Fiona lost interest in hanging out with Vivian, so she turned to Veronica and Kevin instead, offering congratulations over and over and chatting animatedly.
Vivian didn't mind at all. She casually found a seat, took small sips of her beer, and smiled as she watched Veronica and the others fool around.
Steve was pretty much the sa.
He wasn't close with Veronica or Kevin. After offering a polite congratulations, he sat down as well, quietly sizing up the restaurant. It wasn't very big, and honestly looked pretty average.
Before long—
An indescribable aroma silently drifted out of the kitchen.
Almost everyone slled it at the sa ti. One by one, they stopped what they were doing and all turned to look toward the kitchen.
"Wow, that slls amazing!" Carl sniffed the air and was the first to speak up.
Veronica, Kevin, and Vivian all nodded in agreent.
Fiona and the others didn't say anything. Neither did Steve.
In the kitchen.
Dexter felt a little confused. It was just fried rice—how could it sll this good?
After thinking about it, there was only one explanation.
The system was ridiculously overpowered.
As for how it actually worked, he didn't care.
Whatever.
Dexter kept busy, stir-frying rice while also keeping an eye on the soup simring in the pot beside him. He was swamped.
The aroma continued to drift out nonstop.
Slling sothing this good—sothing that made everyone's appetite go crazy—Kevin and the others (except Vivian) slowly found all their attention locked onto the tightly closed kitchen door. In no ti, no one felt like chatting anymore…
Seeing this, Vivian found it hilarious. Smiling brightly, she got up and opened the restaurant's front door wide, letting even more of the aroma float outside.
Dexter was a good person. Vivian hoped he'd keep making money. That way, he'd live well—and she could stay here safely and comfortably.
That kind of stability was rare for her.
It was dinnerti.
Naturally, it didn't take long before the sll wafting out of Dex Restaurant caught the attention of passersby.
"Wow… that slls incredible…"
"So this place is open now?"
"No wonder they spent so much money hiring staff…"
"This cooking is insane!"
"Want to go in and try it?"
"Let's go!"
Just like that—
Two young won stepped forward, about to enter the restaurant.
"Sorry, we officially open tomorrow. Please co back then—thank you!" Vivian noticed the small crowd gathering and hurried to the door, smiling politely as she stopped the two girls.
Hearing that—
The two girls, practically drooling, froze in place. Disappointnt washed over their faces, and they had no choice but to turn around and leave.
And of course, right at that mont—
Dexter pushed open the kitchen door with his body, carrying two trays of food.
The second that door opened—
Oh man.
The rich, concentrated aroma practically exploded out into the room.
Instantly—
Kevin and the others: "!!!!"
Vivian: "!"
The people gathered at the door, drawn by the sll: "!!!"
To be honest, even Dexter himself was shocked by the sudden change in the air.
This has to be the system buffing it, he thought in amazent.
The next second—
The two girls who had just turned away swallowed hard and spun right back around, trying to enter the restaurant again.
At the sa ti, the rest of the onlookers did the sa.
Dexter felt like he was staring at a zombie horde.
It was honestly a little terrifying.
"Sorry, everyone," Dexter said quickly with a smile. "We officially open tomorrow. Please co back then."
The crowd imdiately protested.
"Boss, you're basically open already—just open now!"
"It slls way too good!"
"Co on, handso, don't make us wait till tomorrow. You wouldn't let starve, right?"
"Yeah, yeah! I'm so hungry—how can you be that cruel?"
The two girls from earlier imdiately deployed their ultimate weapon: shaless cute pleading.
Dexter couldn't handle it.
Left with no choice, he pulled out his trump card. "I'm really sorry. Tonight is a private gathering. Please co back tomorrow. Also—make sure you bring money. Our set als are $128 per person."
$128?
With tip…
That's basically $150!
Spending $150 on one al in a place like this?
Nope. Too rich for my blood.
Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!
The trump card worked exactly as expected.
Within monts—
Most of the crowd scattered, leaving only five people behind—including the two girls.
Clearly, these five actually had money.
One of the girls was just too tempted. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Handso, I've got money. Please—don't make wait till tomorrow. Just tonight, okay?"
Wow.
Foodies were terrifying.
Hearing this—
Kevin, who had also been stunned by the price, snapped back to his senses and grew anxious. He hurriedly tried to persuade Dexter. "Dexter, why not just open? That's money right there!"
Veronica ca back to her senses too and joined in. "Boss, we don't take up much space. Why not open?"
Carl chid in as well. "Open! Open! That's a lot of money!"
Vivian didn't say anything. She just smiled, finding the whole situation incredibly amusing.
Seeing this—
The two girls wasted no ti, stepping straight into the restaurant and continuing their cute pleading.
The other three exchanged looks, then followed them inside and started persuading as well.
Dexter: "..."
Well.
Five custors were already inside. Was he really going to kick them out?
Kicking custors out in a neighborhood like this… the restaurant might get smashed up overnight.
So what—was he really opening like this, out of nowhere?
"Fine," Dexter sighed. "You're already here. Find a seat."
The two foodie girls imdiately lit up, giggling with excitent.
There was still food cooking in the kitchen, so Dexter didn't have ti to waste. He set down the two trays he was holding and then called out to Vivian. "Vivian, co to the kitchen with ."
"Coming!" Vivian replied cheerfully.
In the kitchen—
While working, Dexter explained, "Please help take care of those five guests. For now, I'm only offering three set als: egg fried rice, shredded pork fried rice, and snow cabbage with shredded pork noodles. Each one is $128."
"Also, we're only taking up to five more guests. Any more than that—I'm not cooking. Too tiring."
Vivian: "????"
That was allowed?
She looked at Dexter curiously, then nodded. "Okay."
After leaving the kitchen, Vivian went to take care of the guests.
None of the five had ever eaten these dishes before and were totally confused—but with the restaurant filled with that incredible aroma, they quickly placed their orders anyway.
Once the orders were in, Vivian went back to tell Dexter.
After sending Vivian back out, Dexter pulled the ingredients for five als straight from the system.
Since he was officially open now, he had to build a good reputation.
---
Ti flew by.
Not that much ti, really.
After all, fried rice and noodles didn't take long to make.
Soon, everyone at Veronica's table had steaming, fragrant dishes in front of them.
By then—
Another five custors had entered the restaurant, drawn in by the sll and able to accept the price.
Interestingly, two of them were Tommy and Kermit, who had originally planned to go drink at the Alibi.
"Boss, that price is basically robbery," Tommy said with a grin to Dexter. "But it slls amazing, so I have to try it. Give one order of the snow cabbage pork noodles."
Dexter had just finished setting down the last dish for Veronica's group. Hearing that, he grinned. "I only planned to sell ten orders tonight. Didn't expect to sell out this fast. Guess I'll have to raise prices tomorrow."
As soon as he said that—
Tommy and the others: "?????"
Veronica and the rest: "?????"
User Comments
0 comments from readers