28. St. Lancey's as his main competition.

part 9

Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.

...dare to openly ridicule her. Besides, he continued, even if my mother's voice was a

little loud and disturbed a few people, she already apologized. I think that's enough, but

oh no! Some people here would prefer to behave like animals, yelling at people for the

smallest thing! You tell me, who's the more civilized one? Morris, who was listening by

his son's side, felt his blood boil.

He secretly gave Aiden a thumbs up. His wife had been bullied. He was angry, but he

couldn't find a way to fight back.

Now that he saw Aiden's bravery, he felt relieved. Clara wiped away her tears. Ding!

Talking with confidence.

Debate ability, plus one. Current progress, one out of ten. Current level, beginner.

Ding! Powerful aura. Aura, plus one. The fat man's eyes widened.

You're pretty good at talking, kid, he said. Forget it! I have nothing to say to a hick like

you. What a disappointment, retorted Aiden.

The man's face was livid. He tugged at the sleeve of the woman he had come with and

got up to leave. Clara had long recovered her emotions.

When she saw that the man was still swearing as he left, she couldn't stop herself from

muttering under her breath. What an arrogant snob. What's wrong with having money?!

The man yelled back at Clara.

He glared at her. A snob, eh? Better than a hick like you! Aiden smiled and said, Your

words are strong, sir, but I think your wealth can't be compared to my mother's. As he

spoke, he lifted Clara's bag and accidentally unzipped it, revealing the thick wad of cash

inside.

The man was dumbfounded. Who were these people? He tugged again at the woman's

sleeve, and they left the restaurant with heads lowered. Aiden's family was unperturbed.

They continued to eat happily. Half an hour later, the person who came to their table to

give them the bill was not an ordinary waiter, but a middle-aged man in a suit and tie.

I'm the manager of St. Lancey's.

I didn't serve you well tonight. I apologize for troubling you. The blonde waitress stood

behind the manager with a cold expression.

She must have gone to the manager and reported everything. Although the manager maintained a polite smile, it felt disingenuous to Aiden. The apology was also a bit stiff.

He thought for a while and then decided to teach these people a lesson. Aiden placed his

finger on the table. He tapped his finger and deliberately spoke loudly.

I thought the steak at St. Lancey's was supposed to be delicious. I would never have

expected it to be so stunningly mediocre. Aiden's voice immediately attracted the

attention of some of the nearby diners.

The manager's smile quickly disappeared. His expression hardened. Sir, St. Lancey's

steak is world-renowned.

You may not like it, but there's no reason to belittle it in this way. Do you want to hear

the reason? Ha ha! Aiden sneered. Using the knowledge transmitted by the system, he

opened his mouth and started pointing out flaws in the sirloin steak in front of him.

You've got the thickness all wrong! There isn't enough time to marinate the steak. Let

me guess, you thought you could get away with using cheap olive oil and sea salt and no

one would notice, right? Shall I continue? Aiden spoke confidently, which captivated all

the diners present. They nodded repeatedly.

They didn't think that there would be so much to say about a small steak. Sir, please

don't say any more! The manager saw the reaction of the customers and broke out in a

cold sweat. He glared at the waitress behind him.

He cursed inwardly. Is this the customer you're talking about who pretends to be

ignorant and makes trouble for no reason? The waitress was also dumbfounded. She

stood rooted to the spot.

She could tell that Aiden wasn't talking nonsense. Everything he had said was entirely

accurate. Aiden smiled playfully.

I have a friend who's been planning to open a steak restaurant in the Bayside District. He

asked me if I thought it was a viable business plan, but now it seems he can rest

assured. With St. Lancey's as his main competition, I believe his restaurant will make a

killing.

Aiden had no such friend. He was just trying to scare them. But the manager took it

seriously.

He was so taken aback that his face turned pale and he started to tremble. If Aiden's

friend really came to Bayside District and stole some of St. Lancey's customers, the

higher-ups would blame him and he'd be fired for sure. In his panic, the manager was a

complete mess and couldn't maintain his composure.

