Chapter 288: Is Han Shi Not Invincible?
Mu Liufeng's unusual experience was constantly unfolding at Han Shi during the lunch service.
For first-time visitors, the novel atmosphere and irresistible delicacies—so different from anything outside—sparked a strong curiosity about Han Shi.
As for the regulars?
"Not gonna lie, we're just as surprised as you are."
The eight newly launched dishes, the menu change, and the recommendation ticket system all brought an unexpected sense of freshness, even for longtime patrons.
Time flew by, and despite the ongoing food festival, Qi Han had no intention of extending business hours. As the disappointed murmurs of lingering customers echoed in the background, he mercilessly closed the doors of the restaurant.
That said, he was actually in an excellent mood today.
The reason?
Because after a whole week apart, Yue Lengxin finally appeared at the restaurant again.
Even though he had repeatedly told himself to stay calm and composed the next time he saw her…
The moment this long-missed beauty stepped inside, his heart still couldn't help but race.
And so, the legendary moment—"Too Busy to Think Straight"—happened once again.
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After closing, Ji Yunruo and Ping Xinyan both rushed over excitedly.
"Boss! The latest voting rankings for our dishes are out!"
Unlike the restaurant staff, who were busy inside all day, the two delivery workers had been out and about. Passing by the Culinary Association, they had taken the chance to check the public rankings.
Hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up with curiosity and anticipation.
Even Qi Han himself looked interested.
After all, the food festival rankings directly impacted both his main quest and side quest —so he took them quite seriously.
"All of our dishes are in the top ten!" Ji Yunruo announced with a smile. "Our highest-ranked dish is Jade Dragon Tendon. The others are placed in the top six, eighth, and tenth."
Qi Han suddenly froze. "Wait, what are the two lowest-ranked dishes?"
Ping Xinyan hesitated before replying softly, "Dragon Well Tea Shrimp and Swallow-Skin Dumplings…"
"The seventh-place dish is Nine Dragons Delicacy's 'Dingyu Longzhen.' Ninth place is Linlang House's 'Hundred Flowers Immortal Brew.'"
Nine Dragons Delicacy? Linlang House?
Qi Han's expression grew more thoughtful.
These two restaurants were top-tier establishments in Shrek's Food Street, each boasting over a century of history. It wasn't surprising that they could produce remarkable dishes.
Nine Dragons Delicacy specialized in cooking various dragon-type spirit beasts. Of course, these so-called "dragons" weren't true dragons—just ordinary draconian subspecies.
As for Linlang House, it was more of a brewery than a restaurant, focusing on wines and fruit-based beverages. While they did serve food, their dishes were average at best.
When Qi Han first arrived in Shrek, he had received a local cuisine tasting time-limited quest. Unfamiliar with the area, he had eaten his fill before even reaching these two deeply hidden restaurants.
So until now, his understanding of them was based purely on rumors…
"Boss?"
Fu Ya's gentle voice pulled Qi Han out of his thoughts.
Seeing the nervous and concerned expressions on his employees' faces, he blinked in confusion.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?"
Fu Ya hesitated. "Boss… aren't you upset?"
"Huh?" Qi Han scratched his head. "Upset about what?"
After a moment, he finally understood. "You mean, why am I not mad about being beaten by other restaurants?"
Fu Ya nodded.
Qi Han let out a chuckle. "Come on, there are so many restaurants out there. It's only natural that some of them would come up with dishes better than mine."
Then he grinned. "Besides… the first-place dish is still mine, isn't it?"
To be honest, he had a lot of respect for these other restaurants.
After all, they didn't even have a system to help them.
"Anyway, it's still early in the voting process, right? How many votes does my Jade Dragon Tendon have so far?"
Ji Yunruo immediately responded, "Over 40,000 votes!"
"Exactly! It's still early, no need to rush." Qi Han's expression remained relaxed.
Shrek City had a permanent population of eight million, and with the food festival in full swing, countless visitors had arrived from out of town. This meant the current total population had surpassed ten million.
Out of these millions, not everyone participated in the festival, and even fewer—roughly three to four million people—were actually willing to vote.
Most of these voters wouldn't cast their votes right away. They usually waited until they had tasted most of the dishes they were interested in, then made their decision near the end of the festival.
While there were early voters, their numbers were still relatively low.
The fact that Jade Dragon Tendon, the current first-place dish, only had a little over 40,000 votes proved this point.
So Qi Han wasn't worried at all.
Seeing that their boss truly wasn't bothered, the employees breathed a collective sigh of relief. Now that the restaurant had closed for the day, it was time for them to head home.
As Qi Han watched them leave, something suddenly crossed his mind.
He called out to the Qin sisters and Keke before they could go. "You three, where are you staying right now?"
Since they had traveled all the way to Shrek City to help him, as their boss, he naturally had to check on their living arrangements.
Hearing this, the Qin sisters exchanged a strange glance before simultaneously looking at Keke.
Keke's face turned slightly awkward. "My second uncle owns a house here in Shrek City. It has plenty of rooms, so Qin Yue, Qin Yao, and I have been staying there."
Hearing this, Qi Han's expression relaxed in relief.
As long as the three of them had a place to stay, that was good enough.
After all, with so many out-of-town visitors, every hotel in the city was completely booked. Finding a suitable place to stay wasn't easy.
Keke was no longer the wandering street kid he once was, who had to rely on Qi Han for food and shelter.
Now, as the nephew of White Tiger Duke Dai Youyuan, he was even rumored to be the next in line to inherit the duchy, since Dai Youyuan had no plans to marry or have children.
His living conditions had improved dramatically. So much so that he even owned a house in Shrek City.
Qi Han felt genuinely happy for him.
After seeing the three of them off, Qi Han shut the restaurant doors, picked up Pururu the cat, and began petting it absentmindedly while focusing his thoughts on communicating with Ru Yi.
"Ru Yi, what's the progress on Main Quest 7?"
"Currently at 7,223 out of 100,000," Ru Yi quickly responded.
Qi Han's expression showed satisfaction at the number.
Ever since returning to Shrek City, he hadn't been paying much attention to this quest's progress.
For good reason.
Under normal circumstances, completing this quest was essentially a distant dream.
Just yesterday, on the eve of the food festival, he had checked the numbers. Back then, the total customer count was just over 5,000.
It seemed like a lot, but that was the total over half a month. Even with the increasing number of food festival visitors, progress had been slow.
Yet just one lunch service today had added over 2,000 new customers.
And this was only the beginning.
With Han Shi's delivery service, many out-of-town customers who hadn't previously known about the restaurant would now realize they could order from afar. The chances of them giving it a try were very high.
Which meant the quest progress was about to skyrocket.
He couldn't wait.
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