Chapter 14

Sensing Sean was angling for a jab, Marilyn glared at him, imaginary smoke billowing out of her nostrils.

“What rubbish are you throwing here?” Marilyn spat.

Sean was unaffected by Marilyn’s tone. “Rubbish? Why, I am simply correcting your mistake. Sushi is not Japanese culture; it’s Chinese!”

“Chinese culture?” Howard, Marilyn and Maisie wore confused expressions.

Marilyn turned to Howard and asked, “Howard, is what he’s saying true?”

“Nonsense! Sushi is Japanese cuisine. How could it be part of Chinese culture? I’ve lived abroad for many years and never have I heard anyone say that. Sean Young, don’t mask your ignorance with lies!” Howard said in an unimpressed tone.

Sushi was part of Japanese culture and he believed Sean was pulling a fast one on them.

Other patrons of the establishment had overheard parts of their conversation. Displeasure and confusion were etched on their faces. In the public’s mind, sushi was undoubtedly Japanese cuisine.

Maisie’s expression darkened as she warned, “Sean, you’ve made a mistake.”

“Maisie, I did not. I am telling the truth,” Sean replied in earnest.

Marilyn chuckled mirthlessly. “Really? Explain why you believe sushi belongs in Chinese culture.”

“You better give a good explanation, punk! Or else, I’m gonna kick your *ss!” Howard cursed angrily.

In Howard’s eyes, Sean was intentionally feeding him this bulls*t. Well, Howard would not take this lying down.

All eyes were on Sean as he began his story, a faint smile on his face. “During the later years of the Han dynasty, around 200 AD, the method of preparing sushi-like food was widespread.

“Salted fish was packed together with rice for consumption. There were a variety of side dishes as the people ate whatever they could find during the wartimes, and this became the ancestor of modern day sushi.”

The story was certainly food for thought.

Sean’s words were worth consideration as Chinese history and culture extended back a few thousand years.

Howard and Marilyn were shocked. They had not expected a convincing story from Sean.

“And?” Maisie prodded, curiosity getting to her.

Sean carried on with his explanation. “In the ancient book, Etymology, there is a passage, ‘Grouper, as the Tibetans say, is what the North calls fish, the South carp.’ The character for salted fish is interchangeable with the character for carp. In Japanese, the kanji for sushi, grouper, and salted fish all have the same meaning and pronunciation. In the Ming dynasty, these words were lost in the literature.

“Furthermore, the relationship between the two ancient kingdoms stretches 1,500 years back. Contact with ancient Japan occurred during the successful Tang dynasty and it coincided with the period when salted fish was a staple dish in many households in ancient China. The cultural exchange meant many ancient Chinese practices and culinary methods were adopted by the ancient Japanese, and hence, why I say sushi is culturally Chinese.”

The audience were delighted by the young man’s story. “How enlightening!”

An unamused smile appeared on Howard’s face. “Is that so?”

Sean turned to Howard and said, “You disagree? Your experience abroad should have educated you on the fact that sushi was already popular in ancient China during the late Eastern Han dynasty. On the other hand, the dish was only widespread in ancient Japan during the Nara period in 700 AD.”

Howard’s expression darkened like a storm cloud. The sense of superiority he had earlier dissipated.

Unwilling to admit defeat, he challenged Sean. “I don’t believe you. You’re making it up!”

“You still don’t believe me? Alright, let’s talk about serving styles. The individual serving style, which was adopted by ancient and modern Japan, was common in the dynasties before the Tang and Song dynasties. During the Yuan dynasty, our people shifted to the banquet serving style that we still practice today. What do you have to say to this?” Sean retorted with a smirk.

“I… I…” Howard tried to speak, but there was nothing he could say to salvage the situation.

Although he did spend years studying abroad, the whole stint was more for the image than the quality of education. He had never actually spent time studying, let alone reading up on the origins of sushi.

A moment later, a middle-aged man with a phone in his hand spoke up. “The gentleman is telling the truth. I looked it up on Baidu and the things he mentioned were actually recorded in our country’s history. What a surprise!”

“What a well-educated gentleman you are. Today I learned something new: sushi is part of Chinese culture. Hahaha!” another patron said with a laugh.

The mood in the restaurant lightened as the patrons' annoyance at Sean turned into respect. His in-depth knowledge of Chinese history amazed everyone.

Howard’s face gradually turned red. He did not expect to be on the losing side of a conversation about something as trivial as sushi.

Beside him, Marilyn trembled with rage. How did Sean know so much about sushi to the point of embarrassing her boyfriend? It was the last thing she wanted.

Maisie’s eyes had a mischievous twinkle. At that moment, she found Sean to be incredibly alluring. She never knew he had such a deep understanding of history.

Did he spend the last five years studying Chinese history instead of doing his job?

If that was the case, it would make sense for him to know such details.

Marilyn’s anger bubbled and threatened to spill over. She stuffed a piece of sushi into her mouth and chewed. After swallowing her food, she glared at Sean and said, “So what if you know a bit of history? You’re just a useless piece of trash living off Maisie. If it weren’t for her, you’d be dead in the streets!”

Unhappy at being upstaged, Howard joined in on the offensive. “If I were you, I’d find a hole and bury myself from the shame!”

Sean shrugged. The opinions of others meant nothing to him. All he cared about was what Maisie thought of him.

As long as the kind and gentle Maisie accepted him, Sean had the world in his palm.

The dishes they ordered were served. Sean kept his mouth shut and ate his food.

The incident had left a bad taste in Howard and Marilyn’s mouths. Their moods were spoilt and so were their appetites.

“Truly, a man who only knows how to eat! A good-for-nothing!” Marilyn mocked.

Maisie’s appetite for rice at night was rather low as she usually ate only one bowl of home-cooked porridge Sean often made.

Sean ignored the insult as he ate all the leftover dishes. In the end, he let out a burp.

Howard was put off by Sean’s gluttonous behavior. He turned to the two women and asked, “Marilyn, Maisie, are we ready to go?”

“Yes,” Maisie replied.

Marilyn did not answer; her mood and appetite had not improved.

“Let’s make a move then. Waiter, bill please!” Howard stood from his seat to wave for a waiter.

The gratuitous English word--waite’--was to give the impression of a cultured man.

“Sir, your total is 118,300 yuan,” the waiter announced at their table.

It would be a lie to say the amount was insignificant to Howard. His annual income was more than a million and this dinner alone cost one-tenth of his salary.

“You hear that? You wouldn’t be able to afford this even after years of working.” Marilyn could not resist throwing a jab at Sean.

Sean met Marilyn’s eyes, he was smoldering underneath his calm expression. “Really?”

Before she could speak, Sean told the waiter, “Put it on my tab.”

“Yes, Boss!” the waiter said respectfully.

Boss?

The word threw Howard and Marilyn for a loop.