His hotpot dinner is still cooking! The potato slices and lettuce are almost mushy!
Ye Xu hurriedly delivered the potato slices to the guest's table and ran back to turn off the stove. As she picked up the slotted spoon to scoop out all the ingredients and set them aside, she suddenly realized she hadn't given the slotted spoon to the guest.
Looking back, two unfortunate Western natives were struggling to pick at lotus root slices in the pot with chopsticks. Lotus root was the easiest ingredient to get out; lettuce was basically left to chance, and potatoes were impossible to pick up.
Ye Xu slapped his forehead in frustration. Damn it, he'd forgotten about the fork and spoon too.
Ye Xu quickly scooped up the cooked ingredients, not even bothering to eat, and carried the strainer back to the kitchen. The strainer, covered in chili oil, was difficult to clean, and the kitchen detergent was borrowed from the rented apartment's kitchen; there was only a little left, so she had to use it sparingly, as she didn't have any points to buy detergent at the moment.
This is where the wisdom of a good homemaker comes in handy. Ye Xu glanced at the box of toilet paper in the corner.
This is a discounted pack of toilet paper he bought during the 618 shopping festival. He expects it to last him a whole year. Although it's not as convenient as facial tissues, it's cheaper. He's always worried about how to cover the labels on facial tissues when he keeps them in the store, but with unpackaged toilet paper, he doesn't have to worry at all. The locals at Xihuan don't think toilet paper is low-class.
Ye Xu took out a roll. He had put the half-used roll in his bedroom upstairs, and it would be too much trouble to get it now.
For heavily oiled pots, you can boil them with diluted dish soap for a stronger cleaning effect. For heavily oiled bowls and chopsticks, Ye Xu prefers a lazy way: first wipe off the surface oil with a paper towel, and then rinse them.
Normally, one wipe like this will remove all oil residue, and a quick rinse with water is all it takes to store it away. If there's still too much oil left and one sheet of paper isn't enough, you can use another sheet or a little dish soap.
Of course, this method only works for vegetable oil; it doesn't clean lard very well, especially semi-solidified lard. If boiling dish soap water still doesn't get it clean, you can squeeze a large amount of dish soap onto a scouring pad and scrub the pot directly. This is quite effective, but it uses up a lot of dish soap.
Until he had enough money to unlock the dishwasher or hire a dishwasher, Ye Xu decided not to buy the beef tallow hot pot. He was in charge of washing the pot now, and thinking about how difficult it was to clean after eating hot pot, why make things harder for himself? Wasn't a simple spicy hot pot with clear oil just as delicious?
Ye Xu's mind was filled with a jumble of random thoughts, but his hands moved with remarkable speed. He quickly washed the strainer, then dug out spoons and forks that hadn't been used in a long time and washed them three times before drying them and delivering them, along with the toilet paper, to the guest's table.
After leaving Shuangshuang to help explain how to use the toilet paper, Yexu went back to continue cutting potatoes.
Shuangshuang only remembered this when she saw the fork, and covered her chubby face in embarrassment. She had been chatting with the guests for a long time without even noticing how much trouble they were having eating hot pot; she was indeed a terrible helper.
Feeling she had made many mistakes today, Shuangshuang quietly clenched her fist, warning herself never to repeat them. She eagerly flew over, took the strainer, and began helping the guests scoop out the cooked ingredients.
Whenever Ye Xu was almost finished cutting a plate of potatoes, Shuangshuang would automatically fly in to take the plate. At first, Ye Xu didn't dare let her carry it, afraid that it was too heavy and would hurt her, or that the plate would be knocked over.
Wasting food is secondary; we can simply wash it and set it aside for him to deal with later. The main issue is that the plates were taken from the rented apartment, and the quantity is limited. Every broken plate is one less available, and it's better to minimize unnecessary expenses during the startup phase.
However, Shuangshuang proved her strength with her actions. She was not a weak little elf. Even with a plate on her head, she flew steadily and quickly, and delivered food very efficiently. She was indeed the manager's capable assistant.
By the time Ye Xu had finished cutting all the potatoes, it was completely dark outside. The heavy snow continued to fall, and the dim light from the magic streetlights, reflecting off the snow, made the entire street appear as bright as day.
After serving the last plate of potatoes, Ye Xu could finally sit down and rest for a while. Although it wasn't appropriate to eat in front of guests, he was about to go hungry if he didn't eat soon, which would be very harmful to his stomach. So Ye Xu turned the heater back on and brought the soup pot to a boil.
