Chapter 28 Both of them told the truth: one really couldn't handle spicy food very well, and the other could really eat a lot...

Both of them told the truth: one genuinely couldn't handle spicy food, while the other could handle it quite well. The two looked very different at that moment. Qiao Yanyu's bowl of wontons in chili oil looked much spicier than He Zhao's, piled high with chili powder, bright red chili oil, and topped with scallions and cilantro. With just a slight stir, it was completely submerged in the chili oil, leaving no trace.

But Qiao Yanyu ate it with complete nonchalance, one bite after another, as if nothing was wrong, seemingly unaffected by the spiciness. She didn't even open the extra bottle of mineral water she'd bought to accompany He Zhao.

He Zhao, on the other hand, couldn't handle it. She'd unknowingly finished the entire bottle of mineral water, her nose was running, and the trash can next to her was piled high with crumpled tissues she'd used to wipe it. Even so, she still felt unsatisfied by the spiciness.

In the end, Qiao Yanyu also gave He Zhao the unopened bottle of mineral water.

After finishing the meal, He Zhao felt hot all over. The small shop, which didn't have air conditioning, made He Zhao sweat profusely, and he even opened his clothes to reveal his inner garments.

After finishing a bowl of spicy wontons, He Zhao's face was flushed. She took out a few more tissues to wipe the sweat and the spicy oil from her mouth, and suddenly felt that the restaurant owner was really losing money on this meal. She wondered how many tissues she had used, and the price was so cheap, with so many toppings. The owner probably wasn't making any money at all.

He Zhao's little stall didn't provide tissues at all, since she only sold rice, and her customers were ghosts. Ghosts don't need tissues to wipe their mouths; if a customer dared to ask that question, she'd slap that customer in front of Qiao Yanyu.

In the end, the two finished their meal and paid the bill, which only cost sixteen yuan in total.

It was such a good deal! Even the place downstairs from He Zhao's current rented apartment wasn't this cheap. A bowl of wontons would cost her ten yuan. This time, He Zhao refused to let Qiao Yanyu come and paid for it herself without hesitation.

Qiao Yanyu wouldn't fight with He Zhao to pay such a small amount.

The proprietress received the transfer and greeted with a smile, "Come again if you like it!"

"good."

After He Zhao and Qiao Yanyu went out, Qiao Yanyu asked, "How was the meal?"

She hadn't felt it while eating inside, because the chili peppers made her feel hot and uncomfortable all over. But now that she was outside with her coat open, the cold wind made her shiver involuntarily, and she quickly pulled her coat up.

Upon hearing Qiao Yanyu's question, a smile immediately appeared on her face, and her answer was just one word—"Awesome!"

It was truly enjoyable to eat. Although it was very spicy, the spiciness was delicious. The spiciness touched He Zhao's heart. It was rare for him to eat such a spicy meal. He was sweating all over. The word "enjoyable" couldn't possibly describe it.

Upon hearing He Zhao's answer, Qiao Yanyu smiled, and seeing her smile, He Zhao's smile widened even more.

Qiao Yanyu escorted He Zhao back to his rented apartment and arranged to meet him that evening. He Zhao waved goodbye, deciding that if he saw the Mud Monster that night, he would tell it that he had eaten red oil wontons and that they were really delicious.

Even someone like me who can't handle spicy food can't help but eat it in big bites, genuinely finding it delicious.

When it was time for He Zhao to set up his stall at night, Qiao Yanyu was already waiting. After He Zhao set up his stall, the two sat down together. He Zhao took out a small heater from the cabinet that the system had provided for him. There was also a power outlet on the food cart, so He Zhao simply turned on the heater.

As expected of a product that He Zhao carefully selected and was even more expensive than other small heaters, it felt different; it heated up in no time. Qiao Yanyu exclaimed, "You bought this?"

“Yeah, it’s really cold sitting here at night. I’ll feel better if I get something to warm me up, and Sister Qiao will feel better too.”

Putting everything else aside, it really gets warm once the power is up. He Zhao added, "Besides, this electricity is all from the system, so I don't have to pay for it. Why not take advantage of it?"

Qiao Yanyu just smiled and didn't say anything.

However, He Zhao was right about one thing: it was incredibly cold that day. Qiao Yanyu herself exercised regularly and was dressed warmly, so she didn't feel much cold. But He Zhao was different; she was clearly not used to such cold weather. The first time He Zhao rode on Qiao Yanyu's motorcycle, she didn't even have gloves, and her little hands were icy cold when she put them in Qiao Yanyu's pockets.

I did remember to wear gloves when I was in the car today.

However, her clothes weren't very thick, and Qiao Yanyu was worried she'd catch a cold after setting up her stall for so long at night. Now that there was a small heater, at least it would keep He Zhao a little warmer.

In such warm conditions, Qiao Yanyu felt even sleepier than before. He Zhao didn't continue chatting with her but told her to rest early. She was waiting for the Mud Monster to come so she could brag to him about how she had also eaten delicious red oil wontons today.

