Chapter 416: Appearance Fee of 500,000 Star Coins

"Good morning, Granny Jin." Shen Lu supported her arm and greeted her with a cheerful smile.

"Good morning to you, too." Granny Jin gave a kind smile. "Getting busy again?"

Granny Jin knew just how busy Shen Lu was every day. She figured she, an old woman, was the idlest person in the shop; even Xiao Lang went downstairs to help every day.

"Being busy is good. Others would kill for an opportunity to be this busy."

"That’s true. Your restaurant’s business is really booming."

The two of them chatted and laughed as they went downstairs. Breakfast was ready, and Cai Su and two service robots were setting it on the table.

This morning, they were having spicy meatball soup and baked flatbreads.

There were two kinds of flatbreads, beef and pork. Additionally, small bowls of chili oil, cilantro, scallions, and other condiments were placed on the table, which could be added to taste.

After they had eaten their fill, Xiao Lang took Granny Jin’s hand for a walk in the backyard greenhouse. Deng Ying and a robot cleared the table and chairs, Wu Jun and Huo Qian returned to their respective posts, and Cai Su went to the pantry to take inventory of the ingredients.

During the last expansion, Shen Lu had specifically enlarged the original ingredient storeroom and added a low-temperature preservation function.

Unlike the previous tiny storeroom that could only hold a few hundred pounds of ingredients, the current pantry could store half a ton of ingredients and various dry goods and seasonings. The storage capacity had increased significantly, so Shen Lu’s orders were getting larger and larger.

She left half in the pantry and put the other half into the second System Warehouse she had just rented.

She could slowly start stockpiling now. After all, she had enough money on hand, and with the restaurant as a front, hoarding food wouldn’t be too conspicuous.

It wasn’t just for the sake of the future natural disasters; since opening the restaurant, her shipments had been blocked twice already.

This time, she didn’t know what happened. The block was lifted for no apparent reason. She had no idea if the other party had a sudden change of heart.

Shen Lu wasn’t afraid of this, but she found it annoying. So, she decided to buy more whenever she could. It wasn’t like she didn’t have a place to store it.

In this weather, Wang Daguo didn’t need to go pick up vegetables; the supplier would deliver them. When Xin Yu entered the shop, he took off his jacket and brushed the sand from his clothes.

"You guys who live in the shop have it so good."

Shen Lu shot him a sideways glance. "There are plenty of empty rooms in the shop now. If you want, you can move in."

"Never mind. If I don’t go back, my home will be too quiet." Although tempted, Xin Yu still shook his head.

A cleaning robot came over, vacuumed up the sand Xin Yu had shaken off, mopped the footprints clean, and returned to its charging station with its lights flashing.

They were serving dine-in today. Xin Yu cleaned himself up, changed his clothes, and went to knead the dough.

He could now shape 150 pizza crusts a day, which was an improvement.

Shu Meng arrived a little later than usual. The moment she entered, she apologized profusely. "Kangkang had a slight fever. I was worried, so I took him to the clinic to get checked. I only came to work after he took his medicine, so I was delayed."

She had already told Shen Lu about the situation on her Light Brain. Shen Lu wasn’t the kind of exploitative boss who would work her employees to the bone. When she found out, she told Shu Meng not to come in today and to take good care of her child.

But Shu Meng said there was an elderly person at home, so it was no problem for her to come to work.

Xin Yu asked, "Huh? I thought it was just the three of you living together, Sister Meng."

Shu Meng’s smile was a bit strained. "It’s my mother-in-law. She was living at my husband’s older brother’s house before. Now it’s our turn to take care of her."

Shen Lu understood immediately. The elderly woman must have had two sons and was being cared for by each son’s family in turns.

Shen Lu had seen many similar situations in her previous life. It wasn’t anything new.

The upgraded kitchen equipment increased the efficiency of plating, which in turn reduced the pressure on the back of the house.

