A Bite of Douluo Continent

"Later..." The middle-aged diner wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and continued, "Later, I gradually got used to life here. Because I worked harder than other newspaper boys, I was promoted, my salary was higher, and my life became better."

“I send money to my mother every month. Sometimes it’s one gold soul coin, and sometimes it’s more.” A look of reminiscence flashed in the middle-aged diner’s eyes again. “Making money is not easy, so I rarely go back. I only go back once or twice a year.”

“I remember every time I went home, my mother would make me a lot of roasted meat buns.” As if recalling some scenes from the past, the man paused for a moment before continuing, “Roasted meat buns are a local specialty. They are made by putting roasted meat into kneaded dough and then steaming them together.”

“My mother’s roasted meat buns are my favorite because she knows I like houttuynia cordata, so she always puts extra on them.” The man grinned. “I can eat four of them in one go.”

As he spoke, he gestured in the air to indicate the size of the roasted meat bun.

It is indeed quite large.

“I still remember that every time I ate a big bite of roasted meat bun, my mother would sit across from me, look at me and smile, and ask me how I was doing.” The man grinned. “Of course I always said I was doing well. I’m very proud, so how could I tell her about the hardships I was going through?”

“She’s used to being frugal. She’s reluctant to spend the money I give her, afraid that one day I might not have enough money and I’ll run out of money. In that case, she can use this money to help me in an emergency.” The man’s gaze drifted into the distance. “I even tried to persuade her to move in with me, but she refused.”

“My mother is a very stubborn person.” The man shook his head. “At that time, I gradually lost patience with her after repeated attempts to persuade her. Deep down, I felt that she was too stubborn. In addition, I also had my own career and became increasingly busy, so I went home less and less often.”

“Until…” The man’s voice suddenly trembled, and his eyes reddened again. “A few days ago, a letter came from home. It was written to me by my next-door neighbor. She is a kind neighbor. In the letter, she said that my mother was seriously ill and bedridden, and asked me to go back as soon as possible.”

He reached out and wiped his eyes. "At the time, I was anxious, but I kept thinking that my mother was always in good health and there shouldn't be any danger. In addition, I suddenly encountered a huge crisis in my career and needed to deal with it urgently, so I sent a large sum of money to that neighbor and asked her to help me take my mother to seek medical treatment."

"Did that neighbor run off with your money?" A Tang Clan disciple on the other side clenched his fist and couldn't help but ask, "Tell me who she is!"

It's despicable that they would run away with someone's life-saving money!

The Tang Clan disciple, after putting himself in the other person's shoes, immediately felt a surge of rage.

If I were to run into her, I would definitely teach her a lesson!

“No…no.” The man paused for a moment, then quickly shook his head. “That neighbor was indeed a kind person. She took the money and hired the best doctor in the area for my mother, used the best medicine, and even asked someone to invite a healing-type Soul Master to treat her.”

"This..." The Tang Clan disciple was slightly taken aback. Things didn't seem to be quite the same as he had imagined.

“But…” The man almost broke down in tears as he said this, “My mother’s illness was more serious than I had imagined. By the time I finally managed to finish my work and rushed back, she had already closed her eyes forever.”

For a moment, the small shop fell into a brief silence, with only the man's sobs remaining.

A moment later, soft sobs could be heard from all around. Several of the more sentimental female diners quietly wiped away their tears, and even the men couldn't help but have their eyes redden.

Who doesn't have their own mother?

At this moment, whether they were once noble Soul Masters or ordinary people, everyone shared the same feelings.

Even Tang Qianqiu and Qi Poxiao, who had been sitting quietly, exchanged a glance and sighed in unison.

Their mothers... had passed away over a hundred years ago.

"The child wishes to care for his parents, but they are no longer there." Qi Han said softly, then sighed.

The son wants to take care of him, but he doesn't want to be loved.

This saying has been passed down for thousands of years on Earth, but this is the first time I've heard it here.

