The kimono-clad girl’s mind went blank when she heard her manager. She subconsciously blurted out,
"Neither of them. It’s a streamer in the Yamada Residence. It’s four guys who look like college students."
"They started streaming the moment they walked in... Wait... Aren’t they shills the boss hired?"
The kimono-clad girl slowly realized what was happening, and her voice started to stutter.
The manager on duty kept checking the work records, his face growing darker and darker.
He shot the careless waitress a vicious glare and said fiercely,
"Huang Shuyi, are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"I remind you in every single meeting to turn away all uninvited review streamers!!!"
"Those streamers are ticking time bombs! We can only host the ones we’ve paid and invited! That’s the only way to reliably control the online narrative!!!"
"Now you’ve let an outside streamer in. If this causes any negative impact on the restaurant, you will be held fully responsible!!!"
With that, he didn’t have time to scold the reckless waitress any further and hurried toward the Yamada Residence.
He remembered that the man was still live.
They had only tried three dishes, and there were already two problems. If this blew up and damaged Akatori’s reputation, not only would this waitress named Huang Shuyi certainly be fired and possibly held liable, but he, the manager, would probably be at the end of his career too.
The two of them rushed toward the Yamada Residence.
Meanwhile, the fourth dish arrived. This time, however, it wasn’t yakitori, but a vegetable dish.
Looking at the grilled broccoli placed before them, even Zhou Yu, who was usually a bit slow on the uptake, noticed a problem.
He looked at the broccoli in front of him, leaned close to Li Xiao, and asked in a low voice,
"Brother Li, is this what they call the Bird-Burning Immortal? Why does this broccoli look burnt to me?"
On the plates in front of the four of them, there was one skewer of broccoli each. However, every single skewer was burnt to varying degrees.
Li Xiao nodded, a little speechless.
"It’s definitely burnt. They probably didn’t soak it in water before grilling."
"Plus, the broccoli itself isn’t very fresh, so the florets don’t have enough moisture. The moment they got near the open flame, they charred instantly."
"Of course, it could also be that their technique is just terrible. They couldn’t brush on the sauce and water fast enough, which is why there’s such a large burnt area."
In the live stream chat:
"Let’s see how some of the bootlickers in this chat are gonna defend this."
"LMAO, so the Bird-Burning Immortal can only burn birds, not vegetables? So professional!!!"
"The guy above is a genius! Redefining the meaning of ’professional’!"
"Hey, he’s the Bird-Burning Immortal, not the Vegetable-Burning Immortal. It’s perfectly normal for him to burn vegetables!"
"This time I can be sure the big bro above is being sarcastic!!!"
"This broccoli is 40 a skewer, and there are only 4 small florets, so 10 per floret?? And it’s burnt? This is easier than straight-up robbery!"
...
Since the previous kimono-clad girl had disappeared, Li Xiao could only wave to another one nearby.
This kimono-clad girl had a much better attitude. Even though it wasn’t her designated area, she saw that her colleague was gone and quickly walked over to Li Xiao’s side.
"Hello, sir. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Li Xiao pointed at the four skewers of broccoli, all burnt to different degrees.
"Excuse me, is this burnt broccoli also one of your restaurant’s specialties?"
Li Xiao had originally expected her to apologize profusely and offer to replace the four skewers.
But to his surprise, the kimono-clad girl immediately broke into a sweet smile and nodded repeatedly.
"You’re absolutely right, sir. Our head chef specially prepares it this way to give the vegetables a slight char and bitterness. It’s said to add layers of complexity and a roasted aroma."
??????
Hearing her explanation, Li Xiao was completely thrown off.
’My tone was clearly teasing and sarcastic, so how did she manage to respond so calmly???’
Her matter-of-fact attitude even made him start to have some doubts.
’Maybe the problem really isn’t with the restaurant’s dish, but with my own taste.’
Under her encouraging gaze, Li Xiao picked up the grilled broccoli in front of him.
His skewer was the least burnt of the four.
Grilled broccoli, even if not a vibrant, dewy green, should at least give off the fresh aroma of vegetables. But this skewer was a bizarre mess.
The small florets were almost all charred to some degree.
Spurred on by the encouraging look from the kimono-clad girl, Li Xiao took a small bite, feeling like Shennong tasting the hundred herbs.
The burnt flavor instantly filled his mouth, and a bitter taste immediately overwhelmed his taste buds.
The entire piece of broccoli was grilled until it was completely dry, without a hint of moisture.
The salt powder and special sauce were only on the surface, making it taste both salty and astringent.
Li Xiao had only taken a small bite, but he could already feel the tip of his tongue going numb.
He forced himself to swallow the food. Before he even had a chance to complain...
Two figures hurried into the Yamada Residence from the entrance.
The restaurant manager, led by Huang Shuyi, quickly approached Li Xiao’s side.
The manager immediately spotted the phone that was live streaming.
He immediately spoke in a business-like tone:
"Hello, sir. I am the manager of Akatori, Zhu Yacheng."
"I apologize, sir, but Akatori is still in its soft-opening phase, so we do not allow streamers to do restaurant reviews or live streams."
"Due to our regulations, I must regretfully inform you that you need to stop your live stream."
??????
Li Xiao stared blankly at the manager named Zhu Yacheng, feeling both annoyed and amused.
He pointed to the kimono-clad girl who had been serving them all along:
"Manager Zhu, that’s not quite right, is it?"
"Before I even came in, I asked this waitress of yours if live-streaming a review was allowed."
"This young lady very enthusiastically told me that Akatori welcomes all streamers to come and live stream their reviews. That’s the only reason I didn’t turn my stream off."
"So how come we’ve only been eating for a little while and you’re already changing your tune?"
The manager explained without a change in his expression:
"Miss Huang Shuyi here is a new employee. She’s still in her probationary period and isn’t familiar with some of the restaurant’s rules, which is what led to this misunderstanding. For that, I am deeply sorry."
In the live stream chat.
"LMAO, is the streamer getting silenced for having too many complaints?"
"This change in attitude is way too fast, isn’t it?"
"If I were the manager, I’d also be rushing to make the streamer turn it off. He’s exposed so many problems in one go. This high-end restaurant’s reputation is about to be trashed!"
"The intern takes the fall again. Dude, that move doesn’t work anymore!"
"Who says it doesn’t work? An idea doesn’t have to be new, as long as it works!"
...
Hearing the manager’s explanation, Li Xiao let out a cold laugh. He pointed his finger across the counter at another girl, one dressed like a loli in a JK uniform.
"Fine, let’s say what you’re saying is true."
"The young lady who served me is indeed an intern and doesn’t know Akatori’s rule about not allowing review streams."
"But I see another streamer over there!"
"What? Is the waitress serving them an intern too? Does she also not know the rules?"
"Or is it that this rule only applies to me?"
"Or is it that I can’t keep filming because I’m not a shill you paid to be here?"