A Bite of Douluo Continent

If this is done, then the gift becomes charity.

We had no choice but to give up.

...

Grandpa Yuehen and his grandson didn't have to wait long before their food was served.

Without disturbing the busy Qi Han any further, after finishing all the food, they simply asked Fuya to tell Qi Han before leaving quietly.

Although Yue Lian was somewhat dissatisfied and had not yet said goodbye to her brother Qi Han in person, the sensible girl did not show anything because of this. She just took a deep look at the entrance of Hanshi Restaurant when she left.

After this food festival, she'll probably have very few opportunities to come to Shrek City again, but if she gets into Shrek Academy, that will be a different story.

Lian'er will definitely work hard to get into Shrek Academy!

Not long after the Yue family grandfather and grandson left, the shop closed for business. After everyone cleaned up the dishes, Ping Xinyan and Ji Yunruo excitedly announced, "Boss! The voting results for the second day of the food festival are in!"

"Oh?" Qi Han smiled. "Judging from your expressions, the rankings are different today than yesterday?"

“Yes!” Ji Yunruo’s eyes lit up. As a member of the Cold Food Festival, she had also contributed to the festival’s achievements, so she was naturally very happy. “The top ten dishes have not changed today and yesterday, but the order among them has changed a lot!”

"Yes, yes, yes!" Ping Xinyan eagerly interjected, "Our restaurant's dishes now occupy the top eight spots!"

Upon hearing this, the other shop assistants also showed a hint of joy on their faces.

Yesterday, their dishes for the Cold Food Festival were overtaken by dishes from other restaurants, which made them quite dissatisfied. Now, they can finally hold their heads high.

Qi Han raised an eyebrow slightly, but his expression remained calm.

This was exactly what he expected.

After Gu had tasted the dishes at both restaurants, Qi Han knew that this outcome was inevitable.

Although the other party's dishes were good, they were still somewhat inferior to the eight dishes that Hanshi (the Chinese New Year) was presenting at the food festival.

Some diners may not be able to perceive the difference between the two and simply think they both taste good.

However, many more diners were able to sense it and thus cast their votes for the dishes served at the Cold Food Festival.

The gap will naturally widen over time.

Seeing that Ping Xinyan remained silent, Ji Yunruo hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking, "But... the number one dish of the Cold Food Festival is no longer Jade Dragon Tendon."

"Ok?"

Hearing this, Qi Han raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Then what dish is number one?"

"It's a squirrel-shaped mandarin fish."

This was a situation that Qi Han had not considered.

Logically speaking, three-star dishes should taste better than two-star dishes, and they also have special magical effects, so they should be more popular.

Why did Wensi Tofu and Jade Dragon Tendon, two three-star dishes, receive fewer votes than Squirrel Mandarin Fish?

Qi Han fell into deep thought. Ke Ke, standing next to the Qin sisters, glanced at the thoughtful Qi Han and then spoke up, "Boss, the number of recommendation votes for today has been tallied. Squirrel Mandarin Fish is also in first place, and the number of recommendation votes for the five three-star dishes is not high."

ha?

Qi Han was somewhat bewildered.

In the food festival voting, it's understandable that even two three-star dishes couldn't outshine the Squirrel Mandarin Fish.

Why is it that even with five three-star dishes recommended by the Hanshi Restaurant, none of them can compete with the Squirrel Mandarin Fish?

Is this reasonable?

"Do you think... the squirrel-shaped mandarin fish is more delicious than those five dishes with special effects?" Looking at the seven shop assistants in front of him, Qi Han couldn't help but ask.

Could it be that the tastes of the people in Douluo Continent are different from mine?

Although the squirrel-shaped mandarin fish is delicious, it is still inferior to those five three-star dishes.

The seven staff members exchanged glances and then spoke up, saying that they all thought the dishes with special effects were more delicious.

This…

For a moment, Qi Han was completely baffled.

"Could it be... because of the price?" After hesitating for a moment, Fuya asked softly.

"How so?" Qi Han became interested and pressed for an answer.

“Although the menu now states which dishes have special effects, only a minority of people can afford them.” Seeing Qi Han looking at her with encouraging eyes, Fuya continued, “Normally, people vote for the dishes they’ve tried, right?”

"Could it be that because fewer customers have tried the purple-label dishes, even if everyone votes for them, their vote count will still be lower than that of the other dishes?"

Qi Han suddenly fell silent.

He felt that Fuya's guess was very close to the truth.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Samsung's dishes are selling more than before; they can sell dozens of servings in a single business day.

But which of the other dishes doesn't sell hundreds of servings?

Therefore, based on the number of votes cast, Samsung cuisine is naturally at a disadvantage.

If it were just a food festival, it wouldn't really matter; no matter which dish in the restaurant became number one, it wouldn't prevent him from completing the system task.

But... what about the nomination vote system?

Is it really possible that the three-star recipe will lose the vote and be replaced by the one-star and two-star recipes?

