Chapter 19 - 18: Wicked Idea

Chapter 19: Chapter 18: Wicked Idea

"Hello, I’m back. Do you still have anything left to sell?"

Jack greeted her cheerfully.

Ning He nodded. "Yes, but not much left. What do you want?"

Jack breathed a sigh of relief. He had rushed over as soon as his shift ended, afraid they would be sold out.

"The same as yesterday: spaghetti with meat sauce and salad, two... no, three portions of each, to go," Jack said.

"All right, please wait a moment."

Ning He quickly prepared three boxes of salad, packing two boxes of mayonnaise and one box of roasted pepper sauce.

"This green sauce is also good. You can wrap the meat in lettuce and spread this sauce on it like they do. It’s very appetizing."

Jack looked across the way; the faces full of enjoyment were proof enough that she wasn’t exaggerating.

Thinking of something, he said, "In that case, pack a few more separate portions of this sauce for me, and just add it to the bill."

Ning He laughed and gave him a thumbs up. "You really know your stuff!"

After everything was packed, Jack paid, said goodbye, and walked toward the command center.

Leo was patrolling this area in the afternoon. When Jack came in, he was reading today’s ground mission report.

Jack placed a portion of noodles and salad on the desk.

"It’s from the same stall as yesterday. Luckily I was fast, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to get any."

Leo put down the document in his hand, glanced at the food on the desk, and smiled slightly.

"That’s very thoughtful of you, but you don’t need to go to so much trouble. Eating at the cafeteria is just the same for me."

"How is it the same? The cafeteria has the same few dishes every day, I’m sick of it. It’s good to change things up occasionally," Jack said.

"All right, how much? It’s fine for you to treat me once, but I’ll pay for myself this time," Leo said.

Jack knew his temper, so he didn’t decline further and took the seventy original coins from Leo.

"Who else did you bring food for?" Leo asked, noticing the two bags still in his hand, the corners of his lips curving up.

Jack knew he couldn’t hide it from him, so he confessed honestly, "It’s for Dean Leitel... It’s not convenient for the old man to come over, so I ran an errand for him."

Leo felt a slight headache coming on.

This old Dean was just very stubborn when it came to food.

"Fine, just this once. Don’t let it happen again. The shuttle isn’t meant to be used so casually." His expression grew slightly serious.

"Yes, sir!" Jack stood at attention and replied.

"All right, go on. You’ve worked hard these past two days; get some good rest."

Jack quickly left. Leo retracted his gaze and looked at the takeout on the table, his expression becoming a bit more reserved.

If he wasn’t mistaken, the person outside was indeed her.

It seemed she had recovered.

That was good.

At least it was a resolution.

...

Outside the command center, Ning He packed the last portion of salad dressing and announced they were closing up shop.

Connie paid the wages to the skewer-grilling uncle and the others who had helped, even adding an extra five to round it up to a neat one hundred. The group was very happy. They packed up their stalls, said their goodbyes, and cheerfully headed to the nearby Fourth Ring resident settlement area to reunite with their families.

While the three of them were packing up their stall, the old grandpa who sold braised pork liver suddenly walked over, carrying a piece of his liver.

"Thanks to you, I’ve sold out of my food too. Here’s a little something for you to eat."

It turned out that after the news spread among the diners about how absolutely delicious the roasted pepper sauce was with meat, many people also noticed the old grandpa’s braised pork liver. After trying it, they felt it was a perfect match. Buying a little here and a little there, they completely cleared out the old grandpa’s inventory.

"You don’t need to be so polite with us. Even without us, your braised pork liver would have sold out anyway." Connie seemed quite respectful toward this old man, speaking to him with unusual politeness.

"Hoho, if you had said that in the past, I’d believe it, but now... let’s not mention it. Take it. I’m going to pack up and rest too. I’m getting old, I need more rest."

The old grandpa cheerfully handed the food over. Connie didn’t refuse again; she thanked him and accepted it.

"Who is that old man? Why were you so nice to him?" Ning He leaned in and asked curiously.

Connie carefully placed the pork liver into a clean box.

"I’m actually not that familiar with him. I only know that he used to be the head chef at a Level 3 Restaurant in the First Ring, and his culinary skills are incredible. But later, for some unknown reason, he lost his sense of taste, so he left the restaurant and moved to the Fifth Ring. In the culinary world, he’s considered a great senior to us, so of course, I have to be respectful."

"So that’s how it is."

The head chef of a Level 3 Restaurant in the First Ring—that had to be the pinnacle of the industry.

No wonder he dared to sell such expensive food.

The three of them finished packing up the stall, pulled over small stools, huddled in a corner, and opened the cash box to count the money.

"Today’s total revenue is... ten thousand, seven hundred and thirty-eight original coins!"

Connie almost cried out in shock, and Ning He couldn’t help but feel secretly delighted.

’With a number like this, I should be able to get a decent cut, right?’

"After deducting the cost of ingredients and the wages paid to the uncle and the others, there are about seven thousand, five hundred original coins left. Your two baskets of vegetables count as two hundred, and you get a thirty percent share of the rest, making it... two thousand, four hundred in total."

