Chapter 229 Do You Know Who My Husband Is?

"Lao Peng, the shark fin tastes good today. Give me two more bowls."

"Okay, come right away."

The shouting from outside suddenly made the room silent. Mrs. Lou's smile froze on her face, and the words she was about to use to flatter were stuck in her throat and she couldn't utter them.

The smile on Lou Bancheng's face faded. He glanced at his wife and whispered, "Ask the kitchen to bring a few more bowls of bird's nest and shark's fin."

“If you don’t know, you might think we can’t afford it.”

"Yes, yes, I'll go find Master Peng right away." Mrs. Lou immediately turned around and went out.

Lou Bancheng raised his hand to offer him food. "Come, let's eat and talk at the same time." He picked up the bowl of bird's nest in front of him and began to taste it. "Hmm, it tastes really good."

"Haha, Boss Lou's vision and taste must be first-rate." Everyone at the table praised him while picking up the bird's nest in front of them.

On the other side, Mrs. Lou found Master Peng who was teaching his apprentice to cook. She was startled and blurted out, "Old Peng, aren't you in charge of the kitchen today?"

Master Peng turned around and quickly gave his apprentice some pointers. He then turned around and wiped his sweat with a towel while heading to Mrs. Lou. "Mrs. Lou, our kitchen is a mess and we can't tolerate a distinguished guest like you. Please go outside."

After politely inviting Mrs. Lou to the courtyard, Master Peng asked politely, "Are you here to urge the dishes? As you just saw, the hot dishes are being cooked, and the eight cold dishes will be brought to you soon. The rice wine will also be heated and sent to you, so it will definitely not delay your banquet."

"Is that what I'm asking?" Mrs. Lou raised her thin eyebrows, her eyes widened, and she suppressed her anger and whispered, "Why? Old Peng, as a member of the Tan family, I can't let you cook for the guests? If the food tastes bad, isn't that a slap in my face?"

"Oh, look at what you said, how could that be possible." Master Peng quickly bowed and clasped his fists, "Mrs. Lou, it's really because I, old Peng, have already served two tables today, and my arms are exhausted, so I arranged for my apprentice to cook. I'm worried that I won't cook well for you, so I'm keeping a close eye on it, right?"

"I guarantee it will be fine. If it's not, you can slap me in the face!" As he said this, he pretended to slap himself in the face twice.

Mrs. Lou's face looked a little better, and her tone relaxed, "Okay, I'll trust you for now. By the way, give me a few more servings of bird's nest and shark fin."

"Ah," Master Peng's eyebrows were knitted together with worry, and he said with a bitter face, "Mrs. Lou, you know the rules of Tan's cuisine! Bird's nest and shark's fin are made according to the number of people, and they have to be simmered for at least 2 days before they can be served. Where can I get you a few more servings?"

Mrs. Lou's face, which had been easing up, turned livid again. She bit her white teeth and made a clattering sound. She said angrily, "Then why did you respond when we heard someone in the room shouting for another bowl of shark fin just now?"

"Hey, Mrs. Lou, you misunderstood." Master Peng slapped his thigh and explained, "They reserved the food at the previous table, but not all the guests showed up, so they left some."

"No, you have to give me two more servings anyway."

Just at this moment, the young man who served the dishes was coming out of the kitchen with two servings of shark fins, ready to serve the dishes to Wang Deming, but Mrs. Lou suddenly stepped forward and blocked his way with her body. Wang Deming was so startled that he almost knocked over the plate of dishes onto Mrs. Lou's tweed coat.

"Hey, hey!" Master Peng quickly came over to help the young man hold on, used his back to separate Mrs. Lou, and scolded: "How do you serve the food?"

The young man felt very aggrieved and said, "Master, this lady suddenly..."

"Then you have to watch out for me too! You've been an apprentice for such a long time, how come you don't know anything? Don't you know that quick eyes and quick hands are better?" Master Peng scolded with a serious face: "If you break the rules, how can we do business?"

Then Master Peng turned around, bowed slightly, and said with a smile: "Mrs. Lou, please forgive me. I am a new apprentice. I don't know the rules and I am still clumsy at work."

