Leaving the teacher's residence, Lin Chen went to the back kitchen to see Steward Zhang.
Steward Zhang agreed readily and joked with Lin Chen that when getting meat in the cafeteria, he'd give him extra, considering it as looking out for their own.
The fact that Lin Chen's strength had reached four hundred pounds was also known to Steward Zhang.
As the steward of the Martial Hall, he could be aware of any slight changes within the hall at the first moment.
Currently, Lin Chen has the potential to develop Essence Qi within two years.
It was suspected that Instructor Yu had a special arrangement for Lin Chen, which made Steward Zhang even more eager to get on Lin Chen's good side.
After bidding farewell to Steward Zhang, Lin Chen walked out of the cafeteria and on his way back to the dormitory, he encountered Zhao Jingchuan and four others.
Seeing these five, Lin Chen voluntarily stepped aside.
"Junior Brother Lin, today is our day off, I'm inviting everyone to my family's restaurant, why don't you join us?"
Lin Chen didn't expect Zhao Jingchuan to actively greet him; after pondering for a moment, he replied, "It would be impolite for me to decline."
The chance to eat for free should not be missed.
Lu Yongfeng and the others looked at Zhao Jingchuan with some confusion, not understanding why Zhao Jingchuan would invite Lin Chen, even if Lin Chen's strength had reached four hundred pounds, there was still a significant gap compared to them.
But since Zhao Jingchuan was the host for today, none of them said anything.
The group walked out of the Martial Hall's gate, encountering a few students along the way, who looked at Lin Chen walking with the five with peculiar eyes.
Clearly, in the minds of the Martial Hall students, the thought was the same.
Although Lin Chen amazed them today, there was still a gap compared to the five of Lu Yongfeng.
Lin Chen walked silently at the back, listening to Zhao Jingchuan and the others talking about matters concerning the county martial arts halls, to which he couldn't contribute.
He could only sigh, this is the gap!
While most of the students were striving to develop Essence Qi within two years, these folks were considering which martial arts hall in the county to choose.
Cheng Ying's goal was the Seven Stars Martial Arts Hall, while Xu Botao wanted to go to the Mountain Shaking Martial Arts Hall. The two were discussing which hall was stronger, with the others occasionally chiming in with their own suggestions.
Lin Chen listened quietly, with no one mentioning him, as if everyone had ignored him. This suited him just fine, for his goal was just a free meal, and he was gaining a lot of useful information from their discussions.
The Seven Stars Martial Arts Hall that Cheng Ying wanted to go to was famed for the Seven Stars Fist, while the Mountain Shaking Martial Arts Hall that Xu Botao favored was strongest in Horizontal Training.
A quarter of an hour later, the group arrived at the entrance of Zhao Family's restaurant.
Standing at the door was Zhao Dongyang, who, seeing his son and the group approaching, cheerfully said, "Jingchuan, are these your fellow students?"
This dining event was arranged by his son as instructed, and he knew well the family backgrounds of these young folks.
Lu Yongfeng, the Young Master of Lu Family Pharmacy; Cheng Ying, the Young Master of Cheng's Cloth Shop...
In business, what one needs is connections.
Lu Yongfeng and the others introduced themselves, calling him Uncle Zhao or Elder Zhao.
"Uncle Zhao, I'm Lin Chen, your nephew."
"Nephew Lin!"
When Lin Chen introduced himself, Zhao Dongyang felt puzzled, for Jingchuan had never mentioned a student named "Lin Chen" before.
However, as a businessman, Zhao Dongyang didn't show any signs on his face and warmly led the group into the restaurant, heading straight to a private room on the second floor.
In the private room of the restaurant, six cold dishes were already laid out on the table.
Beef in sauce, fennel beans, wine-marinated fish, pickled century eggs, cold mixed malan head, and a plate of pastries unfamiliar to Lin Chen.
Wow!
The cold dishes alone were richer than the food at his own home.
Having been in this world for almost a year, this was Lin Chen's first time dining out. In the memory of his original self, the most delicious thing was the tofu pudding from the tofu shop in town.
The original self, when following Father Lin to sell fish in town, would be taken to the tofu shop to spend two copper coins on a bowl of tofu pudding. The tofu pudding, with lard and scallions, was the most delicious food in the original self's memory.
After everyone sat down, the others weren't in a rush to move their chopsticks.
They weren't here for the cold dishes.
However, Lin Chen didn't hesitate to pick up the chopsticks and try it.
The taste was indeed good.
So, this world wasn't lacking in gourmet food, it's just that the poor couldn't afford it.
After a while, the waiter brought up a large plate of meat. When the meat arrived, Lin Chen noticed Yan Dexing, sitting at the side, swallowed a gulp, and the others were also staring intently at this plate of meat.
