"Tell me, how much is a grilled fish recipe? I'm a man who can earn over a hundred million a year now." Mai Ge remained calm, asking in his mind as he served rice.
"100,000 gold coins." the system replied calmly.
Mai Ge's hand, holding the rice spoon, froze. "System, how much did you say?" he asked.
"100,000 gold coins." the system repeated.
"Holy crap!!! System, are you robbing me? A grilled fish recipe for ten million copper coins? Does eating this grilled fish make you fly to the heavens?" Mai Ge roared inwardly. What kind of ridiculous price is this? It's simply unacceptable!
"Host, recipes are reward items and cannot be bought or sold under normal circumstances. If you insist on trading, then the price will naturally be a little higher than the normal purchase price." the system's voice calmly stated.
"A little bit? Is this really a little bit? I work hard from dawn till dusk, and I only earn half a million a day. You're just asking for more than I can afford. That's outrageous!" Mai Ge said reluctantly, "50,000 gold coins, that's the most I can offer."
"100,000 gold coins, no bargaining." The system remained unmoved.
Mai Ge mentally calculated that he definitely couldn't come up with 100,000 gold coins right now, and even 50,000 would take him more than ten days to save up.
Besides, spending so much money on a recipe was a bit of a pain, if he saved up any more, he could buy a set of physical fitness points.
"Alright, then I won't buy it. Just write the Spicy Grilled Fish on the roulette wheel for me. May be I'll get lucky and spin it myself." Mai Ge said calmly, regaining his composure.
"Host, keep up the good work and complete the mission! Even more rewarding missions await you!" the system's enticing voice rang out.
"Amy learned Flame of Extreme Cold today. What magic will you learn next?" Mai Ge asked Amy curiously during meal. Compared to Crassus's melee magic, Yulian's magic seemed more varied and interesting.
"Master Turtle Shell said that for the next two days I only need to learn this spell, and later this spell can be transformed into many other spells, so this spell is the most important." Amy said, shaking her head.
"I see." Mai Ge nodded. Although he didn't quite understand what Amy meant, but since Yulian said so, there must be a reason. In ice magic, no one on the entire Nolan Continent was more powerful than him.
The Ugly Duckling had somehow slipped off the counter. Although it was a little startled, but it wasn't actually hurt. Now it was clinging to Amy's leg, trying to win her back.
"Ugly Duckling, you need to be braver. If you don't even dare to climb up the cabinet, that won't do. Look at Sister Xi Xi, she can run around on the wall. You're too weak." Amy looked down at the Ugly Duckling with a disappointed expression.
"Meow meow~" The Ugly Duckling looked at Amy with a pitiful expression, as if to say that it was still a baby.
"Hmph, who isn't a baby at first? I'm not afraid of heights at all." Amy pouted, not buying it.
The Ugly Duckling glanced at Amy, then at the counter, hesitated for a moment, turned to face the counter, bent down, and then dashed towards it.
"Thud~"
The Ugly Duckling, which sped out, crashed headfirst into the counter. It jumped less than half a meter high before slowly sliding down the counter with its face pressed against the cabinet, looking up at the ceiling with a look of utter despair.
"Sigh, never mind. Looks like you'll never become a white swan in this lifetime." Amy sighed, looked away, and continued eating.
Watching this, Mai Ge couldn't help but shake his head with a smile. It really wasn't easy for the Ugly Duckling to become a white swan.
Outside the restaurant, the conflict over the rankings had been resolved, and the sweet vs savory factions were much more harmonious than they had been in the morning, avoiding the dramatic confrontations.
Due to the ranking effect, some customers were curious about the new faces in the top 30 of the food rankings and came here after hearing about them. Seeing the long queue at the restaurant entrance, they were surprised and more expectant, and joined the queue.
Despite the surge in customers, many were deterred by the significantly higher prices of the dishes compared to other restaurants. However, quite a few customers were drawn by the irresistible aroma and ordered a relatively cheaper Rou Jia Mo and tofu pudding.
This is why many regular customers are unable to get their hands on the tofu pudding that is subject to purchase limits, leading to widespread complaints.
Mai Ge is helpless in this situation, serving 800 servings of tofu pudding a day is already his limit. To supply more, he would need to improve his physical fitness and cooking efficiency.
After a busy midday, Mai Ge went to the Catering Association's counter below the magic screens and bought 10,000 voting slips. Although it was a bit of a financial strain, but given the current situation, to ensure at least one dish made it into the top thirty, the voting couldn't stop for now.
…
The list was released on the second day. Braised Chicken Rice and Rou Jia Mo remained firmly in 29th and 30th place, while tofu pudding, which was originally ranked 99th and 100th, made a comeback and successfully entered the top 50 after the sweet and savory factions reached a reconciliation agreement and gave each other five stars. It ranked 47th and 48th respectively.
A restaurant with four dishes making it into the top fifty has attracted considerable attention, it's been a long time since a restaurant has achieved such a strong performance.
"Damn it…it's still 31st place! Ugh…that guy…I…I must get revenge!" Richie clutched his swollen face, glaring at the list with clenched fists.
"Bo...Boss, let's go back first. There seem to be a lot of their people here." The young waiter with bruises around his eyes said softly, looking around at the hostile gazes directed at him, his calves trembling slightly.
"Let's go." Richie's expression also changed slightly. He was genuinely frightened by the beating he received yesterday morning, those people really showed no mercy. If he was beaten again, he probably wouldn't be able to get out of bed.
"Boss, shall we go back?" Only when they were away from the crowd did the young waiter dare to speak loudly.
"No, we're going to the Aden Square Merchants' Union headquarters." Richie shook his head, got into the carriage, and said bitterly, "They dared to hit me, so they'll pay the price. I've already reported yesterday's incident, let's go see what kind of explanation the merchants' union will give us today."
…
"Boss Richie, we are aware of this matter, and a specific solution is under discussion. As you said, you deliberately tried to storm the restaurant, then the owner opened the door and knocked you down, and then you were beaten by the customers. So, the Restaurant Mai Mi is not at fault. You don't even know who the customers who beat you were. So, it's obviously unrealistic to think that the Gray Temple and the City Lord's Mansion can use this incident of beating people to deal with the Restaurant Mai Mi." In a meeting room of the Aden Square Merchants' Union, Ma Er Si looked at the furious Richie and said with some helplessness.
"So we were just beaten for nothing? We paid a minimum deposit for the 30th place, and now our restaurant is ranked 31st because of this restaurant. Doesn't the merchants' union have an explanation for this?" Richie said, clenching his fist.
"Regarding the assault, I suggest Boss Richie not to pursue the matter any further. However, regarding the food rankings, since we've already received your guaranteed deposit, we'll naturally provide you with a satisfactory solution. We'll help you clear any obstacles and get your restaurant into the top thirty." Ma Er Si said with a smile.