Chapter 420: The Public Lesson Begins
After bowing, the shop owners from the food street quietly took their leave so as not to disturb Han Shi's normal operations.
Their grand display of gratitude, however, made many diners who previously knew nothing about it aware that in ten days, Qi Han would be holding a public lesson on how to make egg fried rice.
Although the diners were not as shocked as professional chefs, they were still quite intrigued by this unprecedented event. Quite a few diners who had some cooking experience were even planning to participate themselves, hoping to learn a trace of Boss Qi's mastery in making egg fried rice.
Amid the crowd, listening to the soft discussions around her, a subtle glimmer appeared in Yue Lengxin's eyes.
Her father was a chef, so she understood the unspoken rules within the culinary world.
Just as those shop owners had said, no one had ever done something like this before, and likely no one would ever do it again. Yet Qi Han chose to publicly teach the method of cooking egg fried rice without hesitation.
This was clearly a chef's most fundamental skill, yet he seemed completely unconcerned about others surpassing him because of it.
Qi Han, just what kind of person are you…?
A faint ripple stirred in the silver-haired girl's heart.
…
Ten days passed quickly amidst the busy and fulfilling days of business.
Practically the day after Qi Han visited the Culinary Association, everyone in Shrek City knew about his decision. And with the Culinary Association's promotional channels, news of his public egg fried rice lesson spread rapidly to the surrounding regions.
Mu Liufeng, who originally planned to stay longer in Shrek City to taste all its delicacies before returning, hurried back to Star Luo City after discussing the Food Critique collaboration details with Zhang Heng. Using the magazine's own network, he helped spread the news even further.
After he finished arranging everything and ensuring that the Food Critique Magazine office was operating quickly according to his instructions, Mu Liufeng returned once again to Shrek City. He came both to continue enjoying Han Shi's cuisine and to personally witness the grand event in ten days.
This time, he even brought his wife and child along, clearly intending to stay in Shrek City for a while.
During these ten days, tens of thousands of people arrived in Shrek City from all over the continent.
For a metropolis with several million permanent residents, it was normal for tens of thousands to enter and leave the city each day. But when several thousand of those people were each carrying an identical specially-made iron wok, it inevitably caused quite a stir.
Because everyone knew why they were here.
Even Qi Han himself was surprised when he learned of the situation. Things were progressing a little differently from what he had imagined.
He originally planned to teach a thousand people and complete the task directly, but now it seemed that far more people wanted to learn egg fried rice than he had anticipated.
Well… whether it's one sheep or a whole flock, he would have to shepherd them all the same.
And so, under the watchful eyes of countless people, the long-awaited time for the public lesson finally arrived.
After closing for lunch that day, Qi Han pulled Ye Lingqing along and headed toward the plaza in front of the Culinary Association, carrying their cooking tools and ingredients.
Along the way, countless people stared at him in silent excitement, nearly all of them holding woks similar to the one in Qi Han's hand.
When they arrived at the high platform that had already been constructed at the plaza, and he saw the sea of fervent gazes below, Qi Han suddenly felt something strange.
Why did he suddenly feel like some sort of godfather of the culinary world?
…No, no, surely it wasn't that exaggerated.
Qi Han silently told himself it was just an illusion. Then, channeling Spirit Power into his throat, he let his voice boom across the entire area.
"Welcome, everyone!"
At the same time, a ten-meter-tall phantom appeared behind him, taking on his form so that everyone present could see him clearly.
This was created by a special Spirit Master sent by the Culinary Association. His Martial Spirit could produce an effect similar to projection.
The Culinary Association had not been idle these past few days. Besides using their information channels to spread the news, Xuan Ye personally made the decision to have three thousand simple stoves set up in advance on the plaza.
After all, to learn cooking, having a wok and ingredients wasn't enough—one also needed a stove.
At this moment, the flames of three thousand stoves flickered at once, each already filled with burning charcoal. The combined heat of so many firepits made it feel like midsummer despite it being the dead of winter. Many people were already down to a single layer of clothing from the heat.
Right after Qi Han spoke, waves of responses surged through the plaza, but they quickly faded back into silence.
In such a massive plaza, if everyone wanted to hear him clearly, silence was absolutely necessary.
Qi Han cleared his throat and spoke again.
"Honestly, I didn't expect this many people to come. Looks like the egg fried rice is even more popular than I thought."
A ripple of soft laughter passed through the crowd, before once again settling into quiet.
It was Qi Han's first time speaking in front of such a large audience, and he was still somewhat nervous. After organizing his words and thoughts, he continued,
"I believe everyone here has tasted my egg fried rice. Those with cooking experience have even tried to replicate it, but found yourselves completely unable to make anything similar."
Many people nodded in strong agreement.
Long Hanyun unconsciously scraped his ladle in the wok held in his hands, a rare hint of embarrassment on his face.
He too had studied egg fried rice specifically, trying over a dozen methods, but none could produce that distinct grain-separated texture. Even now, he still hadn't found the answer.
"It's actually not because of your cooking skills." A faint smile appeared on Qi Han's face. "Egg fried rice isn't difficult to make, but the cooking method I use isn't any of the techniques currently known on the Douluo Continent."
What?
The plaza immediately stirred with noise.
"Hey hey, Old Li, what does that mean?" Cao Yun scratched his head and lowered his voice to ask Li Hong beside him.
"How should I know? And why is a chicken farmer like you even here?" Li Hong rolled his eyes and replied in the same low voice.
"What's wrong with raising chickens? Chicken farmers can't learn cooking?" Cao Yun shook his head. "Forget it, no point asking you. I'm just gonna listen carefully to Boss Qi."
A new cooking method?
Realization dawned on Long Hanyun's face. No wonder all his attempts had failed—he'd been using the wrong method entirely.
But… besides stewing, boiling, deep-frying, roasting, and mixing, was there even another method?
Soon, Qi Han gave the answer.
"This cooking method is called stir-frying. Only through this method can you make egg fried rice. And in fact, many other dishes at Han Shi also use this method."
Qi Han stopped there, but the plaza erupted once again.
Everyone knew that every dish served at Han Shi was more delicious than anything found elsewhere—and nearly impossible to replicate.
Qi Han's explanation finally revealed why: all those dishes used a cooking method none of them had ever even heard of.
No wonder they couldn't replicate it.
And now, not only was Qi Han teaching egg fried rice, it looked like he might also be teaching stir-frying itself…
Was he really not worried that others would copy Han Shi's dishes?
If Qi Han knew what everyone was thinking, he would only say that they were overthinking it.
Even if they learned how to stir-fry, they were still a long, long way from replicating Han Shi's dishes.
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