Upon hearing this, the man suddenly burst into tears, his emotions breaking down. "I...I just came back from my mother's...funeral. I miss her."

His voice choked up several times, “My father passed away when I was young, and only my mother took care of me. After I left, she was left alone at home, with only that old woman next door to keep her company.”

"So many years..." The man seemed to have all his strength drained away, and he leaned weakly against the chair. "I never even asked her how she was doing. The little things about her life over the years were only told to me by that old woman when my mother was buried."

“She kept all the money I gave her in a big box and never touched it. She asked the old woman to give it to me…” The man shook his head weakly. “I gave it to that old woman as a way of thanking her for being by my mother’s side all these years.”

He didn't speak again, sitting blankly in his seat with a face full of sorrow. After a long while, he finally let out a long sigh and took out a dry handkerchief from his pocket to tidy his appearance.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Qi," the man said apologetically, "your business hours are precious, yet I've wasted so much of your time."

“That’s not true.” Qi Han shook his head. “I also learned a lot from your story.”

The progress of side quest five below has now reached 1/3.

This means that one-third of the task has been completed.

So for Qi Han, it was indeed quite a gain.

Looking at the man in front of him, who had wiped away his tears but whose eyes were still a little red, Qi Han suddenly wanted to do something for him.

Although the dead cannot be brought back to life, it is impossible to bring his mother back to life.

However... it's not entirely impossible to help him regain some of his past memories.

Let's consider this... a reward for telling him my story and helping Qi Han improve the mission's progress.

"Ruyi?" Qi Han murmured to himself, "Can you extract his memories and simulate the taste of the roasted meat buns from his memories?"

“Yes.” Ruyi was always so reliable. “I can simulate it in the system space, so you can taste it and then try to replicate it.”

With Ruyi's assurance, Qi Han felt more confident. He looked steadily at the man in front of him, a smile appearing on his face.

"Sir, what is your name?"

"Feng Yi."

"Mr. Feng Yi, are you free during the business hours tomorrow at noon?"

"This..." The man was slightly taken aback. "Yes, there are some. What's wrong?"

Qi Han smiled slightly, "I will prepare a special dish for you."

"A dish that's... a bit special."

Chapter 245 Lovers Embracing and Kissing (Bonus Chapter 7/10 for Loquat Boss)

Feng Yi did not refuse Qi Han's invitation, and he was also curious about what this special dish Qi Han mentioned was.

Qi Han certainly wouldn't tell him directly, but just smiled mysteriously and told him to come to the store on time tomorrow. Then he turned around and went back to the kitchen to continue operating the business.

Feng Yi's matter was just a minor incident, but seemingly influenced by Feng Yi's story, the atmosphere in the dining area that evening was even better than before.

After closing the business in a harmonious atmosphere, Qi Han looked at the three women, and when his gaze swept over Ji Yunruo's slightly tired expression, he suddenly remembered something.

I almost forgot because of Feng Yi's matter.

With the increasing demand for food delivery jobs, we need to recruit more delivery drivers as soon as possible.

"Yunruo, I think having only one delivery driver might not be enough for the store." Qi Han looked at Ji Yunruo's expression and said seriously, "Do you think it would be more appropriate for the store to hire a few more delivery drivers?"

Qi Han was unfamiliar with agility-based Soul Masters, but Ji Yunruo, who was familiar with the food delivery business, knew the most about this.

Upon hearing this, Ji Yunruo began to think about it seriously.

To be honest, she had felt that delivering food alone was a bit difficult before. After all, Hanshi was a household name in Shrek City, and the number of food delivery orders was naturally increasing. Even with her agility-based speed, she was still finding it a bit challenging.

The surge in takeout orders tonight made her feel somewhat overwhelmed.

Therefore, recruiting more delivery drivers has become a top priority.

But... how many would be suitable?

After careful consideration, Ji Yunruo felt that hiring one more person would probably be enough.

