Chapter 244: The First Story
Crying is an action, but at times, it can also be a descriptor.
For instance, if you taste something so delicious it feels indescribable, you might say it was so good it "made you cry."
The food at Small Shop often elicited this kind of praise, and Qi Han had grown accustomed to such expressions.
But while many customers described the food as "so good it made them cry," none had ever literally cried over a dish.
Until now.
Following Fu Ya's pointing finger, Qi Han saw the customer whose face was streaked with tears, and his brows raised sharply.
Someone had actually cried while eating?
And… judging by the sorrowful look on the man's face, it didn't seem like he was crying out of joy over the deliciousness of the food.
The customer was a middle-aged man dressed in reasonably fine clothing, suggesting he was an average working-class citizen of Shrek City, perhaps middle-income.
Could he have thought the meal wasn't worth the price and felt heartbroken about the cost?
Qi Han felt a slight pang of unease at the thought.
"What did he order?"
If the customer had mistakenly ordered something polarizing, like the Exploding Honey Badger Intestines, and ended up disliking it, it wouldn't be impossible to understand.
From this distance, Qi Han couldn't make out what dish was on the man's table, so he asked.
"He ordered the Honey-Glazed Grilled Ribs."
Honey-Glazed Grilled Ribs?
Qi Han frowned deeply.
That doesn't make sense.
That dish was one of the most consistently praised items on the menu.
"Have him wait a moment," Qi Han said, glancing at the unfinished dishes still on the stove. "I'll finish these and talk to him personally."
After considering the situation, Qi Han decided it was best to address the issue directly.
Working quickly, Qi Han plated the remaining dishes and set them on the counter. He wiped his hands clean with a fresh towel, removed his apron, and hung it nearby. Then, he stepped out of the kitchen and into the dining area, scanning for the middle-aged man before striding toward him.
An empty seat was conveniently located across from the man, so Qi Han sat down after a brief moment of thought.
The middle-aged man's plate was empty—it had held the Honey-Glazed Grilled Ribs.
Seeing the empty plate gave Qi Han a slight sense of relief.
If he managed to finish the dish, then it can't be a problem with the food, right?
"Excuse me, but is there anything in our service or food that you found unsatisfactory?" Qi Han asked politely.
The customer, lost in his own sorrow, seemed startled by Qi Han's question. He blinked as if awakening from a dream and looked at Qi Han.
Recognizing the young man sitting across from him as the owner of the restaurant, he hurriedly spoke.
"No… I'm very satisfied with your food," the man said, forcing a faint smile.
But that answer wasn't enough to put Qi Han's mind at ease.
Qi Han softened his tone even further, speaking gently, "If there's been any oversight or shortcoming in our service, please share your thoughts. We truly value your feedback and will make improvements accordingly."
"This…" The middle-aged man looked a bit stunned but eventually shook his head. "You're Qi Han, the owner, right? Honestly, I have no complaints about your food. In fact…"
He gestured to the empty plate in front of him. "These Honey-Glazed Grilled Ribs were the best thing I've ever tasted."
Qi Han studied the man carefully. Despite the sorrow in his eyes, his expression was sincere, with no trace of dishonesty.
So, it's not the food.
Even so, Qi Han remained puzzled. After a brief pause to gather his words, he asked, "Then… if it's alright, could you tell me why you were crying?"
"Ah, so it's because of that?" The man's expression cleared, and he let out a self-deprecating laugh. "I apologize for losing composure in your restaurant."
He shook his head, forcing a bitter smile. "My tears have nothing to do with your food or service. I was simply reminded of something sad—it's purely personal."
Personal matters?
Qi Han felt a wave of relief. Then, suddenly, his heart skipped a beat.
Side Quest 5: Stories of the Palate.
Perhaps… This was an opportunity.
"If you don't mind," Qi Han said earnestly, "may I be your listener? Perhaps there's something I can do to help."
"Help me?" The man looked surprised, though his face didn't brighten. "Boss Qi, can you bring the dead back to life?"
Clearly, the answer was no.
If someone were gravely ill, perhaps the Qing Dynasty Blessed Pork Meat dish could work wonders. But for someone already deceased, even the most powerful healing spirit masters couldn't reverse death.
Gods do possess such powers, but there were no gods on the Douluo Continent.
"I'm sorry… Is it a family member who passed away?" Qi Han asked softly, shaking his head. He doubted there was anything he could do in this case.
"It was my mother." The man's face darkened, but his voice grew steadier as he began to speak.
"Boss Qi, you know, this city is the largest on the continent. Here, even basic labor jobs pay better than elsewhere. That's why so many people with dreams come to Shrek City every year, hoping to start a better life here."
Qi Han nodded in agreement.
In his past life, countless young people flocked to major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou, chasing the same dream—more opportunities and a brighter future.
"I first arrived in Shrek City when I was a teenager," the man continued, a hint of nostalgia softening his features. "At that time, I had no skills and no connections. I came here with nothing but youthful fervor and a few silver coins saved up as travel money from my remote hometown. Can you guess what my first job was?"
Without waiting for Qi Han to respond, the man chuckled and answered his own question, "I was a newspaper boy, delivering papers door to door every day."
"That job was tough," he said with a wry smile. "It wasn't just shouting on the streets and selling papers—it meant trudging through neighborhoods, delivering them to people's doorsteps. But I was just an ordinary person with no special talents, so it was the only work I could find."
His smile grew a little brighter, tinged with irony. "Even though it was just being a paperboy, I earned one silver coin a day. That's three gold coins a month."
"In my hometown, a small, remote town, earning three gold coins in a month was considered a very decent income," he added with a bitter laugh. "And here I was, an unskilled nobody, able to earn what once seemed like an enviable wage. How could I ever leave Shrek City?"
"My mother, though, opposed me coming here from the start," he said, his voice tinged with sorrow. "She said big cities had their dangers and struggles, and I'd be better off staying in our hometown, settling down, and living a quiet life. Why not just marry, have children, and live peacefully?"
Shaking his head, he smiled ruefully. "At the time, I thought she was short-sighted, that her way of thinking would only hold me back from pursuing the life I wanted."
"In my first month as a paperboy, I scrimped and saved, living as frugally as I could. I managed to set aside a gold coin and sent it home," he said, his voice trembling slightly. "It wasn't out of care—it was out of spite. I wanted to show her that I was doing well, that she had been wrong."
"But… that month, I lived in a crowded shack where I could barely turn over in my sleep. I survived on the cheapest plain buns and allowed myself a meat-filled one only once a week," he said, a single tear sliding down his cheek and landing on his now well-tailored shirt.
"That was… the hardest month of my life."
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