Before long, the door to the private room was opened, and a middle-aged man in a suit walked in. "Bill, Verna is here to dine. Why didn't you inform me? If it weren't for the staff downstairs, I wouldn't have known that you two were here today." As soon as the middle-aged man entered, he warmly said. Although his words sounded like blame, his face was filled with a radiant smile.
Verna nodded at the man without speaking, while Bill stood up to respond, "We're just having dinner with a few colleagues today, so we didn't want to bother Manager Don."
"Why bother or not bother, Bill, aren't you being too polite?" the middle-aged man said with a smile. Then he looked at Jake and the others and said, "Nice to meet you all. I'm Don, the manager of Kailomen. Since you're all Bill's colleagues, you can come here to eat and look for me. We offer a 20% discount."
Don's words delighted Hillary and the others, and they gave Bill a sense of face. However, Jake showed no change in his demeanor.
"I wonder if you all enjoyed your meal today? Was the food to your liking?" Don asked.
"We're very satisfied. Kailomen truly deserves to be one of the best restaurants in J City. The taste of the dishes here is absolutely impeccable," Jason quickly replied.
"Don, the rest of us are quite satisfied with our meal. However, someone here feels that the taste of your dishes is average," Bill spoke up at this point.
"Oh?" Don looked a bit puzzled, then looked at everyone present and asked, "I'd like to know who thinks the taste of our dishes is average. Please point out the shortcomings so that we can make improvements."
"Don, I don't think it's necessary. My colleague was just joking," Verna said.
"I don't think he was joking. Isn't that right, Jake?" Bill looked at Jake with a slightly sarcastic tone.
Don's eyes also turned towards Jake and he asked, "If you have any opinions, sir, feel free to voice them out. At Kailomen, we are committed to ensuring customer satisfaction, and we will make necessary changes if there are any shortcomings."
Jake looked at Bill, then at Don, and said, "Indeed, it was me who said that. And I wasn't joking. I've had better food than what's served here."
"Oh, is that so?" Don said, "Since this gentleman thinks our food is average, please do point out the shortcomings so that we can make improvements."
Although Don's words were polite, Jake could sense the disdain in his tone. In that case, Jake didn't intend to be polite either. He stood up and pointed at the dishes on the table, saying, "Since Don is so sincere, I'll just mention a few things. For example, this dish was taken off the stove ten seconds too late, making it a bit overcooked. This one has too much MSG, it's too flavorful. And this one shouldn't have onions, it ruins its original taste. And this dish..."
Although Jake said he was just casually mentioning a few things, in reality, he said quite a lot. He pointed out the shortcomings of almost every dish, as if there wasn't a single dish that satisfied him. His advanced culinary skills allowed him to notice not only the craftsmanship but also the theoretical knowledge behind it.
As Jake continued to speak, Don's expression became increasingly unpleasant. He managed to maintain a smile at the beginning, but as Jake went on, his face turned as dark as charcoal. However, Jake seemed oblivious to it and kept pointing out the shortcomings of the dishes, even when Verna subtly signaled him to stop, he acted as if he hadn't seen it.
"This is what you asked me to say, so why should I be polite? Your unpleasant expression has nothing to do with me," Jake said, and the whole room fell silent. The atmosphere became somewhat eerie. Compared to Don's unpleasant face, Bill had a much happier expression, with a hint of schadenfreude in his smile.
"Thank you for the criticism and guidance, sir," Don was the first to break the silence. However, although his words sounded grateful, everyone could tell that he wasn't sincere and his mood wasn't good.
"No need to be polite. I was just speaking my mind. If it weren't for your sincerity, I wouldn't bother saying anything," Jake replied.
"Thank you!" Don said, but everyone could sense the bitterness in his words.
"Don, you might not know, but our teacher Jake here has done extensive research in culinary arts. Just now, he even said that the dishes he prepares have a better taste than what you serve here. At first, I didn't believe it, but now that I hear him point out so many flaws in your dishes, maybe he's telling the truth," Bill chimed in, fueling the fire.
"Oh, really? Since this guest has such expertise in culinary arts and has pointed out so many flaws in our dishes, why don't we have our chef here spar with this guest? It would also allow our chefs to know their shortcomings!" Don's expression seemed even more unpleasant.
"Don, I don't think it's necessary. Jake was just speaking casually," Verna spoke up for Jake again.
However, Verna repeatedly speaking up for Jake only made Bill more dissatisfied. With a cold snort, Bill said, "I don't think he was just speaking casually. He sounded very serious just now. Kailomen is one of the most well-known restaurants in J City. If his words were to spread, I don't know what kind of impact it would have on the restaurant. It's a defamation of Kailomen's image. If he can prove his words with his culinary skills, then fine. But if he can't, it means his words were all baseless, intentionally defaming the restaurant's image. The restaurant can demand compensation from him."
"It's not that serious! Jake was just speaking here, but it won't spread" Verna frowned.
"It is serious!" Don said, "Our restaurant has always valued its image, which is the foundation of our existence. We accept sincere suggestions, but we absolutely cannot turn a blind eye to malicious defamation!"
At this point, Don looked at Jake and said, "Since you have such skills, I invite you to spar with our chef."
"I don't have the time," Jake shook his head. "Actually, if it weren't for today being the first gathering with new colleagues, I wouldn't have come."
"Jake, you're just a physical education teacher. What could be so important? Are you really that busy?" Bill said.
"Yes, I am busy," Jake said, "I'm not like someone who was born with the privilege of being a parasite at home. I have to earn money to support myself."
Verna rolled her eyes at Jake, and Jake quickly added, "I wasn't referring to Verna." His meaning was clear, "I was referring to you, Bill!"