An Wuyang set aside the Beginner Consumption Cashback Card reward he had received from the Gourmet Lucky Draw Pack. Right now, he was more interested in properly savoring the steamed fish.
An Wuyang tried the Steamed Black Bean Catfish second. It was a classic home-style dish, and many families in Shengqing made it.
However, dishes made by many families had a fishy taste, and their texture was difficult to describe.
Catfish was a boneless freshwater fish, but it had a fairly strong muddy smell. Moreover, if the heat was not controlled properly during cooking, the texture could not be guaranteed.
Li Wenya had once made Steamed Black Bean Catfish at home. As for the taste...
It was not just a matter of taste!
In any case, An Wuyang and An Huchun had both become projectile warriors. Li Wenya, having not eaten the Steamed Black Bean Catfish she had made herself, had luckily escaped the disaster.
The Steamed Black Bean Catfish at Zhulin Pier Steamed Fish Restaurant was quite good.
First, there was the texture of the meat. Since An Wuyang had chosen only the tail section, its meat was not as dry and tough as the meat along the spine, making it extremely tender.
The fishy taste had also been suppressed very well. Combined with the salty, savory aroma of the black beans, it earned another round of praise from An Wuyang.
However, the Happy Life System did not provide another Gourmet Lucky Draw Pack this time. It was hard to say whether it was because multiple Gourmet Lucky Draw Packs could not be obtained within a short period, or because An Wuyang had already grown accustomed to this kind of flavor.
An Wuyang then tried the Roasted Pepper Steamed Perch. Its flavor was also excellent. The fishy taste was completely suppressed while the freshness of the perch remained, along with the smoky aroma and distinctive spiciness of the roasted peppers.
An Wuyang praised it, saying, "This Roasted Pepper Steamed Perch is really good. Compared with the flavor of chopped peppers, roasted peppers taste a little better."
Xia Yuqing held her chopsticks to her lips. She wanted to eat the Roasted Pepper Steamed Perch too.
"What's wrong?" An Wuyang asked as he looked at Xia Yuqing.
Xia Yuqing answered honestly, "I want to eat the Roasted Pepper Steamed Perch too."
"Then eat it," An Wuyang said in confusion. "It's not like I'm stopping you."
Xia Yuqing replied sheepishly, "Whenever I eat spicy food, I want to eat rice, but eating rice makes it easy to gain weight, so..."
So she could not eat it, right?
"Cold tossed tomatoes can relieve the spiciness. Eat just a little, then have some cold tossed tomatoes and see how it goes," An Wuyang suggested.
Xia Yuqing was, after all, a little glutton. She accepted An Wuyang's suggestion and then took a small bite of the Roasted Pepper Steamed Perch.
When Xia Yuqing tasted the Roasted Pepper Steamed Perch, her eyes narrowed, as if she were savoring it carefully.
"Mmm~" Xia Yuqing made an unintelligible sound. "It's delicious, delicious! This is the flavor! It's so good!"
"I've never seen Roasted Pepper Steamed Fish on the menu at any other restaurant. Only this restaurant serves it," Xia Yuqing said with a sigh.
An Wuyang guessed, "Maybe this dish is too complicated?"
"Their roasted pepper sauce is freshly made—I can taste it. It isn't industrially produced roasted pepper sauce," An Wuyang added.
The flavor of industrially produced roasted pepper sauce was far too obvious!
Freshly made roasted peppers were easy to distinguish. After all, the traces of smoke and fire could not be faked.
"Freshly made roasted peppers, combined with the specially selected cut of fish, are sold for only twenty-five yuan per hundred grams. If this were served at an upscale restaurant, selling it at this price would mean taking a loss!" An Wuyang exclaimed.
Upscale restaurants meant more expensive costs!
That included higher shop rental costs, decoration costs, operating costs, and higher labor costs, among other things.
The shop occupied by Zhulin Pier Steamed Fish Restaurant looked like a remodeled private courtyard, and all the servers were middle-aged women. They were even short-staffed. As for the decorations, they were barely worth mentioning.
The overall costs of Zhulin Pier Steamed Fish Restaurant were extremely low, which was why it could sell dishes like this at relatively low prices. If other restaurants made such dishes and sold them at this price in any commercial district, they would probably take a loss, right?
"It's so expensive, and it would still lose money?" Xia Yuqing asked in confusion.
An Wuyang did not argue with Xia Yuqing about the price. He could understand very well how people with different financial circumstances viewed the same price differently.
The world was diverse, and people were even more diverse.
The two chatted as they ate. Nearly an hour later, they finally finished all the dishes.
Xia Yuqing said with both satisfaction and worry, "I'm so full! But I've gone over my calorie limit today again. Later, I'll do an extra two hours of training and burn off all these calories!"
"Are you really going that hard?" An Wuyang teased.
Xia Yuqing replied helplessly, "I have no choice! Our school even created a university group in advance, and our major instructor makes us report our weight every day."
???
"Is it really that intense?" An Wuyang exclaimed.
"Our major instructor is very strict," Xia Yuqing said with a sigh.
"No wonder it's Magic City Academy of Drama!" An Wuyang could only marvel. Good schools really were different. "I'll go pay the bill first. Wait here for a moment."
"I already paid!" Xia Yuqing immediately replied with a smile. She even waved her phone, showing that she had already paid through it.
An Wuyang was slightly stunned. This was the first time he had eaten alone with a girl and had the girl pay the bill first.
Previously, neither Su Yueling nor any of the other female classmates who got along well with An Wuyang had ever taken the initiative to pay.
After all, they knew that An Wuyang's family was well-off, and An Wuyang was generous, so they were happy to spend time with him!
"I invited you to eat, but you ended up paying the bill," An Wuyang said helplessly.
Xia Yuqing happily replied, "I still have lots of New Year's money!"
In fact, Xia Yuqing had been considering that An Wuyang's family had gone bankrupt. Although An Wuyang had driven over in a BMW M3 today, Xia Yuqing did not know how much a BMW M3 cost, much less that he had bought it himself.
Therefore, Xia Yuqing had taken the initiative to pay, avoiding putting any pressure on An Wuyang.
It had to be said that Xia Yuqing really was a little silly, huh?
"So you still have lots left?" An Wuyang deliberately asked jokingly.
Xia Yuqing let out a coquettish hum. "I'm not telling you!"
An Wuyang naturally could not press her. He took the initiative to say, "Classmate Xia, I'd like to trouble you with one more thing."
"What is it?" Xia Yuqing asked in return.
"Let's go shopping together. I want to buy an outfit, and I'd like you to help me choose. Is that okay?" An Wuyang asked for her help.
Xia Yuqing agreed without hesitation. "Of course!"
Xia Yuqing had no idea that accompanying An Wuyang shopping for clothes was a little too intimate. That was probably one of the benefits brought by a favorability score of 90.
"Shall we go?" An Wuyang suggested.
Xia Yuqing stood up. "Mm-hmm."
"Oh, right. Where do you want to buy clothes? Would you like me to recommend somewhere?" Xia Yuqing added.
Before you continue