Gourmet of Another World

Ah Lu went into a daze as he stared blankly at the steaming plate of tangerine Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs in front of the big black dog. He forgot about the half-eaten chicken drumstick in his hand and even forgot to chew the meat in his mouth.

This Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs smelled really delicious. It was much more aromatic than the roast meat made by the old man from Qingyangzhen who taught them how to cook. With such a comparison, Ah Lu felt the chicken drumstick in his hand had become somewhat bland and tasteless.

Ah Lu gave the chicken drumstick in his hand a glance and then broke into a grin. He still shoved the chicken drumstick into his mouth and swallowed it after chewing a few times.

The big black dog was just about to heartily enjoy the Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs on its own when its body suddenly trembled for a moment. It immediately raised its head and discovered Ah Lu’s staring gaze. That gaze was filled with greed and yearning and its target was the Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs.

“How dare this human covet this lord dog’s Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs?!” Blacky was furious! It immediately stood up and blocked the view of the Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs with its body. With its buttocks facing Ah Lu, it rather proudly wagged its tail.

With his line of sight obstructed, Ah Lu could only reluctantly give up on chasing the food with his eyes. After he smacked his lips, he ran his tongue over his lips as if he was attempting to lick the fragrance of the Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs wafting in the air.

“Put your tongue back in your mouth, could you not behave like a chef who’s inexperienced with the ways of the world? If you’re going to act like this, please don’t tell anyone that you’re my brother!” Ah Wei knitted his eyebrows together and his face was almost scrunched together from revulsion. Even though he had to admit that the fragrance of the Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs was really not bad… his reaction was not as pathetic as Ah Lu’s.

Bu Fang turned around when he heard the voices behind him. With his eyebrows raised, he looked at the two strange people in surprise.

One of them was a large and fat person wearing an apron and the other was a skinny person with a large black wok on his back…

“What an unique duo, are they here to cause trouble?” Bu Fang thought.

“Who are you guys?” Bu Fang asked.

After receiving a scolding from Ah Wei, Ah Lu immediately pulled his tongue back into his mouth with much reluctance while still reminiscing the aroma of the Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs.

Ah Wei was somewhat puzzled as he gave Bu Fang a glance. After suspiciously sizing Bu Fang up from top to bottom, he opened his mouth and asked, “Are you the one who made this Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs?”

This was a dish that possessed the finest presentation, aroma, and flavor. Without even having a careful observation, Ah Wei dared to conclude that this was definitely a classic and excellent plate of Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs!

However, how could a chef who appeared to be younger than him cook such an outstanding Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs? Impossible… Ah Wei subconsciously shook his head. He was extremely confident of his own culinary skill. Ever since he was trained by the old man, the level of his culinary skill had been swiftly rising. There was definitely no way an ordinary chef could be better than him.

“I don’t believe you, you’re lying… Go and get the real chef,” Ah Wei said as he gave Bu Fang a glance.

Bu Fang was surprised for a moment and looked at Ah Wei as if he was looking at an idiot. What did he mean by get the real chef? Bu Fang was standing right there, who else was he looking for?

Bu Fang could not be bothered to deal with such an unreasonable person. He immediately went back into the store and headed into the kitchen.

Ah Wei knitted his eyebrows together as he looked at Bu Fang’s back figure. Did he make a mistake? That speechless gaze Bu Fang gave him before turning around made him question his life…

“Let’s go, Ah Lu. Let’s take a look inside this store,” Ah Wei lifted his sharp chin and said with a faint smile.

“I didn’t think we would encounter such an interesting store when we just arrived at the imperial city,” Ah Wei said to himself. However, after waiting for a long while, there was still no response from Ah Lu. He immediately turned around in puzzlement and saw Ah Lu wriggling toward Blacky in tiny steps while continuously pulling out chicken drumsticks from his apron’s pocket.

“Cute lil’ doggy, why don’t we exchange two pieces of my chicken drumsticks for a piece of your Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs? Two pieces is not enough? How about three pieces? Four pieces?”

