"Your yellowthroat is here, please enjoy."
As the three girls enthusiastically savored the delicious snowflake beef, Qi Han's indifferent voice came through.
He placed a plate of neatly stacked, petal-like yellowthroat next to the three girls and then turned to leave.
This was the last dish for the three girls, and Qi Han eventually, under the influence of some kind of "busy to the point of dizziness" buff, personally brought this dish over.
There was a strange expression on Fu Ya's face, and Yun Xi, who often ate at the Cold Food Store, had heard some things. At this moment, she looked at Yue Lengxin with a slightly gossipy look.
Yue Lengxin felt helpless inside but didn't show it on her face.
Suddenly, she seemed to think of something and called out to Qi Han, "Boss Qi, wait a moment."
Qi Han's steps stopped instantly, and he turned around and quickly walked back, much faster than when he left, as if he had been waiting for Yue Lengxin's call.
"What's the matter?"
Qi Han's tone was still calm, but only those with extremely good hearing could detect a hint of trembling in his voice.
Incidentally, Spirit Masters had excellent hearing.
So Fu Ya and Yun Xi's expressions became even stranger.
Yue Lengxin felt like she wanted to laugh at this inexplicably, but still maintained a natural expression. "I'm a bit curious, why does the snowflake beef form small bumps after being put into the pot?"
Yes, Yue Lengxin was indeed curious about this, and she couldn't help but call out to Qi Han, hoping he could answer her question.
Qi Han glanced at the snowflake beef on the table, which had already been eaten halfway by the three girls, and smiled slightly. "It's like this. The lean meat and fat of the beef shrink at different rates when heated. The fat contracts more quickly when heated. In snowflake beef, the fat is distributed throughout the meat, so after shrinking, it forms a tight net."
"If it were a large piece of beef or beef with distinct lean and fat parts, this phenomenon wouldn't be a problem. However, in thinly sliced snowflake beef, this issue becomes more pronounced, and the lean part of the snowflake beef seems to be tightly wrapped by a net, hence the appearance of small bumps on the surface."
"Don't worry, the occurrence of this situation is a sign of extremely good beef quality and is completely normal."
"I see!" Yue Lengxin suddenly understood. Having grown up watching her father cook, she quickly grasped Qi Han's explanation.
"If there's nothing else, I'll head downstairs first." With that, Qi Han turned around, and his face inadvertently showed a hint of curvature.
His mood inexplicably became a bit more pleasant.
Walking downstairs, Qi Han quickly noticed that there were two more customers downstairs besides the Qin sisters.
One of them is a young girl of similar age to the Qin sisters, with long blue-purple hair and a beautiful face, chatting enthusiastically with Qin Yao.
They seemed to be quite familiar with each other.
Standing beside the girl was a middle-aged man dressed in a long robe. He had a handsome appearance, and his beard was neatly trimmed, giving him a refined and gentle look.
At this moment, the middle-aged man was looking at the price wall of the small shop with great interest. When he saw Qi Han coming downstairs, he slowly spoke, "Are you the owner and chef of this store?"
"Boss, this is the Prime Minister of the Empire," Qin Yue quickly approached Qi Han and whispered.
The middle-aged man glanced at Qin Yue but didn't say much.
The Prime Minister?
Qi Han looked at the middle-aged man in surprise. He didn't expect him to be the Prime Minister of the Empire.
The Star Luo Empire had five ministries: the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Military Affairs, the Ministry of Martial Spirits, the Ministry of Nobility, and the Ministry of Governance.
The Ministry of Justice was responsible for enforcing and upholding the law, punishing acts that violated the laws of the Empire. This ministry was present in every city of the Star Luo Empire and functioned similarly to a police station.
The Ministry of Military Affairs handled military affairs, wielded military power, and had its own distinct branch. They were primarily responsible for guarding the Empire's borders and repelling external threats, making up the Empire's army.
The Ministry of Martial Spirits and the Ministry of Nobility were the two youngest ministries among the five. Five thousand years ago, after the collapse of the Spirit Hall, there was no one responsible for managing the awakening of martial Spirits, which led to riots and chaos. Many eligible civilian children lost the opportunity to awaken their martial Spirits. In response to this situation, one of the original Shrek Seven Devils and then Emperor of the Star Luo Empire, Dai Mubai, disregarded the opposition of the nobles and forcibly established the Ministry of Martial Spirits.
The Ministry of Martial Spirits was spread throughout the Empire, conducting martial Spirit awakening ceremonies for eligible children regardless of their backgrounds, and providing resources and training to children with Spirit master talent. It formed a functional similarity to the Spirit Hall but no longer retained institutions such as the Elder Council and was directly administered by the Empire.
Afterwards, feeling that the noble power was too overwhelming and to a certain extent suppressed the imperial power, Dai Mubai quickly established the fifth ministry, the Ministry of Nobility, after the Ministry of Martial Spirits appeared.
The Ministry of Nobility was specifically responsible for managing the nobility. The aristocratic system of public marquis, count, viscount, baron, and nobleman still existed within the Star Luo Empire. The nobles had privileges that ordinary people did not have, and the Ministry of Nobility was established specifically to restrain the power of the nobility. It had the right to impeach nobles when they violated the law, and after approval, had the right to directly punish them.
However, the authority of the four ministries mentioned above could not bypass the Ministry of Governance, known as the heart of the five ministries.
The Ministry of Governance had existed since the founding of the Empire. No one knew the true reason why the founding emperor of the Star Luo Empire, nearly ten thousand years ago, established the Ministry of Governance, but the powers of this ministry were ones that even the emperor himself could not bypass.
The Ministry of Governance itself was a combination of the highest court and parliament.
And the Prime Minister was the leader of such a behemoth, rightfully the first person in the Empire, saying that he was above ten thousand people was not an exaggeration.
But Qi Han remained calm in his heart; after all, upstairs were sitting the Sect Master of the Tang Sect, Tang Qianqiu, and Cao Rang, who was also considered a high-ranking member of the Sea God Pavilion. Both of their statuses were not lower than that of Xu Changling.
"Welcome, Your Excellency Prime Minister, to our humble establishment. I am indeed the chef and owner of this establishment."
Qi Han's words were polite yet confident, causing Xu Changling to glance at him with a slight increase in interest. "I heard that your store offers a type of food called hotpot, which can only be enjoyed on the second floor, is that correct?"
Qi Han instinctively glanced at Qin Yao and noticed her subconscious shrinking. She must have mentioned it earlier, and it seemed the Prime Minister had overheard.
However, Qi Han didn't pay too much attention to it. This was something the waitstaff should inform the customers about, and there was no need for secrecy. If Qin Yao mentioned it, then so be it.
"Yes, that's correct. However, there are quite a few customers upstairs at the moment," Qi Han replied.
For some reason, Qi Han couldn't shake off the feeling that if the Prime Minister of the Empire went upstairs and encountered members of the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy, something unfavorable might happen.
"Oh?" Xu Changling's face brightened with a smile. "Then let's go to the second floor."
During his leisure time, he enjoyed disguising himself and visiting teahouses and taverns, sipping tea and listening to the conversations of various customers. Their words often provided him with insights and inspirations.
Therefore, rather than dining on the empty first floor, he preferred to go upstairs and see what was happening.
Perhaps something said by the customers upstairs today would appear in his memoranda tomorrow?
<+>
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