Surplus Roosters

The fish in the Midnight Swamp didn't seem to be interested in small prey, so the fishing rod with shrimp head bait was not as effective as a simple tail. However, Ina didn't leave empty-handed. A huge-toothed rabbit, nearly a meter long, tried to attack her from behind. Ina gladly accepted this meal that came right to her doorstep and decided to have roasted rabbit for lunch.

The menu for Dragon Flame Restaurant this morning included fried shrimp balls, enoki bacon rolls, and seafood soup. The system finally realized that Ina would not accept its suggested retail prices and silently erased that line.

The golden shrimp balls were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with the sweetness of river shrimp wrapped in breadcrumbs, released the moment the outer shell was bitten. It would be even better if they had freshwater chestnuts. Diced water chestnuts would add a delicate fragrance and sweetness and help lock in the rich shrimp juice. Once the water chestnut seeds were unlocked, Ina wanted to make fried shrimp balls again.

The bacon was fried until it released its grease, and the enoki mushrooms were fried until both sides were slightly charred. The seasoning was added according to preference, such as pepper or sweet bean sauce. Keira chose all, and even though she smoked the bacon herself, she couldn't figure out how it ended up being so salty and dry when she made it. It was never as delicious as it was in the restaurant.

After the mercenaries took a sip of seafood soup, the tender fish slices lingered between their lips and teeth, melting away with just a gentle bite. The next mouthful featured chewy, delicious river clam meat. The soup also had some porcini mushrooms, basil leaves, and cinnamon powder added to enhance the umami flavor. The knowledgeable mercenaries recognized the porcini mushrooms in the soup and were puzzled. Such a precious ingredient typically found only on the tables of nobles, also appeared in their dishes, and there were so many precious spices in the soup.

If the previous restaurant owner had been willing to add even a tiny bit of spices to the dishes, he wouldn't have made the ingredients taste so bad.

[During your absence, employee [Lusen] served 15 customers, sold 19 servings of food, had a turnover of 9 silver coins and 30 copper coins, gained 298 restaurant experience points, and increased 65 achievement points.]

Ina was stunned by the sight before her as she walked into the restaurant carrying the rabbit. The small restaurant was almost full, and she not only saw familiar faces from yesterday but also several mercenaries.

In the past few days, quite a few mercenaries had come to the small town, but none of them had visited the restaurant, except for Simon on the first day of opening. Ina guessed it was because of the "reputation" of the previous owner that the mercenaries hadn't dared to visit, but she didn't expect them to change their minds today.

Lusen pulled Ina into the kitchen sneakily, "There's a fight going on!" Ina became alert, "Who? Did they damage anything in the restaurant?"

Lusen quickly shook his head, "No, not that kind of fight. The winner announced today is Keira's neighbor." This was quite normal since Kira had brought many of her neighbors to the restaurant, and there hadn't been many customers yesterday afternoon, so the chances of winning were high. "After Ms. Hana learned about this, she pre-deposited a gold coin here."

Lusen opened his hand, and the laurel leaf pattern on the gold coin in his palm shimmered.

"Mercenaries who buy bread from Hana will receive a small piece of dough as a token. If they bring the dough to the restaurant, they can have a free dish worth no more than one silver coin, and the money will be deducted from Hana's account. In return, the chances of winning in the lottery must be transferred to Hana, and her name must be written on the paper strip," Lusen frowned with concern, wondering if this could be considered cheating.

"How can you tell if the dough was given by Hana or if the mercenaries made it themselves?" Ina didn't want to cause disputes.

Lusen tore apart a piece of dough, revealing a small stone inside. "The mercenaries don't know there's a stone inside, and besides, they can't forge the dough. No mercenary would carry flour with them, and the grocery store selling flour in town is also Hana's business. She would definitely notice any strange mercenaries buying flour. Moreover, I heard that Keira has the same idea, and she also has a smoked meat shop."

Hana and Keira were competing against each other. Ina's eyes lit up, as this competition between two big spenders would ultimately benefit her, the event planner. The restaurant had been promoted among both the townspeople and the mercenaries. Seeing the reluctant gazes of the mercenaries when they left, and some even ordering more food after enjoying the dishes given by Hana, Ina felt grateful to both Hana and Keira.

In the end, Ina said, "The lottery event is not a fight, and I am not a referee. If someone voluntarily gives up their chances, we cannot stop them."

