After the round of laughter, Zhong Ningtao picked up the menu and ordered again, this time in Chinese spoken at a normal speed.
The petite waitress listened to the order with a perplexed expression.
"C...can you speak slowly? I do not understand if it's fa...fast," she pleaded, smiling sheepishly.
Her Chinese was rigid and stiff.
They laughed, feeling silly. "Sure." Zhong Ningtao slowed down and repeated the order, one word at a time. This time, the conversation went smoothly. They also understood what the waitress was trying to explain earlier— she felt that the customers ordered too much. Some of the dishes weren't specialties and they might not be able to finish it. But to Lou Cheng and company, this was no concern at all. They were more afraid that there wasn't enough to eat, so they reached a consensus.
