Chapter 504: Life Is Unpredictable
"So… are you really sure you don't want to pick a different opponent?"
After much persuasion, the young man in front of him still had no intention of changing his target. Director Zhang let out a helpless sigh.
He had already tried to talk him out of it—if this young man insisted on being stubborn, there was nothing he could do.
He had absolutely no confidence in Qi Han's upcoming culinary showdown.
What kind of joke was this? That was the Heavenly Star Palace!
That restaurant had risen to fame through culinary showdowns. In this field, it was practically a dominant force.
Even Bright Court Pavilion, which was equally famous, was slightly inferior when it came to culinary showdowns.
Because of this, Heavenly Star Palace hadn't been challenged in a long time. The last time dated back to eight years ago…
Wait—there was no need to worry so much.
Even if someone initiated a culinary showdown, Heavenly Star Palace still had to agree to it. Given their status in Mingdu City's restaurant scene, they would likely ignore a challenge from an unknown nobody like this.
Well, letting this rookie hit a wall might be a good thing.
It would save him from being overly arrogant and suffering a greater loss in the future.
"Alright then. I happen to be free right now, so I'll head over to Heavenly Star Palace and inform their boss, see whether he accepts the challenge…" Director Zhang glanced at Qi Han. "Do you want to come along?"
"Sure." Qi Han nodded.
He could also use this opportunity to assess Heavenly Star Palace's popularity. Hopefully, this so-called top restaurant in Mingdu City wouldn't disappoint him.
…
"Director Zhang, what brings you here today?"
As Qi Han and Director Zhang arrived at Heavenly Star Palace, a graceful and charming woman quickly stepped forward to greet them, a warm smile on her face.
"Let me introduce you—this is Qi Han, the owner of Han Shi Restaurant." Director Zhang gestured toward Qi Han, who was currently looking around the interior of Heavenly Star Palace.
Qi Han paused briefly, then quickly came back to his senses and nodded politely to the woman.
On his way in, he had already taken a good look. Heavenly Star Palace was lavishly decorated, and its space was even larger than Han Shi back in Shrek City. Even though it wasn't meal time yet, quite a few customers were already seated inside—clearly, its popularity was extremely high.
Without a doubt, defeating Heavenly Star Palace would greatly boost Han Shi's reputation.
"And this is Wu Yue, the daughter of Heavenly Star Palace's owner," Director Zhang continued, introducing the woman.
Wu Yue, in turn, looked at Qi Han with curiosity.
Han Shi Restaurant…
She had never heard of it before. Was it some new establishment?
After introducing both sides, Director Zhang cleared his throat and turned to Wu Yue. "Here's the situation—Boss Qi Han here wants to initiate a culinary showdown with Heavenly Star Palace. I've come to ask for Boss Wu's opinion. Is he available?"
"Hm?"
Wu Yue's expression suddenly became a bit strange as she turned to look at Qi Han. "You… want to challenge our Heavenly Star Palace?"
She was a little stunned, almost wondering if she had misheard.
The last time a restaurant challenged Heavenly Star Palace had been eight years ago, hadn't it?
"Yes." Qi Han nodded. "I want to give it a try."
Hearing his confirmation, Wu Yue's expression gradually turned serious.
A culinary showdown was no joking matter.
Although her father had already handed over the management of Heavenly Star Palace to her, a matter like this still required him to personally approve or reject it. But before that, Wu Yue needed to understand more about this unheard-of Han Shi.
"Um… may I ask where your restaurant is located?" she asked cautiously.
On Sun-Moon Avenue, there hadn't been any news recently about a new restaurant opening.
"On Mingke Street."
"Mingke Street?" Wu Yue frowned slightly.
That street… was rather unusual.
It had originally been a remote and desolate area, but ever since the imperial edict was posted a few days ago, it had begun showing signs of becoming the next Sun-Moon Avenue. Many people had been paying attention to it recently—just yesterday, her father had even been considering whether to open a Heavenly Star Palace branch there.
