A Bite of Douluo Continent

However, unlike when everyone gathered together at noon, the ministers had now returned to normal, arriving at the Cold Food Festival earlier or later. Because of the time intervals, there was no queue, but the business inside the restaurant still seemed to be quite good.

Zhou Yuan was sitting in the Hanshi Festival, enjoying the Longjing shrimp and waiting for the other dishes to be served, when he suddenly noticed a figure walking in through the door. His chopsticks froze in his hand.

Why is the Imperial Tutor here?

Chapter 493 A Person Who Eats Rice and Cultivates Moral Character in the Mortal World (Seeking Monthly Tickets and Recommendations)

Zhou Yuan wasn't the only one to discover that De Hongchen had entered the Cold Food Festival. Other ministers also noticed this Imperial Tutor, who rarely attended the morning court session, even after several months. If it weren't for the need to conceal their identities, they might have already stood up and bowed to the Imperial Tutor. Even so, they still showed obvious signs of abnormality.

De Hongchen's eyes flickered slightly, and as his lips moved, his voice reached the ears of all the ministers in the dining area.

"I'm just here for a meal. You can ignore me and go about your business."

After De Hongchen spoke, the ministers calmed down and continued to play their roles as useless servants.

A hint of doubt flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes.

The Imperial Tutor never attends court, so how could he know about the plans discussed in the court?

He then chuckled softly.

I almost forgot about the Master of the Red Dust Hall. It must have been the Master of the Red Dust Hall who told the Imperial Tutor.

With his doubts dispelled, he continued to savor his Longjing shrimp while patiently waiting for the other dishes to be served.

"Your shredded pork with garlic sauce and white rice are here."

Zhou Yuan didn't have to wait long. Qi Han quickly brought out the rest of Zhou Yuan's dishes and then noticed the sprightly-looking old man who had just walked into the dining area.

Is this a new face? Didn't they come yesterday?

That should have nothing to do with Xu Jiyun. Could it be that a resident from the neighborhood just happened to be passing by and came in for a meal?

Seeing De Hongchen's simple, coarse cloth robe, which was completely different from the other diners, Qi Han became even more certain. He then walked towards the other person with a friendly smile on his face.

"Grandpa, what would you like to eat?"

As he got closer, Qi Han noticed that this old man was somewhat different from ordinary old men.

His eyes didn't have the cloudy look typical of elderly people; instead, they were clear like a baby's, a deep blue like the ocean. He wasn't particularly robust, and his height, similar to Qi Han's, appeared slightly shorter due to his age and slight hunchback. His ruddy, healthy face carried a gentle smile, giving people a feeling of warmth and comfort.

De Hongchen first looked Qi Han over carefully, then found a seat and sat down. "Young man, are these lunch boxes yours?"

As he spoke, he handed the lunchbox he was carrying to Qi Han.

"Yes." Qi Han nodded, recalling the middle-aged man who had asked him for a takeout container at noon.

Thinking back to the middle-aged man who hadn't come with other diners at noon but was also introduced by Xu Jiyun, Qi Han realized that his previous guess was wrong.

But it's not a big problem.

After taking the food box, Qi Han began to introduce the menu, "This is our menu. Just tell me what you want to eat. Please note that we do not allow waste."

"Waste?" De Hongchen shook his head. "Such delicious food, I can't bear to waste it. Young man, you go ahead and do your work. Let me take a look at the menu first."

"Okay." Having finished explaining everything, Qi Han saw the old man begin to look at the menu, turned around and went back to the kitchen to continue cooking for the next customer.

Hmm... I'm getting busy today. Should we hire a waiter/waitress?

Never mind, I'll see in a few days.

With these thoughts in mind, Qi Han wielded his knife with lightning speed, quickly slicing the ingredients into uniformly thin slices.

A cook is a person of passion, a soul of cooking, cooking makes you a superior person!

...

De Hongchen slowly withdrew his gaze from Qi Han, a strange light flickering in his eyes. He then turned his attention back to the menu, slowly flipping through it while muttering to himself.

