A Bite of Douluo Continent

Volume 3: Stories on the Tip of the Tongue.

This volume is actually more slice-of-life in style. Whether it's the part about the Sea God's Fate that's full of sweet romance at the beginning, or the descriptions of various delicacies at the food festival later on, it's all very everyday content. As a result, some readers have complained that this volume feels like it has too much food description and too little story content.

The best part of this volume, in my opinion, is the improved descriptions of the cooking steps. They also incorporated some reader suggestions and added descriptions of local cuisine. But honestly, that was a bit difficult, since "local cuisine" basically means making things up…

In the next volume, I will add some more storytelling and make some adjustments to the plot. It's a new attempt, and I hope it will satisfy everyone.

Here's a preview of a new volume!

Volume 4: Good morning, good night.

May the breakfast and late-night snack of the Cold Food Festival accompany you from waking up to going to sleep. Bosses, remember to eat well!

Finally, here's a preview of a special bonus update event for New Year's Day.

After midnight tonight, from 00:01 to 00:23, I will update one chapter per minute, for a total of 23 chapters. It's not too much to ask for a subscription, right?

By the way, I'm asking for a guaranteed monthly vote after midnight. All monthly votes from January 1st to 7th will be doubled.

Test Chapter

It's nothing, just testing it out. I'll delete it after midnight...

Chapter 356 A Brand New Cold Food Festival

The Cold Food Festival shop in Shrek City has remained unchanged since its opening day.

If we don't include changes to some interior furnishings, such as price tags.

So after becoming an intermediate chef and gaining the right to expand and renovate, Qi Han simply gave the small shop a complete makeover.

The original two-story building, which was just over 100 square meters, was expanded by Ruyi to a super-large scale of over 500 square meters, and it changed from two floors to three floors.

With such a significant change in the interior space, the exterior naturally couldn't remain unchanged. From the outside, the Cold Food Festival now appears to be a whole size larger than before, not only more than doubling in length and width but also noticeably taller by one floor.

As a result, Qi Han was worried that such a big change happening in one day might seem shocking.

Fortunately, Ruyi quickly reassured Qi Han, because she had anticipated this situation. Twenty days ago, after Qi Han left, Ruyi put the shop into a very special state. Apart from Qi Han's disciples and shop staff, no one else could observe the condition of Hanshi. The entire Hanshi was as if it were covered up.

Therefore, apart from the shop assistants and Ye Lingqing, in the eyes of others, the transformation of Hanshi was completed within twenty days, not overnight.

The renovation was completed in twenty days, which is a little unscientific, but it is much more acceptable than expanding overnight.

"Teacher, is this really our shop?" Upon entering the shop, Ye Lingqing's face was still full of disbelief. "How did it suddenly become so big?"

“Of course it’s our shop.” Qi Han smiled slightly. “I’ll take Zhuiyun to see its own beast pen first, and you can wander around.”

After saying that, Qi Han led Zhuiyun, who seemed impatient all the way, towards the backyard of the shop.

Zhuiyun has high expectations for her new home.

The original Cold Food Festival did not have a backyard, but now it does, and most of the backyard area has been converted into a beast shed for Zhuiyun.

Although it couldn't compare to the grasslands where one could run freely, for Zhuiyun, such a spacious animal shed with incredibly soft hay was unprecedented; it was like moving from a small bungalow into a large villa.

So when he saw his new home, Zhuiyun was so excited that he couldn't help but jump in and frolic, occasionally letting out a "hissing" cheer.

Seeing Zhuiyun so happy, Qi Han, who was also standing in the animal pen, couldn't help but smile.

"Meow~"

What's there to be proud of? I sleep with my human every day!

Gulu let out a soft, dissatisfied cry and snuggled against Qi Han's chest a couple of times.

I'm not jealous at all!

...

After Qi Han left, Ye Lingqing's eyes lit up as she began counting the tables in the dining area.

"...Twenty-nine...thirty!"

He remembered that there were only eight four-person tables in the store before, but now, although the number of tables in the store is still the same four-person tables, it has increased several times to thirty.

So... what about the kitchen?

Ye Lingqing quickly passed through the partition and entered the kitchen. After just one glance, she couldn't help but let out a soft "Wow!"

Because she had been learning from Qi Han in the kitchen of Hanshi, Ye Lingqing was even more familiar with the kitchen than with the dining area.

In an instant, he noticed something different about the kitchen.

Although Ruyi's planning and utilization of the interior space was exceptionally scientific, as Qi Han mastered more and more types of dishes, the kitchen utensils and various cutting-edge technologies required were constantly emerging, and the original kitchen had long since become cramped.

At this moment, the cramped kitchen became spacious again, and Ye Lingqing soon discovered that the work surface had become much larger than before, and the number of steamers had increased significantly. In addition, there was a new thing in the kitchen that she had never seen before.

As Ye Lingqing drew closer, a set of kitchen utensils with horizontal bars, resembling a shelf, came into view.

What kind of kitchen utensil is this?

There are no barbecue grills in Douluo Continent. All the skewers are extra large and are either held directly up to be grilled or grilled in an oven. Therefore, when Ye Lingqing saw the strangely shaped barbecue grill, she was immediately puzzled.

"Tap tap".

After settling Qi Han in, Gu An returned to the shop and went into the kitchen. "How is it? Are you familiar with the situation on the first floor?"

