The customers all said it was perfect and thanked Li You once more.
Then they looked at the tomato and egg soup on the table.
It looked incredibly appetizing and smelled wonderful.
You could tell it would be delicious just by looking at it.
They had to take a sip and try it right away.
Everyone picked up their spoons and ladled a few spoonfuls of soup into their bowls.
After blowing on it to cool it down, they eagerly took a sip.
It was savory, fragrant, and absolutely delicious—better than any they’d ever had.
The customers had known the owner’s tomato and egg soup would be incredible.
And they were right.
Tomato and egg soup is a very common, ordinary dish. Almost everyone knows how to make it, and many people have it regularly.
The recipe is quite simple, too.
Logically, for a soup so simple and common, there shouldn’t be much of a difference in taste and texture, no matter who makes it.
And yet, the owner’s version was far, far better than any tomato and egg soup they’d ever had before.
’To take the most ordinary, common soup and make it taste so extraordinary... Is this the power of a truly top-tier chef?’
’Is this the magic of the culinary arts?’
And they were undoubtedly lucky to be able to taste it.
At this thought, the customers all felt a strange sense of excitement.
The owner had even asked them if they had any issues or suggestions.
’All we want to say now is, does the owner even realize just how incredible his own cooking is?’
’With a soup this good, who in the world could possibly find fault with it?’
The customers had no issues and no suggestions, only endless praise.
"This soup seems like a Cantonese dish, but I doubt you could find a tomato and egg soup this delicious even in Guangdong Province," one customer remarked.
The other customers quickly agreed.
Li You was delighted to hear such high praise from his customers.
He had tasted it himself, of course, and it was indeed remarkably savory and delicious.
’I can officially add it to the menu tomorrow.’
’Oh, right, there’s also the salty steamed pork belly. I’ll steam a few dozen bowls of that tomorrow and start selling it officially.’
’When a customer orders that dish, I can just serve it directly. It’s much more convenient.’
’It just might not be available all the time.’
’I might not steam it every day.’
’And even if I steam a few dozen bowls, once they sell out, that’s it for the day.’
’But whatever, I’ll steam a few dozen bowls tomorrow and see how it goes.’
With that thought, Li You continued eating his meal.
After he slowly finished his meal, the customers also began to finish up.
As they paid their bills and prepared to leave, they all thanked Li You once again for treating them to the tomato and egg soup.
The pot of tomato and egg soup on their table had been finished completely, without a single drop left.
Da Bai and Xiaohai began to clean up, while Li You suddenly remembered he still had an unused lottery draw.
He had received two lottery draws in total for completing the previous main quest.
But after his first draw got him the "Master Brine Recipe," new customers had arrived.
So, he had started cooking for them. After all their dishes were served, he made Mapo Tofu and tomato and egg soup for himself. In the process, he had completely forgotten about his remaining lottery draw.
Now, he finally remembered.
’No more delays, then. Time for the next draw.’
The system opened the lottery interface.
’Recipes, Ingredients, Cookware, and Miscellaneous—the four major categories. I wonder which one it’ll be this time?’
Li You was filled with anticipation!
The wheel spun rapidly before coming to a stop, the pointer landing on the "Miscellaneous" category.
Li You was pleasantly surprised.
The prizes in the "Miscellaneous" category were always a mystery, which made it all the more intriguing and exciting!
’So, what’s the prize this time?’
The answer was revealed in an instant.
Once again, a beautiful gift box appeared. As colorful ribbons fluttered around it, the box slowly opened.
"Dungeon Experience Card!"
Li You was overjoyed.
’This is definitely something good!’
If he ever needed an ingredient that was difficult to obtain in the real world, he could use a Dungeon Experience Card to acquire it from a game instance.
Previously, Li You had used a Dungeon Experience Card to visit the world of *Boonie Bears* and had caught a great number of rare fish.
All those rare fish were now being raised in his Spatial Fish Pond, and he didn’t need to use them just yet.
’Am I short on any ingredients right now?’
Li You thought about it. ’Doesn’t seem like it.’
’In that case, I’ll save this Dungeon Experience Card for later.’
’It’s not too late to use it when I actually need an ingredient that’s hard to find in the real world.’
"Owner, are you about to close?"
Just then, another customer walked into the restaurant and asked.
It was a young woman.
Li You stood up and smiled. "Not yet. Welcome! What can I get for you?"
He sized her up as he spoke. She looked to be in her early twenties, very pretty, with a great figure—basically on the same level as Chu Yiwei and Mu Qingye.
Not quite on par with Ye Shengge or Xia Xiaoyue, but a clear step above Xiao Yue, Yu Wei, and Lin Xin.
’She looks unfamiliar.’
’It must be her first time here.’
It was getting dark, so it was a little surprising to see a first-timer show up to eat.
Generally speaking, first-time customers didn’t come this late.
Especially not a young woman on her own.
After all, the town was five kilometers away.
Though it was a paved road, it wound through the mountains and wilderness.
The road was flanked by forests, barren fields, rock formations, and cliffs.
During the day, the scenery was delightful.
The entire route was tranquil and beautiful, with wildflowers in full bloom, butterflies dancing about, and birdsong filling the air.
But once night fell, the atmosphere changed completely, becoming eerie and frightening.
’This woman is coming to eat now. By the time she’s done, it will be pitch-black outside.’
’Even though the moonlight should be decent tonight, it wouldn’t do much to lessen the spookiness of the journey back.’
’Isn’t she scared?’
Li You was pondering this question when the young woman, hearing his words, brightened up. "I’m so glad you’re still open!" she said. "On my way here, I was worried I was too late and you might’ve already closed. I’d like two pounds of spicy crayfish and an order of Mapo Tofu."
Li You nodded. "Alright. It won’t take long, just a short wait."
"Great. Thanks, Owner."
"Not at all!"
Li You headed into the kitchen and got to work.
He was tempted to ask if she wasn’t afraid of the journey back, coming here so late.
But he held his tongue.
’Never mind, I won’t ask for now.’
Soon, the two pounds of spicy crayfish were ready.
Da Bai carried the spicy crayfish over, set it down, and said, "Your spicy crayfish, ma’am. Please enjoy!"
The young woman smiled slightly. "Thank you, Da Bai."
Da Bai was puzzled. "Ma’am, how do you know my name?"
The woman smiled again. "Someone told me! I know Xiaohai’s name too."
I see.
Da Bai nodded his large, round head. He didn’t press the matter further and simply turned to leave.
The young woman, meanwhile, looked at the spicy crayfish on the table, her face beaming. ’It looks every bit as delicious as they said,’ she thought.
Then, instead of using chopsticks, she reached right into the platter and grabbed a crayfish with her hand.
’So hot, so hot.’
Despite the heat, she didn’t let go immediately. Only after she had successfully moved the crayfish to her bowl did she release it.
Then she brought her fingers to her mouth to blow on them.
After waiting a moment, she picked up the crayfish from her bowl and began to eat.
Her face lit up with excitement from the very first bite.
’This is way too good!’
’It’s even better than I imagined.’
’No wonder that girl got so excited when she found out I was from Wenxian Town. She said our town had an absolutely incredible restaurant.’
’Based on this spicy crayfish alone, she was right—it’s absolutely incredible!’
The young woman was thrilled.
...