A Bite of Douluo Continent

Unlike stir-fries, soup doesn't have a strong, overpowering aroma. Perfectly cooked pork tripe and chicken soup has a subtle yet captivating fragrance, with a savory flavor that makes your mouth water.

Qi Han couldn't contain himself any longer and took a spoonful of soup.

The rich aroma of pork tripe and chicken blends together with the warmth of ginger juice. The three elements meld together, elevating the pork tripe and chicken dish to a whole new level. With just one sip of the broth, you get the essence of the entire dish.

After savoring the memory for a long time, Qi Han couldn't help but take a deep breath, and then picked up a piece of pig's stomach with his chopsticks.

The pork tripe is incredibly elastic; when you pick it up, its curled-up state is straightened, and then it quickly returns to its curled-up state. This elasticity is unlike that of soup dishes; it is more similar to stir-fried pork tripe.

It's chewy but not hard.

With perfect processing, the pork belly strips have no unpleasant odor whatsoever. Instead, they possess the original fragrance of pork belly and the umami flavor absorbed from the chicken, making them refreshing and not greasy at all—truly exceptional.

Qi Han picked up a piece of chicken and put it in his mouth. It was the rawest part of the chicken breast, but it didn't taste raw at all. Instead, it was incredibly tender, soft, and full of broth.

The original freshness of the chicken is released, and the rich aroma is intoxicating.

Is this what two-star cuisine is like?

You absolutely must master it!

Qi Han suddenly felt an endless surge of motivation.

What was a morning felt like eight days in the system space, and Qi Han spent those eight days listening to the system's cold and ruthless voice.

[An error has occurred; the pig's stomach was not scrubbed thoroughly enough. Please start again.]

[An error has occurred; the chicken was not cut along the grain. Please start over.]

[An error has occurred; the pig's stomach was blanched for too long. Please start over.]

[An error has occurred; the ingredients were added in the wrong order. Please start over.]

...

Although he kept making mistakes, Qi Han could clearly feel that his progress was much faster than when he practiced making fried rice.

It's worth mentioning that, in selecting the ingredients for the pork tripe chicken, the system chose a ten-year-old soul beast called the Iron-Spiked Pig and a ten-year-old Five-Colored Golden Pheasant as raw materials.

The pig's stomach was provided directly by the system, but the five-colored golden pheasant required Qi Han to personally prepare the dish, starting from killing the chicken.

In terms of strength, Qi Han might not even be able to defeat the ten-year-old Five-Colored Golden Pheasant, after all, he only has level one soul power.

So the system thoughtfully tied up each of the five-colored golden pheasants.

Finally, following the system's notification, Qi Han exited the system space.

It's noon, time for him to open the shop.

Huh?

As Qi Han walked downstairs and was about to push open the door, he was suddenly surprised to find that someone was already waiting at the door of his shop.

As soon as I pushed open the door, I saw two tall men walking in with smiles on their faces. "Boss, we thought you weren't opening the door."

"No, unless there's a special reason, we open the shop on time every day." Qi Han shook his head, then remembered who the two men were.

They were two of Zhou Long's five disciples from last night; they were twin brothers named Zhang Ji and Zhang Mo.

This name sounds rather lonely.

By the way, this is their second time here, so they should be considered repeat customers, right?

Qi Han looked at the mission and found that the mission text had indeed changed.

Main Quest 3: Gaining Some Fame

The goal is to attract 100 repeat customers to the small shop.

Task Description: A good small shop should have a flavor that people can't forget.

Quest Rewards: 1 random recipe drop, +5 Soul Power Level, 1 two-star selectable recipe fragment

Task progress: 2/100

"Two servings of fried rice, please!" Zhang Ji said with a smile, then pulled Zhang Mo to sit at a table on the first floor.

Although he had just undergone grueling training in the system space, Qi Han's physical condition was not affected in any way. He continued frying rice as quickly as ever, and soon he brought two plates of fried rice to the Zhang brothers.

Zhang Ji looked at Qi Han and couldn't help but ask, "Boss, your cooking skills are so good, how come you only have one kind of food in your shop?"

Qi Han hesitated for a moment, then decided to give returning customers a preview of the new dishes, "There should be new dishes in a couple of days."

"Oh?" Zhang Ji's eyes lit up. "Then I'll have Captain Zhou come and bleed some more in a few days."

Zhang Ji and Qi Han chatted for a bit, while Zhang Mo, who was standing to the side, had already started eating quietly. He listened to their conversation while eating, and when he heard Qi Han mention that there were new dishes, he couldn't help but twitch his ears.

New dishes, looking forward to them!

Having learned the rules of Qi Han's shop, the two brothers didn't waste any food and ordered a total of five servings of fried rice. After finishing their meal, they left happily.

Qi Han watched the two brothers leave, tidied up the plates, put them into the high-tech dishwasher provided by the system, thought for a moment, and then suddenly spoke.