Ning He breathed a huge sigh of relief.

’Now I not only have enough money, but there’s also plenty left over. I can finally live comfortably!’

Connie was also thrilled. She and Ah Huai had earned five thousand today, close to what they would normally make in two months. It was a massive and unexpected windfall.

Thinking of something, Connie counted out one thousand, five hundred original coins from the cash box, pulled an item out from a compartment in the food cart, and handed both to Ning He.

"Take this. We’re even."

Ning He took a look; it was exactly her Chef’s Certificate.

"Thanks."

Ning He put the two items away. ’At least all this hard work wasn’t for nothing. Now there won’t be any problems on the academy cafeteria’s end.’

"Don’t thank me. It was agreed upon, I’m just keeping my promise."

"So what are you guys planning to do next?" Ning He asked.

"We’re going to meet up with our family. What about you?" Connie showed a rare moment of concern for her.

Ning He laughed. "I’m a loner, so I’ll just stay here. It’s quiet with fewer people around, I don’t have to queue for the bathroom or shower, and it’s safe since it’s close to the command center."

Connie nodded. "Fair enough. Let’s part ways here then."

"Yeah, bye."

"Bye."

Connie and Ah Huai pushed their cart toward the Fourth Ring passageway. Ning He watched their retreating figures, feeling a slight sense of loss in her heart.

’We cooperated so well, I’m actually a bit reluctant to see them go.’

At that moment, Connie suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned around.

"Um..." Her expression was a bit unnatural, and she avoided making direct eye contact with Ning He. "Ah Huai and I haven’t completely mastered these new dishes yet. Once we get out of here, if you’re willing, could we discuss cooperating again?"

Ning He was taken aback for a moment before she broke into a wide grin.

"Sure! No problem!"

Connie looked up at her and smiled too.

"Then... see you after we get out."

"All right!"

As Connie and Ah Huai’s figures gradually disappeared at the end of the passageway, Ning He also prepared to head back to the lounge to rest.

After a busy day, there wasn’t a single part of her body that didn’t ache.

"Ahem."

A cough came from behind her. Ning He turned her head and saw that it was actually the head chef of the Golden Pomelo Restaurant who had come to snatch her ingredients earlier.

He was followed by other head chefs from the Three Rings Restaurant. There were quite a few of them, and their imposing manner was rather intimidating.

"Can I help you?" Ning He raised an eyebrow.

"Ahem, well, there was a lot of misunderstanding earlier. I’ve come to apologize to you, and I hope you won’t take it to heart."

He probably rarely did things like apologizing, so the head chef’s smile was a bit stiff.

"It’s fine. It didn’t stop us from making money, so naturally, I won’t take it to heart," Ning He laughed.

This sounded okay at first, but upon careful reflection, it was quite embarrassing. The head chef caught the mocking tone in Ning He’s words; his eyelids twitched, but his expression didn’t change.

This surprised Ning He a little and also raised a trace of vigilance in her.

’Being overly attentive for no reason definitely means a trap!’

Sure enough, the very next moment, she heard him say:

"Actually, we came looking for you because we want to invite you to work at our restaurant. Our shops are quite well-known in the Third Ring. You are a Third-level Chef and have such great skills; staying in a small eatery in the Fourth Ring is truly a waste of your talents. Don’t worry, as long as you’re willing to join us, the compensation is highly negotiable."

’Are they trying to poach me?’

Ning He smiled. "I have no plans to change jobs for the time being. Anyway, as long as I have the skills, I can make money anywhere. Wouldn’t you agree?"

These words were honestly a bit arrogant, and the head chefs across from her didn’t look too pleased.

"Haha, you are young after all, speaking with such confidence. Since that’s the case, we won’t force it. However, we are very interested in the two types of salad dressing you make. We are willing to offer two thousand original coins to buy the recipes. What do you think?"

’Tsk, they revealed their true colors that quickly!’

"Do I have the word ’idiot’ written on my face?" Ning He rolled her eyes. "In all your years, have you ever seen a chef sell their exclusive secret recipe? Point them out to me, I’d like to go see if they’ve been hit in the head."

’What a joke! In this world, a chef with some unique skills doesn’t have to worry about making money at all, so how could they possibly sell their secret recipes?’

Ning He wasn’t entirely untempted, but firstly, she wasn’t so strapped for cash now; secondly, this price showed no sincerity; and thirdly, which was the most important point, selling secret recipes defied logic. This group of people was completely unreliable, and doing so could lead to endless trouble.

’Coming to discuss this with me alone right now clearly shows they think I’m young and isolated, so they’re ganging up to set a trap for me.’

"I can see that you are all highly skilled master chefs. Why not try it yourselves? You might just figure it out, and you’d even save yourselves two thousand original coins! I have things to do, so I won’t keep you company any longer. Goodbye!"

Too lazy to waste her breath on these people with impure motives, Ning He turned around and walked away, leaving behind a group of men with faces as black as the bottom of a pot.