"Forget about that for now, why do you say I still owe you a meal? Didn't I treat everyone to a meal at the square that day?" Ye Lang asked somewhat puzzled, "Do you want another round?"
After that day's event, it was supposed to be each to his own for meals, but then someone suddenly had the idea to gather everyone in one place for a meal. And with so many people, it couldn't be just any place.
The first choice was the square in front of the imperial palace, but it wasn't a place that could be used casually due to its location near the imperial city.
The second choice was the central square of the city, although it wasn't as large as the one in front of the imperial palace, it was used for grand celebrations and people were more accustomed to it.
After considering, everyone chose the central square, but the presence of the emperor and others made this spontaneous activity even more legendary and it became a lasting reputation!
Because there were so many people present, and people of all statuses were there, and Ye Lang welcomed everyone, even those not at the arena at the time could join in!
More and more people came and the square became full, spilling over into the surrounding areas and the streets were also crowded. Streams of people flowed out from the square in all directions!
Everyone spontaneously pitched in to prepare for this magnificent feast. If it were up to one person to prepare a feast for tens of thousands, it would be a huge task, but with everyone pitching in, it wouldn't take much time.
Moving tables and chairs, preparing bowls and plates, transporting ingredients, cooking, serving...
The whole city was mobilized!!
This super feast had become a city-wide celebration, to a degree never seen before. Even the grandest celebrations did not reach this level, and the emperor and others were amazed!
During this super feast, everyone forgot about class distinctions, wealth, and status...
Everyone remembered just one thing: to eat a lot of meat and drink lots of wine! They wanted to be happy, they wanted to be joyful!
This was such a rare scene, who could have imagined that it was all because of one person, and that person would be Ye Lang, the super spendthrift!
At that time, however, Ye Lang -
"Who put alcohol in my tea!! I can't drink!!"
As a little alcohol went down, Ye Lang's face turned red, then he quickly went into a "drunken rage"...
"Sis, I want to sing a song for you!"
"Really?"
"Pig, your nose has two holes..."
"...You little scoundrel, dare to tease your sister!!! Go die!!"
Ye Lan Yu got angry, and threw a punch, but Ye Lang was agile and "dodged" it, and then directly lay on the ground and fell into a deep sleep...
"..."
Although it was known that he never drank, and he had never drunk before, no one expected him to get drunk at just one sip of alcohol...
After Ye Lang fell down, Ye Lan Yu, Seventh Princess, and Zhen Xiaoyan (who was working as Ye Lang's chef this time) immediately rushed up, helped Ye Lang up and, after confirming he was really drunk, escorted him back together.
About this, Long Anqi felt quite gratified, but also a bit uncomfortable that she didn't get involved at all, and others took care of Ye Lang's well-being.
Next, although the main character, Ye Lang, was missing, everyone's spirits were still high, and the super feast continued until very late into the night.
...
Of course, Ye Lang didn't know at all what happened afterwards, but he was certain about one thing, and that was that he had already treated everyone!
Since he had already treated everyone, what were these people up to? It wouldn't matter if he treated them again, but that saying seemed a bit odd. How could he still owe them a meal?
"Hello, I think I already treated everyone, so I don't owe you anything!" Ye Lang said politely and calmly.
"Uh, Thirteen Young Master, you misunderstood! When we said you owe, we didn't mean you owe me..." the crowd immediately explained after a moment of confusion.
"Oh, please excuse us then, we're going shopping!" Ye Lang said directly, ready to take his cousin to continue shopping.
"Don't leave, Thirteen Young Master. Though you don’t owe us, we owe you one time," the crowd immediately said.
"?? You owe me?" Ye Lang was puzzled, he didn't remember that they owed him anything.
"Don't you remember? We said that if you helped us win money, we would treat you to a big meal!!" the crowd reminded.
"Oh, right, I remember that. So, what do you want to eat?" Although Ye Lang loved to spend, if someone wanted to treat him, he wouldn't refuse, especially since it was agreed upon beforehand.
"What do you want to eat?" Since it's a treat, it's natural to ask what the other person wants to eat.
"I want to eat food cooked by Fatty!" Ye Lang blurted out without hesitation. In his mind, the thing he wanted to eat the most was what Zhen Xiaoyan cooked.
