Free Web NovelChapter 23: Chapter 23 The Dragon Who Despises Spicy Food
"Two guests, the dish I recommend today is hot pot," Chen Ze wanted to complain about what kind of recommendation hot pot was, but he still voiced his thoughts.
Moreover, he had just bought some ingredients and broth for hot pot at the supermarket today. If he didn’t use them, it would be a bit of a waste.
"Hot... hot pot?" Riesel, who was about to get started with Sebastian, was stunned for a moment.
He was sure that he had never heard of this term before, neither in the human world nor amongst other races—no one had a dish by that name.
This piqued the naturally curious Golden Dragon Riesel’s interest. He was always eager to try new things.
"Hot pot? Then let’s have two servings," Sebastian pulled Riesel’s hand away and hastily sat down at the table.
"Okay, please wait a moment, you two," Chen Ze put on a white headscarf that he had picked up casually while at the supermarket.
After all, a chef needed to prevent any unclean items from falling into the food during cooking. If hair ended up in the dish, that would be quite the joke.
Chen Ze returned to the kitchen, took out the broth base he had bought, opened it, and set it aside in a bowl. Fortunately, the restaurant had the necessary utensils for hot pot. Otherwise, Chen Ze would have to go buy a pot.
Chen Ze wasn’t very skilled at preparing hot pot, but following online instructions was feasible, so after boiling water, he was about to add the broth base.
"Right, I still have to ask them if they prefer a clear broth or spicy," Chen Ze put the base back, clapped his hands, and walked out.
"Two guests, would you like a clear broth or spicy for your hot pot? Or perhaps a ’mandarin duck’ pot?" Chen Ze asked Riesel and Sebastian, who were chatting.
"What are clear broth and spicy?"
"A clear broth is a soup base without a strong flavor, and spicy is when after eating it... you feel very..." Chen Ze paused, suddenly unsure how to describe that sensation.
After all, spicy is just spicy, and you feel tingling when you eat it, but explaining this to visitors from another world might not make much sense to them.
So, Chen Ze went back to the kitchen, took out two small chili peppers from a little bottle, and handed them over to the two dragons.
Riesel sniffed at it, encountering a plant he had never seen before. It smelled a bit pungent. Was this thing really edible?
Sebastian, however, was much more natural about it. Having eaten here a few times before, he had no guards up against this restaurant, which he considered the best choice for improving his meals.
So, Sebastian directly threw the chili pepper into his mouth after receiving it.
"Hmm, quite delicious. It has a bit of the texture of a Thunder Rhinoceros but lacks the thrill," Sebastian commented disdainfully, expressing his disdain fully.
"So it’s that kind of texture... Indeed, it’s quite similar to the Thunder Rhinoceros. It stimulates the mouth and has a peculiar taste," Riesel also tasted it and found it rather ordinary.
"If spicy is like this, then let’s go with spicy. I’m not accustomed to clear broth," Sebastian declared, contemptuously dismissive of the idea of not choosing spicy. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
"And what is a ’mandarin duck’?" Riesel didn’t rush to a conclusion; he asked about the third type of pot base Chen Ze mentioned.
Chen Ze stroked his chin, thinking these dragon lords were quite impressive.
"A ’mandarin duck’ pot is half clear broth and half spicy."
"Then let’s have..." Riesel was about to ask for a ’mandarin duck’ pot when he was interrupted by Sebastian.
"Let’s have two servings of spicy. Clear broth, that’s edible? Spicy is only this much; clear broth is probably no different from drinking water," Sebastian scoffed at the very notion of spice. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Chen Ze took a deep breath. He didn’t know why, but he now felt a strong urge to give Sebastian a taste of his own medicine.
"Alright, two guests, please wait a moment," Chen Ze said, smiling as he walked back into the kitchen.
Riesel touched his own chin, looking at Chen Ze doing the same, and he suddenly took a liking to the gesture.
"I’ve got a bad feeling about this."
"Riesel, what did you say?" Sebastian looked at Riesel with confusion, having not caught his friend’s words clearly just now.
"Nothing." Riesel shook his head. It must have been an illusion.
In the kitchen, Chen Ze was holding a base seasoning packet and letting out a laugh that made one’s liver tremble upon hearing it.
"Hehe...hehehehe...Looking down on spicy hot pot base, huh? This time, let’s show them what Hell is!" Chen Ze looked at the online review dubbed "the spiciest hot pot base seasoning" in his hand and smiled contentedly.
After tearing open the package, Chen Ze added the base seasoning to two hot pots. Soon enough, a spicy scent that choked the nostrils wafted through the air. The surface of the hot pot broth was dotted with many chili peppers, and Chen Ze admitted even he could not eat much of it.
"But I feel like it’s still not enough." Chen Ze touched his chin pondering, then took out some Bird’s Eye chilies, chopped them up, and added them into the dip that came with the meal.
"Let’s add some facing heaven chilies too... What’s this? Devil’s Chili Pepper? There’s such a thing too? Add some of that as well." Chen Ze was like a mad scientist concocting a strange dish.
However, Chen Ze only added these things to the dipping sauce; he did not plan to add anything to the hot pot base seasoning because he was unsure if it would affect the original flavor.
Chen Ze nodded in satisfaction, carried out both hot pots and the dipping sauce, and placed them in front of the two dragons.
"Guests, the side dishes are coming right up. You can add them into the hot pot later. Once they’re cooked, you can eat." Chen Ze smiled brilliantly.
"Here’s the dipping sauce. If you find it not stimulating enough, you can dunk the cooked side dishes in it." Chen Ze pushed the two small bowls forward.
"Alright." Sebastian nodded. He felt that this hot pot was a bit different from the food he had eaten before.
Chen Ze returned to the kitchen and brought out all the prepared side dishes, placing them beside the two dragons.
"Please enjoy, esteemed guests." Chen Ze cleared away the serving dishes and walked away.
Riesel and Sebastian exchanged a look; they had already smelled this exceptionally unique aroma and were ravenous.
Sebastian was the first to pour a plate of meat into the pot, while Riesel decided to try some lotus root, curious about these exotic plants.
Chen Ze checked his phone; it was already seven o’clock in the evening.
"Hehe, I’m probably going to die here tonight." Thinking of Star’s face, Chen Ze felt considerable pressure.
"Brother! We... huh?" Speak of the devil and he shall appear. As Chen Xingchen opened the door, she saw two guests turning their heads to look at her.
She recognized one of them as the Dragon; therefore, the other one ought to be similar.
"Ah, apologies for disturbing your meal, guests, ha ha ha." Chen Xingchen felt a bit nervous, hurriedly scurrying into the kitchen under the gaze of the two dragons.
The moment she dived into the kitchen, Chen Xingchen glanced back. She too had smelled that pungent aroma, which made her worry if her older brother might have gone too far.
"Seems like it’s the owner’s sister." Riesel had been cooking for a while then picked the lotus root out of the pot and dunked it into the dipping sauce.
"Yeah, I’ve met her before." Sebastian nodded; he had previously met this human female, on the day when he also saw Lao Gu.
Sebastian then forked a piece of meat out of the pot and dipped it into the sauce as well.
The two dragons simultaneously took a bite of their respective side dishes.
Chen Xingchen glanced worriedly at Chen Ze, having been dragged into the kitchen by him to watch the spectacle as soon as she entered.
"You’re not going to overdo it, are you? If those two..."
"No worries, no worries. They dared to underestimate the spiciness; today I’ll teach them a lesson." Chen Ze grinned maliciously, eagerly anticipating the dragons’ reactions.
