Chapter 270: Fu Ya, A True Warrior
Slurp!
After mixing the freshly cooked noodles in the dish filled with Spicy Fish Head with Chopped Peppers, allowing the savory, spicy broth to coat every strand of the noodles, Qi Han carefully picked up a bite. Without shaking off the scallions and finely chopped peppers sticking to the noodles, he brought the perfectly chewy strands to his mouth and sucked in the trailing end with a sharp slurp.
Smack, smack
As he chewed, he could feel the wonderfully chewy texture of the noodles blending harmoniously with the spicy, savory flavor of the Spicy Fish Head with Chopped Peppers broth. There was no clash between the two tastes, only a perfect balance, and Qi Han couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.
With these noodles, the Spicy Fish Head with Chopped Peppers finally had its soul.
"How's that, Ru Yi?"
"It meets the standard. The four 2 Star Optional Recipe Fragments have been distributed," Ru Yi replied after a brief pause. "However, since the dish has been improved, the price of Spicy Fish Head with Chopped Peppers has increased from 58 gold coins per serving to 60 gold coins."
"Spicy Fish Head with Chopped Peppers was originally priced at 58 gold coins?" Qi Han scratched his head. Since he didn't have to launch the dish directly himself, he had almost forgotten to ask about the price.
Still, raising the price from 58 to 60 didn't seem like a big deal.
He was confident that customers willing to pay 58 gold coins for this dish wouldn't mind spending two more coins to add a portion of soul-enriching noodles.
After glancing at the four women waiting outside the door, Qi Han tidied up the plates and table before walking out. He was curious to see how they would react after tasting the Spicy Fish Head with Chopped Peppers.
"Hello, Boss!" x4
Faced with their familiar greeting, Qi Han gave a calm nod but didn't immediately close the door. He had spotted two familiar figures in the crowd outside.
"Senior Zhao, long time no see. Eh? Senior Tai, what happened to your face?"
Zhao Yunsheng maintained a composed expression, hands clasped behind his back. He gave a modest nod in response to Qi Han's question, while Tai Lei, upon hearing it, couldn't help but cover his face. "Ahem… I… I fell."
As soon as he said this, the atmosphere around them turned a little awkward.
Looking at Tai Lei's bruised eyes and swollen cheeks…
Could a titled Douluo really fall and hurt himself like that?
Qi Han chuckled. "I saw you two on the way back from Star Luo City earlier. You both seemed to be in a hurry, probably dealing with something important, so I didn't disturb you."
After offering a brief explanation, Qi Han nodded politely to the customers and slowly closed the shop door.
Outside, after a moment of silence, Yu Hua couldn't help but laugh. "You two went to Star Luo City and even ran into Boss Qi? And something important, huh? If he knew your 'important business' was sneaking off to binge on food in Star Luo City, I wonder what he'd think."
Niu Yue, standing beside him, also had a faint smile on his face but refrained from laughing aloud out of decency.
Even Tang Qianqiu, who was first in line, had a somewhat amused expression.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yunsheng and Tai Lei, the two people in question, exchanged glances and gradually looked more embarrassed.
…
"There's a new dish today," Qi Han announced.
After a brief moment of surprise, the four women cheered in unison.
Yay!
They had just enjoyed the delicious Jade Dragon Tendons yesterday, and now there was already another new dish today?
Since there was a new dish, the three of them each ordered a staple dish and eagerly watched Qi Han as he entered the kitchen and began cooking.
"Fu Ya, what do you think the new dish will be? Do you think it might be another Purple Card Dish?" Ping Xinyan couldn't help but wonder aloud.
Fu Ya pondered for a moment and then shook her head. "I don't think so."
As the earliest waitress at the restaurant, Fu Ya knew more about the pattern of Qi Han introducing new dishes.
Those Purple Card Dishes were extremely rare. Although the boss had been introducing more of them lately, there was always at least a week between each new one.
Just like after a week passed following the Wensi Tofu, Qi Han had then introduced the Jade Dragon Tendons.
The four of them had just eaten a Purple Card Dish at lunch yesterday, so would today's new dish also be a Purple Card Dish?
Fu Ya didn't dare to give a definitive answer, but she was fairly certain it wouldn't be.
After hearing Fu Ya's analysis, the other three girls couldn't help but nod in agreement.
That made sense—those Purple Card Dishes were likely very rare. It wasn't realistic to expect a new one every day.
Still, they didn't feel disappointed by this. Every new dish from Boss Qi was something worth looking forward to.
Before long, under the stunned gaze of the four girls, Qi Han carefully carried out an oversized serving platter and placed it gently in the center of the table. "Spicy Fish Head with Chopped Peppers, give it a try."
A large dish like Spicy Fish Head with Chopped Peppers was, of course, not served as one portion per person.
Just one platter already took up more than half of the table, leaving no room for a second one.
Besides, the dish was generously portioned—a fish head of such size would be more than enough for the four of them to share.
He then made another trip to bring out four small bowls, each filled with a modest serving of pre-cooked noodles.
Since the noodles weren't meant to be the main course but rather a special side, each serving was relatively small, about half the size of a portion of Dragon Whisker Noodles.
"Try it first. The noodles in these bowls are meant to be mixed with the broth from the platter."
After giving them a brief introduction to how the noodles should be eaten, Qi Han returned to the kitchen to prepare the girls' main courses, leaving them to face the massive platter that dominated most of the table.
They exchanged glances, wide-eyed.
Such a large dish...
To be honest, dishes of this size weren't uncommon on Douluo Continent, where the people tended to have a more robust dining culture.
But seeing such a massive serving in Small Shop? That was a first.
The rich, spicy aroma wafted into their noses, irresistibly awakening their appetites. Fu Ya couldn't help but swallow her saliva. "Um… shall we try it together?"
As she spoke, she raised her chopsticks.
At Small Shop, such a pure, bold spicy flavor had never been encountered before.
The only dish that had previously contained a noticeable hint of spice was the Smashed Cucumber, but that was merely a cold appetizer.
While some of the other dishes had used chili as a seasoning, the spiciness had never been prominent.
Fu Ya, however, didn't find this unusual. Having visited the Star Luo City Small Shop branch many times, she had eaten plenty of spicy hot pot there.
But for the three girls who had never tasted spicy hot pot before, this dish, which was almost entirely covered in bright red chopped peppers, looked nothing short of terrifying.
Despite the tantalizing aroma that crept into their noses and stirred a desire to dive right in, they hesitated.
As they watched Fu Ya naturally reach out with her chopsticks toward the Spicy Fish Head with Chopped Peppers, the other three couldn't help but gulp nervously.
Fu Ya—truly a warrior.
It had been mentioned before that Fu Ya's hometown was a beautiful coastal city.
Having grown up by the sea, she especially loved eating fish.
Apart from the tender belly meat, the fish head was her absolute favorite.
In the dish Fish Belly Stuffed with Lamb, the fish head had been disappointingly small, leaving her with little to enjoy.
Carefully parting the thick layer of chopped peppers covering the fish head, Fu Ya's eyes lit up with joy as she revealed the massive fish head underneath.
Such a large fish head was bound to be delicious!
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