Chapter 83: The Second Floor Is Flooded with Orders
“…Didn’t you just buy a mountain of food for Long Ya yesterday? Where did you get the coin?”
Long Qian asked.
Only yesterday, Long Shi had been shouting about letting the conscripted Long Ya taste the boss’s new specials, paying out of his own pocket for a massive bundle of provisions.
“Looking out for my little sister is important, sure, but how could I not keep a single copper for myself?” Long Shi wore an expression that screamed you folks just don’t get it.
“Then what was all that talk in your letter about earning every bite through your own blood and sweat…?” asked Old Hu, who had witnessed Long Shi penning the note firsthand.
“I didn’t lie! I never wrote that I blew every last cent, did I? Literature requires artistic embellishment. If I didn’t paint myself looking half-dead, how would my sister feel properly grateful and guilty toward her big bro?”
Old Hu: “Your scribbles count as ‘literature’?”
Gerry: “And Long Ya feels grateful to you?”
Qiu Jie, sitting at the neighboring table: “Hard to say.”
Long Qian: “She probably didn’t even read it.”
Long Shi: “?”
He took a deep breath. “Is that the point right now?! Auntie! And you two—quit dragging your feet! Can’t you see the little robot waiting for our order? Hurry up, are you eating or not?”
“We are! But if every single one of us orders a dish, isn’t that a bit… extravagant?”
Long Shi had clearly mapped this out beforehand. “Dumb! How did we eat the one-pot stew in the beginning? We pooled our cash! If you’re in, cough up twenty City Coins each! Don’t complain it’s pricey—I know you’ve all stashed away a tidy sum!”
He thrust his open palm toward Old Hu first.
Old Hu dragged his feet, reluctantly fishing out twenty City Coins.
Gerry licked his lips and produced twenty coins as well.
Then Long Shi turned his gaze toward Long Qian: “Auntie?”
Long Qian shot him a sidelong glance, then reached into her pouch and pulled out twenty City Coins.
“Alright! That makes eighty coins right here! Qiu Jie, you guys sort out your own table!” Long Shi waved them off, excitedly picking up the menu to study the options.
After a brief four-way conference, they called out to Caicai: “We want one Di San Xian, one Shredded Pork with Runner Beans, and two bowls of steamed rice!”
It came out to exactly 80 City Coins—not a copper more, not a copper less.
“Understood! Dine-in or takeout, guests?”
“Dine-in!”
“Right away!” Caicai accepted the payment.
At the next table, Qiu Jie and two companions pooled together for one Garlic Broccoli, one Braised Offal Platter, and a bowl of rice.
Before long, the little robot trundled up the stairs bearing the platters.
Balancing a dish in each mechanical hand, it set them down on Long Shi’s table.
“Here is the Di San Xian, and here is the Shredded Pork with Runner Beans.”
It wasn’t done yet. With a crisp click, the hatch on the robot’s chest popped open, revealing two bowls of steamed rice that it lifted out and placed on the tabletop.
Next came four sets of chopsticks, four spoons, and two empty side bowls. Extending its telescoping arms, the mechanical claws deftly set a pair before each diner.
“Four sets of tableware. Your order is fully served! (^▽^)’
Closing its chest hatch, the little robot whirred down the stairs on its tank treads.
A moment later, it rolled back up to deliver the order for Qiu Jie’s table.
“Here is the Garlic Broccoli, and here is the Braised Offal Platter.”
“Three sets of tableware. Your order is fully served! (^▽^)’
All around them, onlookers who hadn’t dared to spend or hadn’t had the chance to order craned their necks to peek at the two tables.
These were all completely novel dishes; now that someone had taken the plunge, everyone wanted to see what kind of flavors were in store.
Tsk… forget tasting it—just the smell alone was insanely tempting.
The dishes looked freshly tossed straight from a roaring wok, curling with piping-hot steam.
The dish called “Di San Xian” clearly featured potatoes, bell peppers, and… eggplant chunks?
Golden-fried cubes of potato and eggplant mingled with glossy emerald green peppers, all draped in a rich, glistening sauce.
The “Shredded Pork with Runner Beans” was a vibrant contrast of jade-green bean strips and pork slivers stained deep with savory brown sauce, speckled throughout with toasted golden bits of garlic.
While Old Hu and the others were still staring blankly at the chopsticks, puzzling over how to hold them, Long Shi’s hand darted out like lightning, plucking a chunk of eggplant straight into his mouth.
“Mmm—so fragrant! This flavor… holy crap, it’s out of this world!”
Some people felt self-conscious eating under a crowd’s watchful gaze; others grew guarded and tense.
Long Shi, on the other hand, was the kind of show-off who thrived on an audience.
He immediately pinched two strips of runner bean with his bare fingers and popped them in, his eyes widening. “Whoa! This is incredible too! Is this what stir-fry is like? How do the runner beans and pork blend together so seamlessly?! Brilliant! Absolute perfection!”