In just one morning, the prepared breakfast that Ina had stored in the refrigerator cabinet was sold out. There were no ingredients left for the fried shrimp balls, so Lusen removed the dish from the small blackboard menu and temporarily replaced it with fang potatoes.

It wasn't until the mercenaries entered the Midnight Swamp and the townspeople who had eaten breakfast went back to work that Ina and Lusen finally had a moment to rest.

"It's a miracle, Miss Ina. You brought a dying restaurant back to life," Lusen admired Ina. He and his mentor, Professor Derrick, came to Misty Town every year to buy materials, so he knew very well how the previous owner of the Dragon Flame Restaurant had squandered its potential.

From being the town's only restaurant offering vegetables and the top choice for mercenaries to becoming a vegetable shop (even though the prices remained the same, the townspeople would rather buy raw vegetables than eat here). In less than a week, since Ina took over, there had been encouraging progress, which greatly impressed Lusen.

"It's not on the verge of closing; it had already closed," Ina sighed. She didn't believe the system's nonsense about "Mr. Richard, a friend of your cousin's uncle's maternal grandfather's aunt, gave you the Dragon Flame Restaurant."

Upon questioning, Ina learned that the previous owner of the restaurant had simply run away! The system had picked up an unwanted restaurant for her to manage. "No one will suddenly appear in the future and try to take back the Dragon Flame Restaurant, right?" Ina felt like slaughtering the system.

"Absolutely not! I assure you, the restaurant will always belong to you. The promise to waive all taxes and rents on your shops will also be valid!" The system's assurance was resolute, but it was vague about the crucial details.

"Really? You're not going to pick up unwanted shops for me everywhere, are you?"

"Why would you think that..." The system laughed awkwardly and didn't want to respond further, no matter how much Ina called out.

Ina cursed the system hundreds of times in her heart, then turned to Lusen, who was tidying the counter, "How much money do we have now?" Searching for ingredients and cooking had taken up most of Ina's energy, leaving her no time to sort out the accounts. The finances of the restaurant were a mess. However, Ina trusted Lusen, and there was no reason for him to embezzle such a small amount of money.

As soon as she said it, she regretted it. She could simply check the balance of the restaurant's funds in the property column. However, Lusen was already counting the money, and the sound of the coins clinking was pleasing to Ina's ears, so she didn't stop him.

"We now have 1 gold coin, 28 silver coins, and 90 copper coins," Lusen counted and pointed to the gold coin, "Of which 86 silver coins and 15 copper coins are not ours." That was the portion of the gold coin pre-deposited by Hana that had not been spent yet.

So, the restaurant had made a profit of about 42 silver coins in the past few days. Considering that the restaurant's turnover was less than 60 silver coins, the profit margin was astonishingly high. This was all thanks to the zero-cost ingredients Ina had acquired, Lusen as a free employee, and Ina as a free chef. Apart from purchasing some simple tableware at a kitchenware store, buying vegetable seeds at a seed store, and purchasing a small amount of flour and milk, the restaurant had hardly any other expenses.

Although the profit margin was high, this business model was not worth recommending. Just as the nomadic model was never as stable as the agricultural model, Ina could not guarantee that the "Prey" would be enough for the restaurant's consumption every day.

A mission scroll suddenly unfolded before Ina:

[Random Side Quest 0-1: Surplus Roosters

Difficulty: ★☆

Reward: Unknown

Progress: 0

Task Requirements: A weak figure is wandering outside the restaurant. Please approach her and ask about her troubles!]

"Is there anything I can help with?" Ina leaned against the door and spoke to the girl squatting outside the restaurant's wall. The girl looked up, her messy gray hair framing her thin face that showed no obvious emotions.

Ina couldn't see any signs of distress, and the girl clearly wasn't seeking help. Her eyes were calm, devoid of any desperation or begging.

The gray-haired girl stood up and slowly walked towards Ina – she had a limp on one of her legs.

"Miss, do you need chickens for your restaurant? Very healthy, plump roosters," the gray-haired girl used the most exaggerated compliments she could think of to promote her chickens to Ina.

"Of course, but I need to make sure that your chickens come from a legitimate source and are indeed healthy."

"My father raises the chickens; there's absolutely no problem," the girl spoke faster, and her eyes sparkled with more confidence.

"Then, let's go and have a look."