3 House Special Fried Rice

When his feet touched the solid ground, Ji Xiangming was genuinely stunned.

He could smell a lingering, rich aroma, and the air was cool. Had a mutated beast capable of clouding his senses appeared, or was this a hallucination before death?

Nan Tu looked with some surprise at the guest who had entered the restaurant through the back door.

He looked to be in his forties, tall and burly, dressed in a combat-style outfit stained with wind and sand. His lips were cracked, and he was staring at her blankly. Although he looked disheveled, it was clear at a glance that he was no mere showman; that musculature had surely been forged through countless blows in actual combat.

Had someone from the apocalyptic plane behind the door really crossed the desert to reach her restaurant?

"This guest, would you like to order something?" Nan Tu broke the strange silence between them.

"Water..." Ji Xiangming murmured subconsciously.

Nan Tu happened to have a carafe of cold-brewed lemon tea at hand and poured him a glass.

Ji Xiangming took it and downed it in one gulp, barely registering the flavor. Seeing that he wanted more, Nan Tu poured him another. It wasn't until an entire carafe of cold-brewed lemon tea was down his throat that Ji Xiangming finally began to recover. A trace of refreshing lemon acidity remained on his tongue, the subtle, elegant fragrance of tea leaves came and went, and as the tea went down, a faint sweetness lingered in his throat.

The burning thirst in his gullet vanished, replaced by a cool, minty sensation. The dry heat in his internal organs was dampened by the refreshing tea, and Ji Xiangming let out a long, contented sigh.

This relaxation lasted only a moment before Ji Xiangming tensed up again. Was everything before him truly real? If it were an illusion, how could he escape?

The young girl in front of him looked nothing like a mercenary; her skin was fair, clearly not the skin of someone who had trekked through the desert. Her hands had faint calluses, but not the kind left by frequent use of weapons. Most bizarre of all, upon their first meeting, she had given him an entire carafe of precious water.

How could such a person appear in the Anjin Desert?

Seeing the middle-aged man staring at her solemnly, Nan Tu probed, "If you have money, I can make you something to eat."

The man finally stopped standing there like a wooden stake. He reached into a hidden pocket inside his jacket, pulled out a bright, golden object, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Nan Tu.

It was a heavy gold bar about two fingers wide.

After entering the Anjin Desert, none of these mercenaries dared to guarantee they would return alive. Some brought nothing but weapons and rations, leaving even a single Level 1 energy crystal at home so it wouldn't be buried beneath the yellow sand with them.

Ji Xiangming was different. He had no family to inherit his wealth, so he had always converted his surplus assets into gold bars to carry on his person. If he were to die in the Anjin Desert, he figured that since corpses in the desert were preserved for a very long time, if another mercenary passed by and took his gold, perhaps they would bring him back to Tianling City for burial.

Those were worries for later; the key was to figure out what was happening now.

Ji Xiangming thought that if everything before him was an illusion meant to keep him trapped in a dream, it would surely try to satisfy his demands, just as it had provided that life-saving water.

He tested her: "Give me a machine gun and a thousand rounds of ammunition, and all this gold is yours."

Nan Tu reluctantly tore her gaze away from the dazzling gold and shook her head. "You might have misunderstood. This is a restaurant; I don't supply anything other than food."

Joking aside, where would she even get a machine gun?

Ji Xiangming’s thick black eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Since a guest had finally appeared through the plane gate, Nan Tu pressed on, "Are you really not going to eat anything?"

Was Ji Xiangming hungry?
Yes.
Did he want to eat?
He wanted to eat like a madman.
But...

Another voice echoed in the depths of his heart: Since he had already drunk the water from this restaurant, what difference would it make to eat something?

Holding onto a "might as well" mentality, he took a long stride and sat down at a nearby table.

"Anything is fine. Just make it fast."

Nan Tu went to the back kitchen. There were leftover ingredients and some pre-cooked rice. Since the guest had no specific requests, she decided to make a mixed fried rice.

She minced the onions, beat the eggs, and diced the carrots.

With oil in a hot wok, she stir-fried the egg until it was light and fluffy, like golden osmanthus flowers. The onions, carrots, pine nuts, and corn went into the wok, instantly creating a vibrant display of colors. Once the vegetables were tender, she added the rice.

While stir-frying the rice over high heat, Nan Tu added a small amount of broth from the kitchen several times. Rice fried over a fierce flame was more flavorful but prone to drying out; adding broth ensured the moisture was locked into the rice, making it refreshing and easy to swallow.

With a fluid, practiced motion, the fragrant mixed fried rice was ready.

Ji Xiangming had been unable to sit still the moment the aroma drifted out. When the generous portion of fried rice was placed in front of him, asking him to remain vigilant and hesitant was simply too much to demand.

Ji Xiangming stirred the rice with his chopsticks. It was bright and colorful, with each grain distinct. He lowered his head and took a large bite without hesitation.

