A Bite of Douluo Continent

Hanshi Restaurant has been open for business in Mingdu for a full ten days, and during these ten days, its business has remained stable, which has made Qi Han increasingly relieved.

It seems that Mingde Hall and the royal family of the Sun Moon Empire have not yet noticed them.

That's true. It's just a small restaurant, located in such a remote location. How can a nobody like us be easily noticed?

Over the past ten days, new diners have gradually come to Hanshi. Although the number is not large due to the remoteness of the area, the cumulative effect has brought Qi Han's return customer target to around 300. It seems that achieving the target of 1,000 return customers within 30 days of opening should not be a problem.

That's something to be happy about.

Besides that, there was something else that made Qi Han happy but also puzzled: the changes in the surrounding area.

Not long after Han Shi opened his shop, three new shops moved in nearby. After a quick renovation, these three shops opened for business. Qi Han even took a friendly stroll through their shops to patronize his new neighbors' businesses.

What he didn't expect was that this was just the beginning.

After that, new shops opened one after another in the nearby streets, and new neighbors appeared almost every day. Now, almost the entire commercial area is filled with newly opened shops, a bizarre situation that left Qi Han feeling baffled.

The booming business in the surrounding area is naturally a good thing. With the opening of various new stores, this area is no longer the bleak place where hardly anyone comes every day. This has further accelerated the progress of Qi Han's side quest eleven.

But it seems that these new stores only appeared after the Cold Food Festival started operating?

Could their appearance be related to the Cold Food Festival?

Which brilliant strategist saw the bright future of the Cold Food Festival and invested in the nearby commercial district in advance?

After much thought, Qi Han could only think of this possibility.

Before he could figure out the problem, an imperial edict issued by the Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire was posted throughout the entire Ming capital.

The imperial edict detailed the ins and outs of the court's discussion on using Mingke Street as a pilot area to build a number of commercially prosperous zones, thereby driving the development and prosperity of remote neighborhoods, which made Qi Han suddenly realize the truth.

It's likely that some wealthy merchants with connections in the imperial court learned of the situation in advance and made arrangements here to seize the initiative, but this matter has little to do with the Cold Food Festival.

So Qi Han was really lucky. He originally thought it would be very difficult to complete the mission in this remote Mingke Street, but unexpectedly, he came across the opportunity just in time for Mingdu to build Mingke Street...

"Ruyi, I'm pretty lucky, right?" Thinking of this, Qi Han couldn't help but show off to Ruyi.

Ruyi, who knew the whole story, said: "..."

Chapter 495 Survival and Schemes (Seeking monthly votes and recommendations)

"Ah Yun, His Majesty has posted a new imperial edict!" A girl with short pink hair barged into the laboratory somewhat clumsily.

In the laboratory, Meng Yunming paused in her work of inscribing the core magic array. She turned to the newcomer with a hint of helplessness, "Yuqing, why didn't you knock before coming in? If my hand had slipped, this level four acceleration magic array would have been ruined."

"Who told you to use such a simple access code for your lab?" The pink-haired girl, called Yuqing, laughed carelessly. "It's always your birthday, don't you know how to change it?"

“There aren’t many people who know my birthday, and you’re the only one who comes in without knocking.” Meng Yun rolled her eyes playfully. “We can talk about it after I finish inscribing this magic array.”

"Alright!" Yuqing tiptoed closer to Meng Yun, watching with some envy as a piece of blue-patterned copper slowly developed various complex patterns and standard holes under the standard engraving knife in Meng Yun's hand, eventually becoming a level four core magic array.

At only level 39, she still has a long way to go before becoming a level 4 Soul Master.

After carefully completing the inscription of the Level 4 Acceleration Array, Meng Yun breathed a sigh of relief and began to clean up and collect the metal scraps on the workbench.

Blue-veined copper is a rare metal with considerable value. These metal scraps can be recycled by remelting to obtain two or three grams of blue-veined copper. The rare metal resources needed by Soul Masters to make Soul Tools are expensive. Meng Yun, who does not have much of a background, has long since learned to make careful use of the rare metal resources distributed by the academy every month.

"Ah Yun, have you mastered all the level four basic core magic arrays?" A voice suddenly appeared beside Meng Yun, startling the girl who had just breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she realized that her roommate Zhao Yuqing had been waiting for her for a long time.

Looking back at the pink-haired girl who had appeared beside him at some point, Meng Yun shook his head and chuckled, "Not yet. There are a total of 142 level-four basic core magic arrays. My teacher only started teaching me after I absorbed my fourth soul ring and my soul power level reached level 41. So far, I've only mastered more than 90 of them."

