Zhāng 74

"Sir, would you like the food to be served now or later?" Waiter Erin asked after bringing Paige to the private room.

"Serve it now. And also bring me a whole table of those pastries. Give me a food box too. I'll pay for it all later."

Paige thought those pastries were quite tasty.

They'd make nice snacks when she wasn't hungry.

"Right away." Waiter Erin responded cheerfully and swiftly closed the door.

Not long after, Waiter Erin knocked on the door again.

The tray he carried was full of pastries, and he began placing plate after plate on the table.

There were sixteen plates in total.

Each of the eight types of pastries came in two servings.

Paige nodded to herself. Not bad, very thoughtful.

"Food box is here. I'll leave you to it," Waiter Erin said, setting the box aside.

"Wait, this is for you." Paige placed five yuan on the tray.

Waiter Erin grinned widely, showering Paige with compliments as he left.

He praised her so much it made her feel like she was floating in joy.

No wonder people love hearing nice words. It really is pleasant.

After eating two pieces of pastry, Paige stored the rest in her space, using plates from her storage and sealing them in a cabinet.

She placed the two energy cores she hadn't used up last time into the cabinet.

One of them had already dulled in color. Paige didn't know how long it would last.

To avoid running out of energy without warning, she placed two in just to be safe.

She had already thought of the cabinet's placement. It would serve as a boundary line.

Later she would build a wall behind the cabinet. On the other side would be her farm and ranch, with fields and hills.

On this side of the cabinet would be her storage zone.

The cars, cannons, guns, and ammunition captured from the PN Soldiers—things that wouldn't spoil anytime soon—would all be stored here.

The cabinet would be the preservation area.

Once the rest of the empty cabinets were ready, she would neatly organize bags of rice, flour, canned food, and other supplies.

She would stick a label on the outside to mark the item name, so she wouldn't even need to look inside to know where everything was.

Paige smiled to herself as she imagined it.

Knock knock knock. The knocking interrupted Paige's pleasant daydream.

"Come in." Paige sat at the table, expressionless.

Waiter Erin walked in with four plates of freshly cooked dishes.

He paused for a moment after stepping inside, then calmly placed the plates down and collected the sixteen now-empty pastry plates, which were stacked neatly and spotless.

"Enjoy your meal." Waiter Erin bowed and exited, closing the door behind him.

Paige appreciated this waiter.

He had good sense, didn't talk too much, and knew what to say and what not to say.

Even behind her back, he never gossiped about her.

The four dishes were simple stir-fries. Paige changed to another plate and placed the food into her space.

When Waiter Erin came back, all he saw were four empty plates. Paige still held her chopsticks and was picking at the food—not to eat, just for fun.

He quietly replaced the dishes and took the empty plates without comment.

Trip after trip followed. Only the dishes Paige truly wanted to eat would still have food on them.

"Bring me a bucket of rice. Also, bring two more food boxes," Paige said.

"Customer, if your friends aren't coming, I can help cancel the dishes that haven't been made yet. You can come again to eat next time," Waiter Erin reminded.

"No need. I'll pack it and take it to them. Keep serving the dishes. Also, remember to include a big bucket of rice. Count that bucket on my bill," Paige said.

"Customer, I'll first bring you a big bowl. Once the dishes are all ready, I'll bring the bucket of rice, or it might get cold by the time all the dishes are done," Waiter Erin said.

"That works. Bring me a big bowl of rice first." Paige had been working all morning and was hungry.

Doing both physical and verbal work to earn a salary wasn't easy.

Paige started devouring her food.

She kept the dishes she wanted to eat. The ones she wasn't that interested in, she finished completely.

Back and forth many times, Waiter Erin was nearly worn out.

There were dozens of dishes just sent in.

While clearing plates, Waiter Erin secretly glanced at Paige's belly.

Flat. He couldn't figure out where she put all that food.

On the final trip, Waiter Erin brought in the last six dishes and a big bucket of rice.

Paige placed the six dishes directly into the food containers, left the money, and walked out with two food containers in one hand and a rice bucket with another food container in the other.

"Customer, where are you delivering this? We can help carry it, or call a rickshaw for you," Waiter Erin quickly offered.

"No need. It's just a short walk. A little post-meal exercise." The rest of the containers were empty.

Only that bucket of rice and the last container had food.

To Paige, it wasn't heavy at all.

She found a quiet corner and put the food into her cabinet.

She set the food containers aside.

The bucket of rice went on the very bottom shelf. That was part of her plan from the start.

Bottom layer for the rice bucket, second and third layers for soup bowls, and the top layers for plates of dishes.

Ten layers in total, with plenty of space.

Even if it wasn't enough, she could just make more cabinets.

Paige glanced at the small hills. It looked like she could pause building the ones with shelves.

She needed to prepare some empty cabinets to store grains. It would be a shame if they went bad.

With so much grain in the space, it could feed her for over ten years. If not kept fresh, it would all spoil eventually.

Paige suddenly remembered—if she grew crops or fruit trees later, she'd need storage too.

Fresh fruits and vegetables were even more valuable. Should she stack them on shelves or put them in baskets?

Forget it. The fruit trees hadn't even been planted yet. No need to think about it now.

She still hadn't figured out how to move those hills into the space.

When she returned to the villa, the butler immediately came up to report.

"Miss, the first batch of cabinets has already been placed in the warehouse. Do we need someone to move them, or what?" Butler Zhang asked.

"No need. Someone will pick them up. You just focus on making sure they're placed properly.

Also, once this batch with shelves is done, start making completely sealed empty cabinets.

No limit on the quantity. I'll let you know when we no longer need them." Paige handed Butler Zhang a thick stack of money after speaking.

The cabinets in the warehouse were already sitting in Paige's space. There was no need for Butler Zhang to move them anywhere.

"Understood, Miss," Butler Zhang replied respectfully.

"The two young masters have returned. They're waiting for you in the living room," Butler Zhang added.

"Got it." Paige waved and went to find Winn and Uziel.