A Bite of Douluo Continent

Although the new mission was frustrating and filled Qi Han with resentment, he quickly calmed down and continued his training in Zilong's armor removal technique. Before he knew it, an afternoon had passed. It wasn't until Ruyi reminded him that Meng Yun had arrived that Qi Han came out of the training space.

Good afternoon, boss!

Over the course of several days, Meng Yun and Qi Han gradually became familiar with each other, and at this moment, Meng Yun greeted him with a light laugh.

"Good afternoon." Qi Han smiled slightly, then closed the door. He glanced at Meng Yun and suddenly had a thought.

Although I have been in Mingdu for a while, I don't know much about it yet.

Initially, he wanted to keep a low profile, but later he got busy with business. For various reasons, Qi Han has not yet traveled around Mingdu and is still very unfamiliar with the city.

But Meng Yun is a native of Mingdu, having lived there for over a decade, and certainly knows more about the place than I do.

Regarding the question about side quest twelve, perhaps the other party can offer some ideas that I haven't thought of?

"Ruyi, will asking this violate the mission requirements?" Just in case, Qi Han decided to ask Ruyi first.

“No, but you can’t let Meng Yun subtly recommend it to diners, otherwise that would be a violation of the rules,” Ruyi quickly replied.

Then there's no problem. Qi Han hadn't originally intended for her to subtly recommend the product to diners.

What's the difference between this and personally hinting at it?

"Meng Yun, do you know any ways to quickly increase our store's visibility?" After a moment of contemplation, Qi Han asked.

Increasing brand awareness and attracting spontaneously recommended foodies are essentially the same thing, just phrased differently.

"Huh?" Meng Yun was slightly taken aback, not expecting the boss to ask such a question. "Boss, how about I ask the customers to promote our restaurant when we're open?"

"No, no." Qi Han shook his head like a rattle drum. "Such a practice would offend diners and reduce their satisfaction with dining in the restaurant, which is not advisable."

If Meng Yun did as he was told, Qi Han would be directly violating the rules, so he quickly found a reason to dissuade Meng Yun from this dangerous idea.

Upon hearing this, Meng Yun immediately felt that it made sense. She frowned and pondered for a while, and then her eyes lit up slightly.

"Boss, I've got an idea!"

Chapter 502 A Food Competition? A Food War?!

Although Meng Yun had lived in Mingdu for more than ten years, her less-than-ideal family background made her work harder than her peers from a young age. She had little knowledge of restaurant management, and if Qi Han had asked her this question three days ago, Meng Yun would not have been able to answer it either.

But things are different now. In the past three days, in order to better perform her duties as a waitress, she has taken the initiative to learn a lot about this area. Now that Qi Han asked her how to increase the popularity of Hanshi (a type of cold food), she immediately thought of a rather interesting tradition in the catering industry that she had learned about a couple of days ago.

"Boss, how about we try a food competition?" Meng Yun suggested.

"A food competition?" Qi Han raised an eyebrow. Although he didn't know what it was, it must be some kind of activity related to food. This strange term, which had a touch of chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur), immediately piqued his interest.

"Speak more carefully!"

"Mmm!" Meng Yun nodded and explained, "I've inquired about it. The food competition is a way for restaurants in Mingdu to resolve competition and conflicts. One restaurant can challenge another, and once the other agrees, the competition can begin."

"Each of the two competing restaurants sent their own chefs to compete. They drew lots to select three cooking themes to compete against each other. The winner was determined by a vote of 49 judges from the Mingdu Catering Association, with the best two out of three rounds."

“This…” Upon hearing this, Qi Han couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

These rules sound... a little bit like the food battles in my previous life's "Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma"?

That sounds interesting!

I never imagined that the Sun and Moon Continent had such a tradition.

"Oh, right." Meng Yun suddenly remembered something and added with a smile, "The loser in the food competition needs to announce their defeat in the most conspicuous place at the restaurant entrance, and then recommend the winning restaurant to their diners for a period of one week."

Good grief... shrimp and pig's heart, huh?

Qi Han couldn't help but grin.

"Boss, our Hanshi cuisine tastes so good, we're sure to win against other restaurants in the food competition," Meng Yun said earnestly, his eyes brimming with confidence. "If we beat a restaurant that's doing really well, they'll have to give us a week of publicity, which will boost our restaurant's reputation!"

In a word, absolutely brilliant.

Hearing Meng Yun say this, Qi Han was suddenly tempted.

If the restaurant you defeat is extremely popular, then that popularity can be converted into popularity for your side after the food competition, which is enough to allow Hanshi to gain a large number of new customers in a short period of time.

While this method doesn't directly increase the progress of side quest twelve, the large new user base will naturally attract more diners willing to spontaneously promote and recommend Hanshi...

So there's absolutely no problem!

His eyes lit up immediately.

Wonderful!

"That's a good idea." Qi Han gave Meng Yun an approving look. "I'll look into that tomorrow morning. As for the opponent... do you have any recommendations?"