While wriggling forward, the flesh on Ah Lu’s face was quivering as well. He was really bewitched by the smell of the Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs. The thing that Ah Lu liked to do the most was eating and he was especially sensitive about eating meat.

When Ah Wei turned around and saw this scene, his lungs almost burst from exasperation. He immediately shouted in anger, “What the hell are you doing! Hurry up and get over here!”

When Ah Lu heard Ah Wei’s bellow, he was somewhat reluctant as he walked toward Ah Wei. In the end, the two of them stepped into the store.

The layout within the store was very cozy. At least, it gave Ah Lu and Ah Wei a pretty good first impression, especially the store’s hygiene. That spotless feeling made them very happy.

Ah Lu shoved the four pieces of chicken drumsticks in his hands into his mouth in one go and brutally chomped down in frustration. With a loud crunch, he swallowed all of the chicken drumsticks and said, “Bi… Big bro! Look at the menu behind you!”

Hearing his words, Ah Wei turned around and looked. His eyebrows rose up in an instant and he immediately swore out loud, “God damn… This store really is a rip-off, it’s even more of a rip-off than our store!”

Their store was set up at Qingyangzhen because it was situated at the entrance of the Wildlands. The prices of their dishes were extremely expensive, but they were expensive for a reason. All of the ingredients used in their dishes were personally obtained by them from the Wildlands. Furthermore, after being carefully cooked by them, the spirit energy within the ingredients could be preserved. Not only was the taste of their dishes good, they were even beneficial toward one’s cultivation. This was the true reason why they were selling their food at such expensive rates.

However, what was this store’s basis for selling their dishes at such an expensive rate as well? Was the owner of this store personally obtaining ingredients from the Wildlands too?

Nevertheless, even if he was personally obtaining the ingredients on his own, the prices of his dishes were still outrageously expensive. At their store, they had dishes that were priced in crystals but there were only a few of such dishes. On the other hand, almost every single dish in this store was priced in crystals…

Gulp.

Ah Wei was somewhat unable to accept the pricing.

“Where’s the owner?! I want to make an order!” Ah Wei shouted.

Bu Fang slowly walked out of the kitchen and gave Ah Wei a glance. Indignation was fully displayed on the other party’s face and his expression even contained a slight provocation.

“Oh, what do you want to order, tell me,” Bu Fang expressionlessly said.

“Big bro, let’s order the Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs! I really want to eat that…” Ah Lu said in a mumble beside him.

“Don’t talk to me when you’re eating!” Ah Wei grumbled while giving Ah Lu a glance. Honestly speaking, he was slightly tempted by Ah Lu’s suggestion, but he managed to endure the temptation in the end.

“We’ll have two servings of Egg-Fried Rice. You can only tell a chef’s level from the simplest dish… Besides, the Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs is so expensive. If it doesn’t taste good, our money would be wasted!” Ah Wei said.

Bu Fang broke into a grin as he gave these two weird brothers a glance. Without saying anything else, he only told them to wait a moment before he went back into the kitchen.

Ah Lu and Ah Wei found a table and sat down. Even though the environment within the store was completely different from outside and filled their hearts with warmth, the furnishing of the store was actually not luxurious at all and was just like an extremely ordinary store.

“Big bro, other people are having lavish meals on Spring Festival while we’re only eating Egg-Fried Rice here… Why don’t we order a serving of Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs as well? Otherwise, Red Braised Meat is acceptable too…” Ah Lu said as he swallowed another chicken drumstick.

“Hmph… Do you really plan on donating all of the crystals in your purse to this store? Are you stupid?!” Ah Wei said with a sneer.

He was in a huff as he sat on the chair with the large black wok on his back.

Ah Lu’s face was filled with disappointment as his body trembled in frustration. “I can’t eat any meat… I’m so sad,” Ah Lu muttered to himself. Afterward, he pulled out two pieces of chicken drumsticks and shoved them into his mouth before fiercely chewing them.

Suddenly, the crunching noises in his mouth abruptly stopped and his nose twitched violently. His gaze immediately gave off an intense brightness as he looked in the direction of the kitchen.

There, a slender figure was slowly walking out with two plates of piping hot Egg-Fried Rice.