"Teacher, this is..."

Seeing Ye Lingqing pointing at the barbecue grill, Qi Han smiled and said, "This is a kitchen utensil called a barbecue grill, which is specially used to grill all kinds of barbecues."

"barbecue?"

"It's similar to grilled meat skewers, but with some differences."

"Oh, oh." Upon hearing Qi Han's words, Ye Lingqing immediately understood and glanced at the kitchen utensil called a barbecue grill with some surprise.

Are these kebabs made with this strange kitchen utensil?

I wonder what it tastes like...

wrong!

Ye Lingqing suddenly turned her head to look at Qi Han, "Teacher, is this barbecue the new dish?"

After all, the teacher said before leaving that he was going to research new dishes, and now he's talking about this brand new barbecue, so this barbecue must be a new dish that the teacher has prepared.

"Yes and no." Qi Han smiled mysteriously. "I'll tell you all about it when the four shop assistants come over, and then you'll know."

The store has undergone a complete upgrade, and this time many new dishes will be launched at once, including Xingluo City hot pot. In addition, breakfast and late-night snacks have been added. Such a big change needs to be explained clearly at once.

"Let's go check out the dining area on the second floor." Qi Han smiled. When this place was being expanded, Qi Han still chose bamboo forest ecological decoration for the second floor, which was almost the same as the second floor in Xingluo City, but the space was larger.

"Okay, teacher." Hearing this, Ye Lingqing suddenly realized that he had noticed outside the Cold Food Festival earlier that it had changed from two floors to three. "Teacher, will we be staying on the third floor from now on?"

"Yes, the second floor will be a dedicated hot pot area from now on."

"We have hot pot in our restaurant now?" Ye Lingqing was even more surprised.

During the previous food festival, Ye Lingqing spent some time with the three people from Xingluo City and had heard about the amazing way of eating hot pot. Just hearing about it, Ye Lingqing felt that the hot pot must be exceptionally delicious. It was a pity that Shrek City did not offer the cold food.

He had made a promise with Keke that Keke would treat him to hot pot whenever he went to Xingluo City!

Unexpectedly, even before going to Xingluo City, it seemed like there was already hope of eating hot pot, which made Ye Lingqing even more excited.

"Okay, let's go up."

Pulling Ye Lingqing up to the second floor, Qi Han smiled knowingly as he watched his disciple's shocked expression, as if he had never seen anything like it before.

Hmm... I'm just waiting to shock you!

"Teacher, this...this..." Looking at the magical decorations that made it seem like she had truly stepped into a bamboo forest, Ye Lingqing was speechless.

"This is a special decoration effect, not a real bamboo forest. If you don't believe me, touch that wall." Qi Han pointed to the wall closest to the two of them.

"Hmm..." Ye Lingqing tentatively reached out and touched it, only then discovering the strangeness of the place. "How amazing! Teacher, that Soul Master friend you know is so powerful!"

"Huh?" Qi Han was stunned for a moment, then remembered the words he had used to deceive his disciple, and coughed lightly, "It's alright."

Ye Lingqing then turned her gaze to the tables among the bamboo grove. "Teacher, are there forty hot pot tables here?"

“That’s good, this scale should be enough for now.” Qi Han nodded.

If that's still not enough, we'll have to find another opportunity to expand it later.

Qi Han paid over a million gold soul coins for this expansion, and he was already heartbroken.

"I'll continue to guide you in rolling out the dough. The other four will be here soon too," Qi Han said with a smile.

"There will be a lot of good news to announce then."

Chapter 357 Excited Diners

"Wow! Fuya Fuya, is this really our store?"

Seeing that the Cold Food Festival Food Stall was now much larger than before, Ying Shuang's eyes lit up. "What a big change!"

“The signs are all there, so it’s definitely Hanshi (cold food).” Fuya carefully examined the appearance of Hanshi, her eyes shining.

Given its size, the interior space of the store might even be larger than the store in Xingluo City!

"Shuangshuang! Fuya!" Two beautiful figures walked side by side; it was Ping Xinyan and Ji Yunruo.

The two women who had just arrived looked at the shop, which they hadn't seen for twenty days, with some shock. "It's changed so much!"

"... "

The four women couldn't help but chatter amongst themselves, while the diners who had already started queuing up were just as shocked as they were.

At the very front of the line, Tang Qianqiu and Qi Poxiao stood side by side.

"Isn't this shop... a bit too fast to renovate?" Tang Qianqiu raised an eyebrow. As the head of the Tang Clan, he had personally witnessed a Tang Clan branch rise from the ground and be built into a magnificent branch. Therefore, he had some understanding of construction. The renovation of Hanshi was like tearing down and rebuilding. Such a large-scale project was completed in just twenty days. This speed was truly astonishing.

Unfortunately, he took advantage of the fact that the Cold Food Festival was closed to handle some matters at the Tang Sect headquarters in Tiandou City, so he was unable to see the specific details of the Cold Food Festival's transformation. His curiosity was destined to remain unfulfilled.

Because of the Cold Food Festival, he was away from headquarters for quite some time, which caused discontent among the elders.

"It would be strange if you hadn't been around for a while, but I don't think so at all," Qi Po-xiao said with a smile. "Ever since that young Boss Qi left, even I haven't been able to get a clear picture of Han Shi. Now I'm increasingly convinced that that young Boss Qi has a powerful force behind him."