"Qingqing, what’s wrong?"
The discomfort of Mu Qingqing caught Mrs. Liu’s attention, so she asked Mu Qingqing with concern.
"N-nothing!" Mu Qingqing shook her head and gave Mrs. Liu a forced smile.
Mrs. Liu considerately did not inquire further, but in her heart, she suspected Mu Qingqing had sothing on her mind.
Upon arriving at Chengfeng Restaurant, Mrs. Liu did not reveal her identity.
She ordered the signature dishes of Chengfeng Restaurant like a regular guest and discreetly observed everything in the restaurant.
From an environntal standpoint, although Chengfeng Restaurant was small, its decor suited Mrs. Liu’s taste, being simple and elegant.
For this reason, dining at Chengfeng Restaurant, even while waiting for the waiter to serve, one would not feel irritated!
Moreover, there were both text and illustrated versions of the nu.
Liu Chengzhi kept looking at the nu repeatedly. He liked the illustrations on it, which depicted dishes but in a style different from the usual. He couldn’t quite describe the feeling, but it seed particularly playful.
When Mu Shuangshuang initially drew, she put a lot of thought into it. So dishes were realistic, while others were in a cartoon style.
Delicacies like snacks were in cartoon form. If children saw them, they would definitely want those snacks.
"Zhi’er, what are you looking at?"
Seeing her son chuckling secretly over the nu, Mrs. Liu also beca interested.
"Mom, take a look. These illustrations are so amusing!" Liu Chengzhi spread the nu open and handed it to Mrs. Liu.
The nu featured Chengfeng Restaurant’s snacks. Chestnut cake, round chestnut cakes, were cartoonishly depicted by Mu Shuangshuang, with eyes and eyebrows added, and since they had smiling faces, they appeared particularly amusing.
Mrs. Liu was also amused. She flipped through several pages and eventually started laughing innocently as well.
Mu Qingqing wanted to see what was illustrated on the nu, but she knew Liu Chengzhi wouldn’t show it to her, in addition, there seed to be only two copies of the nu at the table.
Mu Qingqing felt a bit displeased. She waved her hand at the waiter and asked discontentedly, "Why do we have only one nu when there are three of us?"
"My apologies, guest. The nus here were personally illustrated by our owner, and they are limited editions, so we can only provide one per table," the waiter politely apologized to Mu Qingqing.
With Mrs. Liu present, Mu Qingqing held back from saying anything further.
However, she just didn’t have a good impression of Chengfeng Restaurant, much like she always disliked the third branch’s Mu Shuangshuang.
This was Mu Qingqing’s first visit to Chengfeng Restaurant. Last ti, when Chengfeng Restaurant opened, she went out with her mother, Mrs. Lin, but secretly went to the Liu Family halfway, so she never ate at Chengfeng Restaurant.
Furthermore, the relations between the second and third branches were not great. Even during festivals, Mu Shuangshuang would never invite the third branch over for als.
The dishes ca quickly. It must be said, the three were quite lucky; out of four signature dishes, two were served.
Usually, guests in the main hall could only order one signature dish at most. Only guests in private rooms could have all four served at once.
Long-ti patrons of Chengfeng Restaurant generally knew this rule.
When Huang Er ca out to carve the roast duck, he had deliberately washed his hands clean beforehand. Upon seeing Mu Qingqing, he exclaid in surprise, "You’re the granddaughter from the Old Mu Family!"
Huang Er had a loud voice and didn’t pay much attention when shouting Mu Qingqing’s na.
On the other hand, Mu Qingqing fell silent for a long ti upon seeing Huang Er, not responding to him, as if she didn’t recognize him at all.
Though Huang Er appeared honest, he wasn’t foolish. Such an attitude made it clear she looked down upon him.
So after cutting the roast duck for the three and providing a simple introduction, he quickly returned to the kitchen.
Seeing things couldn’t be hidden any longer, Mu Qingqing spoke up.
"Actually... this restaurant is run by my cousin. I didn’t know she also wanted to organize my godmother’s birthday banquet. If I had known, I definitely wouldn’t have co!"
Mu Qingqing’s face was full of apology.
"If it’s your cousin’s, isn’t that even better? Keep it in the family, and your cousin’s place is indeed nice!"
Mrs. Liu was very pleased. Whether it was the environnt, food, or the staff and novel nu she had never encountered before, she regarded Chengfeng Restaurant with so admiration.
She surmised that soone capable of running such a restaurant could not be an ordinary person.
"Does my godmother an that Chengfeng Restaurant should host the banquet?" Mu Qingqing looked utterly shocked.
"Why? Is there sothing you want to say, Qingqing?" Mrs. Liu asked.
Mu Qingqing disliked Mu Shuangshuang and didn’t want her to establish a relationship with Mrs. Liu.
So things she said to Mrs. Liu, her parents never ntioned at all.
From beginning to end, her parents never hit her. To elicit sympathy from Mrs. Liu, she inflicted many injuries on herself.
However, if she encountered Mu Shuangshuang, these might be exposed.
So Mu Qingqing could only sacrifice Mu Shuangshuang.
"N-nothing!" Mu Qingqing shook her head, then appeared to have sothing more to say but hesitated.
Mrs. Liu was no ordinary person; she could naturally see that Mu Qingqing had thoughts in her mind.
"Qingqing, whatever you have to say, you can speak freely! In front of your godmother, you need not hold back on anything!"
Beside them, Liu Chengzhi rolled his eyes hard.
He thought to himself: Here it goes again, this scheming woman is starting her antics once more!
Finally, Mu Qingqing spoke up, "Godmother, I want to tell you about my cousin. She... is not as good as you might think."
"She, like us, is part of the Old Mu Family; all the money of the Old Mu Family is controlled by my grandparents. Neither we nor my cousin’s branch could possibly have the funds to open a restaurant.
Everything she has now was given to her by a man nad Lu Chengfeng. That man is a hunter from our village, and he was previously a soldier in the barracks.
When returning to his hotown, the court gave him a sum of money, all of which he gave to my cousin."
Mu Qingqing mixed truth and lies in her story about Mu Shuangshuang.
She couldn’t let Mrs. Liu think Mu Shuangshuang was competent.
She wanted Mrs. Liu to believe Mu Shuangshuang was soone who relied on a man to succeed.
Mrs. Liu was conservative, so if Mu Shuangshuang, at her age, was using Lu Yuanfeng’s money without being married to him, she would only consider Mu Shuangshuang calculating and unsuitable as a business partner.
"If that’s the case, then we should try another restaurant later!"
Mrs. Liu said.
Her words clearly indicated she had given up on Mu Shuangshuang’s restaurant and would not consider collaborating with it in the future.
This result greatly satisfied Mu Qingqing.
This way, she would never have to see Mu Shuangshuang again, nor worry about her lies being exposed.
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