Chapter 523: The Secret Intelligence Division Grows Restless
By the time Qi Han learned from Meng Yun that the president of the Culinary Association and the owner of Heavenly Star Palace had come to eat at the restaurant, the two men had already thoroughly enjoyed their meals and left with completely stuffed stomachs.
Qi Han found this rather regrettable.
That Heavenly Star Palace owner, Wu Henian, had earned quite a bit of Qi Han's goodwill during the first round of the competition when he voluntarily explained how to use chopsticks to the other judges. Qi Han had originally wanted to use this opportunity to express his gratitude, but unfortunately the man had already left.
Well, next time then.
Qi Han believed that no one who had tasted Han Shi's dishes could resist the urge to return again. Sooner or later, Boss Wu would definitely come back, and when that happened, he could properly thank him then.
The evening's business ended smoothly.
Although the afternoon culinary showdown had caused a huge sensation within the culinary world, it had not had much immediate impact on ordinary diners who paid little attention to such matters.
According to the rules of the culinary showdown, starting tomorrow the Bright Court Pavilion would spend an entire week recommending Han Shi to its own customers.
So the true benefits brought by the showdown had not yet fully materialized.
However, another kind of popularity generated by the showdown had already brought Qi Han considerable gains that very night.
That was the hundred or so audience members and judges who had attended the culinary showdown. Almost all of them had come directly to Han Shi after the competition ended, and many voluntarily began recommending Han Shi to the people around them after finishing their meals.
As a result, the progress bar for Side Quest 10-2 increased by dozens overnight.
It was merely a small taste of the benefits.
The real payoff would begin the next day, once the Bright Court Pavilion officially started recommending Han Shi.
…
Time passed day by day, while the progress bars for Main Quest 9 and Side Quest 10-2 continued steadily increasing.
On the day after Bright Court Pavilion's defeat in the culinary showdown, the restaurant erected the promised recommendation signboard, and Han Shi's reputation officially began spreading throughout the Sun-Moon Avenue district.
Even diners and ordinary passersby who paid little attention to developments in the culinary world learned through word of mouth that a newly opened restaurant on Mingke Street had defeated the Bright Court Pavilion, one of the two greatest restaurants on Sun-Moon Avenue.
Naturally, more and more people became curious to see for themselves just what was so extraordinary about a restaurant capable of defeating the Bright Court Pavilion.
Those curious residents of Mingdu City who went to Mingke Street to investigate quickly found themselves completely conquered the moment they stepped into Han Shi and tasted its dishes.
As a result, Han Shi's popularity surged upward like rising tides.
At the same time, the overall popularity of Mingke Street also began increasing rapidly.
This was because more and more shops on Mingke Street had reopened.
Aside from the Secret Intelligence Division agents who had opened stores near Han Shi under the guise of conducting surveillance, many opportunistic merchants had also begun arriving after hearing the news.
Unlike the agents, these merchants were investing real money into opening businesses.
Many of them already owned stores on Sun-Moon Avenue and were simply opening branch locations here, which was not particularly troublesome for them.
And the diners who came to Han Shi often discovered that the surrounding streets had also become lively and prosperous while they waited for their meals.
Many of their favorite stores from Sun-Moon Avenue had opened branches here as well, sparking their interest. As a result, even after finishing their meals, they would not immediately leave. Instead, they would wander through the nearby shops before finally departing satisfied, carrying large bags filled with purchases.
As a result, Han Shi's popularity unknowingly ended up boosting the popularity of the entire Mingke Street.
If you lived in a remote area and suddenly a nearby street became lively and bustling, filled with countless newly opened shops, would you go take a look?
The answer was obviously yes.
Han Shi's popularity came primarily from Sun-Moon Avenue, while the rising popularity of Mingke Street attracted residents from the surrounding districts nearby. These two sources of popularity were completely different, so they did not conflict with one another.
While Han Shi increased Mingke Street's popularity, the new foot traffic attracted by Mingke Street continuously fed back into Han Shi itself, creating a positive cycle.
Not even the officials of the Sun Moon court had anticipated this outcome.
Originally, the "revitalize Mingke Street" plan had merely been proposed to give the surveillance operation against Han Shi a legitimate excuse and avoid arousing suspicion.