"There's quite a variety of dishes... Wait, is this a drawing? It looks so tempting! Just looking at it makes me hungry... Let me see... This squirrel-shaped mandarin fish looks delicious, I'll have some. And this too..."

After a while, when Qi Han passed by De Hongchen again, the old man, who was looking at the menu with great interest, suddenly looked up and said, "Young man, I know what to eat."

"Please go ahead." Qi Han casually took out a pen, preparing to take notes.

"One serving of squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, one serving of Mapo tofu, and one serving of white rice."

As De Hongchen spoke, he glanced at the other dishes on the menu.

Alas, it's a pity he doesn't have a big appetite and can't eat that much, otherwise he would love to try all the dishes at once.

I'll just have to come more often in the future.

If every dish at this Cold Food Festival were as delicious as the dragon beard noodles and sweet and sour pork at noon, I might as well come here for every meal from now on.

De Hongchen stroked his beard, chuckled, and his face grew increasingly expectant.

He didn't have to wait long before the dishes for De Hongchen were served. The first dishes were Mapo Tofu and white rice, while the Squirrel Mandarin Fish would have to wait a while longer.

He pulled the plate of Mapo Tofu slightly closer to himself, and a unique spicy aroma, mixed with the rich fragrance of soybeans, slowly entered De Hongchen's nostrils.

this smell...

De Hongchen sniffed, and his eyes lit up instantly.

The sweet and sour pork he had eaten at noon, and the savory dragon beard noodles, were already captivated by these two flavors. Now, smelling the spicy aroma he had never experienced before, De Hongchen felt invigorated.

The tofu pieces on the plate were piled up one by one. Their extremely soft and tender texture caused them to deform slightly due to being squeezed together. The surface of the tofu was covered with a deep brownish-red sauce of fermented black beans and crushed chili peppers. The sauce evenly coated each piece of tofu, which reflected a crystal-clear luster under the light. Just seeing its tempting appearance made De Hongchen swallow hard.

Try it.

Without hesitation, he reached out with his chopsticks and gently picked up a piece of tofu.

Although the tofu looked extremely soft and tender, it wasn't as difficult to pick up as I had expected, or as likely to break apart when picked up. Although it wobbled and deformed slightly when picked up with chopsticks, the tofu itself remained intact.

Just by looking at this tofu, De Hongchen could almost imagine how smooth and wonderful it would feel when it entered his mouth.

As soon as the tofu touched his tongue, the Mapo Tofu broth coating it instantly touched his taste buds, and a crispy, spicy, and numbing flavor that De Hongchen had never experienced before exploded between his lips and teeth unexpectedly.

As the soft, tender tofu melts in your mouth with a gentle squeeze, it releases its rich bean flavor, blending with the Mapo Tofu broth. This intertwines two distinct yet complementary flavors, creating a taste so exquisite that De Hongchen exclaimed in admiration.

After finishing a piece of tofu, savoring the lingering salty, savory, and spicy flavors in his mouth, De Hongchen's gaze involuntarily drifted to the glistening white rice grains placed to the side, each one as lustrous as a pearl.

The white rice looked far more tempting than any rice De Hongchen had ever seen. Now, with the lingering delicious taste of Mapo Tofu in his mouth, De Hongchen looked at the white rice as if it were a supreme delicacy.

He picked up a small ball of rice and put it in his mouth, feeling each grain of rice slowly break apart as he chewed. The sweet taste of rice and the lingering Mapo Tofu soup in his mouth gradually blended together, and a smile involuntarily appeared on De Hongchen's face.

The combination of Mapo Tofu and rice is absolutely wonderful.

He started cooking faster.

Chapter 494 Imperial Edict and a Chance Encounter

As De Hongchen gradually increased the speed of cooking, soon there was hardly any Mapo Tofu and white rice left.

Just as he was about to finish the remaining white rice and Mapo Tofu, he saw Qi Han slowly walking towards him, carrying a plate in his hand. A unique aroma, similar to sweet and sour pork but with a hint of tomato and fish, wafted into De Hongchen's nostrils almost as soon as Qi Han approached, causing him to pause in his eating.