As long as there were enough ingredients, the kitchen could produce a continuous stream of dishes.

Now, whenever they opened for dine-in, the number of daily missions was close to 5,000.

Then there were the customers from the Dragon Hall. Almost every Mercenary Corps in the Lower City District knew about Little Deer Cuisine.

The number of tables Shen Lu reserved for Dragon Hall customers each week was also gradually increasing. Now, she could accommodate a maximum of eight tables per day, but demand still far outstripped supply.

Every time, there would be all sorts of conflicts over these eight slots.

But everyone only argued verbally; no one dared to get physical in the restaurant.

Because the few people who had started fights before were all thrown out by Shen Lu and blacklisted, never to spend money in the shop again.

Mo Bei, taking advantage of his position, always managed to secure one of the tables because someone from his Gale Mercenary Corps worked in the restaurant. As a result, his reputation among the major Mercenary Corps soared, and there were always people trying to cozy up to him for a spot.

Several times, people had offered high prices to buy a spot, and Mo Bei was almost tempted.

A sudden jolt reminded him of his boss’s warning, and he painfully refused.

In the kitchen, Shen Lu was teaching Deng Ying how to prepare various kinds of shrimp: river shrimp the size of a fingernail, Boston lobsters as thick as an arm, delicate pink sweet shrimp, the very unusual-looking mantis shrimp, and common prawns.

The sweet shrimp were the easiest to handle; they were eaten raw and required almost no preparation. The small river shrimp were stir-fried with small fish, creating a spicy dish that went well with rice.

The Boston lobsters were prepared in two ways: steamed with garlic and vermicelli, and baked with cheese. The mantis shrimp were cooked typhoon shelter style, and the prawns were made into tomato-sauce prawns.

"The first step in preparing a lobster is to make it... urinate." Shen Lu explained to Deng Ying as she worked. Her movements were fast, ruthless, and precise, making it look easy and simple.

Deng Ying’s hands itched to try, and she asked if she could give it a go.

Shen Lu agreed and handed her a lobster. Deng Ying copied Shen Lu’s movements, using a chopstick to make the lobster urinate.

Unexpectedly, the lobster was too lively. Deng Ying wasn’t strong enough to control it and got whipped by its tail. Not only did she drop the chopstick, but a red mark was also slapped onto her hand.

Deng Ying looked astonished. ’Wait, wasn’t the lobster in Shen Lu’s hands quite docile? How come it’s jumping three feet high in mine?’

Shen Lu smiled but said nothing. If she hadn’t taken the Solidification Liquid, she wouldn’t have fared much better than Deng Ying.

She reached out and helped Deng Ying control the lobster. She deftly drained it, knocked it unconscious with the handle of her knife, and then separated its head from its body with a single slice.

"It’s okay. You’ll have more opportunities to practice in the future. Once you’re used to it, this won’t happen."

Deng Ying nodded receptively. "I’ll work hard."

The prep time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was time to open for business.

In less than ten minutes, eight orders came in from the Dragon Hall.

The largest had over twenty dishes, while the smallest had five.

Shen Lu quickly arranged the order sequence and began to cook.

She was no longer the flustered beginner she was at the start. Everything was under control, her timing was perfect, and not a single moment was wasted.

The benefits of the upgraded kitchen equipment were also apparent here. For example, the combi-steamer oven reduced steaming and baking times by 20% without compromising the taste in the slightest.

The dishes were sent out one by one, delivered to the various private rooms in the Dragon Hall by the service robot, Mimi.

After finishing the last dish, Shen Lu let out a soft breath, planning to go help Shu Meng with the stir-frying.

Mimi suddenly sent her a message, saying that the guest in private room number one wanted to see her.

Shen Lu rejected the request without a second thought. ’I don’t have time to see guests; they shouldn’t get in the way of me making money.’

"He said he’s willing to pay an appearance fee," Mimi said.

"How much?" Shen Lu asked casually.

"Five hundred thousand Star Coins."