"

"Of course it's true. Our Zhou family's construction team is now able to start work normally," Zhou Weiran said with a hint of pride.

Zhang Lei wanted to stop Zhou Weiran from revealing too much, but she spoke too fast and the words had already slipped out. He could only look at Li Mingjie with a calm expression.

Li Mingjie looked utterly incredulous and instinctively blurted out, "How could that be? That place is clearly..."

The words were on the tip of his tongue when he suddenly remembered something and abruptly shut his mouth.

Zhang Lei smiled and deliberately asked, "What exactly happened to that place? Young Master Li, why don't you just tell me directly? Why keep it a secret?"

Li Mingjie, choked by her words, felt a surge of anger and retorted, "I have nothing to say to you! You're just a country bumpkin, only good at fooling naive girls like Wei Ran. Don't think I don't know what you're up to—you just want to use her to climb the social ladder. Let me tell you, Zhou Wei Ran is the one I've chosen. Don't be a toad trying to eat swan meat!"

These words completely enraged Zhou Weiran. Her pretty face was filled with anger: "Li Mingjie, you and I are just ordinary friends. How dare you say I'm your friend? If you continue to spout such nonsense, get out of here right now!"

Zhang Lei watched the two arguing with interest, then looked at Li Mingjie and slowly said, "You always call me a country bumpkin and mock me. How about we make a bet? If I were a country bumpkin, I wouldn't have to pay a single penny to eat at this restaurant, would you believe me?"

Li Mingjie burst into laughter as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world. Zhou Weiran quickly tugged at Zhang Lei's sleeve and whispered, "Zhang Lei, stop talking such nonsense."

Zhang Lei gently patted Zhou Weiran's shoulder, reassuring her, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Zhou Weiran wanted to persuade him further, but when he met Zhang Lei's resolute and calm gaze, a sense of trust inexplicably arose in his heart, and he said no more. Meanwhile, Xuan Yangzi continued to do as he pleased, enjoying his meal as if the surrounding argument had nothing to do with him.

Li Mingjie stared at Zhang Lei with a mocking expression: "Do you know what kind of place this is? Don't think it's just an ordinary little restaurant. Let me tell you the truth, the owner behind this restaurant is a big shot that even our Li family wouldn't dare to easily offend. If you dare to dine and dash here, believe me, you won't even leave this door!"

Zhang Lei remained calm, completely unfazed by his threat: "Li Mingjie, stop spouting nonsense. If I really don't spend a single penny on this meal, how do you plan to honor the bet?"

Li Mingjie angrily said, "If you really can eat and drink here for free, I'll pay for all the food for every customer in the restaurant today!"

"Is that really true?" Zhang Lei asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Absolutely true!" Li Mingjie nodded firmly.

Zhang Lei immediately called over the restaurant manager, pointed at Li Mingjie, and said, "Listen carefully, this second young master of the Li family has made a bet: if I dine for free today, he will cover the cost of all the other guests' meals."

The restaurant manager nodded quickly upon hearing this: "Sir, I've noted it down. However, I can't make the decision on whether your meal can be waived; according to the rules, you need to pay the bill as usual."

Upon hearing this, Li Mingjie burst into laughter again, looking at Zhang Lei with a smug expression, as if victory was assured.

Zhang Lei glanced at him and said calmly, "Don't be so smug. I'll take care of whether you pay or not. You just need to abide by the bet."

"Fine, I'll see what tricks you can pull today." Li Mingjie crossed his arms and watched coldly.

Zhang Lei looked at the restaurant manager and calmly instructed, "Make one of each of your restaurant's signature dishes for today, and I'll take them all with me."

The manager was stunned on the spot, hesitatingly looking at Zhang Lei, then at Li Mingjie who was watching the show from the side.

Li Mingjie scoffed, "Pack it up for him! I want to see how he'll pay this huge sum of money in the end."

Seeing this, the manager stopped refusing and quickly turned around and went into the kitchen, instructing the head chef to cook and pack all the dishes as requested.

Zhou Weiran panicked instantly and hurriedly pulled Zhang Lei aside, anxiously saying, "Are you crazy? So many dishes, the prices are outrageously high, I can't afford to pay for them."

Zhang Lei smiled and reassured them, "Don't worry, we don't need to spend a single penny. There's a ready-made sucker right here, why should we spend our own money?"

"But that's on the condition that you can really get it for free," Zhou Weiran said with great concern.

Zhang Lei smiled calmly: "How did you know I'd have to pay for a meal here?"

After saying that, he sat back down. The other diners in the restaurant noticed the commotion and turned to look with curiosity.