Chapter 316 The most delicious isn't necessarily the best.

After thinking for a long time, Qi Han still couldn't figure out how to deal with the situation. Seeing that the shop assistants were still looking at him expectantly, he smiled and said, "It's almost time, everyone should go back first."

"Don't worry about the squirrel mandarin fish incident. As long as we still come in first place, that's enough."

Upon hearing this, the shop assistants seemed to agree, so they quickly collected their belongings and headed home.

It was already getting dark, and it wouldn't be safe for the girls to go back any later.

Watching the shop assistants disappear into the twilight, Qi Han closed the door and carried Gulu back to his room on the second floor.

There are still five days left in the first round of voting for the recommendation tickets. The issue of the low number of votes for the three-star recipe is not urgent. I may need to think about it some more.

Lying in bed with his eyes closed, Qi Han quickly drifted off to sleep.

...

The next morning, just like the day before, Qi Han was woken up early by Ruyi and then went to the middle-aged owner's shop at the end of the food street to have breakfast.

This shop does offer a wide variety of breakfast options. Qi Han has only tried a few of them so far, and there are about ten other options that he has never heard of before and hasn't had a chance to try yet.

Qi Han was equally curious about the delicacies he hadn't yet tasted, so without much hesitation, he chose to come back here again.

Upon seeing Qi Han's return, the middle-aged shop owner smiled more broadly. "Mr. Qi, what would you like to eat today?"

Perhaps because Qi Han arrived earlier this morning, there were no customers at the stall at the moment.

Qi Han first glanced at the breakfast price list, then said, "I'll have a crab cake, a crispy fried meatball, and a sweet and soft taro."

"Another bowl of plain porridge, please."

Qi Han said that the congee he had eaten yesterday was really amazing and he wanted to try it again today.

As for the other three delicacies, they were new things that Qi Han hadn't tried yesterday but really wanted to try today.

Like the previous Jade Cake, these three foods are all local specialties of breakfast from various parts of Douluo Continent.

"Alright, Mr. Qi, please wait a moment." The middle-aged boss chuckled and then got to work.

All the food was prepared in advance. The pastries were placed in a steamer to prevent them from drying out or getting cold, while the porridge was placed in a large pot and covered to keep it warm.

While the middle-aged owner was getting Qi Han's breakfast, Qi Han carefully observed the breakfast price list hanging on the side.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered the problem that hadn't been solved yesterday.

Could this middle-aged boss offer some inspiration?

He hadn't noticed it before, but upon closer inspection now, he discovered something different.

The owner's menu displays a variety of dishes with inconsistent prices; sometimes one dish is cheap, while the next is much more expensive.

"Mr. Qi?"

The middle-aged man's voice brought Qi Han back to his senses; he had already prepared Qi Han's breakfast.

Taking the plate in one hand and the bowl of congee in the other, Qi Han didn't immediately turn around and put the breakfast down. He looked at the middle-aged man seriously and asked, "Hello, I would like to ask you, what is the basis for your price list?"

"The basis for arranging the prices?" The middle-aged man scratched his head, looked at his price list, and asked, "You mean the order in which these foods are listed?"

"Yes."

"Well..." the middle-aged man smiled, "of course, it's adjusted based on how well it sells. Foods that sell better and more are placed in the front."

"But what if some foods are delicious, but don't sell well because they are more expensive?" Qi Han couldn't help but ask.

“Of course.” The middle-aged man pointed to one of the last few items on the price list. “For example, this dish called Dragon Rolling is one of the most delicious dishes in my shop. However, because it contains some dragon-type soul beast meat, the cost is very high, so I have to set the price at 5 gold soul coins.”

"This price is fine for lunch or dinner, but it's quite expensive for breakfast, so not many customers come to our restaurant to try it, and I put it last."

“But…” Qi Han raised an eyebrow, “This Dragon Rolling is probably the best food on your stall. Shouldn’t the best be placed at the front?”

Upon hearing Qi Han's words, the middle-aged boss suddenly fell silent.

After a long pause, he chuckled softly, “Mr. Qi, I asked my father the same question when I was young.”

“This shop was passed down from my father, and he also taught me how to make delicious food.”

“Back then, I had just started learning how to make various breakfast dishes from him, and I asked him, ‘The dragon roll is so expensive, wouldn’t it be more profitable to put it in front of the table?’”

"My father said something to me back then, and I still remember it to this day." The middle-aged boss's face showed a hint of reminiscence and sigh, and after a while, he smiled gently, "I'm passing on those words to you now, hoping they can answer your questions."

"For a chef, the best is not the most delicious, but the diners' favorite."

Qi Han stood there, then suddenly fell silent.

It wasn't until new customers came into the shop and started talking to the middle-aged man that Qi Han snapped out of his daze.

"Phew..." Qi Han let out a soft sigh, turned around and placed the breakfast in his hand on a table in front of the stall, then sat down, a thoughtful expression on his face.

The middle-aged man's words were like a wake-up call for him.