"Fatty? Oh, you're talking about Zhen Xiaoyan, right? I know her. She often cooks in the Zhen Wei Restaurant, but for some reason, she rarely serves her food to the customers. However, those who have tasted it all praise her cooking as unparalleled and commendable," a person spoke, seeming to have some anticipation for Zhen Xiaoyan's dishes.
It seems like everyone in the world knows that Zhen Xiaoyan, in Ye Lang's words, will always be a fatty. Even though now she looks beautiful and lovely, capturing the hearts of many, she has nothing to do with being a fatty.
"That's because she cooks for herself and for me," Ye Lang revealed the reason.
"Impossible, how can she eat so much when she's so petite? Could it be..." People doubted, suspecting that all of it was eaten by Ye Lang, although they had never heard of him eating, they would rather believe that.
"What do you mean? Fatty needs to eat so much now, otherwise her health will be affected," Ye Lang replied directly, "By the way, aren't you treating? Then go to Zhen Wei Restaurant, patronize her business, and it would be best to meet her."
"Alright!"
...
So, a group of people went to the restaurant in a grand manner, and along the way, more and more people joined, all of whom had heard the news of the gathering, which could make for a small-scale feast. It remained to be seen if the restaurant could accommodate so many people.
"Is Zhen Xiaoyan here?" someone immediately asked upon entering the restaurant.
"She's here. She didn't go to the academy today and is currently in the kitchen. However, she might not be able to cook for you," the assistant quickly replied, seemingly well-practiced, having said this line many times before.
Indeed, no one could eat Zhen Xiaoyan's dishes for certain, but since they were already here, most people decided to have their meal here and would not shift their location just because they couldn't eat Zhen Xiaoyan's dishes!
This situation had slowly developed a long time ago. However, after the feast that one time, this situation had started to flourish rapidly because of the table of dishes that Zhen Xiaoyan had cooked for the emperor and others, although they were originally meant for Ye Lang, the emperor and others were just incidental. In the end, Ye Lang didn't eat much and passed out, thus benefitting the emperor and his entourage…
Regardless, at that time, Zhen Xiaoyan's dishes had left the emperor and the others in utter amazement, heralding the unparalleled culinary skills of Zhen Xiaoyan and giving the Zhen family a massive advertisement!!
"She might not cook for others, but she will definitely cook for one person!" someone said confidently, laughing.
However, "This is the Nth time I've heard this today. Including the times before today, I've lost count, and everyone says the same thing, but the results are always the same!" the assistant still said expertly, "I advise you not to expect too much. Our head chef here is top-notch and will definitely not disappoint you!"
Many people thought that, given their status, Zhen Xiaoyan would definitely give face, but they didn't realize that Zhen Xiaoyan simply disregarded it. She wasn't here to be a chef; she was here to make food for herself, and the ingredients here were more convenient for her.
Her arrival had always been a headache for her family because she would use up large amounts of ingredients. This didn't matter to her; she used what she wanted, and nobody dared to stop her!
However, most of the ingredients she used were relatively rare and difficult to collect!
It goes without saying...if it weren't for these hard-to-find ingredients, why would I come here? It could be resolved at home! That was Zhen Xiaoyan's response. She came here because she was attracted to these ingredients. Otherwise, with her family's kitchen being almost the same as this one, there would be no reason for her to come here.
The people in the Zhen family had tried to hide those things, but they failed time and time again. They didn't know why, but Zhen Xiaoyan had a special talent for finding food, no matter where it was hidden. Eventually, they had no other solution but to give up!
However, things were different now because of Zhen Xiaoyan's fame. Whether it was her unrivaled talent as a courtesan or her culinary skills that left the emperor in awe, they had attracted a large number of customers. Hence, they were delighted to have Zhen Xiaoyan here every day, and she was always here at all times.
Because of this, they tried to persuade Zhen Xiaoyan to cook something for the customers. However, Zhen Xiaoyan paid no attention and only focused on finding ingredients to make food and then left with the finished products. What was most frustrating for them was that Zhen Xiaoyan had only one main purpose…
To cook delicious food for Ye Lang!