The ingredients that had been fished out earlier had cooled down, but Ye Xu didn't fuss. He just reheated them briefly in the pot and ate them. The temperature was just right, and he devoured most of the ingredients in no time.
Ye Xu had originally wanted to invite Shuangshuang to come and eat with them, but Shuangshuang said she wasn't hungry and it was okay if she didn't eat. Ye Xu had no choice but to fill her own stomach first and leave some food for her.
The monk looked at the abundant array of ingredients on his table with extreme envy, and the pungent aroma rising again from the boiling water only intensified her craving. If she hadn't already eaten so many potatoes and was almost full, she might have come over and feigned pitifulness again.
The two customers ate quickly, and not long after Ye Xu put down his chopsticks, they finished their meal. After they were full, the mage took the initiative to pay the bill, so Ye Xu had to go to the cashier with his full stomach and retrieve their bill.
The two of them consumed over seven hundred copper coins' worth of food during this meal, equivalent to seven silver coins.
However, such prices are only expensive for ordinary people. Adventurers earn at least one silver coin a day, and when their income is good, they can afford to eat here every day. Of course, this is also related to the fact that they don't order too many expensive ingredients.
Ye Xu calmly accepted all the silver and copper coins, trying not to think about how low the cost of this hotpot was. The interdimensional shops were simply too profitable, and he couldn't find a suitable way to lower the price. He could only make this money for now and see if there was a way to donate it to help ordinary people later.
After all, for the dimensional system, currency is worthless; what's valuable are points. Currency only has one use: purchasing goods. At most, it can be distributed to the store manager and employees so they can use it to buy things they like outside, so even if you earn too much, you can't use it all.
Ye Xu had secretly decided to remain bound to the system indefinitely. Shuangshuang said that as long as he didn't choose to unbind, he could remain the manager of the interdimensional shop forever. In this way, currency became dispensable to him; enough to stock the shop was sufficient.
Ye Xu possessed a certain Chinese integrity: when poor, one should cultivate one's own virtue; when successful, one should benefit all under heaven. Since he had the ability, he couldn't remain indifferent. The cold wave of the Transi Continent shouldn't just be a tool for him to make money; he had used it to complete his mission, so he should do something to give back to the people.
"Boss." The monk took the free mint from Ye Xu, but didn't eat it right away. He called out mournfully.
Ye Xu subconsciously took a step back, looking at her warily: "Let's talk this out."
The nun didn't mind. She pointed to Ye Xu's hot pot table and asked, "It's officially opening tomorrow. Will we be able to eat those dishes then?"
That's really impossible. Unlocking so many foods requires a lot of points. The mage and warrior only contributed a little over two hundred points from this meal, which is enough to unlock at most two kinds of vegetables or one kind of meat. The system is too greedy. The prices are so high, yet it only charges points and doesn't allow bargaining.
"Well, let's wait a few days. By then, there should be a wider variety of ingredients," Ye Xu said tactfully.
The monk understood, and she sighed, "Forget it, your place is so expensive, I couldn't afford to eat here every day."
Before the cold snap, adventurers of mage level could earn several silver coins a day and live a carefree life. But now, the number of wild animals in the nearby mountains and forests is decreasing, and suitable mercenary missions are scarce. Mages' income has plummeted, and they have only earned 1 silver coin for several days in a row.
A meal costs 7 silver coins, and the mage has to save up for a week to eat there once a week, not counting her other expenses over those seven days.
Upon hearing this, Ye Xu immediately prioritized unlocking inexpensive staple food ingredients, such as noodles.
Due to the cold wave, the continent of Transience is currently cultivating a special type of winter wheat that is extremely cold-resistant, as a staple food for the common people. If it weren't for this crop, the current world would have long been rife with starvation. The fact that people can still complain about eating bread every day is truly a blessing from Lady Luck.
The bread is also made with wheat flour, so the price of noodles and fried dough sticks can be very low, which ordinary people can afford, let alone adventurers.
To encourage these two repeat customers to come back often, Ye Xu said, "The store isn't ready yet today. Tomorrow's menu will include many cheap, filling, and delicious ingredients. Come and see for yourself."
"Really?" The monk looked at Ye Xu with some skepticism, then decided to trust him this time. "Then I'll come first thing tomorrow morning. What time do you open for business?"