"Yesterday, the hunters from Qingshan Village caught a black deer, and I happened to be there to purchase some wild game, so I bought it. This thing replenishes Qi Blood, you all should eat more of it."
Hearing Zhao Dongyang's words, Lin Chen noticed Yan Dexing and the others swallowing, and he realized that this black deer meat was either extremely delicious or very nourishing, likely the latter.
Since that was the case, he would not stand on ceremony.
"Thank you, Uncle, then I'll give it a try."
While the others were still hesitating, Lin Chen was the first to pick up his chopsticks, grabbing a big piece of meat and placing it into his bowl.
Honestly, this black deer meat was quite chewy, with a lingering sweetness, and soon Lin Chen felt a heat rising in his abdomen.
Is it effective so quickly?
Lin Chen's eye twitched, and he whispered to himself, "Status panel!"
[Name: Lin Chen]
[Profession: Martial Artist]
[Qi Blood: 2008/3000]
[Life Chart: [Natural Progress]: Martial Arts First Realm, perseverance, gradual progress, unstoppable, no bottleneck problem.]
In just a few breaths, his Qi blood increased by 5 points, and it was the first time he saw Qi blood increase on the same day.
Normally, the increase in Qi blood would only be noticeable the next day after waking up.
Over there, when Lu Yongfeng and the others saw him move his chopsticks, especially when they saw Lin Chen going for a second bite, they were not reserved anymore. If they kept holding back, there would be no black deer meat left.
Zhao Dongyang watched with a smile as these youngsters devoured their food, not surprised at all. Black deer meat was indeed a nourishing item, just one plate was worth ten taels, and it wasn't guaranteed to be available anyway.
"There's also black deer bone soup, you should try it later too. I won't disturb you any longer. Jingchuan, keep your senior and junior brothers company."
Zhao Dongyang knew that with him as an elder around, these youths couldn't freely converse, and without communication, how could they strengthen their bonds?
Once the elder left, the atmosphere in the private room relaxed. Yan Dexing wanted to say something, but then he saw Lin Chen serving himself some meat soup with a spoon.
When he moved, the others followed suit, and the only sound left in the room was of eating.
Nobody wanted to miss out on even a sip of the soup.
"Junior Brother Lin, haven't you eaten at home?"
After the soup was finished, Yan Dexing seized the opportunity to speak, filled with disdain for Lin Chen.
"As you all know, my family is of modest means, and back home we only have boiled vegetables. Forget seasoning, my mother even saves on oil and salt. This is my first time tasting such delicious food, so I might have lost my composure."
Lin Chen answered sincerely, leaving Yan Dexing unable to continue his ridicule.
Really?
Have you no shame or dignity?
Sharing your family's hardships so openly?
However, the others were somewhat moved by Lin Chen's words.
They asked themselves if they were in Lin Chen's shoes, they wouldn't be able to speak so candidly.
"When Junior Brother Lin helped in the canteen, I admired him. Honestly, I admit I couldn't do what he did," Zhao Jingchuan said with emotion, and Lu Yongfeng and others agreed. If they were Lin Chen, serving food in the canteen in front of familiar trainees was truly a loss of dignity.
"Junior Brother is from a poor family and had no choice but to earn the cafeteria's beef this way."
Lin Chen spoke earnestly, without holding back, then he stood up and cupped his fists towards them: "Precisely because of my family's poverty, I can't give up any opportunity to increase my Qi blood. If I was disrespectful today, I apologize to my senior brothers."
He finished speaking and didn't wait for their response: "Being able to enjoy such a meal in this life is already very satisfying. I dare not disturb you any longer, my senior brothers. I'll take my leave. Senior Brother Zhao, thank you for the feast!"
Lin Chen left naturally, but as he turned away, Lu Yongfeng and others caught a glimpse of disappointment in his eyes.
Silence fell over the private room.
A few moments later, Zhao Jingchuan sighed again, "Junior Brother Lin has a tough time, I wonder how much unseen hardship he endured to increase his strength by four hundred pounds."
"Practicing martial arts has never been easy. Today, Junior Brother Lin is no different from us and those family children in the county," Xu Botao nodded, empathetically.
Seeing everyone's gaze settle on him, Yan Dexing was helpless: "I... I only made one remark, without any other intention."
Yan Dexing was quite frustrated, extremely frustrated.
How come they are blaming me now? I didn't say anything too harsh.
Lin Chen, leaving the private room, had a slight smile on his lips. "You wanna play mind games with me, Senior Brother Yan, but you're not quite there yet."
Do you know that sincerity is the ultimate weapon?
I just gave a small demonstration. If I went all out, you'd probably get up in the middle of the night, slap yourself, and say: I truly deserved it.