Mito Ikumi also nodded in agreement from the side. It must be said that this cooperation was very good, immediately leaving Hoshino Sora speechless, his gaze uncontrollably drifting elsewhere.
"Ah, well, ahem, it's a good thing you have confidence in your dishes. Anyway, they're free, so if they don't eat them, they can throw them away. You two go deliver them."
Hoshino Sora coughed awkwardly twice, his face reddening slightly at the sudden revelation of his secret. He hadn't expected Yumeko Jabami to see him secretly burying a surprise in the pile of rice dumplings.
He had hidden it so deeply, and put it in when no one was paying attention. Damn it! He was seen.
"Alright, thank you, Hoshino-kun~
The customers will definitely love my new flavor of rice dumplings."
Upon hearing Hoshino Sora's words, Yumeko Jabami's face showed excitement. She then jogged with Mito Ikumi to the first-floor hall and placed the freshly made rice dumplings into the large barrel.
"New items again?"
"Can't I really buy them? Bro, I'm not short on money."
Watching Yumeko Jabami and Mito Ikumi pour their rice dumplings into the barrel, the customers gathered at the entrance began to shout, all regretting that they had taken theirs too early.
"Let me try a new one. I don't know what filling it has, sweet or savory. It's hard to tell from the appearance without actually biting into it."
As he spoke, a customer seated near the entrance stood up, pointing to the newly added rice dumplings in the barrel. The waiter at the door heard him and immediately handed over a rice dumpling.
Although one could only take one rice dumpling, it did not say that one could not choose a rice dumpling from the barrel. As the rice dumpling was handed over, many people focused their attention.
"Some are easy to tell. The filling is wrapped around the edge of the rice dumpling, and you can tell what filling it is at a glance."
Following up on the previous topic, another customer spoke.
"Those are clearly unqualified rice dumplings. A small half of the area isn't covered by the flavor of the filling, which means that part is just plain glutinous rice, and can't be called a rice dumpling."
Another female beast-eared customer corrected him.
"But doesn't glutinous rice have flavor? It must have been soaked in a special sauce beforehand. The rice dumpling I ate had a distinct seafood flavor, and even if the filling was against the rice dumpling leaf, the glutinous rice on the other side also had that flavor."
"However, speaking of which, the filling against the rice dumpling leaf will carry the fresh aroma of the leaf, adding some flavors that the original filling didn't have. I think that's pretty great!"
"There's gain and loss, so there's nothing to be conflicted about."
Hearing their conversation, two customers who had tasted the rice dumplings also spoke. The few of them sat at the empty seats near the tables by the door, chatting idly.
Occasionally, someone joined, and occasionally, someone left. The number always remained around seven or eight. Although they were travelers from different dimensions, they became exceptionally close because of the rice dumplings.
"Holy cow, this is spicy! But seriously, spicy cabbage wrapped in beef with glutinous rice is quite palatable, and the flavor is well-balanced. It's not an unbearable kind of spicy."
"Indeed, but what the heck is this sour radish I have? The taste is even stranger than the plum fruit rice dumpling I had earlier. Such a subtle feeling."
Carefully savoring the taste in his mouth, the customer who received the rice dumpling made by Yumeko Jabami murmured to himself.
"Although it's strange, it just makes you unable to stop. Sour radish paired with the aged duck skin meat, the texture and flavor have reached a new peak—an exquisite taste!"
He closed his eyes and savored the deliciousness of the rice dumpling filling. The aged duck skin meat carried a faint aroma of Sichuan peppercorns, which was likely from ground Sichuan peppercorns used for aging.
The sourness provided by the sour radish perfectly complemented the rice dumpling. Paired with this duck skin meat aged with Sichuan peppercorns, the rich, mellow flavor and crispy sour radish, plus the glutinous rice dumpling, the coordination among the three was almost perfect!
It looked crude, but it was actually meticulously prepared. This rice dumpling was that kind of dish; seemingly random, but every step was planned.
"It seems the customers are having a great time."
Standing on the second floor, Hoshino Sora said jokingly as he looked at the lively scene at the restaurant entrance. He then stretched lazily and headed towards the kitchen.
More and more customers were coming, and orders were piling up. The kitchen was probably getting overwhelmed. Leisure time was over; now it was time to enter the real battlefield!
Thinking of this, Hoshino Sora turned and entered the kitchen.
Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion. After the last batch of rice dumplings was delivered and the customers left, Hoshino Sora closed the shop door, and everyone in the kitchen breathed a sigh of relief.
Then they leaned on each other.
Although the pressure today was slightly less than yesterday, it was still terrifying. After connecting to multiple dimensions, the customer traffic of the Dimensional Restaurant greatly increased, with about a thousand people coming each night.
What does this mean? Operating for five hours means about two hundred people per hour. Each person has to prepare about twenty dishes per hour, and each one must guarantee quality.
It could be said that if Hoshino Sora were not in charge of the kitchen, this restaurant would certainly not be able to operate. It was too terrifying; anyone who saw this customer traffic would shiver!
Important figures from different dimensions had descended here. Hoshino Sora saw many familiar but unknown faces, and also some characters he recognized but couldn't name.
Of course, he could also see some protagonists from anime here, such as Ichigo Kurosaki and Uryū Ishida from Bleach, Kuroko and Taiga Kagami from Kuroko's Basketball, and from The Prince of Tennis...
"It's finally over. We can have a good rest tomorrow."
"I don't want to go anywhere; I just want to lie in bed."
"Who doesn't? We can finally rest. Why don't we just close the shop tomorrow night too? Let's make Sundays our exclusive holiday from now on."
Sunday was the holiday for the girls who apprenticed at Oriental Academy, as teachers also needed rest and couldn't teach apprentices three hundred and sixty-five days a year without a break.
"Seconded. Tomorrow, I must lie in bed and sleep in. Hoshino-kun, tonight it's up to your service."
Stretching lazily and uninhibitedly displaying her figure, Shiina Mahiru came up to Hoshino Sora, very naturally put her arms around his neck, and kissed him.
"Then weekends will be our rest days from now on. Let's relax properly. Cooking and opening the shop can be done anytime; there's no need to exhaust yourselves for this."
Listening to the girls' opinions, Hoshino Sora did not refuse and, after careful consideration, agreed to their request.
"In the evening, I saw you giving Erina and Hisako foot massages. Give us a massage too during dinner, and before bed tonight. We've been busy all day too."
Yukinoshita Haruno said while rubbing her calves. Today, she went to negotiate with Lin Han, and the two of them walked around many places, visiting several ingredient markets operated by Oriental Academy. To be honest, even with the Gourmet Cell's boost, it was quite tiring.
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