"This... I really don't sell it." Mai Ge shook his head, smiling at Daniel's resentful expression. "But if the little girl wants to play, you can borrow it for a while. We've played enough already."
"Yes, little sister, you can play for a while, I've had enough fun." Amy finished drinking the water in her little cup and waved her little hand at Ya Ya.
"Big Sister, can I really play with it for a bit?" Ya Ya asked Amy, somewhat skeptical.
"Of course you can. But even if you want to play with it, the kite is still mine. I'm just lending it to you." Amy nodded seriously, while also asserting her ownership.
"Okay, thank you, Big Sister!" Ya Ya exclaimed happily, then stretched out her little arms to Daniel. "Daddy, I want a hug too, and I want to fly a pretty big kite too!"
"Okay, Daddy will pick you up now." Daniel bent down and picked Ya Ya up, looking at Mai Ge gratefully, "Brother, thank you so much."
"The child's happiness is the most important thing." Mai Ge said with a smile, handing the reel to Daniel. Looking at Amy's smile, he also felt a warmth in his heart.
Mai Ge spent the morning playing with Amy and the Ugly Duckling in the square. Although the kite was mostly given to other children to play with later, but Amy and the other children still had a great time. The square was filled with children's laughter, and the parents' faces were beaming with smiles.
"He's such a good person. Even though he made the children cry before, but he's made them all laugh now."
"Yes, that child is so generous. If it were my child, they definitely wouldn't let anyone touch it."
The parents who knew each other whispered, looking at Mai Ge with smiles on their faces.
"Alright, time to go back for lunch." At noon, Mai Ge smiled and reeled in the kite. After all, it was a 598 kite, and Mai Ge wasn't so generous as to give it away to other children. After Amy waved goodbye to her new friends, he led her back towards the restaurant.
Passing the magic screens, Mai Ge glanced at the rankings. Braised Chicken Rice and Rou Jia Mo still led the restaurant's dishes, ranking 29th and 30th respectively. The sweet and savory tofu pudding continued to rise, reaching 43rd and 44th.
"We're closed today, so our ranking will definitely drop. If we want to stay in the top 30, we need to increase the supply of Braised Chicken Rice and Rou Jia Mo starting tomorrow. The Rou Jia Mo is almost at its limit, but we could add a clay pot to the Braised Chicken Rice." Mai Ge looked away from the rankings. His goal was simply to have one dish in the top 30, and prioritizing the dish that needed to climb the rankings was a good strategy.
...
After a day of closure, Restaurant Mai Mi's ranking on the list did indeed drop. The Braised Chicken Rice and Rou Jia Mo both fell to 38th and 39th place respectively, while the rankings of the other three dishes also declined.
"Twenty ninth! Boss, our restaurant is finally twenty ninth!" An excited voice rang out from the crowd at the magic screen, as the young waiter looked at Richie with delight and exclaimed.
"Twenty ninth! It really is twenty ninth! The twenty ninth I've been dreaming of! Hahaha! That Restaurant Mai Mi is definitely finished! It must have been caught manipulating the rankings and was removed from the list!" Richie laughed wildly, his exaggerated expression aggravating the injury on his face, causing him to grimace in pain, but he still couldn't hide his excitement.
"Tch, it's just that Boss Mai is being capricious by taking a day off every six days. Otherwise, do you think you'd still have a chance to make it into the top 30?"
"Exactly, Restaurant Mai Mi hasn't fallen off the list. Even though they sold one less day, they're still 38th or 39th. By tomorrow, they'll definitely surpass you again."
Harrison and Jergi muttered something behind them before turning and leaving.
"How...how is this possible!" Richie's smile froze instantly. His gaze turned to the second magic screen, settling on the 38th and 39th places, still with an expression of disbelief.
He thought that after contacting the merchants' union, with their influence, the restaurant would definitely be removed from the list. But to his surprise, the restaurant's ranking had only dropped because it was closed for a day.
"A restaurant with such good business wouldn't just take a break unless the owner is brain-dead. Those two guys were definitely lying to me. They must have run out of money to boost their ranking, that's why it dropped! That must be it!" Richie reassured himself. After a while, he finally looked away from the list, grumbling, "Now that it's fallen, it's absolutely impossible for it to rise again. Let's see how you surpass me this time!"
...
Mai Ge had anticipated dropping off the rankings, so when Yabemia anxiously told him his place that morning, he was somewhat surprised he hadn't fallen out of the top forty. He then quietly tricked the system into giving him a large clay pot, preparing to activate his three woks mode.
"Of course, I can't give up the Häagen-Dazs meal, but the roulette mission will be completed two days early. I'm rather curious to see what I'll spin." Mai Ge said, a hopeful smile spreading across his face as he looked at the countdown in his mind.
...
As Mai Ge predicted, the addition of a clay pot increased the supply of Braised Chicken Rice by nearly a third. Therefore, on the third day of the rankings, Braised Chicken Rice successfully climbed back into 29th place, surpassing Richie BBQ Restaurant to become 30th.
Meanwhile, the Rou Jia Mo ranking also steadily rose, reaching 32nd place. A return to the top 30 seems imminent. Richie BBQ Restaurant, currently ranked 30th, looks rather pitiful, and many are already speculating when it will be pushed off the list.
…
"Ugh! I'm so angry! My barbecue restaurant has been squeezed out again. This time, the merchants' union must give me an explanation!" Richie said, his face flushed, at the reception desk of the Aden Square Merchants' Union.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Richie, Secretary General Ma Er Si is very busy today and doesn't have time to meet with you. He asked me to tell you that you don't need to worry, the rankings have not been finalized yet, and the merchants' union never disappoints any member." a staff member said with a professional smile.
Richie opened his mouth as if to speak, but then, after a moment's thought, he obediently closed his mouth and nodded, saying, "Alright, I believe the merchants' union will uphold justice for us."
...
"Ding! Congratulations, host, for completing the 'One Tofu Pudding per Person' task! Task success reward: One Chef God Advancement Roulette Draw. Chef God Advancement Roulette Draw access is now available. Would you like to participate in the roulette now?" That evening, as soon as Mai Ge locked the restaurant door, the system's voice rang in his mind.