Chapter 332 - 314: What Is This Fruit Tree? Does Anyone Recognize It?

Chapter 332: Chapter 314: What Is This Fruit Tree? Does Anyone Recognize It?

The championship match followed a "first-to-five" rule.

Whoever won five rounds first would be the victor.

Wang Ge Fei and Lu Xiangyun were both ready.

The match officially began.

After a brilliant exchange of offense and defense from both sides, Wang Ge Fei drew first blood, winning the first round.

In the second round, Wang Ge Fei maintained his advantage and won again.

Wang Ge Fei led 2-0.

This made everyone in the audience sweat for Lu Xiangyun.

If Lu Xiangyun grew flustered and nervous because of this, he would likely suffer a crushing defeat.

Fortunately, Lu Xiangyun held on under the pressure and won back a round in the third match.

The score was 1-2.

In the fourth round, Wang Ge Fei exploded with power once more and won the round.

The score was now 3-1.

The scales of victory were already tipping in Wang Ge Fei’s favor.

And in the end, there were no surprises. Wang Ge Fei won the tournament with a score of 5-3.

A champion was born!

Wang Ge Fei was ecstatic, celebrating happily.

Lu Xiangyun sighed softly. To have come so far only to have the championship slip through his fingers... of course, he was deeply unwilling to accept it.

But no matter how he felt, the result of the match would not change.

He congratulated Wang Ge Fei.

The crowd erupted in thunderous applause. It had been an incredibly exciting championship match.

While it was certainly a shame for Lu Xiangyun, in the context of the entire tournament, the runner-up was also a victor.

In fact, not just the runner-up, but everyone in the top ten was a victor.

They could all celebrate now.

And indeed, the top ten contestants were all celebrating, waiting for Li You to present their awards.

Since it was a competition with prizes, an awards ceremony was a must.

All the spectators were also waiting in excitement.

It had been an exceptionally thrilling and successful tournament.

From the moment the tournament began yesterday to its conclusion just now, the atmosphere had been electric. It was lively, yet filled with tension and excitement, leaving everyone feeling that it had ended too soon.

Who knew an arcade game tournament could be so spectacular and memorable?

Li You himself was also very happy. The tournament had been even more successful than he had anticipated.

He never imagined that an arcade game long since abandoned by the mainstream market could ignite such passion in his customers.

It gave him a great sense of accomplishment.

Now, it was time for the awards ceremony.

He had already prepared the prizes. They were mostly vouchers. The only physical prize was a catty of liquor.

Preparing them had been very simple.

First was the prize for tenth place: a 20% off coupon.

Amidst the applause of the crowd, Liu Bowen accepted a 20% off coupon from Li You with both hands.

Although it was only the prize for tenth place, it was still enough to make people envious.

Liu Bowen himself was also very excited.

Next was the prize for ninth place: a 30% off coupon.

Under the envious gazes of the crowd, Yuan Hao accepted his prize, waving frequently to everyone.

After that, the eighth and seventh place winners were equally excited.

In addition to discount coupons, their prizes included vouchers for spicy crayfish. It was awesome.

Then, it was Mu Qingye’s turn for sixth place.

Her prize was one 40% off coupon, a voucher for five catties of spicy crayfish, and a voucher for one serving of Agastache-flavored crucian carp.

After accepting the prizes from Li You, Mu Qingye smiled sweetly and said, "Thank you, Boss!"

’These prizes will be perfect for lunch with my classmates. We’ll save a lot of money.’

’My classmates are going to be thrilled.’

The fifth and fourth place awards followed, with the prizes becoming more and more generous.

Then came third place.

The prize, besides a 50% off coupon and a voucher for ten catties of spicy crayfish, also included a voucher for one serving of steamed mandarin fish.

This steamed mandarin fish was a dish that hadn’t been officially released yet.

So, if Chen Dong chose to, he could eat the steamed mandarin fish for lunch today—a dish no one else could have.

How cool was that?

Everyone was extremely envious.

Of course, Chen Dong himself was also incredibly excited, waving repeatedly to the applauding crowd.

Next up was second place.

One 50% off coupon, a voucher for ten catties of spicy crayfish, and a voucher for one serving of cabbage in boiling water.

By this point, Lu Xiangyun had already put aside his feelings of disappointment. His face was all smiles as he, too, waved frequently to the crowd.

And then came the most dazzling moment of all.

As the champion, the prizes were far more lavish.

One 50% off coupon, a voucher for ten catties of spicy crayfish, a voucher for one serving of Agastache-flavored crucian carp, a voucher for one serving of Chopped Pepper Fish Head, a voucher for one serving of Longjing Shrimp, a voucher for one serving of steamed mandarin fish, a voucher for one serving of cabbage in boiling water, and one catty of liquor (takeaway allowed).

This was the glory that belonged to the champion. It was also why every contestant had been so desperate to win.

The very word "champion" was an honor in itself.

The applause from the crowd was thunderous, punctuated by waves of cheers.

Wang Ge Fei was incredibly moved, waving repeatedly to the crowd.

Li You congratulated Wang Ge Fei.

Wang Ge Fei thanked him profusely, then accepted the large stack of vouchers from Li You’s hands.

After that, Li You brought out a jug of liquor. It was a catty of the restaurant’s own brew.

This liquor was the prize that everyone coveted the most.

This was the first-ever catty of liquor that could be taken away from the restaurant.

Amidst everyone’s envy, Wang Ge Fei accepted the liquor with both hands.

’I have to take this catty of liquor home and treasure it. I must save it for the most crucial moment.’

