"Andrew, have you heard? Today is the first day of the food ranking competition, and all five dishes from Restaurant Mai Mi made it into the top 100, and two of them even made it into the top 30." Miles stood outside Andrew's pork chop restaurant, watching Andrew chop pork bones with a butcher's knife, and said with a hint of excitement.
"My waiter told me this morning that I was surprised that three of the dishes didn't make the top fifty, even though they were all good enough to be in the top five." Andrew said, stopping his knife and looking a little disappointed.
"You know the situation on the leaderboard. For a restaurant of this size, especially since this is its first time competing for the top spots, it's already quite impressive that two of its dishes made it into the top thirty." Miles sighed and said, "That's the Aden Square Merchants' Union's territory. Look at you, you've been squeezed out of the top twenty this time. At this rate, you'll be squeezed out of the top thirty sooner or later."
"Yes, our restaurants have been open for over twenty years, they're all established brands, and our signature dishes sell thousands of servings a day. Even so, we still can't make it into the top ten. Those guys are getting more and more shameless." Bernice, who had arrived at some point, said somewhat indignantly.
"I think this time food rankings are interesting. Boss Mai has stormed into the top 30 in such an unreasonable way, and even occupied two spots. Those guys who paid to get on the list must be furious, and the Aden Square Merchants' Union will probably be in a very passive position. This situation has never happened before." Old Man Bishop walked over with his hands behind his back and chuckled. His restaurant's scallion pancakes still failed to make it into the top 100 this time, but he wasn't too concerned about it.
"Yes, it's been many years since we've seen such a disruptive dark horse. But the bigger the tree, the more the wind blows. After all, Boss Mai is all alone. If he really angers that behemoth, the Aden Square Merchants' Union, I'm afraid things won't end well." Bernice said with some concern.
The group chatted idly, pleased that a disruptor had appeared to wreak havoc on the food ranking system controlled by the Aden Square Merchants' Union, but also worried about Restaurant Mai Mi.
…
"Second Young Master, Richie, the owner of Richie BBQ Restaurant, was beaten up this morning. Should we report this to the President?" In a large room of the Aden Square Merchants' Union building, Ma Er Si respectfully asked Cyril, who was sitting in a leather chair behind a desk, playing with a colorful little snake.
"Richie? Who is that? Why should we report him being beaten to the President?" Cyril asked without looking up.
"Richie BBQ Restaurant is a member of the Aden Square Merchants' Union and has paid the deposit for 30th place on the food ranking list for three consecutive months. Today is the first day of this month's food ranking competition, and Richie BBQ Restaurant is ranked 31st. The restaurant that pushed him out of the top 30 is called 'Restaurant Mai Mi.' He was beaten up by the owner of that restaurant." Ma Er Si paused for a moment and continued, "Devo and Goodinia were arrested because of that restaurant. It is said that one of the thugs of Devo Tavern was killed by that owner."
"Who is the owner of this Restaurant Mai Mi? Is he deliberately going against our Aden Square Merchants' Union?" Upon hearing this, Cyril finally raised his head and asked Ma Er Si with a somewhat unfriendly expression.
"I've already had them investigate. The owner's name is Mai Ge. We can't find any information about his background. Customers usually call him Boss Mai. He opened this Restaurant Mai Mi in the northwest corner of Aden Square a month ago, and it has attracted many customers in just one month. The restaurant's prices are extremely expensive, with the cheapest dish costing 200 copper coins. The previous conflict with Goodinia…" Ma Er Si clearly explained Mai Ge's identity and the details of the conflict between Goodinia and Mai Ge to Cyril.
"He's just an arrogant clown, a small restaurant owner, yet he dares to spout nonsense and demand the collapse of our Aden Square Merchants' Union." Cyril scoffed after hearing this. "There's no need to report such a trivial matter to the President. Just tell the Catering Association to remove this restaurant from the list, and then frequently cause trouble there, making it impossible for him to operate in Aden Square. I want to see whether our Aden Square Merchants' Union will collapse first, or his little restaurant will go out of business first."
"But his daughter has become an apprentice of two great mages. If we do this…" Ma Er Si said with some concern.
"What does it matter? We didn't attack them directly. Do you think those two archmages can just attack us in Chaos City? A little money to bribe those fat bastards in the Catering Association, and they'll be more eager than we are." Cyril grinned. "In this world, there's nothing money can't solve."
Ma Er Si opened his mouth, then hesitated.
"Alright, Ma Er Si, you're getting more and more timid. Back when your father was working for the President, he was highly valued by him because of his outstanding decision-making ability." Cyril glanced at Ma Er Si, wrapped the flower snake in his hand, got up and walked towards the door. He paused at the doorway. "Sometimes, people have to make choices. Those who waver will be the first to be abandoned."
"Second Young Master, putting all your eggs in one basket is truly a difficult choice. Besides, the first lesson my father taught me was: don't put all your eggs in one basket." Ma Er Si looked towards the door, shook his head, picked up the documents on the table, and walked out.
…
"System, what did you just say?" Mai Ge paused, taken aback by the system's words, and asked.
"Host, you can choose a dish as one of the options on the spinning wheel. After completing the tofu pudding task, you will have a chance to spin the recipe for that dish." the system replied earnestly.
"System, why has your conscience suddenly returned today?" Mai Ge raised an eyebrow.
"As a system with a conscience, this system refuses to accept this kind of question from the host." the system said, somewhat displeased.
"Really, any dish will do?" Mai Ge asked, still somewhat skeptical.
"Any dish that can be found on Earth will do." the system confirmed.
"Let me think about it." Mai Ge thought for a moment, and various cuisines and famous dishes and snacks from all over the world flashed through his mind, including Shandong cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine, Zhejiang cuisine, Fujian cuisine, Hunan cuisine, and Anhui cuisine.
Because he has eaten so many delicious foods, he now suffers from decision paralysis, wondering what kind of delicious dishes will become when they come to this other world, made with special ingredients provided by the system and top notch cooking techniques.
While thinking about it, it was already noon, and they were about to open for business, but Mai Ge still hadn't decided on a dish to choose.
"Daddy, I'm back!" Amy's cheerful voice rang out from outside the door. Mai Ge's eyes lit up immediately. That's right, since he couldn't choose, why not let Amy choose!