Mrs. Lou's face turned pale and blue when she heard what Master Peng said. He was clearly scolding his apprentice, but why did it sound so unpleasant?

"Humph, I dare not ask your Master Peng to apologize," Mrs. Lou snorted coldly, her eyes sweeping over the soup bowl she was holding, "Just send these two to me, and I will take it as your sincere apology."

"Mrs. Lou, this is absolutely not allowed! How can we break the rules? This is for other guests."

"Humph, if the cook doesn't steal, the crops won't be harvested. I don't believe that you didn't prepare a few extra dishes when you prepared them? Did you sell the dishes prepared for me to others for a higher price?" Mrs. Lou did not give in. "My husband is treating us today, but they are all business celebrities, so they must serve them to me." "Oh, my aunt, how often has our Tan family done such a thing?"

"Old Peng, what's going on?" It turned out that Wang Deming had been waiting for the shark fins for a while but still hadn't received them, so he strolled to the front yard and saw Mrs. Lou and Master Peng arguing.

"Comrade Deming," Chef Peng hurriedly bowed, "I was just about to serve you the shark fin, but Mrs. Lou stopped me and wanted to serve it to their table. I was just explaining."

Mrs. Lou? Could she be Lou Bancheng's wife?

Wang Deming looked her up and down. She had small leather shoes, a woolen coat, a round face and big wavy hair. She looked a bit like Lou Xiao'e in the TV series Love in the Courtyard. He guessed that it was really her.

"My dear young comrade, my husband is hosting a banquet for the celebrities of Beijing's business community today. Please give me these two bowls of shark fin. Thank you in advance."

If it were any other time, Wang Deming really wouldn't care. He would just give it to him. He eats it often, so it doesn't matter if he has a little more.

But when he thought about how angry he was at the Red Star Steel Mill that morning, he sneered, "What's going on? Are you the only ones who are noble just because you have a little money? Are you the only ones who can eat shark fin? Others can't? You still call yourself a celebrity? There are no celebrities these days?"

"Besides, what were you doing earlier? Why didn't you order a few more cups when you reserved your table? Do you understand the rules?"

Wang Deming didn't treat Mrs. Lou well at all and kept making sarcastic comments.

Mrs. Lou threw all the noble ladies, celebrities, and status out of her mind and shouted sharply, "Do you know who my husband is?"

Wang Deming pretended to be surprised: "Is he from the municipal government? Or a senior official? Or a capitalist?"

Then he sneered: "So what? After liberation, everyone is equal. Why do you still think you are superior to others?"

"You" Mrs. Lou was so angry that she was shaking all over, and her big wavy hair kept swaying and really became waves.

"Suya!" Lou Bancheng appeared at the Chuihua Gate and called out to Mrs. Lou coldly. There were several people following him, and Yin Changrong was among them. However, he seemed to not know Wang Deming at all. He blinked at him twice and said nothing.

Lou Bancheng glanced at the people in the front yard and instantly concluded that the problem must be with the two bowls of shark fin. He said to Mrs. Lou, Tan Suya, "Suya, prepare the hot dishes."

Mrs. Lou immediately lowered her head and whispered, "Yes."

Then he turned around and coldly ordered Chef Peng: "Hurry up and serve the hot dishes, Chef Peng!"

"Yes, yes, right away."

"Excuse me, everyone." Lou Bancheng really didn't want to show up, but he heard Mrs. Lou's shouting clearly from behind as he entered the yard. If he didn't come out in time, he was worried that something even more embarrassing would happen.

"Boss Lou, you're too polite. It's all just a misunderstanding."

"That's right, that's right."

"Master Chefs"

Wang Deming took the plate from the young man and walked back to the backyard in a swagger. When he passed by Lou Bancheng and the others, he glanced at them and winked at Yin Changrong.

He had invited Yin Changrong to dinner here a long time ago, and sold him a mink coat.
After Lou Bancheng and others returned to the house and sat down, Mrs. Lou acted as a waitress and poured wine for the guests.

After a few rounds, they finally got down to business: "Boss Lou, you were the first to start a public-private partnership. How do you feel about this year?"

(End of this chapter)