"That's amazing, especially considering it's only been a little over ten days." Zhao Yuqing said with envy, "Once you've mastered all the basic core magic arrays, you can start using them to create level four soul tools. I wonder when I'll reach level forty..."

"It'll be soon." Meng Yun rubbed his roommate's head. "As long as you spend more time cultivating instead of going out, the last level won't be difficult... Anyway, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Oh right, I almost forgot the important thing." Zhao Yuqing slapped her forehead, only then remembering the purpose of her visit. "His Majesty has issued a new decree, and many people in the academy are talking about it!"

"A new decree?" Having just reached the fourth ring, Meng Yun had been spending all his time in the laboratory practicing the basic core magic array of the fourth level, striving to obtain the fourth-level Soul Master badge as soon as possible, completely oblivious to anything else. "Does it have anything to do with the academy?"

"No, not at all." Zhao Yuqing chuckled. "His Majesty plans to develop Mingke Street into the second commercial center of Mingdu. It's said that once it's completed, Mingke Street might be just as good as Riyue Avenue. It seems to be getting lively there now. It's the weekend, so why don't you come with me for a stroll?"

“But I…” Meng Yun’s eyes showed a hint of interest, but then he hesitated.

"You've been in the lab for over ten days now, you should take a break," Zhao Yuqing said, shaking Meng Yun's hand.

“That’s not the reason.” Meng Yun shook his head. “Half a month ago, Qi Sen and I went to the Jingyang Mountains to test the soul tool, but he died in an accident. The investigation team hasn’t released its final results yet, so I can’t leave the academy at will.”

After returning from the Jingyang Mountains, Meng Yun reported the words she had prepared on the way to the academy and handed over Qi Sen's storage soul tool to prove her innocence. As for everything related to Qi Han, she never told anyone else.

However, because it involves the death of a student, Meng Yun's unilateral explanation cannot be directly accepted by the academy. The academy has already dispatched an investigation team to Jingyang Mountain Range to investigate the situation. During this period, she is still suspected of murdering her classmate and cannot easily leave the academy.

Qi Sen's teacher was furious and insisted that the college hold Meng Yun accountable.

These days, Meng Yun has been spending all his time in the laboratory, perhaps to avoid trouble.

So, despite wanting to go out and see the world, Meng Yun couldn't accept her roommate's invitation.

"Xiaoyun, you can go out now." Just then, a voice came from outside the laboratory, and then an intelligent middle-aged woman slowly walked in, looking at Meng Yun with a complicated expression.

“Teacher, I…” Meng Yun opened her eyes wide and looked at her mentor.

"The investigation results are in. Qi Sen's death has nothing to do with you. You will no longer be restricted from entering or leaving the academy."

"But what about Teacher Li?" Meng Yun asked, a hint of unease in her voice.

Teacher Li is Qi Sen's teacher. If I go out like this, the other party probably won't let it go.

"Don't worry, he won't say anything more." Qin Wanqiu shook her head, indicating to her student that he could rest assured.

However, her mind was not as calm as it appeared.

She knew her disciple very well. Based on some subtle actions Meng Yun made when he returned and reported back, Qin Wanqiu guessed that Qi Sen's death must be related to her disciple. Subsequent investigations also proved that Meng Yun and Qi Sen's death were related.

However, just as she was trying to find a way to protect her disciple, a secret order came from the palace to suppress the matter and to forbid Qi Sen's teacher from causing trouble for Meng Yun because of it.

When did this disciple with an ordinary background become connected with the palace?

Thinking of this, Qin Wanqiu frowned slightly, and a deeper meaning appeared in her eyes.

Meng Yun didn't notice anything unusual about her teacher's expression. After learning that her suspicion had been cleared after the investigation, the gloom that had been weighing on her heart for more than ten days was instantly swept away, and the expression on her face relaxed a bit. "Then, teacher, Yuqing and I will go for a stroll on Mingke Street."

"Go ahead." Qin Wanqiu forced a smile, but after the two women cheered and left the laboratory, her expression turned serious again.

It was clearly a good thing that Meng Yun was protected by the palace, but why did she always feel that Meng Yun seemed to be involved in even greater trouble?

...

Inside the council hall, Prime Minister Zhou Yuan was discussing political affairs with Xu Haolong when a noise suddenly came from outside the door.

"Urgent report from the Secret Service!"

