Siheyuan: Tathagata's Palm suppresses the entire courtyard!

In recent days, the restaurant's business seems not so good, and the number of customers has obviously decreased. This change makes Xu Mingjie worried. He knows that it may be because some newly opened restaurants have attracted a large number of customers recently, but he still can't get rid of the chill that follows him like a shadow, as if something bad is about to happen.

"Mingjie, what special dishes are we going to prepare today?" Zhang Yu asked as he walked into the kitchen.

Xu Mingjie came back to his senses and answered with all his strength: "Let's follow the usual menu, but there may not be many customers today, so we can prepare a little less food."

Zhang Yu nodded in agreement, but then noticed the fatigue and gloom on Xu Mingjie's face. He walked closer and asked in a low voice: "Are you still upset about what happened last time?"

Xu Mingjie hesitated for a moment and sighed: "Actually, although the last incident has passed, I still feel uneasy. Business has been declining recently. Maybe it's a normal fluctuation, but I always feel that something is wrong."

Zhang Yu patted him on the shoulder and said encouragingly, "Don't think too much. It's normal for business to have ups and downs. You're the best chef here. There won't be any problems."

Although Zhang Yu's words brought some comfort, the chill in Xu Mingjie's heart did not dissipate. He felt vaguely that perhaps things were not as simple as they seemed on the surface. His mood became heavier and heavier along with the cold wind outside.

That night, the restaurant had fewer customers than usual. Even the signature dishes did not attract much attention, and the guests' reactions seemed bland. This situation made Xu Mingjie even more worried. He stood in the kitchen, looking at the restaurant through the half-open door, and seeing the scattered guests, the chill in his heart surged up again.

"Mingjie, come and have something to eat." Xiao Li came over with a bowl of hot soup and handed it to him.

Xu Mingjie took the soup bowl, but he didn't have much appetite. He drank it reluctantly, and felt that the soup, which should have been warm, seemed unable to dispel the chill in his heart. He stared down at the soup bowl, thinking over and over again about the recent changes in his mind.

Suddenly, there was a slight commotion in the restaurant. Xu Mingjie subconsciously walked over and found that a table of guests were arguing with the waiter. He listened closer and realized that the guests were not satisfied with the taste of a dish and felt that it tasted a bit bitter.

"Why is it bitter?" Xu Mingjie was shocked. He clearly remembered the preparation process of this dish and definitely did not use any ingredients that would make the taste bitter.

He quickly walked up to the customer, apologized, and asked for details. The customer looked unhappy and spoke in a somewhat stiff tone: "This dish obviously tastes wrong, didn't you check it?"

Xu Mingjie's heart sank immediately. He quickly asked the waiter to send the dish back to the kitchen and tasted it himself. Sure enough, there was a strange bitter taste in the dish, which made him frown. He immediately asked other chefs to check the ingredients used to make sure there was no mistake.

"This can't be our problem. All the ingredients are fresh." Zhang Yu said as he checked, with a puzzled tone in his voice.

Xu Mingjie felt a headache. He thought carefully about the whole production process, but he couldn't figure out where the bitter taste came from. He strictly controlled every step, so there could be no mistakes.

He Yuzhu walked into the kitchen and saw that Xu Mingjie looked strange, so he asked what happened. Xu Mingjie told him what happened. He Yuzhu was silent for a moment, picked up the dish and tasted it, frowning slightly.

"Something is wrong indeed." He Yuzhu put down his chopsticks and said calmly. "But it doesn't seem to be a problem with the ingredients, it seems more like..."

"Like what?" Xu Mingjie asked anxiously.

He Yuzhu pondered for a moment and said slowly: "It seems like someone has tampered with it."

This sentence was like a cold dagger stabbing into Xu Mingjie's heart. He was stunned, his mind was blank. Was someone tampering with him? Who? Why? This series of questions made him angry and uneasy, and the chilly feeling became stronger, as if the temperature of the entire kitchen suddenly dropped.

Xu Mingjie's fingers trembled slightly, and his heart was filled with uncontrollable anger. He tried to calm himself down, but the flame of anger was burning in his chest. He knew that if someone really deliberately destroyed his dishes, it would not only be an insult to his cooking skills, but also a provocation to his personality. Who do you think it might be? "Xu Mingjie suppressed the anger in his heart and asked in a low voice.

He Yuzhu shook his head, his expression solemn: "It's not certain yet. But I think we need to be more careful and find out who is behind this. He has made a decision in his heart. He can't tolerate this situation to continue. No matter who is behind it, he must find out the truth and seek justice for himself.

In the next few days, Xu Mingjie secretly observed every detail of the kitchen, and even checked all the recent purchase records and food processing procedures overnight. He became more cautious than before, fearing that similar problems would occur again. The chilly feeling still lingered, making him tense and unable to relax.

Finally, one cold morning, Xu Mingjie found a clue. When he was processing a commonly used seasoning, he accidentally discovered that some tiny foreign objects were mixed into it. These foreign objects were almost imperceptible, but they were the ones that caused the bitter taste of the dish.

"Sure enough, someone is playing tricks on me!" Xu Mingjie clenched the bottle in his hand, anger rising in his heart again. He knew that this was definitely not accidental, but someone did it deliberately.

"Mingjie, what did you find?" He Yuzhu walked over and saw Xu Mingjie's expression, and immediately realized what he had found.

Xu Mingjie handed the bottle to He Yuzhu and said in a low and calm voice: "Someone tampered with the seasoning."

He Yuzhu took the bottle, looked at it carefully, and his face became serious: "It seems that someone does want to deal with us. Mingjie, this matter cannot be let go easily."

Xu Mingjie nodded, his eyes gleaming with determination: "I will find out who is behind this and make him pay for it."

Xu Mingjie's life became particularly tense during that period, not only because of the pressure from work, but also because he suddenly found that the balance in his wallet had been reduced without him noticing. This discovery caught him off guard.

That night, he returned home and took out his mobile phone to check the balance of his bank card as usual, ready to see his recent spending. However, the number displayed on the screen made him frown - the balance was much less than the last time he checked.