This taste...is it squirrel mandarin fish?

Having already seen the detailed description of the Squirrel Mandarin Fish on the menu, De Hongchen naturally knew that it was a sweet and sour dish, somewhat similar to the sweet and sour pork he had for lunch.

Thinking of the delicious taste of the sweet and sour pork at noon, he looked expectantly at the dish in Qi Han's hand, which was open like flower petals and had a particularly bright eggplant red color.

"Squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, please enjoy." Qi Han placed the squirrel-shaped mandarin fish in front of De Hongchen, then walked back to the kitchen.

Looking at the squirrel-shaped mandarin fish in front of him, which was exactly the same as the picture on the menu and even more tempting, and smelling the increasingly rich sweet and sour aroma as he got closer, De Hongchen swallowed and couldn't help but quickly pick up his chopsticks and take a piece of fish.

I wonder which tastes better, the squirrel-shaped mandarin fish or the sweet and sour pork?

With that thought in mind, he quickly put the fish thread into his mouth.

The sweet and sour sauce on the surface of the squirrel-shaped mandarin fish has a similar taste to that of sweet and sour pork, but there are some differences between the two sauces. From the perspective of color, the sauce on the surface of the squirrel-shaped mandarin fish contains tomato sauce. Therefore, in the same sweet and sour taste, the special flavor of tomato adds a touch of freshness and wonderful taste.

Beneath the thickened sauce lies a delicate layer of fish strips wrapped in a crispy crust. Deep-fried to a golden brown, the surface is exceptionally crispy while tightly encasing the fish meat inside, locking in all the essence and freshness of the fish.

With one bite, the crispy coating breaks, revealing the incredibly tender and juicy fish, causing De Hongchen to involuntarily show an expression of enjoyment.

This squirrel-shaped mandarin fish is delicious! It's just as good as sweet and sour pork, and even surpasses it in appearance.

De Hongchen gently picked up a tender red shrimp that had fallen onto the squirrel-shaped mandarin fish and put it in his mouth.

The green peas and shrimp only undergo simple processing and blanching to remove any fishy smell. They are simply added as ingredients to enhance the color of the squirrel-shaped mandarin fish. Even so, Qi Han would never be careless. The shrimp are bouncy and tender, and the surface is coated with a sweet and sour sauce, which is also an extremely delicious flavor.

Following the same method, De Hongchen picked up another green bean and put it in his mouth, savoring the wonderful taste of the slightly soft green bean with its own bean flavor and the sweet and sour tomato juice blended together. His expression became more and more satisfied.

What a delicious dish!

Including white rice, De Hongchen has tasted five kinds of food during the Cold Food Festival. The culinary experience brought to De Hongchen by these five foods is unprecedented. What is even more amazing is that each of these foods is distinctly different and has its own unique flavor.

If it's cold food, then all other foods are the same...

The anticipation in De Hongchen's eyes intensified.

It's decided, I'll come here for Hanshi (Cold Food Festival) every day from now on.

Thinking of this, he looked intently at Qi Han, who was busy in the kitchen.

I wonder how much longer I can enjoy this delicious food...

Qi Han, what is your purpose in coming to Sun and Moon?

If you can truly bring something unexpected to the Sun and Moon Continent... then this old man will have to get moving.

...

The most stable location during a tornado is actually at its inner center.

The entire Ming capital had been thrown into turmoil by the appearance of the Cold Food Festival, but Qi Han, at the center of the storm, was completely unaware.

As the second day of business came to a close, Qi Han happily opened the task panel for the eleventh branch task. Seeing that the task progress, which was originally only in single digits, had suddenly increased to three digits, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

This whole thing was thanks to Xu Jiyun.

My good brother!

The ministers who ate lunch here at noon basically all returned for the Cold Food Festival in the evening, and after their second visit, they became repeat customers.

Although the emergence of this batch of returning customers was unexpected and such growth is unlikely to occur again in the short term, Qi Han was still very happy to see the task progress, which was much more pleasing than before.

Time flies, and eight days have passed in the blink of an eye.