"System, could you offer two different sizes of fried rice: large and small?"

This was something Qi Han suddenly thought of. Because some Soul Masters on the Douluo Continent have an exceptionally large appetite due to their Martial Souls, it would be troublesome to serve them one dish at a time. However, if they were all served in large portions, guests with small appetites would not be able to finish them.

They simply introduced large and small portions, with one large portion being equivalent to two small portions, making it more convenient for customers to eat.

However, after Qi Han finished speaking, the system seemed to suddenly crash and remained silent for a long time.

After a long while, a mechanical voice devoid of emotion came through.

[The host, considering the needs of the customers, suggested dividing the egg fried rice into small and large portions. The system has determined this to be a reasonable improvement, and now we are launching the large portion of egg fried rice, which is twice the size of the regular egg fried rice, priced at ten gold soul coins per portion.]

[The host has proactively improved the dishes and received a reward of 1 one-star selectable recipe fragment.]

Ok?

Is adding a large portion of fried rice considered an improvement?

Qi Han was a little confused, but he had to accept the free reward.

One one-star selectable recipe fragment can be directly exchanged for one one-star recipe, and it's a recipe of your choice.

However, this item cannot be used now because Qi Han has not yet learned how to make the Pork Tripe Chicken. It can only be used to exchange for a new recipe after he makes a perfect Pork Tripe Chicken.

Chapter Eleven: Refusing to Open Branches

The system acted quickly; the next second, Qi Han watched in disbelief as the menu on the wall changed.

Small portion of egg fried rice - 5 Gold Soul Coins/portion

Large portion of fried rice - 10 gold coins/portion

After a brief silence, Qi Han spoke again.

"System, please add the rule against waste as well."

After all, it's quite tiring to remind people every time.

The system readily complied with Qi Han's reasonable request.

Not long after the menu was revised, a figure walked into the shop. He walked very quickly and seemed to be in a hurry.

"Is this a restaurant?" The figure was short and stout, dressed in an elegant but somewhat tight-fitting outfit. He casually found a table to sit down, looked around, and then his gaze settled on the menu.

"Block someone for wasting food?" the fat man muttered under his breath. "So many rules."

"Boss, how much is a large portion of fried rice?"

Qi Han took a new plate from the kitchen and showed it to the fat man.

This is a new plate that the system just added. It's exactly twice the size of a regular egg fried rice plate and is specially designed to hold large portions of egg fried rice.

The fat man glanced at it, compared it to his own stomach capacity, and then spoke very sincerely.

"Give me a small portion of fried rice with egg, please hurry, I'm in a rush."

Qi Han nodded and then went into the kitchen.

Qi Han can now cook a plate of fried rice in under two minutes. Before long, a steaming plate of fried rice was served to the fat man.

The fat man sniffed, exclaimed in surprise, and then scooped a spoonful of fried rice into his mouth.

With a few chews, his eyes grew brighter and brighter, and he ate the fried rice faster and faster. Soon, the plate of fried rice was reduced to a clean plate.

The fat man, no longer anxious, smiled and walked up to Qi Han, handing him five gold soul coins.

"Boss, have you considered opening a branch?"

Ok?

Qi Han took the money, somewhat surprised by the fat man's question.

However, he still answered very sincerely, "I won't consider it."

"Well then, boss, let me introduce myself first. My name is Pan Kong, and I am the owner of Pan's Trading Company. Our Pan's Trading Company is a large trading company with branches all over the Douluo Continent, and we are very wealthy."

To make his argument more convincing, Pan Kong puffed out his belly and said, "We even have branches in Shrek City. You know, this place is where every inch of land is precious, which is enough to prove the financial strength of our Pan Family Trading Company."

"Boss, how about you partner with me? Your fried rice is so delicious. If we open branches all over Douluo Continent, we're sure to make a fortune!"

Qi Han glanced at Pan Kong, who was speaking passionately, but his tone remained calm. "I remember you just said you were in a hurry?"

"Hey!" Pan Kong waved casually. "I was in a hurry to talk to a client about a deal, but now that I've found a better deal, I'm not in a rush anymore."

“Okay.” Qi Han shrugged. “I think you should hurry up and meet your client.”

As he spoke, he turned and went back to the kitchen.

"I will not open any branches."

“This…” Pan Kong was slightly taken aback. He did not expect Qi Han’s reaction to be so calm. With his decades of business experience, he could naturally tell that Qi Han was not just putting on an act and really did not want to open a branch.

Are there really people in this world who can't stand money?

Pancon is simply unbelievable.

With a sigh, Pan Kong turned and left in a hurry.

Since we can't close this deal, let's move on to the next one.

"Either doing business, or on the way to doing business," is the ancestral motto of the Pan Family Business and also Pan Kong's personal motto.

Watching Pan Kong leave, Qi Han remained completely unmoved.