"Come in." Xu Haolong said loudly, and a figure quickly entered the hall. The figure first bowed to the two people, and then carefully handed the secret report in his hand to Xu Haolong.

After opening the report and glancing at it, Xu Haolong smiled and handed it to Zhou Yuan. "That student from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy named Meng Yun is already on his way to Mingke Street."

Ten days was enough time for them to search for any trace of Qi Han in any city on the Sun Moon Continent. Many pieces of information that they didn't know before were also revealed in the process.

Although Qi Han and his group tried their best to hide their true intentions throughout the process, they still managed to slip up in the end.

Qi Han had appeared near the Jingyang Mountains, and at almost the same time, a student from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy died in the Jingyang Mountains. These two seemingly unrelated events were thus linked together.

As the sole survivor and a highly likely witness, Meng Yun quickly attracted the attention of Prime Minister Zhou Yuan.

Since there were no concrete clues at the moment, and given that Meng Yun's identity as a member of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy required him to consider the feelings of the Imperial Tutor and the Master of the Red Dust Hall, Zhou Yuan and Xu Haolong decided, after discussing it, to subtly arrange for Meng Yun and Qi Han to meet, observe their reactions, and then make further plans.

If it can be confirmed that Meng Yun and Qi Han know each other, then many plans can proceed smoothly.

The emperor and his minister exchanged a knowing smile, their eyes filled with unspoken understanding.

Chapter 496 It's you?!

"call…"

Stepping out of the training space, Qi Han let out a soft sigh of relief.

Zilong's training progress in removing his armor was better than he had expected, probably because many of his skills had already reached the perfect level. The training speed for this four-star dish was faster than that for the previous Peony Fish Slices.

He has been practicing this dish for over ten days now, and according to Qi Han's own estimate, he will need about another month of practice before he can completely master this "Dragon's Armor Removal" dish.

By then, he should have already returned to Shrek City and wouldn't need to worry about the unusual phenomena and noises caused by cooking four-star dishes causing unnecessary trouble.

Shrek City is Qi Han's home turf.

perfect.

Feeling pleased with himself, Qi Han looked towards the entrance of the cold food shop.

In the past ten days, Hanshi has accumulated a lot of loyal customers. After the imperial edict was issued yesterday, Mingke Street, which was almost deserted, suddenly became lively. Although the construction is not yet fully completed, residents from other parts of Mingdu would come to check on Mingke Street whenever they had free time.

As a result, the long lines of diners waiting in front of the restaurant every day made the cold food stall particularly eye-catching.

Therefore, starting yesterday, the number of diners for the Cold Food Festival has increased significantly.

Qi Han originally thought it would take thirty days to complete the eleventh side quest issued by Ruyi, but judging from the current situation, he might be able to reach the requirement of one thousand returning customers in a few more days.

But...should we try to hire a waiter/waitress?

Looking at the crowded queue outside the door, Qi Han frowned and began to ponder.

As the number of customers in the store gradually increased, he began to find it difficult to cope. Qi Han expressed his deep nostalgia for the days when he had staff to help him run the business.

Hmm... I've decided. After closing at noon, I'll just hang a sign at the entrance.

I don't know what the salary range is like in the Sun Moon Empire, but the salary I'm offering should be quite attractive, so I shouldn't have trouble recruiting new employees.

...

"Ah Yun, look! There's such a long queue in front of that shop over there!" After strolling around the various shops that had already opened on Mingke Street, Zhao Yuqing quickly noticed the scene in front of Hanshi Gate, which was completely different from the other shops. She tugged at Meng Yun's hand in surprise, "Do you want to go take a look?"

Meng Yun glanced in the direction Zhao Yuqing was pointing, then shook his head. "Yuqing, we've been walking around for quite a while. Let's find somewhere to eat first. That shop has such a long queue; we'll probably have to wait a long time to get in. We don't even know what kind of shop it is..."

Inside the shop where the two women were, the shop manager overheard their conversation, glanced at Meng Yun with a meaningful look, and suddenly smiled and said, "If you two are hungry, now is the perfect time to go and queue up in front of that shop. It's the most popular restaurant on Mingke Street, and it's said that every dish there is the best in all of Mingke."

Upon hearing this, Meng Yun and Zhao Yuqing exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.

It was lunchtime, and both women were a little hungry. Since it was a restaurant, they figured they could wait in line.

As for the so-called best dishes in the entire city... the two women didn't quite believe it, taking it as just the manager's exaggeration.