"Coming!" Amy immediately got up and walked over, climbing onto a chair. Looking at the steaming hot Rou Jia Mo (Chinese hamburger) in Mai Ge's hand, she saw something inside the white flatbread, and the enticing aroma made her swallow hard, her eyes lingering on it.
Mai Ge placed the plate in front of her first, then handed her the Rou Jia Mo with the open side facing up, smiling and reminding her, "Be careful, it's hot. And eat it this way first, there's a little bit of sauce."
"Mmm-hmm." Amy nodded, her little hands gripping the edge of the Rou Jia Mo, her attention completely captivated. The white flatbread had cute little circles on it, and her eyes lit up. "So pretty!"
The flatbread was filled with braised meat, and the aroma that wafted out was the smell of braised meat. Amy was already a little hungry, and the aroma made her even hungrier. She held the Rou Jia Mo in both hands and took a bite.
Crunch...
The crispy crust made a soft sound as Amy bit into the two layers of crunchy Bai Ji Mo sandwiching delicious braised meat. Her eyes lit up instantly.
This white flatbread was so soft and fluffy, easy to bite into, and tasted sweet and delicious, unlike those sweet crispy biscuits that made her teeth hurt after a while and tasted far inferior.
The best part, however, was the meat inside. One bite, and delicious juices gushed out from the tender meat, making the sweet flatbread even more flavorful—it was simply divine!
"Is it good?" Mai Ge asked expectantly, standing to the side.
"Mmm, it's so delicious! A hundred times better than the sweet crispy biscuits, no, a thousand times, ten thousand times better!" Amy nodded vigorously, holding the Rou Jia Mo and taking another big bite, chewing happily with a blissful smile on her face.
"That's good. There'll be more if you like it." Mai Ge nodded, a smile spreading across his face. Watching Amy, who was holding the Rou Jia Mo like a little squirrel, making a soft crunching sound as she bit into the crispy Bai Ji Mo, her face beaming with happiness, a sense of accomplishment welled up within him.
He felt that thirty days of tireless effort in the training grounds, getting up in the middle of the night to marinate pork, and waking up at five in the morning to make Rou Jia Mo, were all worthwhile.
Because of that smiling face, he wanted to protect it forever.
Watching Amy eat most of her Rou Jia Mo, Mai Ge went into the kitchen, took out a freshly baked Bai Ji Mo, and made one himself. Taking a bite, he found the soft, sweet Bai Ji Mo filled with juicy pork belly; although there was alternating layers of fat and lean meat, it wasn't greasy at all.
The delicious meat juices paired with the sweet Bai Ji Mo continuously assaulted the taste buds. The feeling of every bite bursting with meat was incredibly satisfying, and even after swallowing, the lingering flavor of braised meat remained on the lips and teeth.
"Delicious! It's exactly as I requested! This is truly the real La Zhi Rou Jia Mo!" Mai Ge's eyes lit up, and he took another big bite. Having gotten used to the delicate knife skills of Yang Zhou Fried Rice, eating a different kind of equally delicious food was a welcome change to refresh his taste buds.
"Daddy, Little Amy want to eat another one." After finishing one Rou Jia Mo, Amy opened her little hands and looked at Mai Ge, her face full of excitement and anticipation.
"Okay, I'll make you another one." Mai Ge smiled and nodded, setting aside the half-eaten Rou Jia Mo he was holding. While making it for Amy, he mentally asked, "System, how much do the ingredients for one Rou Jia Mo cost? Also, could you provide me with a batch of small brown paper bags? That way, customers can carry them easily, and those in a hurry can eat them on the go. Ideally, the restaurant's name should be written on them, and for the logo, just use Amy's photo, her back view will do. By the way, it's a paid service, don't be nervous."
"This pork belly is from the Shadow Boar, a species unique to the Forest Troll Territory, specifically the fifth layer of skin-on pork belly from the lower ribs…" The system began to describe in detail where the ingredients came from, even wanting to explain to Mai Ge where the salt came from.
"I'm not listening, this is just nonsense. I know these things have an extraordinary origin. All this talk is just to try and get a higher price. Just tell me the total price." Mai Ge interrupted the system. The restaurant was about to open, and he didn't have time to listen to the system rambling on.
"..." The system silently scrolled through an ellipsis, paused for a moment, and then said, "The cost of ingredients for one Rou Jia Mo is 80 copper coins. If the host needs to customize bags in large quantities, a high-end customized Rou Jia Mo bag will cost 10 copper coins."
"Who sells Rou Jia Mo bags for ten coins each? No way, 5 copper coins, take it or leave it." Mai Ge scoffed. There's nothing to say about the cost of the ingredients; they're worth the price, or rather, they're a great deal. But he won't stand for the bag to cost 10 copper coins.
"Then eight copper coins?" the system tentatively asked.
"Four copper coins." Mai Ge calmly replied.
"Okay, five! Deal!" The system answered decisively this time, adding, "Bags are being customized and will be delivered in five minutes."
"Okay." Mai Ge raised an eyebrow. He had some bargaining skills. He mentally calculated that with a cost of 85 copper coins, selling a Rou Jia Mo for 300 copper coins was about right, more affordable than Yang Zhou Fried Rice.
As for rounding up, it's obviously to make it easier for Amy to collect the money.
One Rou Jia Mo earns 215 copper coins. A batch of 16 earns 3440 copper coins. The two large dough balls just kneaded can make at least 64 Rou Jia Mo. Even if only 64 Rou Jia Mo are sold in the morning, the net profit is 13760 copper coins, which is much more profitable than Yang Zhou Fried Rice.
Mai Ge handed the finished Rou Jia Mo to the eagerly waiting Amy. He then went into the kitchen to adjust the position and temperature of the Bai Ji Mo in the oven. It was almost 7:30, and they could start business soon, so there was no need to worry about the Bai Ji Mo going to waste.
Now he just had to wait for the system to make the bags and then check if they were up to standard.
...
Outside the restaurant, Luna, dressed in a light gray cotton-linen dress, looked on with a puzzled expression. A white silk scarf draped over her shoulders, embroidered with a lily in gold thread, and her long, straight black hair flowed freely, giving her delicate face a rather intellectual air.
"Could I be mistaken? Shouldn't Amy's house be here?" Luna looked around, somewhat confused. This was the last house on Aden Square, and she remembered the sign hanging on the blacksmith shop next door.
But in her memory, what stood here was a dilapidated two-story wooden house, on the verge of collapse. She had only brought Amy back six or seven days ago, yet now it had transformed into this magnificent and beautiful restaurant. The entire wall of transparent crystal, the neatly arranged tables and chairs, and the crystal chandelier—when did such a top tier restaurant appear in Chaos City?
"Restaurant Mai Mi... Could it be!" Luna murmured, her eyes lighting up as she strode toward the restaurant entrance.