Chapter 10: Three-Delicacy Wontons

Pan Yang cautiously picked up a wonton. Many legends popped into his mind—like someone getting a windfall only to find out it was fake gold, or being lured by monsters when starving and fed a feast that turned out to be mud and sand once swallowed.

But Xie Wei and the others were eating it…

Pan Yang steeled himself and took a bite, eyes opening wide, even wider than if he had bitten into sand or stones.

The wonton skin was thin and elastic, smooth like silk. It slipped away in his mouth like a little fish wagging its tail. When his teeth gently pierced the thin skin, a burst of meat juice gushed out. With every chew, the juice blended with the filling and melted together.

The minced meat wrapped inside had lost its casing but didn’t fall apart at all. It was tender yet chewy. The whole river shrimp nestled within was small and exquisite, adding an indescribable freshness.

With just half a wonton, it felt like fireworks suddenly exploded in Pan Yang’s mind.

So, so delicious!

He immediately stuffed the other half of the wonton into his mouth, wolfed it down, and reached for another one. After more than half the bowl was gone, Pan Yang visibly slowed down, savoring each bite.

And doing so brought unexpected rewards.

In the clear broth floated bits of seaweed, egg shreds, and chopped cilantro. Tiny drops of oil shimmered faintly. Pan Yang couldn’t help but hold the bowl and take a sip.

What he felt first was the warmth. Despite the weather, it didn’t feel hot or stifling. Instead, it was like a gentle stream flowing from his mouth to his throat and down into his stomach, leaving warmth wherever it passed. Then came the light and fresh flavor of the soup. It wasn’t strong enough to overpower the wontons, but unforgettable in its own way.

Seeing the dazed Pan Yang, Xie Wei who had witnessed the making of the three-delicacy wontons, squeezed in a quick explanation, “Tastes good, right? I don’t know why it’s this good either, but I think it’s chicken soup.”

Chicken soup? How could it have the richness of chicken broth without the greasiness? Pan Yang couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard he thought.

While he was struggling to hold back the urge to inhale all the food in front of him, he caught a glimpse of Xie Wei and Ji Xiangming already finishing their bowls of wontons.

Pan Yang felt a little smug. Eating so fast, now they could only watch him eat!

But to his surprise, Xie Wei immediately got up and came back with another full bowl of wontons.

“Huh? I thought it was one bowl per person?”

“Who said that?” Xie Wei said, “I bought ten portions.”

Hearing that, Pan Yang no longer held back. He dove in at full speed, wishing he could bury his whole face in the bowl.

———

Outside the restaurant, the other team members were also eating heartily.

Cheng Kaifeng had been injured in the earlier battle and was now leaning against the wall with his eyes closed to rest. Since his right arm was hurt, his teammates were feeding him.

“Let’s start with a spoon of soup,” a teammate murmured.

Because of the pain, Cheng Kaifeng didn’t sleep well last night. While the others were still debating whether or not to enter Nanlai Restaurant, he had already closed his eyes to rest and was now drifting into sleep.

Half-asleep, he felt a spoon touch his lips. He instinctively opened his mouth. The warm soup slipped in and moistened his entire mouth. His dry lips were instantly revived. Every part of his body screamed for more.

He suddenly sat up straight like a carp flipping out of water. “I’m alive!”

His teammate jumped in shock and corrected him, “You were never dead.”

Cheng Kaifeng ignored him and stared straight at the bowl of wontons right in front of him. In the clear soup floated plump wontons with thin skin and big bellies, almost as if the words “I’m delicious” were written on their faces.

“Hurry up!” Cheng Kaifeng motioned with his mouth, “Hurry and feed me, ah…”

His teammate couldn’t help but laugh, “Coming, coming.”

The pale pinkish wonton fell into the gaping mouth in an instant. Its owner was scalded by the splashing meat juice but held back without a word, fully immersed in the rich fragrance filling his mouth.

Hard teeth easily pierced the thin skin, breaking into the fresh meat filling made of green fish and pork leg. After savoring the different kinds of freshness from water and land, it reached the firm and springy river shrimp.

Such a small piece, with just a bit of force, was cleanly bitten through by his teeth. The tender sweetness of the shrimp immediately burst forth, and he could even feel its pleasant bounce between his tongue and teeth.

“So delicious I could die!” Cheng Kaifeng thought his current expression must be ferocious. How long had it been since he had tasted something so delicious?