Ye Xu was stumped. How would he know what time the natives usually got up for breakfast? He also needed to prepare the ingredients in advance for the hot pot, so he had to get up even earlier than the natives.
Sigh, another day of desperately wanting a skewer machine and a vegetable cutter, but unfortunately, I don't have the money.
Seemingly noticing Ye Xu's predicament, the monk offered, "It's too cold now, and we can't get up in the morning at all. We usually go out for breakfast around ten o'clock, and sometimes we even eat lunch together. As soon as it gets dark, we prepare dinner. If it doesn't snow at night, we might go out to buy some late-night snacks."
The mage didn't ask Ye Xu why he knew nothing. She figured he was probably a young master from a noble family, opening a shop to experience life. Otherwise, why would he use expensive insulated magic patterns and glass doors, yet price his food so cheaply? Explaining it wouldn't do her any good; the mage was more than happy for Ye Xu to keep the shop open.
Ye Xu roughly understood the situation and nodded gratefully: "Thank you! I'll open at ten o'clock tomorrow, remember to come and support me!"
"No problem!" The mage unwrapped the thin paper-like candy coating, popped the mint into his mouth, and happily called the warrior away.
Pushing open the glass door, the monk felt the cold air outside and shivered. She opened her mouth to say something, but a gust of cold wind blew in, chilling her to the bone more than ever before. Finally, she belatedly realized that she shouldn't eat mints in the dead of winter.
The monk turned back and gave Ye Xu a mournful look: "Boss, let's change the candy next time."
Ye Xu shrugged. What else besides mints could freshen breath? He couldn't think of anything.
Or should we just stop insisting on fresh breath? Anyway, it's so cold, and people don't really greet each other when they meet on the street. I'm worried about swallowing a mouthful of cold air, so giving some milk candy to relieve the spiciness is fine.
Chapter 5 Calculation
After seeing the guests off, Ye Xu quickly returned to the table to tally up the profits from this deal.
There's not much to report, just a little over two hundred points and seven hundred copper coins. But the money is secondary; the important thing is completing the corresponding achievement task.
Ye Xu had always wanted to get points to buy machines and employee coupons to hire employees, both of which could be achieved through achievement tasks. The stingy system didn't give out newbie gift packs, but there was an experience level in the achievement section. Each time he leveled up, he would receive a gift pack containing a large number of points and a small number of employee coupons.
Since he hadn't been in this world for very long, Ye Xu hadn't had time to study the system panel carefully. He hadn't planned to open for business today either. According to his initial plan, he should have thoroughly figured out the basic functions tonight, tried operating for a day tomorrow to see how things went, and then adjusted his strategy.
In this unfamiliar new dimension, everything had to be figured out gradually. Ye Xu didn't expect to be inundated with customers from the very first day; instead, he was prepared to suffer losses for the first ten days.
Shuangshuang sat across from me eating hot pot, glancing up every now and then at what the manager was doing. She looked like a little girl, and her tastes were very similar to a child's; she liked the sweet and sour tomato broth.
After finishing all the food on the table, Shuangshuang imitated the shop manager and sprawled out on a small bed made of toilet paper, happily kicking her chubby little legs up and down.
"Manager, are you looking at the achievements section?" Shuangshuang asked.
Ye Xu nodded: "There are 1,000 points in the gift pack. If I can get a few more, I can unlock everything I want."
Unlocking any machine in the store requires at least 500 points. Ye Xu's ideal scenario is to acquire an automatic skewer machine and a sterilizer in the short term, along with at least one employee each for chopping vegetables and washing dishes. The dishwasher could also be replaced with a high-tech dishwasher produced by the system; if the dishwasher has a sterilization function, it would save some money.
Regardless, the disinfection cabinet definitely needs to be arranged as soon as possible.
At home, washing dishes and utensils is sufficient; disinfection isn't always necessary. However, those in the food service industry should be mindful of hygiene. Even if the original inhabitants of this world don't care about hygiene, one cannot justify making money through dishonest means.
Ye Xu opened the points mall, searched for his desired machine, and took a look. He found that 500 was the lowest price, and there was also an upgraded version with a higher price. He frowned and looked for a long time before finally finding the "trade-in" service in the corner. As long as he paid the difference, he could upgrade to the upgraded version for free. This was a rare and generous offer.
After confirming that the event would last at least another ten years, Ye Xu felt relieved and added the sterilizer and skewer machine to his shopping cart.
