Chapter 60
The 30 plus trial hamburgers that Michael had prepared for lunch were quickly sold out. Many customers clamoured for more, and asked Michael to cook more.
But Michael really had no choice. He had only prepared so many ingredients. He could only use the ‘first come first serve’ approach. For making each juicy hamburger requires him to prepare 2 hours in advance. It needs time to knead the dough, and time to stew the meat. It is not like Yang Zhou Fried Rice, that could be instantly cooked with minimum preparations.
And many guests love the design of the hamburger wrapper. Some of them wanted to take the wrapper to used as a money pouch. The figure of the half-elf girl is very adorable, and they could not bear to discard the wrapper. This made Amy dizzy with happiness.
That night, there are even more customers than usual. The guests raved about the Yang Zhou Fried Rice, and the hamburger that Michael made. This style of cooking is fresh and unique, and the taste is superb. It knocked the socks off them and bowled them over with its unique taste and pleasant after effects.
Although the price of the food is quite expensive, there is no lack of wealthy people in the City of Sin. Spending a few gold coins to dine in luxury is not something that these well-to-do people will fret over.
“Sorry, all hamburgers are sold out for today. Tomorrow, we will be selling the hamburgers in larger quantities. But because this product needs a long time to prepare, therefore, there is a limited quantity available in every mealtime. If you desire to eat it, you can come here earlier tomorrow to try your luck.” Michael smiled as he sees the last customer out of the restaurant. Then he flipped the sign to ‘We are closed’ ad heaved a sigh of relief. Although he had eaten a plate of fried rice and a hamburger, he still exhausted after a hard day’s work.
Today, all 90 hamburgers that he had prepared were sold out. Because the hamburger is a new product, it is more popular, and he sold less fried rice than usual. Still, he sold 50+ plates of fried rice, and earned 360+ gold coins in profits.
Tomorrow morning, he needs to wake up extra early to knead the dough. In this way, he can make more hamburgers. After all, he needs to sell 1,000 hamburgers to unlock the soya bean curd.
Right now, as the boss of the restaurant selling soya bean curd, Michael decided to stay away from the war of sweet vs savoury soya bean curd and be neutral about it.
Still, Michael was curious if this world will also be split into two factions like that on earth – one faction for sweet, another faction for the savoury flavour.
If they could get along well, all is good. At most, they should end up with verbal arguments right?
Oh, he had forgotten that in this world, might makes right. Then it is highly likely that fights will break out between the two factions. Maybe Michael needs to create a fighting arena in front of the shop? Let’s call this arena, “War between Sweet and Savoury”. He reckoned that the people in each faction will challenge the people in the other faction daily.
Michael was lost in his daydreams.
“Papa, you must be tried. I will help you massage your shoulders.” Amy carried Ugly Ducking in her hand, and said, interrupting his thoughts.
“Meow Meow~~! Ugly Duckling meowed twice, as if it agreed with Amy’s words.
Michael looked at the two adorable children and stroked Amy’s head. Then he smiled and shook his head, “It is all right. Papa is not tired. You can sit for a while. If you are tired, you may go up and bathe first, then go to sleep.”
“No, today I want to wait for Papa. We can go to sleep together.” Amy shook her head. She stroke Ugly Duckling’s head, and asked, “Isn’t that right, Ugly Duckling?”
“Meow.” Ugly Duckling yawned. It may be nodding its head, but it seems to be unwilling.
“All right, then I will be quick about it.” Michael smiled and clear the plates, wiped the table and mopped the floor. It took him half an hour to clean the place.
Amy, who was waiting on a stool next to the counter is almost asleep. Ugly Duckling was nestled in her arms and was already sound asleep.
Michael removed his apron, dried his hand, and stroked Amy’s head as he gently informed her, “Place the Ugly Duckling into the basket so that it may sleep. Then we go upstairs and sleep.”
“En.” Amy nodded her head.
“Meow~” Ugly Duckling seemed to have overheard Michael’s words. It raised its head and looked at Michael with unhappiness. Then it extends its claws as it hangs on to Amy’s clothes, and shook its head. It seemed to indicate that it is unwilling to get down from Amy’s hug.
“Ugly Duckling, No! Papa says that you must sleep there!” Amy shook her head and grabbed easily. She chided it, “Also, you are so ugly. What if I woke up in the middle of the night and was frightened by your looks? I may kick you off the bed!”
Michael could not help laughing. Amy is natural talent and does not need him to teach her how to best employ her acidic tongue.
