Salute To The General
Chapter 8 The Cloud Palace

Chapter 8 The Cloud Palace

Sean gave Benson and his family a dismissive glance and announced, “We have no tables for you inthe main hall. There's a small table in the corridor that would be enough for your whole family. Tuckin now; dinner is about to be served.”

All eyes in the room turned towards Benson and his family as if they were some strange-lookingaliens who had just descended on earth.

While everybody sat in the main hall, which was the Peony Hall, Benson and his family had tosqueeze themselves to fit into the miserable, tiny table in the corridor.

Nothing could be more humiliating than to be treated like some downbeat outcasts. How they hadwanted to walk away from the banquet, snubbing all the insults. Nonetheless, Benson and his familyput up with the embarrassment with gritted teeth and clenched fists. They did not want to be seenas impertinent and rude, simply walking away from his dad's birthday banquet.

They walked over to the lone table in the corridor and sat down, under the mocking eyes of theirguests and relatives.

The banquet had officially begun!

The guests at the banquet were treated to a sumptuous feast with successive delectable, mouth-watering gourmet dishes. All except for the solitary table in the corridor.

They waited till the guests had finished their last round of desserts, yet there was still no foodserved on their table.

When the dinner was almost finished, Samuel came over and ordered the servers to serve theleftovers to Benson and his family.

As if it was the final straw, Benson and his family could not contain their rage and resentmentanymore. What do they take us for? Beggars or dogs that are only entitled to leftovers?

As if he had reached the tipping point, Benson gave an uncharacteristic scowl and stood up abruptlyfrom the table. “Let's go,” he urged stoutly. “We're done with the banquet.”

Sean was merrily clinking glasses with some of his most distinguished guests at his banquet whenSamuel approached him and whispered in his ear, “Dad, Benson, and his family have skipped thedinner and left the banquet. They'd seemed rather displeased.”

“Huh! Serves them right for giving me a rotten pill for my birthday. What are they thinking? Are theyreally here to celebrate or to curse me? Why should I feed them with all the wonderful food? I'drather feed the dogs.”

The moment they exited the hotel, Leah, who was bitter, lashed out at Nathan

“Look at you and your dumb idea. We'd assigned you the task of replaceing a suitable birthday presentfor Sean. What the hell were you thinking, presenting him with an embarrassing pill as a gift?Thanks for making us look like a fool in front of everybody, making them feed us with leftovers as ifwe were some kind of beggars. What an ingenious idea of yours!”

Penny tried to placate her mother, “I'm sure that Nathan hadn't intended so, Mum.”

“Let's stop arguing.” Benson suggested gloomily, “We've utterly embarrassed ourselves in front ofour friends and relatives today. I'm sure that dad would only replace us more repulsive than ever. Oursituation would only take a turn for the worse.”

"Just calm down, everybody. Soon they'll be knocking at our door, begging us for the pill,” Nathanasserted.

Penny shot him a rueful smile, “Come on, Nathan. We've had enough of your nonsense. How couldthat be possible?”

"Didn't they just throw the pill away in front of everyone? What makes you think that they would eattheir words and beg us for it?”

“Even if grandpa would fall sick, he has the cash and means to seek out the best medical treatment.He doesn't need your pill at all.”

But Nathan had no qualms about his prediction, “Just relax, I'm convinced they'll eat humble pieand return to us for the pill.”

His assuring demeanor was no different from when he had predicted Mr. Harvey's appearance forhis apology.

Penny and her family were befuddled by his words. What made him so sure of his prediction?

Their thoughts were interrupted when Queenie mewled pitifully, “Queenie is hungry, Papa. Whencan we have our lunch? I saw them having so much food on their tables earlier! It makes me sohungry.”

Queenie was referring to the scrumptious and appetizing food that was served at Sean's seventiethbirthday banquet. The exhaustive list was made up of glamorous and expensive dishes that hadincluded Wagyu beef, foie gras, caviar, abalone, lobsters, and many more. Any single dish could costthem a month to even a whopping full year's salary, burning a hole in their pockets.

“Those dishes are far too expensive, Queenie. We can't afford them.” Penny explained to herdaughter, “Mama will cook you something else when we get home.”

But Nathan insisted, “What makes you think that we can't afford them? Come on, let's treatourselves to a good meal today.”

“But we don't have the money, Nathan...” Penny trailed off in a diffident tone.

"Don't worry, let me pay for the meal. I do have a few pennies for that,” Nathan reassured her.Though he was never obsessed with money and wealth, Nathan was pretty sure that he had abankroll of up to tens of millions. It had all meant nothing to him, as they were just figures.

Cloud Palace - the most expensive restaurant in Channing.

It was situated at the highest level of the highest building in Channing - The Pinnacle.

The upscale restaurant overlooked the most breathtaking panoramic view of Channing, boasting themost premium ingredients and the most accomplished chefs who would whip up dishes that couldswoon your palate with delight.

