"Junior Sister Zhu, you might want to try the steak here. It’s actually quite good," Gu Jingtian said, having ordered a rare steak.
Zhu Yanyi shook her head slightly, looking uninterested. "I prefer stir-fried beef with chili peppers. I don’t really like steak. In fact, I’m not a fan of Western food in general, and I dislike the texture of raw meat. This pasta is much fresher. I used tomato sauce—it’s sweet and sour, and tastes nice."
She paused, thought for a moment, and then went to get a vegetable salad. She began eating her meal. "I think these people don’t really know how to enjoy life. We have so many delicious foods in China. We could eat something different every day without repeating ourselves for ages. Yet, some people still choose to come to a Western restaurant. If this weren’t the designated dining location, I wouldn’t have come here at all." Her tone was full of disdain.
After finishing her pasta, vegetable salad, and soup, Zhu Yanyi felt full.
"Why do you have so many complaints? Think about the older generation. It wasn’t easy for them to get a proper meal. Now that we have steak, I should eat an extra portion," Gu Jingtian said. He had already eaten two steaks, a sandwich, a salad, and a bowl of soup.
"Why aren’t you drinking coffee?" Kaul asked curiously as he passed by, noticing what they were eating.
Gu Jingtian smiled and replied, "People in China are used to drinking tea. It’s our traditional beverage. We’re not very accustomed to coffee, so we didn’t order any."
"I’ve heard that Chinese tea is excellent," Kaul said. He had heard stories about Chinese tea before.
"You actually drank a type last night at the Oriental Hotel," Zhu Yanyi said. She didn’t hold any ill will toward the representative from Country Y. "The tea you drank yesterday was a type of green tea from China called Taiping Houkui. It’s known as the 'King of Green Tea.' Did you not drink it yesterday?" she asked curiously.
Kaul’s eyes lit up. "You mean that mysterious drink from yesterday? It was a bit bitter, but I couldn’t forget the taste. There were a few leaves in the cup."
"Those aren’t tree leaves. They are tea leaves," Dong Bocao explained. "Tea leaves are picked from tea trees. There are many varieties. The tea you had yesterday was a high-quality one."
"So that was tea. It was indeed delicious. I’ve heard about Chinese tea in my country, but I’ve never seen it before." Kaul tilted his head, seeming to ponder something. "Where can I buy tea?"
Dong Bocao hesitated for a moment. "I’m not very familiar with Tian City, but most cities have tea markets nowadays. You can ask Old Liu later—the one who drew the representative cards this morning. He might know more."
"Okay, thank you both," Kaul smiled. "Actually, people in China are quite nice."
"Thank you for the compliment," Dong Bocao replied politely.
Kaul seemed to remember something. "Since you’re good people, I’ll give you a warning. Be careful. Regarding this medical exchange, we have reliable information that Tianyi and Hanyi have formed an alliance. There are their people among the staff above. Their goal is to make Traditional Chinese Medicine admit that it originated from them."
"How do you know this?" Gu Jingtian and the others were slightly stunned by this news. Gu Jingtian quickly asked Kaul in a low voice. They knew something would happen during this exchange, but if it was specifically targeting China, they were not willing to passively accept it.