Chapter 360: Steamed Rice
When Ping Xinyan made her offer, Qi Han was visibly taken aback.
He honestly hadn't considered that possibility.
But after thinking it through, he realized it was actually a great idea.
Compared to training brand-new hires, these two delivery girls already had a decent grasp of what a server's duties entailed, making them easier to onboard.
Newcomers would also need time to adjust and might face awkward situations or feel out of place. But Ping Xinyan and Ji Yunruo were already seasoned employees—no such issues there.
"Yunruo, is this what you want too?"
In response to Qi Han's question, Ji Yunruo nodded eagerly.
"Then it's settled," Qi Han smiled. "Starting tomorrow, you two will be the servers for breakfast and the night shift. I'll get you both a set of server uniforms later. As for your pay—since you're only working one shift each, you'll receive half the normal server's wage, added on top of your current salary."
"Yay!" Ping Xinyan and Ji Yunruo high-fived.
Plan successful!
With the breakfast and night shifts now covered, smiles appeared on the faces of Fu Ya and Ying Shuang as well.
"That just leaves us with one server for the lunch and dinner shifts to recruit," Fu Ya noted softly.
"Exactly. I'll post a new hiring notice after the lunch rush today," Qi Han replied. He glanced at the four female staffers in front of him and suddenly remembered a thought he'd had long ago.
All of Han Shi's employees were women.
That just wouldn't do.
So this time, the new hire would be a man.
Yep! Decision made.
With everything settled, Ying Shuang curiously made her way up to the second floor. Ji Yunruo and Ping Xinyan quickly followed.
All three of them were dying to see what the second floor looked like.
Moments later, excited gasps echoed from above. It was a while before the three girls, their faces flushed with excitement, came rushing back downstairs.
"Boss! The second floor is gorgeous—it feels like walking into a bamboo forest!"
"Exactly. That design style is called bamboo forest eco-style," Qi Han smiled. "Alright, it's just about time. For today's staff meal, you'll all be taste-testing the new dishes."
"Yay!"
Everyone's attention instantly shifted to the new menu items. As Qi Han headed for the kitchen, they all sat down—Fu Ya, Ying Shuang, and Ye Lingqing at one table, Ji Yunruo and Ping Xinyan at another.
"Lingqing, since you're always with the boss, do you know what the new dishes are?" Ying Shuang asked, eyes gleaming.
"I don't, actually. Master and I only came over after the renovations were finished this morning," Ye Lingqing replied, opening a menu. "The new dishes should be in here though, right?"
"Yeah, let me take a look…" Ying Shuang nodded and grabbed a menu for herself.
"…Huh?"
Before long, everyone noticed something different about the menu compared to the previous version.
Xiaolongbao had vanished entirely from the Main Dishes section.
In its place? A simple bowl of steamed white rice, priced at one Gold Coin per serving.
What…?
Ying Shuang couldn't help but speak up. "Did any of you see Xiaolongbao on here?"
Her question was met with blank shakes of the head.
"Does steamed rice count as a new dish?"
"Yeah, why is that even on here?"
"Probably not a new dish, right?"
"…"
Everyone began to chatter away, but after a while, no one had any definitive answer.
They'd just have to ask Qi Han later.
Aside from that odd change, most of the original dishes remained intact. After comparing everything carefully, they finally discovered six new dishes on the menu:
Dinghu Shangsu — 2,000 Gold Coins / serving
Splendid Dragon Totem — 100 Gold Coins / serving
Heartblossom Delight — 15 Gold Coins / serving
Golden Dragon Spine — 20 Gold Coins / serving
Dragon Serpent Soup — 40 Gold Coins / serving
Jade Dragon Crystal — 12 Gold Coins / serving
So, six new dishes this time?
Everyone was in high spirits. None of them had expected the boss to unveil so many new dishes in such a short time.
What they didn't know was that during Qi Han's twenty-day trip, he had actually developed seven new dishes.
Including Dinghu Shangsu, there were supposed to be eight.
The reason only six appeared on the menu now was because Steamed Dragon Dumplings were more suitable for breakfast, so Qi Han categorized them under breakfast offerings.
Likewise, the Fruit-Scented Dragon Belly Skewers were assigned to the late-night menu, sold alongside other grilled items.
As for the disappearance of xiaolongbao from the menu—it was for the same reason.
Xiaolongbao wasn't well-suited as a proper lunch or dinner dish. It worked far better as a breakfast item.
To compensate for the removal of xiaolongbao—and more importantly, to infuse the restaurant's cuisine with true soul—Qi Han didn't hesitate to purchase a 1 Star recipe: Steamed White Rice.
The biggest shortcoming of Han Shi's menu up to now was that it didn't include plain white rice. Guests had to settle for pairing dishes with fried rice. While the diners hadn't exactly complained—many even found the fried rice fragrant and delicious—Qi Han understood deeply that it just wasn't the same.
Dishes were created to be eaten with rice.
The original purpose of cooked dishes was to elevate the flavor of white rice.
So no matter how exquisite the main courses were, if there was no plain rice to pair with them, the soul of the meal felt incomplete.
Fried rice, while technically "rice," could be eaten on its own. But that made it fundamentally different from steamed white rice.
Qi Han had never drawn the recipe for plain rice from the system. Whenever he acquired a 1 Star recipe fragment, he always used it to redeem other dishes, overlooking the importance of this staple.
Only recently did he realize this oversight. But by then, he no longer had any fragments left.
Now that he had access to the 1 Star recipe purchase function, Qi Han didn't hesitate to spend 10,000 Gold Coins to buy the recipe for Steamed White Rice.
But the white rice from the system recipe wasn't your typical "boil it in a pot and serve" kind.
Before buying the recipe, Qi Han had assumed it'd be just like the rice he used for fried rice: measure water and rice into a pot and cook.
But he had clearly underestimated it.
The system's recipe followed the Cantonese-style steamed rice method.
First, rice grown near the spiritual spring—infused with elemental energy—was washed twice, then soaked in the same spiritual spring water for half an hour.
Next, the rice was placed into beautiful purple clay bowls, lightly filled with more spring water, then steamed in bamboo baskets until cooked through.
Only then would it produce plump, crystal-clear, slightly sweet grains of rice.
Calling it "spirit rice" might be more fitting.
After all, the entire process used water rich in elemental energy from heaven and earth, meaning that by the time the rice was steamed, every grain was saturated with this natural essence.
Only such rice could be sold at a price of one Gold Coin per bowl.
…
In the dining area, after their initial round of chatter, everyone began flipping through the menus, checking the detailed descriptions of the new dishes.
Naturally, the first to draw attention was the brand-new Purple Card Dish: Dinghu Shangsu.
When their eyes landed on the detailed introduction—especially the special effects listed for the dish—each of them stared in astonishment.
What…?
There were actually magical effects?
…
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Qi Han's expression was full of anticipation. In front of him were over twenty types of rare and colorful spiritual ingredients, each radiating a rich, complex fragrance. The aromas alone were intoxicating.
So then… let's begin.
It's time to cook.
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