I just checked, and dishwashers with sterilization functions require at least four upgrades, and the points needed for each upgrade increase, which is not cost-effective. The dishwasher's capacity isn't very large either; he might as well buy a sterilizing cabinet and hire a dishwasher, and then add a dishwasher later when he has more spare money.
Ye Xu was really annoyed by the system's token system, where everything required points to pay. Unlocking items aside, annual shipping fees, store utility bills, and so on, all required points.
However, this also means that the cost of hot pot can be excluded from the price. After all, diners expend emotional energy while enjoying the food, offsetting these expenses, so charging more money makes no sense.
The amount of points you can earn is uncontrollable, unlike currency which is easily manipulated. The number of points you earn is determined by the emotions your customers evoke. The best way to earn more is to increase the number of customers you serve; the more people, the more points you earn.
Perhaps we could increase the level of enjoyment through promotional offers? Ye Xu opened his memo app, noted this down, and prepared to try it next time.
After completing his first transaction, Ye Xu finished several tasks, earning a total of 8 experience points, which was 2 points short of leveling up. Since unlocking new types of ingredients, drinks, and other items could grant unlocking experience, he quickly filled the progress bar and received his first gift pack.
The gift pack includes 1,000 points, 3 food vouchers, and 1 employee voucher.
The employee vouchers can be used to hire employees, but you must pay them a monthly salary. Otherwise, the employees might run away, and they will never return the vouchers before leaving.
Employee coupons are currently only obtainable through upgrade packs and in-game purchases. Purchasing in-game purchases requires 10 million points, which is an astronomical figure. Ye Xu immediately closed the window after reading it, feeling unworthy of the offer.
Ye Xu put aside the important employee coupons and picked up the ingredient coupons. Ingredient coupons are unlocked randomly, meaning there's a chance to unlock ingredients that are already available. The system doesn't provide after-sales service, and is not responsible for duplicates.
Considering that the early achievement tasks seemed quite easy to complete, and that the upgrade packs from level 1 to 5 all gave out ingredient vouchers, Ye Xu decided not to spend any more money to unlock new ingredients before level 5, so as not to waste the vouchers.
Ye Xu went to the kitchen and carefully washed her hands. Only after returning did she use the three food vouchers with a heart full of prayer.
Three seconds later, a yellow-on-top, white-on-bottom pattern appeared on the first ingredient coupon, clearly indicating it was a Chinese cabbage. Immediately afterwards, the second ingredient coupon also changed, revealing a box of pork belly rolls.
Ye Xu was already quite satisfied with getting free pork belly, so he wasn't too concerned about the result of the last card. With this mindset, he saw a wisp of gray-white.
"What is this?" Ye Xu asked instinctively. It looked like some kind of minced meat, but he couldn't tell exactly what it was made of.
Before Shuangshuang could answer, Ye Xu gave the answer herself: "It should be shrimp paste!"
"It is indeed shrimp paste," Shuangshuang nodded upon hearing this.
Shrimp paste, pork belly rolls, and potato slices—Ye Xu's three favorites. He hadn't expected to be so lucky, unlocking two of these not-so-cheap ingredients all at once.
The items themselves were secondary; the important thing was that they helped complete several unlocking tasks. Looking at the upgrade progress bar, Ye Xu was very excited, feeling that running this shop wasn't difficult at all, and the beginning had gone very smoothly.
Ye Xu planned to go back and make a good plan to see how to get the most experience with the fewest points and try to get as many upgrade packs as possible.
Next, Ye Xu turned his attention to the employee vouchers. There were only him and Shuangshuang in the shop right now, and they desperately needed an employee to fill in. He hoped to find a senior employee, preferably one who could do the work of five people.
Chapter 6 Card Draw
The employee hiring process at the Dimensional Food Shop is very simple; you can start once you have the employee vouchers ready.
Upon opening the interface, the first thing that appears is the dimension selection box. After selecting a dimension, the system will randomly select three prospective employees who are interested in joining the company from the corresponding dimension and display them in the form of cards for the store manager to choose from.
The current plane selection box only has three options: [All], [Modern], and [Western Fantasy]. This is probably because Ye Xu has only been to the Modern Plane and the Western Fantasy Plane, and the rest have not yet been unlocked.
"It says Western Fantasy above, not the Transi Continent." Ye Xu looked at the options thoughtfully. "It seems that all employees in the Western Fantasy plane who meet the requirements will be included in the candidate list."
Shuangshuang nodded in agreement: "The store manager is so perceptive!"