"Draw a prize!"
Since the task had already been completed, why not try drawing a prize? After all, the noodles in the pot would still need at least a minute to cook, so there was ample time.
Draw prize! Lin Xu thought. Immediately, a circular prize wheel appeared in his mind again.
Compared to the previous one for noodles, this prize wheel looked much cheaper. It's probably because there's a difference between the Excellent Level and the Perfect Level, he mused.
The prize wheel was filled with the names of various seasoning techniques. Lin Xu took a quick look: there were Seasoning Oil Technique, Scallion Oil Technique, Sugar Boiling Technique, Sweet and Sour Sauce Technique, Hot Oil Splash Technique, Mixed Noodles Sauce Technique, Cold Dressing Technique, Chicken Sauce Technique, Fish Fragrance Sauce Technique, and other related Cooking Techniques. There were many he had never even heard of.
Soon, the prize wheel started spinning, and a stop button appeared next to it again. But Lin Xu didn't press it immediately. Instead, as usual, he offered a prayer:
"I hope Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad, Dharma Master, Donghuang Taiyi, Kakarot, Mr. Fool, Black Cat Sheriff, Watermelon Taro, and Peppa Pig bless me with the best seasoning technique, please!"
After finishing his prayer, he pressed the stop button.
The prize wheel slowly came to a halt.
"Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the Excellent Level seasoning technique—Hot Oil Splash."
Hot… Hot Oil Splash? Haha! The prayer really worked!
Lin Xu was overjoyed. He hadn't expected to draw such an awesome Cooking Technique. Hot Oil Splash was essentially Chili Oil, something the shop badly needed. With Chili Oil, Lin Xu believed that the noodle sales in the shop would definitely increase.
After the prize wheel disappeared, Lin Xu turned his attention back to reality.
The noodles were ready. He cooled them under cold water as per the customers' requests, then poured a spoonful of tomato egg topping over the noodles and served them one by one.
"Wow! He's really handsome."
"Exactly! He could make a living off his looks alone, yet he's so talented."
"When is the country going to assign one of these handsome, great-cooking guys to each of us?"
"…"
While serving, several female customers couldn't stop staring at Lin Xu, their eyes practically glowing. They were curious: with looks like that, why would he even need to be a chef? He wouldn't starve just by relying on his looks, right?
Once the noodles were served, the delicious scent wafting from the bowls made the female customers shift their attention from Lin Xu's face to the food in front of them. They followed their colleagues' lead, stirred the noodles with chopsticks to mix them evenly with the topping, then tucked in with large mouthfuls.
"Wow! These noodles are absolutely amazing!"
"I should really bring my mom here to try; she always overcooks noodles until they're mushy."
"Haha! My mom does the same. It totally traumatized me from eating noodles."
"No way, I need to post about this again! This hidden gem deserves everyone in Beijing's attention."
"Indeed, it's so delicious."
"…"
While these customers were exclaiming in amazement, Li Qiang and his group had already wolfed down their bowls of noodles. The large portion was quite filling, and though they felt almost full, they were still unsatisfied.
Li Qiang waved to Lin Xu, "Boss, another small bowl for each of us, please!"
They'd eaten too hurriedly just now and hadn't properly savored the taste. This time, we have to chew slowly and really taste it, Li Qiang resolved. Can't just wolf it down like before. Our colleagues are here; we need to be more refined.
After putting down their chopsticks, they picked up their phones, briefly replied to some comments on social media, and posted the location of Lin Ji's Food again. Then they put down their phones, their eyes immediately turning towards the kitchen.
It's been a whole thirty seconds! Why isn't it ready yet? This is torture!
Finally, the noodles were brought over. Lin Xu had barely set them down, not yet managing to clear the empty bowls, when the men eagerly dug in. The noodles were still as chewy and smooth. The topping was still as savory and delicious. After the first bite, they couldn't wait to take the second. As for their earlier intentions to eat elegantly and savor each bite slowly, those thoughts had vanished completely.
The sight of Li Qiang and his colleagues enthusiastically wolfing down noodles in the restaurant also attracted some passersby. The way modern people choose restaurants is quite interesting. If a restaurant is empty, passersby generally won't go in. But once someone is eating inside, it quickly draws in curious onlookers. People have a herd mentality, and this is especially true when it comes to food.
A group of about five or six high school students in uniform came in. Upon seeing Lin Xu, a few of the girls' eyes lit up. So handsome! they thought.
"Boss, do you only have the Tomato Egg flavor here?" a girl with big eyes and a mushroom haircut asked.
Lin Xu nodded. "Yes, today is our grand opening, and we aren't fully prepared yet, so we only have the Tomato Egg flavor for now."
The high school students discussed for a moment before finally placing their order: "We'll have three large bowls and two small bowls."
"Hang on, they'll be ready in no time."
Lin Xu replied and immediately picked up his rolling pin to begin rolling out the dough.
Once the noodles were ready, he brought them over to the high school students. That's when he noticed that Li Qiang and his colleagues had already finished their second bowls of noodles. At this moment, the group was collapsed in their chairs, bellies pleasantly full and round. Their faces radiated bliss and satisfaction. Clearly, they had thoroughly enjoyed their meal.
"Bro, your noodles are simply divine! Even more satisfying than a 700 or 800 yuan per person buffet… We'll settle the bill later; I'm way too stuffed to move right now..." Li Qiang rested his head against the backrest of his chair, his arms braced on the armrests.
Their comfortable, contented demeanor reminded Lin Xu of the piglets back at his hometown's pig farm, sunning themselves after eating their fill.
"Brothers, just rest for a while. No hurry on the bill, just don't make yourselves sick."
As they were talking, new customers came in. After greeting them, Lin Xu returned to the kitchen to continue rolling and cooking noodles, as busy as could be.
He had initially thought that not many customers would come on the opening day. But, unexpectedly, it wasn't even dark yet, and the restaurant was already nearly full. The allure of delicious food is indeed powerful.
While he was busy, Li Qiang and his friends finally felt rested enough.
"Bro, how much do we owe in total?"
Four large bowls and four small bowls—a total of eight bowls of Tomato Egg Noodles.
Lin Xu quickly calculated the price. "It's 212 yuan in total. Let's round it down to 210."
Li Qiang used his phone to scan the payment code at the counter and paid 210 yuan.
Very soon, a payment notification sounded on Lin Xu's phone: "WeChat payment received: 210 yuan."
No sooner had the voice ended, than the system's notification sound rang in Lin Xu's mind:
"Host receives one System Point for every yuan in revenue. Upon reaching 100,000 points, the Points Shop will be unlocked, allowing the Host to exchange points for Cooking Techniques, recipes, special tools, and other items in the shop. Current points balance: 210. Points remaining until the Points Shop unlocks: 99,790."
Huh???? Lin Xu was dumbfounded. You should have said so earlier! If I'd known about the points, I wouldn't have rounded off those two yuan! Losing two yuan was no big deal, but losing two points... It feels like I've lost a hundred million!