The subtle fragrance of rice and egg, the fresh sweetness of the corn, the crispness of the onions, and the rich nuttiness of the pine nuts emerged one after another. The satisfaction of the meal enveloped this tough man, causing his eyes to sting with sudden warmth.

Just minutes ago, he had been wandering hopelessly in the desert under the scorching sun, hungry and thirsty, not knowing where his way home lay. In the blink of an eye, cool tea had moistened his throat, and impossibly delicious fried rice was filling his stomach.

Even if this were a beautiful dream before death, he would enjoy it to the fullest.

Finding chopsticks difficult to use, Ji Xiangming grabbed a spoon, plunged it into the bowl, and shoveled heaping spoonfuls into his mouth.

Nan Tu had never seen a guest eat so ravenously, like a starving wolf.

However, the system was right—the people from the apocalyptic plane truly had impressive physical constitutions. He had actually crossed the desert to reach her. He had seemed very weak when he first entered, but after a carafe of water and a meal, he was clearly recovering rapidly.

When the large bowl of fried rice was empty, Ji Xiangming pushed the bowl away, set down the spoon, and revealed an expression of relief. "If you want to take anything from me, just go ahead."

The apocalyptic plane naturally didn't use her currency. Nan Tu glanced at the suggested price provided by the system and said, "The meal costs five Level 1 crystals or one Level 2 crystal."

According to the system, one Level 1 crystal from the apocalyptic plane was equivalent to twenty yuan, a Level 2 crystal was one hundred yuan, and a Level 3 crystal was five hundred yuan.

A strange base-five system.

After receiving the crystals, if Nan Tu wanted to convert them into spendable currency, the system would charge a 5% service fee. All in all, for a carafe of cold-brewed tea and a bowl of mixed fried rice, Nan Tu would pocket 95 yuan—a decent profit.

As for ignoring the system's suggested price, there was no penalty. Nan Tu could have easily taken his gold and kicked him out of the shop, but she didn't want to do that.

The appearance of the system made Nan Tu realize that she could not only make the Nanlai Restaurant prosperous again but also make it famous across other planes.

Ji Xiangming hadn't expected Nan Tu to actually settle the bill. He frantically searched his pockets and eventually produced the crystal from the Level 3 Star-Spotted Sand Boa he had hunted not long ago, handing it to Nan Tu clumsily.

"...Can I leave now?" Her attitude seemed to signal something, so he asked cautiously.

"Not just yet, I don't have change," Nan Tu said honestly.

Ji Xiangming immediately replied, "Keep the rest."

Nan Tu noticed he had no other crystals, so she pulled a jar of freshly made beef sauce from the refrigerator and pressed it into his hands.

"Then take this jar of beef sauce. The door is over there. Come back again soon." Nan Tu reminded him; guests from other planes could only leave through the door they arrived by.

Clutching the small jar of beef sauce, Ji Xiangming pushed open the door in a daze.

The heat of the yellow sand seeped through his shoes, and the familiar, parched air enveloped him. Ji Xiangming looked up at the sun, which was about to set, feeling as though he had returned from another world.

***

While Ji Xiangming was finding ways to rendezvous with his teammates, fortunately, they had not given up on him.

On the second day after he had been separated from his team, his companions found him.

They hurriedly helped him up, reclined the seats in their vehicle so he could rest, and took out water bottles and dried meat to help him replenish his strength.

"Old Ji, were you dehydrated? I remember you only had half a bottle of water left before we got separated."

"I'm fine." Ji Xiangming drank some water, looking surprisingly well. Because what he was about to say sounded too unbelievable, he hesitated before speaking: "Actually, I managed to resupply on the way."

His voice dropped: "...I went into a restaurant." Not only did he eat and drink, but he also slept against the outer wall of the restaurant for the night, miraculously without being ambushed by any mutated beasts. Having rested and recharged, he had regained his energy and mental clarity, allowing him to make the correct judgment the next day and successfully reunite with his team.

He spilled everything out like beans, then looked to see their reactions.

His teammates were looking at him with pity. It must have been a rough few days; poor Old Ji was hallucinating from hunger.

"Have some more water? Or maybe some salted jerky to replenish your salt levels. We’re setting up camp to cook now."

No one took him seriously; they all scattered to get to work.

No, he was telling the truth!

Ji Xiangming opened his mouth to call them back, but closed it helplessly.

He rubbed the jar of beef sauce in his pocket. If not for the existence of this item, he would have thought it was a dream too.

"Uncle Ji, what are you doing up? What are you looking for? Let me help," said Xie Wei, who had stayed behind to look after him, as she saw him struggling to stand.

"I need a map and a pen."

As soon as he got the pen, Ji Xiangming began marking the map. With a compass in hand, he had never truly lost his sense of direction. In the desert, there were no obstructions, and a margin of error of a few kilometers didn't matter. Based on his direction of travel, speed, and current location, he could perfectly deduce where that magical "Nanlai Restaurant" was.

If, that is, it would still be there.