Seeing Tong Tong eat so happily, Liu Yifeng also felt a craving and ate a few himself. The more he ate, the more he felt something was wrong.
"Auntie, are there any meatballs in these dumplings?" he cautiously asked Su Mu next door, as he could indeed taste meat. Looking at how Tong Tong was eating, he asked to confirm.
Su Mu nodded, "Yes, we did put meat in them."
Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for Tong Tong and Liu Yifeng to hear. Tong Tong paused, then ate another one, chewing carefully. He could indeed taste meat, and for the first time, he ate the braised pork that Su Fu had given him earlier.
After finishing, his expression was one of extreme satisfaction, and he proceeded to eat several more pieces. This behavior left Liu Yifeng and Su Wanru dumbfounded.
He rubbed his eyes, thinking he had misread, but upon closer inspection, he was indeed eating meat, and he ate all the meat on the table.
"Eat, eat all you want, there's more after this, Grandma will make more for you," Su Fu and Su Mu were finally relieved to see Tong Tong eating so much.
Liu Yifeng and Su Wanru, however, were puzzled but decided not to say anything further seeing Tong Tong's current state.
They were afraid that if they said anything that might upset Tong Tong, he would develop a fear of meat again.
After dinner, Su Fu and Su Mu played with Tong Tong for a while longer before they left.
Su Wanru wanted to see them off, but Liu Yifeng felt he needed to talk to Tong Tong, so he politely declined her request.
"Daddy, are you also curious about what I did just now?" The father and son walked hand in hand on the bustling street.
It looked very heartwarming, and the evening lights shone on them, casting a beautiful glow.
"Tong Tong is so smart. Since you know Daddy will ask, then Tong Tong should answer, what's going on?" Liu Yifeng smiled, knowing that this child couldn't keep secrets.
He also knew that Tong Tong would surely guess his thoughts.
Tong Tong also grinned, his little cleverness evident. "Actually, Daddy, I'm not very clear myself. When Grandma said they were vegetarian dumplings, I ate them. Then I found them delicious. When you said there was meat, I was shocked. I instinctively reached for a piece of braised pork and ate it without hesitation."
He vividly described his state at the time, probably not expecting to be saved by a vegetarian dumpling.
However, Tong Tong felt that it wasn't really an eating disorder, but rather a fear of meat. Over time, he had forgotten his aversion to meat. So, when he ate meat instinctively, he found it wasn't bad and started eating it directly.
But now it seemed to be resolved. Perhaps finding the right moment to let him taste meat would attract him.
"Little fellow, you really worried Daddy sick. But it's all good now, I'm relieved as long as you're okay. You have no idea how worried your grandfather, maternal grandparents, and Auntie, and even Uncle Lu Fei were when they found out. But now, our Tong Tong is fine."
With that, he picked Tong Tong up and placed him on his shoulders, running wildly through the street, drawing quite a few glances from passersby.
By the time they returned home, Tong Tong was already asleep. Seeing Liu Chunsheng waiting anxiously in the living room, he quietly placed Tong Tong on the bed and then went out.
"Dad, I have something to tell you."
Liu Chunsheng, who was about to return to his bedroom, was stopped by Liu Yifeng.
"What is it?" He finally stopped, looking at his son.
"Tong Tong ate meat today." Liu Yifeng stated calmly, uttering words that shocked Liu Chunsheng, who looked at him with disbelief, even pointing towards Tong Tong's bedroom.
Knowing that his father might not believe him, Liu Yifeng nodded again to confirm.
"How did you get him to eat meat? This child really gives us a lot of worry, but it's good that he's eating meat, it's good that he's eating."
Liu Chunsheng was almost moved to tears, but he was genuinely happy. As long as his grandson could eat meat and maintain a balanced diet, he would do anything.
"It was Aunt Su who used a meatball, and he ate it. But I think Tong Tong's situation wasn't that severe. As long as he can accept the taste of meat, we were probably too pushy before, which is why he was so resistant."
This was just Liu Yifeng's speculation, but he had indeed been quite insistent at the time, which might have led to the opposite effect.
"Good, good, good. As long as he ate, that's all that matters. Sigh, this child has been worrying me sick lately. You should also get some rest."
Liu Chunsheng didn't say anything more, a smile on his lips as he returned to his room.
The next day, back at the company, Liu Yifeng shared this good news with Lu Fei, who was also very happy and relieved.
"That's good then, you can finally relax. Now, there's a rather tricky issue that needs your attention." Lu Fei had originally intended to handle it himself.
Liu Yifeng had been dealing with many complicated matters lately, and he felt that adding this troublesome issue would only make things more difficult for him.
So, it was better for him to handle it himself. Just as he was pondering how to deal with it, Liu Yifeng delivered this good news, which truly delighted him.
"What problem?" Liu Yifeng's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Lu Fei's gloating expression, suddenly feeling that he had shared the good news at the wrong time.
Lu Fei sighed, "It's because you've suddenly started offering meat products, making other hotels feel that you're only giving preferential treatment to Zhang Jin Hotel, and they feel it's unfair. So, they've all come to cause trouble."
The most annoying thing was dealing with customer complaints. This was actually his job, but he knew Liu Yifeng would have his own way of handling it, so he decided to leave it to him.
Lu Fei believed that Liu Yifeng had already thought of a solution before going to negotiate cooperation. He never fought unprepared battles.
"Alright, I understand. Bring anyone who has opinions to see me." Liu Yifeng knew this was bound to happen eventually, which was why he was hesitant to expand into other markets and only focus on the distribution of vegetables.
This was the problem that arose. Since they were all old customers who cooperated together, they would naturally have some opinions when new projects were temporarily added.
Although he didn't know much about this matter, there were bound to be gossips. Furthermore, with the increase in new collaborators, it couldn't be kept secret. Therefore, he might as well accept this reality directly.