Chapter 567: Chapter 553: The Flavor Isn’t Quite Authentic?

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the warm sunlight and gentle breeze gave a feeling that spring had arrived.

Huang Tao didn’t stay home, nor did he visit relatives for the New Year. Instead, he drove alone to the city.

This time, he came to attend a university class reunion.

The venue was the Holiday International Hotel.

Many of Huang Tao’s university classmates were locals of Wenling City. Even those working elsewhere mostly returned home for the New Year, so they basically held a reunion every year.

Since graduating from university, Huang Tao had been invited by classmates every year, but he didn’t attend every time, just occasionally.

Like last year, he didn’t attend.

The reason was that some changes happened at home, leaving him in a state of despair and depression, with no mood to attend any reunions.

Thankfully, time is a great healer for all grief!

As time passed, the pain in his heart gradually eased, allowing him to emerge from the sorrow of losing his wife and face life anew.

His career also took a turn for the better, rising steadily!

So, when Gu Zhihao and a few other classmates warmly invited him to join this year, he agreed.

Not that he wanted to show off or anything, but on one hand, he wanted to meet classmates working outside whom he hadn’t seen for years, and on the other hand, he didn’t want anyone to misunderstand that he became pompous and forgot his old classmates after becoming a boss.

"Warm welcome to you."

The usherettes in red cheongsams extended their fair hands and made a gesture of welcome.

Huang Tao nodded and headed to the elevator.

"Tao, are you here?"

As soon as he entered the elevator, Huang Tao received a call from Gu Zhihao. He removed his mask and said, "Everyone’s here, just waiting for you!"

Huang Tao responded with a smile: "I’m already in the elevator, I’ll be there in a moment."

The hotel’s restaurant was on the third floor, and the elevator arrived in the blink of an eye.

"Ding~"

The elevator doors slowly opened, and Huang Tao put away his phone and walked out.

It must be said, the facilities and services of a three-star hotel are indeed very attentive and detailed. As soon as Huang Tao walked out of the elevator, a young woman in a server’s uniform standing by the elevator smiled and asked, "Hello sir, may I ask which box you are looking for?"

Huang Tao replied, "888."

"888 is this way, please follow me."

The hotel server led Huang Tao towards the box, and after a few steps, she couldn’t help but turn back to look at him and asked, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Huang Tao?"

Huang Tao smiled and nodded: "Yes."

"Ah!"

The server covered her mouth in surprise, her eyes widened with excitement, "Hello, I’m a loyal fan of your store, I really like the food you make."

Huang Tao smiled: "Thank you."

Nowadays, he was somewhat famous in Wenling City, having been featured in food magazines twice and frequently trending online, and the dishes he made were very popular among the citizens of Wenling City. Many people came to taste them based on his reputation, becoming loyal fans of the store.

So, it was normal for the server in front of him to be a loyal fan of his store!

Under the guidance of this server, Huang Tao arrived at the front of box 888. After the server helped him open the door, he walked in.

At a glance.

The large box had two big tables, and they were almost full.

There were about thirty people there!

Everyone was chatting and laughing, having a lively conversation!

Back in university, Huang Tao’s class had more than fifty students, so having more than half attend a reunion after many years was quite remarkable.

"Huang Tao!"

A classmate near the door was the first to see him and immediately exclaimed in surprise, getting up to shake hands and greet him.

"The chef is here!" "Huang Tao!" "Tao!"

The box immediately buzzed with excitement, and other classmates also stood up to wave and greet Huang Tao.

Seeing those familiar faces with slight traces of time and hearing those familiar calls, Huang Tao couldn’t help but feel a wave of nostalgia in his heart. Back during the school days, he had a very good and harmonious relationship with his classmates.

Some even visited him at home when he was going through his toughest times.

"Lin Qing!" "Li Hongrui!" "Liu Zihang!" "Ding Hai!"...

Huang Tao smiled and enthusiastically greeted these old classmates one by one.

