Shocking! The entire court was drooling with envy because of me.

"It smells so good, those meatballs next door must be really good..."

Shen Gao couldn't help but speak up. He leaned forward, drool dripping from his mouth, wishing he could pounce on the meatball and take a bite right away.

Shen Mao glanced at it and quickly turned his head away, stubbornly insisting, "Nonsense, how could it possibly compare to Shen's Restaurant..."

But you can't see it; the fragrance lingers on the tip of your nose.

His brows furrowed deeply, and he finally came to the conclusion that he must be hungry.

Yes, she must have been hungry, otherwise why would she have been tempted by the four-happiness meatballs at the next table?

"Hurry up and drink your tea, then leave as soon as you're done!" Shen Mao urged repeatedly.

Shen De sighed slightly. No wonder the servant looked so sympathetic earlier. Just by smelling it, he had to admit that these Four Happiness Meatballs were absolutely delicious.

What a pity! If only he had asked more questions earlier, and hesitated a bit, he might have been able to try it.

"Brother, could I have a piece to try? Just a little bit."

Shen De turned his head and saw that Shen Gao had actually moved to the next table, looking all obsequious.

The diner next door glanced at Shen Gao, hesitated for a long time, and finally said, "Okay, I'll share a little with you, just a tiny bit!"

As he spoke, he took a pair of unused chopsticks, picked up a piece the size of a soybean from the large meatball, and placed it on the side of the plate.

Shen Gao was overjoyed: "Thank you, thank you so much! From now on, we're brothers!!"

After saying that, he couldn't wait to put the small piece of meatball into his mouth.

Then he squinted his eyes and savored it with a look of enjoyment.

When Shen De saw this, his eyes widened in surprise.

Good heavens, that old man Shen Gao has an incredibly thick skin.

But he got to eat it...

Should we...?

On a whim, Shen De quickly reached the next table: "Young brother, could I have some to try? I can pay you..."

"No need for money, I'll just give you a little!"

The diner then used chopsticks to pick up a meatball the size of a soybean and placed it next to the plate.

Shen De was overjoyed. He hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. Indeed, the brave are the first to enjoy the world.

He put a small piece in his mouth, and his eyes lit up immediately. These Four Happiness Meatballs were so delicious!!!

He had lived his whole life and eaten at Shen's Restaurant, but these Four Happiness Meatballs were definitely the best he had ever tasted!

It was so delicious it seemed otherworldly.

Shen Mao, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but look over.

Seeing Shen De and Shen Gao's behavior, his brows furrowed even more.

"Two traitors..." he murmured involuntarily.

The aroma swirled around his nose, making him swallow hard. Seeing Shen De and Shen Gao looking so pleased, his curiosity had reached its peak.

But he couldn't do what Shen De and Shen Gao did.

So all he could do was stare at the two of them intently.

"Brother, could you share some with me? I want my friend to try some." Shen Gao had already sensed Shen Mao's gaze.

He felt uncomfortable being stared at, and after thinking it over, he spoke again.

Upon hearing this, Shen Mao's ears perked up instantly, and a strong sense of anticipation rose in his heart.

If you insist on letting him try it, it's not impossible for him to have a taste.

But if we're talking about delicious food, Shen's Restaurant is definitely the best.

For a long while, the diner remained silent.

After he finished chewing the delicious food in his mouth, savoring the taste for a long time with a look of enjoyment, he finally spoke slowly:

"That won't do."

"Huh?" Shen Gao was stunned. He thought it would go smoothly like before.

"No way." The diner repeated himself, clearly on purpose.

Shen Mao's heart felt like it was on a roller coaster, plummeting from the highest point to the lowest.

He felt an indescribable discomfort, embarrassment, and even a sense of being humiliated.

His face turned bright red, and he was extremely embarrassed.

After a while, he finally couldn't sit still any longer.

With a whoosh, he stood up abruptly and shouted, "Hmph, I wouldn't even deign to eat that!"

"I've had my tea, it's time to get going!" With that, he stormed out of the teahouse.

Clearly, he couldn't stay a moment longer.

After walking out for a while, he was even angrier to find that Shen De and Shen Gao had not followed him out.

"Aren't you leaving yet?" he shouted through the teahouse door.

"Go, go, right now, right now!!"

The sound came, and after a while, the two came out.

Upon closer inspection, Shen Mao noticed that the two had some dark sauce around their mouths, indicating that they had clearly eaten something.

"It smells so good! That guy is so kind; he even shared a spoonful of the rice he brought with each of us."

"Yes, the sauce from those four-happiness meatballs is so delicious when mixed with rice. Even though I only had one bite, I felt like I was floating on air."

"I can't even imagine how delicious it would be if I mixed a whole plate of Four Happiness Meatballs into rice!"

The two were so engrossed in their discussion that they didn't notice Shen Mao's face growing increasingly dark.

It was intentional, absolutely intentional! That kid next door definitely did it on purpose!!!

"Let's go!" Shen Mao urged coldly.

Shen De turned his head and glanced across the street. The Zhiweixuan restaurant had a small storefront, but its signboard was exceptionally well-written and looked very grand.

It was midday, and the door was already closed.

He sighed slightly; it seemed he would have to wait until tomorrow.

No matter what, he absolutely must eat a whole serving of Four Happiness Meatballs tomorrow, and no one can stop him.

"Let's go, let's go. Let's go to the restaurant first, and then go to Shen Qing's house to ask about the situation."

The three old men set off again and soon arrived at Shen's Restaurant.

The restaurant's doors were tightly shut, covered in a layer of dust. There were no customers, and the doors hadn't even been opened, clearly indicating that it had been in a state of decline for a long time.

"How could this happen? How did the restaurant become like this? What on earth did Shen Chengzong do?" Shen Mao felt a surge of anger rising to his head.

Shen's Restaurant used to be so popular, I never imagined it would become like this.

Shen De and Shen Gao were equally shocked, and it took them a long time to calm down.

"Let's go to the Shen residence and ask Shen Qing and her daughter first," Shen De decided.

Shen Mao's eyes seemed to spit fire: "It must be Shen Qing and her daughter who did this! They're trying to ruin our Shen family's business! It's outrageous!"

"Let's go first, let's go first." Shen Gao tugged at Shen Mao.

The three old men went to the Shen residence again.

The same desolation, the same desertedness, the perfectly good house was completely empty.

Only the lock on the door looked newly added.

"Don't Shen Qing and her daughter live here?" Shen Gao asked, puzzled.

Shen De frowned: "Oh dear, I should have asked Cheng Zong. Where are Shen Qing and her daughter living now?"

"No, we need to find out more."

The three of them then started asking around like headless flies.

......

After selling all the Four Happiness Meatballs, Shen Qing went home.

As usual, she opened the system, and sure enough, the upper limit for purchasing ingredients had increased to six hundred portions.

Just as she was preparing to rest, Old Chen, the gatekeeper, came running to report:

"Master, three old men have arrived. They say they are elders of the Shen family."