Even food that used to be considered “normal” now required saving up for a long time to afford a single meal at one of Tianling City’s expensive restaurants.

He would never forget the feeling of eating mutant beast jerky for the first time. When his teeth touched that piece of jerky, he couldn’t help but ask the seller what the difference was between it and tree bark. The seller said, if you could chew it, it was tree bark; if you couldn’t, it was mutant beast jerky. If it didn’t taste weird, it was tree bark; if the taste was indescribable, it was jerky.

So Cheng Kaifeng gritted his teeth, endured the soreness in his cheeks, and violently swung his head. The jerky finally broke apart in his mouth. Although he ate the meat, it felt more like he had wrestled with a living mutant beast.

Mercenaries always joked that mutant beasts helped train every muscle in their bodies without exception, and the final step was strengthening the jaw muscles.

After eating who knew how many pieces of jerky, Cheng Kaifeng still hadn’t gotten used to the taste. He had merely accepted his fate.

He never expected that one day, in the Anjin Desert, he would get to eat such a heavenly delicacy like three-flavored wontons!

At this moment, the image of Nan Tu, whom he had never met, appeared in Cheng Kaifeng’s eyes like a god.

If this restaurant could keep operating, even the life-threatening Anjin Desert didn’t seem so bleak anymore.

He opened his mouth wide again, urging his teammate to feed him more wontons. He savored the blend of meat juice and filling in his mouth, and finally couldn’t help grabbing the bowl with his left hand and gulped down all the soup, not even leaving behind a speck of chopped cilantro.

Cheng Kaifeng’s right arm was still aching faintly. He sat directly on the ground and even curled up to hide his whole body in the rare patch of shade. The wind and sand of the Anjin Desert never stopped roaring.

Under such circumstances, Cheng Kaifeng had only one feeling at the moment.

Happiness.

Very soon, another bowl of wontons was brought over.

Everyone chewed and swallowed silently and greedily.

All the depression and frustration over the years seemed to be vented into this bowl of wontons. What they bit into wasn’t just the wonton skin and filling, but every desperate situation they had faced, every time they had to retreat again and again, the future that could be seen at a glance. All of it turned into food that gave them energy and filled their stomachs.

By the end of the meal, their whole bodies felt soothed. They became completely relaxed and only wanted to lie back on the burning hot sand and stare at the sky.

This was what it felt like to be alive.

———

Seven people ate a total of nineteen bowls of wontons.

Naturally, there were no wontons left that day. If Nan Tu and Xin Huan hadn’t acted fast and prepared them in advance, what they had wouldn’t have been enough to feed this group.

They paid with four level-three crystal cores. Since Nan Tu couldn’t give change, as compensation, she filled up the water bags for Ji Xiangming’s team.

This gesture made the group overjoyed. The young woman named Xie Wei even tentatively asked Nan Tu if she could tell other mercenaries about the location of Nanlai Restaurant and invite them to come too.

Nan Tu readily agreed, “As long as they follow the rules and don’t cause trouble, the doors of Nanlai Restaurant are open to anyone.”

After sending off the rare guest from another dimension, the first thing Nan Tu did was have the system convert the crystal cores into money.

Seeing 1900 yuan deposited into her bank card, the smile on Nan Tu’s face grew even bigger.

“Oh right,” Nan Tu asked the system, “didn’t you say I could earn attribute point rewards after serving a certain number of guests from a certain plane? How’s my progress?”

Nan Tu had previously received one attribute point from the system and had added it to her five senses. That one point alone made her feel much more in control when preparing dishes, and now she was even more curious what it would be like to add attribute points to perception or strength.

The system hesitated and said: [As for progress, it’s just a little bit so far.]

Nan Tu wasn’t disappointed. At most, she had only served fewer than ten guests from other plane. She believed that once Xie Wei and the others returned to Tianling City and spread the word about Nanlai Restaurant, more guests would come for her reputation.

While waiting for guests from other planes to arrive, she couldn’t forget about her regular customers in this world. Although guests from other plane brought in high profits, they were few in number. Ordinary customers were the foundation of Nanlai Restaurant’s operations.

At this point, the system chimed in: [If you serve enough guests from another plane, not only will you get attribute points, you can also unlock new planes.]

Nan Tu said casually, “It’s nice to have guests from other planes as a bonus, but ordinary customers are enough to support me.”