Even though he hadn’t seen some classmates for many years, he could still accurately call out their names, especially those who had visited him before, making him feel particularly close and joyful.

It felt like going back to the student days!

After some small talk, Huang Tao sat down beside Gu Zhihao.

Yet, before he had even warmed the seat, Lin Qing across from him smiled and said, "Huang Tao, you’re the last to arrive, so according to the old rules, you must drink three penalty cups!"

With these words, the old classmates present unanimously agreed.

They all jeered and shouted, "Yes, three penalty cups."

Seeing everyone’s enthusiasm, Huang Tao resignedly clasped his fists and begged for mercy: "I drove here, can’t drink, and I have to rush back to my hometown tonight! Please forgive me, everyone."

He had a very poor tolerance for alcohol, three cups would knock him out!

If he were to drink three penalty cups, he could leave the reunion prematurely.

Besides, he still had to drive back later, so driving under the influence was out of the question.

Huang Tao poured a drink into his cup, raised it, and said, "I’ll toast everyone with a drink instead of wine."

"Enjoy the food and drinks, tonight I invite everyone to sing KTV as an apology, how about that?"

Dinner and singing were standard for reunions, and the costs were naturally shared by the classmates attending.

After all, all the classmates present had graduated and worked for many years, and none were short of that little bit of money.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have come at all.

If someone else had offered to treat, it might have seemed like showing off wealth, but as the former class monitor, Huang Tao wouldn’t make people misunderstand like that for sure.

Besides, inviting everyone was to apologize, and naturally, everyone accepted it gladly.

They clapped and cheered!

Gu Zhihao laughed and said, "Oh, that’s great! Exactly what we wanted!"

"You’ll cover the KTV room fee tonight."

Huang Tao smiled and made an "OK" gesture to him.

Lin Qing also chuckled and said, "But to be honest, rather than singing KTV, I really wish I could taste the dishes you make, Huang Tao! I heard your dishes are delicious, but unfortunately, I’ve been away and haven’t had the chance to try them!"

Saying this, he sighed regretfully.

Other classmates who hadn’t had the chance to try it all wore the same expression: "Yes, I heard there are so many people, it’s difficult to get a spot even queuing!"

They had long craved it, but were too busy with work to go and try.

Originally, they planned to hold the reunion at Huang Tao’s store, but later found out that Huang Tao’s store wasn’t open for business on the fifth, so they had to give up.

Now encountering the real deal, they naturally wanted to express their helplessness.

"That’s natural, every day the line stretches from the store door to the street corner."

Gu Zhihao said seriously, "If it weren’t for my good relationship with Tao, I wouldn’t be able to eat his dishes at all."

The other classmates all showed envy: "You’re lucky! Close at hand, getting to eat first, we just don’t have that fortune."

Jealous!

Sour!

Huang Tao smiled slightly: "My store will reopen on the eighth, if you have time, come over, I’ll save you a spot."

The classmates were all surprised with "So I can eat without queuing" expressions upon hearing this.

It’s just that...

Some were delighted while some were distressed!

Happy were those classmates working locally.

Worried were those who had to return to work in other cities on the eighth, all showing heartache that made it hard to breathe.

Should they request leave to delay returning to work?

Just then, other dishes were gradually brought to the table by the servers.

"Enjoy the food..."

"This is Canadian Lobster, the hotel’s signature dish, everyone try it..."

Everyone greeted each other and then started eating.

Having his taste spoiled by Huang Tao, Gu Zhihao, after eating a few bites of the other dishes, frowned slightly, missing Huang Tao’s dishes more and more. After finishing a bite of lobster meat, his frown deepened.

He leaned over and quietly asked Huang Tao: "Tao, do you think the taste of this Canadian Lobster is a bit not authentic?"

Having a system now, Huang Tao’s senses were already different from ordinary people, and naturally, he also tasted that this lobster meat wasn’t Canadian lobster.

He smiled and said, "Zhihao, be more confident, remove the words ’a bit’!"