The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 173 Special and Speculative

Just yesterday, Qin Lang tasted the rice produced in Fengshou Terraces, the largest rice-growing area in Danju City.

With the person in charge of the rice personally overseeing the project, the rice sold throughout Tianhua Prefecture should be of the highest quality in Danju City.

But now, the amazing stickiness and chewiness, as well as the rich aroma of the rice, all tell him that he is tasting better rice than yesterday.

Yang Xingze owns rice paddies, so it's unlikely he would buy rice from someone else. That seems to leave only one possibility.

This high-quality rice was grown by Yang Xingze himself.

This boy, who isn't particularly talented in cooking, has such a high talent for farming?
Qin Lang was somewhat incredulous, but after calming himself down, he scooped out the rice.

We can ask about the rice later; let's make fried rice first.

But looking at the eggs on the cutting board, Qin Lang's face showed a conflicted expression.

This was the first time he had encountered such high-quality rice, but the eggs were only of ordinary quality, which made him somewhat disappointed.

Thinking of this, Qin Lang looked at Danbao and asked, "Would you like to eat fried rice that's even more delicious than the fried rice you've had before?"

"Gulu?!"

Danbao's eyes lit up instantly.

"You only need one rare egg to make this fried rice, and you'll be able to eat it," Qin Lang coaxed patiently. "However, this fried rice should be shared with others; you can't enjoy it all by yourself."

"Gulu..."

Egg Baby clearly looked conflicted, but after a moment he nodded emphatically.

For a better-tasting fried rice, deal!

After obtaining Egg Baby's consent, Qin Lang opened and closed his eyes, and a precious egg the size of a goose egg appeared in his hand.

After mixing this rare egg with the regular eggs, Qin Lang began to cook the fried rice.

Before long, an incredibly rich aroma of eggs, mixed with an equally rich aroma of rice, spread rapidly out of the kitchen.

Cao Dongdong and the others, who were eating and chatting, sniffed, and then almost simultaneously put down their chopsticks and rushed to the kitchen.

When Qin Lang finished cooking the fried rice, he turned around and saw five heads peeking into the kitchen.

"Quick! Show it in my mouth!" Yu Zaozao exaggeratedly raised her head and opened her mouth wide, completely unlike the image of a well-known streamer on Niconico.

"Yes, yes, yes." Qin Lang said with a wry smile as he brought out a large bowl of fried rice he had just cooked, and then divided it into individual small bowls.

"Try it."

"They've even used premium eggs, I have to eat an extra bowl." Cao Dongdong said, scooping up a spoonful and putting it in his mouth.

After chewing twice, Cao Dongdong's eyes widened rapidly.

"Why does it taste even better than what I've had before?"

"Really?" Zhao Qian put the fried rice in her mouth with some skepticism, then her expression turned to surprise. "It's actually true!"

Having traveled with Qin Lang for so long, this wasn't the first time they'd tasted fried rice with premium eggs, but this time it was even more delicious than any they'd ever had before.

A sudden realization struck Zhao Qian, "It's rice!"

"The rice is different this time!"

"Yes." Qin Lang nodded with a smile.

The main ingredients of fried rice are eggs and rice, but if we were to distinguish between the two ingredients, rice would undoubtedly be the main ingredient.

Therefore, improving the quality of the rice has a greater impact on the overall quality of fried rice than improving the quality of the eggs. Yu Zaozao was too busy eating to speak; she practically buried her face in her small bowl of rice, her eyes shining as if she had discovered a new continent.

Is this the taste of the fried rice she's been longing for?

tasty!

It’s so delicious!
It was worth it for her to shamelessly follow me all the way here to freeload!

She's going to show off a hundred bowls of this fried rice today!

"Wow, amazing!" Yang Xingze exclaimed as he shoveled a couple of mouthfuls of fried rice into his mouth. "I would be satisfied if I could make a dish that is even one-tenth... no, one-twentieth as delicious as this dish."

"It's not that exaggerated. As long as you practice more, your cooking skills will improve." Qin Lang said with a wry smile, then thought of his earlier question.

"Xingze, has your family's rice always been this quality?"

"No, not exactly." Yang Xingze shook his head. "The rice we grow before was no different from other people's, but this year the rice that matures in our paddy field seems to taste especially good."

He scratched his head. "I don't know why this is happening. Maybe the climate this year is more suitable for rice growth?"

"I'm afraid not." Qin Lang shook his head, his expression shifting slightly.

He had assumed that the rice from Yang Xingze's family was always of this exceptionally high quality, so he hadn't considered any other possibilities.

But now, Yang Xingze says that the quality of the rice has suddenly improved, and he himself can't explain why.

This made Qin Lang think of a certain characteristic of Zhenling.

Zhenling can improve the quality of similar ingredients in the surrounding area!
The background of the ninth painting, where Zhenling is located, happens to be a rice paddy.

If it is a rare spirit evolved from rice, and it is currently in Yang Xingze's rice paddy, then everything makes sense!

Thinking of this, Qin Lang's heart began to race.

But now is not the time to talk about that.

Seeing the fried rice disappearing at a visible rate, Qin Lang quickly filled a bowl for himself and Danbao.

The rich aroma of eggs and rice filled his mouth, and Qin Lang couldn't help but look amazed.

This is the first time that the aroma of rice has been able to rival the aroma of premium eggs, rather than being completely overwhelmed by it.

Given that this large serving of fried rice contains both premium and regular eggs, the quality has been somewhat reduced. The rice itself is probably not premium quality yet, but it is comparable to ginkgo nuts that have been enhanced by Little Crescent Moon.

Thinking about this, Qin Lang became even more certain of his guess.

Soon, the whole bowl of fried rice was completely eaten up.

Yang Xingze had already prepared a separate serving of fried rice, which he then brought into the house along with the other dishes he had prepared earlier, before quickly returning to the house.

Cao Dongdong couldn't wait to roll up his sleeves.

"Alright, now it's my turn to make the egg yolks..."

"Slap!" Zhao Qian slapped him on the back of the head and said speechlessly, "You should make your egg yolk pastries later."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but look at Qin Lang.

After listening to Yang Xingze's description, she had a similar guess to Qin Lang. Now, it was up to Qin Lang to decide what to do.

"Xingze, could we go and take a look at your rice paddies?" Qin Lang asked with a smile.

"I'm very curious about what such delicious rice looks like."

(End of this chapter)