Chapter 485: Yao Hongchen Personally Arrives
In the end, Ye Changhong still failed to find any fault.
When the third dish, Splendid Dragon Totem, was served, its lifelike soaring dragon design was no less impressive than the Ginkgo Biloba Dish. The exquisite flavor created by combining the finest meat from various dragon-type spirit beasts left him completely unable to find any flaw.
This dish, an original 2 Star recipe created by Qi Han, also possessed a slight special effect due to its extremely high rating.
Its special effect was a small increase in the toughness of one's meridians. Because the special effects of all dishes were ineffective on Qi Han himself, he had never discovered this when he tasted it. It was only later, when Ru Yi wrote the effect on the menu, that he realized it.
This was also one of the reasons why Qi Han priced the dish at one hundred gold coins.
Now, as Ye Changhong felt the nourishing effect of the Splendid Dragon Totem on the meridians within his body, he was completely speechless.
He truly couldn't find any fault. In every aspect, these three dishes felt more than worth their price, in fact, one hundred gold coins seemed cheap.
This was a situation he had never imagined before coming here.
Perhaps… he could find fault in other aspects instead of the dishes themselves?
Ye Changhong silently looked around the interior decoration of Han Shi. The never-before-seen design fit perfectly with Mingdu City, the city of steel. The decoration style—tough and rigid yet filled with a sense of technology—made every Spirit Engineer feel comfortable from the bottom of their hearts.
The environment didn't seem to have any problems either…
Even the service had nothing wrong with it. The waiting time for the first dish had already been shorter than in most restaurants, and after that the dishes were served almost immediately after he finished one, leaving him practically no waiting time at all.
Before coming here, Ye Changhong had also prepared a Plan B.
He had imagined that if he really couldn't find any fault with the restaurant, he would create one himself.
For example, inside his storage spirit tool, there was currently a dead fly he had caught and crushed along the way.
As long as he tossed that fly into the dish, he could easily start an argument.
However… by now he had already sensed that a spiritual-type Titled Douluo might be hiding somewhere inside Han Shi. If he used such a trick, the other party would definitely notice that something was wrong.
If a powerful figure suddenly came to provoke Han Shi right after its opening—despite the restaurant having done nothing wrong—what would that represent?
It would represent a probe.
It would mean their actions had been discovered.
If the other side realized this because of his behavior, it would be alerting the enemy prematurely.
Thus, before Plan B could even be implemented, it had already died in the cradle.
In the end, Ye Changhong silently finished the three dishes in front of him and directly stood up to leave Han Shi.
This place is not suitable to stay any longer—retreat immediately!
All the ministers who had been paying attention to Ye Changhong throughout the entire process saw him leave without hesitation, and their expressions immediately changed.
Wasn't he supposed to probe the place?
Why did he just eat quietly and leave without doing anything?
Although they were extremely confused, none of the officials showed anything unusual on the surface. They simply quickened the pace of their meals.
After all… the dishes at Han Shi were incredibly delicious.
They would definitely come again next time!
The ministers who had been waiting in line outside the restaurant obviously couldn't just turn around and leave after those who had already finished their meals. As the dining area gradually emptied with the departure of the first group, they soon got the chance to taste the various dishes at Han Shi.
By the time this entire group of ministers—who had come under the pretext of probing the restaurant—finally left, half of the lunchtime business hours had already passed.
"Phew."
Qi Han let out a light breath. He hadn't noticed anything unusual, but in his heart he once again felt grateful to the young man named Xu Jiyun.
Today, there were more than one hundred new customers. For Qi Han—who had been eagerly hoping to complete Side Quest 10-1—the appearance of these customers was truly like delivering fuel in the middle of a snowstorm.
He had absolute confidence in the food he cooked. These new diners would soon become returning customers, turning into progress on Side Quest 10-1. And judging from their demeanor, each of them seemed extraordinary—perhaps all from the upper circles of Mingdu City, such as wealthy merchants with strong financial power.
After running the restaurant for so long, Qi Han was quite confident in his own judgment.
Once these people returned after eating at Han Shi, they would surely further expand Han Shi's reputation and build a good reputation within certain social circles.
Like sparks scattering into a sky full of stars, the appearance of these diners was an enormous help to Han Shi, whose business had recently been worse than ever before.
As for whether these diners might expose him and Han Shi to the powerful forces he had always been wary of—such as the Sun Moon Empire's imperial family and Mingde Hall…
Just thinking about that made Qi Han chuckle.
How could that be possible?
He had carefully observed all the diners who came today. Not a single one of them wore official attire, which clearly meant that although these people had status, none of them were government officials. Naturally, they were even less likely to bring Han Shi to the attention of the imperial family or Mingde Hall.
After some time, as Han Shi's reputation continued to grow, there might indeed be a risk of exposure. But by then, Qi Han estimated that he would already have left the Sun Moon Continent.
He had already earned enough travel money. As long as he could accumulate thirty days of business, it would be enough. When the time came, he would simply open the Anywhere Door, step through, and close it behind him—who could possibly find him then?
Thinking about it this way, Qi Han suddenly felt that perhaps he didn't need to be quite so cautious after all.
At the very least, completing the system missions normally shouldn't be a problem.
Just as he was thinking this, Qi Han suddenly noticed another new customer approaching the entrance.
Hmm?
Could it be someone else introduced by Xu Jiyun?
With that guess in mind, Qi Han looked up toward the doorway.
The newcomer was a middle-aged man with a stern face. He wore an elegant long robe that gave him a refined, scholarly air, yet his tall and upright build resembled that of a soldier.
Someone with such bearing clearly wasn't an ordinary person. In fact, he seemed somewhat similar to the earlier group of diners introduced by Xu Jiyun, which further confirmed Qi Han's guess.
The middle-aged man didn't walk straight into Han Shi. Instead, he stood at the entrance and carefully examined the restaurant's signboard before finally stepping inside with long strides.
"Welcome." Qi Han spoke smoothly.
"May I ask—were you also introduced by little brother Xu Jiyun?"
"Hmm?" Yao Hongchen was slightly stunned. Then, as if he suddenly understood something, he looked at Qi Han with a faintly amused smile.
"You call him little brother?"
"Of course," Qi Han nodded naturally. "We're about the same age."
After all, someone who could introduce so many customers to him—he might as well be a real brother!
As for the whole sister-obsessed thing, that was only a minor issue.
Yao Hongchen shook his head slightly and casually sat down at a seat.
"Indeed. I was introduced by him."
As soon as the morning court session had ended, he had immediately rushed back to Mingde Hall, so he hadn't participated in the other ministers' discussions. Therefore, he didn't know that the others had used the Third Prince as an excuse to come here.
But from Qi Han's question, he could easily guess what had happened.
It seemed that the other ministers had already finished eating and left.
He wondered how Ye Changhong's attempt at probing had turned out.
After leaving his father's meditation room inside Mingde Hall, he had hurried to the imperial palace to meet His Majesty, delivering his father's message along with a list of rare metal resources requested from the emperor. After bringing those rare metals back to Mingde Hall, he was once again urged by his improper old father to come here and eat.
As a result, he had missed quite a show.
Since the owner of Han Shi had this misunderstanding, Yao Hongchen was happy to let the mistake continue. He picked up the menu in front of him and began flipping through it.
He wanted to see just what kind of background this Han Shi really had.
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