Yet somehow, the entire district had genuinely come back to life.
The most absurd part was that during this period, even the morale within the Secret Intelligence Division had begun wavering because of it.
Those agents previously assigned to surveillance duty—disguised as shop owners—were now earning enormous profits from their businesses. Their shop income had become dozens of times greater than their salaries as intelligence agents.
If members of the Secret Intelligence Division were not bound to serve the imperial family for life and forbidden from resigning, many of them probably would have quit already to enjoy a peaceful retirement.
One had to know that assignments requiring agents to maintain a fake identity while conducting round-the-clock surveillance were among the most troublesome jobs in the entire Secret Intelligence Division.
Therefore, the people originally sent to open shops on Mingke Street had mostly been those who were not particularly valued within the organization.
And yet now, that very assignment had become highly desirable, leaving the other agents green with envy.
Unfortunately, envy was useless.
The personnel assignments had already been decided and could not casually be changed. If Qi Han noticed that the surrounding shops frequently changed owners, it would almost certainly create new problems.
As a result, the upper management of the Secret Intelligence Division had developed severe headaches lately.
People's hearts had become restless.
The team was becoming harder and harder to manage.
Meanwhile, as Han Shi's popularity skyrocketed, Side Quest 10-2 also advanced at an unbelievable speed, entirely thanks to Han Shi's terrifying word-of-mouth effect.
Originally, Qi Han had expected this growth to begin slowing down once the Bright Court Pavilion's week-long recommendation period ended.
But contrary to his expectations, the growth not only failed to decline, it became even more uncontrollable.
Only afterward did he learn that immediately following Bright Court Pavilion's week of recommendations, the Culinary Association had just happened to publish a gourmet magazine called Monthly Gourmet Review.
Han Shi, the rising star of the culinary world, had been featured right on the front page.
And this magazine apparently sold extremely well throughout Mingdu City.
Regarding this unexpected god-tier assist, Qi Han had only one thing to say:
Please keep it coming.
Although business at the restaurant became increasingly busy, thanks to the coordination between Qi Han and Meng Yun, everything still proceeded smoothly without any mishaps.
Although Meng Yun did not possess Fu Ya's ice-attribute spirit power, which allowed her to easily clean up the mess left behind by diners, she had advantages of her own.
As a Level 4 Spirit Engineer, Meng Yun directly created spirit tools specifically designed to rapidly clean tables and assist her work, achieving efficiency even greater than Fu Ya's.
What was this called?
This was called technology changing lives.
Even Qi Han himself developed considerable interest in spirit tools because of it.
Originally, in his impression, the purpose of spirit tools was purely combat, and their combat capabilities were not even as useful as his kitchen knife. As a result, he had never paid much attention to them.
But after arriving on Sun Moon Continent, the many fascinating spirit tools designed for everyday life had truly broadened his horizons.
Although they could not compare to Ru Yi's various custom futuristic tech creations, if spirit tool technology could be brought back to Douluo Continent, it would definitely make life there far more convenient.
Moreover, although nobody knew exactly when the two continents would discover each other, judging by the timeline, it would probably happen within a few hundred years at most.
If things progressed quickly, formal exchanges between the two continents might even begin within just a few decades.
According to the descriptions in Douluo Continent 2, warfare between the two sides would continue for a very long time. If Douluo Continent could master some spirit tool technology beforehand, perhaps the entire situation might change.
However, after casually asking Meng Yun about it, Qi Han ultimately abandoned the idea.
Although spirit tool technology was not especially secretive within the Sun Moon Empire, there were no publicly sold instructional books or manuals. The inheritance of Spirit Engineer knowledge was primarily passed down either through master-disciple relationships or academy education.
Because of this, it would be extremely difficult for Qi Han to obtain materials and bring them back to Douluo Continent.
Spirit tools themselves, however, were openly sold.
So before leaving Sun Moon Continent, perhaps he could spend the gold coins he had earned to purchase various kinds of spirit tools and bring them back to Douluo Continent as local specialties.
After all, he had already earned enough money for the trip home.
And Sun Moon Empire gold coins could not even be used on Douluo Continent anyway.
Might as well spend it all before leaving!