Many people looked at the liquor in Wang Ge Fei’s hands and had the urge to go up and ask if he was willing to sell it.

But in the end, they dismissed the thought.

There was no need to ask; they already knew the answer. Wang Ge Fei would definitely not sell it.

Unless they offered a price Wang Ge Fei couldn’t refuse.

But they themselves would certainly be unwilling to pay such a price.

So, there was nothing to be done.

By now, it was 12:30 PM, well past lunchtime.

Many people began to order their meals.

At the same time, many people did the same as yesterday noon: they bought half a braised chicken and a bowl of liquor, found a spot outside, and sat down to eat and drink.

This way, they didn’t have to wait in line or wait for dishes to be served, which was quite convenient.

Mu Qingye announced to her classmates that she would be using the prizes she had just won for lunch today.

Her classmates all cheered. By their calculations, this lunch wouldn’t cost any of them much at all.

...

After finishing their meals, many people chose not to leave right away.

They were a bit reluctant to go, wanting to stay a while longer.

So they decided to wander through the boss’s gardens and continue chatting.

In the Hundred Fruit Garden, a young man in a white shirt let out a curious "Huh?" and said, "Isn’t this a cactus? Why did the boss plant a cactus in the Hundred Fruit Garden? Is a cactus also a type of fruit?"

A man with glasses standing nearby overheard and said, "It’s not entirely wrong to call a cactus a fruit-bearing plant. Cacti do produce fruit, and it’s edible."

"Cacti bear fruit? For real? What does it look like? I’ve never seen it before."

"It’s normal not to have seen it. Cacti around here rarely bear fruit. You’d have to go to the Kangding area. The mountains and fields there are covered in cactus fruit."

"The Kangding area? I’ve never been. Is cactus fruit good?"

"The texture is pretty good. I wouldn’t say it’s exceptionally delicious, but it’s tasty. Plus, it’s rich in protein, amino acids, vitamins, polysaccharides, flavonoids, pectin, and various other trace elements. It’s a very valuable fruit. However, you have to be extremely careful when picking cactus fruit. You need to wear a pair of thick plastic gloves because the fruit is covered in tiny, fine spines. These spines easily get stuck in your skin, and not only are they painful, but they’re also very difficult to remove. Getting pricked is extremely unpleasant."

"Then I’ll have to be careful if I ever get the chance to pick cactus fruit. Also, now that you mention it, I really want to try one. I wonder if the boss’s cacti will bear fruit."

The man with glasses smiled and continued, "They definitely won’t be bearing cactus fruit, that’s for sure."

"Hmm?" the man in the white shirt asked, puzzled. "How can you be so sure? Cacti elsewhere around here might have trouble bearing fruit. But since the boss planted these here, I think there’s a high probability they will."

The customer with glasses smiled again and said, "Oh, they’ll bear fruit, all right, but it won’t be cactus fruit. Because... these aren’t cacti."

"Ah?" The man in the white shirt was stunned. "These aren’t cacti?"

It wasn’t just the man in the white shirt; several other people nearby were also stunned.

They had also thought they were cacti.

"Think back carefully to what a cactus looks like. Isn’t there a rather obvious difference between them and these plants?"

"Well... now that you mention it, they do seem a little different. Then what are they?"

"A fruit you’ve all definitely eaten before: Dragon Fruit."

"Dragon Fruit?" The man in the white shirt and many others around him were stunned once again. "This is Dragon Fruit? This is what a Dragon Fruit plant looks like?"

"That’s right! These are Dragon Fruit plants. Is this your first time seeing one?" the man with glasses said.

"First time, definitely the first time. I never knew what a Dragon Fruit plant looked like before. I can’t believe it looks like this! I always thought Dragon Fruit grew on a tall tree. I never expected it to look like a cactus. What a surprise!"

"Dragon Fruit and cactus both belong to the Cactaceae family. They’re closely related, so of course they look similar. Not only do they look alike, but the way they bear fruit is also very similar."

"You learn something new every day," the man in the white shirt and the others around him remarked.

The man with glasses added, "Also, the epiphyllum, the flower from the idiom ’a flash in the pan,’ also belongs to the Cactaceae family. I bet you didn’t know that, either."

"Epiphyllum belongs to the cactus family?" The man in the white shirt and the others were once again taken aback. They really hadn’t known that.

So, it turned out epiphyllum and cacti had such a close relationship.

They had learned something new.

"So, do cactus flowers and epiphyllum flowers look alike?" the man in the white shirt asked.

"Actually, no, they don’t," the man with glasses said. "However, the flower of the Dragon Fruit plant looks very much like an epiphyllum flower. If you don’t look closely, you might think they’re identical."

"Is that so? Then we’ll have to take a good look when these Dragon Fruit plants bloom," the man in the white shirt and the others all declared.

While one group was discussing cacti and Dragon Fruit, a voice called out from another spot, "What kind of fruit tree is this? Does anyone recognize it?"

Hearing this, everyone who had been by the Dragon Fruit plants, including the man with glasses and the man in the white shirt, all headed in the direction of the voice.

Someone else had found a fruit tree they didn’t recognize?

Excellent!

This was their chance to go and enlighten that person.

It felt great to be the one doing the enlightening.

Everyone wanted to be the one sharing their knowledge, especially the man in the white shirt and the others who had just been schooled themselves.

They had just mistaken Dragon Fruit for a cactus and been on the receiving end of a lesson.

Now it was their turn to teach someone else.

’Besides the Dragon Fruit, there probably aren’t any other fruit trees in this garden that we don’t recognize.’

...