Treating to a Meal at Fengming Restaurant?

"Shang An, did you just arrive in the imperial capital?"

Dugu Yan looked at Shang An and the others curiously. She had lived in the imperial capital for over ten years; if there had been such a handsome man here, there was no way she would not have known.

"Yes, we came from the Balak Kingdom. This is my first time visiting the Tiandou Imperial Capital."

Spirit Hall was next to the Balak Kingdom, so saying they had come from the Balak Kingdom was not wrong.

"Then let me show you around. I grew up here, so I know Heaven Dou City best."

Dugu Yan spoke with some delight. It was not easy to meet someone who caught her eye, and she wanted to talk with him a little longer.

"Then thank you, miss."

Shang An did not refuse. He was quite interested in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Afterward, Dugu Yan led Shang An and the others around Heaven Dou City. Along the way, she was won over by Shang An's knowledge and bearing. His temperament and learning were not things an ordinary young master could possess. He must have come from a prestigious family. If she and him... then Grandfather probably would not object, would he?

However, Xiao Wu was somewhat sullen the entire way. Previously, Shang An had only her and Ni Huang by his side. There was too great an age gap between Ni Huang and Shang An; at a glance, she seemed like a guard or elder. Thus, Xiao Wu had been the only one around Shang An's age beside him, which gave her the illusion that Shang An belonged to her.

But now Dugu Yan had appeared. The two of them seemed deeply engrossed in conversation. Dugu Yan would sometimes burst into laughter at Shang An's teasing, and at other times look at him with admiration.

Moreover, because Shang An was rather tall, Dugu Yan looked more compatible with him in terms of apparent age.

Yet she was only Shang An's pet and had no standing to criticize anything. She could only sulk at the side, muttering things like, "I was here first," and "I'm Master's pet," under her breath.

Her voice was too soft for Dugu Yan to hear. Shang An heard her but did not react, merely finding it amusing inside. This Little Rabbit was actually jealous.

"It's noon, Shang An. Let's go eat. Sister Ni Huang is hungry too."

Xiao Wu grabbed Shang An's hand, then said to Dugu Yan,

"Sister Dugu's family must be anxiously waiting. You should hurry home for lunch."

How could Shang An not understand Xiao Wu's little scheme? This girl had even dragged Ni Huang into it and had stopped calling him An Gege, all because she wanted to separate him from Dugu Yan as quickly as possible.

However, Shang An naturally had another purpose in accompanying Dugu Yan. Her impression of him was not deep enough yet, so how could they part so easily?

"Miss Dugu, you helped us out today and showed us around Heaven Dou City. May I have the opportunity to treat you to a simple meal as thanks?"

"You should just call me Yan Yan. I usually do not eat lunch at home anyway."

Dugu Yan spoke somewhat shyly.

"Then I'll presumptuously call you Yan Yan."

"Yes, all right, An Gege." Dugu Yan clearly did not yet know that Shang An was younger than she was. After all, Shang An's height and bearing were far too misleading.

Naturally, Shang An would not take the initiative to explain. He accepted the title of older brother and chatted happily with Dugu Yan as they walked side by side toward Fengming Restaurant.

"Yan Yan, do you have any recommended restaurants?"

Shang An was unfamiliar with Heaven Dou, so it was better to let Dugu Yan choose.

Dugu Yan said, "I heard that a Fengming Restaurant over there opened not long ago. How about we eat there?"

Only Xiao Wu trailed behind with a baffled and disgruntled expression. Why is this happening? Why isn't this woman leaving yet?

"Xiao Wu, stop muttering and hurry up."

"Coming."

Xiao Wu immediately reined in her expression and quickly caught up. She did not dare give Shang An an attitude.

The group entered Fengming Restaurant.

It was still unknown how the food tasted, but the restaurant's decor was undeniably luxurious. It had an antique style similar to the Chinese aesthetic of Shang An's previous life, with glittering splendor everywhere and jade decorations throughout. It felt less like entering a restaurant and more like arriving at an imperial palace.

A woman dressed as a palace maid came forward to greet them. Her attitude was warm and sincere, giving them a feeling of being right at home. And that sales pitch... huh, this seemed to be one of his own businesses.

Shang An suddenly recalled that his plan had briefly described the establishment of industries such as restaurants and gambling houses, mainly meant to gather funds and collect intelligence. One of them had been Fengming Restaurant.

He simply had not expected Fengming Restaurant to be completed so quickly, so he had not recognized it at first.

