Fiona lost interest in hanging out with Vivian, so she turned to Veronica and Kevin instead, offering congratulations over and over and chatting animatedly.
Vivian didn't mind at all. She casually found a seat, took small sips of her beer, and smiled as she watched Veronica and the others fool around.
Steve was pretty much the same.
He wasn't close with Veronica or Kevin. After offering a polite congratulations, he sat down as well, quietly sizing up the restaurant. It wasn't very big, and honestly looked pretty average.
Before long—
An indescribable aroma silently drifted out of the kitchen.
Almost everyone smelled it at the same time. One by one, they stopped what they were doing and all turned to look toward the kitchen.
"Wow, that smells amazing!" Carl sniffed the air and was the first to speak up.
Veronica, Kevin, and Vivian all nodded in agreement.
Fiona and the others didn't say anything. Neither did Steve.
In the kitchen.
Dexter felt a little confused. It was just fried rice—how could it smell this good?
After thinking about it, there was only one explanation.
The system was ridiculously overpowered.
As for how it actually worked, he didn't care.
Whatever.
Dexter kept busy, stir-frying rice while also keeping an eye on the soup simmering in the pot beside him. He was swamped.
The aroma continued to drift out nonstop.
Smelling something this good—something that made everyone's appetite go crazy—Kevin and the others (except Vivian) slowly found all their attention locked onto the tightly closed kitchen door. In no time, no one felt like chatting anymore…
Seeing this, Vivian found it hilarious. Smiling brightly, she got up and opened the restaurant's front door wide, letting even more of the aroma float outside.
Dexter was a good person. Vivian hoped he'd keep making money. That way, he'd live well—and she could stay here safely and comfortably.
That kind of stability was rare for her.
It was dinnertime.
Naturally, it didn't take long before the smell wafting out of Dex Restaurant caught the attention of passersby.
"Wow… that smells incredible…"
"So this place is open now?"
"No wonder they spent so much money hiring staff…"
"This cooking is insane!"
"Want to go in and try it?"
"Let's go!"
Just like that—
Two young women stepped forward, about to enter the restaurant.
"Sorry, we officially open tomorrow. Please come back then—thank you!" Vivian noticed the small crowd gathering and hurried to the door, smiling politely as she stopped the two girls.
Hearing that—
The two girls, practically drooling, froze in place. Disappointment washed over their faces, and they had no choice but to turn around and leave.
And of course, right at that moment—
Dexter pushed open the kitchen door with his body, carrying two trays of food.
The second that door opened—
Oh man.
The rich, concentrated aroma practically exploded out into the room.
Instantly—
Kevin and the others: "!!!!"
Vivian: "!"
The people gathered at the door, drawn by the smell: "!!!"
To be honest, even Dexter himself was shocked by the sudden change in the air.
This has to be the system buffing it, he thought in amazement.
The next second—
The two girls who had just turned away swallowed hard and spun right back around, trying to enter the restaurant again.
At the same time, the rest of the onlookers did the same.
Dexter felt like he was staring at a zombie horde.
It was honestly a little terrifying.
"Sorry, everyone," Dexter said quickly with a smile. "We officially open tomorrow. Please come back then."
The crowd immediately protested.
"Boss, you're basically open already—just open now!"
"It smells way too good!"
"Come on, handsome, don't make us wait till tomorrow. You wouldn't let me starve, right?"
"Yeah, yeah! I'm so hungry—how can you be that cruel?"
The two girls from earlier immediately deployed their ultimate weapon: shameless cute pleading.
Dexter couldn't handle it.
Left with no choice, he pulled out his trump card. "I'm really sorry. Tonight is a private gathering. Please come back tomorrow. Also—make sure you bring money. Our set meals are $128 per person."
$128?
With tip…
That's basically $150!
Spending $150 on one meal in a place like this?
Nope. Too rich for my blood.
Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!
The trump card worked exactly as expected.
Within moments—
Most of the crowd scattered, leaving only five people behind—including the two girls.
Clearly, these five actually had money.
One of the girls was just too tempted. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Handsome, I've got money. Please—don't make me wait till tomorrow. Just tonight, okay?"
Wow.
Foodies were terrifying.
Hearing this—
Kevin, who had also been stunned by the price, snapped back to his senses and grew anxious. He hurriedly tried to persuade Dexter. "Dexter, why not just open? That's money right there!"
Veronica came back to her senses too and joined in. "Boss, we don't take up much space. Why not open?"
Carl chimed in as well. "Open! Open! That's a lot of money!"
Vivian didn't say anything. She just smiled, finding the whole situation incredibly amusing.
Seeing this—
The two girls wasted no time, stepping straight into the restaurant and continuing their cute pleading.
The other three exchanged looks, then followed them inside and started persuading as well.
Dexter: "..."
Well.
Five customers were already inside. Was he really going to kick them out?
Kicking customers out in a neighborhood like this… the restaurant might get smashed up overnight.
So what—was he really opening like this, out of nowhere?
"Fine," Dexter sighed. "You're already here. Find a seat."
The two foodie girls immediately lit up, giggling with excitement.
There was still food cooking in the kitchen, so Dexter didn't have time to waste. He set down the two trays he was holding and then called out to Vivian. "Vivian, come to the kitchen with me."
"Coming!" Vivian replied cheerfully.
In the kitchen—
While working, Dexter explained, "Please help me take care of those five guests. For now, I'm only offering three set meals: egg fried rice, shredded pork fried rice, and snow cabbage with shredded pork noodles. Each one is $128."
"Also, we're only taking up to five more guests. Any more than that—I'm not cooking. Too tiring."
Vivian: "????"
That was allowed?
She looked at Dexter curiously, then nodded. "Okay."
After leaving the kitchen, Vivian went to take care of the guests.
None of the five had ever eaten these dishes before and were totally confused—but with the restaurant filled with that incredible aroma, they quickly placed their orders anyway.
Once the orders were in, Vivian went back to tell Dexter.
After sending Vivian back out, Dexter pulled the ingredients for five meals straight from the system.
Since he was officially open now, he had to build a good reputation.
---
Time flew by.
Not that much time, really.
After all, fried rice and noodles didn't take long to make.
Soon, everyone at Veronica's table had steaming, fragrant dishes in front of them.
By then—
Another five customers had entered the restaurant, drawn in by the smell and able to accept the price.
Interestingly, two of them were Tommy and Kermit, who had originally planned to go drink at the Alibi.
"Boss, that price is basically robbery," Tommy said with a grin to Dexter. "But it smells amazing, so I have to try it. Give me one order of the snow cabbage pork noodles."
Dexter had just finished setting down the last dish for Veronica's group. Hearing that, he grinned. "I only planned to sell ten orders tonight. Didn't expect to sell out this fast. Guess I'll have to raise prices tomorrow."
As soon as he said that—
Tommy and the others: "?????"
Veronica and the rest: "?????"