Chapter 341: Ye Zhi

Translator: 549690339 |

“Wow! Is this Ye Zhi City?”

As the train rolled into the station, Shen Qian, who was carrying a suitcase, alighted from the train. She looked around curiously, with joy on her face, “This is my first time here!”

“Truly a city deserving its title of ‘Pearl of the Province’.” Zhou Tianhao commented while looking around, in his hand he held a brochure labeled “Ye Zhi City Travel Guide”.

The enthusiastic ticket collector had given it to them when they disembarked. “It says in here that Ye Zhi City is the only city among the nine in Mingjing Province that purchases its aquatic resources from surrounding cities,” Zhou Tianhao opened the brochure to a page.

“Though Mingjing Province boasts the vast freshwater Jumping Fish Lake, and three rivers whose sources are Jumping Fish Lake and flow into Beautiful Bay, not to mention a vast coastline, Ye Zhi City’s unique feature of being neither riverfront nor coastal is peculiar.”

“But isn’t it this peculiarity that gives Ye Zhi City its uniqueness?” Qin Lang, also holding a brochure, laughed and asked.

“In order to facilitate the transportation and distribution of aquatic resources, it has become the largest land transport hub in Mingjing Province and has been developed to be as prosperous as Crown Ling City in the hinterland of Mingjing Province. It is, without a doubt, the second core of Mingjing Province.”

“Why are you two discussing this?” Shen Qian, who saw the two still had a desire to delve deeper into this topic, promptly rolled her eyes and interrupted. We’ve been on the train for several hours, shouldn’t our first priority be to find our pre-booked hotel, put down our heavy luggage, and tidy up?”

“And here’s another thing, Qin Lang, isn’t it time for your mustard vegetables to be steamed and aired again?” Saying this, she pointed at the hemp bag on Qin Lang’s shoulder.

The appearance of this hemp bag suddenly altered the scenario, making the trio, who would otherwise have looked like casual tourists.

“It won’t take much longer,” Qin Lang estimated, feeling the mustard vegetables on his shoulder that seemed heavy but in actuality were not, “The dried mustard should be ready in Ye Zhi City, so I wouldn’t have to carry it around in such a cumbersome manner.”

“After so much preparation, I am eager to taste what this dried mustard is really like.” Shen Qian chuckled, full of anticipation. She hailed a cab at the exit, “Sir, can you take us to Yunhua Hotel?”

“Just you wait.” Qin Lang shrugged.

The three of them efficiently loaded their luggage into the trunk of the taxi and swiftly left Ye Zhi City Train Station.

“Gulp!”

It’s all hung up!

Watching the mustard vegetables that, after the second steaming, turned a shade between yellow and brown hanging on the balcony, Dan Bao couldn’t help but feel awash with a sense of accomplishment.

“You did a great job.” Qin Lang ruffled Dan Bao’s head, patting Spicy on the head out of habit, “The mustard vegetables need to go through three steaming and sun-drying sessions. After they dry this time, we repeat the process one more time, and then it’s ready for the cooking process.”

“I’U cook up a very delicious dish with it.” Qin Lang chuckled, “And it’ll be made with pork belly-”

“Crackle!”

I want to eat!

As Spicy’s eyes sparkled, his face was filled with anticipation.

“You were pretty quick.”

Having tidied up her luggage, Shen Qian stepped out of her room. She looked at Qin Lang, Dan Bao, Spicy, and the drying mustard, and chuckled.

Just like in Lanqiu City, they again opted to stay in a suite this time, which contained three different bedrooms, while the living room, dining room, and kitchen were shared.

“Looks like I’m the slowest to get settled in.” Zhou Tianhao, who came out shortly after, laughed, then addressed Qin Lang, “I checked the competition schedule on Ye Zhi City’s Spirit Chef Association official website.”

“Unfortunately, there are no city-level competitions you can join, mainly due to time constraints.”

“That’s okay.” Sensing Zhou Tianhao’s concern over his goal of getting one of the Food Spirits to three stars, Qin Lang felt touched, “According to the plan, we’ll be passing through Hanhai City next and eventually arrive at Crown Ling City.”

“If Ye Zhi City has none, then these two cities should have some city-level competitions that match our timeline.”

That’s true,” Zhou Tianhao muttered, then as if suddenly recalling something, he said, “If I remember correctly, you mentioned that you knew a senior here in Ye Zhi City.”

“Yes!” Qin Lang nodded, retrieving a business card from his pocket.

It was something he had deliberately taken out of a concealed compartment in his suitcase while packing. The card read the name “Su Henian”, along with a telephone number.

Su Henian, the husband of Song Hui, and Su Zhi’s father.

“I’ll shoot him a text first.”

After pondering a bit, Qin Lang sent a message from his phone, detailing his relationship with Song Hui and his current status in Ye Zhi City. He also expressed his wish to visit him.

“Alright, now we wait for his response.” After making sure his message was sent, Qin Lang yawned, “Is it time for lunch yet? What’s the plan?”

“Travelling is tiring; I don’t want to cook!” Shen Qian said with a giggle as she lounged on the sofa, “Since it’s our first time in Ye Zhi City, shouldn’t we try the local delicacies?”

“I’m all for it.” Zhou Tianhao chuckled and raised his hand.

“In that case, let’s look for recommendations for local cuisine.” Eager to relax himself, Qin Lang followed suit. He lounged on the sofa, browsing local food forums and other platforms where he could find relevant information.

The three of them each scrolled through their phones, and the living room suddenly fell quiet except for the soft noises made by the Food Spirits interacting.

“How about this Tower of Food? Seems pretty interesting?” Soon, Qin Lang, with interest pointed at one of the introductions on his phone, “I didn’t expect Ye Zhi City to have such a unique place.”

According to what he had learned, the Tower of Food was a seven-story building within Ye Zhi City. Each of its levels housed countless shops, all selling great food and without any repetition.

The mere fact was enough to spark Qin Lang’s interest.

But there was more.

The locations of the shops within the Tower of Food weren’t fixed.

Every month, they rated each shop based on a unique scoring system and reassigned them based on their scores. The higher the score, the higher the level.

The similarity to the rules of the Leaping Fish Banquet made Qin Lang realize the intense competition to keep a shop running in the Tower of Food.

As one might expect, under such fierce, long-term competition, the shops that managed to survive in the Tower of Food were bound to be superbly skilled.

The Tower of Food had another unique feature: its access.

The Tower had an entrance at its lowest level, but that was an exit, not an entrance. The entrance was at the top, which was accessible by cable car.

Just knowing all this had spiked Qin Lang’s interest in the Tower of Food.

However, as soon as Shen Qian heard Qin Lang’s suggestion, she rolled her eyes.

“The Tower of Food, not today!”