The irresistible aroma drifting through the air, paired with the glistening visual feast…
All around them, the sound of people swallowing spit echoed one after another.
…Perhaps if Long Shi could channel even a fraction of his sharp-tongued wit into descriptive prose, he could have composed a culinary masterpiece on the spot instead of cycling endlessly between “out of this world” and “perfection.”
Unable to watch any longer, Long Qian slapped his hand away. “Are the rest of us supposed to eat, or what?”
“How do you hold these utensils?” Gerry attempted to fiddle with them.
“Do our esteemed guests require a tutorial on using ‘chopsticks’? Caicai is delighted to explain! (∩_∩)”
The robot nearby seemed to trigger on the keyword, lines of text scrolling across its display screen.
“Chopstick Technique: Take the first stick, resting it in the crook between the thumb and index finger…”
The robot began its step-by-step breakdown. Once finished, a brief video loop flickered to life on its screen.
It showed a hand deftly using chopsticks to pinch up a cluster of runner bean strips.
Judging by the fingers, it looked like the boss’s hand.
“Chopsticks?”
“Are these the utensils the boss uses?”
“This robot is amazing! It even plays instructional videos!”
Old Hu watched the clip with rapt attention, mimicked the grip, and gave the two sticks a trial wiggle.
Hey, did I actually just get the hang of it?
He extended the chopsticks, intending to pick up some runner beans for a taste.
He looked up—only to find Long Shi already brandishing a large spoon, shoveling a massive heap of beans and shredded pork over a mound of rice straight into his gullet.
Where did the half-bowl of rice go?!
The kid’s cheeks were stuffed round as a squirrel’s!
He was nodding frantically in sheer bliss as he chewed.
!!
Who had time to practice chopsticks when there was a ravenous ghost pillaging the table?!
Eat! Now!
Old Hu dropped the chopsticks like hot coals, grabbed a spoon, and dove straight in.
Long Qian: “?”
Without uttering a single syllable, Auntie Qian swiftly shoveled two heaping spoonfuls of Di San Xian into her own bowl.
Gerry followed a split second behind.
A war without gunfire erupted in an instant.
Before world-class delicacies, there were no gang leaders and no elder aunts—only those who got food into their mouths and those who were left starving.
The surrounding onlookers: “?”
Is it really that good?
The four diners were so busy scarfing it down that they didn’t even have time to tease the crowd anymore.
Glancing toward the next table, that crew was engaged in an identical free-for-all.
Swallowing down the massive mouthful, Long Shi arched an eyebrow at the spectators still lingering around them. “Why aren’t you guys ordering yet? Can’t you pool your cash like we did?”
“Wait, isn’t the food buff tied to a full portion…?”
“Yeah, eat half a portion and you get half the buff. Take two bites and you get two bites’ worth. Don’t eat at all and you get jack squat.” Long Shi sounded like an undisputed authority on the matter. “Besides, buff aside, you actually get to taste the damn food!”
“B-but…”
“But what? What’s the point of hoarding coin if you’re not going to enjoy life?”
“Robot! Over here, I want to order too!”
A shout rang out from a table nearby.
“Caicai is on the way—!” The robot wheeled around and rolled over.
“See that? Better hurry up, or the little machine’s going to be too slammed to take your order.” Long Shi shoveled another massive mouthful of Di San Xian in.
He chewed with a look of pure ecstasy, practically dancing in his seat.
The surrounding crowd remained torn.
Those with coin to spare or burning cravings had already claimed tables, craning their necks to figure out which dish looked tastiest.
It was impossible not to hesitate; the funds they held might only cover a single dish.
Faced with an unfamiliar menu, they naturally wanted whatever suited their palate best.
Those who were short on coin or hated parting with it didn’t leave either, lingering wistfully to soak in the spectacle.
Still, what Long Shi said… made a lot of sense.
If you couldn’t bear the cost of a full plate, couldn’t you split half a portion? Or a third?
Hauling heavy loads of wild produce every day—wasn’t the whole point to afford a decent bite of food?!
Treating yourself every once in a while wasn’t a crime, was it?
Among the daily regulars, familiar faces were everywhere. These were companions who had shared meals and fended off wild dogs together.
It was time to put their “solidarity” to the test before the Di San Xian, Shredded Pork with Runner Beans, Garlic Broccoli, and braised platters!
…
“Boss!”
Caicai materialized at the kitchen service window, calling out the incoming orders from the second-floor diners to Ling Jing inside.
“Nine orders of Garlic Broccoli, six orders of Di San Xian, four orders of Shredded Pork with Runner Beans, two Braised Vegetarian Platters, and one Braised Offal Platter!”
Ling Jing, who had only prepped five portions of each stir-fry the night before: “?”
Caicai had only gone upstairs a moment ago.
How did the kitchen get slammed out of nowhere?
