Sally felt as if she had stumbled into an ocean of delicious food, instantly enveloped by its flavors and warmth.
The egg wrapped around the rice was so tender and fragrant, the ham rich and flavorful, the bamboo shoots sweet and crunchy, the green peas sweet and savory… each ingredient's flavor was distinct, yet they blended perfectly in one bite.
She tasted the large prawn; the fresh, fragrant prawn meat burst in her mouth, as if she was tasting the sea itself.
This was a freshness rarely found even in the Valley of the Wind. Prawn kept alive by magic didn't have such tender meat. Even she had only had the privilege of eating such fresh prawn two years ago when she accompanied her grandfather to the northern coast of the Wind Forest, but even then, the taste couldn't compare to the tenderness of the prawn she was eating now.
Where did this owner get such fresh and delicious prawn? If transported from the coast to Chaos City, a single prawn would probably cost more than five gold coins.
This fried rice dish contained more than one large prawn, yet it only cost 600 copper coins. Was the owner... out of his mind? A question flashed through her mind.
But when she bit into the tender egg, and her tongue touched the sweet grains of rice, she suddenly froze, then her eyes snapped open.
This taste!
It's the taste of the Fountain of Life!
Although she wasn't royalty, her clan held an extremely noble position among the elves. She had been baptized by the Fountain of Life many times, and even drank a small cup during her coming of age ceremony. Therefore, she was extremely sensitive to and familiar with the taste of this sacred elven spring.
However, she had actually tasted the Fountain of Life in this Chaos City, in a restaurant run by humans. This absurd feeling left her momentarily bewildered, even wondering if she was hallucinating due to homesickness.
As she chewed the rice, the sweetness of the rice, along with the flavors of various ingredients, assaulted her taste buds. Among them, the unique fragrance of the Fountain of Life was so clear, repeatedly confirming her suspicions.
After swallowing, a warm current flowed through her body, quickly dispelling the fatigue and hunger from days of travel.
This is definitely the Fountain of Life! Sally was absolutely certain. Reason told her that she should point her bow and arrow at the human man and demand to know the origin of the Fountain of Life.
But… this Yang Zhou Fried Rice was just too delicious! She simply couldn't spare a hand to do this!
The chef in her castle was the best in the entire clan. She had attended many banquets at the royal palace, and had even tasted the royal chef's dishes when the King of the Los Empire visited the elves with his chef.
Compared to this Yang Zhou Fried Rice, the seemingly exquisite dishes appeared utterly bland.
And this delicious Yang Zhou Fried Rice was made by a human, and a man at that.
Another bite?
Sally felt a devil tempting her, but she chose not to resist. The spoon clinked softly against the plate, and the second spoonful of fried rice was already in her mouth. She closed her eyes again, savoring the unique flavor of each ingredient.
Forget the elven holy spring, forget elven obligations—all these things were instantly forgotten. Only one word occupied her mind: Eat, eat, eat!
One bite finished, then another. Although ingrained etiquette prevented her from wolfing down her food, this unprecedented, unrestrained eating, a stark contrast to her usual slow, deliberate chewing, was completely gone. Her previous doubts were utterly forgotten.
Mai Ge watched quietly, a slight smile playing on his lips. Seeing his guests so engrossed in his cooking filled him with a sense of pride and satisfaction. Perhaps this was the thrill of conquering someone's taste buds—far more exciting than conquering a woman.
Amy also wore a proud expression. This was made by her father, the best rainbow fried rice in the world. Even elf sister also will fell in love with the taste after just one bite.
Sally finished her Yang Zhou Fried Rice without a care in the world. When she put her spoon back on the plate, ready for another bite, she suddenly realized the plate was completely empty.
"I finished it just like that?" Sally was stunned. She felt like she'd only just started eating, and looking at the plate, so clean it almost reflected her image, she felt a pang of shame. She'd failed to maintain her elegance in front of others. Thankfully, she managed to resist the urge to lick the plate clean.
However, one serving wasn't enough for something so delicious. Sally looked up at Mai Ge, her eyes filled with anticipation, and said, "Boss, please give me another serving."
"Sure, just a moment." Mai Ge replied with a smile, turning to walk towards the kitchen. Even an elegant elf couldn't resist the temptation of Yang Zhou Fried Rice.
However, he also had a slight worry. This rice was grown with the Fountain of Life; if she tasted it, he wondered if it would cause any trouble.
"It's absolutely delicious!" Mo Bai put down his spoon, a satisfied look on his face. Two servings of Yang Zhou Fried Rice were just enough to fill his stomach, and all the fatigue in his body had vanished. He hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time; it was wonderful.
"Dwarf Grandpa Mo Bai, would you like two more servings?" Amy asked expectantly.
"No, two portions are just right for tonight. I can have some alcohol when I get back. What a wonderful day!" Mo Bai looked at Amy's expectant eyes and almost couldn't resist nodding, but quickly waved his hand and said.
"Okay, then two portions are two times six, twelve gold coins in total." Amy was a little disappointed, but quickly regained her cheerful expression, jumped off the chair, walked to Mo Bai, and held out her two little hands: "Give me the money."
"Hmm, you counted very quickly tonight." Mo Bai was a little surprised, but still counted out twelve gold coins from his money bag and placed them in Amy's little hands.
"Goodbye, Boss Mai." Mo Bai stood up, said to Mai Ge in the kitchen, and then looked at Amy and said, "Goodbye, little one."
"Goodbye." Mai Ge smiled from the kitchen.
"One, two, three… Goodbye, Dwarf Grandpa Mo Bai." Amy was counting the gold coins with shining eyes, and replied without looking up. "This prefix…" Mo Bai twitched the corner of his mouth; it sounded a little strange. He smiled and went out the door.
"Who exactly is this man?" Sally looked at Mai Ge in the kitchen. Although she could only see a profile through the crystal, his focused and serious expression was captivating.
A luxurious restaurant, delicious fried rice, fresh prawns, the Fountain of Life… and an adorable half-elf daughter—what secrets does this seemingly ordinary man hold?
Or, what kind of story does he have?
Sally felt curious about a man for the first time.