The system hastily said, “The first plane level won’t be too high, so it won’t provide many benefits to the host. In the future, higher-level planes may be unlocked. They can offer special items. Although these can’t be used freely on customers, they can help the host enhance physical health. For example, the Dust Cleansing Pill from the cultivation plane or the Elven Fruit from the magic plane can help remove harmful substances from the body.”

Hearing that, Nan Tu finally showed a bit of interest. What was the greatest danger for a chef? Occupational diseases.

Kitchen smoke was heavy. Nan Tu’s grandfather had died of lung disease. He hadn’t wanted her to take over as a chef, not only because he didn’t want her to suffer, but also because he didn’t want illness to come knocking.

The system wanted Nan Tu to entertain more plane guests, and Nan Tu could fully understand that. Although the system didn’t say it outright, based on how it recycled crystal cores into currency while also charging a service fee, it was obvious that what the system needed wasn’t revenue, but energy-containing crystal cores.

After Xin Huan arrived at the restaurant, Nan Tu gained a deeper understanding of the apocalypse plane. She learned that crystal cores became hard currency because many weapons produced in Tianling City used them as an energy source. In daily life, crystal cores were also extremely important.

Looking at it this way, everything made sense. No matter how high the turnover in her own plane was, it had nothing to do with the system and brought no benefit to it. No wonder it was in such a hurry.

But she wasn’t someone who gave in so easily, so she had to make the system understand the current situation: “Back then, tossing the restaurant into the desert was your mistake. That was when business was bad. When plane guests showed up, of course I prioritized them. Over time, the focus naturally shifted that way. Now business is much better, but there are only a few plane guests, not many and not important. Entertaining them might even disturb the guests on this side. Just thinking about it is a headache.”

Seeing Nan Tu’s negative attitude, the system quickly gave in: “The experience in the first plane wasn’t ideal. As compensation, from now on, the purchase price of crystal cores from the apocalypse plane will increase by 20%.”

Nan Tu said calmly, “Do you first take the 5% service fee and then raise the purchase price by 20%, or do you raise the purchase price by 20% and then take the 5% service fee? Sigh, I’m not good at math, you’ve confused me.”

The system gritted its teeth: [No service fee for the apocalypse plane!]

“Is it just this plane with no service fee, or in the future…” Nan Tu stopped herself in time, “But that’s true, there might not even be a next plane.”

[……]

[All planes will no longer be charged service fees!]

If the system had teeth, they would be ground to dust by now. If the system had a heart, it would be aching terribly. Unfortunately, it had neither, and it still had to rely on Nan Tu to earn energy for it. Of course, it had to keep compromising.

Having secured such a big concession, Nan Tu didn’t intend to push it too far, and she said right away, “Then I’ll really need to think of a way to make it easier for plane guests to enter the restaurant.”

Xin Huan, who had just finished cleaning the restaurant after closing and washed her hands, came over to remind her, “Sister Nan Tu, you need to set some rules. What happened today with someone barging in with weapons just won’t do!”

Nan Tu had just been thinking about this. If she couldn’t let plane guests enter the restaurant while ordinary guests were present, she would definitely miss out on many plane customers. But plane guests were special cases. How could she ensure peace between both sides without causing trouble?

She almost didn’t even need to think before writing down a few guidelines, such as weapons must be left outside or kept in backpacks, guests with obvious bloodstains on them cannot enter, no provocation or fighting allowed in the restaurant, and so on.

In her impression, mercenaries had always been fierce and hard to manage. Would they really follow the rules set by Nan Tu?

Xin Huan bared her teeth and said, “If someone doesn’t follow the rules, I’ll throw them out!”

Nan Tu pinched Xin Huan’s still slightly baby-fat cheeks. She could handle this kind of thing herself.

———

That night, Nan Tu had a dream.

She dreamed that the restaurant was packed with customers, so full that not even a drop of water could trickle through. Business was booming. But when she looked closely, all the seats were taken by strange-looking beasts. They had huge appetites and devoured all the food in the restaurant, yet they still weren’t full.

But when it came time to pay, every one of them refused, which made Nan Tu furious.

Just as her anger reached its peak, the rolling pin in her hand somehow turned into a machine gun. In a rage, she shot all the freeloading beasts, leaving crystal cores scattered all over the floor. Overjoyed, she immediately went to collect them.

When she woke up and remembered the strange dream she had, Nan Tu couldn’t help but laugh. What a mess.