Qian Chaoguang's Thousand-Layered Schemes

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

To them, Qian Chaoguang really was a hero.

The great hero who had led them in rebellion against the demon king.

And that quickly gave rise to a sense of collective honor in their hearts.

The other classes would probably never dream that this absurd sense of collective honor had come from a collective rebellion under Qian Chaoguang's lead, and also from their hatred of Zhou Yi.

This Class Advisor was just way too freaking infuriating!

The crowd got hyped for a full dozen minutes or so, and only stopped once the students from the other classes gradually got out of school as well. Then they each returned to their dorms to clean themselves up.

After washing up and changing clothes, Qian Chaoguang headed out and went with Huo Yutong, who came down a little later, toward Shrek City's East Gate.

After school officially started, Shrek City's East Gate regained a feeling almost like a tourist attraction.

Numerous vendors gathered on both sides of the main road, their goods dazzling in variety. Most of them sold all kinds of food, and hawking cries rang out without end.

Clearly, Qian Chaoguang was far from the only one making money off the big spenders at Shrek's entrance. This place was practically a food street.

"Let's do it here."

Qian Chaoguang observed for a moment, then chose a spot that seemed secluded, but was actually an upwind location everyone would pass by.

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

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

Qian Chaoguang skillfully lit the fire, took out the prepared raw fish, and conveniently handed his bracelet to Huo Yutong.

With the enhancement of the Thousand Refinement Flame Furnace, the charcoal was burned red-hot in just a few minutes and gradually became covered in gray ash.

The charcoal had skipped past its most vigorous stage and entered the mellow period most suitable for barbecue.

If the fire was too strong, it was not grilling anymore. It was just burning.

Six grilled fish were placed on the iron mesh at the same time. Huo Yutong carefully controlled the temperature, and under the roasting of the flames, a unique charred aroma gradually burst forth.

Huo Yutong said softly, "Oh right, Brother, Teacher Tang Ya heard about us. She wants to come eat two later too."

Qian Chaoguang nodded. "Sister Tang Ya is coming? Sure, no problem, but we'll have to wait until we're done here and find a place with no one around."

It had to be said, Huo Yutong's skill at grilling fish was truly exceptional.

On top of that, when combined with some modern barbecue seasoning formulas provided by Qian Chaoguang and local spices, the two together caused the rich aroma to skyrocket exponentially.

The fragrance drifting with the wind worked better than any advertisement. Customers followed the smell right over.

Forget the students coming out of the academy—even the nearby vendors could not help casting curious looks over one after another.

When the first brave soul finally dared to be the first to try his luck and step forward to ask the price, Qian Chaoguang did something no one present expected.

He picked up two fish from the grill and started eating them in big bites all by himself.

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

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

Qian Chaoguang ate with both hands, as if he were eating two huge pieces of roasted meat. His tearing bites were so swift that anyone watching would suddenly feel their appetite awaken.

Under the brother and sister's hearty feasting, in just a few short minutes, only the last fish was left in the warming area.

Just as Qian Chaoguang was about to keep eating, a male student who had already been standing to the side for a long time finally could not hold back and spoke up.

"Hello, junior brother, 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 are you selling this grilled fish?"

"Selling?"

Qian Chaoguang raised his head in feigned surprise, a few crushed cumin seeds still stuck at the corner of his mouth.

"Senior brother, I'm afraid you've got it wrong. We're not selling grilled fish. We just grilled some to eat ourselves. The school doesn't allow fires, and we didn't want to go too far from Shrek City. See? We even deliberately found a secluded corner."

"But, but... but..."

The student stared fixedly at the last grilled fish on the grill, his mind filled with the image of Qian Chaoguang wolfing it down, as well as the grilled fish's rich aroma.

"Junior brother, one Gold Soul Coin. I'll give you one Gold Soul Coin. Could you spare senior brother one fish? I can't take it anymore. It's just too fragrant!"

"Huh? One Gold Soul Coin? That's not even enough to cover the cost. No deal, no deal."

Qian Chaoguang muttered, reaching out to take the last fish.

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

The student's eyes widened as he said in disbelief, "Junior brother, don't tell me this fish is made of rare metal or something?"

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

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

"Senior brother, you can take a careful look. This is our family's ancestral seasoning. You couldn't find the same thing anywhere on the entire continent. My younger sister and I painstakingly cultivated it ourselves, then processed it through forty-nine separate procedures. It's precious stuff. Never mind the fish, and not even counting my younger sister's craftsmanship—just this seasoning alone costs more than one coin."

Spices were something that, before the modern era, had always been among the most profitable of all goods, and this was displayed just as vividly on the Douluo Continent.

If ordinary spices were already like that, then there was no need to even mention the compound seasonings Qian Chaoguang and Huo Yutong had spent years collecting from many places and specially developing.

In an era where the main dish was basically stewed meat with a handful of salt tossed in, and the staple food was basically flatbread, this was pure dimensional domination.

With this stuff, even a grilled slipper would smell amazing!

Qian Chaoguang had once used one word to describe the culinary standards of Douluo Continent—disaster.

"Now take another look at our stove. The whole thing is made from high-quality rare metals. And our fish were all marinated two days in advance by my sister using a special method. During the marinating process, I even had to keep massaging the fish so the flavor would sink in. It's incredibly troublesome."

The student held the seasoning box for a long while without saying anything.

He understood food. He could be considered a gourmet.

He could also tell that not a single thing Qian Chaoguang said was false.

He looked at the huge pile of seasonings in front of Huo Yutong, then at the single grilled fish left. He gritted his teeth and stamped his foot, as if he had made some tremendous decision.

"Junior brother, I'm genuinely craving it. How about this—you name a price. As long as I can afford it, I definitely won't haggle."

"Well..."

Qian Chaoguang deliberately hesitated as he looked at Huo Yutong, then at the stove, and asked in a low voice, "Xiao Tong, how many fish do we have left?"

In a voice very soft, yet just loud enough for the "starving gourmet" before them to hear, Huo Yutong said:

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

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

Qian Chaoguang's expression was extremely ugly, his brows furrowed hard.

"Fifty Gold Soul Coins."

"What?"

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

"I want it, I want it!"

Seeing Qian Chaoguang's impatient look, the student was afraid he would go back on his word, and immediately pulled out a large handful of Gold Soul Coins and slapped them onto the small table beside the stove without even counting them.