Chapter 387: Patching Up
"Mmm… hotpot is really delicious!" Ying Shuang picked up the last slice of snowflake beef from the ice platter, swished it for a few seconds in the spicy broth, dipped it into her custom-made sauce, and popped it into her mouth with a satisfied expression.
Hearing that, the others couldn't help but nod in agreement.
Because of hotpot's special nature, diners of all tastes could find their favorite way of eating here. The process of cooking one's own food wasn't troublesome, and with the menu's guidance, everyone could easily swish up something delicious. That sense of accomplishment only made hotpot even more fun.
"Alright, let's tidy up our tableware together, then get ready for business." Qi Han smiled slightly as he looked at the employees, each rubbing their full stomachs.
The timing was just right.
The staff hurriedly nodded and quickly got to work.
Soon, Fu Ya gently pushed open the door of Han Shi, and the impatient customers waiting outside began to file in.
Because the second floor's hotpot section had officially opened, the restaurant's capacity instantly doubled, accommodating more than two hundred diners at once.
This delighted the customers waiting outside—after all, it meant shorter wait times.
At the head of the line, of course, were Tang Qianqiu and Qi Poxiao.
Although they still hadn't finished trying all of yesterday's new lunch and dinner dishes, today they already had a new target.
"Is this hotpot really that good?" Qi Poxiao asked in a hushed voice as he followed Tang Qianqiu toward the upstairs staircase.
"You'll see soon enough." Tang Qianqiu wore a mysteriously knowing expression.
He wondered what the second floor's renovations looked like.
Most likely, it would be in the same style as Star Luo City's, right?
The two quickened their pace upstairs, and when they saw the furnishings, Tang Qianqiu's expression immediately turned into a "just as I thought" look.
Surprise flickered in Qi Poxiao's eyes, but he quickly turned to examine the surrounding walls. "This décor is quite interesting."
After a quick look around, they finally chose a table and sat down.
"Let me see what kinds of broths there are." Qi Poxiao chuckled, picking up the menu and flipping through it.
He already had a rough idea of how hotpot worked from Tang Qianqiu's explanation.
Before long, he pointed to one of the options. "This 'health-preserving broth' looks good—especially for an old man like me who's halfway into the grave."
Tang Qianqiu's face twitched slightly, ignoring the second half of that sentence. "I was planning to order that too. Since you've chosen it, I'll go with the sukiyaki broth."
"Oh?" Qi Poxiao blinked. "What's the reasoning?"
"You can combine different broths in the same pot. A single flavor might get monotonous, but two together are just right."
"You can even do that?" Qi Poxiao laughed in surprise. "Then let's try both!"
After deciding on the broths, the two elders moved on to selecting dishes.
"How about the shrimp paste?"
"Smooth and fresh—worth a try."
"Then one of those. And this snowflake beef?"
"Also delicious."
"Let's get a portion of that too."
"Should we order some vegetables?"
"Good idea. This baby bok choy looks tender and fresh. Let's have a plate."
"…."
"What would you like to order?" Mo Ran walked over briskly, holding a menu and a pen. "Here's the complete list of hotpot items available on the second floor. Please mark down your choices for broths and dishes."
"Oh?" Tang Qianqiu raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the unfamiliar face, then looked at the menu—different from the ones back in Star Luo City. "So the ordering method is different now?"
As he spoke, Tang Qianqiu accepted the menu and pen, quickly ticking off the items and broths they had just agreed on, before handing it to Qi Poxiao. "Anything else?"
"That's fine." Qi Poxiao nodded after a glance. "This will do for now."
"Alright." Mo Ran reached out to take the menu, nodded, and said, "Please wait a moment. The dishes will be served shortly."
After handing in the menu, he let out a small breath of relief.
It's much simpler than he had expected. It seemed he really could handle this job.
Menus like this were hardly uncommon in the hotpot restaurants back on Earth.
Because hotpot offered such a wide variety of ingredients, relying solely on servers to write down every order would've been far too much work. Thus, the menu system naturally came into being.
Diners only needed to check off the dishes they wanted, then wait for them to be served. The whole dining process became far more convenient.
As for why this system hadn't been used back in Star Luo City…
It was purely because Qi Han had forgotten.
But it wasn't a big deal—he had already asked Ru Yi to patch this oversight.
…
Han Shi Restaurant, Star Luo City branch, half an hour earlier…
A figure suddenly appeared in the restaurant—a figure whose face was hidden behind a mask, clad head-to-toe in a black uniform.
The Qin sisters and Keke, who were seated around a hotpot, instantly stood up in surprise.
They weren't strangers to this figure. Ever since the boss had left, it had been this mysterious delivery person who supplied the restaurant's ingredients.
"Is there a new batch of ingredients?" Qin Yao asked, wiping her mouth.
The delivery person did not speak. Instead, they silently shook their head. A flash of light appeared in their hand, revealing a large bundle of freshly printed menus and a letter explaining how to use them.
Placing both on the floor, the delivery person vanished without a sound.
The three exchanged glances, then quickly bent down to examine what had been left behind.
This delivery person had never once spoken. They didn't even know the person's gender.
Yet, for some reason, none of them had ever felt the urge to investigate further.
…
"Let's just go with these." Yue Lengxin glanced at the few female inner academy students sitting beside her, her face warm with a smile. "Do any of you want to add anything else?"
"No, no, this is already plenty." Yan Xi shook her head, giggling. "It should be more than enough."
Nodding, Yue Lengxin handed the menu to Mo Ran, then stood up. "Let's go prepare our dipping sauces."
It had been a long time since she'd last had hotpot, so there was no way Yue Lengxin would miss today's grand debut at lunch.
Unlike other cuisines, the atmosphere of hotpot—many people gathered around the same pot—was part of its charm. That was why she had invited a few female inner academy students to come along, making just the right number for a full table.
Unbothered by the admiring looks cast in her direction, Yue Lengxin walked slowly to the dipping sauce counter, picked up a small dish, and mixed together a sauce according to the recipe she still remembered by heart.
Though nearly two months had passed since she'd last eaten hotpot, one glance at the finished sauce brought a smile to her face.
Perfect. She hadn't forgotten the ratio.
And today's broth was the wonderfully flavorful spicy mala base—pairing it with the oil dip was simply ideal.
Just picturing the scene—various ingredients dipped into the bubbling spicy broth, absorbing that numbing, fragrant heat, then swirled through the oil dip before being eaten—was enough to make Yue Lengxin swallow unconsciously, her face tinged with eagerness.
That's right, hadn't Yan Xi chosen a sukiyaki broth?
Yue Lengxin recalled that they had ordered no fewer than three plates of snowflake beef. She quietly picked up another dish and cracked in a fresh, sterilized egg.
Snowflake beef with raw egg—smooth, tender, and bursting with umami, accented by the rich egg aroma. Just imagining it was enough to make the taste linger in her mind, and Yue Lengxin had to swallow again, her anticipation growing.
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