Chapter 445: Yangzhou Fried Rice
Faced with his good friend's soul-crushing interrogation, Cao Yun forced an awkward smile—then suddenly brightened and pointed toward Han Shi's slowly opening doors.
"Look, look! They're opening!"
Hmph. What a clumsy attempt to change the subject.
Li Hong shot him a disdainful glance, but didn't press further.
Even though they were close friends, he couldn't seriously demand that all Five-Colored Brocade Chicken Eggs be sold to him, he was just venting.
They had arrived early and lined up, so they managed to join the first batch of customers. Once inside, they quickly grabbed open seats and picked up the menus on the table.
Almost every customer did exactly the same, everyone wanted to know what the four new dishes were.
"Huh?"
Li Hong's eyes lit up as he quickly found the page listing the new dishes, and then noticed something eye-catching in the pricing.
"This Yangzhou Fried Rice…"
The cheapest Purple Card Dish in history?
And it was a fried rice dish, which he was most interested in!
He couldn't help but wonder how Yangzhou Fried Rice compared to the original Egg Fried Rice…
With that thought, he swiftly flipped to its dedicated page in the menu and read through it carefully.
A moment later—snap!—he shut the menu and called to Fu Ya, who had just walked over.
"One Yangzhou Fried Rice!"
"Got it."
Fu Ya's eyes glimmered with amusement. When they had eaten their staff meal, the employees had also discussed the new dishes.
Like Ye Lingqing, they were sure that a lot of customers would order Yangzhou Fried Rice.
In fact, they predicted many customers who normally couldn't bear to splurge on Purple Card Dishes would try this one anyway.
The reason wasn't just the price, but also its special effect:
Yangzhou Fried Rice Effect: Moderately increases the diner's vitality and physical strength.
A seemingly simple effect, yet one applicable to literally anyone, it's extremely versatile, even for ordinary people. Eating it enhanced physique and increased strength.
Although lunch service had only just begun, the number of Yangzhou Fried Rice orders already confirmed their expectations.
"I'll have a Yangzhou Fried Rice too!"
Cao Yun glanced at the menu, gritted his teeth, and added:
"And a Pheasant Soup!"
Fu Ya recorded the order and headed back toward the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Li Hong rubbed his chin and eyed Cao Yun with a look of scrutiny.
Being stared at like that made Cao Yun uncomfortable.
"What are you looking at me for?"
"You…"
Li Hong looked at this suddenly extravagant spender and couldn't help asking:
"How many chickens did you actually buy?"
"Only like… twenty or thirty…"
"Say it properly!"
Li Hong's face darkened.
"You expect me to believe you went bankrupt buying just twenty or thirty Five-Colored Brocade Chickens?"
"…Fine, two or three hundred."
Two or three hundred Five-Colored Brocade Chickens…
Li Hong did a quick calculation on his fingers and whistled in amazement.
"Good grief, one round of eggs laying and you're making a few hundred gold coins."
"Ahem." Cao Yun coughed lightly.
"Mind your wording. I don't lay eggs, the chickens do!"
"And don't just look at the profits. Raising that many chickens is exhausting."
He sighed bitterly.
"I finally started making money, and my wife wanted to put the second-child plan back on the table. But taking care of those chickens has me running around like crazy, so the second child's plan was postponed. Oh—right, I forgot, you're still single."
Li Hong: "…"
How did the topic end up stabbing directly into his heart?
Fortunately, his misery didn't last long, because soon Fu Ya returned, setting down two steaming plates of Yangzhou Fried Rice in front of them.
A never-before-seen ancient-style town appeared within the vision, then quickly faded away.
The two men's attention immediately returned to the Yangzhou Fried Rice before them.
Fragrant!
That was their first impression.
Though it was also fried rice, the fragrance of this Yangzhou Fried Rice was far richer than that of Egg Fried Rice.
Amid the rich aroma of egg was faintly interwoven the fragrance of rice. Centered around these two main notes, the scents of all the other ingredients intertwined harmoniously.
Dried scallops and shrimp carried the briny savoriness of the sea; chicken thigh and ham brought the concentrated umami of meat; fresh bamboo shoots and green peas offered a refreshing vegetal sweetness.
Yet none of these flavors overpowered the essence of the rice and egg. Instead, they resembled vegetation sprouting across the earth, small animals thriving upon it, and streams converging into lakes—adding layers and colors to the original rich aroma.
The sensation was, without a doubt, an unrivaled pleasure for the sense of smell.
Li Hong inhaled greedily, his face filled with astonishment.
As expected of Master Qi.
It's a mere fried rice dish, yet in his hands it could produce such fragrance.
It seemed there were still many things he and the others needed to learn.
With that thought, Li Hong picked up his spoon. As he lifted a scoop of rice closer to his nose, the aroma grew even stronger, and he examined the fried rice carefully.
The greatest difference between Yangzhou Fried Rice and Egg Fried Rice was that the egg was not used to coat each grain of rice. Instead, the egg was poured into hot oil and transformed into hair-thin strands.
Within the spoonful of fried rice, countless threads of orange-gold egg were evenly interwoven among the grains. Meanwhile, the colorful ingredients set like jewels between them, making the dish look irresistibly enticing.
Wait.
Li Hong's gaze fixed on one grain of rice. He tilted the spoon slightly to observe it more clearly.
His brows furrowed.
On such a simple grain of rice were cloud-like markings fine as micro-carving. Even after cooking, the markings had not vanished.
In fact, after the rice puffed up, the cloud patterns looked even more ethereal.
Could those cloud markings have been carved by Boss Qi?
No.
Staring at those natural cloud patterns, Li Hong slowly lowered the spoon and reopened the menu.
"Golden Thread Cloud-Patterned Rice?"
He read the ingredient softly, yet his brows did not relax.
A Heaven and Earth Treasure–tier rice?
Then how had he never heard of it before…
…
"This Golden Thread Cloud-Patterned Rice… have you heard of it?"
Qi Poxiao scooped up a mouthful of Yangzhou Fried Rice. As he chewed, the distinct sensations unfolded one after another—the soft sweetness of rice, the delicate smooth egg threads, the firm springiness of shrimp, the salty chewiness of dried scallops, the juicy tenderness of chicken thigh, the smoky richness of ham, the fresh crunch of bamboo shoots, and the crisp sweetness of peas—flavor after flavor blooming between his teeth.
Only then did he ask casually.
"Never heard of it…"
Tang Qianqiu's expression turned peculiar.
Han Shi serving Heaven and Earth Treasures he didn't recognize had happened more than once. Even the scripture of medicinal treasures left behind by Tang San had no record of these things. For someone who once prided himself on knowing every rare treasure under the sky, he now felt like a country bumpkin.
Forget it, there's no point thinking about it.
Tang Qianqiu scooped a spoonful of fried rice for himself and began chewing happily. Soon, an expression of satisfaction appeared on his face.
As he ate, he felt a faint warmth spreading through his body and a subtle increase in physical strength. He nodded quietly.
Though such an increase was negligible for him, for most people it would be a very real improvement.
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