The waitress also realized the seriousness of the problem. She tried to placate Aiden, apologizing profusely. The manager gritted his teeth and said in pain, How about this? I'll

treat you to today's meal as compensation for our poor service.

Clara pulled Aiden's sleeve, indicating that he shouldn't go overboard. After all, they'd

finished all the food and had already vented their anger. If they continued in this way,

they'd just be bullying the staff.

Aiden didn't have enough energy to argue with these people. He waved his hand at the

manager and said, Let's forget about what happened today. I hope that St. Lancey's will

take this as a warning.

Don't look down on your customers. As he spoke, he glanced at the waitress. The

waitress obviously understood what he meant.

She felt embarrassed and wished that she could just disappear. Before they left, the

manager took out a restaurant membership card and gave it to Aiden. He smiled

apologetically.

Clara, on the other hand, felt increasingly proud. She took out a $100 bill from her wallet

and gave it to the waitress as a tip. The waitress's expression was hard to read.

She said thank you in a low voice. On the way out, Clara seemed very happy and said

jokingly, Maybe I'll also open a French restaurant across from St. Lancey's. Aiden smiled.

That night, when they returned to Midnight Snack Corner, Morris and his wife, looking

very serious, asked Aiden to sit in the hall with them, as if they were about to interrogate

him. What's going on? Aiden asked. He looked at the two speechlessly.

We're wondering what's going on with you these days. We feel like our silly boy got

replaced with some sort of child genius all of a sudden. I was never a silly boy, Aiden

shrugged with a helpless expression.

It's just that I was too lazy to use my intelligence and wisdom in the past. Seeing that the

two of them still had a look of disbelief on their faces, Aiden sighed. Alright, I'll tell you

why.

He suddenly lowered his voice and said mysteriously, Have you heard of the library at

Otis High School? His parents frowned and shook their heads together. Let me tell you

the truth. I learned all these things in the library.

What do you think I do every day at lunchtime? I've been in the library. I see. No wonder

Jacob and Zach always come to the restaurant.

They said you don't play with them at lunchtime anymore. Aiden heaved a sigh of relief

when he saw they believed him. It seemed like the matter had been put to rest.

But then Morris suddenly looked up at him expectantly. I want to go to the library too.

Clara raised an eyebrow and said, When was the last time you opened a book? I'll

believe it when I see it.

Sensing that they were about to start bickering, Aiden shook his head and walked over

to the computer. It took a long time to boot up. Eventually, he saw the familiar interface.

Aiden sighed quietly. They had this crappy computer for five or six years. It was time for

him to buy a new one.

He opened up a website and quickly moved his fingers across the keyboard. After a long

time, he let out a long sigh and smiled with satisfaction. The words Midnight Snack

Corner were displayed on the computer screen.

Aiden had created a Facebook page for the restaurant. Rather than letting others

advertise for Midnight Snack Corner, he might as well do the advertising himself. And

using social media was an excellent way to publicize.

Aiden started writing the first blog post for the page. As the crisp sound of the keyboard

resonated through the room, a well-written article slowly took shape. Ding! Activating

Proficient Level Language Ability.

Automatically optimizing the structure of the article. Automatically removing errors.

Success! Aiden stretched and looked up.

It was 11 o'clock in the evening. Morris and Clara had stopped arguing some time ago

and had gone to bed. The living room was silent.

Aiden re-read the blog and nodded to himself. In the article, he had eloquently described

the premium apricot carrot cake. Together with the exquisite pictures he had included, it

would definitely attract customers.

It would be great advertising for the business. He hovered his index finger above the

mouse and then clicked. Officially posted.

Aiden turned off the computer and got ready for bed. Ding! Writing a blog. Social Media

Operating Ability, plus one.

Current Progress, one out of ten. Current Level, Beginner. Ding! Publicity for the shop.

Advertising, plus one. Current Progress, one out of ten. Current Level, Beginner.

Ding! Activating Beginner Level Advertising Ability. Current article will automatically

attract followers. Aiden was stunned.

He didn't expect all this. It looked like he wouldn't have to worry about bringing in new