Garlic Butter Shrimp

Anty arrived at the Dragon Flame Restaurant. Ina briefly instructed her before handing her over to Dusì. Anty remembered Dusì as the older sister who served the Saintess that day. Was she now also a servant of the Saintess?

The restaurant was bustling with guests. After hearing Anty's question, Dusì hesitated for a moment, then spoke quickly, "That's right, you are now Miss Ina's servant. Our restaurant is very busy, so I might not have time to teach you in detail. Your job is simple; follow my instructions for now, and I will explain everything to you later, alright?"

Dusì jotted down an order from a mercenary, took the money, gave change, and then turned back to Anty, "The customer ordered garlic butter shrimp and tomato meat sauce pasta. The first dish is on the third shelf of the cabinet on the right-hand side. The bright red shrimp is easy to recognize. The second dish is on the fourth shelf; on the right is mushroom meat sauce, in the middle is shrimp meat sauce, and on the left is tomato meat sauce. Make sure you don't get them mixed up."

Anty listened solemnly and committed Dusì's words to memory. As soon as Dusì finished speaking, Anty darted into the kitchen like a small cannonball and accurately located the dishes.

Dusì nodded in approval, praising, "Well done, Anty. Now take the dishes to the customers." Dusì felt as if she was looking at a puppy with a frisbee in its mouth, wagging its tail excitedly.

Receiving the praise, Anty delivered the dishes with even more enthusiasm, jogging all the way. Although it was her first day on the job, she worked diligently and carefully, making no mistakes even as the customers began to leave.

Familiar townspeople who often dined there greeted Dusì, "Why has the server changed today? Is she a girl from our town? I don't think I've seen her before."

Dusì explained, "Lusen had to leave for some reason. Anty is our new server; her hometown is in a distant place. What would you like to order?"

"Um, bacon and mashed potato rolls, and a glass of fresh strawberry juice."

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Rize's days were difficult. Ina decided to speed up the construction work in the Frozen Wasteland, starting with gathering enough food.

"For the branch location, I choose - Neranka."

[Congratulations on unlocking a new branch - Neranka! Reward: 1000 achievement points!]

The Dragon Flame Restaurant's panel had become much richer compared to the beginning:

[Dragon Flame Restaurant

Branches: Frozen Wasteland, Neranka

Industries: Farm (Bathtub Farm), Ranch (50% ownership of Frank's Chicken Coop), Forestry (Tea Tree Forest), Fish Pond (Miya Fish Pond - Cold Thorn Fish, Da'ao River Shrimp)

Level: 2

Experience Points (affected by revenue and number of customers): 4148/5000

Achievement Points: 1362

Employees: Dusì, Uprooted (Lusen's magical automaton), First Strike (defense golem), Chopping Vegetables (kitchen assistant robot), Anty, The Goldfinch, Lizard

Reputation: Misty Town (10), Mercenary Guild (5), Rize Tribe (500)

Current Funds: 73 gold coins, 52 silver coins, 3 copper coins

Decorations: Small Town Style, Stone-like Fireplace, Holographic Screen, Star Shards Chandelier, Frozen Fireplace…]

Since she received another 1,000 achievement points, she decided to draw ten items before heading to the Neranka branch to have a look!

[You received: Beet Seeds☆10, 56 Copper Coins, Taro Seeds☆10, Plant Nutrient Solution★100, Ice Cream Machine Gift Set★★★☆1, 3 Silver Coins, Chef Skill Book - 100 Best-Selling Drinks★★1, Chocolate Bricks★5, Tavern Decoration - White Rose Vase☆1, 3 Copper Coins]

[Seed Store unlocked the purchase rights for beets and taro seeds!]

Ina opened the Ice Cream Machine Gift Set, and a bunch of machines jumped out: 1 Professional Soft Ice Cream Machine, 1 Multifunctional Hard Ice Cream Machine, 1 Cone Machine, and 1 Small Jam Machine.

Ice cream could now be made!

The restaurant's kitchen in Misty Town couldn't accommodate all these machines, so she decided to take them to the new branch. She had heard that Neranka had a hot and dry climate, and ice cream would undoubtedly be more popular there.

Before leaving for the new branch, Ina made sure to check whether the black cat had followed her. Last time, it tagged along to the Frozen Wasteland branch, curiously looking and sniffing around. Ina had to keep an eye on it while talking to the Rize tribespeople, and this time she definitely wouldn't bring it along.

Finally, the Neranka branch was no longer as desolate as the Frozen Wasteland branch. The store was spacious and bright, with two floors. Looking up, Ina saw a beautiful seascape that couldn't be found in Misty Town: a painting of a sunset over the sea. The vast waters were illuminated by the evening glow and the setting sun, creating magnificent colors. Above the golden waves, white seagulls soared. The sea breeze brought a faint fishy scent, instantly lifting one's spirits.

The sea view room is really nice.

"You're finally not being stingy," Ina glanced at the lease contract on the table, "Is the rent here very cheap, since you rented it for so long?"

[Compared to other big cities, it is indeed very cheap.]When Neranka was being built, the assigned officials heard that this was Duke Elvys' territory, and due to its vast area, it was constructed on the scale of a sub-capital. Only after it was completed did they discover that the Duke had no intention of returning and planned to send all the criminals from the entire empire to Neranka.

In the end, it became known as the "City of Sin." The land was vast, and the population was sparse, except in the prisons. On the streets, out of every ten people, five were recently released criminals, three were security guards, and one was a food merchant.