At such a critical moment, a brand-new restaurant from Mingke Street coming to initiate a culinary showdown seemed particularly out of the ordinary.
Forget it—better inform Father first.
"Please have a seat and wait a moment. I'll go get my father to respond."
After saying that, Wu Yue quickly left. Before long, she returned, following behind a burly middle-aged man.
"Director Zhang, long time no see!" The man laughed heartily, his face full of boldness. After greeting him, he sat down beside Director Zhang and gave his shoulder a familiar pat. Then his gaze shifted to Qi Han. "So this is the young man initiating the culinary showdown? Truly impressive for someone so young."
"I admire your courage, but…" the man paused briefly, "unfortunately, Heavenly Star Palace will not accept this challenge."
Hearing the owner's response, Director Zhang immediately showed an expression of just as expected.
Qi Han, however, was momentarily stunned.
To be honest, he had never considered the possibility that Heavenly Star Palace might refuse.
Things going off-plan didn't sit well with him, and a hint of unwillingness rose in his heart. "May I ask… could you tell me the reason for Heavenly Star Palace's refusal?"
"The reason is simple," the middle-aged man explained. "I heard your restaurant is on Mingke Street? That area doesn't have much foot traffic right now. While it has great potential, it will take time to turn that into real business. I understand your eagerness to expand your reputation, but I can't accept this culinary showdown—because it's not fair."
He looked deeply at Qi Han before continuing, "I never look down on anyone, but Heavenly Star Palace is well-known throughout Mingdu City. Under such circumstances, even if I defeat your restaurant and you promote us for a week, it brings us no real benefit. But for you, it's completely different. If you win, a week of promotion from Heavenly Star Palace would greatly boost your business."
"The stakes between us are worlds apart. There's no such thing as a free lunch, and there's certainly no wager where the stakes are unequal. Wouldn't you agree?"
Qi Han was momentarily speechless.
The owner's reasoning was flawless. Heavenly Star Palace was already powerful and well-established. Participating in this showdown would bring them no benefit, yet they would still bear the risk of losing.
Even if they didn't consider the risk particularly high, even the slightest risk was something they had no need to take.
So there was simply no reason for them to accept Qi Han's challenge.
"I understand. Sorry for disturbing you," Qi Han said politely before leaving Heavenly Star Palace with Director Zhang.
It seemed that if Han Shi wanted to engage in culinary showdowns, he would need a different approach.
Start with smaller, less famous restaurants and work his way up?
It would take more time, but there didn't seem to be any other option.
"Boss Qi, what do you plan to do now? Will you choose another restaurant to challenge?" Director Zhang asked, glancing at Qi Han, who was deep in thought.
"Yes," Qi Han nodded. "But I'm not familiar with the other restaurants on Sun-Moon Avenue…"
"That's no problem. The Culinary Association has a complete registry of restaurants, you can choose from there."
As the two chatted, they soon returned to the association.
But the moment they stepped into Director Zhang's office, both of them froze.
Inside the office, a slightly plump man dressed in luxurious clothing was leisurely sipping tea. When he saw them enter, a smile appeared on his face.
He first nodded at Director Zhang, then turned to Qi Han with a friendly smile. "You must be the owner of Han Shi. Let me introduce myself."
"My name is Zhao Yangfan, the manager of Bright Court Pavilion. I heard Boss Qi is looking for a restaurant to challenge to a culinary showdown… I wonder, what do you think of Bright Court Pavilion?"
"…Huh?" Qi Han's expression instantly turned weird.
Because Bright Court Pavilion had the imperial family backing it, he hadn't even considered challenging them.
Now that Heavenly Star Palace had refused him, he hadn't expected Bright Court Pavilion to come knocking on his door instead.
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Tn: I updated the story once every 2 days, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 538: Walking Straight into the Trap?[1]
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[1] https://www.patreon.com/Avicebron/posts/becoming-food-in-160492301
[2] https://www.patreon.com/Avicebron/posts/becoming-food-in-160492301