Chapter 414 I Like Chinese Specialties
The young Chinese, who presumably was the waiter, said with a smile, âOf course. Itâs a cobra, no less.â
Jeff was petrified. âWhat?â
Luke sipped the wine again.
Thankfully, Tim hadnât crossed a line. This was regular wine, and wasnât drugged.
He smiled. âItâs fine. Drinking snake wine occasionally is good for men.â
Both Tim and Jeff were lost for words.
âAs married middle-aged men, you need this.â Luke winked.
Jeff was too naive, and still at a loss.
Tim looked conflicted. âIt has this effect?â He looked at the young Chinese.
The young Chineseâs eyes sparkled. âYou know that?â
Luke was amused. âYes. However, do you have the legendary Five Venom wine here?â
The young man was stunned. âWhat?â
âFrom snake, centipede, scorpion, spider, and gecko,â Luke explained with a smile.
With each word he said, the faces of the other two men turned whiter and whiter.
By the time he was finished, Jeff already looked like he was about to vomit.
Tim didnât seem very comfortable either, but he could still endure it.
The young Chinese, however, was shocked. âYou know that, too?â
That was only a concept in wuxia novels. How did this young American know about it?
In reality, it was impossible to make Five Venom wine. After all, adding so many toxins into the wine could be lethal.
He didnât want anybody to die in his restaurant.
Looking at their faces, Luke suddenly laughed. âI only saw it in a kung fu movie. I donât think itâs real. Itâs just a joke, please donât mind me!â
The other two were immensely relieved.
Even Tim wouldnât want to drink such a wine, to say nothing of Jeff. The young Chinese, on the other hand, felt like he had met a master who was demonstrating his skills, and he promptly left to fetch something.
A moment later, the young man returned with something that was pitch black.
Luke wasnât surprised at all.
sold in this place.
Jeff had just drunk another mouthful of wine, when he saw what the young man was holding, and he was frightened into jumping up and scrambling away. âDear god, is that a live snake?â
Luke chuckled to himself. It was just a Cantonese specialty, it was nothing to be surprised about.
At that moment, another young man came over to Jeff with a tray of... mice.
Of course, these werenât the type that could be fished out of the gutter, but were used in another legendary dish called âthree squeaking mice.â Jeffâs eyes widened. âThey can be eaten as well?â
Luke waved his hand. âJeff, a lot of people in this world eat everything. If you donât like them, just donât order them.â His gaze fell on the mice.
Jeff quickly shook his head. âI donât want that. Definitely not.â
Luke smiled at the snake that the young man was holding. âActually, you can try that. Snake meat actually tastes good. A lot of people eat it.â
Jeff swallowed. âReally?â
Luke nodded. âReally.â
He then asked the young man, âAre we going to eat the snake raw?â
The young Chinese replied, âIt can be eaten raw or made into a soup.â
Luke quickly made the call. âLetâs make it into a soup.â
Snakes had parasites which might be passed on to humans if they were eaten raw, which could be fatal.
Jeff finally crept back to his seat. He looked at the snake in the young manâs hand with lingering trepidation.
Another young man pushed over a cart with a chopping block on it.
The first young Chinese picked up the knife on the chopping block and brought it down. Duang! The head of the snake was cut off. It wriggled on the block with its mouth wide open.
Jeff swallowed hard.
Luke however, said with a smile, âDonât worry, the snake has been defanged; it canât bite you.â
If the fangs werenât removed, a snake head was still capable of biting and injecting venom for a long while after it was cut off. Many cooks in China had been bitten and killed this way.
Jeff calmed down, and had another cup of wine to soothe his nerves.
Tim topped up his glass. Just like that, they started drinking together.
This was clearly a more authentic Cantonese restaurant, considering that it served snakes.
Luke had a massive appetite, and ordered a lot of specialties.
Looking at Timâs dumbstruck expression, Luke smiled brilliantly. âI like Chinese food, and the Chinese like to treat others. Since you brought us to such a great place today, letâs do the Chinese thing; order whatever you want, everythingâs on me.â
Tim was lost for words. Why hadnât he heard of such a Chinese custom?
After Luke said that, Tim didnât dare bring up the Chinese things that he had researched before.
Since this young man was familiar with Five Venom wine and Chinese cuisine, Tim wasnât confident that he could fool him with secondhand information.
When the dishes were served, Jeff remembered something and took out his phone. âI need to call Karen and tell her that I wonât be home for lunch.â
Jeff then left his seat and made the call. âKaren, thereâs no need to prepare lunch for me today. What? Youâre eating with the neighbors too? Who are they? Well, Iâm with Tim and Luke. Okay, bye.â
On the other side, Karen glanced at Natalie and Selina suspiciously after she hung up.
Natalieâs actions were graceful as she ate unhurriedly, which made for a pleasant sight, while Selina was quick but not crude at all, which was in line with her candid personality.
But did they plan this? How come Tim and Luke happened to be having lunch with Jeff too?
The paranoid housewife fell into deep thought once again.
On the menâs side, they finished lunch, and following Jeffâs suggestion, they went to his company to play with the indoor skydiving machine.When they set off, Luke made a note to add skydiving to his and Selinaâs training regiment.
Also, they would definitely go skydiving for real, which would be a lot more fun than a skydiving simulation. It would also enhance their survival skills.
Luke said to Jeff casually, âWhy donât we try real skydiving some time? Does your company have a program like that?â
Jeff was stunned. âI donât think so.â This indoor skydiving was meant to help stressed employees relax.
Skydiving was a very dangerous extreme sport that few people dared to try out. While MBI Inc. did make planes, it certainly wouldnât offer such a dangerous activity as a benefit.
Luke clicked his tongue and said, âOkay, then Iâll see what I can find. Iâll tell you if I find anything.â
Jeff said, âThat... Iâm not exactly a sports person.â
Luke laughed and laid one hand on his shoulder. âJeff, a man should never chicken out! You must work out more; otherwise, you wonât be able to last with just the snake wine alone.â