I've been possessed by a culinary genius, and I've turned Shaxian snacks into a rip-off!

"No! Impossible!"

"What kind of egg can sell for 3999? You're a rip-off! You're extorting me! I'm calling the police!" Wu Yong was devastated and couldn't accept this fact.

He only had a little over ten thousand yuan left in his card. If he spent it all, he wouldn't even be able to afford instant noodles.

"Sir, you took the eggs yourself; I didn't force you," Li Zhibai said. "Besides, I didn't even have a chance to tell you the price before you took them."

"I...I thought it was a complimentary preserved egg!"

"We do not offer complimentary preserved eggs, and this is a braised egg."

"You..." Wu Yong wanted to retort, but found that he didn't know how to refute it.

He did take the egg himself, and he did say he would pay for it if necessary.

No one held a knife to his neck or forced him to spend money throughout the entire process.

Everything was done voluntarily by him.

It's voluntary!

"Can...can I return two eggs?"

"cannot!"

Li Zhibai held up the QR code for receiving payments to Wu Yong again.

"Sincerely yours, 11997 yuan."

"Alipay or WeChat?"

As Wu Yong looked at the QR code, he felt his soul gradually drifting away from him.

He suddenly remembered what the online dating strategist had told him: "Driving a luxury car to take a girl to a Shaxian snack bar will make her think you are low-key, genuine, and unpretentious, which is more touching than taking her to a Michelin-starred restaurant."

Screw you, trying to impress people! This Shaxian restaurant is even more shady than Michelin-starred restaurants!

He'll never believe in any quack strategist again in his life. He's going to go back and block that love strategist's account! Permanently!

drop!

QR code scan successful.

"11997 yuan received via Alipay".

Li Zhibai glanced at the color on the guy's head again; this time it had truly turned white.

They've really fallen back into poverty.

Yu Shen and the others were laughing so hard they almost choked.

"Hahaha.......!!!"

"I have to say, this guy is really brave! He actually dared to snatch braised eggs from Li Heizi's shop without even looking at the price."

"These are 3999 yuan each of Chaohui eggs, bro! Do you think they're just cheap, loose preserved eggs from the supermarket that cost 2.5 yuan a pound?"

"Hahaha, three eggs cost over ten thousand yuan, but the braised eggs in this chicken leg rice are definitely worth it!"

"..."

After paying, Wu Yong returned to his seat, his eyes glazed over.

He suddenly understood a principle.

What does it mean to be a show-off and get struck by lightning?

What does it mean to "if you don't court death, you won't die"?

What the hell do you mean by "Why are eggs so expensive?!"

After receiving the money, Li Zhibai smiled broadly at him again and said:

"Sir, congratulations on becoming the top spender in our store today."

"By spending a certain amount more, you'll have the chance to earn VIP and Supreme Star titles at our restaurant, enjoying the privilege of skipping the line for the next ten days!"

"Keep it up!"

Wu Yong's mouth twisted and he burst into tears on the spot, crying like a 200-pound child.

"The password? Anyone who ever eats at your lousy place again is a dog!"

A few minutes later.

Tears streamed down Wu Yong's face as he wolfed down his food.

"Holy crap! This chicken leg rice...it's so delicious!"

"Wen Ran, you have to try this! It's so delicious!"

"This price is fucking outrageous!"

He's trying hard not to think about the 30,000 yuan he lost, and he's frantically devouring the exorbitantly priced food in front of him.

I have to say, this chicken leg rice is absolutely delicious. The sauce is thick and creamy, the chicken is tender and juicy, the rice is soaked in the sauce, and the crispy rice crust is crunchy. Every bite is so delicious that you'll want to die on the spot.

He quickly finished his chicken leg rice.

Then he started attacking the noodles.

Strangely enough, this seemed to be the first time he had brought a female companion out to dinner but didn't want to chat at all. All thoughts of picking up girls and showing off were thrown to the back of his mind; all he wanted to do was eat!

The moment the noodles entered his mouth, the aroma of scallion oil and the freshness of crab roe once again made him realize what top-quality Shaxian mixed noodles truly meant.

"This noodles are fucking delicious!"

Then he ate another bowl of wontons.

The wrapper is as thin as paper, almost transparent in the spoon, and you can see the tender pink meat filling inside trembling slightly. When you put it in your mouth, the wonton wrapper melts like a cloud, and the meat filling is bouncy and firm, so fragrant that he feels like he's going to shiver.

"Wow! These wontons are amazing!"

The following stews, steamed dumplings, vegetarian dishes... each one was so delicious that tears welled up in his eyes again.

Even though he had been ripped off for 30,000 yuan and was now penniless, after eating these things, he surprisingly didn't feel so bad about it anymore.

I even started to feel... that it wasn't such a bad deal after all.

Because these foods are really delicious!

Wen Ran ate much more politely than him. After all, she had been here more often than Wu Yong and had developed a certain degree of self-control. She wouldn't make a fuss like him with every bite.

Yu Shen and the others were laughing at Wu Yong for stealing the eggs, but when they saw him eating them with tears in his eyes, looking both happy and pained, they were amazed.

"This guy is really pitiful. He got ripped off by Li Heizi for 30,000 yuan, and he's still crying with joy."

"That's how Li Heizi's food is: the more miserable you are, the more delicious it tastes, and the more miserable you are after you finish eating."

