Recipe Won't Sell?

"This is the one. This is Shrek City's Largest Restaurant. They say the chefs here are all Food-Type Soul Masters, and every ingredient is carefully selected from the finest parts of soul beasts. Let's check this place out first, then look elsewhere. We should compare our options."

Tang Ya pointed at a restaurant ahead that stood roughly six or seven stories tall.

Huo Yuhao looked over. The restaurant was decorated in a classical style, with layered pavilions rising and falling at different heights, upturned eaves, vermilion doors, green tiles, carved beams, and painted rafters. Inside, the banquets were splendid, the candlelight brilliant, and the rich fragrance filled the hall.

Huo Yuhao led the other three, including Jiang Nannan, into the restaurant and took a seat in a private booth. He studied the dishes on the menu before starting to order.

Tang Ya asked curiously, "Little Yuhao, weren't we here to sell a recipe? Why are you ordering food? We can't afford a meal here."

Huo Yuhao explained, "To sell a recipe, we need to discuss it with the owner. We're just four students. Do you think we can easily get an audience with the owner of such a large restaurant?"

Huo Yuhao then sighed and said, "It probably won't be easy to sell the recipe here. Look at their menu. Every dish is made from the finest soul beast essences. Here, people aren't just eating for flavor—they're eating for nutrition too. But the ingredients in my recipe are all ordinary ingredients. Even the best among them is only Hundred-Year Soul Beast meat. No matter how delicious it is, it clashes with this restaurant's positioning, so it won't sell."

Tang Ya nodded, concerned. "That's true. If I were them, I wouldn't buy it either. So we can't sell the recipe at this restaurant? Then let's leave quickly and go to some ordinary restaurants."

Huo Yuhao shook his head. "Let's take a look here first. Ordinary restaurants won't offer a good price. This place, though... judging by the prices of the dishes on this menu, do you think they'd offer a low price for a recipe they could add to their menu?"

Seeing that even the cheapest dish on the menu cost several hundred Gold Soul Coins, Huo Yuhao could not help but sigh. He had nearly grown used to living in poverty since crossing over.

When Jiang Nannan saw the prices on the menu, she was once again made aware of the gap between people. She was the poorest person at Shrek Academy. To this day, all the money she had ever spent did not add up to the price of a single dish on the menu.

Jiang Nannan said nothing. She believed Huo Yuhao had his own considerations. To her, he had always been dependable.

Wang Dong could not help asking, "But didn't you say this restaurant wouldn't buy your recipe?"

Wang Dong did not think the prices on the menu were expensive. Their ingredients were parts of thousand-year and ten-thousand-year soul beasts. At those prices, they could only be said to be worth the cost.

She was only curious about how Huo Yuhao intended to sell the recipe to this restaurant.

Huo Yuhao said frankly, "They really won't buy the recipe as it is now. I never said I was going to sell it."

"We'll eat here first and taste their food. And while we're at it, perhaps we can discuss some other business?" Huo Yuhao said meaningfully.

"Do you have money?" Wang Dong shot back.

"If you beg me, it's not like I can't treat you to this meal." Wang Dong beamed. She felt that she could finally make this guy lower his head to her once, and it made her feel wonderfully satisfied.

Huo Yuhao gave Wang Dong a helpless look and sighed. "If I can eat for free, why would I spend money?"

Wang Dong's eyes widened. "You're going to dine and dash?"

"Didn't you see it? There was a display board in the hall when we came in. It said that anyone who could make food more delicious than their restaurant's could receive one free meal," Huo Yuhao said.

"Are you sure your cooking is that good?" Wang Dong was doubtful. She had never tasted Huo Yuhao's cooking before. "You should know that the head chefs here are at least Food-Type Soul King. They're extremely sensitive to a dish's color, aroma, and taste, and their cooking is top-notch. Do you really think you can beat them?"

Huo Yuhao did not know how skilled these people were at cooking, but he felt that as long as they were human, no matter how good their cooking was, he could find flaws in it with Mental Detection. As long as he could find a flaw, he could use Soul Interference to infinitely magnify the judges' sensory perception of that flaw. Then, no matter how delicious the food was, it would lose because of that imperfection.

Therefore, Huo Yuhao said with great confidence, "Don't worry. My cooking is definitely excellent. Sister Tang Ya can vouch for me."

Tang Ya nodded in affirmation.

As they chatted, dish after dish of food that was perfect in color, aroma, and flavor was served. Huo Yuhao first scanned everything with Mental Detection, then sampled them roughly. He had a good grasp of the situation and felt there was probably no need to use Soul Interference.

Huo Yuhao waved to the waiter and said, "Could you ask your head chef to come over? The dishes at your restaurant really don't suit our tastes. It can only be said that such good ingredients have gone to waste."

The waiter glared at him, but he still went to fetch the head chef properly.

Wang Dong and the others were somewhat confused.

"What are you trying to do now?"

Huo Yuhao said, "Since I said I would make something more delicious than the food in their restaurant, I naturally need to comment on their dishes first and point out their shortcomings. That'll make it easier to win. Besides, if I point out all the flaws in these dishes, perhaps I might even draw out the owner of this restaurant?"

Tang Ya's mouth twitched. "Aren't you afraid of getting beaten up?"

Huo Yuhao smiled. "Why do you think this restaurant put up a notice saying that anyone whose cooking surpasses theirs gets a free meal? Clearly, they aren't afraid of being challenged or having their flaws pointed out. On the contrary, they welcome people challenging them."

Tang Ya nodded thoughtfully.

Huo Yuhao continued, "Of course, that's only my guess. I can't guarantee it's right. But even if they don't mean it that way, we don't need to be afraid."

"Not to mention this is Shrek City, and we're all students of Shrek Academy. With Wang Dong here, we'll be perfectly safe."

Wang Dong glared at Huo Yuhao.

Tang Ya asked, "Does Junior Wang Dong have a high status?"

"Her?" Huo Yuhao looked at Wang Dong, silently asking whether he could say it.

Wang Dong glanced at Huo Yuhao and said, "I'm the Young Sect Master of Clear Sky Sect."

"The Young Sect Master of Clear Sky Sect?" Tang Ya gave Wang Dong a deep look upon hearing that, then said nothing more. She still had some lingering resentment toward the Clear Sky Sect.

"Hello, guests. May I ask which part of these dishes failed to suit your tastes?"

A middle-aged man dressed in a clean chef's uniform and chef's hat, yet carrying the air of a seasoned cook, knocked on the door to the private booth. After receiving Huo Yuhao's permission, he entered.

Huo Yuhao said, "Quite a few things don't suit our tastes."

The middle-aged chef wore a smile as he waited to hear what Huo Yuhao had to say.

"Let's start with this Emperor Fried Rice."

"If I didn't taste it wrong, it should use rice produced by the plant-type soul beast Thousand-Year Emerald Jade Rice, the nest of a Thousand-Year Golden Silk Swift, abalone sauce from Thousand-Year Abalone, and several Hundred-Year White Jade Shrimp, correct?"

The middle-aged chef's smile had already vanished. It was rare enough for a diner to identify two or three of the ingredients, but this young man had identified every single one? The middle-aged chef was greatly astonished, but he did not know that today's surprises had only just begun.