Hong Wan gazed at the crowd of disaster victims, numbering around two hundred thousand.
Among the chefs here for disaster relief were Mr. Luo, Jin Ya Brian, and a total of over a dozen teams.
Hong Wan pursed his lips and remarked, "So few disaster victims for so many people to divide amongst, how uninteresting."
"But even a mosquito's leg is still meat. It all depends on who has the faster cooking speed, after all, we can't keep the guests waiting too long."
Jin Ya Brian scoffed, "You call these refugees 'guests'? You truly are not picky. In my establishment, you wouldn't even get through the door without a million Beli. The smallest denomination slot machine starts at a thousand Beli."
Translated into value, a thousand Beli could be a farmer's entire annual income.
Even if these people hadn't suffered the ravages of war, they would still be unqualified to eat Jin Ya Brian's food.
Hong Wan tilted his head, his lips curling, "What a disgusting snob."
It wasn't that Jin Ya Brian was arrogant without reason. The underground culinary world's annual revenue was staggering. If Zhang Wei didn't have his private reserves, he couldn't compare to Jin Ya Brian's earning speed.
After all, what could be faster than running casinos and selling poisons?
Hong Wan waved his hand, and his assistant chefs immediately sprang into action.
Unlike Jin Ya Brian, Hong Wan's assistants were only responsible for setting up the cooking equipment and fetching water.
All tasks involving contact with ingredients were handled by him alone.
A three-meter square marble table was laid with a cutting board, and the ingredients were neatly piled on top. A water pipe released a steady stream of water beside it, and all sorts of cooking utensils were readily available, making it akin to a modernized kitchen.
And there were a total of 300 such cutting boards.
"Let's start with a warm-up."
Water sprayed forth, and Hong Wan darted between the 300 cutting boards. The ingredients he needed floated in the air, sliced and peeled before they even touched the ground.
Meanwhile, the assistants set up a thousand bonfires, all fueled by premium charcoal and bellows, the flames raging fiercely.
Above the bonfires were shallow-bottomed woks, but their size was astonishingly large, with a capacity at least ten times that of an ordinary wok.
Vegetable oil was poured in, and it sizzled the moment it touched the hot metal!
Mr. Luo said with gravity, "Controlling a thousand stoves simultaneously, and preparing ingredients all by himself?"
"Furthermore, the dishes he's making are stir-fried, requiring extremely precise control of heat. Combined with the sheer size of the flames he's using..."
The difficulty was simply unimaginable.
The onlookers' mouths hung open, and even Jin Ya Brian's subordinates stood frozen.
However, Hong Wan's assistants seemed used to it, calmly transporting ingredients.
So fast!
So incredibly fast!
"Is this something a human can actually do?"
Mr. Luo was aghast. Such rapid execution far surpassed even advanced potion-cooking techniques!
In all this time, besides Hong Wan, Mr. Luo had only seen one other person cook this way.
That person was Zhang Wei!
Zhang Wei was also an expert in rapid cooking.
The two had even competed on the same stage.
But even Zhang Wei couldn't handle a thousand stoves simultaneously while also cleaning and cutting ingredients.
Moreover, these were all stir-fry dishes that demanded extreme precision in heat control and timing!
One of Jin Ya Brian's subordinates suddenly exclaimed, "I remember now, this so-called Hong Wan Restaurant."
"You know it?"
The subordinate nodded, "I only have a vague impression. It seems to have been mentioned in some fairy tale book."
"A fairy tale?"
Xin Ya Brian's face darkened, his tone annoyed, "In such a serious situation, you're talking about fairy tales?"
The subordinate wailed, "It really was a fairy tale book, but I'm not sure if it's him."
"The story was roughly about an army that accidentally entered a deep mountain forest. The hungry soldiers saw a small restaurant run by an old grandmother. The grandmother kindly offered them food, but the general refused."
"How could one old woman possibly cater to such a large army? There were many but not enough for all... but to everyone's surprise, whatever anyone wanted to eat was served in just fifteen seconds."
"Later, the general had wicked intentions, but was subdued by the old grandmother, stripped of his armor, and thrown out of the mountain... a thousand people, almost instantly teleported away."
It was a classic collection of folklore, compiled by an author from anecdotal accounts of folk oddities, much of which contained exaggeration.
However, there was one similarity: the old grandmother and this chef both had a red sun emblem on their headscarves.
It was somewhat similar to the flag of a certain friendly nation that enjoyed their days.
Hong Wan Restaurant!
"Such a young chef."
Unlike the old grandmother from the legend, this Hong Wan was a remarkably young and handsome fellow.
Following this, came a game of 'flying plates', where a wokful of stir-fried dishes was evenly divided into ten portions. The assistants flawlessly executed their tasks, placing the prepared food onto the set tables.
Foldable tables were covered with white tablecloths. Each table had six seats. Although a bit simplistic, it was still a dining environment unimaginable for the refugees.
Hong Wan's team was incredibly professional!
The rising smoke brought with it an intense aroma. Without any guidance, the refugees gravitated towards the white-clothed tables.
These simple white tablecloths were, at this moment, heaven.
"The diners must be starving. Come and experience Hong Wan's lightning-fast cooking!"