Can a System Have Bad Intentions? - Chapter 49

After breakfast, Qin Mo and Song Qingzhan left. The Qiao Family Inn was hiring a head chef today. Although Zhou Shu, Xu Shen, and Guo Dawei might lack other skills, they were definitely experts in tasting food. As long as the head chef’s skills passed their test, it would be enough for the Qiao Family Inn. As for assessing the chef’s character, that would be up to Lu Tang to decide.

Since Lu Tang still had to complete a task, he entrusted the inn to the three and went out with Liang Cheng.

“What are you thinking?” Liang Cheng asked as he walked alongside Lu Tang, holding the jug of wine Yu Shunhai had given them. He looked worried. “Do you really want to buy wine from Yunyang Restaurant? Wouldn’t that fall right into Gu Yunhe’s trap?”

Lu Tang’s expression was calm as he observed the streets of Sihe Town on both sides. “If we refuse to buy his wine and Gu Yunhe is determined to harm me, he will come up with other underhanded schemes. Rather than waiting passively, it’s better to buy it proactively. Since we know there’s a problem with his wine, we can prepare accordingly.”

“This whole thing feels so strange,” Liang Cheng said, scratching his head. “Everyone knows that the Qiao Family Inn doesn’t sell alcohol. But when Gu Yunhe gave Yu Shunhai that task last night, he seemed so confident, as if he knew Yu Shunhai could sell the wine to us. The rule of not selling alcohol has always been the inn’s policy!”

Lu Tang gently rubbed his fingers together without saying anything.

If someone wanted to sell something to a person who never used such items, there was only one way: control the person’s choices and force them to comply.

Gu Yunhe was confident that Yu Shunhai could convince him. Gu Yunhe wouldn’t let Yu Shunhai leave Yunyang Restaurant, and Yu Shunhai’s face had turned pale instead of happy when they praised his character…

As they talked, they soon reached Yunyang Restaurant.

Just as Er Bao had said, Yunyang Restaurant was indeed busy. Early in the morning, a long line of people had already formed to buy wine.

Seeing the long queue, Lu Tang asked Liang Cheng to wait outside while he went into the restaurant.

If he queued up properly, the detector’s usage time might run out before it was his turn.

The waiter saw a new customer and quickly greeted him with a smile, “What would you like, sir? Our Yunyang Restaurant’s wine is the best in Sihe Town. Our most famous one is the osmanthus wine, but our other wines are also excellent.”

“What are they buying?” Lu Tang asked, pointing at the queue.

The waiter smiled, “They’re all buying our osmanthus wine!”

“Then give me a jug,” Lu Tang said.

The waiter apologized, “If you’re dining here, I can get you a pot right away. But if you want to take it away, I’m afraid you’ll have to queue up. These people have all been waiting patiently, and we can’t cut in line…”

The waiter didn’t finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.

The people in line also looked over.

Lu Tang glanced around the main hall of the restaurant.

Early in the morning, the hall was full of customers, sitting in groups of three or five, drinking and chatting over snacks like peanuts and beef.

Frowning briefly, Lu Tang nodded and smiled at the people in line before turning to the waiter, “I’m the manager of the Qiao Family Inn over there. I spoke with your manager Yu this morning about buying a batch of wine from here. He suddenly had something to attend to, so I’m here to taste the wine first.”

As Lu Tang said this, someone in the crowd recognized him immediately.

After all, the scene with Lu Deren presenting the divorce letter had been quite a spectacle!

“I remember him! He’s the young master of the Qiao family!”

“Doesn’t the Qiao Family Inn not deal in alcohol? Have they changed their policy?”

“Are they changing their business model?”

Whispers spread among the customers.

The waiter, who hadn’t been at the scene that day, quickly bowed, “So, you’re the young master of the Qiao family. If you spoke with our manager Yu, I’ll get you a jug right away.”

With that, he walked towards the counter, but Lu Tang stopped him, pointing to the wine jar beside them, “Just draw it from here.”

The waiter shook his head with a smile, “That’s our cheapest bulk wine. For the Qiao Family Inn…”

Lu Tang smiled warmly and quickly whispered, “I want to treat the staff first.”

The waiter immediately understood, smiling knowingly. He grabbed an empty jug from the ground and filled it from the wine jar.

Lu Tang tossed him a few copper coins, took the jug, and left amidst the continued whispers.

“Why is the restaurant so busy? How can there be so many people drinking early in the morning? Don’t they have anything better to do?” Liang Cheng muttered, glancing at the bustling restaurant.

Lu Tang said nothing, leading Liang Cheng to a small pavilion not far away, where he placed the two jugs on the stone table.

“What are you doing, Lu Tang?” Liang Cheng asked, confused.

Ignoring him, Lu Tang placed the detector into the wine he got from the restaurant.

Liang Cheng watched with wide eyes as Lu Tang dropped something from his palm into the jug, then leaned over to peer inside.

“What did you put in there?”

“Opium.”

Above the jug, two characters floated out.

Lu Tang’s clenched hand tightened into a fist: Just as expected!

She quickly retrieved the detector from the jug and then tossed it into the jug Yu Shunhai had given her.

“Osmanthus wine.”

Her clenched fist relaxed, and Lu Tang lightly rubbed her fingers together.

Liang Cheng, wide-eyed and confused, looked back and forth between Lu Tang and the jugs. “What did you put in there?”

As Liang Cheng spoke, the detector flew out of the jug and disintegrated into ash—a high-tech scene like a spy movie with special effects!

Lu Tang took a deep breath, “The osmanthus wine contains opium.”

Liang Cheng was stunned for a moment, then licked his lips instinctively, “Wait, how do you know there’s opium in there?”

“What else could make everyone so addicted?” Lu Tang didn’t answer directly. “Look at the people in Yunyang Restaurant. Is that normal? Even the drunkards in Qingshui County don’t have such a strong craving that they need to sit in a restaurant at this hour.”

Liang Cheng nodded, “That’s true. So, what now?”

He quickly forgot his earlier question.

Lu Tang looked around, seeing no one else, and quickly poured the wine from the restaurant into the nearby grass, then poured the wine from Yu Shunhai into the now-empty jug.

“Let’s go to Yu Shunhai’s house!”

Just then, Yuan Bao and Wan Xi arrived together.

“Young Master!”

“Young Master!”

They had been gone all night, and finding them now meant they had just returned from Gu Yunhe’s place. Lu Tang asked, “How did it go?”