Chapter 424: Her Name
The first public egg fried rice lesson wasn't completely over yet.
Considering that many people might still have questions about the cooking process, Qi Han deliberately set aside extra time just for answering them.
In the blink of an eye, the entire afternoon passed, and Qi Han's first public class ended in complete success.
But his teaching plan didn't stop there.
By now, more than six thousand people in Shrek City had already registered with the Culinary Association to join the lessons. Only half of them attended today.
After all, the square could only accommodate three thousand stoves. Any more and it would become too crowded, leaving the learners cramped and affecting the quality of the class.
So, after discussing with the Culinary Association, Qi Han decided to teach for five consecutive days. Those who had already mastered the skills could leave early and free up space for others.
And after this first class, any lingering doubts some people had about Qi Han's intentions—suspecting he had hidden motives—completely vanished.
Everyone could see very clearly that Qi Han was truly teaching, and teaching sincerely, in full detail with nothing held back.
This made even more people genuinely eager to learn egg fried rice rush to the Culinary Association, triggering another wave of sign-ups.
While Qi Han prepared for the cooking lessons between his regular business hours, he also kept an eye on the progress of Side Quest 8 at all times.
After the first day of teaching ended, the quest progress was still zero.
This was normal—expecting beginners to make a high-quality egg fried rice on their first attempt was practically impossible, especially for the people of Douluo Continent who had never cooked in this manner before.
But that night, after Qi Han finished his late-night business, he was shocked to find that the progress had jumped from zero to seven.
Evidently, seven students had successfully made a high-quality egg fried rice through their own practice that night.
Because this quest was special, Qi Han could view detailed progress and see the names of everyone who achieved a high-quality result.
At the top of the list was Long Hanyun, and Li Hong was also among the seven.
As for the other five names, none of them stood out to him. They were likely from out of town or cooks from food-street shops he hadn't encountered before.
But being able to make high-quality egg fried rice on the first day clearly meant these people had exceptional talent.
After breaking past zero, progress increased even faster.
On the second night, after closing, Qi Han checked the quest again—and found the number had risen to forty-three.
Among the list were many familiar names.
From then on, checking the daily progress and scanning the list for familiar names became Qi Han's new form of entertainment.
On the third day, the progress reached one hundred seventy-six people. Qi Han was especially surprised to see Mu Liufeng's name—he never expected the chief editor of Food Critique Magazine to possess such cooking talent.
"Ah Yue, Xiao Yun, come try my egg fried rice!"
Mu Liufeng, completely unaware that Qi Han already knew about his progress, cheerfully carried out three bowls of egg fried rice, placing them before himself, his wife, and his child.
"I feel like with this egg fried rice skill alone, even if I stop being the chief editor of Food Critique Magazine, I could open a small diner and it'd still do great business! Hahaha!"
"What kind of restaurant serves only egg fried rice?" his wife teased with a smile as she examined her bowl carefully. Her expression quickly shifted into genuine surprise. "It really does look almost the same as Han Shi's egg fried rice."
"That's right. Even I just found out today that I actually have quite a talent for cooking." Mu Liufeng said with a cheerful grin. "I heard that Han Shi originally started out selling only one dish—fried rice with egg. So don't look down on a simple egg fried rice. If I really open a restaurant in the future, I'll just sell this one dish, hahaha."
"Daddy, this fried rice is really yummy!"
Beside him, Mu Liufeng's young son Mu Yun quickly scooped up a big spoonful of fried rice and stuffed it into his mouth. The moment he tasted it, his face lit up with delight.
Seeing this, the smile on Mu Liufeng's face grew even wider.
Thank you, Boss Qi!
Never thought that I, Mu Liufeng, would one day cook delicious food with my own hands.
…
On the fourth day, the task progress reached 423 people, and somewhat unexpectedly, Qi Han found the name of one of his own employees—Mo Ran—on the list.
He naturally didn't mind employees learning to cook in their spare time. After all, this egg fried rice lesson was publicly open to everyone. It was just that…
Mo Ran actually had considerable talent in cooking?
Unfortunately, it was already the late-night service period, and Mo Ran had gone home. Otherwise Qi Han really would've dragged him over to ask about it.
At Mo Ran's home—
"Hoo…"
Taking a deep breath, Mo Ran mentally reviewed the steps of Qi Han's egg fried rice lesson from that afternoon. He deftly poured the freshly and evenly stir-fried egg fried rice out of the wok. Smelling that rich and familiar aroma, he swallowed unconsciously.
Yes, this was the smell.
He picked up a spoon, took a spoonful, and chewed for a moment before nodding to himself.
Although there was still a gap compared to Han Shi's egg fried rice, being able to stir-fry something at this level already made him quite satisfied.
