The page boy noticed that the newcomer had an excellent appearance and figured that this handsome young man would be very popular with the female customers.
Damn! He wasn't here to be some kind of gigolo!
A vein throbbed on his forehead. Suppressing his anger, Li Xunsheng spoke calmly:
"I'm here to find the head chef of the Drunken Flower House. Isn't the Drunken Flower House collecting S-class ingredients?"
"You have an S-class ingredient? You?!"
Apparently provoked by the disdain in Xuan Sheng's eyes, the page boy immediately felt a surge of anger in his mind.
"Heh, you probably don't know how precious S-class ingredients are! After Old Man Liu spent more than half a year gathering them, he commissioned several Diamond-tier adventurers from the Adventurer's Guild to obtain the milk of a Sixth-Tier magic cow and the meat of a Fifth-Tier Aorax Lord!"
The page boy held his head high, as if he had accomplished those feats himself.
"And those can only be considered A-class ingredients! To obtain an S-class ingredient, you need not only formidable strength but also extraordinary luck. Only then do you have a chance of getting one!"
"You're just a lowly country bumpkin, a rustic villager. You'd better not try to enter high-class establishments like ours~"
Blocking the entrance, the page boy still seemed unsatisfied after saying so much. He spoke disdainfully:
"What's your S-class ingredient? The meat of a Sixth- or Seventh-Tier Lord monster? Or some Sixth- or Seventh-Tier spiritual material? Hm? Don't tell me it's some vegetable grown in a field. Hahaha!"
Certain that the newcomer was weak and had no chance of obtaining ingredients of that level, the page boy mocked him without restraint.
It really was something grown from the soil...
This guy was pretty good at guessing.
Being ridiculed by this clown of a doorkeeper, Li Xunsheng felt nothing.
Perhaps because he had grown accustomed to seeing mountains and towering peaks, he no longer cared about pebbles that merely got underfoot.
After pretending to be a deity, Xuan Sheng hadn't improved much in other areas, but his insight and mindset had changed considerably...
"What's going on here?"
The commotion caused by the page boy attracted another steward. As soon as this well-dressed man arrived, the doorkeeper immediately shrank back and fell silent like a mouse that had seen a cat, his face filled with nervousness.
"Boss, this country bumpkin says he has an S-class ingredient. I thought that was impossible, so I stopped him to keep him from disturbing Old Man Liu."
"What are you talking about? Are you an appraiser? Can you tell whether an ingredient is good or bad?!"
The steward glared, making the page boy tremble. Clearly, he was terrified.
"Sir, we haven't disciplined our staff properly, and I'm sorry for the trouble. If you have an S-class ingredient, just show it to me. If you don't, you're still welcome to come in and spend money."
Although there was nothing wrong with his words, the steward's expression was perfunctory. Clearly, like the page boy, he didn't believe that Li Xunsheng could produce anything worthwhile.
"I don't have anything else. How about a potato grown in the ground?"
Seeing that, despite their different attitudes, the arrogance and disdain in their hearts were exactly the same, Li Xunsheng smiled and took a Golden Potato from his system inventory.
It was indeed a potato, and it had indeed been grown from the soil. However, the one who had grown it was a genuine deity!
Seeing that the man before him was stubbornly determined to try this strange potato, the steward, who knew little about ingredients and was incompetent at his job, frowned and examined the golden lump in his hand.
The observant page boy noticed the confusion and frown on his superior's face. He immediately stepped forward like a dog without a leash and pointed accusingly.
"Do you think this is a market? You'll shove anything in here! You're treating a lousy potato like a treasure? Really, how—"
"Shut up!"
After finally managing to cast an unfamiliar Appraisal Skill, sweat beading on his forehead, the steward gripped the potato with one trembling hand and slapped the page boy hard with the other.
This really was an S-class ingredient!
"Boss..."
After being slapped hard, the page boy cupped his swollen face and looked at his superior in confusion.
"We've been remiss in our hospitality, honored guest. This way, please..."
The steward respectfully returned the potato, repeatedly bowing as he extended an arm and guided the young man inside.
A man who could casually produce an S-class ingredient was definitely no ordinary person! Even if he was ordinary, the people behind him were certainly terrifying!
The flustered steward wiped away his sweat and led Li Xunsheng upstairs with repeated apologies, afraid that his actions might offend either this man or the big shot behind him and bring about some inexplicable disaster.
"Thanks for the effort."
The King of Hell was easy to deal with, but his minions were troublesome. The ancients really hadn't lied.
Completely satisfied as he walked under the steward's service, Xuan Sheng narrowed his eyes and secretly planned to manage his dependents properly in the future. People at the very bottom who handled affairs couldn't be like this.
Dragging their feet, kicking every matter back and forth, accomplishing nothing, and looking down on others while acting as if they were superior.
They were truly rather irritating.
"Old Man Liu, the honored guest you asked for has arrived!"
After reaching the top floor and seeing that the visitor showed no anger or dissatisfaction over his actions, the steward's voice unconsciously grew louder.
He knocked on the door and called out cheerfully to the Drunken Flower House's finest chef.
"Hm? What honored guest?"
A deep, weathered voice came from behind the door. The jujube-red door soon opened, revealing a slightly plump old man with hair and beard as white as snow.
The old man stared with his small, round black eyes, quickly looking past the steward in front of him and directly at the... potato behind him!
After spotting the item in Li Xunsheng's hand, the slightly plump old man's little eyes widened several sizes. He shoved aside the obstructing steward and practically jogged over to him.
"This potato is..."
"That's right, it's an S-class ingredient. I brought it here specifically for you."
[Old Man Liu: Don't ask. He became so obsessed with cooking that he even forgot his own name. Everyone always calls him Old Man Liu, so he calls himself Old Man Liu too. Just call him that. Cooking Level: Lv.79]
"It really is an S-class ingredient! Where did you get it?!"
The old man took the Golden Potato as if it were a priceless treasure. The uncertainty on his face vanished, replaced by delight, and he rubbed the potato's skin like he was caressing a lover.
"That's inconvenient to disclose. Do you think one is enough?"
The notice had said that an S-class primary ingredient was needed. Since it was meant to be the main ingredient, wouldn't one potato be a little too small?
Although the Golden Potato's effects were excellent, as an S-class ingredient, it was only the size of a fist. To be honest, Li Xunsheng couldn't help feeling doubtful about using it as the main ingredient.
It probably wouldn't be enough to eat...
"You have more?! I want them! I'll take as many as you have!"
As if afraid that Xuan Sheng would snatch the potato away, the old man immediately put it away and grabbed the young man by the lapel, his eyes glittering.
"I don't have many more... Really, this is all I have left..."
Startled by the old man's actions, Xuan Sheng could only take out another Golden Potato...
[Although one Golden Potato was already enough to serve as the main ingredient, Old Man Liu was worried that it might fail, so he planned to use as many as possible]
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