Ina's store had a good location, near the harbor. The busiest place here was Puerto Port, where criminals were brought in and food was shipped out.

It was convenient for her to go out and buy some food.

Ina stepped outside, and it was evening, perhaps the coolest time in Neranka. Still, the workers loading and unloading cargo on the ships at the port were sweating profusely. If her memory served her correctly, it was now winter on the Moro continent, wasn't it?

She checked out her own shop's neighbors: a shipyard repair workshop occupied half of the street to the north and a blacksmith's shop that sold magical cannons! Ina even went in for a look and found that the procedures for buying cannons were very strict, requiring various official documents. It was probably allowed for purchase to increase the self-defense capabilities of merchant ships at sea.

Ina felt her restaurant was out of place between these two, but it didn't matter. She continued exploring and saw two inns and three taverns. It seemed there would be no monopoly on business this time, unlike in Misty Town and the Frozen Wasteland, where Dragon Flame Restaurant was the only option.

Walking some distance away from the harbor, Ina finally found a food store near a residential area.

"One pound for only seven copper coins?"

"Yes, regular quality flour is seven copper coins per pound. This finer ground flour here is ten copper coins per pound. Beans are five copper coins per pound, and oats and rye are both three copper coins per pound. What do you need?" The store clerk, puzzled by the presence of a young noblewoman in the food store, introduced the products professionally.

Ina had just changed her appearance. Platinum blonde hair was still eye-catching, but not as attention-grabbing as the smoky pink color. The deep blue dress was embroidered with silver threads, forming an unknown ballad, like a love poem written in the night sky.

Ina silently calculated the prices. Even if she bought the highest quality flour, one pound would cost ten copper coins, and a thousand pounds would only cost one gold coin. Having spent a long time in the high-priced Misty Town, Ina realized the purchasing power of gold coins in Neranka.

"I'd like 5 tons of this higher-quality flour."

The clerk nearly tripped, "How much?"

"In addition to the flour, I also need one ton of crushed barley and two tons of rice," Ina noticed nuts being sold on the side, "I'll take all of these too."

The clerk hastily noted Ina's requirements and checked the inventory of the store, saying hesitantly, "Miss, we don't have enough fine flour in stock right now, but we can prepare it soon. Would you like to wait or..."

Ina put down a gold coin, "Deliver it to my shop, please. It's located between the repair workshop and the blacksmith's shop near the port. This is the deposit."

It's indeed more enjoyable to spend the money you earn.

The clerk collected the gold coin on the counter and watched Ina's receding figure, puzzled. She looked like a noble young lady; why would she think of opening a shop in Neranka? He wondered if she could make enough money in a year to afford the dress she was wearing. But it was doesn't matter, being a noble, they could do whatever they wanted.

By now, it was already getting dark, and many shops had closed for the day. Ina had no choice but to return to her new store.

She bought a new sign from a decoration shop and still wrote Dragon Flame Restaurant on it. She also carefully selected a few decorative items: [Tea Party Sheer Curtains], [Dreamy Fairy Chandelier], [Floral Wreath Wall Decor], and the newly-acquired White Rose Vase. The shop now looked quite cozy.

"It looks like a wedding venue." Ina looked around and felt something was a bit odd.

Never mind, let her eat an ice cream to calm down. Ina went back to Misty Town to get the milk, cream, eggs, and sugar needed for making ice cream and instantly returned to Neranka.

Dusì was busy registering the food inventory records. Recently, the boss bought more smoked meat, milk, and sausages from Keira

. Now, Keira's husband had to make several deliveries every day.

She saw the writing under her pen turn red for a moment and then turn back to black the next second. She knew the boss had just returned but left again very quickly.

Lately, Miss Ina had become increasingly busy, and many matters of the Dragon Flame restaurant were handed over to Dusì. In addition to registering food ingredients, selling dishes, and recording accounts, she also had to estimate daily customer flow so Ina could prepare dishes in advance. Although Anty had joined as an assistant, she was still new to the restaurant's affairs and couldn't help much more, leaving Dusì somewhat overwhelmed these days.

After recording all the information, Dusì put down her pen. The mushrooms in the mushroom cultivation room should be ripe by now, and she wondered which kind they were today.

Frank had been waiting nearby for a while. He didn't urge his daughter but looked at the black cat lying lazily by the fireplace, "Little sweet, Miss Ina is not here, and you'll be leaving soon too. Will this cat sneak into the kitchen to steal food?"

Dusì's voice came vaguely from another room, "Don't worry, it can't get into the kitchen."

Elvys recalled his whiskers being burnt by the magic array when he tried to sneak into the kitchen last time and flicked his tail in resentment. Ever since he followed Ina to that icy and snowy place, she had become very cautious about him and no longer let him get close.

He still couldn't figure out why the Rize people called Ina a goddess. Was it a Rize goddess who came to Misty Town to open a restaurant, or did the restaurant owner who went to the Rize become a goddess? Elvys felt there must be something fishy going on.

On the way home, Frank worried about his exhausted daughter, "Can you handle it all? Should we suggest to Miss Ina to hire another waiter?"

Dusì 's eyes sparkled, "Dad, I can totally handle it. You don't know the satisfaction of managing a restaurant. It's a very interesting thing, like planting an unknown seed and waiting for the harvest in the autumn, expecting surprises. I feel like I'm perfecting a chain that connects everything and eventually makes it the most popular restaurant in town."

Frank could only say, "As long as you're happy, my sweet."