During every lunch and dinner shift, when he carried customers' orders from the second floor down to the kitchen to hand them to Qi Han, he had secretly observed some of Qi Han's cooking movements.
Not intentionally trying to steal techniques—he simply had long been accustomed to noticing details around him, as an excellent auxiliary-type Spirit Master.
Those movements he couldn't understand before suddenly clicked into place when matched with Qi Han's detailed public explanation of egg fried rice. The result was a kind of sudden insight, giving Mo Ran an advantage over the others learning the dish.
I'll tell the boss tomorrow.
Mo Ran snickered, then quickly shoveled the fried rice into his mouth.
I wonder if the boss will be surprised…
…
On the final day of the public lessons, Qi Han flipped through the list of learners who had achieved the "Excellent" rating in egg fried rice, just like before.
The task progress hadn't reached one thousand yet, but it had already surpassed eight hundred.
Qi Han wasn't worried. Over the five days, he had already explained every detail of egg fried rice multiple times, doing his best to make sure everyone remembered the key points.
Now he just needed to give them some time to practice on their own—reaching one thousand was only a matter of time.
Suddenly, Qi Han's finger froze mid-page as a stunned expression appeared on his face.
There was a name on the list he had never expected.
Yue Lengxin.
…
"Hm~ la la~"
Humming an unfamiliar little tune, Yue Lengxin walked briskly toward the Golden Tree, carrying a lunch box in her hand and wearing a long dress. Her steps were noticeably lighter than usual.
Creak—
Pushing open the door to Win Ruoruo's residence, Yue Lengxin poked her head inside with a bright smile. "Teacher, I came to see you!"
Sitting cross-legged in the room, Win Ruoruo slowly opened her eyes. She looked at the disciple she had watched grow up and showed a hint of curiosity.
"You seem particularly happy today?"
"Huh?"
Yue Lengxin blinked her lake-blue eyes. "Am I? I don't think so?"
"Anyway, never mind that! Teacher, I brought you something delicious!"
With that, the girl excitedly presented the lunch box in her hands as though offering a precious treasure.
"Oh?"
Win Ruoruo reached out to take it. She opened it, and a slightly puzzled expression crossed her face.
"Isn't this Han Shi's egg fried rice? But… this lunch box doesn't look like theirs…"
"Hehe."
Seeing her teacher mistake it for Han Shi's egg fried rice, the smile in Yue Lengxin's eyes deepened.
"Teacher, I made this!"
"Hm?"
Win Ruoruo's surprise grew.
"I did hear that these past few days, the little boss of Han Shi—Qi Han—has been publicly teaching the method for making egg fried rice. Even a few of the Elders secretly went to watch. But I didn't expect you went as well?"
"C-cough—"
A hint of embarrassment flashed in Yue Lengxin's eyes.
"Teacher, don't worry about that. Try it first!"
"Alright." Win Ruoruo smiled. "This is the first time you've ever cooked something for me. Of course I should taste it properly."
She picked up the spoon, carefully scooped up some egg fried rice, and took a bite. After chewing a few times, she nodded with satisfaction.
"Not bad. This is about on par with the chefs at the Inner Court cafeteria."
"Eh?"
Yue Lengxin puffed up her cheeks, clearly dissatisfied with that answer. She leaned closer.
"And compared to Han Shi's?"
This child really has no self-awareness…
Win Ruoruo gave a helpless smile.
"Ah, yes, yes, it's about the same as Han Shi's egg fried rice."
"Hehe."
Of course Yue Lengxin knew her egg fried rice still had a gap compared to Han Shi's. But hearing her teacher say that still made her very happy.
She'd just have to work harder.
Every time, it was always that guy who made delicious food for her.
Next time, when her cooking surpassed his, she would make a meal for him instead.
She'd show him—her cooking was absolutely not inferior to his!
Fueled by determination, Yue Lengxin couldn't help but grin foolishly.
Eheheh…
Hmm?
Something… felt a little off.
Watching her disciple alternate between deep thought and silly grinning, Win Ruoruo raised an eyebrow. Suddenly, she asked coldly:
"You and Qi Han—what exactly is going on between you two?"
"Ah?"
Yue Lengxin sat upright immediately, brushing a few strands of silver hair behind her ear.
"There's nothing going on!"
"Truly nothing?"
"T-truly… truly nothing!"
Her gaze drifted away for a moment before she finally pouted.
"His strength isn't even as good as mine!"
Win Ruoruo took another bite of egg fried rice. She didn't press further, but a thoughtful glint appeared in her eyes.
Not as strong…
Then if Qi Han's strength surpassed hers someday…
The thought flashed through Win Ruoruo's mind, and she couldn't help but let out a soft, amused sigh.
She was getting old, how could something like that possibly happen?
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