Free Web NovelChapter 446: Chapter Three Hundred and Six: The Second Triggering of the Gourmet Tide
After purchasing the mushrooms, Chen Ze returned to the restaurant with the mushrooms he had bought, along with some free-range chicken and rice noodles he had picked up on the way. Next, it was time to start preparing these ingredients.
"Boss, what did you buy?" Betty, who had been dozing off in the restaurant, suddenly perked up. She had almost fallen asleep since there had been no customers just before.
"Wild mushrooms, you’ll see soon enough." Chen Ze answered Betty from the kitchen and then began to slice the wild mushrooms he had bought. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
The mushroom chicken soup didn’t have very strict requirements since there were many types of mushrooms, and they all tasted delicious. So, generally, you just had to put non-poisonous mushrooms into the soup with the chicken and let it cook; it takes time.
Anyone who has tried the Yun Province wild mushroom hotpot knows that once the cooking begins, the servers do not provide utensils. Instead, they give you a small timer. Only when the time is up will they give you utensils, all to prevent diners from eating the mushrooms too early and getting poisoned.
However, Chen Ze would not make such a mistake. After starting the chicken soup, Chen Ze covered the pot and placed the Quadruple Speed Slate on top. But, seeing the slate flicker, Chen Ze thought that this might be because the energy inside the slate was about to run out, especially since he had been using it continuously, even recently to speed up the braising pot.
"It looks like I’ll have to ask Hastur to recharge it next time he comes." Chen Ze wasn’t too concerned and started boiling water to preheat the rice noodles.
Before long, a very fragrant aroma filled the restaurant, causing Betty to swallow her saliva incessantly.
Chen Ze checked the pot; it had been on low heat for thirty minutes, which meant it had been cooking for two hours, and it was almost time to take it off the stove.
He lifted the lid and the scent grew even richer. Chen Ze licked his lips and then brought over two bowls filled with rice noodles, scooped the fragrant chicken soup into them, added some chicken and wild mushrooms, and finally a bit of seasoning. Just like that, a delicious bowl of wild mushroom chicken noodle soup was ready.
"Betty, come in for breakfast." Chen Ze called out, and Betty immediately rushed in, her speed making Chen Ze wonder if she might be an incarnation of the Flash.
Betty picked up her chopsticks and gazed almost reverently at the chicken noodle soup in front of her. She swallowed another mouthful of saliva and then hurriedly picked up some noodles with her chopsticks, gently placing them into her mouth.
The first thing Betty noticed was not the heat but the rich and savory taste of the wild mushroom chicken soup. This simple dish, under the influence of the wild mushrooms, carried an indescribable deliciousness.
Chen Ze was also very satisfied. It must be said that the allure of wild mushrooms was for a reason. Although some wild mushrooms contain toxins, even lethal ones, the yearning for them could not be quelled, evidenced by people in Yun Province who died from mushroom poisoning every year. Yet, this did not stop food enthusiasts from craving wild mushrooms.
The reason is the irresistible deliciousness of wild mushrooms. Even the cautionary text messages sent during the mushroom season in Yun Province only reminded people to distinguish poisonous mushrooms, not to forbid the consumption of wild mushrooms.
Chen Ze took a sip of the soup. The essence of the wild mushroom chicken noodle soup was, of course, in the broth. Indeed, just as Chen Ze had thought, after drinking it, he felt not only his stomach warmed but also tasted the incredible flavor, which gave him the urge to have another bowl in one go.
Although Chen Ze had eaten a portion of paper-wrapped fried chicken that morning, he had to admit that in terms of deliciousness, the wild mushroom chicken soup tasted even better.
Having finished the chicken noodle soup, Chen Ze started to make paper; after all, the paper he had prepared the day before was already used up. If he wanted to recommend paper-wrapped fried chicken to his customers, he would need to prepare a large quantity of paper.
While Chen Ze was busy making paper, he suddenly heard a "whooshing" sound of waves. He immediately jumped up, placed the papers in the basement, and then went to the restaurant’s front door, where the sound of the waves was even clearer.
"Manager?" Betty looked at Chen Ze with a hint of hesitation.
"Yeah, it should be that thing from last time." Chen Ze nodded, his heart brimming with joy.
This sound was clearly the rare food tide that had a low chance of happening. Chen Ze only wondered what kind of ingredient it would bring in this time. However, when he thought about the side effects of the food tide, he felt a bit like he was losing his hair.
"Betty, remember to clean up later." Although Chen Ze felt that he should be able to use a magic circle to block the surging water, what if it didn’t hold?
If it did hold and prevent the ingredients from coming in, that would also be a huge loss. So Chen Ze had to prepare for both possibilities.
"Sure!" Betty nodded immediately, ready to get completely soaked.
Chen Ze opened the door and then realized that no water came in. Outside was pitch-black, like the dead of night.
"What’s going on here?" Chen Ze was a bit confused.
But the next moment, Chen Ze saw the darkness outside being squeezed in, and then a huge, long fish was pushed in, instantly filling up the entire first floor of the restaurant.
"Ah..." Chen Ze craned his neck, looking at the fish in front of him as it continued to struggle, but soon it was bound by a magic circle.
"Manager, what is this?" Betty was pushed to the other side and asked loudly.
Chen Ze sniffed. Why did this smell almost like the eels he bought?
Combining the gigantic size and unique appearance, Chen Ze had a vague guess about what this creature really was.
"It should be an eel, but I need to take my time processing it." Chen Ze raised his head to look at the massive eel, then quietly took out a kitchen knife. It looked like it was going to be a busy day.
Chen Ze used a magic circle to kill the large eel, then started to cut the meat off its body, putting each piece into his Space Stone. In fact, if it weren’t for the stone given to him by Yog-Sothoth, Chen Ze might consider eating this big fellow as quickly as possible; otherwise, letting it rot would be a terrible loss.
After cutting for an entire hour, Chen Ze felt his hands were almost numb. But fortunately, in the end, he managed to finish cutting up the entire eel. He did not even spare the bones. As for the innards, Chen Ze directly compressed them into small blocks with a magic circle and threw them into the trash can.
Seeing Betty busy cleaning, Chen Ze placed the piece of eel meat on the chopping board. He planned to make eel rice and taste how this eel was.
"Later, look up what this eel is called." Chen Ze thought it must also come from a Gourmet Hunter.
