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

Mu Cixuan opened her eyes and looked at Li Zhibai: "Boss, we can begin."

Li Zhibai took out his phone and turned on the stopwatch: "Ready! Three, two, one, go!"

As the countdown ended, Mu Cixuan immediately began reciting, and the others couldn't help but feel nervous.

After all, they have been completely wiped out, and whether they can get anything out of Li Heizi depends on her alone.

"Yuzhang, the old prefecture, Hongdu, the new capital. Its location corresponds to the constellations Wing and Chariot, bordering Heng and Lu. It embraces the three rivers and girdles the five lakes, controlling the barbarian lands of Jing and leading to the lands of Ou and Yue..."

Mu Cixuan's speaking speed wasn't particularly fast, but it was very fluent, and she pronounced each word very clearly.

This surprised Yu Shen and his team, and made them even more excited.

If you can recite it so smoothly, could there really be a chance?

"The land is rich in natural resources, its dragon light shines upon the ruins of the Ox and the Dipper constellations; its people are outstanding, its spirit is exceptional, Xu Ru descended from Chen Fan's couch..."

"The setting sun and a lone wild goose fly together; the autumn waters blend seamlessly with the vast sky. Fishermen's evening songs echo along the shores of Poyang Lake; a flock of geese, startled by the cold, cries fade away at the banks of Hengyang..."

Two minutes later, Mu Cixuan had already memorized the middle section. Those unfamiliar words, long sentences, and allusions came out of her mouth without any hesitation, and were very fluent.

Everyone instinctively held their breath.

Li Zhibai was equally surprised. No, this girl is serious!

Wow, you really know how to memorize that!

Why would a novelist carry around something like this? Would you even need it for writing a novel?

Wang Bo said: "Feng Tang easily grows old, Li Guang is hard to be ennobled. Qu Yuan and Jia Yi were banished to Changsha, not because there was no wise ruler; Liang Hong was exiled to the coast, not because there was no enlightened era..."

"..."

"...The passes and mountains are difficult to cross; who will mourn the lost traveler? We meet by chance, strangers in a foreign land..."

"...Where is the prince in the pavilion now? The Yangtze River flows on emptily outside the railing."

After reciting the last word, Mu Cixuan let out a soft breath and asked in a low voice, "Boss, I've finished reciting it. Are there any mistakes?"

Li Zhibai glanced down at his phone.

3 minutes 49 seconds.

As for whether there was any mistake, he really couldn't tell.

He was so shocked that he didn't bother to check the details word by word.

But the people around them were completely in an uproar.

"Holy crap!!!"

"I really finished memorizing it! Am I dreaming?!"

"Mumu, you're amazing! You're a god in our group!"

"That's incredible! Absolutely incredible! We've been getting ripped off by the boss for so long, and today someone finally managed to take advantage of us!"

"Hahahaha... Boss Li, you've finally met your match! No one escapes the wrath of Heaven!"

"..."

The group of people were incredibly excited, even more so than if they had successfully completed the challenge themselves.

God knows how long they were slaughtered by Li Zhibai, and how aggrieved they were.

Today, right today, one of them actually plucked a hair from Li Heizi.

"Mumu, you are a legend! You are the light! You are the future literary giant of our Dragon Kingdom! I'll be the first to object if the Nobel Prize in Literature isn't awarded to you!"

"Mumu, you've really helped us get revenge! I've been holding this in for two months."

"Mumu, you're amazing!"

"Ah, that feels so good!"

Mu Cixuan blushed deeply at their compliments and said shyly, "No, no... I just like to read classical Chinese texts when I'm lacking inspiration for my novel, and this one just happened to be one I had memorized."

"Hey, Mumu, you're too modest. Even if you asked us to carry you, we couldn't possibly carry you that well."

"that is!"

Li Zhibai really didn't expect that this girl, who was usually the most low-key, the quietest, and the most shy, would actually have this ability to recite "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng" in less than four minutes.

With that kind of memory, she's definitely a master; most people can't even memorize things to that extent.

Although Mu Cixuan succeeded in the challenge, Li Zhibai was not flustered at all; on the contrary, he felt more at ease.

