“What’s wrong with Xiao Qi? Did a bone get stuck?”
Hu Lemei asked, watching Hu Qi’s movements with worry.
“Who told him to eat so fast.”
Li Yi muttered softly from the side.
“It’s nothing, my uncle-in-law’s cooking is too delicious, I accidentally bit my tongue.”
Hu Qi’s expression returned to normal, automatically ignoring his cousin’s Yin and Yang remarks, and smiled apologetically at Hu Lemei.
“It’s good that you like it, eat more, but slow down, no one’s going to snatch it from you!”
Li Zhenguo glared at Li Yi from the side, then smiled at Hu Qi.
As a chef, having his food praised as delicious was naturally the happiest thing, and he was no exception.
“Thank you!”
Hu Qi lowered his head and glanced at the eel meat in his bowl.
Hu Qi’s shock was naturally not because the braised eel was incredibly delicious.
Although the braised eel tasted good.
It wasn’t enough to make him lose his composure like that.
The real reason was the panel that appeared before his eyes.
Looking at the Scarlet Modifier that automatically appeared on his retina.
He quickly scanned the panel, directly focusing on the last column.
Modification Value: 0
The Modification Value was still zero.
But as Hu Qi’s gaze lingered.
A line of faint text slowly emerged behind it.
(8%)
Seeing this, Hu Qi picked up an even larger piece of eel and put it into his mouth.
Following suit, after swallowing the eel meat.
The next second.
The value in the Modification Value column changed again.
0 (17%)
This time, it directly increased by 9%.
“Indeed!”
Hu Qi was greatly shaken.
After so many days, he finally found the source of the Modification Value.
This made him feel an urge to burst into tears.
But who would have thought that the source of the Modification Value was eating eels?
No, it shouldn’t be that simple; there must be a reason he didn’t know about.
Hu Qi collected his thoughts and, without a change in expression, picked up another piece and put it into his mouth.
Then he picked up a wine glass from the side and stood up.
His gaze swept around.
“I’d like to toast my aunt, uncle-in-law, Li Yi, and Sister Li Yi. Happy Reunion Festival, and thank you for taking care of me during my hospital stay!”
“It’s nothing, it’s what we should do.”
Li Zhenguo smiled.
“You child, why are you so polite today? We’re all family!”
Hu Lemei said with a slight hint of reproach.
But she still picked up her wine glass.
Li Yi did the same.
Only when it was Li Yi’s turn.
She looked up at everyone.
“I don’t drink!”
With that, she continued eating her meal.
“It’s okay, Li Yi doesn’t drink, let’s toast…”
Li Zhenguo saw this.
His face was a little displeased, but he didn’t say anything more.
He explained, raised his glass, and clinked it with Hu Qi’s.
…
After three rounds of drinks and five courses of dishes.
Hu Qi was naturally incomparable to the original owner.
This meal, due to Hu Qi’s intentional efforts to be amiable, was undoubtedly very pleasant, unlike the awkward silence when the original owner used to eat here.
If Hu Lemei hadn’t been watching from the side, Li Zhenguo would have almost called Hu Qi his sworn brother.
He hadn't realized before that this kid spoke so agreeably.
As for the plate of braised eel, it was moved in front of Hu Qi.
Except for the first few pieces.
Almost all the rest went into Hu Qi’s stomach.
And the result it brought.
The Modification Value column became: 2 (21%)
“Xiao Qi, you’ve changed so much!”
Li Zhenguo reached out and patted Hu Qi’s shoulder.
His face was flushed, clearly having drunk a lot of wine.
Hu Qi heard this.
He shrugged.
“There’s no helping it, people always have to learn to change and grow, don’t they?”
He couldn’t keep acting like the original owner; change was necessary.
“Haha, you’re right, you kid can actually say something so profound now, it seems you’ve indeed grown a lot.”
Li Zhenguo laughed heartily.
At this moment, Li Yi and Li Yi had already finished eating and left the table.
And Hu Lemei had gone to the kitchen to prepare more dishes for the guests.
Now only Hu Qi and Li Zhenguo remained.
Seeing that the time was ripe.
Hu Qi’s expression subtly shifted, and he asked, feigning curiosity.
“By the way, uncle-in-law, where did you catch this eel? It feels bigger than any I’ve seen before.”
When he was eating earlier, Hu Qi had noticed.
The eel segments in the plate were clearly cut in half; roughly estimated, the whole eel must have been at least as thick as an arm.
“I bought it at the market when I went back home for a wedding banquet this time. At that time, I saw those two eels were as thick as pythons.
I guessed this thing might be a strange beast, so I bought it back…” Li Zhenguo explained.
“A strange beast?” Hu Qi’s eyes flashed.
He recalled memories related to this aspect.
Strange beasts, these things.
They weren’t animals with special abilities like those in novels and movies.
They were merely a term for creatures whose body size or appearance differed slightly from their own kind.
Such creatures, compared to their counterparts, generally had higher nutritional value.
Could it be related to this?
“Uncle-in-law, you just said you bought two. Is the other one still there? Could you sell it to me?”
Hu Qi asked.
“Mainly, this eel meat is really delicious, and I want to make it myself at home.”
“What money? If you want to eat, come over again tomorrow, and I’ll make it for you then. It’s not easy to prepare this thing if you take it back.”
Li Zhenguo waved his hand.
“That’s too much trouble, I’ll just make it myself.” Hu Qi smiled.
“Alright then, I’ll pack it up for you in a bit.”
Ten minutes later.
Looking at Hu Qi’s departing back as he carried the bag.
Inside the restaurant.
Li Yi’s face was very unpleasant, and she snorted coldly.
“Eating and taking, truly shameless…”
“What nonsense are you talking about, you brat.”
Li Zhenguo’s smile on his face faded.
He frowned slightly, his peripheral vision catching his wife’s somewhat displeased expression.
He then looked at his obedient daughter.
“If you talk to me like that with Yin and Yang remarks again, believe it or not, I’ll hit you.”
Li Zhenguo usually didn’t say much.
He was a rather quiet type.
But once he got angry, his authority was absolute.
Although Li Yi wanted to retort, she ultimately did not speak.
“Mom, Qi Ge left money here.”
At this moment.
Li Yi, who had gone to the bar to get a charging cable for his phone.
Saw a stack of red banknotes pressed down by a bottle opener inside.
He called out.
Hu Lemei took it.
She quickly counted, it was exactly a thousand yuan.
She looked up at Hu Qi, who had already disappeared in the distance down the street.
Her eyes were a little red.
She sighed.
“Why is this child so distant…”
“Isn’t this what he should do? We had to pay for it too.”
Li Yi snorted coldly.
Li Zhenguo, who had been standing by, saw this scene.
While feeling sorry for his wife.
Now hearing his daughter’s words, his anger flared up.
He pointed at Li Yi, his face completely darkened.
“Shut up, look at you, do you even act like an older sister?
When your uncle and aunt were still alive, they weren’t bad to you, were they? Which time did they come without buying you food and toys?”