Chapter 10

From Yuan Zhou's expression, he could tell that Sun Ming was clearly dissatisfied with the price of the egg fried rice. However, knowing the truth, Yuan Zhou wished he could add a zero to 188, or change the currency to pounds, or at least dollars would be acceptable.

So, he didn't explain and just gestured for Sun Ming to eat while it was hot.

As soon as he sat down, the aroma of the egg fried rice hit his nose. Unlike the usual smell of greasy eggs and smoky air, this aroma was free of any greasiness and instead carried a fresh scent of rice. The most amazing part was that the eggs were completely invisible; upon closer inspection, the eggs had completely enveloped the grains of rice, turning them a golden yellow.

This left Sun Ming quite shocked. Sun Ming and Yuan Zhou had originally met in the hotel kitchen. Sun Ming was a food lover, but his family had insisted on his education and forbade him from learning to cook. After graduation, he went straight to work in a hotel, but cooking skills were not easy to master, so he ended up being a foodie. He later opened a clothing store, which did quite well.

"This is..." Sun Ming scooped up a spoonful, and the dissatisfaction in his eyes diminished.

Sun Ming knew that achieving a state where the egg completely envelops the rice grains was no small feat, and this piqued his interest.

He put the spoonful of egg fried rice into his mouth. The soft and tender egg wrapped around the slightly firm rice grains, and the fresh scent of the rice and the aroma of the egg were perfectly blended, creating an unprecedentedly good texture.

Damn, how can egg fried rice be so delicious!

This delicious egg fried rice made Sun Ming's expression resemble that of the female judge in Stephen Chow's "God of Cookery," who was entranced by the "Soul-Stealing Fried Rice." Sun Ming was also completely entranced by the egg fried rice.

He had completely forgotten about his earlier thoughts of being cheated. Now, his mind, eyes, and mouth were filled only with the delicious egg fried rice.

Eat, keep eating.

Sun Ming felt that 188 RMB was absolutely worth it.

No!

He even felt like he had made a profit, as this was the first time he had ever known egg fried rice could be so delicious.

"Slurp, slurp"

One spoonful after another, Sun Ming couldn't stop. He even gave Yuan Zhou a thumbs-up, showing his admiration. He didn't need to say anything because his mouth was full of egg fried rice, and he didn't want to waste time talking. This was his way of expressing his appreciation.

Yuan Zhou nodded calmly, looking completely unperturbed, as if such deliciousness was entirely expected.

When the plate was as clean as if it had been washed, Sun Ming finally had a chance to speak.

"Is this egg fried rice?"

"Exactly as you see, it's just ordinary egg fried rice, but a bit better than what you'd find outside," Yuan Zhou said nonchalantly.

"This skill is on par with a five-star chef. Although I haven't eaten at a five-star restaurant, have you learned the head chef's secret techniques?" Sun Ming looked at Yuan Zhou curiously, making his own guesses.

"No, that old man specializes in refined Su cuisine. Even if it were egg fried rice, it would be something like Yangzhou fried rice. This is just eggs and rice."

Sun Ming began to play the role of Sherlock Holmes, making various guesses, while Yuan Zhou watched him calmly, looking like a wise and composed master.

Yes, and he was also showing off a bit.

Seeing that Sun Ming couldn't guess correctly, he finally gave up and looked at the empty plate.

"Let's not worry about the rest. Give me another bowl. The portion is too small, just enough to fill my teeth."

"Sorry, each person can only order one bowl per meal," Yuan Zhou shrugged, his tone apologetic.

"You little brat, what kind of relationship do we have? Go and make another bowl, hurry up," Sun Ming urged, completely forgetting his earlier thoughts about not trusting this friend.

"Even though you're my brother, it's not possible. It's a rule of my restaurant. I can take you out for skewers if you want," Yuan Zhou firmly refused.

"Who would want those smoky skewers after eating this egg fried rice? Just make another bowl," Sun Ming persisted, but seeing Yuan Zhou still smiling and shaking his head, he had to admit defeat.

"Fine, I'll call you brother, no, I'll call you grandpa. You know I only have this one hobby."

At this point, Yuan Zhou called out to the system, "Really no way? This is my friend."

The system displayed: "No rules, no order."

In the end, Yuan Zhou could only look at Sun Ming's expectant eyes and say, "Since you're my brother, don't break my restaurant's rules. It's the first day of opening. Let's go, I'll treat you to something else as compensation."

Seeing Yuan Zhou's sincerity, Sun Ming had no choice but to give up. "Forget it, after eating your egg fried rice, how could I eat anything else? What time do you open tomorrow? I'll come early."

"9:30 AM. Do you want to stay a bit longer?" Yuan Zhou asked, seeing Sun Ming about to leave.

"If you're not making another bowl, I'll go back to sleep. This way, I can come over tomorrow," Sun Ming said with a hint of self-mockery.

"Brother, I'll make it up to you later," Yuan Zhou said, helpless with the stingy system.

Understanding the explanation, Sun Ming knew his brother had such talent, and having rules was only natural. After all, geniuses often have their quirks, especially a chef who could make such delicious food.

Once he understood, he didn't mind. Sun Ming had a brilliant idea. "Birds of a feather flock together," and this saying was perfectly embodied in Sun Ming, a foodie who knew many other foodies.

Now, Sun Ming decided to bring those friends over to try this bowl of egg fried rice. Of course, the purpose was to let them experience the best egg fried rice in the world, not to sabotage them because he couldn't have a second bowl. Sun Ming wouldn't be such a person.

Thinking about how those people would react after eating the first bowl and not being able to have a second, Sun Ming felt he was truly kind. Excited, he waved to Yuan Zhou and got into his car to go home.

Watching Sun Ming disappear into the night, Yuan Zhou returned to the restaurant, looked at the sparse pedestrians on the street, and brought the flower baskets back inside, closing the door.

Back in the kitchen, he put away the dishes, thinking about whether he should hire a dishwasher, as he couldn't do everything himself.

But hiring someone would cost money, and spending money was something Yuan Zhou disliked the most.

"System, look at my hands," Yuan Zhou suddenly said to the system, seemingly out of the blue.

...

Seeing no response from the system, Yuan Zhou continued, "You should know I'm very poor and can't afford a dishwasher. If I have to wash dishes and delay cooking because of it, it will affect the restaurant's reputation. Most importantly, which culinary god washes their own dishes?"

Yuan Zhou stood by the sink, holding a bowl, and kept explaining in his mind how washing dishes would affect him as a culinary god. After about five minutes, the system responded.

The system displayed: "The system has provided an automatic cleaning tool. Please check."

"Finally, no need to hire a dishwasher," Yuan Zhou said happily, starting to search for the cleaning tool in the kitchen.

A black box he hadn't seen in the morning appeared next to the rice cooker. It was about the size of a notebook, flat, and looked like a simple black box with no switches, smooth and flat on the surface.

Yuan Zhou examined the black box, touching it to see if there were any differences. Suddenly, the black box opened automatically, revealing a white space inside. Yuan Zhou tried putting the plate Sun Ming had used into it. The box closed automatically, and in just three seconds, the plate reappeared on top of the black box, clean and shiny.

"Really convenient, another piece of black technology."

Yuan Zhou put the plate back in its place and started to go upstairs to rest. Although he hadn't done much business today, he had confirmed one thing: the god-level egg fried rice lived up to its name. Anyone who tasted it would never forget it.

Lying in bed, Yuan Zhou checked his task and realized that what he had eaten didn't count. The task now showed he still needed 99 more servings.

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End of Chapter

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