Chapter 158: Do you take me for someone who has never had stir-fried food?

Seeing Xu Mo look away and stop staring, the woman in black slowly relaxed her grip on the hilt of her sword.

After a short while, the waiter brought the woman her dish—a steaming plate of stir-fried chicken with mushrooms and black fungus.

Rice and tea were served alongside it.

The woman immediately picked up her chopsticks, ready to grab some food, but just as they were about to touch the chicken, she suddenly paused.

She realized that the dish on the plate looked rather different from the stir-fried chicken with mushrooms and black fungus she had eaten before.

A moment later, however, she picked up a piece of chicken and popped it into her mouth.

As soon as she finished chewing, her brow furrowed.

Immediately after, she tasted a piece of mushroom and a slice of black fungus, and finally, she could no longer restrain herself.

"Innkeeper!"

The woman raised her voice, catching the attention of not only the proprietor and the waiter, but also drawing the gazes of the only two other patrons in the restaurant.

Xu Mo, sitting outside, heard the cry and turned his head to look.

Even Woodhead woke up, rubbing his eyes as he asked, "What's wrong, boss?"

"Nothing, nothing," Xu Mo replied. "Go back to sleep."

Seeing Xu Mo dismiss it so casually, Woodhead slumped back down and dozed off again.

By this time, the waiter had already hurried over to the woman and asked carefully, "How may I help you, patron?"

The woman set down her chopsticks, pointed at the dish, and demanded, "Do you call this stir-fried chicken with mushrooms and black fungus?"

The waiter immediately defended, "Patron, this is indeed stir-fried chicken with mushrooms and black fungus! We use top-quality mushrooms and black fungus, along with a free-range old hen. Everything is genuine, and we never cheat our customers, young or old!"

Frowning, the woman retorted, "I'm not talking about the ingredients. I'm asking you why this dish tastes all wrong. It's clearly boiled in water! How dare you call this a stir-fried dish?"

Curiosity piqued, Xu Mo stood up and walked into the tavern, glancing over from a distance at the woman's table.

The proprietor stepped forward at that moment, cupping his fists politely. "Patron, the stir-fried chicken with mushrooms and black fungus at our establishment has always been prepared this way. You're simply not used to it, which is why you feel that way."

The woman let out a cold laugh. "Hah! Do you take me for someone who has never eaten stir-fried food before?"

She continued, "Just yesterday, I had this very dish at the Delicacy Pavilion in Xinzhou City, and it tasted nothing like this!"

"Patron, the Delicacy Pavilion is the Delicacy Pavilion, and we are us. How can they be the same? This is simply how we make the dish here," the proprietor argued.

The woman thought for a moment and nodded. "Very well! Since you insist this is a stir-fried dish, have the cook make it again right in front of me while I watch. If the freshly made dish turns out like this one, I will pay you a hundred times the price of the meal!"

Without pausing, she added, "And if it isn't, I'll smash your sign to pieces!"

With those words, the woman picked up the plate of food and strode toward the back kitchen.

Horrified, the proprietor and the waiter rushed forward to block her path.

However, the woman was already furious, and nothing could stop her.

"Ow!"

"Ah!"

Following two cries of pain, the proprietor and the waiter tumbled to the floor.

Xu Mo had been watching from the doorway, but the woman's movements had been so swift that he barely caught what happened.

Having knocked the two men aside, the woman pushed straight ahead and entered the kitchen.

Eager to see how the drama would unfold, Xu Mo followed immediately, pausing only to help the proprietor and the waiter to their feet as he passed.

Moments later, the three of them trooped into the back kitchen.

The other two patrons in the front also abandoned their food and rushed back to watch.

Woodhead, hearing the commotion from outside and discovering that Xu Mo had vanished, hurriedly chased after them.

Inside the kitchen, the woman with the plate had already located the cook.

"Make another plate!" she commanded, setting the dish down on the table.

The cook was a man with a limp. He hobbled over to the food, examined it carefully, and asked, "Young lady, what's wrong with this dish? Why does it need to be remade?"

The woman scanned the kitchen, casting a particularly sharp gaze toward the stove.

"Where is your iron wok?" she demanded.

"What?" The cook was taken aback.

The woman repeated, "Where is the iron wok?"

Without thinking much, the cook blurted out, "A small shop like ours—where would we get an iron wok?"

Just as he said this, the proprietor and the waiter arrived in the kitchen and heard the cook's confession.

Xu Mo arrived right behind them.

The woman turned her gaze piercingly onto the proprietor and questioned, "You don't even have an iron wok. How on earth do you make stir-fried dishes?"

The proprietor and the waiter were struck dumb, standing frozen in embarrassment.

Realizing his blunder, the cook lowered his head, not daring to meet the proprietor's eyes.

Xu Mo, standing to the side, understood the whole situation instantly.

Everyone knew that stir-fried dishes were all the rage right now, and the proprietor had likely wanted to cash in on the trend without actually owning an iron wok.

Even if they had an iron wok, they probably didn't know the proper technique for stir-frying, so they simply deceived their customers into thinking they served stir-fried food.

The proprietor must have figured that anyone eating at a humble countryside tavern like this could hardly afford the Delicacy Pavilion and had surely never tasted authentic stir-fried food.

Furthermore, he likely assumed no one would ever wander into the back kitchen to check, and even if someone realized it wasn't truly stir-fried, they wouldn't make a fuss over it since the meal was cheap and tasted decent enough.

Never in his wildest dreams did he expect a customer as uncompromising and meticulous as this woman to show up today!

Without wasting another word, the woman turned on her heel and strode toward the front of the restaurant.

Her formidable aura was so overwhelming that the proprietor, waiter, and cook didn't dare attempt to stop her.

A second later, the proprietor snapped out of his shock and cried out in dismay, "Oh no, she's going to smash our signboard!"

With that, the three men scrambled after her in a panic.

Woodhead, who had arrived late and was still clueless about the situation, asked, "Boss, what's going on?"

As Xu Mo followed them back out, he briefly explained the situation to Woodhead.

By the time Xu Mo and Woodhead stepped outside, the woman was already standing beneath the tavern's signboard.

The proprietor, cook, and waiter were cupping their fists and bowing deeply to her, begging her to spare their sign.

Paying them no heed, the woman said coldly, "Save your breath! Today I am going to smash the sign of this fraudulent shop to prevent anyone else from being tricked!"

With that, she squatted slightly to steady her stance and looked up toward the signboard, preparing to leap up and tear it down.

Panicking, the cook rushed forward to stop her, but the moment he got close, the woman shoved him away.

Because of his bad leg, the cook lost his balance and crashed heavily to the ground.

Feeling that the woman was taking things too far, Xu Mo stepped forward and called out, "Lady, please wait!"

Seeing that it was Xu Mo who had spoken, the woman frowned. "What business is it of yours?"

Xu Mo helped the cook up first before replying, "Lady, isn't it going a bit too far to smash someone's signboard over a single dish?"