Ch. 33: That's Expensive!

After training, I went to Wanmin restaurant: the restaurant owned by Xiangling and her father, Chef Mao.

When I heard the word Xiangling, I thought of something in her lore.

From what I knew in Genshin Impact's lore, Xiangling loved mixing up strange ingredients and creating new recipes.

In the game, she is a character that can be played by players. F2P friendly. Also she has Pyro Vision.

It is said that the cuisine sold at Wanmin Restaurant is quite unique and interesting ... I wonder how it tastes.

I don't know if it's a pleasure for my tongue or just the opposite.

Trying is better than nothing.

That's why I came here to try it with my own tongue.

Luckily I have a lot of mora now.

As I was heading to Wanmin Restaurant, I noticed my surroundings: every building suddenly had decorations.

This morning, there were so many people walking around.

They were not only from Liyue, but also other regions.

There were even people from Fontaine.

Looking at the decorations, I knew something was different from yesterday.

It was like they were preparing for a formal event.

Actually, I already knew what this event was.

It's the Lantern Rite festival.

It is said that this festival is held to commemorate the ancestors who have risked their lives in the Archon War.

I will ask Keqing about this in the afternoon. I'll bring this up as a topic and we can talk for a while. That is, if she doesn't leave immediately after training.

Upon hearing the Archon wars, I let out a regretful sigh.

I'm not going to explain what the Archon wars are... I'm not following Genshin Impact's lore completely either.

But from the spoilers I got from social media, I understood a little that it was a war for the Archon throne.

A unique festival, if this was a game and I was the player, I would definitely get a lot of primogems for gacha.

I once again let out a long breath for wasting this opportunity.

Arriving at Wanmin Restaurant, I found that it was already crowded.

Hence, I had to queue first.

One by one, they left, thanking Chef Mao, Xiangling's father.

I didn't see Xiangling during this process... she probably went to look for ingredients.

Of course, that was just my assumption.

While I was engrossed in my own thoughts, it was finally my turn.

"What would you like to order, sir?" asked Chef Mao. A smile lingered on his face.

I thought for a moment... what exactly did I want to buy here?

I just want to buy breakfast. But I honestly don't know the names of the food.

Even looking at the menu, I couldn't understand because I didn't know the language.

So I just pointed at the name of the dish with my forefinger.

"Honey Char Siu right. Okay, wait a moment."

After that, I waited on the stool for a few minutes.

As soon as the dish was cooked, Chef Mao came to me and placed the Honey Char Siu on the table.

Seeing this, I immediately knew that this dish was some kind of grilled meat.

Observing the dish made me salivate.

I couldn't wait to eat it!

Food comment... ummm, I'd say it's really good.

I'm not good at commenting on food.

What I think is good is good.

That's all.

Eating the Honey Char Siu made my stomach fill up a bit. I actually wanted to order more. But I was too lazy to wait because it would take too long.

I paid 11 mora to Chef Mao.

Before I left, we talked about a few things such as what secret ingredients are used when cooking Honey Char Siu.

I also asked him about Xiangling who was nowhere to be seen.

When I mentioned Xiangling, he immediately thought that I was his daughter's friend.

He apologised for not recognising me.

Then he told me to come again to Wanmin Restaurant and I would be given a free meal.

Actually, our conversation was limited to that.

Before I could leave Wanmin Restaurant, I widened my eyes. I remembered something!

Should I buy food for Keqing later as well?

Maybe she'll like it...

What kind of food would she like?

I thought about that for a long time. I was so lost in memories that my forehead wrinkled and I started sweating.

Then, I remembered!

Keqing especially loved the Golden Shrimp Ball!

Knowing that, I immediately asked Chef Mao.

"Sir, do you sell Golden Shrimp Ball?"

Chef Mao was silent for a moment. He shook his head. "I don't sell Golden Shrimp Ball.

"But I know who sells it. It's Yueshu. She is a waitress for Xinyue Kiosk and sells their specialties. You can ask her about the price of the Golden Shrimp Ball.

"I don't guarantee it's cheap." Chef Mao smiled stiffly.

I nodded. "Thank you, sir. That's useful information. Also, the dishes you make are really good. I'll come here again tomorrow."

After saying that, I bid farewell to Chef Mao.

Now I just need to find Yueshu... Chef Mao mentioned that she was a waitress at Xinyue Kiosk.

The search took so long because I didn't know Xinyue Kiosk.

So I needed to ask the passers-by one by one.

By the time I got to Xinyue Kiosk, it was half an hour.

But the problem didn't stop there.

After arriving there, I also asked one waiter after another, telling them that I was looking for Yueshu.

It was quite embarrassing, to be honest.

But for Keqing's happiness... I suppressed this embarrassment.

Until the end.

I stood in front of Yueshu.

My lips involuntarily curled, though it seemed to twitch a few times as well.

"With Mrs Yueshu?" I asked softly, trying not to look exhausted.

"Yes, with whom? Why are you looking for me?"

Should I be frank that I wanted to buy the Golden Shrimp Ball he made?

I dismissed this idea far away.

"I heard from Chef Mao that you're good at cooking. I wonder if you can make Golden Shrimp Ball. If you can, I'd like to buy some."

She gawped for a moment.

A moment later, she gasped as if she had just realised that this was reality.

"Ah, okay. I can make Golden Shrimp Ball. How many would you like to order?"

I wanted to say 'four!'

But I quickly pushed that thought away.

I became more cautious when Chef Mao mentioned the price.

"Just two. Can't you?" I asked, tilting my head.

"I can do it, it's 11,400 mora.""

My mouth dropped open.

What the hell man!

One Golden Shrimp Ball is worth one quest to get someone safely from Fontaine to Liyue?! And it's even a little more expensive?

This is insane!

I scratched the back of my head. "Sorry, I think I'll just order one."

Yueshu let out a long breath. Disappointed. "Alright. When will you pick up the food, sir?"

Honestly, I was still shocked by the price Yueshu told me.

I wanted to say: I'm sorry I didn't buy it because it's so expensive!

But if I do that then what I've done so far is a waste.

For Keqing's sake!

"I'll come here again when the sun goes down. I hope the food is still warm when I pick it up.

"Now I'll pay half first. When I've taken the Golden Shrimp Ball, I'll pay half again."

Yueshu nodded. "No problem."

Perhaps she thought this was a fair course of behaviour.

After handing over half of the mora I had, I left immediately.

I was going to take another quest from Katheryne to pay for the Golden Shrimp Ball that cost more than the mora in my pocket!

Seriously, this is absolutely insane!

Actually, I could have cooked the Golden Shrimp Ball since I still remember the recipe. But unfortunately I can't guarantee the taste... it's definitely far from delicious.

I've never tried cooking on earth.

If I want to eat, I just buy it outside. It's simpler and more effective, although the downside is that it wastes money.

But knowing the price of the Golden Shrimp Ball was so expensive... it seemed inevitable that I would have to cook it myself later.

As I headed to the Adventure Guild, I noticed the kids were making something.

It was a lantern that would be flown during the Lantern Rite festival.

***

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