"This system adheres to the basic principles of business competition and will never compete with peers by offering prices below market value, as this is detrimental to the healthy and orderly development of the market." the system stated earnestly.
"Very good, I appreciate your frankness." Mai Ge nodded, then turned around: "That's why I chose theirs."
"However, I believe that timely promotional activities are beneficial to the healthy development of the market, can enhance customers' desire to buy, and at the same time remind practitioners to better serve customers." The system's somewhat hurried voice sounded.
"What discount?" Mai Ge stopped and asked.
"2%." the system gritted its teeth.
Mai Ge turned to leave.
"5%!" the system's voice suddenly rose considerably.
Mai Ge still showed no sign of stopping.
"A blood-curdling 10%! Huge clearance sale!" the system announced with difficulty.
"10% off, I'll remember that. I'll buy it when I have more money." Mai Ge turned around and walked towards his restaurant. He had just bought physical fitness points, and he still had less than 100 gold coins in his balance. Even with the 10% discount, he still couldn't afford it.
Pushing open the door to the restaurant, Yabemia was wiping the table. She quickly greeted Mai Ge, and looking at Mai Ge's completely messed-up hair, she wanted to laugh but forced herself to hold it in, her expression a little strange.
What puzzled her even more was that Mai Ge seemed to have changed. It wasn't just his afro, he was different in both spirit and body. The weariness on his face had completely disappeared, and his dark eyes were deep and bright, as if one would be captivated by them at first glance.
Mai Ge knew his hairstyle was a bit outlandish, so he nodded to Yabemia and prepared to go upstairs to wash his hair. When he got to the counter, the Ugly Duckling, who had been sleeping in the bicycle basket, suddenly woke up, got up, looked around, and, being a little off the ground, stared straight at Mai Ge with its blue eyes, meowing as if pleading for help.
"You're scared off at this little height? Are you even a cat?" Mai Ge pouted, glanced at the counter which was about 30 centimeters away from the basket and 40 centimeters high, and said to the Ugly Duckling, "Jump onto the counter and I'll pick you up."
"Meow~" The Ugly Duckling looked up at the counter, then turned back to Mai Ge with an innocent expression and shook its head.
"Then you can stay in the basket." Mai Ge showed no intention of negotiating. The Ugly Duckling spent most of its time sticking to Amy, so he wanted it to be bolder, perhaps even able to protect Amy sometimes.
Mai Ge is still unsure what kind of oviparous cat this is, but it's best not to raise it into a fat orange cat.
"Meow!" The Ugly Duckling mustered its courage again, its expression focused and earnest as it stared intently at the counter. It slowly curled up in the basket, then leaped towards the counter with unwavering determination.
"Thud!"
The Ugly Duckling's jumping ability was about ten centimeters worse than expected. It crashed into the cabinet door with its face, then slowly slid to the ground with its face pressed against the cabinet. Its face, which was a little deformed from being squeezed, was still pressed against the cabinet door, and its eyes were lifeless, as if it was questioning its existence.
"Well, see, you got down by yourself now, didn't you? But you still need to try harder." Mai Ge nodded seriously.
The Ugly Duckling silently raised its two little claws and covered its ears.
Mai Ge shrugged and went upstairs to wash his hair and take a bath.
After taking a shower and changing into his new chef's uniform, Mai Ge felt refreshed. His energetic spirit and strong physique made him feel that his wonderful life was just beginning, and everything seemed even more beautiful to him.
The restaurant, now empty of customers, was clean and quiet after Yabemia's cleaning. A ray of sunlight shone in through the half-open doorway. The Ugly Duckling lay by the doorway, sunbathing, rolling from left to right and then back again, looking towards the doorway every now and then, seemingly waiting for Amy to return.
Yabemia sat somewhat bored at a table by the window, resting her chin on her hands and gazing at Aden Square, lost in thought.
"Mia, if you want to learn to dance, then go ahead and learn. There aren't any customers right now anyway." Mai Ge said with a smile as he bent down, took the music box out of the counter, gently placed it on the table, and smiled.
"No...no need, Boss." Yabemia stood up when she heard the voice, her eyes lit up, and she waved her hand somewhat embarrassedly.
"I've opened it for you. You can move the table yourself. I'll go prepare the ingredients. It'll probably be busy at noon today." Mai Ge smiled, put on the song 'Gokuraku Jodo', and walked towards the kitchen.
This afternoon, he plans to complete the task of attracting 1,000 customers to the restaurant. He's currently at 924/1000, which should be fine. Once completed, he can get the braised chicken recipe as a reward.
Mai Ge is quite looking forward to it. He hasn't had a proper meal of white rice with side dishes since arriving here, and he thinks Amy will enjoy it.
With an additional 0.5 points to his physical attributes, Mai Ge felt a complete transformation. Kneading dough, which he had previously found extremely difficult, suddenly became much easier. After a short period of adjustment, his efficiency increased dramatically. Dough that used to take more than an hour to knead was finished in less than half an hour, and he didn't feel tired at all. So he kneaded two more dough balls, and he could make more Rou Jia Mo for lunch today.
Looking up at Yabemia, whose movements were a little clumsy but who was earnestly and diligently learning to dance, Mai Ge couldn't help but shake his head with a smile. He placed the dough he had just finished aside and muttered to himself, "If I double the efficiency, business will double too. I still need to hire another waiter, Mia can't handle it all by herself, and she's prone to making mistakes."
…
In an alley near the Geya Hotel, an elderly elf observed Sally hanging blankets on bamboo poles at the hotel's entrance with a crystal prism. His long golden hair was half-white, but his eyes were deep and wise.
"Lord Engelwey, is this Miss Sally?" Ficare said softly, his voice filled with barely suppressed excitement. Finding Miss Sally would be his greatest achievement, and the high reward and the chance to be transferred back to the Wind Forest would propel him to the pinnacle of his life.
"It's Miss Sally. I saw her in person at the banquet two years ago." Engelwey looked at Sally as she walked back to the hotel, put away the prism in his hand, and nodded calmly.
"Then how come she's working as a waitress....in this little hotel?" Ficare's tone remained humble, but he was genuinely puzzled.
After bumping into Sally at the Restaurant Mai Mi yesterday, he followed her to this small hotel. He initially thought she was just staying here temporarily to avoid being tracked, but he never expected that she was working as a waitress here.
It's unbelievable that a noblewoman nominated as the crown princess of the Elf Queen would work as a waitress in a small hotel run by a human woman, doing things like cleaning rooms and airing out blankets.
"This is something only you and I know, understand?" Engelwey said, looking into Ficare's eyes with a hint of warning.
"Yes!" Ficare quickly lowered his head. Engelwey was the Elven ambassador to Chaos City, in charge of all Elven affairs in Chaos City. He was a powerful level seven mage. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "But Lord Engelwey, should we take Miss Sally back now?"