Qian Chaoguang's Thousand Layers of Schemes

After finishing his conversation with Zhou Yi, Qian Chaoguang returned to the square and received a hero's welcome.

To them, Qian Chaoguang truly was a hero.

A great hero who had led them in resisting the Demon King.

And this quickly gave rise to a sense of collective honor within them.

The other classes probably would not have imagined even in their dreams that this outrageous sense of collective honor had come from their collective resistance under Qian Chaoguang's leadership, as well as their hatred for Zhou Yi.

This Head Teacher was just too damn infuriating!

Everyone celebrated for a full ten-plus minutes. Only when the students from the other classes gradually finished school as well did they finally stop and return to their dorms to wash up.

After bathing and changing clothes, Qian Chaoguang headed out with Huo Yutong, who had come down a little later, toward the east gate of Shrek City.

After the official start of term, Shrek City's east gate had regained the feel of a tourist attraction.

Vendors lined both sides of the main road, their wares dazzling in variety. Food stalls made up the majority, and cries hawking goods rang out without pause.

Clearly, Qian Chaoguang was not the only one making a killing off wealthy customers near Shrek's gates. This place was practically a food street.

"Here will do."

After observing for a while, Qian Chaoguang chose a spot that looked secluded but was actually upwind of a place everyone would pass by.

Huo Yutong nodded and pulled out a whole pile of equipment from her Storage Ring.

A grill, charcoal, seasonings, cooking utensils, a small table, and two chairs—these were all things she kept in her Storage Ring at all times.

Qian Chaoguang skillfully started the fire and took out the raw fish he had prepared beforehand, casually handing his bracelet to Huo Yutong.

With the boost from the Thousand Forging Flame Furnace, the charcoal burned red-hot within just a few minutes before gradually becoming coated in gray ash.

The coals had passed their most intense stage and entered the gentler phase best suited for grilling.

If the fire was too fierce, it was no longer grilling. It was just burning.

Six fish were placed on the iron grate at once. Huo Yutong carefully controlled the heat, and under the searing flames, a distinctive toasted fragrance gradually burst forth.

Huo Yutong said quietly, "By the way, Brother, Teacher Xiaoya heard about what happened to us. She wants to come eat two fish later too."

Qian Chaoguang nodded. "Tang Ya wants to come? Sure, no problem. But she'll have to wait until we're done here, then we can find somewhere without people around."

It had to be said that Huo Yutong's grilled fish was truly exceptional.

Combined with the modern grilling spice recipes Qian Chaoguang provided and local seasonings, the rich fragrance multiplied explosively.

The scent drifting on the wind worked better than any advertisement. Customers came simply by following the smell.

Not only the students coming out of the academy, but even the surrounding vendors could not help casting curious looks their way.

Just as the first brave soul ready to try the crab was about to step forward and ask the price, Qian Chaoguang did something no one present expected.

He took two fish off the grill and began stuffing his face with them.

Huo Yutong also took one and ate it in small bites, while placing the other three fish in the warming area without charcoal.

There was no conversation between the two, only the sound of rapid chewing.

Qian Chaoguang ate with both hands, as though he were tearing into two enormous slabs of roasted meat. His bites were swift, enough to make anyone who watched feel their appetite awaken.

Under the siblings' voracious assault, only one fish remained in the warming area after just a few minutes.

Just as Qian Chaoguang was preparing to continue eating, a male student who had been standing nearby for quite some time finally could not hold back any longer.

"Hello, Junior Brother and Junior Sister."

Huo Yutong looked at him and asked adorably, "Senior Brother, what is it?"

The student swallowed hard and said, "Junior Brother, Junior Sister, I just wanted to ask how much your grilled fish costs?"

"Selling it?"

Qian Chaoguang looked up in feigned surprise, a few bits of cumin still stuck at the corner of his mouth.

"Senior Brother, you must be mistaken. We're not selling grilled fish. We're just grilling some for ourselves to eat. The academy doesn't allow open flames, and we didn't want to go too far from Shrek City. See? We even deliberately found a secluded corner."

"B-but... but..."

The student stared unblinkingly at the final grilled fish on the grill. Qian Chaoguang's ravenous eating, along with the rich fragrance of the grilled fish, filled his mind.

"Junior Brother, one Gold Soul Coin. I'll give you one Gold Soul Coin. Can you spare one for your Senior Brother? I can't take it anymore. It smells too good!"

"Huh? One Gold Soul Coin? That doesn't even cover the cost. No deal, no deal."

Qian Chaoguang muttered as he reached for the final fish.

"One Gold Soul Coin isn't enough?!"

The student's eyes widened as he said in disbelief, "Junior Brother, don't tell me your fish is made of Rare Metal?"

"No, it's mainly just too troublesome."

Qian Chaoguang shook his head and casually handed over a small box.

"Senior Brother, take a good look. These are seasonings passed down through my family. You won't find anything like them anywhere on the entire Douluo Continent. My sister and I painstakingly cultivated them ourselves, then processed them through forty-nine steps. They're precious. Forget the fish, and don't even count my sister's skill—even these seasonings alone cost more than one Gold Soul Coin."

Before the modern era, spices had always been a wildly profitable business. This was just as vividly evident on the Douluo Continent.

Ordinary seasonings were already like that, let alone the Compound Spice Qian Chaoguang and Huo Yutong had specially created after gathering ingredients from many places over the years.

In an era where the main dish was basically stewed meat with a handful of salt and the staple food was mostly flatbread, it was pure Dimensional Reduction Strike.

With this stuff, even Grilled Slipper would smell delicious!

Qian Chaoguang had once used a single word to describe the Douluo Continent's culinary standards—disaster.

"Now look at our grill. It's made entirely of high-quality Rare Metal. These fish were specially marinated by my sister two days in advance. During the marinating process, I even had to keep massaging the fish so the flavor would soak in. It's incredibly troublesome."

The student held the seasoning box without speaking for quite some time.

He knew food. He could be considered a true gourmand.

And he could tell that Qian Chaoguang was not lying in the slightest.

He looked at the huge pile of seasonings in front of Huo Yutong, then at the sole remaining grilled fish. Gritting his teeth and stamping his foot, he seemed to make some enormous decision.

"Junior Brother, I really am craving it. How about this? Name your price. As long as I can afford it, I absolutely won't haggle."

"This..."

Qian Chaoguang looked at Huo Yutong in feigned hesitation, then at the grill, and asked quietly, "Xiao Tong, how many fish do we have left?"

Huo Yutong replied in a very soft voice, yet one that the "Hungry Gourmand" before them could hear perfectly:

"Four left. That's enough for us to eat. If not, we can go have a little more at the cafeteria later. Brother, why not spare him one? This Senior Brother really looks like he wants to eat it."

"...Fine. I'll listen to you."

Qian Chaoguang's expression was extremely unpleasant, his brows drawn tightly together.

"Fifty Gold Soul Coins."

"What?"

"Fifty Gold Soul Coins. Take it or leave it. If you don't want it, get lost. If my sister hadn't spoken up for you, I wouldn't sell you one at all!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Seeing Qian Chaoguang's impatient expression, the student was afraid he would change his mind. He immediately pulled out a large handful of Gold Soul Coins and slapped them onto the small table beside the grill without even counting them.