But thinking about it, the fantasy world was ultimately different from an ordinary one. Besides, Heaven Dou City was the most prosperous city in the Heaven Dou Empire, so it was only natural to establish Fengming Restaurant here first.

Very soon, Shang An and the others booked a private room. Xiao Wu entered first and casually picked up the menu from the table. Every dish came with an exquisite picture that whetted the appetite, but after flipping through it for a long while, her face fell.

"Shang An, let's go somewhere else."

"What's wrong?"

Dugu Yan was somewhat puzzled. Could there be a problem with the restaurant she had recommended? She had only heard others mention it occasionally and had not paid much attention to it.

"See for yourself."

Xiao Wu directly tossed the menu to Dugu Yan. After taking it and browsing through it, Dugu Yan also frowned slightly.

"Let's go somewhere else."

"Haha, no need. Do you think you can eat me poor?"

Shang An knew what was going on with the two of them. He had helped create Fengming Restaurant, whose whole selling point was its price and prestige. At the lowest end, a meal of two dishes and one soup would probably cost over a thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Fengming Restaurant had never been meant for commoners. It made money from nobles, serving as a place where they could entertain guests. What did nobles want? Style. A meal costing over a thousand Gold Soul Coins was unimaginable to ordinary people, but to great nobles, it was not really a large sum.

Did nobles lack money? They did not. What they wanted was to display how different they were from commoners.

Furthermore, Fengming Restaurant's chefs were all food-system Spirit Masters. Its lavish decor was unquestionably the finest in Heaven Dou, and its service was also absolutely top-notch. Few restaurants put such thought into that aspect, so the distinctive Fengming Restaurant was bound to draw attention.

Naturally, Dugu Yan could afford it. She simply felt that if someone else was treating her, spending several thousand Gold Soul Coins on one meal would be far too rude.

"This, this, and this... have you written them down?"

Shang An named several dishes to the palace-maid-dressed server. They were all relatively cheap dishes. The smile on the woman's face did not diminish as she warmly asked, "Sir, would you only like these dishes?"

"No. Other than these, bring one of everything else."

Shang An shook his head. Those dishes all contained celery, which he hated most. He had not expected that damned stuff to exist even on Douluo Continent, though it went by another name.

"Sir, what did you say?"

The server thought she had misheard and asked again.

"Go on. Bring every dish except those few."

"Sir, are you certain?"

The server felt completely dumbfounded, and she could barely maintain the smile on her face.

She was certain that no one who had looked at the menu would dare say such a thing. Fengming Restaurant's entire menu would likely cost hundreds of thousands of Gold Soul Coins. Even dukes and princes would not be so extravagant.

"Shang An, isn't that unnecessary?"

Dugu Yan tugged at Shang An's hand, worried that he was forcing himself for the sake of face. If he could not pay later, Fengming Restaurant supposedly had an extraordinary background. Yet Xiao Wu was not worried at all upon seeing how calm Shang An was.

"Don't worry."

Shang An covered Dugu Yan's fair hand with his own. Was this not just ordering food? Why were they acting as though they were heading into battle?

"Do as I said."

"All right, please wait a moment, sir."

In the end, the server took the order slip and withdrew.

Once outside the room, the server immediately ran backstage to find the manager.

"Manager, Manager, the guests in Earth Room Three placed a huge order."

"If they ordered, then hand it to the kitchen. Do I need to teach you that?"

The manager felt that this server was making too much fuss. With Fengming Restaurant's prices, which order was not huge?

"But, but he ordered nearly every dish."

"What?!"

The manager was also shocked. Fengming Restaurant offered a wide variety of dishes, one hundred and twenty-eight in total. Ordering all of them would cost no less than several hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Was this person truly wealthy, or merely putting on a brave front?

After hesitating for a moment, the manager still made a decision.

"Send the order to the kitchen."

The manager knew the background of his establishment, so he was not afraid someone would dine and dash.

"Yes."

Since even the manager had agreed, the server naturally had no objections. In any case, if something went wrong in the end, she would not be the one taking the blame.

Thus, the entire kitchen immediately became busy. One exquisite dish after another was continuously delivered into Earth Room Three.

"Shang An Gege, eat this. This one is tasty."

Xiao Wu placed a chopstickful of a dish called Jade Dragon Terrace into Shang An's bowl. It was actually Crystal Radish pickled in vinegar. The implication was obvious, but Shang An pretended not to understand.