My Restaurant's Guests are All Abnormal

Chapter 368: Chapter Two Hundred and Twenty-Eight: Zongzi

Spicy crawfish, while not complex, is a common snack found in night markets, so Chen Ze prepared it particularly quickly and soon had a serving ready.

"You have made a Superior Level Spicy Crawfish. Your experience in homemade dishes has increased by 5 points."

The System gave its assessment, and Chen Ze was quite pleased. Not to mention that this was the first time Chen Ze made Spicy Crawfish, he had just realized that there was a mishap with the seasoning—a definite flaw.

Chen Ze got Dragone’s portion ready and set it aside, asking Betty to carry it out to Dragone.

He then set aside a dozen or so crawfish for himself and Betty to try, to taste and consider what adjustments might be needed.

"Manager, here is the meal payment prepared by Riesel and Sebastian," Dragone said as he took out a bag of Gold Coins and handed it to Chen Ze, along with a very large gemstone.

"Ah... Next time, try to pay with ingredients as much as possible," Chen Ze’s mouth twitched. He really had no use for these Gold Coins and gemstones.

Apart from using them to buy ingredients from Alisa, Chen Ze guessed that once his Hearthstone cross-world promotion plan kicked off, it would bring him a decent profit, although it would take some time to develop.

"Certainly, I will inform Riesel and Sebastian when I return," Dragone nodded, then left with the Spicy Crawfish.

Chen Ze weighed the bag in his hand. It must have held over ten thousand Gold Coins—he couldn’t deny that Dragons were truly wealthy, especially ancient ones like Sebastian and Riesel.

Chen Ze entered the kitchen and looked at the five remaining crawfish on the plate, his mouth twitching.

Then, Chen Ze glanced at Betty, who was diligently washing dishes, and silently took out his notebook, hesitating whether or not to record this grudge.

After all, he had left over a dozen crawfish for himself, but this girl had only left five for him? He couldn’t exactly praise her for that, although it was progress compared to eating them all.

Especially seeing the struggle marks on the plate and the fingerprint on the shell of one crawfish, Chen Ze could tell that Betty had left them reluctantly.

Chen Ze put the notebook back. Such a petty grudge wasn’t worth recording; direct revenge would be better.

Then, with a nefarious chuckle, Chen Ze took out a century egg, a Huaxia delicacy that many foreigners find hard to accept.

Although Chen Ze loved the taste of century eggs, whether in a cold dish or with lean meat porridge, some people just couldn’t stomach their unique flavor.

And the origin stories about century eggs vary widely; no one could convince anyone else of any definitive version. But Chen Ze didn’t care; as long as it tasted good, that was what mattered.

In no time, Chen Ze had made a plate of cold century egg salad, but he added some Devil’s Chili Pepper to the dressing.

Although the System provided a prompt, Chen Ze did not check it; he was eager to have Betty try it immediately.

"Betty, want to try this?" Chen Ze asked calmly. He had learned from experience that if he smiled or kept a blank face, Betty was likely to refuse.

"Eh? Sure." Betty nodded immediately, then picked up a slice of century egg, dipped it in the seasoning, and ate it.

"Mmm!" Betty’s eyes instantly widened, and a satisfied smile appeared on Chen Ze’s face.

"Delicious!" Betty quickly ate several more slices, then left two with an embarrassed look for Chen Ze.

Chen Ze hesitated for a moment, then glanced at the System’s recent notification.

[You have made a superior cold dish of preserved eggs, gaining 5 points of experience in homemaking dishes.]

Chen Ze was stunned. Was his dish of cold mixed preserved eggs actually acknowledged? And it was of a superior level? What kind of magical operation was this?

After all, he had done nothing more than knock the shells off the preserved eggs, cut them open, add some seasoning—and that was that.

Why was this also recognized by the System as cooking?

The heart of the skewered delights wept, hey!

Chen Ze sighed, ate the last two slices of cold mixed preserved eggs, then took the plate to Betty.

"Sigh, tomorrow’s the Dragon Boat Festival. Let’s prepare some zongzi today," Chen Ze decided to change his mood.

Chen Ze took out the fresh zongzi leaves, boiled them in saltwater for fifteen minutes, and then took out the sticky rice that had been soaked overnight. He needed it to wrap the zongzi.

"Plain zongzi, followed by ham zongzi, should be about right," Chen Ze nodded, then wrapped the zongzi leaves, tied them with cotton string, and placed them in the steamer.

"Manager, what are you making?" Betty, wiping her mouth, looked at Chen Ze with anticipation.

"Zongzi. Tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival, so we’re making zongzi," Chen Ze replied while wrapping other zongzi.

The Dragon Boat Festival was originally to memorialize Qu Yuan, but over time, the practice of memorializing him faded, turning into a fancy feast of zongzi. However, some of the ancient festival’s rituals have been handed down.

For instance, matching them with duck eggs, or hanging mugwort and calamus. Although customs may vary from place to place, eating zongzi remains the same.

Chen Ze’s hands moved swiftly, thanks to the potion from Lafra that enhanced finger dexterity, which greatly increased his speed in wrapping zongzi.

"That should be enough. Tomorrow, I can offer each guest a... um... one free zongzi." Chen Ze clapped his hands. Considering the number of guests wouldn’t be too many, what he had made was sufficient.

"Manager, I’m here for a meal!" The voice of an elementary school student came in along with the Wind Chime. ƒгeewebnovёl.com

Chen Ze was startled. There were many kids who frequented his place, and he couldn’t immediately recall which one this was.

"Welcome to the Dream Restaurant, Nobita, and Doraemon," Betty immediately greeted them, then adeptly called out their names.

Chen Ze, surprised yet pleased, also appreciated Betty’s attentiveness; remembering each customer’s name required effort.

"Nobita, why are you here to eat again? I’ve told you, this world won’t be affected by the ’What If’ Telephone Booth," Doraemon said anxiously, tugging at Nobita.

Chen Ze paused. The ’What If’ Telephone Booth? Had they finally pulled out that Divine Artifact?

But what Chen Ze was more curious about was, what call had Nobita made to change the entire world?

"But this is the ’What If’ Telephone Booth. Didn’t I say I wanted a world where everything’s free?" Nobita looked puzzled.

Then Chen Ze understood the timeline. This was clearly a world where things were free; instead, you’d be given money for making purchases.

"What a dreamy world," Chen Ze sighed.