Cloud Palace was exclusive, being available to only those who could boast excessive wealth, power,and status.

Those who were filthy rich but lacked the prestige and position in society would be snubbed atCloud Palace.

Nathan brought Penny and her family to the Pinnacle, taking the exclusive elevator to the top of thebuilding.

Penny and her family were daunted by the poshness of the place when they learned that Nathanwas taking them to Cloud Palace for lunch.

“This place looks so fancy and lavish, Penny,” Benson intercepted nervously. “I guess it would cost abomb to dine in here.”

“This place is extremely costly; a simple dish could cost up to tens of thousands.” Penny statedtaciturnly, “It is one of the most expensive restaurants in Channing, but it doesn't just cater to therich, you've really got to be somebody in order to dine inside.”

Her words gave Leah the chills as she gasped, “My god, this is as good as daylight robbery. Wherewould we replace the money to dine here? It would cost us our lifetime's wages to simply have a mealhere. Let's get out of here.”

Nathan tried to allay their worries with a tranquil smile, “Come on, guys. Don't be silly, how muchcould a simple meal cost? Just let me take care of the bill.”

With those words, Nathan and company were on their way into the restaurant.

They were stopped at the entrance by a few men in well-tailored suits, who appeared to be thesecurity of the restaurant. A man who seemed to be their supervisor gave them an unfriendly lookand announced, “I'm sorry, according to our dress code, we deny entry to people who are notappropriately attired.”

Nathan and company were bemused by what he had said. Despite not being dressed in Gucci,Armani, or some designer labels, they had certainly appeared presentable and well-dressed for theoccasion.

A man dressed in a creased tank top, loose crumpled shorts, and flip-flops walked past them andstrode into the restaurant casually as if he was walking into a supermarket. Nathan pointed at himand asked the security, “What makes you say that we are inappropriately dressed? What about himthen? Why wasn't he barred from entering?”

“That man is a property magnate who owns dozens of properties. So what if he is dressed in tanktops and flip-flops?” The supervisor sneered, “What makes you think that you're on the same levelas him?"

“Do you know how much we charge for our dishes? A simple meal could easily cost you over ahundred grand. This is not a place for paupers like you to dine in.”

Penny's life savings were merely over a hundred thousand, which meant that she could hardly afforda decent meal in this place. “Forget it, Nathan. Let's replace another place for dinner.”

“No, there's no reason for us to leave.” Nathan insisted, “This is the first time I'm taking you guysout for dinner. I insist on treating you guys to a good meal.”

“Hey, you, I want to see your boss. Get him here.”

The supervisor and his men cackled in laughter.

"We have a dozen bosses here, which one are you referring to?” the supervisor laughed a humorlesslaugh.

“The one who has the final say,” Nathan answered, indifferently.

“I'll shut down your restaurant if your boss does not appear in front of me in ten minutes’ time,” hewarned.

"What a load of hogwash!” The supervisor sniggered, “How dare you talk in such a manner? Do youknow who's our big boss?”

“He's Thomas Dunn!"

“Get your asses out of here before he throws you out from the window!”

Unbeknownst to Nathan, Thomas Dunn had already submitted his resignation as instructed byNathan, and he was no longer the armed forces’ chief of Eastern District.

Following his resignation, he bought over Cloud Palace and had now become a businessman cumrestaurant owner.

Plucky and big-hearted, he was still a man with significant influence, given his previous post in thearmed forces and his resourceful network.

He remained the undisputed big daddy of the Eastern District.

When he heard that Thomas Dunn was the owner of Cloud Palace, Nathan gravely took out hisphone and dialed the number of Thomas Dunn. “It's me, Thomas. I'm right outside your restaurant.”Thomas?

The supervisor and his men burst out in another round of laughter. It seemed ludicrous to them thatNathan could come up with such an idiotic idea to pretend that he was on the phone with Mr.Dunn.

Their laughter resonated like those who were watching a hilarious comedy inside a cinema. All of asudden, a bare-footed man dashed out from the management office of the restaurant towardsthem. The man was tall and stout with prominent side-burns on his face. He was Thomas Dunn.

A woman ran yelling behind Thomas Dunn with a pair of shoes in her hands. She was his secretarycum foot massager, “Your shoes, Mr. Dunn! You've forgotten to put on your shoes...”

Thomas Dunn had been pampering himself to a foot massage when Nathan had called.

He sprang up from his chair like an elastic spring the instant he heard Nathan's call, scrambling outof his office, without even bothering to put on his shoes

Overwhelmed by Nathan's sudden appearance, he greeted him with an unctuous grin, “Welcome toCloud Palace, Sir!"

The supervisor and his men stood transfixed, as they were utterly lost when they saw the barefootedThomas Dunn address Nathan as “Sir”.

It turned their mouths wide-opened as bagels and their eyes were almost popping out from theirsockets.

“Yes, I am here to try out your restaurant.” Nathan muttered with a disinterested tone, “But yoursecurity has barred me from entering because he said that I'm a pauper.”