If you could take on half of your workload, things would be much easier.

Of course, the premise is that the opponent is also a speed-attack type Soul Master.

After listening to Ji Yunruo's opinion, Qi Han nodded.

He plans to put up the recruitment notice board soon, hoping to recruit suitable people before opening for business at noon tomorrow.

After cleaning up the shop, the three women left together.

After watching the three women leave, Qi Han took out a notice board, pondered for a moment, and wrote the same notice board as when he recruited Ji Yunruo. It only stated the time and salary to be discussed in person, and then hung it in front of the shop.

After doing all this, Qi Han closed the store, held Gulu in his arms, lay down on the bed in the second-floor room, and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

...

After traveling together for a while, Fuya and the other two parted ways with Ji Yunruo and headed towards the back gate of Shrek Academy.

"Fuya, what's wrong?" Ying Shuangshuang tugged at Fuya's hand. "You've been a bit quiet since just now."

“I…” Fuya’s eyes reddened slightly, “I also miss my mother a little.”

"Is it because of that diner named Feng Yi?" Ying Shuangshuang suddenly realized. "You were short of money before because your aunt was sick, right? How is your aunt's condition now?"

Ying Shuangshuang didn't miss her mother too much. When Fuya went to the competition with the school team, she had already taken the time to go home once. She hadn't been separated from her parents for too long.

“I’m completely healed.” Fuya smiled. “Shuangshuang, I plan to go home in a while to see my parents.”

“Okay.” Ying Shuangshuang nodded, then remembered something, “But the food festival is coming up soon.”

“Of course it won’t interfere with the food festival.” Fuya shook her head abruptly. “I plan to take a few days off after the food festival, and business probably won’t be as busy then.”

“Okay, anyway, with Gulu here, and I’ve done your work, it shouldn’t be a big problem.” Ying Shuangshuang estimated the workload and nodded.

"Ugh! Fuya, look, look!" Ying Shuangshuang looked around aimlessly, then suddenly her eyes widened, and she whispered, pointing quietly to the side.

"Hmm?" Fuya looked in the direction Ying Shuangshuang was pointing, and a blush crept onto her cheeks the next moment.

Under the dim light in front of Shrek's back door, a couple was kissing passionately, their figures overlapping, as if pink bubbles were floating all around them.

The dim lighting prevented the two women from clearly seeing the faces of the two people kissing, but the dark red Shrek Academy uniform worn by the man was quite clearly visible.

"Hurry up, stop looking." Fuya was a little shy, and tugged at Ying Shuangshuang, who was curiously looking around and unwilling to move. She couldn't help but quicken her pace.

How embarrassing!

This was the first time Fuya had ever seen such a scene in her life, and she couldn't help but feel her heart race.

Only after Fuya pulled her through the back door and she could no longer see the couple did Ying Shuangshuang reluctantly turn her gaze away, muttering, "Strange, there's only one week left until the Sea God's Fate. Why isn't that senior with that senior at the Sea God's Fate?"

I had a feeling that the two of them were acting a little secretive.

Fuya suppressed her embarrassment as she recalled the scene from earlier, then shook her head. "That girl wasn't wearing the inner academy's uniform. Perhaps... she's not a student of Shrek Academy?"

"Alright." Ying Shuangshuang sighed softly, feeling sorry for the two of them.

If one is not a student of Shrek Academy's inner court, they probably won't be able to receive the blessing from the Sea God's Fate.

"Speaking of which..." Ying Shuangshuang's big eyes darted around, and she nudged Fuya, who was standing next to her, with her shoulder. "Fuya, do you have someone you like?"

“Shuangshuang, you…” Fuya’s face flushed even more, “What are you saying?”

"I know!" Ying Shuangshuang giggled. "Isn't it the boss? I always feel like you're different in front of the boss than usual."

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Fuya stomped her foot in embarrassment and indignation. "Shuangshuang! Don't talk nonsense. The boss is a respected elder."