Chapter 482: The Breakthrough to Stir Up Conflict
"Huh? You all came this early?"
A voice that sounded quite familiar to Zhou Yuan suddenly appeared at the entrance of Han Shi, causing Zhou Yuan's heart to jolt slightly.
Ye Changhong had arrived.
During the morning court session, he had volunteered to come to Han Shi to probe the situation. Now he had finally shown up. Zhou Yuan wondered how well he had prepared.
With that thought, Zhou Yuan turned his head toward the door and quickly spotted the general with streaks of gray hair.
Like the others, Ye Changhong had changed out of any clothing that might reveal his identity and into ordinary attire. Even so, he still carried a somewhat fierce and rugged aura.
No one knew exactly how he planned to test Qi Han, the owner of Han Shi.
Thinking this, Zhou Yuan quietly settled into spectator mode.
Meanwhile, the officials who were currently enjoying their food in the dining area also noticed Ye Changhong's arrival. One by one, expressions of anticipation appeared on their faces.
Time to watch the drama!
This time Ye Changhong had prepared very thoroughly. As soon as the court session ended, he rushed home and specifically found an outfit that was different from his usual style, something that looked rougher and more intimidating. He even asked his wife to apply some makeup for him.
The fiercer he looked, the better.
After all, he was here to provoke a conflict. Looking more ferocious would make him appear more unreasonable and less out of place.
At this moment, his appearance was somewhat different from before. Only the other officials who saw him every day could easily recognize him.
Seeing that all the other officials had already arrived—and that a line had even formed outside Han Shi—Ye Changhong showed a hint of surprise. Then he naturally took his place at the back of the line, peering through the open doorway to observe the situation inside the restaurant.
Faintly, he could see a figure moving busily in the kitchen.
Was that the owner of Han Shi, Qi Han?
Ye Changhong narrowed his eyes and observed even more carefully.
To be honest, he still hadn't figured out exactly how he was going to start a conflict.
But when it came to causing trouble in a restaurant, the methods were pretty limited.
Either the food tasted bad, or there was something dirty in it.
For the moment, Ye Changhong didn't know much about the various dishes at Han Shi, but he was confident that once the time came, he would improvise and definitely find a way to start an argument.
"Commander Ye, Commander Ye!"
"Huh?" A quiet call snapped Ye Changhong out of his thoughts. He looked at the official standing in front of him in the line. "What is it?"
"Let's switch places," the official said, winking at him. "We'll be watching your performance later."
Ah… this…
Though he felt a little strange about it, Ye Changhong was still grateful for the official letting him go ahead.
"Then thank you." With that, Ye Changhong swapped places with the man.
Before he could even steady himself in the new position, another official ahead of him spoke up.
"Commander Ye, let's switch too."
"Yes, yes, switch with me as well—you can stand here."
"No, no, my spot is even closer to the front."
"…"
In the end, Ye Changhong found himself standing stiffly at the very front of the line, while behind him stood his colleagues, all watching him with eager anticipation.
You people really… did a great job.
Soon, one of the officials left the already full dining area, and it was Ye Changhong's turn to enter.
Before he could step inside, the departing official leaned closer and whispered, "Commander Ye, I finished eating quickly just to free up this seat for you. You must do your best!"
After saying that, the official didn't leave. Instead, he stood beside the line, looking at Ye Changhong with great expectation.
The strange feeling in Ye Changhong's heart grew even stronger.
Somehow… something felt off.
Forget it. No matter.
Having already entered Han Shi, Ye Changhong gathered his thoughts and sat down in the only empty seat in the dining area.
"Welcome. Please take a look at the menu first. Just tell me what you'd like to order."
Qi Han walked out carrying the previous customer's dish. Noticing Ye Changhong had just sat down, he immediately came over to greet him.
Ye Changhong picked up the menu placed in front of him, but instead of opening it right away, he glared at Qi Han.
As the commander of an army and a man of high status, Ye Changhong's gaze carried a powerful aura. Even Qi Han, facing such a fierce look, couldn't help but feel puzzled.
What's with this guy…?
But Ye Changhong didn't care about that. Based on his many years of experience in battle, intimidating the opponent with sheer presence before a fight was extremely important. So the moment he sat down, he launched a psychological assault on Qi Han.
Seeing that this young man who barely looked fully grown seemed somewhat intimidated, Ye Changhong finally began flipping through the restaurant's menu, trying to find something that could be used to start an argument.
After roughly scanning all the dishes offered at Han Shi, a hint of delight flashed in Ye Changhong's eyes.
He had already formed a rough plan for how to provoke trouble at this restaurant.
The problem with this place was simply too obvious—every dish was outrageously expensive.
It wasn't as if Ye Changhong had never eaten at other restaurants before. Even at the best restaurants on Sun-Moon Avenue, a hundred gold coins would be enough to host more than a dozen guests.
But here, some dishes cost one hundred gold coins each.
How ridiculous was that price?
It was practically a scam.
If he didn't know that Qi Han wasn't aware of their identities, he might even suspect that the guy was deliberately trying to extort money from the imperial officials.
This price will be my breakthrough point.
With that, Ye Changhong made up his mind.
However, even after finding a breakthrough point, starting a conflict was still something of an art.
If the task had been given to Zhao Zhiyuan, that blunt fellow from the Terrorclaw Spirit Engineer Legion, he probably would have slammed the table right now and shouted that the food here was absurdly expensive and that this was clearly a scam shop.
But that kind of provocation was too stupid and obvious, it would seem completely deliberate.
Ye Changhong prided himself on being an intelligent man, so naturally he wouldn't do something like that.
Glancing at Qi Han, who was still standing beside him waiting for his order, Ye Changhong cleared his throat.
"The dishes in your restaurant are sold at such high prices. What's the reason for that?"
First present the issue clearly, let the other party explain, and then find a weakness in that explanation to exploit.
Since Han Shi opened, Qi Han had encountered this kind of question countless times. He replied smoothly and confidently:
"Our restaurant uses higher-quality and more precious ingredients. Although the price is higher, it is worth the cost."
"Good."
The delight in Ye Changhong's eyes deepened.
Worth the cost, huh?
In that case, once the dishes arrived, as long as they didn't match the price, he could naturally and justifiably start an argument.
As for the possibility that the dishes might actually be worth the price… Ye Changhong didn't even consider it.
What a joke.
With dishes this expensive, could they really be worth it?
Obviously this was just the Han Shi owner boasting.
"Bring this old man a Dongpo Pork Knuckle, a Ginkgo Biloba Dish, and a Splendid Dragon Totem!"
After glancing at the prices on the menu, Ye Changhong ordered without hesitation.
These three dishes were the only ones on the menu priced at one hundred gold coins. Since the Han Shi branch in Mingdu City did not yet have any 3 Star or 4 Star dishes, these were the most expensive items available.
In Ye Changhong's opinion, the more expensive the dish, the more likely it was to be flashy but lacking substance.
Finding faults in dishes like that?
That would be easy.
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Latest Chapter: Chapter 505: Qi Han's Choice[1]
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[1] https://www.patreon.com/posts/becoming-food-in-155496005
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/becoming-food-in-155496005