"Boss, apart from Hanshi, most of the other successful restaurants are located on the Sun and Moon Continent. The two best ones are Mingtingque and Tianxingzhai."

Meng Yun smiled slightly and then began to give a detailed introduction, "Mingtingque is backed by the Sun and Moon Royal Family and specializes in various precious dishes. In contrast, Tianxingzhai is a family-run restaurant, and its dishes are relatively more affordable."

Are these the two best?

Great, let's choose one of these two!

Qi Han had just had this thought in his mind when he heard Meng Yun's detailed introduction, and his heart tightened.

Is that restaurant called Mingtingque backed by the Sun Moon Royal Family?

How about we choose Tianxingzhai instead?

Although I am no longer cowardly, it would be best to operate peacefully without attracting the attention of the Sun and Moon Imperial Family, so it is best to avoid anything related to the Imperial Family.

Since both restaurants are the best, it seems like it doesn't matter which one I challenge. Rather than challenging Mingtingque and making trouble for myself, I might as well challenge Tianxingzhai.

Tianxingzhai: You're so great, so aloof!

As for whether he would lose? Qi Han didn't need to consider it at all.

If all else fails, just bring out a three-star dish to deliver a devastating blow.

Having made up his mind, Qi Han glanced at the time and, seeing that it was getting late, smiled and said, "Alright, tell me what you want to eat for your work lunch. As for the food competition, I'll look into it tomorrow."

"Mmm!" Meng Yun nodded. "Boss, I want to eat shredded pork with garlic sauce and white rice, and also a pork tripe and chicken soup!"

Meng Yun was no longer as reserved as before, and she was more relaxed when ordering her work meal. At this moment, she ordered the dishes she had been wanting to eat for a long time without hesitation.

"Okay." Qi Han turned and walked towards the kitchen, gesturing for Meng Yun to sit down and wait a moment.

...

Time flew by, and it was the next day.

Gu Qihan got up very early and went out for the Cold Food Festival.

Yesterday, Meng Yun told him about the food competition, and he plans to learn more about it today. He also plans to visit the Sun and Moon Avenue to conduct an on-site inspection of his future rival, Tianxingzhai.

In the department store located diagonally opposite Hanshi, Fang Qing, a secret agent of the Secret Service disguised as the department store owner, also got up very early.

He gets up at this time every day and keeps a close eye on Han Shi's every move. As for the night, other secret agents are responsible for surveillance, taking turns to ensure that Han Shi is always under the surveillance of the Secret Service.

However, as more than ten days passed, Fang Qing gradually relaxed his vigilance.

He discovered that the owner of Hanshi Restaurant, named Qi Han, stayed in the store, which was completely hidden from view, before opening at noon every day and never came out, and he didn't know what he was doing.

Perhaps it's because they slept in late?

Just thinking about Fang Qing makes me angry. This guy sleeps in late, while the secret agents are monitoring him from dawn till dusk every day.

This is absolutely outrageous.

Ok?

Yu Guanghe stared at the entrance of Hanshi Restaurant as usual, when Fang Qing suddenly paused for a moment, then stood up abruptly.

Holy crap, something's up?!

Qi Han, contrary to his usual behavior, emerged from the Cold Food Festival at this time.

Is he finally about to slip up?

Just thinking about this made Fang Qing unable to suppress his excitement.

No, stay calm.

He told himself this, then took a deep breath, regained his composure, and casually walked to the shop entrance.

"Good morning, Mr. Fang!" Qi Han looked at his socially awkward neighbor and smiled. "I didn't expect you to open so early."

"Ah...right." Fang Qing forced a smile. "Where are you...going?"

"I'm going to take a stroll along Sun and Moon Avenue to check things out." Qi Han smiled slightly, making no attempt to hide his destination.

Gathering information?!

Fang Qing's heart skipped a beat.

What are you trying to find out?

Could it be the state of defense in my Ming capital?

Or perhaps they want to see if they can find a suitable opportunity to steal information related to soul tools?

No… that’s not the point!

Qi Han had already seen through our plan and knew our secret intelligence agency's identity, yet he was so blatantly telling me that he was going to the Sun and Moon Avenue to investigate.

This matter... is suspicious!

Seeing Fang Qing's expression suddenly change, Qi Han was taken aback at first, then realized what was going on.

This guy's social anxiety has flared up again.

The other person must have exhausted all their courage to say those words to themselves.

Thinking of this, he glanced at Fang Qing with pity, then headed towards the direction of the Sun and Moon Avenue.

Fang Qing's expression changed drastically.

Qi Han's look at me just now was very meaningful!

We must immediately notify the secret agents in the Secret Service who are skilled in stealth and tracking to keep a close watch on Qi Han and not give him a chance to escape the Secret Service's surveillance!

Furthermore, this matter must be reported to His Majesty as soon as possible in the form of a secret report.

Fang Qing strode into a secret room inside the store and began transmitting secret messages using the Secret Service's special communication methods.