“Meow Meow~~!” Ugly Duckling opened its mouth to protest, and want to say that it is not ugly at all. But it was placed into the basket by Amy.
Amy stood up, and wave it goodnight, “Ugly Duckling, you must be obedient and go to sleep. If you are nice, tomorrow morning, I will bring out to play!” Saying this, she held Michael’s hand and is ready to go upstairs with him.
“Meow Meow Meow Meow~~!” Ugly Duckling immediately sits up from the basket and hang on one side of the basket. It cried out pitifully, as if it is an abandoned kitten.
“Papa, Ugly Duckling seemed to be very scared. Can we bring her upstairs? I try not to kick it out of the bed.” Hearing the pitiful cries, Amy’s heart soften and she asked Michael while glancing at Ugly Duckling that looked as if it is crying.
Michael looked at the big eyes of the pitiful Ugly Duckling, then he looked at Amy’s big eyes. The two pairs of eyes are super adorable and contain 4 times the cuteness power!
He is powerless to resist, and could only nod his head in resignation, “All right, you may bring it upstairs.”
Amy smiled, and immediately went to pick up Ugly Duckling from the basket. She looked very fierce as she scolded Ugly Duckling, “I give in this time, but you must cover your face when you sleep so that you will not frighten me!”
“Meow Meow~!” Ugly Duckling happily cried out, and finds a comfortable spot to nestle in Amy’s arm. Then it closed its eyes with satisfaction.
After they have gone upstairs, Amy placed the sleeping Ugly Duckling on a side of the bed, and make sure that its head was resting on a pillow. Then went to take a bath with Micheal.
Michael helped Amy to bathe, and purchase one more purple colour pyjamas from the System. After her hair was blow-dry, he carried her to the bed.
As soon as Amy lie down, Ugly Duckling immediately snuggled into her arms.
“So heavy!” Amy pushed it away, yawned and greeted Michael, “Papa, good night!”
“Good night!” Michael stroke Amy’s hair, and Amy was soon sound asleep.
Ugly Duckling did not give up, and tried to snuggle up to Amy again.
“This kitten really loves hugs.”Michael smiled and shook his head. He placed the blanket over them, turned off the lights, and took his pyjamas as he went to the bathroom to bathe.
“System, I feel that our restaurant needs a dish that could hold the fort. Regardless if it is Yang Zhou Fried rice or Hamburgers, it lacks the feeling of a speciality.” After bathing, Michael lies on the bed and try communicating with the system.
Chapter 60: The queue outside the restaurant
Here you go, the second part of the double digest.
This extra chapter is due to the sponsorship of Danwoo. Remember to thank Danwoo if you like the double digest, won’t you?
Yang Zhou Fried rice is nice, and so is the hamburger. But for someone like Michael who is used to dining at Michelin Starred restaurant, there seem to be something missing when he eats these two dishes.
Although there is a new task that can unlock the soya bean curd, Michael thought that he would consult the system to see if he could unlock one or two speciality dishes.
The System was silent for a while, then it replied, “Hidden task unlocked: to have 1000 unique customers in the restaurant. Rewards: unlock [Huang Yu Chicken Rice]. If the task is not completed within 15 days, penalty: Constitution -0.5. Progress: 155/ 1000”
“This means that he had to attract 1000 different customers within 15 days?” Michael frowned. This task is a lot harder than selling 1000 hamburgers. After all, each customer can eat many hamburgers, and returning customers can purchase it again, increasing the number of hamburgers sold. In the span of a few days, it is possible to sell over 10 hamburgers per person.
But 1000 different customers is a different story. If this could be achieved, then it will fill the restaurant with customers all the time.
Ever since the restaurant had opened, there are only 155 unique customers. If he could not complete this task, he still has a penalty. This really sucks.
What Michael is more worried about is not because he does not have enough business. Rather, he was worried that the frequent customers will come back too often, and the new guests could not try the food he made. After all, he could only make a limited quantity of hamburgers each day. If this happened, the pace of attracting new customers will be slowed.
“To achieve this task, it seemed like customers who dine in the restaurant would be the key. Therefore, I should limit the number of takeaway for a short while. It is best for me if I can achieve a certain degree of publicity, while meeting the requirements of the guests that choose to dine here.” Michael thought.
When he thought of the rewards, [Huang Yu Chicken Rice], his eyes lit up.
[Huang Yu Chicken Rice] is one of the dishes named as “3 big feasts”, alongside the [Lanzhou Ramen], [Shaxian Street snacks].
