The snigger stunned everyone at the table.

There was a look of embarrassment on Xu Zhen's face and she did not look too happy.

Sun Hong had a mocking look in her eyes as well, but she pretended to chastise her daughter by saying, "Qi'er, what are you laughing at? How could you be so rude! Quickly apologize to your Aunt Xu!"

"That's right," Lu Yuan said too. "Isn't it normal that those from the country won't know how to use a knife and fork? If your aunt doesn't know how to, you should be teaching her!"

"Sorry, I really couldn't hold it back," Lu Qi said with a smile.

The three of them sang to each other's tune and left Ye Lingchen's family aside.

"Why aren't you eating? Don't you know how to use a knife and fork?" Lu Qi looked at Ye Lingchen and asked.

Ye Lingchen shook his head. "I don't usually need a knife and fork when I eat steak."

"PFFTTT!"

Lu Qi laughed again. "You don't need to use knives and forks? So that means you use chopsticks? Don't you try and argue that you're patriotic! Those who have never seen the world will never see the world! Do you want me to teach you?"

Ye Lingchen's voice was very calm and he glanced at the dishes on the table. "This kind of dish isn't that great. I don't find it very appetizing."

"What?"

Lu Qi froze. She thought she heard it wrongly.

Lu Yuan and Sun Hong froze as well and stared at Ye Lingchen. They could not help but shake their heads.

The quality of the food was called into question?

So be it then, if he never saw the world before, but he insisted on seeking to impress by feigning his knowledge. Losing his dignity once was not enough, and instead of admitting to it, he dug himself into a deeper hole. To think that he was a talented student. His future was surely bleak.

"Do you know how much everything here costs? The steak alone costs three hundred! It's probably hard for you to imagine it!" Lu Qi found herself unable to resist taking a jab at them. "Our family has been so kind as to invite you for dinner. It's fine if you're knowledge is shallow but why pretend, huh? Our kindness is going to waste by feeding these ungrateful wretches!"

"Old Ye, I must say, your son's tone is too aggressive. Isn't it just because he doesn't know how to use a knife and fork? There's no shame in admitting it! We're treating you to this meal in all sincerity, but take a look at what your son said!" Lu Yuan yelled.

Sun Hong's expression was ugly too.

She commented bluntly, "Children from poor families simply lacking upbringing, yet they still want to get ahead? What a joke!"

At that moment, however, the waiter walked up and laid out a plate on the table.

Hm?

Why were there still dishes being served?

Lu Yuan's heart was slightly shaken and he was puzzled.

The moment he laid his eyes on the dishes however, his heart thumped wildly and his complexion changed slightly. He gulped before saying, "This is..."

"This is wild Australian abalone. It was just airlifted this morning and is very fresh," the waiter had already begun introducing the dish before Lu Yuan could finish the question.

The size of that abalone was more than three times larger than what they just ate. Lu Yuan's family stared at the dish looking confounded.

The difference between both abalones was not that difficult to distinguish. Generally speaking, the larger the size, the rarer it was, but instead of being big in terms of size, it was also Australia's wild abalone!

The price it commanded was sky-high!

He heard about that abalone from others in the past. A piece starts at RMB8,000 and there were six of them on the plate!

Before he could snap back to his senses, another waiter marched in. This time, the waiter was holding a kind of crystal-white fish.

"Chinese tapertails1?" Lu Yuan gasped again.

"These are wild Chinese tapertails caught from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River," the waiter explained.

There was no need to speak of the rarity and price of tapertails. It became a rare fish in recent times and some areas have even prohibited fishing for it.

Tapertails were already extremely expensive when sold in the area along the river. Capital, meanwhile, was located inland, and the surrounding water was scarce all year round. That fact made the tapertail even more valuable, and like the abalone, it also had to be transported by air.

The price was higher than that of abalone!

Immediately afterward, the waiters came in one after another along with various dishes.

Wild pufferfish, Kobe steak, caviar, white truffle...

Lu Yuan's face changed a shade paler with each dish that was served. Even Lu Qi and Sun Hong were afraid to reach for their chopsticks because they were devouring money at the table instead of eating food!

The plate of golden caviar, in particular, made Lu Yuan's cheeks begin to twitch frantically. The price of that caviar was calculated in grams, and the annual outfit was less than 100 fishes. However, one whole plate was sitting pretty right in front of them!

The entire plate cost no less than RMB50,000!

A more conservative calculation of everything on the table was estimated at more than RMB200,000, though it was not surprising if it reached RMB300,000!

That was plainly...ludicrous.

"Please wait!" Seeing that there was still food preparation, Lu Yuan finally yelled out. His face was extremely nervous, cold sweat began appearing on his forehead, and his eyes were getting red. "Has there been a mistake? We didn't order these!"

There were hints of fear in his tone, which was inevitable because he could not afford to spend much money!

He was only lucky because he was compensated for the demolition of his house. Most of it was spent on his new home, and his life could only be regarded and reasonably well-off. That meal was far too beyond his budget and he would not have spent money in such a lavish manner even if he was rich!

Spending tens of thousands was enough to show their superiority in front of those peasants. He did not have enough money to pay for all the dishes on the table!

His eyes nearly popped out when he turned to look at Ye Lingchen.

Ye Lingchen, who had not eaten much before, was happily eating then. He wolfed down all those dishes like a madman and even scooped a spoonful of caviar into his mouth.

Lu Yuan's heart was throbbing—that spoonful was worth thousands of dollars!

Aside from that, Ye Lingchen was even putting food on the plates of Ye Jin and Xu Zhen. They did not eat much yet, but all that expensive food had already been divided amongst Ye Lingchen's family.

They were all motherf*cking...b*stards!

Those peasants did not even appreciate the value of the food they were eating.

"We didn't order these dishes, and we didn't touch them at all!" Lu Yuan said, then pointed to Ye Lingchen, "They're the ones who ate, so let them pay for it!"

"Yeah, you must have made a mistake," Sun Hong remarked as well. "Whoever eats it will have to pay for it!"

"These dishes are given to our distinguished guests by our boss. On the house," the waiter explained with a smile.

"On the house?" Her words left Lu Yuan stunned on the spot.

How was that possible?!

"Dad, are you that respected now?" Lu Qi was also dumbfounded, but she was the most excited and began shaking. Her dad was too awesome and she was actually a rich kid!

The more she thought of it, the more excited she became. Her breathing quickened, and she said urgently, "Dad, be honest. You're a billionaire, right? You're just testing me before, and you're finally showing your true status now. I'm secretly a rich kid, right? "

She looked yearning at Lu Yuan and was already making plans for the next two decades.

'Like hell I'm a billionaire! What the f*ck are you blabbing about?'

Lu Yuan looked at his daughter. He was so dumbfounded at that moment that he had no idea what to say...

長江刀魚 is translated here as Chinese tapertails, but may also be known as Chinese tapertail anchovy, growing up to 16 inches in length. The scientific name is Coilia nasus and it really is one of the most expensive fish sold in China.