As I said before, this event he organized required someone to successfully complete the challenge, and the ideal candidate was Mu Cixuan, because even if the order was free, it wouldn't save much money.

"Miss Mu, what did you order today? I'll waive this order for you." He was too busy to handle everything by himself today, and since the regular customers usually ate first and paid later, she hadn't settled her bill yet, so he hadn't noticed what she had eaten.

Mu Cixuan blinked her big, bright eyes and honestly replied, "The deluxe chicken leg rice, the one that costs 688 yuan."

Li Zhibai: "???"

No...no...you actually ordered the deluxe version?

Are you tired of living your life?

That's not right!

This is wrong!

Doesn't this mean he's not only getting a free meal today, but another one? And a deluxe version at that?

Oh no! We've lost a fortune!!!

Unless someone's completely stupid, they'll definitely pick the most expensive and most numerous items next time they come!

He really wanted to say, "Can I take back the extra minute?"

Just then, the system's voice came from my mind.

[Congratulations, host, on completing the "A Change of Heart" achievement—you were successfully taken advantage of by a customer for the first time.]

Li Zhibai: "..."

Password, system, you've changed your mind!

You weren't like this before. You used to tell me you wanted to fleece all the rich people in the world.

traitor!

[Host, you must accept the consequences of your bet! You promised the free service yourself, so please maintain the last shred of dignity you have as a ruthless business owner. Also, host, you've already been ripped off by customers once this month, setting a new record. We suggest you seriously reflect on this!]

Good, good, good! You're doing great, Tongzi!

Okay! He admitted it!

Li Zhibai said to Mu Cixuan, "Miss Mu, this meal is on the house! Next time you come, no matter how much you eat, it's all on the house! This boss means what he says!"

After saying that, he silently shed tears in his heart.

next time.

Please, please don't come again next time!

You'd better be driven crazy by your readers' demands for more updates, to the point where you don't even have time to eat!

Mu Cixuan smiled happily: "Thank you, boss! You're so kind!"

Yu Shen and the others were absolutely ecstatic, and their moods became incredibly cheerful.

"Hahaha... Boss, you finally messed up! We finally got to fleece you!"

"I've waited so long for this day!"

"Twilight is awesome! Twilight is our pride!"

"History will remember this day! On [Date], 202X, the unscrupulous business owner Li Zhibai was killed by his customer for the first time!"

"..."

Looking at this group of gloating guys, Li Zhibai felt a tightness in his chest. Losing money was more painful than making hundreds of thousands more!

But who told him to organize his own event and invite Huo Junmin along? He really shot himself in the foot.

"Attorney Huo, you see, I did successfully complete the challenge, right? This can't be considered fraud, can it? The event was real and valid, and I met all the conditions you mentioned."

Huo Junmin nodded: "No problem, but you must set the time standard for the easy challenge in the future based on the current standard. The easy challenge should start at four minutes, and the difficult challenge should at least double that."

Li Zhibai nodded repeatedly: "No problem, no problem! From now on, the challenge time will be doubled."

He had done a quick mental calculation and realized that even if the time were doubled, the challenge would still be very difficult. Ninety-nine percent of people would not be able to complete it. After all, people like Mu Cixuan, who had worked hard and were exceptionally talented, were ultimately a very small minority.

The event can still be held, and he can continue to rip off unsuspecting customers using this gimmick!

"But each person can only get one free meal during the event," he added.

Huo Junmin nodded, seemingly satisfied with the solution.

"Since the event is real and valid, and the rules have been changed, I'm going to take on the challenge too."

Li Zhibai: "???"

What do you mean? Didn't you say earlier that you weren't going to take on the challenge?

Only then did Huo Junmin slowly unfold the crumpled paper she had drawn earlier, the one labeled "Easy Challenge".

A familiar name appeared prominently above – "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng".

It was exactly the same challenge that Mu Cixuan had drawn.

"As a lawyer, my biggest hobby is reading. Coincidentally, I had already memorized this poem, 'Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River,' back in high school, and even won first prize in a recitation competition."

Li Zhibai: "..."

It's a password!

"You, the master of emotional appeal, have been building up for this moment all along, haven't you?!"

He gave Huo Junmin a thumbs up: "Great lawyer, you're really cunning! You're even more cunning than your father!"