Discovery III (Please Recommend)

"What's wrong with Hu Qi? Don't tell me he got a fish bone stuck in his throat?"

Hu Leimei watched Hu Qi's movements and asked anxiously.

"Who told him to eat so fast?"

Li Yi muttered softly from the side.

"It's nothing. Uncle's cooking is just too delicious—I accidentally bit my tongue."

Hu Qi's expression returned to normal. Automatically ignoring the snide remarks from this bargain-bin cousin of his, he smiled sheepishly at Hu Leimei.

"As long as you like it, eat more. But slow down—no one's going to fight you for it!"

Li Zhenguo glared at Li Yi, then smiled at Hu Qi.

As a chef, having someone praise the food he made as delicious was naturally the happiest thing. He was no exception.

"Thank you!"

Hu Qi lowered his head and glanced at the eel meat in his bowl.

The reason Hu Qi had been so stunned was naturally not because the eel was incomparably delicious.

The braised eel did taste quite good.

But it was nowhere near enough to make him lose his composure like this.

The real reason was the panel that had appeared before his eyes.

Looking at the Scarlet Modifier that had automatically appeared on his retina, his gaze swept rapidly over the panel before landing directly on the final entry.

Modification Points: 0

The Modification Points were still at zero.

But as Hu Qi stared at them, a line of tiny text slowly emerged behind them.

(8%)

Seeing this, Hu Qi picked up an even larger chunk of eel and put it into his mouth.

Repeating the process, he waited until he had swallowed the eel meat.

The next second, the number under Modification Points changed again.

0 (17%)

This time, it had increased by a full 9%.

"Just as I thought!"

Hu Qi was thunderstruck.

After so many days, he had finally found the source of the Modification Points.

It gave him the urge to burst into tears.

But who could have imagined that the source of the Modification Points was eating eel?

No, it couldn't be that simple. There had to be some reason behind it that he didn't yet know.

Hu Qi withdrew his thoughts and calmly picked up another piece, placing it into his mouth.

Then he picked up the wineglass beside him and stood.

His gaze swept around the table.

"Here, I toast Auntie, Uncle, Xiao Yi, and Sister Yi. Happy Reunion Festival, and thank you for taking care of me during my hospitalization!"

"It's what we should do."

Li Zhenguo smiled.

"You child, why are you being so polite today? We're family!"

Hu Leimei said reproachfully, though she still raised her wineglass.

Li Yi did the same.

But when it came to Li Yi, she looked up at the others.

"I don't drink!"

With that, she simply went back to eating.

"It's fine. Li Yi can't drink, so the rest of us will toast..."

There was some displeasure on his face, but he said nothing more.

He offered a brief explanation, then raised his glass and clinked it with Hu Qi's.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of dishes.

Hu Qi was naturally nothing like the original owner.

With Hu Qi deliberately playing along during this meal, it was far more pleasant than the awkward, silent atmosphere when the original owner had eaten here before.

Without a doubt, everyone had a thoroughly enjoyable time.

If Hu Leimei had not been watching from the side, Li Zhenguo might have nearly sworn brotherhood with Hu Qi.

How had he never noticed before that this kid's way of talking suited his taste so well?

As for that plate of braised eel, it was brought right in front of Hu Qi.

Aside from the first few pieces.

Nearly all the rest went into Hu Qi's stomach.

And as a result.

The Modification Points section became: 2 (21%)

"Hu Qi, you've changed so much!"

Li Zhenguo reached out and patted Hu Qi on the shoulder.

His face was flushed, clearly from drinking quite a bit.

Hearing that.

Hu Qi shrugged.

"No helping it. People always have to learn to change and grow, don't they?"

He could not keep acting according to the original owner's personality forever. Change was necessary.

"Haha, you're right. You brat can actually say something so profound now. Looks like you really have grown a lot."

Li Zhenguo laughed heartily.

By then, Li Yi and Li Yi had finished eating and left the table.

Hu Leimei, meanwhile, had gone to the kitchen to busy herself with adding more dishes for the guests.

Only Hu Qi and Li Zhenguo remained now.

Seeing that the time was ripe.

Hu Qi's expression shifted slightly as he feigned curiosity and asked.

"By the way, Uncle, where did you catch these eels? They feel bigger than any I've seen before."

Hu Qi had noticed while eating earlier.

The eel segments on the plate had clearly been cut from the middle. By rough estimate, the whole eel had to be at least as thick as an arm.

"I bought them at the market when I went back home for a wedding feast this time. Those two eels were as thick as pythons.

I guessed they might be Exotic Beasts, so I bought them back..." Li Zhenguo explained.

"Exotic Beasts?" A glint flashed through Hu Qi's eyes.

He recalled the memories related to them.

Exotic Beasts.

They were not animals with special powers like those in novels or films.

They were merely a term for creatures whose size or appearance differed somewhat from others of their kind.

Compared to ordinary creatures of the same species, such creatures generally had higher nutritional value.

Could it be related to this?

"Uncle, you said you bought two. Is the other one still there? Could you sell it to me?"

Hu Qi asked.

"It's mainly because the eel meat tastes pretty good. I want to take it home and cook it myself."

"What money? If you want to eat it, come over again tomorrow and I'll cook it for you then. It won't be easy to deal with if you take it home."

Li Zhenguo waved his hand.

"That would be too much trouble. I can cook it myself," Hu Qi said with a smile.

"All right, then. I'll wrap it up for you in a while."

More than ten minutes later.

Li Zhenguo watched Hu Qi's departing figure as he carried the bag away.

Inside the restaurant.

Li Yi's face darkened, and she gave a cold snort.

"Eating and taking at the same time—how shameless..."

"What nonsense are you spouting, you brat?"

The smile on Li Zhenguo's face vanished.

His brows knitted slightly as he glanced from the corner of his eye at his wife's unsightly expression.

Then he looked at his precious daughter.

"If you keep talking to me in that sarcastic tone, believe it or not, I'll smack you."

Li Zhenguo usually did not talk much.

He was the rather taciturn sort.

But once he got angry, his authority was overwhelming.

Though Li Yi wanted to retort, she ultimately kept her mouth shut.

"Mom, Brother Qi left money here."

Just then, Li Yi, who had gone to the counter to get a charging cable for her phone, spotted a stack of red banknotes inside, pinned down with a bottle opener.

She called out.

Hu Leimei took it.

After counting it briefly, she found it was exactly one thousand yuan.

She looked up at the far end of the street, where Hu Qi had already disappeared from sight.

Her eyes reddened slightly.

With a sigh, she said, "Why is that child being so distant with us..."

"Isn't that only right? We had to pay for what we bought too."

Li Yi snorted coldly.

Li Zhenguo, who had been standing to one side, saw this.

He already felt heartache for his wife.

Now, hearing his daughter's words, his anger flared up at once.

He pointed at Li Yi, his face turning completely grim.

"Shut up. Look at yourself—do you have any semblance of an older sister?

"When your uncle and aunt were still around, they never treated you poorly, did they? Whenever they came, didn't they always buy you food and toys?"