While Yuan Zhou was feeling puzzled, the Drip Cooked Rice that the system had called the Internet celebrity dish became even more popular.
It became so popular that even Zhuang Xinmu wanted to eat it as well.
“Let’s go eat the Lucky Rice tonight,” Zhuang Xinmu said right after the phone call was answered.
“Lucky Rice?” Wu Zhou appeared lost.
Zhuang Xinmu shook her head and explained, “Drip Cooked Rice.”
“Isn’t Drip Cooked Rice one of the 100 Styles of Rice Cuisine? Since when has it become the Lucky Rice?” Wu Zhou had been working overtime for the past few days and was not aware of what was going on online.
Zhuang Xinmu gladly explained everything to him.
Wu Zhou was speechless when he heard the explanation, “You actually believe that?”
“Not really. But since everyone is going to eat it, I want to try it as well,” Zhuang Xinmu said, her voice filled with excitement.
“You know Meng Meng as well. I believe it’s just her luck. Don’t trust the rumors. Otherwise, you won’t feel good when you found it to be false,” Wu Zhou maintained his rationality and reminded Zhuang Xinmu in advance.
“Yeah, yeah. I know. My only intention is to eat,” Zhuang Xinmu answered before hanging up the call.
During working hours, Wu Zhou did not have much time to spare on the phone. Therefore, he did not walk out of the office while on the call. Because of that, Zhao Yingjun overheard him as well.
“Even she believed the rumor?” Zhao Yingjun asked.
“Looks like it,” Wu Zhou said helplessly.
“Boss Yuan is definitely never one to do things conventionally. Every time he got popular, it was due to some bizarre reason,” Zhao Yingjun recalled the roast goose incident.
During that incident, ordering a quarter of goose became trending and now, this Drip Cooked Rice had somehow became a symbol of good luck. Both incidents were something very unconventional.
Meng Meng, the cause of all this, was currently munching on crackers as she observed everything that was going on. After swallowing the cracker, she muttered, “This accidental promotion by me has created quite a favorable effect. Boss Yuan should buy me a meal to thank me for this.”
Meng Meng had an adorable and crafty expression on her face when she said that.
Little did Meng Meng knew that Yuan Zhou was feeling quite helpless as of this moment.
“System, have you learned to surf the Internet recently? What in the world is the Internet celebrity dish?” Yuan Zhou asked after taking a deep breath.
The system displayed, “Host may either look it up first or accept the mission directly.”
“Hoho, mission? I haven’t even used my previous reward. Why is there a new mission? Looks like with the arrival of spring, you have become productive as well, system. You have given me two missions in such a short time frame,” Yuan Zhou said.
One ought to know that Yuan Zhou had yet to even use the travel reward he was given. Now, he was given another mission. Furthermore, it seemed like this mission was already half completed. This felt quite fishy.
The system displayed, “Side missions, hidden missions, and main missions can all be given at any time situationally. There is no specific sequence in which the missions would be issued. Host may accept this mission without worry.”
“Um, let me think about it,” Yuan Zhou answered with a frown. He did not accept the mission directly.
“However, you need to first tell me what an Internet celebrity dish is, right?” Yuan Zhou said.
The system displayed, “The term Internet celebrity has always been used on people that are popular online, people who have obtained popularity online for whatever reason.”
“Most of the time, these people became popular after having whatever unique characteristic of theirs magnified by the Internet. They satisfied the various desires a person could have, such as looks, entertainment, excitement, novelty, or even voyeuristic tendencies. And that is how internet celebrities can garner attention from others on the internet.”
“The same applies to this Internet celebrity dish. Due to some coincidences, the dish became popular on the Internet.”
“After such a long explanation, you still haven’t told me which dish exactly is the Internet celebrity dish.” Yuan Zhou remarked.
That’s right. The system had yet to tell him which dish had become the Internet celebrity dish even after such a long explanation.
“Is it the roast goose?” Yuan Zhou recalled the goose incident and guessed.
The system displayed, “The Drip Cooked Rice has become an Internet celebrity dish, known on the internet as the Lucky Rice.”
“That dish? Well, that’s a surprise,” Yuan Zhou was astonished.
After all, the Drip Cooked Rice was the simplest dish of the 100 Styles of Rice Cuisine. This was the last dish Yuan Zhou would expect to get popular.
“I need to find out how it became the Lucky Rice,” Yuan Zhou decided.
The system displayed, “Host, you may accept the mission.”
“As a future master chef, it is paramount that I remain cautious. Therefore, I need to ascertain something. Does this dominate the internet mission require me to make my restaurant even more popular?” Yuan Zhou leisurely guessed.
The system displayed, “The host will know after accepting the mission.”
“Looks like I was wrong,” Yuan Zhou muttered to himself.
Yuan Zhou knew the system well and was aware that if he guessed it correctly, the system would instantly tell him to it; whereas if he guessed wrongly, the system would urge him to accept the mission instead.
“Do I have to make a few more Internet celebrity dishes then?” Yuan Zhou asked.
The system displayed, “The host will know the completion method and reward after accepting the mission.”
“So I was right,” Yuan Zhou muttered with a pensive look before sinking into silence.
While Yuan Zhou was sitting silently in front of the restaurant holding his knife, Wu Hai suddenly spoke from upstairs.
“Boss Yuan, are you daydreaming?” Wu Hai asked from the window of the second floor in astonishment while rubbing his mustache.
“No. I am thinking about something,” Yuan Zhou answered with his head raised.
“No way. You have been sitting there blankly for a few minutes,” Wu Hai retorted.
However, Yuan Zhou lowered his head after saying what he had to say. Even after Wu Hai replied, he did not say anything and remained sitting silently.
“Boss Yuan! Boss Yuan! You’re daydreaming again?” Wu Hai called out.
“No,” Yuan Zhou answered without looking up.
“Why are you not answering me then?” Wu Hai asked.
“It’s tiring to look up while talking,” Yuan Zhou said expressionlessly.
“Fine, I’ll go down there,” Wu Hai said and immediately vanished from the window. Shortly after, he appeared downstairs.
Wu Hai had always been one who would do what he said. In any case, it was a rare sight that Yuan Zhou was not sculpting and was daydreaming today. Therefore, Wu Hai took this chance to come and have a chat with Yuan Zhou.
“Why did you come down?” Yuan Zhou asked.
“You said talking with your head raised up is tiring, right? That’s why I came down,” Wu Hai answered.
“I never said that I wanted to talk,” Yuan Zhou said expressionlessly.
“Look, the weather today is excellent. Let us talk about the dinner menu, or perhaps any new dishes you are preparing,” Wu Hai offered magnanimously.
“It’s time to practice sculpting,” Yuan Zhou said as he raised his knife.
“Even so, you will need to rest every now and then. Boss Yuan, the only thing you do apart from work is practice sculpting. What difference do you have from a corpse?” Wu Hai earnestly said.
“There is a difference,” Yuan Zhou said confidently.
“Difference my ass.” Wu Hai said.
“A corpse is not as handsome as me, and a corpse does not know how to cook as well,” Yuan Zhou answered, looking dead earnest.
This rendered Wu Hai speechless.
And this was how a conversation could be killed, and this was why Wu Hai looked at Yuan Zhou’s ability to engage in conversation with contempt.