Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation-Chapter 624 - 391 Chapter: Poison in the Meal! _2

Jiang Ning carried a bowl of millet porridge and encountered many acquaintances along the way, Lin Zida carried a bowl of noodle soup, all smiles as he greeted everyone.

Jiang Ning nodded in response, surprised that the other party participated in the small dining table project.

In terms of family strength, the Lin family, where Lin Zida came from, was much wealthier than Qi Tianheng’s.

He also came across Pei Yujing, who was holding a bowl of porridge.

When Pei Yujing saw Jiang Ning, she planned to say something. Frankly speaking, Jiang Ning had saved her once during the sports meet, and although she had given him a drink in return, it didn’t mean they were even.

Regardless, she should greet him.

However, she stared at Jiang Ning and simply couldn’t bring herself to speak.

She wasn’t used to greeting others, and usually pretended not to recognize classmates she bumped into on the road.

Pei Yujing was conflicted internally, entirely fixated on this issue, but eventually decided not to greet him because she felt Jiang Ning might have already forgotten about it.

Thinking this way, Pei Yujing felt suddenly enlightened; the frown between her brows dissipated, though she was still quite cold.

She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she overlooked the soup spilled by a classmate earlier and slipped, "slip", her body swayed, her long hair swung, and her mind went blank.

Pei Yujing was stunned.

Noticing this, Jiang Ning reached out to support Pei Yujing’s shoulder, while his other hand holding the bowl, deftly caught Pei Yujing’s bowl, holding both bowls effortlessly in one hand.

Pei Yujing felt a gentle force supporting her shoulders, stabilizing her body.

Her hand was empty, and she realized she hadn’t fallen and that the porridge hadn’t spilled.

Pei Yujing no longer hesitated and quickly apologized, "I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I was distracted."

"I’m usually not like this, I often serve food for others..." she said incoherently.

Jiang Ning, expressionless, withdrew his hand from the girl’s shoulder, "No problem."

He returned the bowl to her and walked away.

Pei Yujing still stood there, hearing a nearby student say, "That guy just now was cool, totally in control."

...

Pei Yujing returned to the dining table, where her tablemate Lin Zida said:

"That was a close call just now."

Pei Yujing, as always coldly replied, "Yeah."

Li Shi, curious: "Yeah?"

Lin Zida chuckled but said nothing.

It was Gu Changyan from Class 3 who reminded her: "Yujing, be more careful when you walk next time, watch where you step."

Her tablemate Ding Shuyan sat quietly, graceful and dignified, tasting her millet porridge with deep eyes.

...

Table 26.

"Is this melon ripe?" Wang Longlong waved his hand and tapped it.

Guo Kunnan: "Would I buy an unripe melon? By the way, do you have a knife?"

Wang Longlong: "No, but we have Yu Zhu."

Dan Kaiquan chimed in: "Brother Long, I doubt Yu Zhu could help, they confiscated knives at the security office last time, didn’t they take Yu Zhu’s knife?"

Wang Longlong thought about it and agreed, "Looks like we can only borrow one from the cafeteria kitchen."

Guo Kunnan rubbed his hands together, eager to provide melon for Lu Yaya and Tan Meiling, how could a little difficulty stop him?

He had just taken a couple of steps when Huang Yuzhu arrived.

Ma Shicheng tentatively asked: "Yu Zhu, do you have a melon-cutting knife?"

Huang Yuzhu pulled out a plastic knife: "Yes, I have one."

...

Table 27.

Zhang Chi arrived very early, today being a special day, Sunday, and first-year students had no classes, he figured, surely the annoying Gao Heshuai wouldn’t be around.

If he came early, he would definitely get the good dishes first.

Yan Tianpeng had the same idea, but upon arrival, they found Gao Heshuai standing nearby, glaring fiercely at them.

Zhang Chi: "Damn it!"

With Gao Heshuai guarding, he dared not start eating first, only could sigh longingly at the Beijing sauce meat, a dish Zhang Chi loved, which was usually only available at banquets.

If he ordered it outside himself, it would cost twenty to thirty yuan! He could never afford it on his own.

Zhang Chi had preemptively served himself some noodle soup but could only wait obediently for other dining mates to arrive; Duan Shigang, Shi Qianjin, Li Shengnan, Wang Yanyan, and Shen Xinli gradually took their places.

Suddenly, Zhang Chi smelled a strange odor; he didn’t know where it came from.