"By the way, what do those black eggs taste like? Old Yu, what did the ones you've had taste like?"

"Hmm... the taste is expensive."

"..."

We've almost finished eating.

Seeing that Wu Yong was still crying, Wen Ran felt a little sorry for him and took out a tissue to hand to him: "Um... don't cry. When I came in just now, I saw that there seemed to be a free event at the door."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yong abruptly raised his head, wiped away his tears, and asked, "What did you just say?"

"It says on the blackboard by the door that you can enter a challenge to win a free meal if you make a purchase. If you succeed, the entire meal is free," Wen Ran said, pointing to the door.

Without saying a word, Wu Yong turned around and walked out the door.

Sure enough, he saw the small blackboard with the event notice written on it at the entrance.

He actually saw the small blackboard when he came in, but he was busy showing off and picking up girls, so he didn't look at it closely at all.

Enjoy a seven-day holiday and have fun while you shop!

[Make a purchase to enter a lucky draw for a free order! If you win the challenge and complete it, your entire order will be free!]

The words "This order is completely free" shone like a ray of light into his already gloomy heart.

Thirty thousand!

If you succeed in the challenge, you can get all 30,000 back.

His tears instantly transformed from tears of sorrow into tears of hope.

"Heaven hasn't forsaken me! Hahaha..."

Wu Yong whirled around and rushed back into the shop, his eyes gleaming with greed. He headed straight for the kitchen and shouted to Li Zhibai, who was cooking inside, "Boss! A lucky draw! I want to participate in the lucky draw!"

"Hold on!"

After serving the freshly made braised pork to the customers outside, Li Zhibai took a cardboard box from under the counter and placed it on the counter.

"Sir, you have spent 30,000. If you are selected to participate in the challenge and complete it, you can have it all for free, and your next meal will also be free."

"Really?!"

"certainly!"

"This boss always keeps his word. If I say I'll waive it, I will. I'll treat everyone fairly, young and old!"

"Great! Boss, you're really generous!"

Wu Yong rubbed his hands together, exhaled, reached into the box, and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.

I opened it and took a look.

The note had four words written on it: "[Simple Challenge]".

Wu Yongchang was very excited when he saw that it was simple.

"It's easy! Boss, I got the easy one!"

Li Zhibai smiled and said, "Congratulations! You're really lucky, buddy. You got an easy challenge on your first try."

Wu Yong: "Boss, isn't it more likely that the simpler option will get you a free meal?"

Li Zhibai nodded: "Theoretically, yes."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yong became even more excited. He felt that he was about to hit rock bottom and bounce back. He had just been ripped off for 30,000 yuan, all for this moment of reversal.

Fate is indeed fair.

Then he opened the note with great anticipation.

[Please recite the entire "Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River" within 2 minutes. Even one mistake will result in failure.]

The smile that had just appeared on Wu Yong's face instantly froze.

He looked down at the challenge question on the note again, then looked up at Li Zhibai, and then looked down again.

"Luo...what kind of poem?"

Li Zhibai peeked over and kindly reminded him, "Recite the Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River."

Who wrote "Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River"?

"Cao Zhi".

Who is Cao Zhi?

"Cao Cao's son, Cao Pi's younger brother."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yong silently took out his phone and began searching for "Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River".

In the third year of the Huangchu era, I went to the capital and returned via the Luo River. The ancients said that the goddess of this river was named Mi Fei. Inspired by Song Yu's tale of the goddess and the King of Chu, I composed this rhapsody. Its words are: I departed from the capital, returning to my eastern fief. I passed Yique, crossed Huanyuan, traversed Tonggu, and ascended Jingshan…

There was a section that seemed quite familiar to him.

Its form is graceful as a startled swan, elegant as a swimming dragon. It shines like autumn chrysanthemums, flourishes like spring pines. It seems as if light clouds veil the moon, as if swirling snowflakes drift in the wind…

Wu Yong grew increasingly desperate as he looked at the screen.

What the hell is all this crap?!

What is the character “轘”? What is the character “髴”? What is the character “騑”? What is the character “眄”?

He might not recognize each character individually, but when they're put together, it's practically like reading gibberish.

How many words are in this piece?

"Not counting punctuation, it's over nine hundred words," Li Zhibai said.

"Over nine hundred words? Memorize it in two minutes?" Wu Yong cursed, "It's a password! You call this an easy challenge?!"

"It's an easy challenge," Li Zhibai said without changing his expression. "Because a difficult challenge would be much harder."

Wu Yong: "..."

He doesn't want to say anything now.

He was afraid that if he opened his mouth again, he wouldn't be able to hold back and would burst into tears again.

When Yu Shen and the others heard that he had drawn the poem "Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River," they burst into laughter once again.

"Hey bro, did you forget to check the almanac before you went out today?"

"Memorized a classical Chinese text of over 900 characters in two minutes, hahaha..."

"I'm dying of laughter. He got ripped off for 10,000 yuan for three eggs, and then he got a hellish difficulty lottery. This guy must have been cursed by Li Heizi today."

"No, no, my stomach hurts, hahaha..."

Just as everyone was laughing heartily, Mu Cixuan suddenly whispered, "Wasn't the challenge he just drew the easy one?"

"Hahahaha...Gah!" Yu Shen and the others' laughter came to an abrupt halt.

???

"Wait... wait! This is supposed to be an easy challenge?!"