Michael had eaten [Huang Yu Chicken Rice] before. Although he did criticise these dish using his sharp acidic tongue, the taste is really superb. The chicken meat is very tender and the gravy is really good. After eating the chicken, you can pour the rice into the gravy and mix it. This is another way to enjoy the dish.
Right now, he really regrets his harsh words and criticisms, especially when he had to cook to the standards that he had set. It will take a long time in that hellish training grounds to meet these impossible standards. Sigh, even if he unlocked the food, he reckoned that he will be locked in that training grounds for at least a few hundred days.
Karma is really a bitch!
Michael ranted for a while. Slowly, he drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Michael was awakened by Amy’s frantic cries. He turned on the bedside light and sat up immediately. What happened?
Amy was sitting on the bed and looks as if she had just woke up. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked around and asked Michael, “Papa, where is Ugly Duckling?”
“Yi?” Michael was stunned. Last night, when he fell asleep, Ugly Duckling was also sound asleep as it snuggled into Amy’s arms.
“Meow~!” At this time, a cry suddenly sounded out from under the bed.
Amy and Michael both looked under the bed. They had no clue when Ugly Duckling had fallen over. But the way it looks at Amy is like a wife that was kicked off the bed by her husband, and it looks very poor and annoyed.
“Pui~~” Amy broke out into peals of laughter. She held onto the bed railings and asked, “Ugly Duckling, don’t tell me I push you off the bed?”
Ugly Duckling seemed to understand human speech and nodded its eye. It looked even more miserable. It sat up and reached out it with front paws, as if it is begging for a hug.
Michael also smiled. Poor Ugly Duckling!
“I had already informed you that you may be tossed out of the bed by me, but you refused to believe me. Next time, you better sleep in your basket.” Amy shrugged her shoulders. Then she asked Michael, “Papa, is it time for us to wake up yet?” She yawned.
“It is still early! You and Ugly Duckling sleep for a while morning. I need to get the ingredients ready so that I can sell them for breakfast.” Michael looked at the time on the clock. It is now 4:50 am in the morning. He groaned and crawled out the bed, then reached out and grabbed Ugly Duckling and placed it back on Amy’s bed.
“All right, then I sleep for a while more.” Amy nodded her head, and pulled the blanket over herself and covered Ugly Duckling. Then she warned, “Ugly Duckling, you are not allowed to scratch my clothes. This is the new pyjamas that Papa had purchased for me. If you dare to scratch and make a hole in it, you will be banned from sleeping on my bed forever!”
“Meow~” Ugly Duckling stopped struggling, and nodded its head. Then it lies there and closed its eyes.
“Good duck!” Amy nodded her head in satisfaction, and lie down. She quickly closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
Michael smiled as he covered Amy properly with the blanket, and covered Ugly Duckling as well. It is very young and it is important the kitten does not catch a cold.
After washing up, bathing and changing, Michael went down to prepare the ingredients. This morning, he had prepared 64 portions of hamburger.
He reckoned that once he finished selling all these hamburgers, the morning business hours would be over.
At about 7 am in the morning, Michael woke Amy up. While Amy was washing up, she also tried to brush Ugly Duckling’s teeth.
Michael laughed as he explained for a while before she gives up. But not before she had brushed Ugly Duckling’s teeth a few times.
“Right now, I will let you off the hook. But when your teeth get bigger, I will brush them as well.” Amy looked at Ugly Duckling, who was gargling some water, and said as she brushed her teeth.
Ugly Duckling looked at the toothbrush and toothpaste in Amy’s mouth, and slowly retreated towards the door of the washroom. It does not like the taste.
They had run out of goat’s milk that they had purchased yesterday. He could only purchase it again after the morning business hours.
Therefore, poor Ugly Duckling could only watch on as Amy and Michael enjoyed the juicy hamburger and fried rice. Its eyes were shining, but no one fed it. It could only use its paw to cover its eyes in dismay.
“Ugly Duckling, I see your eye peering through your claws. If you want to watch you can watch all you like. But you may not eat anything.” Amy happily bit into her hamburger and grinned as she teased Ugly Duckling.
Ugly Duckling could only put its paws down as it looked on in resignation. It felt so poor, being the odd one out without any breakfast.
Michael just grinned and shook his head. After their breakfast, at around 7.30 am in the morning, he opened the restaurant for business.
Today, Moby is the first one who queued outside the restaurant as usual. But behind him, there are 4-5 people queuing up as well. Seeing Michael opening the shop for business, their eyes lit up and they enthusiastically greeted ‘Boss Mike’.