Zhang Chi didn’t pay it any mind; everyone had finally arrived, and Zhang Chi didn’t need to care about Gao Heshuai’s expression anymore. He reached out and grabbed a piece of bean curd skin, rolled it up with Beijing sauce meat, and grabbed some extra meat within the possible range.

He then added cucumber strips and scallion strips, rolling them into a strip.

Zhang Chi treated it like a treasure, holding the rolled-up meat pancake under his nose. There were only eight pieces of bean curd skin available, allowing only one roll per person. Once eaten, there would be no more, so he cherished it greatly.

Zhang Chi took a deep sniff, wanting to inhale all the aromas into his stomach, wanting to possess all of it.

A rich aroma hit his nose, but it was actually a foul, rotten smell!

Zhang Chi sniffed again; not only was there a rotten smell, but there was also an unpleasant sour odor!

Zhang Chi, furious, slammed the Beijing sauce meat roll onto the table and shouted,

"The meat is rotten!"

The noise was quite significant; all the students at table 27 and even those at the surrounding tables heard him and turned their gazes towards him.

Gao Heshuai frowned, "What did you say?"

Zhang Chi, full of confidence, stared at Fatty Gao, unyielding, "I said the meat is rotten, smell it if you don’t believe me!"

Yan Tianpeng said, "Are you kidding?"

He picked up Zhang Chi’s meat roll, took a deep breath, and indeed, he smelled the foul, putrid odor.

Yan Tianpeng’s expression changed, "It’s rotten, rotten, the cafeteria is serving us rotten meat!"

Zhang Chi declared, "I’m not eating this, I want a refund!"

Yan Tianpeng roared, "Refund! Refund!"

The whole scene erupted; even students eating in the distance couldn’t help but look over, and a few stood up to see what the commotion was about.

The situation escalated quickly, and as a teacher, Gao Heshuai naturally couldn’t just stand by.

He was one of the promoters of the small dining table plan. Gao Heshuai picked up the meat roll that Zhang Chi had thrown down and sniffed it intensely.

His face contorted with disgust; it was too foul.

Gao Heshuai made a swift decision, yelling, "All students, all students, put down your Beijing sauce meat!"

At table 29.

Everyone was eating harmoniously, chatting and laughing.

Chen Siyu said, "Stop eating, stop eating."

Geng Lu was about to take a bite. She closed her lips, confused, "Jiang Ning, can’t we eat it?"

Jiang Ning replied, "We can."

Gao Heshuai shouted, and all nearby teachers approached; Director Yan put on a stern face,

"Mr. Gao, what’s going on?"

Gao Heshuai honestly reported, "Director Yan, the Beijing sauce meat dish is rotten; I have to check with the cafeteria why they served rotten meat to the students."

Zhang Chi added, "I almost ate it; I need compensation!"

Director Yan took the piece of meat roll, sniffed it intensely, and it indeed smelled rotten.

But his reaction was not as agitated as Gao Heshuai’s; Director Yan had been a teacher for many years, attending meetings with the principal, the Department of Education leaders, and even encounters with Shao Shuangshuang and the academics from Fourth Middle School.

Director Yan pointed to the nearby tables, asking those students, "Does your Beijing sauce meat smell rotten?"

At table 26, Guo Kunnan sniffed it carefully, "It seems a bit."

At table 28, Dong Qingfeng felt the same.

But at the further table 30, Dan Xiao said, "It’s not rotten, it tastes quite good."

Director Yan frowned; he put down the Beijing sauce meat, sniffed it again, and the foul odor was still strong.

"Xiao Gao, remove the Beijing sauce meat."

Gao Heshuai carried the dish from table 27 to the serving window. The cook, hearing the situation, ran out from the back kitchen, protesting,

"Director Yan, how could the meat be rotten? I bought it fresh from the market this morning."

Director Yan was now suspicious, as something seemed off about the smell.

He looked down, searching, and finally noticed something abnormal, rather certain of the cause now, yet Director Yan still wore a serious expression, uncertain whether he should reveal it.

If he didn’t say it, the small dining table plan would be wrongly smeared; but if he did...

Duan Shigang couldn’t stand the smell anymore; he threw his chopsticks down too forcefully, and they rolled off the table. As he bent down to pick them up, the stench intensified.

He saw Wang Yanyan wearing sandals.

Duan Shigang, as if seeing a ghost, quickly jumped up, pointed at Wang Yanyan, and shouted, "It’s not the dish that’s rotten; it’s her feet that stink!"