Cooking - 689

Skymender responded quickly. "I'm not quite sure. Hopefully, I can decide after we talk." 

The Fatty's father nodded. "Alright. Well let me help you decide then. First, would you rather sell a product commonly, or to the few with vast wealth? If you choose the first, you can, for example, gain a gold from ten thousand people. If you choose the second, you can, for example, gain 1000 gold from ten people."

Skymender thought. "Preferably a common product that can be bought by anyone, though perhaps a better version for the wealthy."

The Fatty's father nodded. "That is where most people's thoughts go, but 99% of the time, they can only choose one of the two. It seems like between them, you would rather have ten thousand people give one gold."

Skymender affirmed his conjecture.

"Then what are you good at? Food, cleaning, managing? What you are good at will decide what category of product you should sell, even if just at the start."

Skymender thought for a while. His first thoughts naturally went to assassination and poison, but he quickly shut those down. 

Instead, his mind moved towards other skills. He was well versed in just about every type of knowledge available in the Empire, which covered most of what was in the world.

However, most of his knowledge was in the area of materials. Naturally, this went with poisons but it could also go with other things.

Plant materials were a big part of poisons, and he had studied those deeper than most. Skymender finally had an answer.

"I think I want to create a restaurant." He said.

The Fatty's father nodded. "I can't say I have any knowledge in that industry, but in terms of business itself, I can no doubt help you. Now, I hate to bring this up, but helping you would take time out of my busy schedule."

Skymender waved his hand, stopping him. "Naturally, you will be compensated. Money is not a problem."

The Fatty's father nodded. They could discuss exact amounts later.

"When you have a product, come back to me and we can start. If you are going to open up a restaurant, three or more products is the minimum to start with."

Skymender nodded. Thanking the Fatty's father, he left.

The conversation had lasted a while, and when he left, he saw the Fatty at the door. He was covered in sweat and struggling to walk, but he seemed an inch skinnier. 

Skymender was astonished.

The Fatty nodded his head at him, too tired to speak, and entered the door.

Skymender realized why the door was so big. Otherwise, the Fatty would never get through.

Skymender shook his head and left. There was definitely something wrong with the Fatty's body, but it was none of his business.

Skymender began to research in his house's kitchen, combining different plants and meats to make foods. His knowledge on how plants related to cooking was low, but it quickly increased. Perhaps due to his already vast knowledge of plants, he progressed extremely quickly. It took him three days to create his first dish.

He had to admit that making poison was far, far harder.

Skymender's dish used steak and a few seasonings and sauces to create a unique, slightly spicy taste. Melly was his taste tester, and she clearly enjoyed it.

Skymender kept the recipe with him, though he had naturally memorized it, and continued his study. After another three days, he created another dish, this one using chicken. It was equally good.

Another three days, another three days, another three days. Soon, Skymender had five dishes, essentially unique.

His cooking skill was mediocre, though his fire control was great. He had thrown in some poison concocting techniques while cooking, bumping up the taste of his food.

Most importantly, he was able to make great combinations of plants, spices, seasonings, and sauces to create five incredible dishes. If his cooking skill was better, it would be even greater. 

He made his way to the Fatty's house. He knocked on his door, and the Fatty's father greeted him.

"Back already? Have you changed your mind?" He asked.

Skymender shook his head. "I've already created five dishes."

The Fatty's father looked surprised, and deep inside was some suspicion. "Are they unique and good tasting?"

Skymender nodded.

"Alright then, let's make you a restaurant."

He invited Skymender inside, who accepted his invitation.

The Fatty's father pulled out some paper and handed Skymender a writing utensil.

"Go ahead and draw what you think up."

Skymender nodded and brainstormed. Naturally, this would be going in the commoner district. It would be a hundred times cheaper to build there than in the noble district, and a hundred times was a conservative estimate.

Skymender began to draw.

Eventually, he had a three story building in front of him. The first level was large, big enough to accommodate at least 50 tables.

The second floor was big enough to accommodate ten, assuming they were spread out.

The top floor was big enough to hold three tables, and they would be spread far apart, giving privacy to each guest.

It was not utterly huge, but it was around four times the size of an average shop around the commoner district, and that was not including the higher floors.

Considering he was a noble, it was by no means ridiculous, and by far not the biggest building in the commoner district.

The Fatty's father nodded. "I see the vision. Do you have the money to build it?" 

"I do." Skymender said. 

"Good. Then let's decide a location and contact some construction workers. With a good crew, it should take a month to build, assuming you pay well."

Skymender nodded. As a noble, they would charge less and work harder.

He eventually chose a rather expensive plot of land at a frequently visited area. It was near one of the major commoner marketplaces, though not exactly in that area.

With the help of the Fatty's father, a representative of a construction company came and met Skymender a few hours later.