The Mud Monster wasn't the first one today; the first one was that new customer from last night, Big Ghost. As a big spender, it ordered two bowls as soon as it arrived. Hearing this, He Zhao was delighted.

Qiao Yanyu wasn't seen yesterday, nor today, because the little sun was too powerful, and she was half asleep and fell asleep early. He Zhao thought that the ghost in front of her wasn't much of a threat, so she didn't call out to Qiao Yanyu. However, after serving the rice, she secretly took a picture of the big ghost.

But after taking the photos, she realized... her phone was really terrible; it hadn't captured anything at all. Of course, it was also possible that it was just a regular phone, without any ghost-shooting function. She'd seen ghosts in some movies that couldn't be seen in mirrors or on phones, so it was very possible that this was the prevailing worldview here.

She thought she could do it too, since she saw that Qiao Yanyu could take such photos.

He Zhao was studying his phone and taking several photos of the big ghost, but the big ghost didn't care at all. Just like yesterday, he was eating rice with chopsticks in one hand and pouring rice into his mouth with great gusto while holding the rice bowl in the other.

It was quite fast, and quickly finished both bowls.

The big ghost looked like he really wanted another bowl, or even two, but 20 ghost coins seemed like a lot to him. Although the big ghost looked very calm and not at all confused, and had a handful of loose ghost coins, he clearly also thought 20 ghost coins were very expensive.

Judging from how much these ghosts cherish ghost money, one can imagine how important it is.

The system gave him a 1:10 exchange rate, which meant he could exchange for 100 yuan. He Zhao still felt that the system must be pocketing the money and deducting handling fees. Perhaps the ghost money was worth more than he imagined.

Even though the big ghost desperately wanted it, it finally sighed, stuffed 20 ghost coins into its mouth, and got up to leave. When He Zhao said, "Come again next time," it nodded sullenly, "I'll come tomorrow too."

Judging from how clearly and unhindered it speaks, one can imagine that this big ghost is a capable one.

After performing the usual maintenance on the dog, He Zhao said goodbye to the big ghost. After the big ghost disappeared, she sat in the back of the food cart and quietly played some games for a while. She didn't play the MOBA mobile game she had been playing since transmigrating, because Qiao Yanyu was sleeping, and there was no one to take over and play for her for a while.

He Zhao whiled away the time, and before long, a regular customer arrived. The old lady came earlier than usual today, and as usual, He Zhao wanted to greet her and have her sit down for a meal, but the old lady just stood there and didn't come over to sit down for a long time.

He Zhao found it a bit strange, and since the old woman was quite far away, he stood up and walked a little closer to her.

Once they left the area of ​​the small sun, the closer they got to Grandma and He Zhao, the colder it felt. Sure enough, most ghosts possessed some degree of frost-like properties.

"Grandma, why are you standing here without moving? Come and eat!"

The old woman shook her head, then spoke in her rather stuttering words, though it was much better than before; at least she could speak in long sentences: "I'm not eating anymore, I have no money, I just came to see you."

Hearing the old woman's words, He Zhao unconsciously touched her nose. She hadn't expected that she would be remembered by a ghost. She also hadn't expected that the old woman's stall had been emptied of its money for ghost money, leaving her without any money for food. And she certainly hadn't expected that the old woman, having no money for food, would actually come looking for her, just to see her.

He Zhao couldn't bring herself to offer to treat the old woman to a meal for free. Although she remembered the old woman as a regular customer, she knew she couldn't start something like this, or it would inevitably become a second time. Even Gossinian's meal was paid for by Qiao Yanyu, so it couldn't be considered a free meal. He Zhao would never set such a precedent.

Fortunately, the old woman didn't seem to have any such intention. She really just came to see He Zhao. Seeing that she was unharmed, she nodded and said, "Then I'll be going now."

He Zhao waved goodbye to it, and after watching the ghost walk away, she sat back down in the back of her little food cart. The back of the cart was warm and cozy from the small heater, and after wrapping herself in her little blanket, He Zhao was instantly enveloped in warmth. She rubbed her hands together, unable to quite describe the emotions she was feeling.

He Zhao always felt that her connection with the world was too weak, and she didn't like setting up a stall in such a desolate place at night, let alone having ghosts as her customers. She was a person with strong resilience and adaptability, but that didn't mean she could accept these things.

But now, with Qiao Yanyu by his side, having gone through what happened with Gossian, and with his grandmother still thinking about him, plus the mud ghost he was going to show off to later, He Zhao felt that running over late at night to set up a stall for a group of ghosts didn't seem like such a big deal after all.

Two more guests arrived, and then the Mud Demon slowly crawled over, its body writhing on the ground. He Zhao's eyes lit up as soon as he saw the Mud Demon.

If you eat delicious food and don't share it with the person who recommended it to you, what's the difference between that and eating it for free?

After the Mud Demon sat down and ordered rice, it was halfway through its meal when He Zhao suddenly snorted. Only when the Mud Demon's gaze fell upon it did He Zhao straighten its back, a hint of pride on its face, and speak:

"Let me tell you, I went to eat spicy wontons with Sister Qiao today, at the place you recommended!"