My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 553: Li Mingjie, the Sucker

Li Mingjie simply sat down at the empty table next to him, stared intently at Zhang Lei, and said coldly, "I'm watching you today, to see how you'll swallow back what you said in the end."

Zhang Lei calmly retorted, "Young Master Li, there's no need for you to try and make a name for yourself here. You should be thinking about how to settle the bill later. It would be truly embarrassing if you couldn't pay and the restaurant owner withheld it."

Li Mingjie's face turned ashen with anger: "Me, short of money? Our Li family has businesses all over the place, how could we be short of such a small amount of money!"

Meanwhile, the restaurant manager had already sent the footage of the argument in the front of the restaurant to the owner in real time. The owner initially thought it was just a typical young couple's squabble, but when he saw Zhang Lei's face in the video, his pupils instantly contracted, his face filled with fear. He immediately stood up and urgently said to his secretary beside him, "Quick, prepare the car immediately! Go to this restaurant, Zhang's Private Kitchen No. 7, shown in the video!"

Seeing his boss's loss of composure, the secretary dared not delay and immediately arranged for the driver to rush to the restaurant.

Inside the kitchen, the chefs worked swiftly, transforming rare ingredients into exquisite dishes. A new apprentice, gazing at the dazzling array of dishes, couldn't help but whisper to his senior, "Senior, who's the important person who needs all these dishes? The total price must be over a hundred million, right?"

The senior chef quickly lowered his voice and instructed, "Don't talk too much, just focus on learning. We chefs should stick to our duties, just focus on making the dishes well, and don't ask who the guests are."

The young apprentice nodded as if he understood, carefully observing the chefs' cooking techniques.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps approached, and the restaurant owner rushed into the kitchen, immediately asking, "Where is he? Where is that young man from the video?"

The manager quickly stepped forward: "Boss, you've arrived. Don't worry, I saw some people causing trouble here, so I've had people guard both the front and back doors. No one can leave without paying their bill."

"You bastard!" The boss slapped the manager across the face, yelling angrily, "Who gave you permission to block the door?"

The manager was stunned by the beating and thought that the boss was favoring the Li family, so he quickly flattered him, saying, "Boss, please don't be angry. The second young master of the Li family is safe and sound and has not suffered any grievances."

The boss frowned upon hearing this: "What Li family? They have absolutely nothing to do with me! I'm talking about this young man in the video!"

Following the direction the boss was pointing, the manager saw Zhang Lei in the picture and immediately realized, "So it's him, the customer who wanted to pack up all the dishes earlier."

"That's him! Take me there quickly!" the boss said urgently.

The manager quickly led the way, taking the restaurant owner to the seats where Zhang Lei and his group were. Zhang Lei saw the restaurant owner approaching and greeted him with a calm smile.

The restaurant owner hurried forward, his attitude extremely respectful, and said nervously and tentatively, "What brings you here so suddenly? I'm so sorry for not greeting you sooner!"

Everyone present was stunned by the boss's humble and respectful demeanor. Everyone knew that Zhang's Private Kitchen No. 7 had a powerful background, and the boss had extremely high standards; even the wealthy and powerful might not be able to make him bow his head like this.

Zhang Lei smiled faintly: "I came here with some friends for a casual meal. I never expected that this place would be owned by the Zhang family."

The owner quickly stood up straight, his face full of fear: "Why didn't you let me know in advance that you were coming to dine? I could have reserved the best private room for you earlier."

"This place is fine. I can even see the street view from the window. There's no need to go to any special trouble," Zhang Lei said casually.

Zhou Weiran, who was standing to the side, was so shocked that her mouth dropped open. She never expected that Zhang Lei's background was so powerful.

Zhang Lei looked at the owner and asked with a smile, "Since I'm dining here, I should be able to get my meal for free, right?"

The owner nodded repeatedly, his tone extremely respectful: "Of course! You can come anytime, it's free for life! Just tell me what you'd like to eat!"

Zhang Lei turned to look at Li Mingjie, whose face was deathly pale, and said with a playful smile, "How about that? I wasn't wrong, was I? I don't have to spend a single penny to eat here."

Li Mingjie's face turned pale and then red. He slammed his fist on the table and roared angrily, "You guys must have conspired together! You deliberately set me up!"

All eyes immediately turned to Li Mingjie, and the restaurant owner and manager's faces darkened simultaneously.

Zhang Lei glanced at the boss indifferently and gestured, "You handle the rest. Don't forget, he made a bet earlier. Since I've already waived the bill, he should pay for all the other customers' meals today."

After speaking, Zhang Lei stood up and looked at Zhou Weiran and Xuan Yangzi: "Weiran, Master Xuan Yangzi, did you enjoy the meal? If you did, we'll be leaving now."

Zhou Weiran nodded immediately, and Xuan Yangzi also slowly said, "The dishes were excellent, and we thoroughly enjoyed the meal."

"Let's go then," Zhang Lei said, then looked at the restaurant owner, "Please take the dishes I packed to Pawnshop No. 4."

Upon seeing the words "Pawnshop No. 4," the boss immediately and solemnly replied, "Don't worry, I'll arrange for someone to deliver it as soon as possible. There won't be any mistakes."

Zhang Lei and his two companions then turned to leave, but Li Mingjie quickly stepped forward to stop them: "You can't leave! You haven't paid for your meal!"

Zhang Lei paused, turned around and looked at him calmly: "Why can't I leave? We already made a bet, and you've already lost. You should pay for the entire meal today."

Upon hearing this, all the diners present beamed with joy, eagerly awaiting the spectacle. Only Li Mingjie panicked, his face turning deathly pale and bewildered.

The restaurant owner looked at Li Mingjie, his tone icy: "The second young master of the Li family, is that right?"

He then gestured to the manager, "Give all the menus and spending details of today's guests to Young Master Li for review."

The manager quickly brought over the bill details. Li Mingjie took a look and saw that the total amount marked on it was 135 million.

Upon seeing the number, Li Mingjie froze, then roared, "This is extortion! I'm calling the police! Do you know who I am? Do you know who my father is?"

The restaurant owner, his face full of disdain and his tone forceful, said, "I don't care who you are or who your father is. If you refuse to pay this bill today, don't even think about leaving this restaurant. Go ahead and call the police; our law firm has plenty of manpower, ready to fight you to the end."

He stepped forward, his aura imposing: "Go ahead and call all your connections and resources to back you up, but let's see if your Li family can afford the price of offending us."

Li Mingjie was filled with remorse and regret. He had only come to eat, but in a moment of anger, he had provoked Zhang Lei and foolishly made an exorbitant bet. He had only himself to blame.

Looking at the balance in his card, he realized it was far from enough to pay this huge sum, so he hurriedly took out his phone and called his father, Li Zhenghong.

When the call connected, Li Mingjie tearfully recounted his ordeal. Upon hearing that his son had racked up a bill of 135 million yuan for a single meal, Li Zhenghong flew into a rage: "You worthless bastard! You're causing trouble for me again!"

"Dad, this is just an ordinary private restaurant, but the prices are outrageous! They're clearly setting a trap for me! Please come and save me!"

Li Zhenghong roared angrily, "Which restaurant is this? In Shanghai, no one dares to disrespect the Li family! A small, private restaurant dares to try and extort money from the Li family? You wait, I'm coming right now!"

Not long after, Li Zhenghong rushed to the restaurant. By then, all the other diners had already paid their bills and left, leaving only the staff, Li Mingjie, and his entourage inside.

The moment Li Zhenghong saw the restaurant's facade and then looked at the restaurant owner, his expression changed drastically.