Chapter 88 - 87: Competition

Chapter 88: Chapter 87: Competition

But after the reshuffling of the apocalypse, 100,000 base credits was no small sum. Seeing Yi Ronghao and Jiang Yunhai remain silent, Song Chuhuan smiled faintly. "What’s wrong? Afraid to take the bet?"

Yi Ronghao returned the faint smile. "You’re on. What’s there to be afraid of?"

Although the Yi family had been a well-known wealthy household before the apocalypse, Yi Ronghao’s current financial situation in the post-apocalyptic world was no longer at a billionaire level. Still, he was comfortably well-off. After all, the Yi family had purchased a large amount of gold before the end of the world, originally intending to use it to preserve their wealth. When the apocalypse arrived, Yi Ronghao sold off all this gold, exchanging it for a substantial amount of base credits.

Thus, he could be considered well-off now; at the very least, his three close buddies were currently living off him. Therefore, upon hearing the bet, Yi Ronghao agreed without hesitation.

Seeing that Yi Ronghao had agreed, Jiang Yunhai felt he had nothing to fear either. He clamored loudly, "You’re on! You think I’m scared of you?"

Song Chuhuan slowly sipped his coffee, looking toward the Japanese ramen window. Zhang Wanwan at the ramen stall was clearly confident about winning this competition. Even in the apocalypse, there was not a trace of panic on Zhang Wanwan’s face; instead, she remained incredibly calm and composed.

After all, she had once been a boss who managed a hundred Japanese restaurants. Before the apocalypse, her restaurant chain was even on the verge of going public. Although the end of the world had arrived, her culinary skills remained. With her exquisite cooking, staging a comeback would be by no means difficult! As for defeating a mere housewife at Window 52, that was even less of a concern.

Zhang Wanwan thought to herself, casting an arrogant gaze toward Chen Momo at the sauerkraut fish window. She, Zhang Wanwan, was absolutely going to win this competition!

"What are we having for lunch today?" Jiang Yunhai asked.

Ouyang Feng said, "I support Zhang Wanwan, so of course I have to buy her ramen to show my support."

Song Chuhuan said flatly, "Then I’ll have ramen too."

Jiang Yunhai groaned, disappointed by their lack of loyalty. "You two fickle guys. Sauerkraut fish is so good, yet this new Japanese ramen has actually stolen all your love for it."

Song Chuhuan shrugged. "It doesn’t matter to me what I eat. It’s mainly for that 100,000 base credits prize money, so I have to support my Ramen Beauty."

Jiang Yunhai patted Yi Ronghao on the shoulder. "Rong Hao, the two of us will eat sauerkraut fish, and they’ll eat Japanese ramen. Whose turn is it to buy food today?"

Yi Ronghao said, "I’ll go. Anyway, no matter who goes, it’s my money being spent."

Song Chuhuan, Jiang Yunhai, and Ouyang Feng uniformly fell silent. This was true; right now, Yi Ronghao was raising the three of them like parasites.

Because the ramen took longer to make and the line was longer, Yi Ronghao decided to queue up at the ramen window first. Today, the line in front of Zhang Wanwan’s window was even longer than the previous days. After a long wait, it was finally Yi Ronghao’s turn.

"500 base credits a bowl. Swipe your card here," Zhang Wanwan said methodically while keeping her hands busy.

Yi Ronghao said, "Two bowls of Japanese ramen." With that, he tapped his card on the reader in front of the window.

After buying the Japanese ramen, Yi Ronghao went to Chen Momo’s window to line up for sauerkraut fish. Perhaps because her opponent was too formidable, there were only three or four people waiting in front of the sauerkraut fish window today. One had to know that the line here used to stretch all the way to the window diagonally opposite. Ever since the Japanese ramen boss, Zhang Wanwan, forcefully moved into the diagonally opposite stall, the line there had grown tremendously, stretching all the way to the third row of seats.

Yi Ronghao counted roughly thirty people in line—it was simply exaggerated.

Today, Chen Momo and Xu Xiaoka looked much less busy than usual. Yi Ronghao noticed that although Chen Momo didn’t say anything, her stubborn eyes held a hint of worry. While he was queuing to buy the sauerkraut fish, Chen Momo looked toward the ramen window diagonally opposite at least two or three times.

Of course, Zhang Wanwan on the diagonally opposite side also glanced at Chen Momo’s sauerkraut fish window several times. The difference was in their gazes: one was full of pride and the certainty of victory, while the other held a faint, underlying anxiety.

Yi Ronghao saw something shattered in Chen Momo’s eyes—a fragile, uneasy expression. Although this fragility and uneasiness were firmly hidden beneath her strong exterior, and she always put on a tough, composed front, Yi Ronghao knew that Chen Momo was definitely worried on the inside.

This made Yi Ronghao’s heart ache inexplicably.

"Your sauerkraut fish is ready," Chen Momo said flatly.

Yi Ronghao snapped out of his chaotic thoughts, unexpectedly meeting Chen Momo’s gaze. Her eyes were still very resolute, but behind that resoluteness hid a heartbreaking fragility.

"She probably isn’t as strong as she makes herself out to be," Yi Ronghao thought. Otherwise, why would she be doing such strenuous work? She had to be bearing an unimaginable burden.

Yi Ronghao took the sauerkraut fish, said his thanks, and returned to his table. He and Jiang Yunhai each took a pair of chopsticks and started eating.

Jiang Yunhai only took one bite before he started clamoring, "The taste of the sauerkraut fish has changed! It has the flavor of a five-star chef! Rong Hao, try it quickly!"

Yi Ronghao was also somewhat surprised. He quickly picked up his chopsticks and took a taste. As the meat went down, his mouth was instantly filled with an explosion of spices. This was indeed the flavor one would find in a five-star hotel. The taste of the sauerkraut fish was impeccable, yet it lacked the unique characteristic that used to belong exclusively to Chen Momo.

As Jiang Yunhai ate the sauerkraut fish in large mouthfuls, he praised it endlessly. "Rong Hao, I never thought we’d be able to taste five-star hotel flavors in the apocalypse!"

Hearing this, Ouyang Feng and Song Chuhuan, who were eating the Japanese ramen, came over out of curiosity to taste the sauerkraut fish. Upon trying it, both of them were also full of praise.

"This is the standard taste of five-star hotel sauerkraut fish. Very authentic," Song Chuhuan said.

Yi Ronghao picked up his chopsticks and tasted the Japanese ramen as well. The Japanese ramen tasted just like the old Japanese restaurants—standardized production, lacking any real surprises.

Eating the sauerkraut fish in large mouthfuls, Jiang Yunhai said, "It seems the Sauerkraut Fish Beauty put in a lot of effort to win this competition. She actually learned the five-star hotel method of making sauerkraut fish."

Yi Ronghao, however, felt a sense of loss. The method of making the sauerkraut fish was indeed standard now, and even the color of the dish looked more vibrant than before. It was genuinely a high-quality, five-star dish.

Although the dish tasted good, it wasn’t what he wanted. He knew this dish was missing the unique touch that belonged exclusively to Chen Momo.