Initially, customers waiting in line across the street grew a bit impatient and were then attracted by the aroma of the simmering broth in front of Satou's shop, coming over to taste it with a try-it-out mentality.
But after tasting one bite, they were conquered by the astonishing deliciousness.
Subsequently, rumors about this shop's "amazingly delicious catfish and mushrooms" began to spread among nearby residents.
"It's said that the catfish at that shop tastes incredibly delicious. Everyone who has eaten it says they've never had such delicious fish in their lives."
"Really?"
"Yes, and I heard the mushrooms are also very refreshing and tasty. More importantly, the price is exceptionally affordable, even cheaper than the place across the street."
"But is it as good as lobster and mussels?"
"Of course! That shop must also use very precious ingredients, right? People who have eaten there praise the taste of the ingredients endlessly."
"Although lobster is expensive, you can eat it elsewhere for money, but the ingredients at this shop are simply unavailable anywhere else."
Thus, due to word-of-mouth effect, more and more people ate ramen at Satou's shop. Everyone who ate there had a satisfied expression, as if they had gotten a great bargain.
Because in their opinion, to buy such delicious dishes for such an affordable price was truly too good a value, not to mention that the other party might have used very expensive ingredients. If they missed it this time, they might not have another chance in this lifetime.
Before long, the line in front of Satou's shop grew longer and longer, eventually even surpassing the restaurant across the street!
In the lounge, looking through the glass window at the long queue across the street, An and the others' expressions were a bit grim.
"Damn it, what's going on? They were clearly beaten defenseless this morning, but now they've surpassed us!"
A female chef said, gritting her teeth, extremely unwilling.
"Those commoners are truly ungrateful," another chef said with great dissatisfaction.
In their view, they lowered themselves to sell carefully prepared dishes at almost giveaway prices to nearby residents, but those residents didn't appreciate it and instead went to another shop. It was simply too detestable!
At this moment, a staff member walked in, carrying several plastic bags.
"These were just bought from across the street," An said.
Then, two steaming bowls of ramen were placed in front of everyone.
"What is this? Catfish ramen and mushroom ramen?"
"How can such dishes compare to the ones we cook using high-grade ingredients?"
The five one-star chefs present were all greatly puzzled. Neither mushrooms nor catfish are very expensive ingredients.
"Let's taste them first," An said indifferently.
This time, six portions of both catfish ramen and mushroom ramen were bought, so everyone had a share.
The five chefs exchanged glances, nodded, and then began to taste.
They wanted to see what was so magical about this seemingly ordinary ramen!
An picked up a piece of freshly fried, golden and crispy catfish meat, blew on it, and then put it into her mouth.
The catfish skin was very crispy, and the meat inside was exceptionally delicious, melting in her mouth. An unprecedented fishy freshness swept over her like a storm!
"Mm~" An's cheeks flushed slightly, and she closed her eyes, as if trying to endure something.
"It's so delicious!"
"Yes, I've never eaten such delicious catfish! What kind of catfish is this?"
"These mushrooms are too fresh, aren't they? If these mushrooms were sold to me, I'd be willing to buy them at fifty thousand per jin!"
"What kind of catfish is this? If sold, it could easily fetch tens of thousands of yen per jin."
The other five chefs were also full of exclamations.
"How did those students manage to buy such high-quality ingredients?" A female chef asked with a grim expression.
"Don't forget, there are members of the Elite Ten among them. It's not impossible for them to acquire such ingredients with their authority," another chef said in a deep voice.
"But this must be Far Moon's special-grade ingredients. Even for the Elite Ten, their purchasing authority shouldn't be much, right? Is it really worth it to help those few low-level chefs?" Someone raised a doubt.
An also frowned slightly and asked, "What is the price of these two dishes?"
"Yes, they are one thousand yen and eight hundred yen respectively…" The staff member quickly bowed and said.
"Cheaper than ours?" The five chefs were surprised again.
"This must be selling at a loss," An was equally surprised, then she pondered, "Let's wait and see. If they sell at a loss like this, they definitely won't be able to sustain it for long."
The others also nodded.
However, they did not know that Erina Nakiri, after calculations, found that not only would they not lose money, but they should even make a small profit in the end.
On the other side.
Erina Nakiri's cheeks were somewhat pale, and she sat on a chair, drinking water and resting.
"Erina, are you alright? Or should we leave first?" Satou saw that Erina Nakiri looked very tired, so he asked with concern, and his own shop's business hours had also arrived.
Erina Nakiri couldn't help but give him an annoyed look. She was so tired today, and it was all because of him, wasn't it?
Last night, that guy had kept her busy until midnight, causing her to not get a good night's rest.
Thinking of what happened last night, Erina Nakiri's cheeks couldn't help but flush crimson, her face burning.
"Huh? Erina-san, what's wrong?" Tadokoro Megumi couldn't help but ask curiously. Erina-san, whose face was a bit pale just now, suddenly turned completely red.
How strange!
"It's nothing," Erina Nakiri's face grew even redder, and she whispered.
"Then we'll be leaving first," Satou said his goodbyes.
"Mm, leave this to us," Mimasaka Subaru gave a thumbs-up and said.
"That's right, you two go rest!" Yukihira Soma also laughed heartily, still full of energy.
Subsequently, Erina Nakiri and Satou returned to the mansion.
"You don't have to stay with me tonight; I want to get some good rest."
Upon arriving at the mansion, Erina Nakiri said with a blush.
Satou looked at her strangely. Just yesterday, she had said she wanted him to spend more time with her, but today she said he didn't have to.
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